Week 10 Thoughts & Observations

[FantasyJC]

True but you also have the mid draft and late picks that guys can hit and use to replace injured players. For example the guy who drafted Freeman and Fitzgerald can effectively replace a top WR and top RB injury.

I made the mistake of drafting a QB too early whereas using that pick to grab another RB or WR would help quite a bit. Of course you have to get the pick right. The guys who drafted Newton, Brady, Palmer are doing quite well.

A big part of succeeding is to use past data and trends to your advantage. If you knew Fitzgerald was really good with Palmer, you can project that he will be good the next year.

Also a lot of busts in the early to mid rounds. Look at Ameer, Agholor, Charles Johnson, Luck, Graham, Melvin Gordon and more.

It also seems that RB is easier to replace than a top WR. You don't get WRs that just come from no where and end up posting big numbers generally the same way a backup RB who starts can. Look at C. West, McFadden and Deangelo Williams.

[TR]

Here are some random thoughts and observations about Week 10 as I bid a fond farewell to several teams who once ruled the NFL.

Such as:

Denver.

Seattle.

Green Bay.

It’s been a good run guys. Hope you enjoyed it.

The collapse of the Broncos’ offense has been a season-long issue so perhaps it was only a matter of time before we saw the seemingly unthinkable occur – Peyton Manning benched. What was more shocking about the ass-whupping they took at home from Kansas City was the collapse of their defense. I’ve been impressed by how Charcandrick West has done since replacing the injured Jamaal Charles but he isn’t Jim Brown people. Seriously, he isn’t.

But that’s how good the once-vaunted Broncos’ defense made him look.

Speaking of Peyton, after years and years and years of seemingly inhuman fortitude his body is breaking down at the end. Same thing happened to Brett Favre in his final season. It was as if his body just said it was time to go. Peyton’s body appears to be saying the exact same thing. Like Favre, Peyton doesn’t have to prove anything at this point of his career so walking away would seem to be the sensible plan.

Like Denver, the Seahawks have had offensive issues all season. The team hasn’t integrated Jimmy Graham properly, the offensive line stinks so Russell Wilson spends most of the game running for his life and the once elite running game has been scattershot. Those problems have been in place since Week 1. But most alarming to me is how bad Seattle’s defense continues to look with the game on the line.

The Seahawks had a golden opportunity to at least force overtime last night in a critical game against Arizona. All they needed to do was rise up for one series defensively. Instead Carson Palmer sliced them and Andre Ellington eventually diced them and once again Seattle’s once-proud defense faded meekly into the night.

The Packers’ problems are widespread. They miss Jordy Nelson badly. They miss the real Eddie Lacy just as much and Aaron Rodgers is playing the worst football of his starting career. Combine that with a defense that typically stinks and it’s not a surprise Green Bay has gone from being an unbeaten Super Bowl contender to the second-best team in its own division.

Yup, I said it.

Second best.

Although to be fair the Vikings still have to prove that in Week 11.

How relieved are you feeling right now Calvin Johnson?

A couple of weeks ago I said Todd Gurley was the slam-dunk No. 1 pick in fantasy drafts next year. But it just might be Antonio Brown again. The numbers he puts up with Ben Roethlisberger are bordering on the insane. It appears the only way they can be stopped is if they fail to execute. No defense is seemingly up to the task.

After watching Larry Fitzgerald and Mike Floyd carve up Seattle last night I have no concerns at all about Brown faring well when Pittsburgh comes out of its Week 11 bye to face the Seahawks in Week 12.

Speaking of Gurley, that sure was a great first series on Sunday. The rest of the game? Not so much.

I know Sam Bradford is hurt now and hasn’t been all that great this season but if you watched the Rams-Bears game on Sunday and still have any questions as to why the Eagles dealt Nick Foles for him I don’t know what to tell you. Foles is terrible. He had an A+ matchup against a bad Chicago defense at home and looked like a junior high reject.

The Rams or Packers. Not sure which huge home favorite was more disappointing this week.

In his last three games, Charcandrick West has put up 20.9 points, 22.2 and 31.1. Those $800 FAAB bids in the NFFC are paying off rather nicely now.

In case you were wondering how much the Patriots would miss Dion Lewis you saw it on full display Sunday. Even before Julian Edelman got hurt (another enormous blow), New England’s offense lacked the zip it had with Lewis. As great as Tom Brady is, having a multi-dimensional weapon like Lewis really added a lot to this offense. Without him, it looks a lot more mortal.

So much of last week was spent wondering who would replace Lewis – James White or Brandon Bolden. The answer? Danny Amendola.

#BeliTricks

At this point there’s really nothing I can add to the Odell Beckham non-touchdown catch against New England. Nobody on the planet has a clue what a catch is anymore and the NFL apparently doesn’t think that’s a problem. Instead, they want to move extra points back and obsess over air temperatures in footballs in games that in no way, shape or form are decided by that.

So there you go.

I’m not sure who’s more inhuman Ben Roethlisberger or Adrian Peterson. Might be a tie.

I’ll never doubt you again Larry Fitzgerald.

I have no idea why Karlos Williams plays great whenever LeSean McCoy is on the field but it just keeps happening.

I keep reading about how Sammy Watkins abused Darrelle Revis on a critical third-down conversion in the Thursday night game. Did Watkins win that one battle? Absolutely. But abusing Revis? Ummm, he caught three passes for 14 yards and was an afterthought nearly the entire game because Tyrod Taylor was afraid to target him. Revis absolutely positively won that matchup and it wasn’t even close.

Sometimes you have strong calls you nail (like Kirk Cousins feasting on New Orleans) and sometimes you wish you never had a Twitter account (::coughTavonAustincough::).

And before people go gaga over Cousins I’m pretty sure I could throw two TDs against the Saints. Well at least one on a wobbler.

If you’re Sean Payton and you don’t bench Brandon Browner after he decided to block a Washington player instead of trying to tackle Matt Jones on his TD catch I don’t know how you can honestly call yourself a head coach.

It’s taken awhile but Brandin Cooks is showing people why he was a Top 15 fantasy pick this season.

I love you Dez Bryant but that sure was one weak-ass attempt to catch a game-changing pass in the end zone.

I’m still amazed there were people who thought the Cowboys would survive the loss of Tony Romo. This collapse was easy to see coming, people. Romo’s damn good and perhaps his absence will finally get him the respect he deserves.

And now my weekly “The Walking Dead” update:

I got nothing.

Now back to football:

Allen Hurns is pretty darn good at scoring touchdowns.

Cool kicker stat of the week: Dan Bailey and Justin Tucker had never missed field goal attempts on the same day before until Sunday.

Everyone started Zach Miller and Brent Celek this week, right?

Right?

Of course you did.

Mike Evans is a damn good player but 10 drops in three weeks? Inexcusable.

When it comes to demonstrating how to close out games in the fourth quarter the 2015 New York Giants will not be the textbook example.

Has Cam Newton stopped dancing in the end zone yet? Just curious.

If you would’ve told me before Week 10 that Blake Bortles, Gurley, Mark Ingram, Dez, Calvin, Randall Cobb and Jordan Matthews would all underperform given their matchups I would’ve laughed at you. Shows how much I know.

And finally if you started Johnny Manziel, Andre Ellington, Alfred Morris, Doug Baldwin, Dwayne Harris, Jamison Crowder and Zach Miller this week just stay the hell away from me today. I’m a little grumpy and that lineup isn’t helping matters any.

No mention of Jeremy Langford's stellar game against the vaunted Rams defense? I still cannot fathom how the Lions traded UP for scatback Abdullah with fumbling problems when they could have had the superior Sparty Langford from their own backyard land in their lap without giving anything up...a true feature back with better size and speed than Abdullah...SMH

[Tom Kessenich]

Nearly everything about the Rams-Bears game shocked me. The Bears dominating on offense on the road against a solid defense with essentially no Jeffery. Gurley being shut down after a fantastic opening series. Foles being absolutely miserable against a bad defense. Austin's lack of usage despite the overwhelmingly great matchup for him. I don't think anything went according to script in that game. I started Langford in one league but I definitely didn't expect THAT and nobody in the entire galaxy saw Zach Miller coming.

[Tom Kessenich]

Undefeated Cincy Bengals tonight.

This was the first full-on Bad Andy game of the season. He avoided that in the last Steelers game with the late game-winning drive. But last night was Bad Andy. You could say he was due to have a game like that and as we've seen this year only Brady seems to be avoiding QB meltdowns of some sort. So one game won't derail Dalton or the Bengals' season. Be interesting to see how they respond against the Cardinals (possibly the best team in the NFC) this week.

[Tom Kessenich]

Also we're 10 weeks into the season. It's time for teams to focus on what they do well and stop trying to find something that isn't working. For the Bengals that means making Bernard the feature back and using Hill as a backup and maybe short-yardage option.

[TR]

Also we're 10 weeks into the season. It's time for teams to focus on what they do well and stop trying to find something that isn't working. For the Bengals that means making Bernard the feature back and using Hill as a backup and maybe short-yardage option.

Gio Bernard is not suited to be a feature back...Bengals tried that with him last year and he wore down and got injured. With the weather turning colder, Jeremy Hill is more suited for workhorse role as the elements come into play. It's just difficult for him to establish any rhythm or wear down a defense when not getting 20 touches a game..lucky to get even 10.

[Tom Kessenich]

Also we're 10 weeks into the season. It's time for teams to focus on what they do well and stop trying to find something that isn't working. For the Bengals that means making Bernard the feature back and using Hill as a backup and maybe short-yardage option.

Gio Bernard is not suited to be a feature back...Bengals tried that with him last year and he wore down and got injured. With the weather turning colder, Jeremy Hill is more suited for workhorse role as the elements come into play. It's just difficult for him to establish any rhythm or wear down a defense when not getting 20 touches a game..lucky to get even 10.

He hasn't earned 10 a game. Bernard averaged 14 touches per game as a rookie and looked great. He's a shade under 14 so far this season. I don't think giving him 4-5 more a game will cause him to break down, especially if many of them are in the passing game where he can get in space and avoid contact.