Issue #204: SOS

By Derrick Ernst

August 21, 2025

Hype

For those of you curious about where I’ve been this week, I’ve been out on the west coast taking in the beautiful sights and sounds of Yosemite National Park. If you’ve never been, put it on your bucket list. Everywhere you turn, you almost can’t believe it’s real. That’s the pro. The con is you don’t get service. I realize this may be something people seek when they come out here — an escape from reality, but I’m not quite there yet, personally. A little bit of connectedness goes a long way and when you don’t know where you’re going, not having Google Maps handy gets a bit tricky. I suppose that’s what makes it an adventure. Anyways, there’s wifi at our Airbnb which has been keeping me sane. Plus, it allows me to write this. Another thing that keeps me sane.

One more week of preseason and then we’re off to the races. I’m not breaking news when I say a lot of vets sit out the preseason, even all three games, which means the hype around younger players gets real. Not only are preseason games more or less a talent show for young guns to prove their worth, but they’re grounds for fantasy hype around them to grow. This is a measly example, but I highlighted Cam Little, JAX (K) on Sunday for his precision, but he broke the internet a week or so ago after nailing a 70-yard FG. I guess Madden adjusted his kicking power to a max 99 rating as a result. Take about hype in effect.

Source: Instagram (thesportsplace)

People are all up in arms about it not counting in the record books. I don’t think it’s that big of deal. It was done in practically an exhibition game. The circumstances are a bit different in the real thing. Just one man’s opinion. Anyways, I’m not sure where he was ranked before the 70-yarder, but my guess is that this feat propels him to being drafted in quite a few leagues.

In short, an irrelevant player becoming relevant by doing something in an exhibition game. And because pre-season and regular season games are played on the same field, we affiliate what’s done in the pre-season to something that we think will happen when things get real. Is Cam Little capable of hitting a 70-yard FG in the regular season? Yes. Are the odds of that happening high? No. Yet, he’ll be drafted with the expectations of that being a common occurrence.

Hype: be careful not to be overcome by it.

Testimonials

Along with trying new things from a marketing perspective, I’ve also been thinking about ways to improve TDF’s website. Aside from a few tweaks here and there, it’s largely remained unchanged since it was launched a few years ago. Until now!

While there will be more changes to come, one new item that has been added recently is a video. You’ll see it immediately if you follow the link above. It should also play automatically too. TDF explained in 30 seconds with some pizzazz along the way. I wish I could say that I did it myself, but I can’t. I actually partnered with videographer from fiverr to help bring it to life. For someone who didn’t know a lick about what TDF was, he sure did a great job.

Another piece I want to add to the site is a testimonials section. I wish there was a better name for it (endorsements?), but this is something I need your help with! If this is something you’d be interested in writing, please send me a sentence or two to feature on the site. I’ll likely only be able to accept a few and one of you wrote in a few weeks ago with some kind words that I’d like to include (I’ll be reaching out to you), but I’m hoping this adds a bit of intimacy that currently lacks on the site.

Sunday’s issue was all about growing the newsletter. This is another step to attempt to do just that. It’s funny how I think I have a way with words, but in this case, its your words that matter and will speak louder than anything I could ever say.

QBs

I’ve been kicking this can down the road for a few weeks now and today it ends. I have another Draft Guide add and it’s bound to be disputable: Trevor Lawrence. Hear me out, but first, this is hard to believe:

Source: X (@DanDGriffis)

After the season he just had, the sentiment around Lawrence is at an all-time low. But JAX’s offense has improved on paper, both from a weapons and protection standpoint. He has been in the league four years, two of which have resulted in top-13 seasons and the other two, not so much. Those not so much seasons were his rookie year (consider that a pass?) and last year when he only appeared in ten games. If he’s able to stay healthy, I feel pretty confident in saying he’ll be able to outperform his QB22 ranking fairly easily. Nothing more than a feel here. Plus, from a numbers point of view, he has cleaned up in what little exposure he has had this preseason. There are worse QB plays.

In other news, this made me laugh out loud more than I was expecting:

Source: X (@yeaimlive504)

As much as I laughed, there’s some truth to this too. I personally think T. Shough should win the starting job. This will be Kellen Moore’s one and only shot at HC and when you spend as high a draft pick on a QB the majority of the country had never heard of, you should probably roll the dice with your guy, not one you inherited. Looks like this QB battle will be going down to the wire.

We now know the results of two other QB battles and I must say, we got our guys for both. Daniel Jones winning the job over Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco winning it over the rat pack. Believe it or not, D. Jones can support a WR1. I think that can be Pittman who we’re already identified. With Flacco as starter, you all know what to do: draft D. Njoku with confidence. Before we leave, check this out: 17 years later and that’s one way for your career to go full circle. Somehow, Flacco has gotten cooler with age. That’s hard to do in this league.

Source: Yahoo Sports