👉 TAP TO SAVE 30% WITH CODE NEW
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Monday Morning NFL Recap - Week 5 Surprises, Busts & Laughers

Listen, man, I'm just straight-up done.  I am one hundred percent over this, and after this most recent presidential debate, I was inspired to say something.  Not about the election  - God no, that debate was a hot mess.  But it did make me feel like yelling incoherently for theatrical effect at something that made me mildly angry, so here goes.

I can't support the NFL's absurd standards of player conduct anymore.  It was bad when they fined Brandon Marshall for wearing green cleats for mental health awareness instead of pink ones for marketing to women breast cancer awareness.  Roger Goodell has roughly the same status in Boston as the New York Yankees and the letter R.  Some lady got the vapors when her daughter saw Cam Newton dance in the endzone and made a national case about it.  Now we're here, where the NFL is throwing out taunting penalties like Halloween candy and the league's brightest stars spend half their games on the knife's edge of ejection because the NFL feels they need to shut down "sexually suggestive" celebrations in their telecasts (brought to you by Viagra, Cialis, and that uncomfortable quasi-nauseated feeling you get watching 80-year-olds give each other bedroom eyes in a loving, lingering shot that lasts for approximately 5 minutes).

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out FantasyAces DFS contests. New users that sign up on Fantasy Aces and make a $20 deposit will receive RotoBaller's full season NFL Premium Pass for free (including Premium DFS), normally a $59.99 value. Expert DFS research, sample lineups, matchup ratings and lots more!

Featured Promo: Looking for some more fantasy football action? Adopt a dynasty orphan team over at FFPC. Sign up today and get $25 off any FFPC league. Sign Up Now!

 

It's Monday Morning... What Just Happened

So in the spirit of the NFL's draconian celebration rules, today's Stars and Duds will rank various players' celebrations by the magnitude of the fine I predict the NFL will give to them and why.  Let's put on our best "out of touch insufferable trust fund baby" hats and pretend like we make decisions in the NFL.  It can't be any worse than what we've currently got.
 

The Duds:

These celebrations will be ranked in an ascending order, from lowest monetary amount to the highest amount.  If you disagree with the fine issued, just remember that I'm pretending to be the NFL so I literally don't care about you at all unless you are currently giving me money.  This goes double if you're one of those strange wo-man creatures we've been hearing so much about recently.

6. Nickell Robey-Coleman: The Quasi-Pump

The fine: $3,000

Now, Robey-Coleman didn't do much after his utterly unsurprising pick-six of Case Keenum, but there was the barest hint of a pump after the touchdown.  Since we're following the "three pump" precedent famously set in the case of McCringleberry v. Peele, he was not flagged nor fined heavily, but since there was at least an implied pump, we have found definitively that Robey-Coleman was not in compliance with the NFL's policy of stringently avoiding sexually suggestive material.  At least until the next Carl's Jr. commercial.

5. Ezekiel Elliott: Feeding the Beast (Multiple Times)

The fine: $6,666

Regardless of Elliott's magnificent 133 yard, 2-touchdown performance, his "feed the Beast" celebration is one that we feel could possibly be construed as Satanic, especially if you capitalize the word "beast" to land the joke, so we in the NFL want to make it perfectly clear that we abhor the worship of Satan and set ourselves against the Adversary in all of his wickedness and destructive ways.

Just to be clear, though, this isn't a position we take on moral grounds, because we're pretty sure even rebellious teenagers have favorite teams, but mostly because we spent 3 hours last week in the presence of some asshole who wouldn't shut the hell up about LaVey's Satanic Bible and we are one hundred percent sick of "baby's first pissing off Mom & Dad" religion.  Elliott gets the fine of the Beast and we hope he finds Jesus.

4. Joey Bosa: Sackmaster Flex

The fine: $7,500

First off, Dean Spanos has been whining at us ever since we awarded the Inglewood proposal to Stan Kroenke and it's getting really annoying, so when the first-round pick that he aggressively tried to screw over had the gall to celebrate laying his hands on a quarterback, it really set Dean off and that's just a sight and sound no one wants to see or hear.  It's astounding the sounds you can make when you're a spineless yes-man but you've dedicated yourself so wholly to screwing over your team's city financially that your skin is pure flint.

Anyway, we at the NFL want to make sure that it's understood by everybody that we in no way condone when a player lays his hands on another person.  "Person" is of course a word which here means "quarterback, because they make us the money."  I'm sorry, what?  Wo-man?  That's that weird word again.  You mean those weird beings that buy our pink shit in October?  You're saying that's a people?  You're just not making any sense, we're moving on.

 

The Studs:

Now these are the celebrations that are just unacceptable by "Leave It To Beaver" standards, so God knows that it's our job to shut these hooligans down before they start having sock hops after 8 pm or kissing their girls before going steady.

3. Tom Brady: Albuquerque - 3000 mi

The Fine: I Don't Know, Whatever Four Game Checks Is For Him

Mostly just because screw this a**hole, man.  We can't stand the dude.

2. T.Y. Hilton: Semaphore Shuffle

The Fine: $25,374

We have no idea what this celebration means, honestly, and we just chose a number at random in case T.Y. Hilton was signaling extraterrestrial overlords that the planet is ripe for invasion and harvesting.

What, do you not have a fine for that?  What kind of clown league are you running that you don't have a fine structure set up in case of alien invasion?

1. Odell Beckham, Jr: Bygones be Bygones

The Fine: $1,000,000

This celebration is one that could set a dangerous precedent in our league and we want to make sure that no player ever does anything like this ever again.

If the players start displaying self-awareness, fans could become accustomed to it and then start expecting us to start showing self-awareness and we are totally, fully, and completely opposed to that in any way, shape, or form.  Now if you'll excuse us, we need to package all of these into a celebrations highlight DVD we can sell at $60 a pop.

 

Ugh, I always hate going into that "owners" frame of mind.  Jerry Jones leaves his exotic dancers residue in there, and I always come out with lingering thoughts about how successful Levi's Stadium is.  It's a dark place, completely disconnected from humanity, and the longer I stare into that abyss the more it whispers to me about how much money could be found if you moved the Packers to Milwaukee.  It's gross.  I'm gonna have to take like eight showers now, and hope I'll be clean by next week.

 

*None of the videos in this article were created by me.  All credit for the videos goes to their rightful creators.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Tyler Reddick

the Clear Favorite at Darlington
Kyle Stowers

Placed on Injured List with Hamstring Strain
Kyle Larson

Is High Risk, High Reward at Darlington
Ryan Blaney

Is Getting Better at Darlington
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Not Slowing Down at Darlington
Chris Buescher

Should Be a Top 10 Contender at Darlington
Austin Cindric

a Sleeper at Darlington
Erik Jones

Quickest in Practice at Darlington
Morgan Geekie

Records Three Assists Against Red Wings
Peyton Watson

Could Return Against Trail Blazers
Steven Stamkos

Notches Three Points in Win Over Golden Knights
Stephen Curry

to Miss Next Two Games
Cole Caufield

Records Career-High Five Points in Saturday's Win
Denny Hamlin

Qualifies Ninth for this Week's Cup Race at Darlington
Noah Clowney

to Miss Second Straight Game
Chase Briscoe

Is One of the Top DFS Options of the Week for Darlington
Nikita Kucherov

Takes Over Scoring Lead With Four-Point Effort
Nicolas Claxton

Won't Play Sunday
Tyler Tucker

Out Week-to-Week
Russell Westbrook

Out Against Brooklyn
Juuse Saros

to Remain Out Sunday
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Facing One-Game Suspension
William Byron

Is William Byron A Playable DFS Option for Darlington Lineups?
Kyle Kuzma

Exits Early Against Suns
Anthony Stolarz

Released From Hospital
Christopher Bell

Could Christopher Bell be Considered A Decent DFS Option for Darlington?
Chase Elliott

Is Chase Elliott Worth Rostering At Darlington This Week For DFS?
Joey Logano

May Not Have the Speed to Warrant A Darlington DFS Lineup Spot
Ross Chastain

Should DFS Players Trust Ross Chastain at Darlington?
Kyle Busch

Could Kyle Busch Be A Worthy DFS Option for Darlington?
Brad Keselowski

May be A Contriarian DFS Tournament Option At Darlington
Daniel Suarez

has Little Upside for Darlington DFS Lineups
Bryce Young

a Potential Trade Target in Dynasty Leagues?
Devaughn Vele

Worth Buying Low on in Dynasty Leagues?
Darnell Washington

Climbs Up the Depth Chart
Adonai Mitchell

Trending Up After Quarterback Change?
Saquon Barkley

to Benefit From New-Look Offense in 2026?
Michael Wilson

On Track to be Cardinals' Top Fantasy Receiver?
Victor Wembanyama

Good to Go Versus Pacers
Seiya Suzuki

Won't be Ready for Opening Day
Kawhi Leonard

Ready to Face Dallas Saturday
Draymond Green

Available Saturday Against Atlanta
De'Anthony Melton

Cleared to Play Saturday
Jalen Johnson

Sidelined Saturday
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Will Play Against Heat
Kristaps Porzingis

Out Saturday Against Hawks
Jaylon Tyson

Ruled Out Versus Pelicans
Donovan Mitchell

Available Saturday Against New Orleans
Dylan Larkin

Remains Out Saturday
Austin Reaves

Cleared to Play Saturday
Jake Sanderson

Could Return in 7-10 Days
Morgan Rielly

Unavailable Saturday
Urho Vaakanainen

Considered Week-to-Week
Noah Laba

Out Week-to-Week
Tyler Toffoli

Questionable for Road Trip
Victor Hedman

Won't Play Against Oilers
Gleyber Torres

Clear to Return on Monday
Konnor Griffin

Assigned to Minor-League Camp
Jake Ferguson

Tails Off Late in 2025
Shedeur Sanders

Set to Face Competition Ahead of 2026
Tyreek Hill

Remains a Free Agent
Brock Bowers

Set for a Major Quarterback Upgrade?
Mack Hollins

Still Trending Up in New England?
Malik Washington

a Breakout Candidate Going into Year 3?
Mike Gesicki

a Bounce-Back Candidate in Third Year in Cincy
Xavier Legette

the Panthers' WR3 Heading into 2026?
Rashod Bateman

Dynasty Stock is on Life Support
Gleyber Torres

Scratched From Lineup on Saturday With Lower-Back Tightness
DJ Giddens

an Intriguing Handcuff Despite Minimal Standalone Value
Hunter Henry

Set to Collect Some Vacated Targets?
AJ Barner

Firmly Positioned Atop Depth Chart
Cedric Tillman

Dynasty Managers Losing Patience?
Josh Jacobs

Remains a Strong RB1 Option
Devon Witherspoon

Seahawks Pick Up Devon Witherspoon's Fifth-Year Option
Aaron Nesmith

Could Miss Saturday's Game
Andrew Nembhard

Could Miss Fourth Straight Game
Brice Sensabaugh

Remains Out Saturday
Grayson Allen

Could Miss Third Straight Game
Jake Allen

has Excellent Performance in Defeat
Logan Thompson

Nearly Perfect In Victory
Tanner Bibee

to Take the Ball on Opening Day
Logan Webb

to Start on Opening Day for Giants
Cristopher Sánchez

Cristopher Sanchez to Start on Opening Day for Phillies
Chris Sale

Braves Name Chris Sale as Their Opening Day Starter
Kyle Stowers

Leaves Friday's Game With Hamstring Tightness
Jasson Domínguez

Jasson Dominguez Optioned to Triple-A
Tyler Toffoli

Won't Play Saturday
Joel Armia

Ready to Return From Back Injury
Joel Eriksson Ek

Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek to Remain Out Saturday
Ross Colton

Still Out Friday
Yan Kuznetsov

Remains Sidelined Friday
Jacob Misiorowski

Named Opening Day Starter
Mike Trout

X-Rays Come Back Negative on Mike Trout's Hand
Dylan Crews

Optioned to Triple-A Rochester
Lerone Murphy

Set For UFC London Main Event
Movsar Evloev

Looks To Remain Unbeaten
Michael Aswell

Jr. An Underdog At UFC London
Luke Riley

Set For UFC London Co-Main Event
Joe Ryan

Named Opening Day Starter for Twins
Sam Patterson

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Michael Page

Set For Welterweight Bout
Austen Lane

In Dire Need Of Victory
Iwo Baraniewski

A Favorite At UFC London
Francisco Alvarez

Pulled Early Thursday With Back Tightness
Luis Severino

to Start for A's on Opening Day
Logan Gilbert

Named Mariners Opening Day Starter
José Ramírez

Jose Ramirez Back in Cactus League Lineup on Thursday
Hayden Birdsong

to Have Tommy John Surgery, Miss Entire 2026 Season
Zack Wheeler

to Pitch in Minor-League Game on Monday
Akshay Bhatia

Withdraws From Valspar Championship
CFB

Alberto Mendoza Drawing Positive Reviews at Georgia Tech
CFB

Anthony Colandrea Impressing in Nebraska's Spring Practices
J.J. Spaun

Offers Upside Despite Poor Course History at Innisbrook
Aaron Rai

Looks to Bounce Back at Valspar Championship
Johnny Keefer

Brings Ball-Striking Upside to Valspar Championship
Billy Horschel

a Volatile Play at Valspar Championship
Ben Griffin

Looks to Rebound at the Valspar Championship
Corey Conners

Brings Elite Ball-Striking to Valspar Championship
Xander Schauffele

Trending In The Right Direction For Valspar Championship
Sahith Theegala

Has Shot to Challenge at Valspar Championship
Mackenzie Hughes

Looking to Bounce Back at Valspar Championship
Nicolai Hojgaard

Finding Rhythm For Valspar Championship
Matt Fitzpatrick

Continues Hot Start to 2026 Heading to Valspar Championship
Pierceson Coody

Heads to Valspar Championship Following Two Missed Cuts
Wyndham Clark

Searching for Momentum at Valspar Championship
Justin Thomas

Is Justin Thomas Back Ahead of This Week's Valspar Championship?
Jordan Spieth

to Bounce Back at Favored Valspar Championship?
Brooks Koepka

is Starting to Find His Groove Again Ahead of Valspar Championship
Viktor Hovland

is One of The Best DFS Plays at Innesbrook
Rasmus Hojgaard

to Get Back on Track at Valspar Championship
Tony Finau

is Again a Scary Option at Valspar Championship
Blades Brown

Continues PGA Tour Run at Valspar Championship
Josh Emmett

Suffers First-Round TKO Loss
Kevin Vallejos

Scores First-Round TKO
Amanda Lemos

Drops Back-To-Back Fights
Gillian Robertson

Extends Her Win Streak
Andre Fili

Drops Decision on Saturday
Denny Hamlin

Dominates and Gets His Third Career Las Vegas Win
Chase Elliott

Earns Runner-Up Finish at Las Vegas
William Byron

Wins A Stage and Finishes Third at Las Vegas
Christopher Bell

Finishes Fourth at Las Vegas After Strong Run
Andre Fili

Jose Delgado Edges Andre Fili in Split-Decision Win
Oumar Sy

Suffers First-Round Submission Loss
Ion Cutelaba

Returns To The Win Column
CFB

CJ Carr Enters Sophomore Season as Heisman Favorite
CFB

Aaron Philo Not a Lock to be Florida's Starting QB?
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF