The Audible LIVE! - 12/19/2013 10PM ET - season finale! (1 Viewer)

[Cecil Lammey]

http://blogtalkradio.com/theaudible

ask your questions here!

 

[decadron]

I am extremely nervous about starting Cousins over Romo in the same game. Romo got me here (along with McCown). I wonder, though, if Dallas won't go conservative with what happened to the Cowboys last week and run the offense through Demarco Murray. With rankings all over the map which QB should I start? My matchup is a deadlock - no real favorite, although I do face McCoy

 

[dboysrock94]

Do you play cutler or Rodgers if he gets cleared? Also if your the favored team in the Super Bowl do you plug vereen or todman into your flex?

 

[AwesomeAuger]

All season in my PPR league, I have been starting Gio Bernard and Gore at rb2 and my second flex. I picked up Todman last week and am contemplating starting him this week over Gore if MJD is inactive. For context, both my team and my opponent's team in the finals are strong at every position and neither team has an obvious advantage.

Which one of the three should I bench? Gore has a great matchup, but should I worry about the 49ers limiting his snaps for the playoffs and his lack of receptions? Was Todman's performance last week a fluke? Is Gio the obvious start I think he is?
Thanks for another great season of entertainment and information. Love and appreciate the work.

 

[TeeDub]

Thanks guys for getting me this far.

I would just like your input on 2nd tier qbs this week like romo, cutler, rivers, and tannenhill. How would you rank them? Thanks again

 

[denjr10]

It seems like QB decisions have moved to the forefront over the past 2-3 weeks and I'm going to jump on the bandwagon.

I'm waffling on Cutler vs. Kaepernick.

My brain is saying Kaepernick due to his matchup.

My gut says Cutler due to his arsenal of weapons.

My matchup is dead even and the rest of my roster has plenty of upside.

A more prominent factor is that both fumbles and INTs are -2 in this league.

And PHI has been creating turnovers pretty regularly (except for last week).

Thanks for your input everyone!

 

[bleachercreacher]

How much do you trust Brady in the championship game? Would you play someone like Dalton, Cousins, or Fitzpatrick over him?

 

[pmccurry]

Which QB: Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith or Ryan Fitzpatrick? Rushing TD 6 pts, Passing 4 pts

 

[5-ish Finkle]

Based on questions so far, sounds like it'd be easier to just ask them "Who wouldn't you start Kirk Cousins over this week?"

 

[elbowrm]

Sig - on the couch you had Rivers in the don't think twice about starting him tier with Peyton manning, etc - now it looks like you've ranked him significantly lower than that. I'd love to hear your reasoning. Thanks again for all your help, playing in week 16 again due to in-season management, courtesy of the audible.

 

[lfh3]

Based on questions so far, sounds like it'd be easier to just ask them "Who wouldn't you start Kirk Cousins over this week?"

Yes, this is a question that I, too, would be interested in hearing answered.

 

[Cecil Lammey]

It seems like QB decisions have moved to the forefront over the past 2-3 weeks and I'm going to jump on the bandwagon.

I'm waffling on Cutler vs. Kaepernick.

My brain is saying Kaepernick due to his matchup.

My gut says Cutler due to his arsenal of weapons.

My matchup is dead even and the rest of my roster has plenty of upside.

A more prominent factor is that both fumbles and INTs are -2 in this league.

And PHI has been creating turnovers pretty regularly (except for last week).

Thanks for your input everyone!

It's closer than some think. For me, in your situation I like having that Monday night punch (don't know if your opponent has any MNF guys). Sunday can wrap and you still won't be done with a QB who could SMASH BOX in a game where emotions run high with the closing of Candlestick.

On paper Cutler is the superior play, but both are top 10 options. Give me Kaep here for MNF insurance so that no matter what happens Sunday, you have that big play in your back pocket for Monday.

 

[Cecil Lammey]

Based on questions so far, sounds like it'd be easier to just ask them "Who wouldn't you start Kirk Cousins over this week?"

Yes, this is a question that I, too, would be interested in hearing answered.

I wouldn't start Cousins over the hits: Manning, Foles, Cutler, Rivers, Brees, Newton, Kaepernick, Stafford, Brady............he starts coming into play for me around guys like Luck, Alex Smith, Russell Wilson, etc.

 

[Cecil Lammey]

Which QB: Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith or Ryan Fitzpatrick? Rushing TD 6 pts, Passing 4 pts

This is a situation where Cousins gets my endorsement.

 

[McGarnicle]

Gentlemen,

1 request this evening, several general marketing suggestions and 1 not so politically correct point about demographic appeal and your product.

#### KEY ISSUE #####

As I did last year, and I've discussed on the board from time to time, I'd like to request that you guys please ask your audience to consider taking a portion of their league winnings, if they win, and consider giving to a worthwhile cause, esp to help children in need.

Causes like Toys For Tots and The Wounded Warrior Project.

Also this offseason might be a good time, for some leagues, to have all owners discuss maybe inserting some kind of annual contribution from their general kitty pool for a worthwhile cause. I.E. 1st place winner gets X percent,2nd player gets Y percent, Toilet bowl winner gets Z percent, but 10 percent off the top is given annually by the winner to worthwhile cause thats agreed upon by the league.

The worst thing about kids who have nothing all year long but sorry, grief, hardship, without guidance, love, a warm bed, knowing where their next meal is coming from, basic medical care is that many grow up striving for nothing because they conditioned that they are worth nothing, because they are so often unlike the rest of the kids at school they know. I;m a big believer in Toys For Tots because I think for at least one day out of the year, every kid should get to feel like a kid, and have something under a tree, and not have to feel like an outsider to a world already stacked against them.

There is a lot of money that flows through fantasy. That the fantasy community doesn't do more to help kids is tragic, purely tragic. We all can do more. And as the hobby is predominantly male, I believe there is a duty for those in fantasy to step up, as a community, and make a difference.

I'm asking you guys to again this year, like last, to take a few moments to reach out to your listeners on the subject. Because you did so for me last year, I tried very hard to be active and supportive of the Audible earlier in this season.

Thanks guys and Merry Xmas.

Thank you Matt Waldman for donating a portion of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio to children in need. I think it goes unnoticed by many, but it's not unnoticed by me. I appreciate the RSP and I appreciate your efforts for those kids.

****

Suggestions for The Audible.

I would find 12 former players who were fantasy giants once upon a time ( guys like Drew Bennett and Patrick Jeffers, etc) and do one interview a week with a different player,. What are they doing now, what causes do they support, what was it like back then being a fantasy giant. And concurrently have them all as owners of a fantasy league that runs all season, with results weekly shown on the Audible page. Winner gets a nice gift basket and gets to choose a charity where raised proceeds are donated. Donations can come generally to the list of causes, and to each team owner, each week, betting on one team over another. People who particpate by donations, and who are high scorers in weekly picks, are put into a raffle for prizes. Like a Billy Volek signed football.

Why this is good for you - You get a weekly interview candidate who is a former player. Also fantasy relevant. Gives listeners a weekly season long narrative to follow.

Why this is good for me - It's a chance to raise money for worthwhile charities. I could care less how much you guys profit, but a chance to help out kids in need is the win for me

Why its good for profit - It expands the FBG and Audible brand, giving you an interactive way to keep listeners invested and attract NEW listeners who might be potential SUBSCRIBERS.

Also, for the Audible, on your main page Sunday night and Tuesday night, you should have a list of strong suggestion for waiver pickups, with links set up for people to click on an listen to your podcasts. Lots of people simply surf for waiver wire news and stay off of subscriber sites, getting a portion of those people to find your weekly updates on the web page, listen to your podcasts now and then and then see if they can be invested as future SUBSCRIBERS.

Also, find the low man on your Staff list by seniority, and have him answer in text the Audible questions that you can't get to. If people take the time to ask, you should take the time to answer. Esp folks with recent registration dates, who might be POTENTIAL SUBSCRIBERS. In exchange, the Staff member gets to add some exposure to the general forum, also let him plug his own site and give his site a plug on air. Raise the profile of your lesser known Staff. This only helps your site.

Also, create a template for the Audible thread on how to best frame questions that will be more likely to be brought up in actual podcasts. Give example of questions more likely to be answered. Also create examples of question that are too hard or not viable to answer on air. Creating examples in a template to copy and paste week to week, will generate BETTER QUESTIONS that are BETTER STRUCTURED, giving you better material to answer and cover, improving the quality of your podcast

Also, start a thread on the forum and way to submit questions on Sunday on your site Audible page. Sunday is the high traffic day, when more people are looking at fantasy, it's chance to get more people to interact with the Audible. Lots of CASUAL fantasy fans might only visit FBG on Sundays, help raise the profile of the Audible to them, possible FUTURE SUBSCRIBERS.

Also, I keep saying give Matt Bitoni a weekly spot with Five Quick Hits From The Offensive Line. IMHO, he's one of the better general analysts on your Staff. Use the talent you have.

Also, move your interview days to Thursdays, no one cares about those games anyway. Your bread and butter should be Tuesday nights, and each other night should be an extension of your core Tuesday night Audible broadcast.

Also, duplicate the question asking templates for the IDP section of your site. So the IDP Roundtable can pick and choose key questions to answer as well.

Lastly, my not so politically correct point, Bloom, I got nothing against you, on a personal level, I think you are an ok guy and realize you put a lot of work into moderating this different broadcasts. But the people three rungs above you, the people you don't see and don't know, but the people ultimately who get to decide one day if you get to get exposure like a Bill Simmons or Peter King, they won't look favorably on the Bro-Dawg/Hip Hop Urban/######/White Guy Trying To Be Hip/White Guy Trying To Be Black vibe. It's not marketable, it's just not marketable to the mainstream demographic that will matter in your career. Take this any way you want, but I'm not here to bust your balls, you have a GOOD PRODUCT ON IT'S OWN. It's like peanut butter. You don't need extreme packaging and contests and prizes in the bottom and hype man commercials to sell peanut butter. Peanut butter sells itself. People love peanut butter. You have a GOOD PRODUCT ON IT'S OWN, It's a good product on it's OWN MERIT. There is no need to package it and market it like you are trying to peddle corn nuts. Bill Simmons works well with the masses because he is moderate. Peter King works because he is moderate. Stephen King is well read because he is moderate. No one says you can't be loose or easy going or have a laugh in your broadcast, but you've got to try to tone down the hype man/Bro Dawg stuff, it's just not marketable over the long haul. And it's not really something that has a proven track record as good marketing for business. Sometimes you should listen to the tone inflection of your guests, some of them aren't sure how to handle it either.

You've got a GOOD SHOW with GOOD PEOPLE and a GOOD PRODUCT. Go with that, because a GOOD PRODUCT always sells itself.

There are two ways you can take this. Personally, or you can see I'm appealing to your sense of just plain good business.

Son, Michael Rappaport will never win an Oscar. He will never win an Emmy. In the end, in his industry, he's seen as caricature.

Good luck guys. Thank you Jene Bramel and John Norton for the iDP Roundtable.

I was surprised to hear Bloom read this post in its entirety during the broadcast.

 

[McGarnicle]

Lastly, my not so politically correct point, Bloom, I got nothing against you, on a personal level, I think you are an ok guy and realize you put a lot of work into moderating this different broadcasts. But the people three rungs above you, the people you don't see and don't know, but the people ultimately who get to decide one day if you get to get exposure like a Bill Simmons or Peter King, they won't look favorably on the Bro-Dawg/Hip Hop Urban/######/White Guy Trying To Be Hip/White Guy Trying To Be Black vibe.

You're talking about Lammey, not Bloom, right? Then it maybe makes sense.