Herbert's arm, Dak's army can guide you through these uncertain times | The Fantasy Rush
Despite an outbreak sweeping through the NFL, Jared is able to breathe a sigh of relief. Mere hours before Cam Newton was put on the COVID-19 list, Jared traded the Patriots QB to his co-host, Yahoo Sports Fantasy Expert Liz Loza. In the fourth episode of The Fantasy Rush, Loza tries to catch a bolt of lightning, discovers there may be enough Cowboys for everyone, and takes advantage of the pandemic to run a marathon from the comfort of her own home.
Video Transcript
- For that first game, I don't know what the scene's gonna look like, whether there are fans or not. But I know that I've lived my entire life looking forward to this moment. And running through that tunnel, whether there are fans or not, I'm gonna be fired up and just excited to be playing football.
[THEME MUSIC]
JARED QUAY: Ain't no point in denying it, last week was the most 2020 week of the entire year. I mean, Disney announced another "Lion King" movie and nobody noticed.
[RECORD SCRATCHES]
Oh, everybody got the 'rona. Positive tests are out there. And they're messing with everything, even fantasy football. Check it. Ah, look, where's that [? nigga? ?] Ooh, domination down the chart. But I'm look for my champs. Oh, there we go, "Campbellieve the Hype."
Now, it just so happens I don't have any Titans, Steelers, or Chiefs on my squad. But as for the Patriots, well, Cam Newton was my starting quarterback. But I traded him a day before he caught the 'rona. It was good timing, but bad timing for him. Now, the outbreak didn't affect "Campbellieve the Hype" this week. But you just get the feeling it's coming.
How can fantasy managers adjust to the new reality of COVID in the NFL? Now, that's what I'd like to ask the manager who traded for Cam Newton. Fortunately I can because she's also the co-host of this show, Yahoo Fantasy expert Liz Loza.
LIZ LOZA: All right, let's keep it 100. There are real life consequences to COVID-19 that are far more serious than whether [? "Roset Algoloday" ?] makes the playoffs.
JARED QUAY: Facts.
LIZ LOZA: But you're not here to find out about that. You're here to find out how all of this chaos affects your fantasy team.
JARED QUAY: Also facts.
LIZ LOZA: So let's take a look. After week 3, I was so in on Cam Newton I did something I never do this early in the year, made a trade. And like clockwork, it goes through. He ends up on the COVID list and I'm looking for my third QB in 5 weeks.
JARED QUAY: You hate to see it.
LIZ LOZA: There aren't a ton of great options on the waiver wire, which is why I might have to catch some lightning in a bottle. The way Justin Herbert got his first start was pretty terrible. But what he did with the opportunity was anything but. He hung with TB12 for four quarters with Austin Ekeler and Mike Williams out, and did it with names like Jalen Guyton, Tyron Johnson, and Donald Parham, Jr.
JARED QUAY: Who?
LIZ LOZA: Exactly. Plus his defense will still be banged up next week when he faces the Saints, a team that showed Detroit--
JARED QUAY: They can still cook.
LIZ LOZA: Is [? "Roset Algoloday" ?] gonna pull the plug on Cam? Absolutely not. But it's easy to imagine him missing at least one week. So I'm gonna go ahead and stash Herbert. You might want to do the same.
It turns out Sunday's Browns-Cowboys game was extremely educational.
JARED QUAY: If you like learning about bad defense.
LIZ LOZA: There's nothing the Dallas D won't allow. They let OBJ run the ball. They let Jarvis Landry pass it. And that's exactly why the Cowboys are jam-packed with tasty fantasy options of their own.
On Sunday, Dak Prescott threw for ball almost 60 times, enough to feed a small army of receivers. Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Dalton Schultz, Zeke Elliott, Cedric Wilson, and Michael Gallup were all targeted at least five times. Not to mention, they still have five games left against the NFC East. No matter the quality of their opponent, Dak Prescott's offense will have to keep the pedal to the metal. So be ready to take advantage.
I admit, a few times last week it felt like March all over again. But just when I started to feel like the reboot of the reboot to "Groundhog Day," I saw the London Marathon.
JARED QUAY: You saw the London what now?
LIZ LOZA: Marathon. Because of COVID, the event was held virtually this year, which is why over the weekend Twitter was flooded with videos of people finishing the virtual marathon. And I gotta say, I love this. It's the best part of a marathon without any of that sweating or chaffing or running. You just jog down the block then have a skinny spicy to celebrate. I totally want in.
JARED QUAY: That ain't what them people did.
LIZ LOZA: Focus. Whew, almost there. Wow, this is hard. Just 0.1 mile left to go. I think I might be low on electrolytes. Does champagne have electrolytes?
JARED QUAY: You know I actually ran one of these before right?
LIZ LOZA: Whew, thank the goddess I finished. That was getting kind of tough there. What was my time? Oh, 52 minutes. This is my first marathon. Is that good? That seems pretty good.
JARED QUAY: It's impossible.
[CAMERA SHUTTER SOUNDS]
LIZ LOZA: You know, way back in the beginning of this segment when I first decided to run a marathon, I never dreamed I could finish. But then I thought about Carole from "The Real Housewives of New York." And I thought, if she were brave enough to run her first marathon at 54 years old, well then I surely could at 24 and 1/2.