Week 10 Thoughts & Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

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.

[CALI CARTEL]

I told friends that the Jimmy Graham trade was a bad one for Seattle the day it happened, and was pretty much laughed at. You build teams up the middle in all sports, so you don't trade an All-Pro Center for almost anything, even for perhaps the best (or second best) tight end of this generation.

In addition, they gave New Orleans the 31st pick in first round pick in the deal, which turned out to be LB Stephone Anthony. Now Seattle looked at that pick and realized that no one at the pick would be an immediate starter for them, but the pick would've still be tradeable -- Tennessee was able to flip Pick #33 to the Giants for their 2nd, 4th and 7th rounder because the Giants wanted S Landon Collins a bunch -- why couldn't Seattle have held tight and made that deal with the Giants at #31?

There's always someone willing to trade up, (ridiculous cheating talk aside) just ask the Patriots who have built their ongoing 15-year dynasty through trading back and stockpiling picks. Bottom line is, the Seattle trade was a move that a stupid Fantasy Owner makes, going for the flash over the substance; Max Unger is a far better football player for the real NFL game than Jimmy Graham.

[JETS SB]

Saw this stat last night, which makes it probably the strangest week I have witnessed in the NFL ever. FIVE super bowl MVP QBs lost yesterday, first time in one day, ever. Not only did they lose, but how about this:

1) Rodgers loses to DET - at home for first time this century with missed field goal after onside
2) Flacco loses to Jacksonville at home - game over - face mask
3) P Manning loses to KC at home- worst game by QB in NFL history
4) Eli Manning loses to Pats - not surprising but had it won. Brady luckiest QB in the history of the NFL
5) Brees loses to Skins - blowout but not his fault

All this while Big Ben comes in as the backup QB and wins with the best WR combo in the NFL. That's a tough QB who gets very little credit on his accomplishments and especially his toughness.

[Tom Kessenich]

Looking at my various teams and DFS lineups I saw a lot of players with A+ matchups who either came up below expectations or completely soiled the bed. Week 10 definitely did not feel like a week when the top players generally performed like top players. Instead it was guys like Cousins, West and the crazy stuff going on at TE that dominated the scoring. And even guys like Beckham and Gronk who put up numbers really didn't do much outside of one big play. Of course, one big play is all it takes so their owners will not complain at all. But still felt like a week where a lot of top players didn't get it done.

[King of Queens]

3) P Manning loses to KC at home- worst game by QB in NFL history

Fortunately he broke Favre's career passing yardage record very early in the game. Can you imagine the fan reaction if he hit the mark late in the 3rd quarter?

[Tom Kessenich]

3) P Manning loses to KC at home- worst game by QB in NFL history

Fortunately he broke Favre's career passing yardage record very early in the game. Can you imagine the fan reaction if he hit the mark late in the 3rd quarter?

Given how bad he was I think they should make him give the record back.

[FantasyJC]

So many injuries to key players. Also the competition in these leagues is tough. Some of you guys are plugged in and have a really good strategy. You should not go in expecting to profit unless you are a proven fantasy high stakes player. Depth is a big key to winning because you can overcome injuries and byes.

Also hitting on a sleeper or two is key, there are people in all leagues who have Devonta Freeman, McFadden and other sleeper players. In my best league I lost Keenan Allen which may end up being too much for me to place despite hitting on Adams, Miller and a other players to a lesser extent. You can see even Nelson's team and how he stacks for depth.

Also it is key to stay on top of your leagues, I have focused on DFS and I have made mistakes where I do not take time for waivers based on players who are questionable or on byes and end up being short a player.

[Sack]

Undefeated Cincy Bengals tonight. Watch closely - I promise Marvin Lewis mismanages his timeouts in both the first and
second half AND screws up something else decision wise. They are winning on an over abundance of talent - has nothing
to do with that guy on the sidelines.

Been playing the DFS games in a light manner since late August. The only reason I've done so is because the Fanduel
people made US players here at the NFBC/NFFC an attractive offer by depositing $50 into an account and basically
doubling that off of our entry fees. So my exposure to these games is limited. However, in the short time I've played
I've been able to take some some low level contests for a marginal amount. The scores you need to win the big pots seemed as if you need to nail every position. When I heard about outcry about One employee winning their rivals game I've been a bit more skeptical about HOW they actually pulled this off. Add on New York's Attorney General basically looking to shut down these games the DFS world was front and center. I decided, after yesterday, to take a peek into a game I played at the top teams to check out there lineups. Gotta admit, if I see even 1 person winning yesterday with Ben Roethlisberger I will close out my accounts and never play again. What I found was - duplicate entry with Antonio Brown & Martavis Bryant cashing in on the top two prizes. Smoking gun? Well, guess you can explain away being contrarian - but Landry Jones was the starting QB.

Will keep playing - but forever a skeptical eye.

What can I say, I'm a Horse Player and was not only in the pool but on track when the Pick 6 was hit at the Breeders Cup in 2002 with several tickets that were past posted. These guys were actually caught ONLY because the longest shot won the last race. Anybody that doesn't believe this could still take place, or a form of it, is simply naive.

[Don Draper]

I look forward to seeing which Owners successfully manage around injuries

[Tom Kessenich]

I look forward to seeing which Owners successfully manage around injuries

In my top league it's become a two-team race with me and another owner. He had Charles and I thought that injury would be a death blow. Instead he picked up West and hasn't missed a beat. Hitting on the right WW pickups is every bit as important as not failing in the early rounds of a draft, maybe more so.