šŸŽ  A Busy Day On The Coaching Carousel

Everyone is on the move...

Did you happen to notice the Super Bowl logo has Taylor Swiftā€™s face hidden in itā€¦

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by Money:

  • Please spare us from Arthur Smith

  • Legendary Playoff Runs: The ones we rememberā€¦

  • A Way-Too-Early 2024 Mock Draft

  • What Now? Ask questionsā€¦

  • Itā€™s 1/24 . Take it away, Peter Overzetā€¦

The AFC and NFC Championships are this weekend, but itā€™s the NFL coaching carousel dominating headlines this week.

Coaching moves are at an all-time high with not a single active offensive coordinator hired before 2022.

Hereā€™s a quick roundup of everything that transpired on that front yesterdayā€¦

šŸ¤„ Arthur Smith Coming To An Offense Near You?

Letā€™s play a game with the following post: actual NFL report or Onion headline?

Arthur Smith receiving interest from ā€œmore than 7 teamsā€ has big ā€œmy girlfriend goes to another schoolā€ energy.

Still, I shudder with fear just thinking about ā€˜ol Arthur destroying another offense filled with fantasy gold.

šŸ“ˆ The Titans land their new Head Coach

After shocking the league by parting ways with Mike Vrabel, the Titans have found their next head coach in Brian Callahan.

Callahan has served as the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator for the past five seasons and orchestrated impressive output during that span:

  • 26.1 points per game (7th in the NFL)

  • 360.5 yards per game (8th)

  • 265 passing yards (5th)

The big test will be whether he can carry over his success from Joe Burrow to a lesser talent in Will Levis, but considering that the Bengals offense stayed afloat with Jake Browning at the helm thereā€™s reason for optimism.

šŸ“° Miscellaneous coaching updatesā€¦

šŸ’µ You can capitalize on current high interest rates ā€” hereā€™s how

Interest rates are at 22-year highs, but you can take advantage of them. With rates hovering around 5%, high-yield savings accounts present an opportunity for substantial returns through compound interest.

Offering up to 10 times the return compared to regular savings accounts, these accounts are ideal for short- and long-term goals.

Presented by Money
Legendary Playoff Runs

Some players know how to turn it on in the playoffs. Today, Ian celebrates those playoff heroesā€¦

ā€œBig-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.ā€

Santana Moss was right then and heā€™s right now. Regular-season success is cool and all, but legends are truly made when players manage to ball out when the lights shine brightest in the playoffs.

That brings us to todayā€™s goal: Remembering the top-five greatest individual playoff stretches since 2000 ranked from No. 1 to No. 5 based on my own agenda (and stats, but yeah).

These were truly some great days to be great.

ā™Øļø Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald (2008-09)

Larry Legend lived up to the name during his magical 2008 postseason run. Somehow, Fitz caught 30-of-42 targets for 546 yards and seven (!!!) scores in four incredible playoff performances.

No one in NFL history has more receiving yards (546) or receiving TDs (7) than Fitz during a single playoff run ā€“ and the eye test was somehow even better than the numbers.

While the Cardinals would ultimately fall just short due to some Ben Roethlisberger-Santonio Holmes heroics, Fitzgeraldā€™s postseason stretch for the ages has stood the test of time and deserves to be considered one of ā€“ if not THE ā€“ single-best playoff runs the game has ever seen.

ā™Øļø Rams WR Cooper Kupp (2021-22)

Kuppā€™s historic triple-crown 2021-22 regular season somehow got even sweeter in the postseason when he went NUCLEAR in four consecutive matchups.

A Cardinals defense that had limited him to his worst performance of the season back in Week 4? Five catches, 61 yards and a TD.

What about the Buccaneers, who had allowed the fifth-fewest points per game and hadnā€™t allowed a QB to clear 300 yards since September? 9-183-1 ā€“ including an unbelievable last-second bomb to clinch the win.

Surely a 49ers squad that had already beaten the Rams twice and was widely considered one of the gameā€™s best units could limit him? 11 receptions, 142 yards and a pair of scores.

And just when you thought the man couldnā€™t soar any higher: Kupp posts an 8-92-2 performance against the Bengals, caught the game-winning score and won the f*cking Super Bowl MVP.

Overall, his 478 receiving yards and six scores are second all-time to only Fitzgerald during a single playoff stretch. Of course, the ring and postseason hardware makes everything that much sweeter for Kupp, who shined brightest when it mattered most.

Legendary Playoff Runs

ā™Øļø Ravens QB Joe Flacco (2012-13)

If you thought Flaccoā€™s 2023 campaign was good, wait until you get a load of what he managed to pull off during four consecutive Ravens victories during their Super Bowl-winning 2012-13 campaign.

  • vs. Colts: 282 pass yards-2 TD-0 INT

  • vs. Broncos: 331-3-0

  • vs. Patriots: 240-3-0

  • vs. 49ers: 287-3-0

The most memorable throw from the entire ordeal was Flaccoā€™s miracle 70-yard TD to Jacoby Jones which probably should have been intercepted by Broncos S Rahim Moore if weā€™re being honest with ourselves.

Regardless, Flacco found a way to out-duel Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Colin Kaepernick in four consecutive weeks. Mind you, Kaepernick was just one game removed from putting up his own legendary playoff performance against the Packers (263-2-1 passing, 16-181-2 rushing).

Overall, Flacco joins Patrick Mahomes (2021), Joe Montana (1989) and Kurt Warner (2008) as the only QBs to ever throw for at least 11 TDs in one playoff stretch ā€“ and Montana is the only other one to do so with zero INTs along the way. The performances understandably helped fetch Flacco a six-year, $120.6 million deal in addition to his fancy new ring and Super Bowl MVP trophy.

Watercooler

šŸ“Š Where should Breece Hall go in 2024 drafts? A Way-Too-Early Mock Draft.

šŸ¤” Can you guess the team who finished dead last in pass attempts? I bet notā€¦

šŸŽÆ Offseason prep starts now. 4 TEs you should buy before 2024.

šŸ¦“ The officiating crew for the Super Bowl. Time to do some scouting.

āœļø Our final multi-game slate of the season. Freedmanā€™s Favorites for the Conference Championships.

šŸ¤Æ Thereā€™s no way this team had two Top 10 WRs, right? Right?!?!

ā˜„ļø The Raiders land a new general manager. From a division rival.

šŸ§‚ Will the Bills shake things up this offseason? Doesnā€™t sound like it.

What Now?

The fantasy football season might be over, but we are NOT ready to unplug. Cooterdoodle is here to keep our minds in check by asking the age-old, evergreen question: ā€œWhat Now?ā€

ā“ What Now: Ask Questions

Over the next six months, youā€™ll find arguments to support all sorts of different draft strategies and fantasy football takes. 

While I believe itā€™s better to consume too much information than too little, there is a caveat: You must ask questions. That is, you canā€™t hold anything as universal truths.

Consume. Interpret. Ask Questions.

What Now?

šŸ§ Question: Is it an outlier?

Take the ā€˜zoom outā€™ approach when gathering information. 

Sure, CMC scored more fantasy points than EVERYONE except for Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts this year, but thatā€™s not indicative of the RB position as a whole. The next RB on the year (Raheem Mostert) scored 100 points less than McCaffrey. Wowza.

CMC is not only the goat - he is the outlier. And if youā€™re on the fence about trying the Zero RB method next season, itā€™s important to be aware of these extremes. 

šŸ§ Question: Is it out of context?

To continue with our rushing example, letā€™s look at the Top 6 fantasy point finishes (.5 PPR) at the RB position in 2023:

  • Christian McCaffrey 357.8

  • Raheem Mostert 255.2

  • Travis Etienne 253.4

  • Breece Hall 252.5

  • Joe Mixon 241

  • Kyren Williams 239

Pretty sweet! Points are great, right? Ehā€¦ Kind of. While looking at point totals on the year can give us valuable information, it only gives us what it gives us

Total points is a measure void of other data points that can provide additional clarity and context.

What about player injuries? What about big games that inflate totals? How does a playerā€™s floor factor into our decisions when drafting a RB in 2024? 

Here are some added data points for our six RBs and their performances:

RB Fantasy Point Breakdown

With this information, we can better visualize how Kyren was still able to finish with a high total on the year, even after missing six games.

When he played, he very rarely underperformed. This, combined with his extremely late ADP in 2023, is why many fantasy players would call Williams a ā€˜league winnerā€™ this season. 

It also explains why Kyren is currently sitting at 1.08 in Matthew Berryā€™s ā€œWay, Way Too Early Top 50 Rankings for 2024ā€, while going basically undrafted in 2023. 

And while the table above provides additional context, it doesnā€™t even begin to take into account other factors, such as player age, utilization, coaching changes, team acquisitions, etcā€¦ The list goes on. 

From a fantasy manager perspective, you arenā€™t expected to aggregate all of that data. You shouldnā€™t have to do all of the work. Thatā€™s what FantasyLife.com is for! (I am a company woman, after all.) But you need to make room for curiosity. As long as youā€™re asking questions as you consume, youā€™re on the right path toward making better decisions come draft day.

Cooterdoodle's Favorite Tweets (Aug 2022)
Pres by Money