Week 12 Thoughts & Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

Here are some random thoughts and observations about Week 12 as I wonder why Nick Sirianni hates Miles Sanders so much.

In case you’re wondering why Mike McCarthy got run out of Green Bay consider this: He went into Thanksgiving with an injured Ezekiel Elliott on a short week and gave him more than 60 percent of the RB snaps against the Raiders while almost completely ignoring a productive Tony Pollard in the fourth quarter and overtime. That resulted in Elliott’s knee injury getting worse to the point where the Cowboys may need to shut him down for a week or possibly more during a critical stretch of the season with the No. 1 seed in the NFC in the balance.

In case you were wondering.

In case you were wondering why everyone considers the NFL injury report to be a joke, Taysom Hill practiced in “full” all week last week prior to the Saints’ Thanksgiving night game vs. the Bills only for everyone to find out during the game he was only going to play in an emergency because he was injured.

Oh. Good to know. Thanks Sean Payton for the update.

In case you’re wondering why everyone thinks Matt Nagy is awful, he got to put his full scheme into place on Thanksgiving with his QB of choice (Andy Dalton) and the best he could do is put up 16 freaking points against the Detroit Lions and he needed a last-second FG to beat a team that hasn’t won a game all season long.

Good work, Matt.

So, Joe Mixon is a RB1 and someone you really should’ve taken in the first round this year. Yeah, I kinda missed on that one, didn’t I?

Oops.

Dionte Johnson is a WR1 this season playing with Ben Roethlisberger. Imagine what he’s gonna do if he ever gets to play with a real quarterback someday.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored 38 points on Sunday and Chris Godwin and Mike Evans combined to score 8.3 points. Did that actually happen?

Seriously?

OK what in the actual hell has gotten into Leonard Fournette this season? It was kinda cute for awhile but it’s Week 12 now and this is seriously getting out of hand now. I mean four touchdowns? C’mon.

Carson Wentz completely soils himself in Weeks 10 and 11 and then goes Full Dan Marino in Week 12. Of course he does.

Remember last week when I told you Cam Newton couldn’t throw the ball downfield and I was worried about how much of a problem that was? I completely ignored my own warnings and bought into Cam as a QB1 play this week vs. the Dolphins. He promptly went out and soiled himself doing exactly what I said he’d do (minus one throw to D.J. Moore). Cam looked like the Cam of 2020 with the Patriots. Unable to generate any ability to throw the ball effectively or push passes downfield vs. Miami ultimately getting benched after a completely putrid display.

He’ll likely remain the starter for Carolina after the team’s Week 13 bye, but fantasy players should bail just like the Patriots wisely did after last season. He’s done. He may have moments of effectiveness as he showed in Week 11, but the bottom will fall out too often for him to be someone fantasy players can rely on. Compounding the problem further, Christian McCaffrey is hurt again so the Panthers’ season is looking like a train wreck once again.

Dontrell Hilliard is the Titans’ best RB but with Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown both down for the count, Tennessee’s season is slipping away.
New England, meanwhile, is suddenly looking like a team that not only could win the AFC East but might make a real run at the AFC title. That defense is for real. The big question will come down to whether Mac Jones can make enough plays when he’s put to the test in matchups against big-time playoff-caliber offenses. Those tests are yet to come.

Just when we were all starting to lavish a ton of praise on Nick Sirianni he reverts back to the Nick Sirianni of the early season. You remember that guy, don’t you? He’s the guy who wanted to pass the ball all the time and ignore Miles Sanders even though he has a dominant running game and a struggling quarterback.

So on Sunday with Jalen Hurts struggling and his team playing a horrible Giants team, Sirianni gave Sanders a measly six carries in the first half against New York despite only trailing 3-0. But that’s not all. Sirianni’s pass-happy plan decided to phase out his two best receiving options – Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.

So Sirianni’s plan on Sunday was to put all of the offense on a struggling QB while removing his three most talented offensive weapons and hope that would beat a bad team. Despite all that, Hurts still gave the Eagles a chance to win on the final drive of the game dropping two perfect passes into Jalen Reagor’s hands in the end zone that Reagor proceeded to drop both times.

At this point we may not know what the Eagles have with Hurts but what’s much much worse is Philly has no clue what it has with Sirianni.

The Falcons beat the Jaguars on Sunday, the Jets beat the Texans and apparently there’s something called Austin Walter at RB now. So that happened this week. Just getting you all caught up.

If you’re the Chargers and you’re losing to the Broncos you’ve got problems. That’s all there is to it right now. There’s too much pressure being put on Justin Herbert to be great on every play and it’s taking its toll.

It’s Week 12 people. I like Javonte Williams too but it’s long past time for the Williams truthers to face facts here. Mel Gordon isn’t going away for one simple reason – He’s still a damn good RB.

It’s not often a defense gives up 28 points and gets credit for a victory but I’m gonna do that with the Packers this week. Green Bay’s defense is the reason why the Packers beat the Rams on Sunday. One week after being humiliated by the Vikings, that unit stepped up and whipped Matt Stafford and LA at Lambeau Field. Yeah, they gave up two TD bombs but that was about it. They harassed Stafford from start to finish and made life miserable for the Rams all game long. Helluva showing from a defense that has been the key reason why this team is among the best in the NFL this season.

Are we allowed to say the Rams really miss Robert Woods yet? Some people on Twitter told me I couldn’t say that after their last game when their offense looked completely discombobulated without him, so I thought I’d check in again after they looked completely lost without him again on Sunday. Let me know.

Thanks.

Dear Kyle Shanahan: Deebo Samuel is a special player. That much is obvious. It’s amazing what he can do as a RB. We’ve all seen it these past few games. But here’s the thing – HE’S A WIDE RECEIVER. I’m shouting because you appear to have forgotten that and now you’ve gotten him hurt. Hopefully it’s not a serious injury but you just got him hurt because you got cute and F’d up. This is on you. He’s your best player and this is serious.

He has two receptions in the last two games despite the fact you’ve played two teams he should’ve absolutely destroyed as a WR. Do you realize how incompetent that makes you look as a play caller? Well, it does. Yes he’s been amazing as a RB but that should be a bonus for you, not his primary role in your offense.

Again, let’s hope this injury isn’t serious and he’s back out there next Sunday against Seattle. If he is use him as your No. 1 WR. Get him the ball 8-10 times again as your top receiving option. If you want to use him as a RB that’s cool. Give him a few carries as a treat and let him do his thing. But again, that should be a bonus in your offense. That should not be his primary role. Take a good long look at his final play on Sunday and let that be a lesson for you.

Be smart, OK? This isn’t about our hopes for Deebo in fantasy. He’s your best damn player too. If you wanna make the playoffs you’re gonna need him on the field and you’re gonna need him crushing people as your No. 1 WR.

You’re welcome.

Lamar Jackson threw four interceptions Sunday night and it never really felt like the Ravens were going to lose. Somewhere in Philadelphia, I hope Jalen Hurts was watching. There’s a lot he can learn from that.

And finally, get well soon Dalvin Cook. You’re a special player and the game is much better with you on the field.