Week 12 Thoughts and Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

Here are some random thoughts and observations about Week 12 as I wonder how upset Jay Gruden is because he couldn’t bench RG3 on Sunday.

In four of his last eight quarters Dez Bryant has not caught a pass. In the other four quarters he’s put up 13-244-4.
That’s kinda good.

Odell Beckham’s TD grab was kinda good too. But unless you’ve been living under a rock or spent the entire weekend celebrating Scarlett Johansson’s birthday with her naked and serving you berries and sunshine you already knew that.

Oh, if you spent the entire weekend with a naked Scarlett Johansson I hate you.

With all due respect if you honestly believed the Browns were going to “ease” Josh Gordon back into their offense you’re not very bright. He’s a superstar talent. You get that guy back on the field and you use him as extensively as possible. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE should have seen that coming.

Proper clock management is definitely not part of Mike Smith’s vocabulary.

Speaking of horrible coaching decisions, I lost count of the number of times trailing teams punted in the fourth quarter on Sunday when they absolutely positively without a shadow of a doubt needed to go for it on fourth down. The Buccaneers, Redskins and Cardinals all committed major blunders. It probably didn’t matter much in the Arizona game but Tampa Bay and Washington’s outcomes may have been different if their coaches didn’t make these enormous gaffes.

Speaking of the Bucs, can someone tell me why Lovie Smith felt inclined to trot out the corpse of Doug Martin on Sunday? Was the plan was to do everything possible to not win the game? If so then it makes perfect sense. If not … well … I got nothin.

Martin’s done and he’s been done for over a year now. The fact Lovie and the Tampa Bay coaches can’t see that doesn’t speak well for their ability to properly evaluate talent.

Can someone give me a single legitimate reason why it took the Raiders so long to unleash Latavius Murray. Was watching Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew stumble and bumble their way to 1- and 2-yard gains THAT exciting?

The Browns are stuck in no man’s land with Brian Hoyer. There’s no point in benching him this late in the season with a playoff berth at stake. But it seems clear he’s not the answer. Johnny Manziel just needs to bide his time. He should receive a strong opportunity to be Cleveland’s starting quarterback next season.

Sometimes there are calls I think are so easy I don’t hesitate to make them. Like saying on Sirius last Wednesday that the Chiefs had already beaten Oakland before the game was played (whoops). Then there are ones that are so easy to make I don’t hesitate to make them and they end up going exactly the way I anticipated. Like New England rolling all over Detroit. Easiest call I had to make all week.

Speaking of the Lions, if the last two games are any indication Reggie Bush should starting getting some Most Valuable Player votes.

Hey Matt Stafford, you gotta know where the sticks are when you’re sliding. That’s Football 101.

Tim Wright. All he does is catch touchdowns.

Last week Jonas Gray rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns. On Sunday, he did not get a single carry. Instead LeGarrette Blount, just signed off the street after being waived by the Steelers, scored twice.

#BeliTricks

I’m guessing Gray never oversleeps for practice again.

Eddie Lacy’s putting a whoopin on people right now. And it isn’t even December yet when the weather turns and getting hit feels like a thousand thunderbolts from Zeus just smacked you in the chest. He is seriously fun to watch.

Hold on Odell Beckham just broke the Internet.

Now THAT’S how you do it Kim Kardashian.

Welcome back Delanie Walker. With authority.

I don’t think anyone should jump off the Cardinals’ bandwagon after a tough loss at Seattle but this is a team whose margin for error is pretty much at 0 without Carson Palmer. I’m just not convinced Drew Stanton can elevate the play of everyone around him the way big-time quarterbacks do in the postseason.

Hold on, A.J. Green just caught another pass.

Helluva rally by the Broncos but man their defense really stinks. Sorry John Fox, but you’re not gonna scare a single good quarterback with a defense that bad.

If RG3 is benched again by the Redskins Alfred Morris may shed real tears. The difference in his production with RG3 and without is shall we say … dramatic.

I think it’s pretty clear RG3 is done in Washington but I’m not the only person intrigued by the idea of Chip Kelly working with him in Philly am I? Kelly’s system is VERY quarterback-friendly and if anyone can figure out how to get the most out of Griffin I think Chip can.

Mike Evans. Odell Beckham. Sammy Watkins. Kelvin Benjamin. Gonna be a whole lotta fun watching those guys for the next decade or so.

Hold on the Lions just failed to score a touchdown again.

Aaron Rodgers. Tom Brady. Week 13. At Lambeau. Yeah, that might be mildly entertaining.

Anybody else think Anquan Boldin could play another 10 years and still be really really good?

Umm Shaun Hill, what exactly were you thinking on your last throw?

The Colts beat Jacksonville convincingly as expected but that was some real shoddy offensive line play by Indy. Andrew Luck took WAY too many hits against a clearly inferior opponent.

Not a bad day for T.Y. Hilton. Becomes a father in the morning. Torches the Jags for a long touchdown in the afternoon. Way to go Dad.

Outstanding job by Andy Reid keeping the ball away from Jamaal Charles and Travis Kelce for much of the fourth quarter in last Thursday’s loss to the Raiders. I’m sure that decision didn’t have any impact whatsoever on the game’s outcome.

Nope.

Not any impact at all.

And finally if you started Zach Mettenberger, LaGarrette Blount, Latavius Murray, Louis Murphy, Stedman Bailey, Andrew Hawkins and Tim Wright this week I hope you choke on your stuffing on Thanksgiving.

OK, that wasn’t very nice. Don’t choke. But cough at least. A lot.

[Edwards Kings]

With all due respect if you honestly believed the Browns were going to “ease” Josh Gordon back into their offense you’re not very bright. He’s a superstar talent. You get that guy back on the field and you use him as extensively as possible. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE should have seen that coming.

And that was with Hoyer missing him badly a couple of times (plus a few times where they were not on the same page). Can't wait to see what a few more reps will do.

Hey Matt Stafford, you gotta know where the sticks are when you’re sliding. That’s Football 101.

I just wish Stafford would find Calvin Johnson on his speed dial again.

Aaron Rodgers. Tom Brady. Week 13. At Lambeau. Yeah, that might be mildly entertaining.

All due respect to my brethren in the Great White North, I need, I NEED Brady to be a monster next week.

Anybody else think Anquan Boldin could play another 10 years and still be really really good?

Gotta ask Reggie Wayne owners that question.

And finally if you started Zach Mettenberger, LaGarrette Blount, Latavius Murray, Louis Murphy, Stedman Bailey, Andrew Hawkins and Tim Wright this week I hope you choke on your stuffing on Thanksgiving.

Didn't start him, but if you went into the playoffs with Mettenberger as your back-up, how comfortable would you be?

[TR]

With all due respect if you honestly believed the Browns were going to “ease” Josh Gordon back into their offense you’re not very bright. He’s a superstar talent. You get that guy back on the field and you use him as extensively as possible. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE should have seen that coming.

I dunno about that...half these coaches are glorified gym teachers...we see it every year and week in their dumb decisions letting talent that EVERYONE can see just rot on their benches until the starter gets injured or their season is down the drain...always have to worry about. Hell Adrian Peterson couldn't start over Chester Taylor his rookie season until weeks in when Taylor got dinged...many other instances of this...we never know how the coaches will use their superior talents.

[TR]

From Peter King MMQB...

Charles Woodson: The defensive Peyton.
Charles Woodson is playing well enough to earn another contract. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)Charles Woodson is playing well enough to earn another contract. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Peyton Manning, the first overall pick in 1998, finished second in the 1997 Heisman balloting. He is 38. Charles Woodson, the fourth overall pick in 1998, finished first in the 1997 Heisman balloting. He is 38.

We are collectively marveling at how Manning is playing (68 percent completions, plus-25 TD-to-pick differential) for an old man. What of Woodson? The Raiders are the lost sheep of the NFL, to be sure, at 1-10. But that 1? It happened Thursday night over the playoff-contending Chiefs, and Woodson was one of the best players on the field. A key sack of Alex Smith made Woodson the first player in history with at least 50 interceptions and 20 sacks. (I hate invented stats, but this one is pretty informative.)

More impressive is this: Woodson has played all but 11 of the Raiders’ 739 defensive snaps this season. And some of those have been pretty damned unimportant for a man who will have a good chance at Canton someday.

“I feel great,” he said from California the other day. “If I continue to feel the way I feel right now, there’s no way I don’t think I can play next year. And I would like to. I’m happy. I really am, playing in the NFL, the greatest game in the world, and playing at this level.”

I asked Woodson if, seeing how he’s still able to contribute at a high level, he has any regrets about picking the Raiders before the 2013 season. “No,” he said. “When free agency came around, no one took me seriously. I guess it was my age, but everyone pretty much wrote me off. But I am proud to have been productive since I’ve come back. I’ve taken pride in my games. I have been productive in every way possible. It hasn’t been hard to give my all every week. But it is hard to lose like this.

“Seventeen years, though … In a weird way, it’s gone pretty fast. But thinking back to 1998, wow. Lasting this long? Wow. The only thing I can say is I’m blessed.”

And playing himself into position for another contract. He’s working on a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Raiders. Woodson has proved, with him, that age is a number. He’s not a Pro Bowler, but he’s playing well enough to earn another year somewhere. He and Justin Tuck should be brought back to be the leaders—on and off the field—that this young Raider defense needs.

[Edwards Kings]

Rough week...D. Murray, A. Ellington, C. Johnson, J. Gordon, M. Evans, and T. Smith. One touchdown between them.

[Tom Kessenich]

Rough week...D. Murray, A. Ellington, C. Johnson, J. Gordon, M. Evans, and T. Smith. One touchdown between them.

Yeah Murray not shredding the Giants was a huge surprise. I started him over Lacy in a 50-50 contest on Fanduel and didn't think I was going to regret it but I did. On Sunday morning I had a lineup with Lacy, Delanie Walker and Parkey and swapped them out for Murray, Fleener and Shayne Graham.

Mucho thanks to Marques Colston for scoring last night and bailing me out on that one.

[Tom Kessenich]

Oh and Peter King is high if he's comparing Woodson to Peyton. That's horrible. Seriously horrible. I'm sorry but Woodson isn't anywhere close to being the best at his position anymore. He's played some bad football this season. Just a terrible comparison by King.