Week 4 Thoughts & Observations

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Tom Kessenich
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Week 4 Thoughts & Observations

Post by Tom Kessenich » Mon Oct 04, 2021 8:12 am

Here are some random thoughts and observations about Week 4 as I wonder why NFL head coaches continue to screw up the most obvious things.

Case in point No. 1: Sean Payton

Payton is one of the NFL’s best head coaches. He’s won a Super Bowl. He knows more about the game than most. Certainly more than I ever will know. I would never claim otherwise. But I do know this. If I am the head the head coach of a team that has Al Kamara on the roster and I play a football game that consists of 60 minutes of playing time and in those 60 minutes I do not call a single pass play for Kamara I have failed and I have failed in rather spectacular fashion.

That happened on Sunday. You will not be shocked to find out that the Saints lost on Sunday. This, my friends, is not a coincidence. Did the absolutely embarrassing and pathetic collapse of the defense in the final drive of the game by the Giants ultimately give up the game? Absolutely. But Payton’s ignorant use of his best weapon was a key reason why the Giants even had a chance to be in the game in the first place.

And I haven’t even mentioned the completely moronic decision to attempt a 48-yard field goal earlier in the game when his defense was playing great and the Giants’ offense was showing nothing. This was not Payton’s best day at the offense.

Case in point No. 2: Nick Sirianni

One week ago, Siriani attempted to put the game on the shoulders of his young QB Jalen Hurts against a superior opponent and phase out his best offensive weapon in Miles Sanders. The result was a blowout loss against the Cowboys. Common sense dictated Sirianni would realize he needed to get Sanders more involved this week in a matchup against another superior opponent (Kansas City), especially considering the Chiefs have been absolutely wretched trying to defend opposing RBs this season.

But what did he do instead? He put the game on Hurts’ shoulders and phased Sanders out again. You’ll be shocked to find out the Eagles got blown out again.

Surprise. Surprise. Surprise.

It’d be one thing if Sanders was playing poorly and deserved to be playing less, but that isn’t the case. He’s averaging 4.6 yards per carry and a whopping 9.5 yards per reception. Every statistical metric is screaming for him to be an offensive focal point. He’s one of the most explosive players in the league. The Eagles’ offense should be built around him. Yes, Kenneth Gainwell is good too and he needs to have a meaningful role. The offense can feature both RBs. A good head coach and play caller would realize this and adjust.

Perhaps Sirianni will figure this out. Until then, everyone who drafted Sanders will be forced to bench one of the league’s most talented RBs. You’re being punished for drafting wisely because the head coach hasn’t figured out how to properly utilize the talent at his disposal.

Ain’t this game fun?

Joe Burrow Top 5 fantasy QB in 2022 am I right?

Calvin Ridley is on pace for 115 receptions, and it still feels like the Falcons aren’t using him right for at least half of every game they play each week.

I know it makes for a zany storyline and all that, but Cordarelle Patterson outscoring Ridley and Kyle Pitts every week just feels wrong on every level humanly possible. And it absolutely explains why the Falcons lost on Sunday. If Patterson is going to be your offensive focal point when you have Ridley and Pitts on your team you pretty much deserve to get what you ultimately get.

Someday Terry McLaurin is gonna get himself a real quarterback and it’s gonna be glorious.

I’m 100% convinced Josh Allen was playing against Zack Moss in his fantasy league this week.

Some good news for the Chicago Bears this week: Bill Lazor took over as the play caller instead of Matt Nagy. That allowed Justin Fields to be a little more of himself and opened up some of the playbook. Fields dropped some serious dimes against the Lions. But I do have one question – You spent an entire week preparing Fields to start and he only got three rushing attempts? What the hell are you guys doing? How do you have Justin Fields at QB and not allow him to be Justin Fields? So, we’re not there yet are we?

Sam Darnold is just gonna keep rushing for touchdowns every week now, isn’t he?

There were really people in the industry this week advising you to sit D.J. Moore against the Cowboys? I like Trevon Diggs too but c’mon, Moore is an absolute stud. Unless you have absolutely sick WR depth Moore is a lock and loaded start every week right now.

I said it last week and I’ll say it again now, Zeke Elliott is far and away the Cowboys’ best RB. Tony Pollard is a Zeke handcuff play only. If you’re starting Pollard, I hope you’re enjoying your 6-8 points per game while Zeke is dropping his 15-20 with 25-30 upside.

Here are Zeke’s weekly PPR rankings in his games with a healthy Dak Prescott:

RB3
RB6
RB13
RB11
RB4
RB8
RB46 (Week 1 this year vs. Tampa Bay’s elite rushing eefense)
RB10
RB3
RB10

Stop worrying about him, OK?

We might wanna start worry about CeeDee Lamb, though. Looks like Dallas wants to be a run-first offense through Zeke. I didn’t see that coming and I’m guessing a lot of you didn’t see that coming either.

Flying a little under the radar yesterday because Jon Taylor looked really good, but Carson Wentz played pretty well against Miami. Something to keep an eye on.

Speaking of top RBs, I love me some Dal Cook but I think he might need to take a week or two off and rest his ankle. He didn’t look like himself against the Browns.

Every once in awhile guys remind you who they really are. As an example of that I present to you Week 4 Baker Mayfield vs. Kirk Cousins.

Everyone really owes Corey Davis a huge apology for not giving him enough attention for his Revenge Game Week. Tom Who?

Derrick Henry is gonna be the No. 1 pick in 2022 and that’s gonna be the year it all comes crashing down for him, isn’t it? Oh well, just enjoy the ride this year because he is absolutely murdering everyone.

The Week 1 worries about Clyde Edwards-Helaire feel like an eternity ago.

I’ve been stubbornly hanging in there with Bob Trees and yeah, the late TD was nice, but he was a complete non-factor while the game was competitive. He was even used as a blocker on a Red Zone passing play. He’s another top pick who needs to be benched until we see some clear signs that his usage is going to change.

I keep thinking James Conner isn’t going to score TDs every week, so I don’t start him in the leagues where I have him. Then he keeps scoring TDs. I’m gonna start him next week. Anybody wanna bet what he does next week?

Kyler Murray MVP? Yup, I can see it.

If Trey Lance had Justin Fields’ ability to throw downfield and Fields had the 49ers’ playcalling scheme you’d have one really fun fantasy QB. Can somebody figure out a way to give us that?

Deebo Samuel is gonna be all kinds of fun if he can just stay healthy this season. Please stay healthy Deebo.

But I think we can officially stick a fork in Brandon Aiyuk now.

In his last 15 games when he’s played at least 50% of the snaps Dionte Johnson has received double-digit targets 13 times. He’s averaged 11.4 targets and 18.2 points per game in those games. In his three games this season he’s scored:

14.6 points
19.5
24.2

Folks, Dionte Johnson is a high-end WR2 with weekly WR1 upside. If you have him, you do not ask if you should start him. You start him. End of story.

After a rather embarrassing start to the season, the Packers’ defense has stepped up a bit the last three games. But the task will get a lot more difficult in Week 5 on the road vs. Joe Burrow and the Bengals, especially if Tee Higgins can return.

But I will say Aaron Rodgers vs. Joe Burrow should be all kinds of fun to watch.

The Patriots were driving with under two minutes left in the game last night around midfield and Cris Collinsworth said they could “assume” they were going to kick the go-ahead field goal. Is that right? Can someone check with Nick Folk and let me know how his field goal turned out? Can we assume he made it?

I’m literally shaking my head at a former player assuming scoring points in the NFL is a given.

But hey what do I know? I never played the game, right?

Can anybody tell me if Tom Brady really wanted to win last night’s game? I feel like NBC didn’t talk enough about that.

And finally, if you started Trey Lance, Jeremy McNichols, Alex Collins, Randy Cobb, Van Jefferson and C.J. Uzomah this week feel free to do that again next week. I dare ya. No really. Just do it smart guy.
Tom Kessenich
Manager of High Stakes Fantasy Games, SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @TomKessenich

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