TNF Recap, Injury News + Week 5 Preview

Matthew Berry (0:15)

Fantasy Football Happy Hour, former Vanderbilt Storting Cardenbach, Mo Hassan, Vision and Soussaer, Michelle Beatle. I am Mirly Matthew Berry, your friendly neighborhood bartender. We are ready to get you set for week number 5 in Fantasy Football. Beads and Mo, we had quite a game yesterday.

Michelle Beatle (0:33)

Yes, before we look ahead, let's look behind.

Mo Hassan (0:35)

Yeah.

Michelle Beatle (0:36)

Yeah, big upset. Woo, Tampa with the big win over the Cowboys. Bucky Irving, if you had him on your Fantasy Team, fun night.

Mo Hassan (0:45)

You almost benched him too. I almost did.

Matthew Berry (0:48)

I know, but we told you not to because, you know, there's Santa Claus, there's the Easter Bunny, and then there's the Dallas Cowboys run defense. All of them, incredibly giving, incredibly giving. Huge game for Bucky here. Like, he's averaging over 18 touches per game this season. He's had at least 15 in every single game. But the most important thing we talked about since the preseason, will Bucky be involved in the passing attack? That was some of the concern because of the signing of Kenneth Gainwell. Yet, four out of the five games so far this year, Bucky Irving has an 11% target share as well.

You know, so I mean, again, the fact that they're continuing to use him in the in the passing game, like scores a touchdown in this one as well, as a pass catcher, which was exciting.

And what's exciting also, Mo, three goal line attempts. First four games, he only had one. Like they were using, they're bringing in Sean Tucker. So here comes Bucky Irving. And, you know, again, they're not always going to face the Dallas Cowboys run defense, but I think Bucky Irving should be reclassified to be a low end RB one moving forward. What did you see from the Buccaneers run attack yesterday?

Mo Hassan (1:58)

And it's not just getting a share of the red zone attempts, but just getting into the red zone more often. Like this offense is functioning right now. It's game two for Jalen Daniels. Baker's going to come back later. We expect him to come back to form. But I just love the presence of Jalen and what he brings to the offense, even on three down, extending plays. That first drive, 11 minutes, right? They were controlling time possession, running the ball, relying on their run game to veteran offensive line. I thought they run blocked great. Even on that 70-yard run, though, it wasn't perfect blocking. They had a few guys come back behind the line of scrimmage. And Bucky makes two or three guys miss, so the talent has always been there. And then Jalen, of course, finds him on that first touchdown, on that little flat route, understanding pressure, taking advantage of it, throwing into it. So again, it is a perfect storm because you played a porous, to say the least, defense, but it's promising.

Matthew Berry (2:49)

Yeah, there's no question about it. You feel good. By the way, wherever you drafted Bucky Irving, it was a bargain. So I think this is completely legitimate.

Beatle, the other story in this one, I think was Mecca Bouka, somebody that a lot of people had such high hopes for coming to the season. He hasn't been great, but quietly, he's been okay. Double-digit fantasy points in four out of five games so far this season, but only one game with more than 12 points. So he hasn't killed you, but he hasn't been awesome. He gets into the end zone on this one, six for 38 And they gave him a rushing touchdown. Weirdly, as you see kind of across the board there, like 11, 10, 11, three, 17 So this was good.

This is the best game we've seen from him all season as well. 23% target share. What do we think of a Mecca Bucca? Just talk to me Mo from what you see from this offense. I know you've been a big Jalen Daniels fan.

Mo Hassan (3:45)

Yeah, the nine targets are the thing that catches my eye. I mean, again, not to harp on the matchup that much, but you're going against a really struggling corner. I mean, Daron Bland, it was very clear in the game plan, we are going after you. And even when he did make a play, he missed that pick six. That could have completely changed the football game. I think if Joey Porter's on him, we're maybe having a different kind of conversation. But look, your wide receiver won, Jalen Daniels is getting more comfortable. Clearly, this is the guy that he wants to target in this offense more and more. And so the nine targets to me is the most promising thing. Can that be the floor moving forwards?