Week 9 Thoughts & Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

Here are some random thoughts and observations about Week 9 as I wonder how Aaron Rodgers has the … oh let’s use the word temerity … to say after last night’s game Davante Adams should’ve gotten more targets when he spent nearly an entire half blatantly ignoring Adams being single covered by New England’s weakest cornerback in a clearly beatable matchup.

You’re one of the greatest QBs in NFL history Aaron but don’t say something was a problem when you directly contributed to the problem, OK? You want to get Adams the ball more? Throw him the damn ball when he’s being singled covered like he was for nearly the entire second half on Sunday night.

So the Packers.

Yeah they’re done.

It says a lot about the state of Green Bay that the Packers can play New England to a draw for more than three quarters and at no point in the game could you say without bias they were going to win. You just knew at some point Tom Brady would make the plays he needed to make. And that’s precisely what happened.

Good teams leave you filled with confidence even when the matchup is tight. The rest of the field, not so much.

The Packers are in the latter group.

Aaron Jones averaged more than 5 YPC on Sunday night and got three more rushing attempts than a wide receiver in the same game. That’s for everyone nationally wondering why Packers fans would happily welcome a new head coach.

Todd Gurley is The Kraken. Pat Mahomes has been outstanding. Adam Thielen scores touchdowns and/or drops 100 on teams every week. But James White is the current fantasy MVP. There isn’t a better value pick in the game this season. A high-end RB1 found in Round 11 after 39 other players at his position had been selected.

Yeah, that’ll work.

If we all get together and vote I think we can convince the league to let the Rams and Saints play each other every week. Seriously, who’s with me?

Since way too many foolishly lost their chit over Al Kamara’s Week 5 game here are Kamara’s results in NFFC scoring since the Saints’ bye:

Week 7: 15.5 points
Week 8: 26.6 points
Week 9: 33.6 points

You guys climbed off the ledge yet?

Brandin Cooks #RevengeGame

The Rams lost on Sunday but getting Cooper Kupp back is ginormous for Jared Goff and the Rams’ offense. They missed him badly and with Kupp in the lineup Goff will carry Top 5 QB upside every time he steps foot on the field for the remainder of the season.

For those in Week 17 leagues with key Rams and Saints, New Orleans winning was EXACTLY what you wanted to see. The best way to ensure those key players are all going hard in the last week of the regular season is to keep the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the line all the way until the end. The Saints’ victory enhanced that possibility significantly.

And yes, I know all the issues involving Week 17 leagues, but they do exist so don’t @ me.

I love you Mike Thomas, but you just can’t do the Joe Horn thing in this type of game. You just can’t. Really really stupid and short-sighted.

I said this when the season began and I’m going to keep saying it – if you drafted Le’Veon Bell in Round 1 or 2 in September drafts, you absolutely had to draft James Conner, even if it meant using a third- or fourth-round pick on him. The ability to lock in a top RB1 in that offense was worth it.

I don’t claim to know why Bell is holding out but the people who keep reporting on all the money he’s losing really … and I mean REALLY … don’t get it. It’s way past time for people to admit this isn’t about money. You don’t think Bell knows how much he’s losing? CLEARLY, he’s OK doing what he’s doing regardless of the financial implications.

You can question his decision all you want but reporting how much money he’s losing is just ignorant at this point because it’s abundantly clear Bell is holding out for reasons that go beyond his bank account.

I’m not an NFL head coach and never will be but I do know this – If you’re starting Nate Peterman you don’t want your team to win. It really is that simple.

There were few things more mortal locky in Week 9 then the Bears’ defense scoring and Jordan Howard scoring on Sunday. That was shooting fish in a barrel.

I know Joe Flacco missed a wide freakin open Lamar Jackson for an easy touchdown, but the Lamar Jackson On The Field Experiment nonsense just has to end. It’s awful and it’s not helping the Ravens win games. If you want Jackson to play, start him at quarterback and bench Flacco. If you don’t have the stones to bench Flacco then keep Jackson on the sidelines until he shows enough as a quarterback to merit starting consideration.

Seriously John Harbaugh, it’s way past time for you to get this. Your job may depend on it.

I interrupt this NFL recap story to mention something about Rick Grimes’ farewell episode on “The Walking Dead.”

Not bad. Better than most of the episodes the past couple of seasons. Great to see familiar faces from the past (you rock, Jon Bernthal) and a fitting farewell to the show’s foundation character.

I still think the smart thing for AMC to do is cancel the show now that Andrew Lincoln is gone but I gotta say that ending … yeah that ending has me intrigued.

All kinds of intrigued.

You got me AMC. Well done.

Now back to football.

Someday, someone will devise a defense that can contain Pat Mahomes. Then again, maybe it will never happen, and the guy will throw 3-4 TDs every single game of his career. Honestly, would any of you be surprised if he did?

Kareem Hunt’s last four games in the NFFC:

Week 6: 29.5 points
Week 7: 37.1 points
Week 8: 19.6 points
Week 9: 33.1 points

That’ll do.

I think Sam Darnold has a bright future but that’s WAY too many interceptions to throw against a bad defense.

Frank Gore averaged less than 3 YPC and got 20 rushing attempts on Sunday. Kenyan Drake touched the ball seven times the entire game and had as many carries as Brock Osweiler.

Just sayin.

So Dalvin Cook’s back. If you’ve been able to hang in there while he was hurt, you just added a potentially elite RB1 to your roster after the Week 10 bye. That’s how championships are won.

Get well soon Stefon Diggs. Not only do your fantasy owners need you but Adam Thielen clearly does too.

Early returns on the Golden Tate-less Detroit offense?

Ummm …

Yikes.

Wonder if Matt Patricia will blame a reporter’s posture for that.

Hold on, the Bears’ defense just scored again.

Washington came into Sunday’s game vs. Atlanta with one of the league’s staunchest run defenses. The Falcons have had issues running the football nearly the entire season. So of course Tevin Coleman and Ito Smith combined for 148 yards and more than 6 YPC.

Of course they did.

Congratulations to everyone who had Week 9 as the week when Julio Jones would score his first touchdown of the season. You didn’t win Mega Millions, but you nailed that one. Great work.

Washington completely humiliated itself with a pathetic performance at home against Atlanta and still leads the NFC East. Guessing that lead won’t last much longer, though.

Hold on, the Vikings just sacked Matt Stafford again.

Cam Newton has thrown multiple TD passes in every game since Week 1 and hasn’t thrown an interception in a month. More people need to be talking about Cam as one of this year’s top MVP candidates because he just is.

Mike Evans caught one more pass on Sunday then I did. Just like everyone predicted.

The Texans beat the Broncos on Sunday. That’s really all I’ve got on that one.

Welcome back Mel Gordon.

The Chargers appear to have spent their bye week remembering Keenan Allen is good at football. That was smart and way overdue.

Until Joey Bosa returns (maybe that should be changed to “if” Joey Bosa returns), the Chargers’ defense will be living on the edge each and every week. Granted, Russ Wilson is all kinds of great but that’s two games in a row the Chargers tried to choke away a fourth-quarter lead on the game’s final possession.

It’s one thing for Wilson to light you up but Marcus Mariota did that to you too in your last game. That defense has issues.

You can blame Caleb Sturgis for many things, but you can’t blame him for that.

Is that a pulse I see with Doug Baldwin? Maybe. Just maybe.

Hey Oakland, how’s the Jon Gruden thing working out?

And finally, if you started Nick Mullens, Ito Smith, Raheem Mostert, Maurice Harris, Adam Humphries and Chris Herndon on Sunday congratulations you’re smarter than everyone else in the fantasy industry. But you really don’t wanna see what your dog did to your new suit in the closet.

I’m tellin ya, you don’t wanna see it.

[Coltsfan]

Great post Tom. I do have a question based on something you brought up here.

Why is it that even though it seems obvious to even the most casual fan that running back A is much better than running back B yet the coach continues to use the lesser effective back over the much better back?

Jamaal Williams pales in comparison to Jones yet Jones hasn't been given the backfield. Frank Gore offers no explosion whatsoever yet he get 85% of the carries this past Sunday. Why would anyone give Blount a single carry over Kerryon Johnson unless Johnson just needed a quick break?

This just seems so obvious yet coaches seem to love these running backs with so little to offer. What am I missing? I get pass protection plays in but why wouldn't you want your playmakers on the field? I"m so confused....


Wayne

[Tom Kessenich]

Wayne, far too many NFL head coaches are overly conservative. So they value a player who can gain two yards, for example, over someone who could gain 50 but might lose five. In their eyes, the stability is worth more than the potential. That's obviously ignorant since the entire point of the game is to outscore the opposition and someone with high potential then clearly carries great value but that's how the game is so often played.

There is a balance that needs to be struck. You can't have someone out there who is consistently careless but you also are not going to win anything meaningful if you continue to play inferior players. Looking at the teams with the biggest RB atrocities (Miami and Green Bay top the list with Detroit there as well), all have a multitude of issues that will keep all of them from being great this season. But could devoting more focus to their (clearly) superior RBs help offset some of those issues? The obvious answer is yes.

Unfortunately, the NFL continues to be run by men who ignore the obvious. Often to their own peril and their team's detriment.

[ChiTwn]

Tom,

Speaking of the packers. I know Aaron Jones had that fumble this past week. Is he a know fumbler? Is that why Mike Mccarthy won't give him the majority reps. Or even call more running plays to ya know take the pressure off his hobbling qb.

On the play Rodgers did the quick hike to catch Pats players on field. Was it me or did Jones miss the block that let defender flatten rodgers. Then A rod looked like he hurt his right wrist. Passes were falling short etc.

[Tom Kessenich]

Jones hasn't had fumbling issues in Green Bay. Just a bad deal. I'm sure that impacted McCarthy to some extent but Williams is not going away regardless. It's a two-man backfield. That's what McCarthy wants.