NFL Week 3 Thursday night Fantasy Football written prescription

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By Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty

Week 3 of the NFL Season has either let some fantasy football players down or pumped them up. It was an interesting week 2 between the juggernaut Kansas City Chiefs to the almost in need of an early season blood transfusion of the Buffalo Bills. One quick note for both fantasy football players and football fans;

In the last 20 years or so if a team starts their season at 0-2, the chances of them making the playoffs is right around the 30% mark. So hopefully your favorite has at least gone 1-1 to give you a shot at the playoffs.

Those numbers don’t apply to fantasy football as most leagues go head to head. One good week and you’re extending your lead, or getting your team right back in the mix. One bad week and you either fall in with the rest of the herd or are already looking up at everyone looking for the rope to be sent down to pull you up.

With that being said let’s hit a written prescription for the Week 3 matchup in Cleveland between the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns.

Jets
Jets, Jets, Jets are what all were screaming on the opening Monday night in Detroit where the savior Sam Darnold put up unreal numbers against a bad Detroit defense in a rout and last week at their home opener did not get the same production out Darnold or the running game in a loss to the suddenly hot Miami Dolphins who are in 1st place in the AFC East.

QB
Darnold may not be a good play here. He is still learning the nuances of the game and while the Detroit game has everyone salivating at potential he’s still learning and there is tape now. Cleveland’s defense is pretty good so far in the two weeks played. 6 TO’s and a plus 5 rating against Pittsburgh that only resulted in a tie (broke their losing street), and in week 2 that defense shutting down the Saints with Drew Brees and his arsenal. The Browns would be 2-0 if they had a kicker. Defense is really good, and I would stay away from Darnold this week.

RB
The Jets running game has been pretty effective but again the hot play in week 1 did not translate in week 2. Bilal Powell is a good running back and could be effective but I don’t see him as #1 or #2 back this week. Isiah Crowell is the lead back for the Jets and he is playing against his old team in Cleveland. He has two weeks of decent play but I can’t see Cleveland giving up too many yards on the ground. The lineman and LB’s are playing better than most thought and should be able to contain and maybe bottle up the running game. Unless you have no one else to use, I would stay away from the RB’s for the Jets

WR / TE
Here it gets interesting because the wideouts are pretty solid. The secondary of the Browns has been ok but then again they’ve faced Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees in the first two weeks; future HOF’ers. While everyone is jumping on the Darnold bandwagon he’s not close and won’t be for awhile. The law firm of Enunwa, Pryor, and Anderson don’t strike a lot of fear and will have a tough time esp on the road to get Darnold the help he needs tonight.

Browns
QB
Tyrod Taylor is an enigma. He is the only QB on the Browns that has experience. Everyone wants to see Baker Mayfield the overall number 1 pick. Through no fault of his own, the Browns should be 2-0 and in 1st in the AFC North (what is this unicorn I speak of?) Kickers will win you games and will lose you games as well as coaches and players getting fired. Taylor has played well but he doesn’t have the big time numbers that Fantasy Football players like. He will be effective and may have a TD or two but they don’t score a lot of points. They got 21 v Pittsburgh. They scored 18 vs. the Saints. For 2.5 to 3 quarters they played well and Taylor played well. Like we say every week on the podcast, if you have other options that you believe could get you more points I would suggest going that route. Or this could be the week they are so close and at home on Thursday night to have a breakout and finally end their streak of not have a 0 in the win column. Taylor for my money gets a 1.5 rating tonight as starter. Not everyone has Brady, Brees, Rodgers so you have to pick and choose where to go. But I like Taylor more than I would Darnold tonight.

RB
Carlos Hyde has been the most effective running back in the Browns’ system this season. He has found new life with the Browns. They also have the likes of Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson. But this is Hyde’s show. I would use him if no other options are available because I believe that the Browns can run on the Jets defense. The Jets have given up some yards to both Miami and Detroit in the first two weeks so I think the Browns can get their yards and Hyde is the stalwart for it.

WR / TE
The spot to take a receiver with the Browns lies with the TE David Njoku. He is a big, fast, great hands TE that showed off his skills during the preseason and was very effective against Pittsburgh. He was a little lacking vs the Saints mostly because they had the lead going to the 4th quarter and were running effectively. Antonio Callaway is the team’s best WR with Jarvis Landry hurting a little. Callaway with 3 catches for 81 yards last week could have a big game vs. the Jets secondary. He is another option for a fantasy player to get some yards’ vs a Jets team who is still a little suspect on defense and primarily in the secondary.

Special Teams/ Defense
Both teams defenses have played pretty well but based on the fact that the Browns have had the propensity to get TO’s and make a rookie QB get frazzled the Browns defense may not be a bad play tonight for your Special Teams / Defense tonight.

Overall Matchup
The game itself is a matchup of the top two QB’s drafted in Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. There is no doubt that since every team has to be on Thursday night that NFL powers to be wanted the potential of a Darnold/ Mayfield matchup in primetime. It’s not going to happen unless something happens to Taylor where he gets injured and cannot continue.

With all being said about the Browns defense and no one on offense that scares you plus Darnold still learning on the job one would assume that I would lean the Browns way.

The line is Browns -3 with a total of 41 points. I am slightly leaning towards the Jets in a small upset and a low scoring game. I just don’t see both offenses doing great vs. the other defenses so I believe it will be a low scoring game.

16-14 Jets in a small upset.

Don’t forget to listen to our Fantasy Football Doctors podcast with Dr. Charlie O. Mallonee and myself Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty on SportsServiceRadio.com for the rest of the NFL as it relates to Fantasy Football.

Any correspondence you may have can be sent to my Twitter account @VPartySports or directly to Sports Radio Service.

Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony Renteria: Raiders couldn’t seal the deal in Denver Sunday; look to Miami for first road win

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On the Oakland Raiders podcast with Tony:

#1 For the last six seconds of Sunday’s game in Oakland, the Oakland Raiders looked as if they had game in hand with a 19-17 lead, but Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus kicked a 36-yard field goal for the 20-19 win at Sports Authority Field.

#2 The Broncos led by quarterback Casey Kennum led the Broncos down the field with just 1:58 left in the game, Kennum threw to Tom Patrick for 26 yards in the closing moments of the game to get the ball and McManus into field goal range for the winning score.

#3 Tony talks about some of the numbers starting for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr going 29-32 for 288 yards, one touchdown and one sack. Impressive outing for Carr who did all he could do to win in the Raiders’ first road game.

#4 Wide receiver Amari Cooper tallied up some yards with 10 receptions for 116 yards. Although Cooper didn’t get a touchdown, he averaged 11 yards and topped the team for total yards.

#5 The Raiders get set for their next meeting against the Miami Dolphins, the Dolphins are 2-0 and have Ryan Tannehill, who’s averaging 199 yards with four touchdowns on the year. Tannehill and the Dolphins have been fierce. Will the Raiders defense have their hands full this Sunday? Tony takes a look.

Tony does the Oakland Raiders podcasts each Thursday and is a beat writer for the Sacramento Kings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s need every win they can get as Angels open series with comeback win on Tuesday

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 Stranger things have happened in baseball, but a fan interfered with the bags juiced in the sixth inning on Tuesday night. The A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty chased the Angels’ Andrelton Simmons fly ball in the corner at the high wall near the warning track a fan reached over with her glove and deflected the ball the ruling was no fan interference, which at that point going forward, the A’s could not score a run with the Angels leading 7-4.

#2 Talk about that top half of the sixth where the Angels rallied from being down 4-1 adding six runs to catch the A’s and score three runs and two hits off reliever Lou Trivino for a blown save for Trivino.

#3 Despite the Angels not being in the postseason and needing possible surgery for the throwing arm, the Angels’  Shohei Ohtani in DH hit one for two with a run scored and a .291 average and will be on the DH for the rest of the season.

#4 The A’s, who have been depending on the bullpenning, had some great outings from the staff before the six Angel runs in the sixth from Liam Hendriks, Daniel Mengden, Sean Kelly, and Ryan Butcher.

#5 The A’s have lost four of their last five games setting them back behind the AL Wild Card first place team the New York Yankees. The A’s coming into Wednesday night’s game is at a three-game losing steak.

Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsrasdioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Belt sent back to S.F.–done for season as knee surgery needed; Giants headed for St. Louis

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On the Giants podcast with Michael and Morris:

The Giants, at the rate that they’re playing, would settle for 81-81 right now and that’s who they are right now, but what people forget is they lost 98 games last year. Even if they wind up losing 84 this year, that’s a 14-game improvement, and if you project that forward, if they can do that again next year, they can get 92 wins.

It’s interesting the Giants were looking for a lot of improvement that was the whole impetus of keeping the whole ball club together and of course they come up 14, 15 games better, which is what most teams will do, but it’s not going to get them in the playoffs.

The Giants kept the folder of contracts together. The team was never together. They had their projected starting eight-plus their Opening Day starter for one game all year this year. It just never pulled together, as health was an issue.

The Giants announced that the first baseman Brandon Belt is done for the season and is headed back to San Francisco from San Diego and that’s from the knee that’s going to require surgery in the offseason. The Giants hope to play spoiler in St. Louis starting with a Friday night game to open a three-game series with the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Michael and Morris perform their broadcast duties on the Giants podcasts last one of the season coming next week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Atlanta United came back from 2-goal deficit to top Earthquakes 4-3

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By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — New coach, same result. The Steve Ralston era opened up with what has been a familiar theme for the San Jose Earthquakes (4-17-8) this season. Atlanta United (18-5-6) came back from a two-goal deficit and scored late in stoppage time to defeat the Quakes 4-3 at Avaya Stadium on Wednesday evening.

This was the first game the Quakes have played since they fired head coach Mikael Stahre on Monday and replaced him with interim head coach Ralston. Ralston, a former U.S. national team player, previously served as an assistant coach at the start of the season.

“Right now I’m disappointed,” said Ralston. “(I have) a lot of different emotions to be honest. Nerves, excitement. Not knowing what to expect. To have face this team, in your first game with one day (to prepare), it’s not an easy one.”

Josef Martinez scored the game-winning goal four minutes into stoppage time, thanks to a great set up by Miguel Almiron. Almiron sent in a centering pass into the middle that Martinez was able to head in past JT Marcinkowski into the left corner of the goal for his second goal of the night and league leading 30th MLS goal.

Marcinkowski was making his first MLS start in the San Jose net. He was tested early on by Atlanta FC, making three saves in the first 25 minutes of action.

“You always want to touch the ball early, make a clean save, make a clean pass (to) get your feed under you,” said Marcinkowski. “They’re a high scoring offense, they’re powerful, (at the) top of the league.”

San Jose would draw first blood in the 13th minute when Shea Salinas received the ball from Magnus Eriksson near the left wing. He sent over a crossing pass to an unchecked Nick Lima, who one-timed a header past Atlanta United goalie Brad Guzan into the far left corner of the net for his second goal of the season.

Quakes defender Guram Gashia kept Atlanta United from getting the equalizer at the 26 minute mark when he was able to block an on coming strike from Atlanta United midfielder Julian Gressel.

Quakes forward Danny Hoesen was injured in a collision with Atlanta United midfielder Jeff Larentowicz at the 18-minute mark. The result was a yellow card issued to Larentowicz. Hoesen remained in the game.

Hoesen then doubled the Quakes’ lead in the 43rd minute after Nick Lima sent in a long ball right in front of the defense box. Hoesen won the one-on-one battle against Atlanta United defender Michael Parkhurst and his initial shot was saved by Guzan. Hoesen then collected his own rebound and bent in a chip shot into the upper right corner of the goal for his team-leading 12th goal of the season.

Atlanta United’s Hector Villalba cut the lead in half two minutes before the end of the first half with a fantastic one-time strike from 20 yards out into the upper right corner of the goal that Marcinkowski and the Quakes could only admire from afar. Gressel sent a cross-field pass over to the left wing, where Villalba’s rocket of a shot was good for his sixth goal of the season.

Vako turned in the play of the game, and quite arguably the goal of the year, giving the San Jose a 3-1 lead in the 58th minute when he was able to take possession of the ball inside the right slot in the defense box. He dribbled around Atlanta United’s Chris McCann toward the middle, out-deked Gressel and fired a left-footed shot that curled in past Guzan for his 10th goal of the season.

In a weird turn of events the Quakes thought they had a 4-1 lead when captain Chris Wondolowski fired home a goal after receiving a wide-open pass from Anibal Godoy. However, after video review, it was determined there was a hand ball called on Eriksson inside their defense box that resulted in a penalty shot for Atlanta United. Martinez tapped in the penalty for his first goal on the night–and his 29th of the season–in the 70th minute.

With the Quakes’ heads still spinning from the goal that wasn’t, Almiron tied the match just three minutes later in the 73rd minute when Martinez dribbled inside the defense box and was tackled. No call was made on the tackled by referee Fotis Bazakos, who had a rough night on the pitch to put it lightly, and the rebound laid open where Almiron buried it into the left corner of the net for his 12th goal of the season.

In the 90th minute, Vako sent in a shot toward the goal that hit the elbow of Leandro Gonzalez Pirez that Bazakos apparently didn’t see, nor did the VAR decide it was worth replaying. That had San Jose scratching their heads in frustration.

“We’ve had this referee before,” said Wondo. “He’s had pivotal calls that’s come against us many times. To be honest I felt (we were) a little cheated by the refs (tonight).”

GAME NOTES: This was the second meeting all-time between the two clubs. Atlanta United won the first ever meeting back on July 4th, 2017 4-2.

Quakes defender Shae Salians was issued a yellow card in the 53rd minute when he slid in late on a tackle attempt on Villalba.

The announced attendance was 15,948.

The match was part of Mexican Heritage night at Avaya Stadium.

UP NEXT: The Quakes travel to Los Angeles to take on the LAFC on Saturday, September 22 at 5:30 pm PDT at Banc of California Stadium.

49ers welcome Foster back, but face an uphill battle

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By Jeremy Harness

The 49ers got their first win of the year last Sunday, getting past the Detroit Lions, who made a hard charge in the fourth quarter to make things mighty interesting, to say the very least. But now, they have a completely different challenge on their hands.

The Lions have a potent offense – particularly with a guy like Matthew Stafford pulling the trigger – but the Kansas City Chiefs have an offense that has just exploded onto the scene in this young season.

Patrick Mahomes, who has taken over the reins as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback after the team traded away Alex Smith, is off to a blistering start to this season. Mahomes has thrown for a whopping 10 touchdown passes over the first two games and has not thrown a single interception, and he brings a dimension to the Kansas City offense that has not been there for a very long time.

The second-year signal-caller specializes in throwing the deep ball, which allows big-play receivers such as Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins, as well as tight end Travis Kelce, to rack up big yards and get upfield.

That is something that was not prevalent when Smith, who was much more proficient in the short-to-intermediate throws, was at the controls. He is now the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins.

The 49ers will get some help on the defensive side. However, the team welcomed back linebacker Reuben Foster, who was suspended by the NFL for the first two games due to disciplinary issues stemming from his domestic assault case in the offseason.

He practiced on Wednesday and is expected to start on Sunday against the Chiefs. Also making his way to the practice field for the first time was fellow linebacker Malcolm Smith, who had been recovering from a hamstring injury.

Smith has yet to play in a game for the 49ers, as he missed the first two games of the year with the hamstring issue. Smith also missed the entire 2017 season with a pectoral injury.

Giants drop series finale against the Padres 8-4

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By Jeremy Harness

Thankfully, there are only a couple of weeks left in a season that has quickly turned dreadful for the Giants.

The latest piece of debauchery was Wednesday night, when the Giants blew a 3-0 lead and ended up with their tails between their legs after an 8-4 loss to the Padres at Petco Park on Wednesday night.

Wednesday actually started off pretty well for the Giants, as starter Chris Stratton cleared the bases in the top of the second inning with a three-run double to give his team a 3-0 lead.

However, that success did not translate to the pitching mound, where it was really needed. The Padres blasted him for five runs in the bottom half of that inning, the big hot coming when Wil Myers hit a two-run homer that sailed over the wall in left-center.

Stratton lasted only three innings and gave up those five runs and six hits, walking one and striking out two.

“He just got out of sync, couldn’t get the ball where he wanted,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He was missing his spots by a big margin, which is unlike him, especially with the way he’s been throwing the ball.

“I don’t know if running the bases (after the second-inning double) threw him out of sync or what, but he just couldn’t hit his spots.”

Aramis Garcia, who has played catcher in the minor leagues, but has been at first base while Nick Hundley has been behind the plate, narrowed San Diego’s lead in the top of the eighth when he lined a Craig Stammen pitch into the right-field seats.

“He looks comfortable up here (in the majors),” Bochy said. “With Belt down, he’ll get some (playing) time.”

However, Ray Black got into trouble in the bottom half, and when he could not locate his other pitches, Freddy Galvis keyed on his fastball, got one he liked, and sent it over the wall in right-center for a three-run homer that essentially put the game away.

The Giants have a much-needed day off and then they’ll take on the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game series starting Friday at 5:15 pm PDT.

Anderson, A’s trounce the Angels 10-0

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By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — Brett Anderson had his best performance of the season as he led the A’s to a 10-0 win over the Angels. Anderson made his third start since coming off the DL and was in total control as he throttled the Angels’ offense. He went 6 2/3 innings and allowed no runs and three hits. The A’s bullpen of Ryan Dull, Frankie Montas, and Aaron Brooks gave up one hit the rest of the way. The A’s came to life as they put 10 runs on the scoreboard. Stephen Piscotty was the hitting star with a double, home run and five RBIs.

The A’s put on their hitting shoes in the bottom of the fourth as they sent 10 men to the plate and scored six runs on six hits and a walk. Nick Martini and Matt Chapman singled to start the rally. Jed Lowrie doubled to drive in the first two runs of the night. Khris Davis reached on an infield single, and Lowrie went to third on the play. Pen walked Matt Olson to load the bases. Piscotty doubled to clear the bases, and the A’s had a 5-0 lead. Ramon Laureano singled, and Piscotty advanced to third. Pena struck out Marcus Semien for the first out of the inning. Jonathan Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Piscotty with the sixth run of the inning. The A’s led 6-0 after four.

The A’s continued the onslaught in the bottom of the fifth. Angels manager Mike Scioscia replaced Felix Pena with Parker Bridwell. Matt Chapman singled to start the A’s rally. Bridwell retired Lowrie for the first out. Davis walked to put men on at first and second. Bridwell struck out Matt Olson for out number two. Piscotty blasted his 25th home run of the year about four rows deep in the second deck in left field. He has hit a career-high 25 home runs and a career-high 81 RBIs. The A’s led 9-0 after five.

The A’s put the 10th run of the night on the board in the seventh. A’s manager Bob Melvin inserted some of the role players as the game was well in hand at this point. Franklin Barreto hit for Lowrie and struck out. Matt Joyce, hitting for Davis, singled and was safe on second on a throwing error by Jefry Marte. Olson reached on the fielder’s choice. Piscotty was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ramon Laureano hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Joyce with the A’s 10th run, which was unearned. There was no more scoring as the A’s won their 91st of the year by a final score of 10-0.

Game Notes: The A’s picked up a game on the Astros as Houston lost to Seattle. They are four back with just 10 games left to play. The Yankees won again on Wednesday and the lead the A’s by 2 1/2 games in the race for the first Wild Card spot.

A’s Brett Anderson was the winning pitcher. His record for the year is now 4-5.

Angels’ Felix Pena absorbed the loss. His record dropped to 3-5.

Up Next: Game three of the series will be played Thursday afternoon at 12:30 pm PDT at the Coliseum. The A’s will send Edwin Jackson to the mound. Jackson (5-3, 3.17 ERA) Jackson will be opposed by the Angels’ Matt Shoemaker (2-1, 3.98 ERA)

A’s finally complete the Mike Fiers trade

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By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND, Calif. — Last month, the Oakland Athletics acquired starter Mike Fiers from the Detroit Tigers. Fiers had a brief stint with the Tigers this year. Prior to his departure, Fiers posted a 7-6 record and a 3.48 ERA in 21 starts in Detroit.

In exchange, the A’s were going to receive two prospects or a considerable amount of cash. The A’s received two unknowns–the first of those two was reliever Nolan Blackwood and the second was starter Logan Shore. Shore was initially an A’s second-round draft pick in 2016, but his MLB career hasn’t panned out the way he wanted. Shore was described as a “fast track candidate” out of the University of Florida, but injuries hampered his early progress in both the minor and major leagues.

Shore’s line in Double-A in 2018 features a 5.50 ERA, 68 2/3 innings pitched, 49 strikeouts, 19 walks, 7 home runs and 4.27 fielding independent pitcher.

Shore’s most recent injury was a ulnar nerve irritation, which forced him to finish the 2018 season on the DL.

I accept the final result of this specific trade. At 33 years old, Fiers is on the older side, but he has been dominating in Oakland thus far. Fiers currently has a 5-1 record with a 3.09 ERA since August 6th. Moreover, Fiers remains under the A’s control, as he’s eligible for arbitration.

If healthy, Shore will be a solid prospect for the Tigers’ roster. Shore just has a slightly lackluster arm, so he has to put in a little bit more effort to work his way into the Tigers’ pitching rotation.

As for Blackwood, the 23-year-old was ranked 30th on this year’s list of A’s prospects on MLB Pipeline. Blackwood has a deceptive bullpen arm, but could use some other deceptive bullpen arms to complement him on the mound.

Headline Sports with London Marq: Garoppolo, 49ers look to avoid the INT Sunday; Halos look to be spoilers as A’s chase Yanks; Raiders drop to 0-2 in close battle with Denver; Quakes make a coaching change; plus more

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On Headline Sports with London:

#1 The A’s battle the LA Angels this week and the Angels want to be spoilers and try and set the A’s chase of the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card a peg or two.

#2 The Oakland Raiders played a nail-biter on Sunday, but lost to the Denver Broncos just by one point. Derek Carr looked and threw well, but the Raiders tried as hard as they could and lost their second game of the season, dropping them now to 0-2.

#3 With all the losses mounting, the San Jose Earthquakes fired head coach Mikael Stahre and assistant coach Alex de Crook. The Quakes have won only four games this season. When do you think Stahre should have got fired.

#4 The San Francisco Giants, who are a good 12 games out of first place, and their current hosts, the San Diego Padres, who are some 26 games out, will mostly look at their call ups during this series since the playoffs are dimming each day.

#5 The San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a rough outing against the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. The Niners had a 17-point lead, but lost it as their lead collapsed to just three points. If it wasn’t for a holding penalty late in the fourth quarter, the Lions would have been in field goal range or at best scoring range after picking off a Garoppolo pass.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com