Did you happen to notice the Super Bowl logo has Taylor Swiftâs face hidden in itâŚ
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by Money:
- Please spare us from Arthur Smith
- Legendary Playoff Runs: The ones we rememberâŚ
- A Way-Too-Early 2024 Mock Draft
- What Now? Ask questionsâŚ
- Itâs 1/24 . Take it away, Peter OverzetâŚ
The AFC and NFC Championships are this weekend, but itâs 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.
Hereâs a quick roundup of everything that transpired on that front yesterdayâŚ
𤼠Arthur Smith Coming To An Offense Near You?
Letâs play a game with the following post: actual NFL report or Onion headline?
Arthur Smith receiving interest from âmore than 7 teamsâ has big âmy girlfriend goes to another schoolâ energy.
Still, I shudder with fear just thinking about âol Arthur destroying another offense filled with fantasy gold.
đ 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 thereâs reason for optimism.
đ° Miscellaneous coaching updatesâŚ
- The Eagles have now fired both their OC and DC with the release of Brian Johnson. Nick Sirianni will be replacing both positions this offseason.
- The Chargers are close to getting a deal done with Jim Harbaugh to be their next head coach.
- Texans OC Bobby Slowik remains a hot commodity on the interview circuit.
- The Panthers might poach Dave Canales from the Bucs.
- The Packers parted ways with DC Joe Barry this morning.
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Some players know how to turn it on in the playoffs. Today, Ian celebrates those playoff heroesâŚ
âBig-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.â
Santana Moss was right then and heâs 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 todayâs 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.
â¨ď¸ 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 â 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, Fitzgeraldâs postseason stretch for the ages has stood the test of time and deserves to be considered one of â if not THE â single-best playoff runs the game has ever seen.
â¨ď¸ Rams WR Cooper Kupp (2021-22)
Kuppâs 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 hadnât allowed a QB to clear 300 yards since September? 9-183-1 â 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 gameâs best units could limit him? 11 receptions, 142 yards and a pair of scores.
And just when you thought the man couldnât 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.
â¨ď¸ Ravens QB Joe Flacco (2012-13)
If you thought Flaccoâs 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 Flaccoâs miracle 70-yard TD to Jacoby Jones which probably should have been intercepted by Broncos S Rahim Moore if weâre 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 â 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.
More legendary playoff runsâŚ
đ Where should Breece Hall go in 2024 drafts? A Way-Too-Early Mock Draft.
đ¤ Can you guess the team who finished dead last in pass attempts? I bet notâŚ
đŻ Offseason prep starts now. 4 TEs you should buy before 2024.
đŚ The officiating crew for the Super Bowl. Time to do some scouting.
âď¸ Our final multi-game slate of the season. Freedmanâs Favorites for the Conference Championships.
𤯠Thereâs no way this team had two Top 10 WRs, right? Right?!?!
âď¸ The Raiders land a new general manager. From a division rival.
đ§ Will the Bills shake things up this offseason? Doesnât sound like it.
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: âWhat Now?â
â What Now: Ask Questions
Over the next six months, youâll find arguments to support all sorts of different draft strategies and fantasy football takes.
While I believe itâs better to consume too much information than too little, there is a caveat: You must ask questions. That is, you canât hold anything as universal truths.
Consume. Interpret. Ask Questions.
đ§ Question: Is it an outlier?
Take the âzoom outâ approach when gathering information.
Sure, CMC scored more fantasy points than EVERYONE except for Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts this year, but thatâs 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 youâre on the fence about trying the Zero RB method next season, itâs important to be aware of these extremes.
đ§ Question: Is it out of context?
To continue with our rushing example, letâs 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? Eh⌠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 playerâs floor factor into our decisions when drafting a RB in 2024?
Here are some added data points for our six RBs and their performances:
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 âleague winnerâ this season.
It also explains why Kyren is currently sitting at 1.08 in Matthew Berryâs âWay, Way Too Early Top 50 Rankings for 2024â, while going basically undrafted in 2023.
And while the table above provides additional context, it doesnât even begin to take into account other factors, such as player age, utilization, coaching changes, team acquisitions, etc⌠The list goes on.
From a fantasy manager perspective, you arenât expected to aggregate all of that data. You shouldnât have to do all of the work. Thatâs what FantasyLife.com is for! (I am a company woman, after all.) But you need to make room for curiosity. As long as youâre asking questions as you consume, youâre on the right path toward making better decisions come draft day.
