Matthew Berry's Love, Hate and how fantasy football saved a life

"How Fantasy Football saved my friend's life."

As you might imagine, the title of an email from Lee Cook, whom I did not know at the time, immediately stood out.

Lee is the commissioner of the 12-team "Gettin' It Done" league out of Williamston, North Carolina. Now in its 11th season, it's a non-PPR redraft league of Lee's friends, with almost all of them having been in since the league was formed. And among those friends is one named Leavy Moore.

A teacher at Williamston's Riverside Middle School, Leavy is known for his patience, kindness and optimism. Lee tells me, "I've never heard him complain, he always has a bright smile." Traits that served him well as he dealt with the ISS (in-school suspension) department at his school. Whether it was because of issues at home, behavioral or learning challenges in school, or any of myriad things, when the kids had issues in school, they got sent to Leavy.

He was also the school's assistant coach for football and helped coach both the boys' and girls' basketball teams for Riverside. Leavy loved his kids, and his kids loved Leavy. As did his co-workers, which turned out to be crucial.

In February 2017, Leavy's mother, Carrie Moore, suffered a stroke. And sadly, soon after that, she passed away due to complications. Leavy, as you might imagine, was distraught. He buried himself in his work, trying to distract himself from the pain he felt from losing his mother.

Leavy has diabetes, and although he was taking his insulin, he admitted to me that he was distracted by his mother's death and wasn't testing his blood sugar levels like he was supposed to. He had also caught the flu shortly after his mom's death, and was sick at home dealing with that when he, well ... he doesn't remember. He has no recollection what happened next.

That's because he had fallen unconscious.

Leavy never missed a day of work, so when he didn't show up at school, his principal became worried. He and the school nurse came to Leavy's house and found him on the floor, unresponsive. He was sent by ambulance to the local hospital and soon after arriving there was airlifted to UNC Chapel Hill Medical Center.

Leavy was in a coma for more than two months.

The last thing he remembers: He was in his living room. And then he woke up in a strange bed and saw his sister standing over him. "Something must be wrong," he thought to himself. "Why is my sister here?" He told me it was one of the scariest moments of his life, not knowing where he was, not being able to speak, hooked up to every wire imaginable with his sister (who didn't live in the state) standing over him.

Over the next week, they slowly started removing tubes, making sure he could do simple things like chew and swallow on his own. They wanted to make sure he didn't fall back into a coma. Which is why they waited a full week to tell him the really bad news.

Turns out the coma was the least of his issues. While he was unconscious, the flu had turned to pneumonia. And then sepsis had started to set in.

As a result, they told him, he had only one chance at survival. They had to amputate both of his feet.

And both of his hands.

Leavy resisted at first, not wanting to accept it, refusing the surgery, until one day, he said, he smelled it. His arms lying on his chest. He told me, "I had never smelled death before, but that day, I knew. I smelled it. I smelled my arms. They were dead. I just knew. My arms were dead."

He reluctantly accepted the surgery, and that was that.

Post-surgery, Leavy said, "I went to a really dark place. I am a spiritual man and I am embarrassed to admit this, but I got really down. Why me? Why now? I kept thinking my life is over. I loved my job at the school, and now I couldn't work anymore. What am I going to do with my life?"

He told me he would hide under the covers in his bed, pulling the sheets over him and not moving for hours, refusing to eat. That summer he would lie there, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, thinking the same thoughts. "I went through some real evil moments. What is my purpose now? Why didn't I die? Why?" he said. "Am I still living?"

Leavy didn't want visitors, and when the phone rang, he didn't want to answer it. But this call was important, he was told. So he took the call.

It was Lee, calling to talk about the plans for fantasy football draft day. Leavy wasn't in that mindset, but Lee wouldn't hear of it. They have drafted in person every year since 2011, and this year would be no different. Leavy was joining them for the draft, just like always, and Lee wouldn't accept any answer other than yes.

"Lee said to me, 'Look, we ain't doing the league without you. We just aren't.'"

Leavy didn't want to be the reason the league broke up, and he and Lee started talking often that summer, about fantasy football, about the draft, about pretty much everything but Leavy's condition.

Fantasy football gave Leavy an escape.

"Talking about the league, thinking about seeing my buddies, it fired me up," he said. "It gave me a whole bunch of energy that I hadn't had before."

Draft day is always one of Leavy's favorite days of the year, and knowing he was going to see many of his friends for the first time since his surgery inspired him.

"I used to think, 'I'm gonna die here.' But the idea of the draft brought me out of that dark place, " he said. "I thought, 'I want to be in a good place for the draft. I worked hard at it.'"

When you lose your arms and legs, you have to learn everything over. Everything. "Even just rolling over; I had to relearn how to roll myself over," he said. "I had to learn how to sit up. Like, I would sit up for 10 seconds and then tilt over again."

Every single thing, even the smallest, simplest thing that many of us take for granted every day, like being able to sit down in a chair, Leavy had to relearn in his new reality. But the hospital staff helped him a lot, he said. People worked with him, trained him, gave him a prosthetic and a stylus that he can use on a computer to write. Or, you know, to manage a fantasy team.

With draft day on the horizon, Leavy's attitude improved. He started reading the letters his students sent him. "You always tell us not to give up, Mr. Moore. You can do this!" His friends, family and co-workers visited. The nursing staff at the hospital, he told me, never wavered in its encouragement and the message that he could still live a full life, helping him with his therapy and showing him videos of how to use his new prosthetics.

He got an electric wheelchair he could drive, and he forced himself to go outside his hospital room, to go to a coffee shop just to see how people would react to him. He was bracing for the worst. "But people were actually really nice to me," he said.

When draft day came, Leavy had made significant progress. "I could get up in a chair all by myself, I could use my stylus, I could drive my wheelchair." And when Lee showed up, he had another surprise for Leavy. They weren't driving to the draft.

The draft had driven to him.

Most of the league lived hundreds of miles away, but they all drove to the hospital to make sure they drafted with Leavy. Lee had secretly arranged it with the hospital -- "They were incredibly accommodating" -- and the group was set up in a conference room.

"When I saw my friends were all there, the whole league, I broke down and cried," he said. "I don't cry often, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop the tears. It meant so much to me."

As Lee, who has been Leavy's close friend for many years, said to me, "His mindset was very bleak, but he told me that having that fantasy draft to look forward to, and then that team to manage, not only gave him a purpose but an outlet for relaxation and enjoyment that he didn't think would ever be available to him again.

"Fantasy football saved my friend's life."

Leavy would spend the next two years in a rehab facility before finally being able to move back home. He says he is still learning but moves around pretty well and is hopeful he can find a job soon. So if anyone near the town of Robersonville, North Carolina, wants to get in touch with him, or you just want to send him encouragement, holler at him on Twitter @BigL269. He loves working with kids, and on our call he was beaming with pride as he talked about some of his former students -- he keeps in touch with many of them -- who are now student-athletes in college.

When I thanked Leavy for sharing his story with me and told him I was flattered that he entrusted it to me, he said something that really struck home: "I want people to know that no matter how bad off you are, no matter how low you are, there is always somebody who has it worse. I was in such a bad place, I thought no one could have it worse than me, and then I saw some stuff that made me think, 'Thank God I'm just a quad amputee.' ..."

"Count your blessings. There's always somebody worse off."

Leavy's original league is still going strong, and Leavy is now in three leagues, including a dynasty league he and Lee started together this year. I mean, hey, they're friends for life -- might as well play fantasy for life, right?

"When something like this happens to you," Leavy told me. "You find out quickly who your real friends are. My fantasy guys showed up for me."

I have no doubt, Leavy. I have no doubt.

Let's get to it.

Quarterbacks I love in Week 6

Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Buccaneers)

Hurts has put up at least 20 fantasy points in all five of his starts this season. It's the most impressive streak in football, compared with the less impressive streak of Matthew Berry singing the praises of Jalen Hurts every day since the start of the offseason. And the reason for the latter streak? It's explained by the former. Every week people are too low on Hurts, almost every week I put him on the Love list, every week he makes me look good. Fantasy gold. Set it and forget it. Matchup-proof. Whatever you want to call it. Heck, he's even bad-game-proof. Which is to say, even when Hurts plays poorly, he can't help but put up fantasy points. And it's not just because of his legs; Hurts is averaging 41.3 pass attempts over his past three games. Considering the Buccaneers allow a league-high 314.4 passing yards per game this season and the third-most passing touchdowns, it's a good matchup for him. Then again, every opponent is a good matchup for Hurts, matchup- and bad-game-proof fantasy superstar.

Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team (vs. Chiefs)

If you had told me before the season that Washington would have one of the league's worst defenses but that fantasy star Heinicke would keep the team in every game, I would have told you: (A) that's absurd; and (B) you should probably use your powers of time travel for things other than fantasy football. Yet here we are, living in a world in which Heinicke is averaging 19.8 PPG as a starter this season. That's better than Aaron Rodgers. Am I saying Heinicke is better than Rodgers? No. I am a WFT homer, but I'm not an outrageous WFT homer. That said, it's worth noting that Heinicke does have 40-plus rushing yards in each of his past two games and this week faces a Chiefs team that has allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season and the third-most yards per pass attempt (Taylor ain't scared to chuck it deep). With the WFT defense struggling, to say the least, the Chiefs will have no problem putting up a ton of points. Which means more junk time for my guy Heinicke in a game with the highest over/under on the slate. I have Heinicke inside the top 10 at QB this week, ranked ahead of Rodgers. Wow. Maybe I am an outrageous WFT homer.

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (at Lions)

Burrow was taken to the hospital after Cincinnati's game on Sunday because of a throat contusion. Happily, he is on course to play this week. I once screamed too loudly after a Chip Lohmiller field goal and lost my voice for a week. My point: Burrow and I are both great athletes. But it's Burrow, not me, I think you should consider playing in fantasy this week. He has multiple touchdown passes in every game this season, and he very likely will keep that streak going Sunday against a Lions defense that is plucky, no doubt, but is still allowing a league-high 10.0 yards per pass attempt and a league-high 13.7 yards per completion. Do the Bengals have a couple of guys who can get deep? Why yes, yes they do. Burrow is a locked-in top-12 QB in Week 6.

Others receiving votes: Despite all the injuries -- preseason and in the season -- Carson Wentz is having a solid season so far, with 17 or more fantasy points in four of his five games. Wentz has also put the ball in the air at least 31 times in every game. If he does it again Sunday against a Texans defense that ranks bottom 10 in yards per pass attempt and adjusted completion percentage, Wentz should easily get his fifth game of the season of 17-plus fantasy points. ... Trevor Lawrence has lost more games this season than he did as a starter in college and high school combined. But if it's any consolation to him, he is helping some people win in fantasy. (It's not? Ah, well.) Lawrence has averaged 19.7 PPG over the past two weeks, with 15 carries and two rushing scores during that stretch, and this week he gets a Miami defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. ... Davis Mills was QB6 in fantasy last week. One week after posting minus-4.32 fantasy points. Fantasy football is a cruel game. But for those needing bye week or injury help in deep leagues or 2-QB leagues, I like Mills to be well into the positive numbers again this week against a Colts defense that is allowing touchdown passes at the highest rate this season.

Quarterbacks I hate in Week 6

Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans (vs. Bills)

"We've secretly replaced their Tennessee Ryan Tannehill with Miami Ryan Tannehill. Let's see if anyone can tell the difference." Props to anyone who gets the old reference, but speaking of old, feels like it's been a while since Tannehill was a top-10 QB. The fourth-best QB in fantasy from the time he became the Titans' starter until the start of this season, Tannehill is down to QB21 in total points this season. (Can we make sure Adam Gase hasn't been named offensive coordinator of the Titans?) Tannehill has scored fewer than 15 fantasy points in three of his five games this season and has just one game with multiple touchdown passes. With a league-low 5.4 yards per pass attempt, he's dinking-and-dunking while being under pressure and waiting for A.J. Brown and Julio Jones to get back and be fully healthy. I hope he turns it around, but I'm not feeling great about it. Maybe he'll get into a shootout, as we expect Buffalo to score a bunch of points on the Titans, but if this year is any indication, he'll struggle once again against a Bills defense that has allowed the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.

Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings (at Panthers)

Cousins has averaged just 11.8 PPG over his past two games, with just two touchdown passes on his past 72 attempts. Maybe he decided to show support to Dalvin Cook missing games by essentially not showing up himself. Who knows? Not the leadership approach I'd take, but who am I to cast stones? I will instead cast bad matchup stats. Carolina is allowing a league-low 161.6 passing yards per game this season and a completion rate of just 58.9%. Considering Cousins struggled against Detroit last week and a Browns team that, the very next week, got ripped apart by the Chargers, well, I have Cousins as merely a deep-league or 2-QB league play this week.

Running backs I love in Week 6

Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Seahawks)
When you arrive at the Pittsburgh airport, you are greeted by statues of Franco Harris and George Washington. Now, I'm not saying it's time to make it a Harris double and have a Najee statue replace our first president. But I'm also not not saying it, either. For all the things that have gone wrong in Pittsburgh this season, one thing that has gone absolutely right is Harris. Remember this next year when I once again try to explain how incredible volume will cover up even the worst offensive line. Anyway, back to the airport. Harris is averaging 23.8 fantasy points per game over the past three weeks, with at least 20 touches and 90 scrimmage yards in each of those games. For all Mr. Washington did for this country, he never produced a single fantasy point. Really. Read a history book. But in fairness, if George got to run on this Seattle defense -- a defense that has given up the third-most fantasy points to running backs this season -- he would cross the goal line easier than he did the Delaware.

James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Dolphins)
And here's to you, Mr. Robinson
You have 20-plus fantasy points in three straight
God bless you please, Mr. Robinson
You have at least 19 touches and a TD in all three
Eee hee hee
Eee hee hee
We'd like to share a little about your Week 6 opponent
We'd like to share that Miami has allowed the second-most fantasy points to backs this season
Look around and all you'll see is that Robinson has at least three red zone carries in each of his past three games
And that's important because Miami has allowed the second-most touchdowns to backs
Coo-coo-ca-choo, Mr. Robinson!

(Please be sure to check out my new band, Simon & Garfantasy, when we tour in your city. It's a band so crappy only Daniel Dopp has heard of it.)

Darrell Henderson Jr., Los Angeles Rams (at Giants)
While my homage to late-1960s folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel could definitely use some work, I think we all can agree that Henderson can do a very good late-2020 Cam Akers impression. Operating as the clear lead back for Sean McVay, Henderson is averaging 96 scrimmage yards per game this season, eighth most among running backs, and has put up at least 16 fantasy points in every game he's played in 2021. That streak will continue Sunday against a Giants defense allowing the third-most rushing yards and third-highest yards per carry to opposing running backs this season.

Other receiving votes: With Clyde Edwards-Helaire out, the bulk of the Kansas City running back touches will go to Darrel Williams. And when Williams gets touches in his career, fantasy points follow. In the six career games in which he has received at least 10 touches, Williams has posted 11 fantasy points or more in five. I like his chances at a top-20 day against a Washington defense whose current defensive scheme is 11 guys looking at each other, pointing and saying things like "I thought you had him." ... Zack Moss has at least 12 fantasy points in every game this season and since Week 2 he ranks in the top six among running backs in both red zone and goal-to-go carries. There should be plenty of red zone opportunities this week against Tennessee's defense, which allows 4.7 yards per carry to running backs. ... Javonte Williams is averaging 7.3 yards per carry over the past two weeks, which is really good for high school football, so in the NFL it's ... really, really good. #analysis. Williams also has at least three receptions and a goal-to-go carry in three straight games. I love his upside this week against a Raiders team that just gave up 139 rushing yards and a touchdown to the Bears' backup running backs. ... Since Matt LaFleur seems opposed to my #FreeAaronJones campaign, perhaps it's time to start a #FlexAJDillon movement. AJ Dillon has 28 touches over the past two weeks and 75-plus scrimmage yards in both of those games. He also set career receiving highs last week across the board with a 4-49-1 line. ... You want incredible volume? Devontae Booker got 88% of the snaps after Saquon Barkley left the game last Sunday, and while it's most certainly not a great matchup against the Rams this week, the Giants are really banged up and Booker is a true three-down back who will be involved in their passing game. You could do -- and have done previously -- much worse for a low-end RB2 or high-end flex.

Running backs I hate in Week 6

Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders (at Broncos)
It's been a disappointing season for Jacobs. He has fewer than 50 rushing yards and 70 scrimmage yards in all three games he played this season. Even with increased targets (five targets the past two weeks but under 20 yards receiving in both), the production hasn't been there. Maybe he'll eventually break out, but it's unlikely to happen against a Broncos defense allowing just 3.7 yards per carry and the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs.

Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Buccaneers)
As much as I love Jalen Hurts this season, I hate his backfieldmate almost an equal amount. It's not Sanders' talent or lack thereof -- it's his usage ... or lack of usage. Over the past three weeks, Philadelphia is dead last in the NFL in rushing rate, running just 21% of the time. That's a big reason Sanders has been held to under 60 scrimmage yards in every game this season and has just one game with more than 10.1 fantasy points. It can be dangerous for a fantasy analyst to put a player from a Thursday night game on the Hate list because lots of people read this on Friday and, well, if Sanders breaks a long one or falls into the end zone, it looks bad. But that's a risk I'm willing to take, because it's even riskier to start him against a Tampa Bay defense allowing a league-low 39 rushing yards per game to running backs on the season.

Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks (at Steelers)
The optimist in me says, hey, Seattle will want to ease the pressure on Geno Smith and lean on the running game. The pessimist in me says I'm not sure Carson will be 100% healthy. Then the pessimist in me taps me on the shoulder and says I'm not done yet. Before getting injured, Carson played fewer than 50% of the snaps in his previous two games and was essentially ignored in the passing game, with just three total targets over his past three games. Carson is one of my favorite players in the NFL, and I would love to be wrong on this one. But being less than 100% healthy, plus a lack of usage, plus Pittsburgh's run defense (fourth-fewest fantasy points allowed to opposing RBs) means I'm looking at Carson as half-empty in Week 6. Maybe the Seahawks could play the George Washington statue instead.

Pass-catchers I love in Week 6

Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Seahawks)
The job of a quarterback is to help the players around him. Well, say what you want about Ben Roethlisberger's play this season, but no one is talking about Johnson's drops anymore. It also helps that he's actually not dropping anything anymore. He's catching the ball and then he is doing things with it: Johnson has a touchdown or 100 receiving yards in every game he has played this season. With JuJu Smith-Schuster out, Johnson will draw even more of the focus from that Seattle secondary. But if you've seen Seattle play this year, you know why I'm not sure it matters. The Seahawks allow the second-most yards and the sixth-most fantasy points to wide receivers on the season. Johnson is a top-15 play for me in Week 6.

Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals (at Lions)
NFL fans are starting to understand how Chase was even better at LSU than Justin Jefferson. Chase leads all wide receivers this season in fantasy points per target (minimum 20 targets) and all players in deep touchdown receptions with four. And now he gets to face the team that gives up a league-high 16.2 yards per reception to wide receivers, the tough-luck Detroit Lions. Hey, look on the bright side, Detroit: At least losing on a last-second, 99-yard touchdown pass to Chase won't hurt as bad as a last-second field goal ... right? Maybe? Hey, where are you going?

DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. Buccaneers)
I love me some Jalen Hurts, so I must love his favorite receivers, too. That's in the fantasy constitution. (Which, by the way, was not signed by George Washington. Replace his statue with Najee Harris, Pittsburgh!) Anyway ... Smith has a 22% target share this season and at least six targets in every game. And he's only just now getting rolling, with 17 targets, 14 receptions and 199 yards in his past two games. This former member of the Tide will roll on Thursday versus a Tampa Bay team that has allowed the most receptions to wide receivers and the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers and is likely to be up big against Philly (the Eagles are a touchdown underdog). I expect a pass-heavy attack from Philly in this one, which means a catch-heavy attack (just go with it) from Smith.

Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys (at Patriots)
As if Dak Prescott didn't have enough receiving weapons at his disposal, now Schultz is in the midst of a breakout season. Believe it or not, Schultz is top-five on the season among tight ends in fantasy points, receptions and receiving yards. And you no longer have to be worried about him sharing the job with Blake Jarwin. Over the past three weeks, Schultz has run twice as many routes as Jarwin. And he has had at least seven targets in three straight weeks as well. Schultz, as weird as this is to type, is a set-it-and-forget-it fantasy tight end.