Week 13 Thoughts & Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

Here are some random thoughts about Sunday's action as I wonder how many MVP votes Tim Tebow is going to get:

Tim Tebow MVP candidate? Yeah, I said it and it's true. He's a legit MVP candidate. He's meeting all of the criteria for the award without a doubt. His team has vastly improved since he took over, he's propelled them into first place in their division and he's making critical plays to win games for his team. On Sunday, he even showed the ability to win games as a conventional quarterback. He barely ran at all against the Vikings. Instead, he made a number of great throws to lead his team to a victory on a day when its improved defense was being shredded. Maybe this won't continue (seriously how long have we been saying that, though?) but right now Tebow is answering all questions his critics have posed and playing like an MVP. The only people left criticizing Tebow at this point are the ones too stubborn to admit he's a lot better than they thought.

Plenty of folks,myself included, have wondered if Tebow could make enough improvements as a passer to elevate his game further. Well he's definitely improving. Not only did he throw two TD passes against the Vikings but he should have had a third. Demaryius Thomas dropped what should have been the go-ahead touchdown late in the game. I'm guessing there weren't a lot of people who thought the Broncos could win with their defense playing poorly and Tebow rushing for fewer than 15 yards.

There's another question answered Tebow answered with authority.

If you started Tebow this week in fantasy congratulations on another good call. Among the QBs he outscored this week were Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan and Vince Young.

So not only are the Broncos winning with Tebow, but chances are his fantasy owners are having a lot of fun each week too. At this point, I'm not sure there's another candidate for the Waiver Wire pickup of the year.

It's a good thing Aaron Rodgers is playing at an MVP level because Green Bay's defense is awful. Rodgers, though, sure can make it look easy. That was a clinic he delivered on the game-winning drive against the Giants.

It certainly had to be depressing for the Giants to render Rodgers into mere mortal status in the first half and still be losing. That's how good Rodgers is right now. Even when he's not at his best, he's still doing enough to keep his team in front.

Congratulations to Donald Driver for scoring two TDs on Sunday and not being started in a single fantasy league in the galaxy.

At this point, I think the only thing preventing the Packers from going 16-0 is if they decide to forfeit.

Somewhere Calvin Johnson was watching Greg Jennings' touchdown catch against the Giants and thinking once again he got royally s*****d last season.

If you started Drew Brees, Ray Rice, Percy Harvin and the Steelers defense this week, drinks are on you.

I want to congratulate the Cowboys for being the first team in NFL history to ice their own kicker. Well done, guys. Very impressive.

Even more impressive was seeing how the Cowboys failed to take control of the NFC East while losing to an inferior team which spent nearly the entire game ignoring its best offensive player. As Larry Fitzgerald owners can certainly attest, Kevin Kolb is definitely back all right.

Seriously, how many times on Sunday did Kolb drop back and not even look in Fitzgerald's direction against the Cowboys? I counted 137 although it's possible I may have counted a few plays more than once. It's utterly mind-boggling to me how this continues to occur. I mean, how do you ignore Larry Fitzgerald? More importantly, WHY would you ignore Larry Fitzgerald. Can someone answer that question for me? And by someone, I mean Kevin Kolb.

OK (Tampa) Mike Williams, you're back in my good graces. I was skeptical you could keep your run going with Josh Freeman out but you got it done once again. If you can have a productive day with Josh Johnson at quarterback, I have complete confidence in you.

This isn't going to make Rob Gronkowski fans happy but Jimmy Graham's the best tight end in the NFL.

Gronkowski's a real close No. 2, though.

Speaking of the Patriots, raise your hand if you thought their defense was going to load up against the hapless Colts in Week 13? Now raise your hand if you plan on starting them again after they made Dan Orlovsky look like Aaron Rodgers? Considerably fewer hands raised, I see. That's what I thought.

I'm not sure how many people outside of the Brown family know this, but "Dammit Donald" Brown has scored in three of his last five games. That's the good news. The bad news? He faces the Ravens next week.

It was great to see the Lions step up and support their suspended teammate Ndamukong Suh by committing several penalties Sunday night against the Saints that would have made Suh proud. And by "great," I mean pathetic. The Lions are an undisciplined football team and that all points right back to the head coach. That's on you Jim Schwartz. It got so bad last night even the Raiders were shaking their heads in disgust and saying, "Enough already."

If Kevin Smith could stay healthy, he might be a Top 5 RB in PPR leagues the rest of the way. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like he can stay healthy.

Sorry Bears fans, but Caleb Hanie isn't very good. On the bright side, if you're a Johnny Knox owner you've become a fan because Hanie sure does like throwing to Knox. But if you're the Bears, you pretty much have to sign Donovan McNabb. I'm not convinced he has much left but it's difficult to envision him not being an upgrade over Hanie.

First Jay Cutler. Now Matt Forte. It's definitely not easy being a Bears fan lately.

I'm still trying to figure out how the Falcons lost to a Houston team that was starting T.J. Yates at quarterback and lost Andre Johnson to injury (again). If you want to be considered an elite quarterback Matt Ryan, that's a game you simply have to win.

Oh, and for all the Johnson owners out there, all I can say is I'm sorry. I know that doesn't mean much but what a terrible season it's been for that guy. What a waste of a first-round fantasy pick.

I Tweeted yesterday that if the Chiefs were smart they'd make sure Dexter McCluster got 10-15 touches every game. He's too explosive to not utilize more effectively. But they are the Chiefs so I'm not convinced it's going to happen. They do seem enamored with watching Jackie Battle grind out one yard per carry all the time.

Welcome to the Chiefs, Kyle Orton. Safe to say you won't forget your first play anytime soon.

Michael Turner, DeMarco Murray and Michael Bush combined for 100 yards rushing on Sunday. Roy Helu had 100 all by himself. Just like everyone predicted.

Here's another way to look at it - Ricky Williams rushed more yards than Turner, Murray and Bush did on Sunday. Did I mention he's a backup? Oh, Williams also scored too. Ain't this game fun?

Chris Johnson may just be a matchup play at this point but when the matchup is favorable ... well he looks a lot like Chris Johnson.

Remember when Matt Hasselbeck turned back the clock and was playing like he was 25 again? Safe to say the clock struck midnight on him awhile ago.

Impressive way to conclude your season, Fred Davis.

Hold on, Cam Newton just ran for another touchdown.

Shonn Greene does have a pulse. Imagine that.

Dear Cam Cameron, good things happen when you give Ray Rice the football. Signed, Everyone Who Has Ever Watched Ray Rice play.

Including the Cleveland Browns.

If C.J. Spiller keeps playing like this, it's going to make Fred Jackson's contract negotiations very interesting for the Bills in the offseason.

I'm still not convinced the 49ers can win a shootout with Alex Smith if they need to, but one thing's for sure - their run defense is legit. If you have a RB facing them, you need to find an alternative unless he's a fantasy superstar. They absolutely suffocated Steven Jackson on Sunday. Sorry Beanie Wells, you're getting it done again but you head to the bench next week.

And finally, I can't think of a better way to spend the first Monday Night of December than cheering on Maurice Jones-Drew as he has the best game of his season in Week 13. Can you? No? I didn't think so.

[ December 05, 2011, 10:13 AM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

[mattjb]

Amazing how hard it has become with RBs that Chris Johnson has ened our regular season as the 9th best RB in fantasy.

[Tom Kessenich]

Originally posted by mattjb:
Amazing how hard it has become with RBs that Chris Johnson has ened our regular season as the 9th best RB in fantasy. Of the Top 10 RBs in average points per game, four of them are hurt (Jackson, Peterson, Forte and McFadden). If you include Kevin Smith, the total is five.

No one can convince me the lockout didn't wreak havoc on skill positions this season. The number of injuries to QBs, RBs and WRs has been ridiculous.

[Ted's Cracked Head]

Tom,

The dart to Driver was an amazing pass and textbook move to get free, catch the ball and dot the I's with his feet. Fun to watch!

Has an NFL defense ever gone a full year without surrendering at least one rushing TD? Can you dig into the Stats computer and find out for me.

[Tom Kessenich]

By the way, Tebow's QB Rating on Sunday was 149.3. In terms of passing, there weren't many QBs who had a better day on Sunday than Tebow did.

[alanr824]

The waiver wire pickup of the year, is no doubt, Victor Cruz. Sure, Tebow is putting up above average numbers, when he wasn't expected. Cruz is putting up "top of the league" numbers.

[Money]

I can't believe how out of control the Lions have become. Very very frustrating to watch. With that said I still think a couple of the offensive pass interferance calls against Burleson were petty.

[Tom Kessenich]

Originally posted by Silver and Black:
Tom,

The dart to Driver was an amazing pass and textbook move to get free, catch the ball and dot the I's with his feet. Fun to watch!

Has an NFL defense ever gone a full year without surrendering at least one rushing TD? Can you dig into the Stats computer and find out for me. Three teams have allowed two rushing TDs in a season. That's the NFL record. Since going to a 16-game season in 1978, the fewest allowed has been four, which 11 teams have done. Here are the RBs the 49ers will face the rest of the season:

Week 14: Beanie Wells
Week 15: Rashard Mendenhall
Week 16: Marshawn Lynch
Week 17: Steven Jackson

Lynch owners will have a very tough time in Week 16. He's on fire and is a Must Start but as we saw with Ray Rice a couple weeks ago the Niners can render stud RBs mortal.

[Tom Kessenich]

Originally posted by Al R G:
The waiver wire pickup of the year, is no doubt, Victor Cruz. Sure, Tebow is putting up above average numbers, when he wasn't expected. Cruz is putting up "top of the league" numbers. Good call on Cruz. He's been outstanding. He's WR5 in the NFFC in average points per game. I agree he should get the nod over Tebow.

[Ted's Cracked Head]

Thanks Tom - I wonder if there is a Vegas prop bet for the 9ers Rushing TD situation? If not, there should be.

Tebow - The wikipedia page for "winning" has just been updated to include his photo. He is growing and I think he will continue to do so.

As a Raider fan I hate to admit that the AFC West is the Broncos and Tebow's to lose.

Kinda felt bad for Matt Forte yesterday and if I were him, I would milk the injury and not set foot on the field for the rest of the year, even if I could. The flip side is that the Bears did make him a pretty good offer which he refused so.......

Don't look now but the Dolphins are playing solid football on both sides of the ball. Probably not good enough to save their coach but good enough to think they are a couple of players away from contending in the near future and good enough to spoil the Jets playoff hopes in 4 weeks.

Defenses win Championships, does anyone know the 9ers odds of winning the NFC and SB?

Either way I think the NFL fans are going to get to see some exciting divisional as well as playoffs games this holiday season.