Sunday’s 6-6 debacle between the Seahawks and Cardinals was
a fitting end to a difficult day for the NFL.
After a week that included reports or poor TV viewership numbers
and the subpar handling of the alleged domestic violence reports
on kicker Josh Brown, Kevin Draper of deadspin.com reported that
DFS giants DraftKings and Fanduel are purging money, and are months
behind on payments to vendors.
According to Draper, the two companies are in talks with New
York state attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman to reach a settlement
between $8 mil & $10 mil to pay for complaints of false advertising.
Per Draper, “More intriguing than this relatively small
settlement, however, is the reporting that the two companies have
asked to pay it in installments, and are facing massive financial
difficulties.”
One of the interesting complaints filed in the false advertising
claim is that the two companies promoted their services as an
easy way to win money playing fantasy sports, when in reality
“the vast majority of players—approaching 90 percent
in 2013–14 on DraftKings, for instance—lost money.”
As a proponent of cash games, these numbers do not surprise me,
as I have been writing for well over a year now that playing in
large tournaments with astronomical odds against you is relative
to throwing your money out the window.
While GPPs meet the risk tolerance of some, and the rush of the
possibly turning $20 into $1 million is too intoxicating for others
to avoid, I bring up this report as a solemn reminder to think
of the odds of winning when entering DFS games each weak.
Sure, part of that estimated 90% encompasses cash game losers,
but no doubt the majority of the losers each day are those poor
fools seduced by the riches of large GPP’s, only to be disappointed
when the games end on Monday.
I recommend sticking to cash games and small multipliers where
you are going against one person or a small group of people. It
may not result in a big payday, but you will have more fun and
you can slowly build your bankroll.
The following winning cash game roster was utilized in a head-to-head
matchup on DraftKings.
Quarterback: Andy
Dalton DraftKings Points: 23.32
Grade: A-
In my Week 7 preview, I wrote about the cash game value of Andy
Dalton and how the Red Rocket has been one of the most consistent
fantasy quarterbacks over the past two seasons.
After a slow start, Dalton led the Bengals to victory over the
Browns with 308 passing yards and two touchdowns, including a
stat-padding Hail Mary TD pass to A.J. Green to close out the
first half.
The stack of Dalton to Green proved to be lucrative for this
ticket, as the two players combined for 37% of my 153.52 points
for the day.
Dalton was not the top options for the week, as Brees, Luck,
Rodgers, Taylor, Cousins, and Winston all scored more that the
Bengals signal caller. But he did give me exactly what I expected,
and that is worth its weight in gold for cash games.
Hitting on the number one running back of the week in Gordon,
and his 121/3 line against the Falcons, helped ease the pain of
falling victim to the hype of Mike Gillislee against the Dolphins.
Gordon was my cash game play of the week on my preview, so his
solid game against Atlanta was a nice result as an owner and writer.
Gillislee and his 20 rushing yards against his old team was not
what I was expecting, as I anticipated a blowout game for Buffalo
and numerous second half carries for Gillislee. The conflicting
reports on the health of starter LeSean McCoy gave me some concern
on whether or not Gillislee would get enough carries, but his
$3000 salary was hard to replace after building my lineup.
My goal in cash games is to have at least one high floor running
back and two high floor wide receivers, with a few boom or bust
supporting players to round out the card. Unfortunately for me,
this boom or bust player went bust.
A majority of my budget this week was allocated to wide receivers
A.J. Green and Julio Jones, with the goal of having the wide receiver
with the projected highest floor in Jones and a nice compliment
play for a cash stack in Green.
Green connected with Dalton for 169 yards and a score, while
Jones scored nearly 30 points on his 174-yard day against the
Chargers. When you spend $17,800 on two wide receivers, you need
them to come through or your cash roster will likely underperform.
Luckily for me both players exceeded their 25 point expectation,
while making up for my blunder of choosing Pierre Garcon against
the Lions.
In my defense, Garcon did receive 18 targets in his previous
two games with Jordan Reed out of the lineup, including 11 targets
Week 6 at home against the Eagles. The Week 7 matchup against
the Lions seemed like a nice opportunity to continue his recent
trend of usage, as the Lions were one of the worst teams against
the pass entering the game.
My assumption of usage was correct, however, it went to another
possession receiver on the Redskins in Jamison Crowder, and not
Garcon.
Tight End: Hunter
Henry DraftKings Points: 2.6
Grade: F
It appears as though I rode the Hunter Henry train one too many
times, as the rookie from Arkansas came crashing down with one
reception for 16 yards on just three targets.
Henry nearly saved his game on an out and up wheel route for
a touchdown in the second half, but failed to get both feet in
bounds. Philip Rivers went back to his old reliable Antonio Gates
this game, leaving Henry fantasy owners out to dry.
Although he is one of my favorite new young players, and someone
whom I will targets in season long leagues next year, Henry will
not be on any of my cash game tickets unless Gates gets hurt again.
The emergence of Tevin Coleman and the subsequent lackluster
performance by Devonta Freeman to start the year reduced Freeman’s
salary $1,000 from Week 1 to Week 7. Betting on the fact that
the game would be high scoring, that discount seemed like a nice
payoff for DFS owners, as the Chargers were the 5th worst against
opposing defenses.
Freeman struggled to start the game, but managed to deliver 100
total yards on 20 touches for 15 fantasy points. Not exactly what
I was expecting, but 15 points from your flex play is respectable
in cash games.
Defense: Bengals DraftKings Points: 7
Grade: C
Seven points from your defense isn’t the end of the world,
but it is a disappointment when that defense is playing against
the Browns at home. Two sacks and two turnovers made up for the
fact that the Bengals gave up 17 points to two rookie quarterbacks.
Credit Hue Jackson for thinking outside the box and utilizing
rookie QB Kevin Hogan in the running game out of the backfield.
The Bengals clearly were not ready for that play, and the Browns
capitalized on two touchdowns from the speedy QB.
