Yahoo Fantasy Freak Show

Liz Loza & Matt Harmon, unfortunately, have to discuss a LOT of injuries that occurred in Week 7, headlined by Patrick Mahomes being lost for about a month due to a kneecap injury suffered against the Broncos (1:00). Other big injuries fantasy gamers dealt with include Matt Ryan (ankle), Adam Thielen (hamstring), Kerryon Johnson (knee), and Ito Smith (head/neck), to name a few. Even Evan Engram and Saquon Barkley, who just returned from injuries, got banged up during their game. Liz and Matt discuss the fantasy implications of all those losses in this episode, particularly the Engram and Barkley re-injuries (13:15). Are players coming back too soon? Liz has thoughts.Elsewhere in the NFL, the Vikings offense looked unstoppable against the Detroit Lions (18:30) and Aaron Rodgers delivered his game of the year thus far, lighting up Oakland for over 400 yards and six total touchdowns while sharing the wealth to EVERYBODY (22:00). Jared Goff and the Rams went back to their high-scoring ways, but are they back,

There’s a lot to talk about as we head into Week 7 of the NFL season, and Liz Loza and Matt Harmon cover it all in the latest fantasy football podcast.[Play in Yahoo’s NFL $250K Baller. $10 entry fee and $25K to first place]First up, how about that trade the Los Angeles Rams swung for Jalen Ramsey? Talk about going for it all! The Rams went YOLO with their defense and the Jaguars got a decent haul and seem to be rebuilding on the fly better than a certain aquatic team in south Florida (1:00).Elsewhere in the NFL, fantasy gamers are crossing their fingers that Saquon Barkley will return on Sunday for a plus-matchup against the Arizona Cardinals after practicing for two days straight (12:50).And now, for a topic that most fantasy gamers have been frustrated with the past couple seasons: Tight Ends! Scott Pianowski recently shuffled-up the tight end position, and now that we’ve gone past “Peach Season,” (drafting the top TEs), it’s apple-picking season. AKA, Liz and Matt discuss which tight ends are worth adding

Week 6 was not without a few surprises, starting with Marcus Mariota getting benched against the Broncos in favor of Ryan Tannehill (0:45). Well ... “in favor” is probably not the best use of that phrase, as Tannehill was not much better against a Broncos defense that came to play.Moving to games and teams that matter, Liz Loza & Matt Harmon break down the weekend's biggest storylines on this episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Football Podcast.In the first of two home losses on Sunday for teams in LA, the Rams were handily beat at home by the division-rival 49ers (3:15). Yeah, we know the 49ers are for real now, but what should we make of the fading Rams and their indecipherable backfield?Speaking of confusing backfields, what are the New Orleans Saints if they don't have Alvin Kamara or Drew Brees (9:30)?Sam Darnold made his (glorious?) return to the New York Jets on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys and instantly, the Jets offense changed completely (13:40). It seemed like Mononucleosis may have made Darnold

On Monday night, the 49ers put on a running clinic in against the Cleveland Browns, but it ended up coming at a heavy cost: The team lost both their fullback and their right tackle to injury. Liz Loza and Matt Harmon open the show this week discussing the prospects of Matt Breida, Tevin Coleman and play a little game of either/or with the San Francisco backfield (2:06).There's a lot to consider in Kansas City with now that the injury bug has shown its ugly head. With Sammy Watkins getting hurt and Tyreek Hill not yet ready to return, Byron Pringle emerged against the Colts — but is he the real deal – and does any of that matter if Patrick Mahomes is hobbled with an injured ankle (9:15)?In other news, Chris Herndon made fantasy gamers rage uncontrollably after he hurt his hamstring in practice — and this is after waiting for him to return from his suspension. Not great. Liz & Matt break down the frustrating Jets offense and recommend some sage for Gang Green (15:45).Oh, and Christian McCaffrey scared the s

You want to talk about big performances, look no further than Week 5. In the latest fantasy football podcast, Liz Loza and Matt Harmon recap those outings, and much more, and they’re joined by Psych and A Million Little Things alum, James Roday!We can’t talk about big performances without talking about what Christian McCaffrey did to the Jacksonville Jaguars (1:30). Run-CMC racked up a whopping 237 total yards and three touchdowns on 25 total touches. Those are video game numbers. But after another monster day by McCaffrey, the Panthers are 3-0 during the Kyle Allen era. So, it begs the question: Are the Panthers — Matt’s ex-lover — a truly better team without Cam Newton?Minshew-Mania stumbled against McCaffrey’s Panthers, but there were fantasy goodies to be had on the Jaguars side of the ball, too. Gardner Minshew (26/44 for 374 yards and 2 TDs), Leonard Fournette (137 total yards, 1 TD), D.J. Chark (164 yards, 2 TDs) all provided great days. You’ll remember last week, the frustration about the Vikings pass

It’s no surprise that the Minnesota Vikings have loved to run the ball in 2019. Like, LOVED it. Like, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs have been suffering because of it, and so has every fantasy gamer who drafted one (or both) of the talented Vikings wide receivers. Thielen has voiced his frustration, but, in a surprise to the entire fantasy community, it was Diggs who missed practice for a non-football reason this week.The trade rumor mill was unleashed. Liz and Matt discuss the Diggs situation and much more on the latest fantasy football podcast (0:20).[Play in Yahoo’s NFL $350K Baller. $10 entry fee and $35K to first place]Diggs returned to practice on Thursday, but when asked about the trade rumors, he said, “There’s truth to all rumors.” #SpicySpeaking of star wideouts, it seems like A.J. Green will be out longer than expected with injury. The rumors of a Green trade have surfaced as well (8:40).More on the injury front: The Bears are set to play without the services of their starting quarterback, Mitchell

Week 4 has been ... interesting. After a bunch of random, waiver-wire-fodder players scored, many matchups that looked like they’d be easy wins for the favorites went down to the wire, including the game between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs. Not only did the Lions defense surprise in holding Patrick Mahomes to no touchdowns, but Detroit’s fantasy assets showed out as well. Liz Loza and Matt Harmon break that game down and much more in the latest fantasy football podcast, starting with the Cleveland Browns offensive resurgence against the Baltimore Ravens (1:00).Matthew Stafford, Kerryon Johnson, Kenny Golladay, and T.J. Hockenson all had great days in a losing effort for the Detroit but Liz and Matt ask, should we be paying the Lions more respect (7:00)?Elsewhere in the NFL, Wayne Gallman lived up to many fantasy owners' hopes and dreams as Saquon Barkley's replacement (11:55). Gallman was the clear lead back for the Giants on a day that Daniel Jones was not at his best, and is expected to be just

The Giants dealt with a double-edged sword in Week 3. On the one hand, Daniel Jones took the reins of New York’s offense and delivered an awesome performance. Unfortunately, during the game, the Giants (and fantasy gamers) lost Saquon Barkley. Liz Loza and Matt Harmon talk about the reverberations of those events in this week’s fantasy football podcast (0:40).With Saquon out for a few weeks, do we trust Wayne Gallman to carry the load? And can Daniel Jones continue to spread the ball around to his receivers in the weeks to come the way he did against Tampa Bay, without his star running back alongside him?[Play in Yahoo’s NFL $400K Baller. $10 entry fee and $50K to first place]Elsewhere in the NFL, Melvin Gordon ended his holdout on Wednesday evening, and the screams of everyone who had been riding Austin Ekeler these past three weeks were heard the world over (4:40). But hey, it’s not all bad — Gordon won’t be active for Week 4; he probably will need a couple weeks before entering his full workload. So, to ev

What if I told you that the top-scoring fantasy quarterbacks of Week 3 before Sunday Night Football would be Patrick Mahomes (duh), Russell Wilson (fine), Deshaun Watson (expected), DANIEL JONES (huh?) and KYLE ALLEN (what?!)?I’d sound crazy, but in a week when 20 quarterbacks under the age of 26 started an NFL game, that indeed is the result at the quarterback position #TheFutureIsNow. Liz Loza and Matt Harmon discuss those performances and much more in the latest Yahoo Fantasy Football podcast.They open the show recapping a trio of games: the Lamar Jackson/Patrick Mahomes duel in Kansas City (0:35), Russell Wilson and Tyler Locket putting up some impressive numbers against the Saints (3:30) and and the disappointing Chargers showing at home against the Texans (6:05).Kyle Allen and Daniel Jones showed out for their respective teams en route to impressive victories. Daniel Jones — who lost Saquon Barkley to an ankle injury early — attacked the Buccaneers with his arm and his legs, totaling four touchdowns (11

If the story of Week 2 were the star QBs injured and out for the foreseeable future, then the story of Week 3 are the fresh faces we'll be seeing in their places. On this edition of the Yahoo Fantasy Football Podcast, Liz Loza & Matt Harmon dive into the offenses we'll be seeing this weekend manned by unproven young passers.First, Mason Rudolph is stepping in for Big Ben with the Steelers. How will the 2018 third-rounder fare versus a San Francisco team that stomped all over Cincinnati last weekend (1:35).With Drew Brees reportedly out for six weeks, will we see our first QB-by-committee in New Orleans, led by Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill (7:15)?Who is Kyle Allen and why is he being discussed in my fantasy podcast? Liz & Matt are surprisingly excited about Cam Newton's backup in Carolina and the loaded cast of skill players at his disposal (12:20).Finally, it's the end of an era in New York. With Eli Manning passing the torch to Daniel Jones this weekend in Tampa Bay, this can't possibly be a dow

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t do much to impress, fantasy-wise, in Week 1. They did win, 31-17, but it was their strong defense that stole the show. Well, things changed in Week 2, as everything on the offensive side of the ball seemed to be working for the Kyle Shanahan-led unit en route to a 41-17 domination of the Cincinnati Bengals. Liz Loza and Matt Harmon break down that performance and more in this week’s Yahoo Fantasy Football Podcast (0:20).Can’t mention the 49ers without mentioning the fact that Matt chose them to be the team he’d be a lifelong fan of in 2019, and he’s definitely pleased with his choice after Week 2. Jimmy Garoppolo, Deebo Samuel, Marquise Goodwin, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and Matt Breida all shined individually in this game.While the Niners looked great, it called into sharp contrast Matt's previous lifelong favorite team: the Carolina Panthers. Liz & Matt debate the Panthers' crushing Thursday night loss and whether fantasy owners should give up on Cam Newton (3:30).Elsew

Well, the Week 2 action is here, but we’ve already begun dealing with the injury monster. Once again, Hunter Henry has fallen victim, this time thanks to a fracture in his left knee. His fellow Charger, Mike Williams, is also dealing with a knee injury of his own. Sadly, Derrius Guice underwent surgery for a torn meniscus and will be sidelined for about eight weeks. Quincy Enunwa is out for the year with a neck injury.Oh, and speaking of Jets, quarterback Sam Darnold will also miss some time ... with mono. It’s been rough being a Jets fan of late, to say the least.Liz Loza and Matt Harmon break down all those injuries on this week’s Yahoo Fantasy podcast, starting with the weirdness in East Rutherford (0:20), moving to the bad vibes in LA (6:40) and wrapping up with Guice's Thursday morning surgery with Dr. James Andrews (10:35).Liz and Matt are joined this week by the human sports encyclopedia, Scott Pianowski to go through some overreactions to Week 1 — specifically, which players have left them jilted or t

Before we get into all the most important talking points of the first Sunday of Week 1, Liz Loza and Matt Harmon would be remiss if they didn’t talk about the mind-boggling Antonio Brown situation (0:10). This is the stuff conspiracy theories are made for. After all the craziness of AB’s extremely short-lived tenure with the Raiders, Brown is now a member of the New England Patriots. Tom Brady will now have the luxury of throwing to Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, and Brown.Can’t make this stuff up, folks.But let’s move onto a wild football Sunday, starting with the tie in Arizona (5:05). Was the come-from-behind stalemate a good sign for Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury's air raid offense?Jacksonville’s offense suffered a massive blow on Sunday, losing quarterback Nick Foles to a broken clavicle. Rookie Gardner Minshew entered and threw the football well, but the Jags couldn’t keep up with the Chiefs machine (10:00). What does this mean for the outlooks of Leonard Fournette, Dede Westbrook, D.J. Chark, and Chri

In this episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Football podcast, Liz Loza and Matt Harmon tackle some of the biggest news of the NFL ahead of Week 1, and you’d be hard-pressed to find bigger news than Antonio Brown’s supposed, impending suspension. After a reported altercation between AB and Raiders GM Mike Mayock, it seems like any wishes fantasy gamers had of a resurgent AB in Oakland are going up in smoke.Before they get to AB, Jerry Jones gave Ezekiel Elliott the richest RB-contract in NFL history, and the star runner is set to take the field in Week 1. Our experts discuss the fantasy fallout of Zeke’s return, including the subsequent dimmed outlook for Tony Pollard (0:20).Also in the news, OBJ is still being bothered by his hip injury (7:15). What can fantasy owners expect out of the electric receiver? From one stud receiver to another, Julio Jones' status for opening weekend is also in question (9:30). To wrap up the receiver talk, Matt & Liz discuss the latest soap operatics from Oakland's erratic Antonio Br

In this episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Football podcast, Liz Loza and Matt Harmon call each other early on Labor Day morning to go over the weekend's whirlwind roster moves starting with the one guy who can't quite decide if he wants to show up for work this week: Ezekiel Elliott (1:00).They keep it in Texas and move to the Houston Texans' bevy of trades which saw them lose Jadeveon Clowney but add Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills and Carlos Hyde. Liz & Matt analyze this suddenly new-look Texans offense (4:55).In other weekend moves, Liz & Matt discuss the Kansas City Chiefs signing LeSean McCoy (13:40) and the Patriots shuffling of Josh Gordon and Demaryius Thomas (18:50).Next up, our experts take a deep dive into the players who are often overlooked in the wide receiver landscape, but can prove to be PPR assets this fantasy season. The slot receivers who often don’t get the star treatment of their outside-counterparts but who do a lot of the dirty work on the field. Liz and Matt talk about the fantasy outl

Another day, another curveball for the 49ers backfield. After reports that Jerick McKinnon is suffering a setback in his ACL recovery, Liz Loza and Matt Harmon discuss the San Francisco backfield and how, while the news is disappointing, it actually adds clarity to the previously foggy RB situation (1:10).Later, our experts are joined by Christopher Harris of HarrisFootball.com to debate players whom they’re wayyyy off the consensus on (6:40). Some of these players include Mark Ingram and Stefon Diggs (who our experts are higher on than most) and James Conner and Kyler Murray (lower on than the consensus).Our experts then preview the AFC East New England Patriots (33:30), New York Jets (39:30), Buffalo Bills (45:20) and Miami Dolphins (49:20).Remember to leave your voicemail for a future episode at 888-85-YAHOO (that's 888-859-2466).And please remember to rate, review and subscribe on your podcast provider of choice and send us your questions for future episodes on Twitter @YahooFantasy.Follow Liz @LizLoza_FF

To the surprise of pretty much the entire sports world, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck announced that he was retiring from football on Saturday, August 24. If you can imagine the shockwave Luck’s retirement made throughout the NFL, then the reverberations his decision have made and will continue to make in fantasy football are just as big. Liz Loza and Matt Harmon break down the stunning events in this episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Football Podcast (0:30).Jacoby Brissett will now be the starting QB of the Colts. Liz and Matt give their thoughts on Brissett being a viable fantasy option now that he’s at the helm of this offense. And speaking of which, what does this all mean for the fantasy weapons of Indy? Big names like T.Y. Hilton, Marlon Mack, and Eric Ebron all have to be viewed in a different light in fantasy drafts (12:40).Elsewhere in the NFL, Cam Newton went down with a sprained left feet during the Panthers third preseason game against the Patriots. Lots of optimism surrounded Newton after

We're only about 13 days from season kicking off in Chicago, but who can even focus on the upcoming NFL season when the XFL is back, baby! Liz Loza & Matt Harmon briefly grade the new XFL team names and logos (1:05) before opening the show for real by taking a listener question about boom-or-bust players (4:30).In discussing John Brown, Tre'Quan Smith, Adam Humphries, Marvin Jones, Tyrell Williams, Damien Williams and Jared Cook, they talk about some high-risk/high-reward options, the types of variances that exist with theses players and also some floor-play options.[Join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Football league for free today]Later, Matt & Liz are joined by none other than Yahoo Fantasy’s very own Scott Pianowski to discuss strategies for fantasy owners heading into auction drafts (16:30).Our experts then preview the AFC West Oakland Raiders (28:45), Denver Broncos (38:20), Los Angeles Chargers (43:00) and Kansas City Chiefs (49:30).Remember to leave your voicemail for a future episode at 888-8

In this episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Football podcast, Liz Loza and Matt Harmon open the show with the news that Patriots WR Josh Gordon has been reinstated (1:50). They discuss the fantasy outlook for the troubled wideout and the bare cupboard of Patriots pass-catchers.[Join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Football league for free today]Later, Matt & Liz discuss a few guys who are in the news for a myriad of reasons, like Case Keenum being named the Week 1 starter in Washington (5:50), D.K. Metcalf needing surgery in Seattle (11:00), Darwin Thompson getting some consideration in Kansas City (14:45) and Justice Hill trying to stand out in a the crowded Baltimore backfield (23:00).Our experts then preview the NFC West in the Arizona Cardinals (29:15), Los Angeles Rams (42:00), San Francisco 49ers (45:20) and the Seattle Seahawks (51:45).To wrap up the show, Matt & Liz take a listener voicemail about new Cleveland Brown, Odell Beckham Jr. (56:25)Remember to leave your voicemail for a future episode at 88

Well, this isn’t good. After a report that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck would probably not play the entire preseason this year because of a calf injury, Colts’ owner Jim Irsay said it’s a bone issue. And before talking about this “small little bone,” Irsay referenced Kevin Durant (we all remember what happened to KD’s Achilles in the NBA Finals) and how everyone is erring on the side of caution after the new Brooklyn Net’s injury.[Join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Football league for free today]This is obviously not the news fantasy football gamers want to hear in regards to Luck. Liz Loza and Matt Harmon try to make sense of it all in this episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Football Podcast.Is it his calf? Is it his ankle? What “small bone?” Luck is one of the few quarterbacks who can actually challenge Patrick Mahomes for the title of top fantasy QB in 2019, as Luck’s situation in Indy is arguably the best it’s ever been since he was drafted. Yet, what does this injury mean for his fantasy value (