I always assumed that the godfather of fantasy football himself, Matthew Berry, had me muted on social media. He doesn’t. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, so no tears were shed. He had commented on other comments on my posts, liked comments on my posts and follows pretty much all of my friends in the industry.

He had interacted with me on Twitter exactly zero times over all the years. The Talented Mr. Roto (TMR) still doesn’t follow me, but he did like a comment of mine earlier this season, so I’m not muted (or wasn’t). Some of my closest friends in the fantasy football space work for Berry at NBC and Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life. Heck, I even have his podcast buddies from the ESPN days in my home league. Pedestaling Berry can’t be healthy, but I certainly wouldn’t be contributing to this realm without him.

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All of us share the same passion. The sense of community is wonderful, even if a lot of us are ultimately competing for successful inroads. I have already achieved more than I ever imagined, but it would be a bald-faced lie if I said I was done climbing.

“Be unequivocally you.” Berry’s words ring in harmony with my tinnitus. I plan on keeping it spicy in perpetuity. Maybe our paths will cross one day. I owe TMR a firm handshake and bear hug for cutting the brush on this path to earning a living in this silly game we play. You’re going to need a palm frond fanning after reading this week’s predictions. Inspiration has me all aflutter.

Fantasy Football Hot Takes: Week 12

49ers Go on the Road and Crush Packers by Two Touchdowns; Jauan Jennings Catches 10 Passes for 120 Yards and Is a Top-10 WR in PPR

My lifelong hatred for the 49ers struck a solemn minor chord last week. For the first time, I wondered if the league had “figured out” Kyle Shanahan. Load the box, smother the hot reads and bring overload pressure. Brock Purdy was awful against Seattle in the loss. Lest the worry consumes us, I smell a bounce-back for San Francisco in Green Bay.

George Kittle has personally confirmed his availability. It’s a huge deal to have that talent back on the field, but I’m predicting a gigantic game from vastly underrated Jauan Jennings. He is the wide receiver version of Kittle; he blocks like a hungry blue-collar before the horn blows and is always in the right spot for Purdy. Christian McCaffrey will continue to round into form, while Deebo Samuel is still an integral factor in the short passing game.

The Packers are hardly a slouch. Jordan Love and his weaponry pose a real issue for the 49ers defense. At the same time, I worry Love will press and commit some costly turnovers. San Francisco should bottle up Josh Jacobs, though Jayden Reed and Christian Watson are still very much in play with tremendous fantasy start sit upside.

Lions and Colts Have the Highest Total on the Slate With 69 Points; Anthony Richardson Is the QB1 With 35 Fantasy Points in Upset Win over Detroit

Most are coming around to the idea the Detroit Lions are the best team in the NFL. They are, but not without some weaknesses that can be exposed in the right matchup. I believe that matchup nightmare is Anthony Richardson. The version 2.0 of Richardson we saw last week should terrify AFC playoff contenders. Getting benched for a couple of weeks lit a fire under the freak from Florida. This game will have tons of scoring. The Colts can — and will — hang with Detroit’s high-octane attack.

Jared Goff has been a picture of efficiency operating as the point man for Ben Johnson‘s quiver of arrows. Indy’s defense is beefy and not overly athletic. I prefer speedsters Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams over expecting ceiling performances from David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown. I can’t explain why Sam LaPorta hasn’t been good. Naturally, he will blow up as soon as I give up on starting him.

Trey McBride Goes Ballistic on the Seahawks and Scores His First Two Receiving Touchdowns of the Season; Arizona Grabs Commanding Lead in NFC West With Double-Digit Win in Seattle

They called me a madman for ranking Brock Bowers and Trey McBride over LaPorta this summer. McBride leads Arizona in receiving yards but has yet to score a receiving touchdown. He will double his season total against the Seahawks (he has a rushing and fumble recovery touchdown). He has been targeted plenty in scoring situations, but Kyler Murray just hasn’t found him yet.

That regression back to the average will slap like Vivian Blake on Sunrise Bay. The Seahawks are riding high after putting clamps on the 49ers, but shouldn’t be too cocky against a sturdy and balanced Cardinals attack. James Conner is primed for a huge game.

Seattle is finally doing the thing. They are giving Jaxon Smith-Njigba big boy in-breaking routes, for which he is now the weekly WR1 candidate I always tabbed him to be. Geno Smith is back to his 2022 self and still hasn’t written back. DK Metcalf‘s health carries Seattle, along with Kenneth Walker in the running game.

The Cardinals’ defense has not surrendered a touchdown in three of their last four games and will have chances to apply pressure on Smith and turn the ball over. I believe this one will be close throughout until the Cards pull away late.

Ravens and Chargers Exchange Leads Six Times in Monday Night Classic; J.K. Dobbins Goes for 150 Scrimmage Yards and Is a Top-5 RB in Los Angeles Statement Win

The state of the AFC is as beefy as ever before. The seven playoff teams will all be formidable Super Bowl contenders and a few who are left out would storm the NFC side in that hypothetical scenario. The Ravens and Chargers are juxtaposed in style against tradition in 2024. While Los Angeles has adopted thicc boy 13 personnel packages and smash-mouth football reminiscent of Greg Roman’s stint with the other Harbaugh, the Ravens have gone pass happy in recent weeks.

The Chargers have a stellar defense, but the Ravens couldn’t cover a dead body with a tarp these days. John Harbaugh’s boys beat Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers back in that Super Bowl, but this matchup favors Jim’s Bolts. Justin Herbert is playing in God Mode with a hodgepodge receiving corps. J.K. Dobbins got new legs like Lieutenant Dan and is still very good at football. He is in line for a massive game.

I did not like Lamar Jackson‘s performance one bit last week. He got stuck on his first read more often than in any game this season and was playing like the speed of the game was uncharacteristically fast for him.

The Chargers will not be any sort of relief from the Steelers last Sunday. Derrick Henry is again the catalyst for everything Baltimore does to move the ball down the field. I’d shy away from Ravens receivers this week, if possible. Zay Flowers is the best of them but has a lot of boom or bust potential in Week 12.