Week 10 Thoughts and Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

Here are some random thoughts and observations as I wonder if four starting quarterbacks have ever been knocked out of games in one weekend before:

You have to feel for the Chiefs. They had the Steelers ripe for an upset; Matt Cassel had led an improbable scoring drive to tie the game at the end of regulation and then Cassel turned into Matt Cassel again. Tough way to lose.

On the bright side, the Chiefs have lost only one game this season in which they had the lead.

The Chiefs ran one screen pass last night and it was for the lumbering Peyton Hillis and not the explosive Jamaal Charles. Sometimes it's not difficult figuring out why a team stinks.

I think we may have seen the end of Michael Vick for the 2012 season.

Here's hoping we haven't seen the end of Ben Roethlisberger too.

I'm not sure how you can start any Steelers' offensive player now with any sense of confidence. Byron Leftwich looked horrific Monday night. If Pittsburgh is smart they'll scale back their offense and try and run the ball 50 times a game. Hard to see Leftwich providing much juice in the passing game.

Chris Ivory doesn't always run well but he almost always runs hard.

An injury to an elite player always sucks but nothing is worse than when an injury occurs in a Grade A matchup. Julio Jones owners know exactly what I'm talking about. Missing two quarters against the Saints is like finding out Jessica Alba got a divorce and wants to be your girlfriend but she knocked on your door and gave up because you weren't home. The missed opportunity of a lifetime.

It's gonna be a lot of fun watching Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski battle it out the rest of the season for the right to be fantasy's best tight end. Again.

That said, Tony Gonzalez continues to be ageless and a lot of fun to watch.

Ummm Michael Turner, if you can't score from the 1-yard line against the Saints you have some issues.

Lance Moore is a great example of why snap count can be overrated. Moore played only 27% of the Saints' snaps on Sunday but had 9 targets and 7 catches. Snap count is a nice stat and tells us a lot but nothing beats proper usage.

If you follow me on Twitter, you knew I wasn't buying into the Taiwan Jones hype last week and warned people to stay away from him. I don't get 'em all right by any means but picking Marcel Reece as the Raiders' RB play this week was a slam-dunk call. It was so easy to see that coming.

Anyone else hoping they never get in a fantasy league with Nate Silver?

Say this about the Ravens - they sure do love the home cooking. Joe Flacco's like a completely different quarterback at home.

Hey look, Dennis Pitta and Kyle Rudolph are alive.

Not only did the Panthers mis-use Jonathan Stewart - again - but he had a beautiful 62-yard catch and run called back by a penalty. His owners can't catch a break.

Peyton Manning not only is back he may be the best player in the NFL right now.

Eli Manning? Not so much.

You gotta catch that long TD pass, Victor Cruz.

Adrian Peterson. Wow.

So let me see if I have this straight - the Lions go into Minnesota playing much better offensively facing a Minnesota team with a quarterback who's really struggling and minus their best receiving threat and they get blitzed? Well done, Detroit.

Along the same lines, what in the hell was that Miami? Seriously. What in the hell was that?

I think we can safely say that Chris Johnson is back. His TD run against the Dolphins was vintage Chris Johnson. A thing of beauty.

I thought Riley Cooper had the catch of the week with his sensational one-handed TD grab against the Cowboys but Mike Wallace topped it last night. That was an amazing catch for a touchdown.

I know the Jaguars aren't any good but did you see how wide open Reggie Wayne was last Thursday night? Guy could've sat down, watched an entire season of "24" on DVD and still had time to get up and catch a pass.

Hey Rashad Jennings, this isn't how you go about showing people you can be a starting running back.

Hey Carson Palmer, GET UP!

Rob Gronkowski sure loves playing the Bills.

And Michael Crabtree sure loves playing the Rams.

One of the most unpredictable things to predict in fantasy football is the flow of the game. Let's use Josh Freeman as an example. Two weeks ago, Freeman was headed for another monster game only to see his pass attempts curtailed due to Doug Martin's 300 long TD runs. This week, Freeman encountered the same issue only due to Tampa Bay scoring 800 times on defense and special teams. Sometimes you can have a great matchup with a red-hot player and it still doesn't feel like you got all you could have due to factors such as these.

Hold on, Danny Amendola just caught another pass.

My thoughts on Nick Foles since he'll likely be a hot topic of conversation this week - I wasn't overly impressed. He holds the ball a bit too long for my liking at times and stares down his receivers. However, these are issues many young QBs confront and can be correctable. I mainly worry about how he'll hold up behind this pathetic offensive line. But the Eagles do have plenty of weapons and Andy Reid will likely keep chucking it up so Foles should have a chance to put up respectable numbers at the very least.

Assuming he doesn't get killed behind that line.

The Eagles are 3-0 when LeSean McCoy gets at least 20 rushes and 0-6 when he has fewer than 20. Ummmm I'm not an NFL head coach but this one seems rather easy to figure out if you're game planning for the Eagles each week, doesn't it?

Mark Sanchez was set up to fail by the Jets the moment they acquired Tim Tebow. The fact Sanchez isn't very good doesn't help his cause but it's not like this situation ever had a chance of ending happily for him this season.

Whither Andre Johnson?

Amendola said he did not know a game could end in a tie after overtime. First Donovan McNabb, now Amendola. Doesn't anybody tell players the rules? Might be helpful.

And finally, if you started Ryan Fitzpatrick, Danny Woodhead, Danario Alexander, Kyle Rudolph and the Broncos defense this week you're paying for all of my Christmas presents this year.

[Jersey Dawg]

Anyone seen Pierre Thomas?? 6 touches. Wow.

[Sack]

Anybody see Alan Greenberg or am I the only one back here looking for his Thoughts and Observations?

[Tom Kessenich]

Anyone seen Pierre Thomas?? 6 touches. Wow.

I'm shocked by how little he's being used with Sproles out. Granted, they're getting some real good play from Ingram and Ivory the last two games but Thomas is a darn good RB and I'm real surprised that he's become such a non-factor.

Edited to add - Thomas is another great example about how snap count can be misleading. He led the Saints RBs in snaps against Atlanta but was by far their least utilized back. Being on the field a lot is nice. Actually getting the ball is nicer.

[thegambler]

tom, have you stop posting this thread after each week or i am just missing it somewhere? i enjoyed reading them.

[Tom Kessenich]

tom, have you stop posting this thread after each week or i am just missing it somewhere? i enjoyed reading them.

There didn't seem to be much interest so I stopped doing it. Maybe I'll bring it back next week.

[Money]

tom, have you stop posting this thread after each week or i am just missing it somewhere? i enjoyed reading them.

There didn't seem to be much interest so I stopped doing it. Maybe I'll bring it back next week.

I have always enjoyed reading them as well. I usually don't make comments on them but I enjoyed reading them.

[TradeStar28]

Tom is like Cee- Lo Green's kitty cat from the show, "The Voice".....He likes to be stroked once in a while...

with that being said, bring back your observations please....we cannot live without them....especially as we head to the all important weeks 14-15-16

[mattjb]

Always a good read. Bring it back Tom.

[Sack]

Tom:

I've built this into my weekly football routine. I may not have commented, but your insights where always enjoyed and
it help reinforce some of my own beliefs whether it be for or against. I hope you will find the time to bring your thoughts and observations back for us to read.

Happy to read that you will be making the Vegas trip/ 2013. This certainly adds a fun element for "Team Sack" as we have certainly appreciated your work on the East Coast and think it will be a blast to have the WHOLE BAND back together out West.


Ken @ Kenny