Category: NFL

Top Fantasy Performers of Week 13

Week 13 provided us yet another disappointing NFL weekend. It was the classic blowout, blowout, blowout, close game, blowout weekend that provides almost no entertainment. With that said, there were some impressive performances by a few individuals that deserve some recognition.

The top 2 QBs this week were Alex Smith and Josh McCown.

Alex Smith was a stud this week, he put up big numbers through the air and on the ground. He threw for 366 yards, 4 TD’s and added a rush for 70 yards. The top fantasy player of the week put up 45 points.

Josh McCown was brilliant on Sunday, matching Alex Smith touchdown for touchdown. He threw for 331 yards and 1 TD as well as rushing for 2 TD’s. This was one of his best games of the season and ended up with 32 points.

The top 2 RBs this week were Alvin Kamara and Le’Veon Bell.

Alvin Kamara was a top performer last week and most likely will be a top performer for the rest of the season. The do-it-all back rushed 9 times for 60 yards, 2 TD’s and caught 5 of 6 balls for 66 yards. He averaged 29 points across most leagues.

Le’Veon Bell played well in Mondays ugly game, he rushed 18 times for 76 yards and caught 5 of 6 balls for 106 yards and a TD. The TD was bogus considering the defender gave up on the play,  but nevertheless it counted.

The top 2 WRs this week were Tyreek Hill and Nelson Agholor.

Tyreek Hill was putting up big numbers as usual, running right by his defenders. He caught 6 of 9 passes for 185 yards and 2 TD’s. He ended up with 36 points.

Nelson Agholor had an impressive week, too bad the rest of the Eagles could put up these type of numbers. He caught 7 of 12 balls for 141 yards and a TD. He ended up with 27 points.

The top 2 TEs this week were Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski.

Kelce started the game off with a bang with a long touchdown, but didn’t do much after that. He ended he game with 4 catches, 94 yards and 2 TD’s. He led all tight-ends with 25 points.

Gronk had a near perfect game minus the huge bonehead play at the end of the game that got him suspended. Although he didn’t score a touchdown, he dominated the Bills up and down the field. He finished the game catching 9 of 11 passes for 147 yards. He ended up with 23 points.

Why the Steelers – Bengals Game Was Good for Football

The Steelers faced off against the Bengals in an AFC North showdown last night on Monday night. Amidst a devastating injury to Ryan Shazier (who since seems to be doing better in the hospital still), we had this fake outrage from people who don’t realize football is violent. The AFC North games are always physical games — these teams hate each other. The NY Post even went as far to say that the game was a “violent mess and terrible for the NFL.” Troy Aikman even went to twitter to air out his thoughts.

Football is supposed to be violent — people are going to get hit, it happens. This isn’t flag football and the fact that people are suddenly outraged at a late season Bengals-Steelers game is outrageous. Especially considering this one wasn’t even as bad as past ones (see: Burfict hit on Antonio Brown in playoffs).  The Shazier hit, although bad, was a completely legal play and there was nothing wrong with it. Sure — it was devastating and the whole NFL community and every fan wishes nothing but the best for him, the notion that the players on the field would tone down the physicality is absurd.

Let’s talk the JuJu hit first — to put it bluntly, it was an absolutely brutal hit. JuJu knew exactly what he was doing and honestly this was karma for Burfict. He led with his shoulder and did get some helmet contact but it looks as if that wasn’t intended.  A little dirty — yes, just because Burfict wasn’t looking in his direction. The staredown, obviously not very sportsmanlike, was a wild move. To be honest, I loved it. Smith-Schuster knew he was going to be penalized for it and most likely a fine but we’ve seen blocks just as bad as that before. He wanted to make a statement — and he did.

That being said, I don’t think he should be anywhere near Burfict when the two teams meet again but Burfict may actually kill him on the field — but this is the type of action football fans want to see. We don’t want to hear Jon Gruden and Sean McDonough complaining about how this is awful for football, because it’s not.

These two teams absolutely hate each other and I think it’s great. I know a good chunk of the NFL are friends but sometimes it’s fun to watch two teams go out there and try to completely out-muscle the other team. Obviously things happen when that’s the case and things can get out of hand.

Obviously a brutal hit on Antonio Brown from George Iloka — he led with his head and clearly made contact. He was flagged immediately and Brown caught the TD, shook off the hit and came right back in on the next drive. Problem solved. Fine Iloka and move on — as Roethlisberger said, “this is AFC North football.”

The suspensions rained down today, with JuJu and Iloka both getting 1 game. Both were flagged and both should have only been fined. A suspension is a little outrageous — nothing happened after the plays. Sure, JuJu taunted Burfict but to suspend them a game is a little much of a reach. The NFL saw the public pressure and panicked as once again there isn’t any sort of precedent on these issues. This game was great to watch from a neutral perspective and the NFL knows that — watch them to schedule this for primetime again next year.

0 and Whatever. Week Who Cares?

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Going to be a short one this week, as I wasn’t able to catch the whole game.  The Browns lost again this week.   Cleveland traveled to Los Angeles for their scheduled loss.  Last season on Christmas Eve, the Browns managed to shit out a win against the Chargers.  They were not as lucky this year.

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There really isn’t much to write about when it comes to this game, but I will reluctantly give you an update as best I can.  The Browns defense certainly came to play on Sunday, as they held the Chargers to 0 first quarter points.  The Chargers added two field goals in the second quarter to make it 6-0.

The Browns rallied, and Kizer lead a 65 yard touchdown drive in 5 plays.  David Njoku caught a 28 yard pass for the score.  Hey!  A lead!  With the extra-point, the Browns lead 7-6.  It did not last long, as Philip Rivers lead an 11 play drive into field goal range.  Ex-Brown Travis Coons hit a 22 yard field goal to help the Chargers re-gain a 9-7 lead.

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The second half was a snoozer.  Keenan Allen caught a 7 yard touchdown pass, and Travis Coons added another field goal to make it 19-7.  The Browns could only muster another field goal.  The game ended with the limp dick score of 19-10.

 

5 Positives:

  1. Josh Gordon came back and was fantastic.  Josh lead the team with 4 catches for 85 yards.  He wasn’t necessarily dominant, but he looked every bit as good as he was before.  It will take some time to knock the rust off, but he looked fantastic.
  2. Defense is DOMINANT.  They can stop any offense, and due to the lovely 0-12 record nobody really speaks of the Browns defense.  They held a formidable Chargers offense (Melvin Gordon, Keenan Allen, Antonio Gates, Travis Benjamin) to only 19 points.  If there was any pulse on offense they might have a few wins.
  3. Only 4 more weeks until this season is over.
  4. Only 4 more weeks until Hue Jackson is fired.
  5. David Njoku had his best day as a pro.  Having Gordon lead to more open looks for Njoku, and he certainly capitalized.  Njoku was able to haul in the Browns only touchdown pass of the day.

Next week the Browns will welcome Brett Hundley, and the Greenbay Packers to town.  I’d love a thank you in advance from Packer fans.  Looks like my beloved Brownies will be instrumental in keeping their playoff hopes on life support.

 

I am going to end it here with some highlights of Josh Gordon’s 2018 sober debut.  Enjoy!

https://twitter.com/TheFBBible/status/938136402511978496

Week 14 Top 10 Power Rankings

With 3 quarters of the season in the books, the good teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack. We’re going to highlight the top 10 teams and who will be contenders in the playoffs that are fast approaching.

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  1.  New England Patriots (10-2)

The Patriots are back and doing the same thing they always do.  They started off slow and the defense was looking bad — now they can’t lose and opponents have failed to score more than 17 points in 8 straight games. Dion Lewis is back to form and Tom Brady is well…Tom Brady. Hard to see this Patriots team losing in the AFC playoffs.

Image result for minnesota vikings2. Minnesota Vikings (10-2)

The Vikings being in first place in Week 14 after losing both their starting QB and RB is about as improbable as the way Case Keenum is playing but we have arrived here. The Vikings have looked to be unstoppable and slotted in the #1 seed in the NFC after the Eagles’ loss. This team is for real and has the potential to never leave Minnesota during the playoffs — even the Super Bowl.

Image result for philadelphia eagles3. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2)

The Eagles have been beneficiaries of an easy schedule but have came out and took care of business. A road game in Seattle in the month of December is a very difficult but the Eagles got exposed a bit as they were outplayed in every asset of the game. I’m sure this team will bounce back but for now they’re going to have to accept that the playoffs may not run through the Linc.

4. New Orleans Saints (9-3)Image result for new orleans saints

The Saints check in at 4 after an impressive season sweep against Cam Newton and the Panthers. The Saints are firmly in control of their division race but they still have two matchups left with rival Atlanta Falcons. If the Saints win at least one, it’s hard to see them not on top of the NFC South when the dust is settled.

 

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5. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-2) 

The Steelers round out the top 5 after a tough AFC North Monday night game against the Bengals. The Steelers sport the same top record as the top 3 but they have been shaky in recent weeks, barely beating the Bengals, Packers, and Colts. This team does keep winning but the injury to Shazier is a huge blow. The Steelers-Patriots showdown in two weeks will decide home field advantage.

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6. Los Angeles Rams (9-3) 

The Rams clinched their first winning season since 2003 with the win over the Cardinals this weekend. Sean McVay has done a tremendous job turning around this team but it’ll be interesting to see how their offense performs when the playoffs are on the line. This is the same team that was only able to put up 7 on the Vikings.

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7. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) 

Nobody is scared of Jacksonville’s offense but their defense is scary good. Calais Campbell just broke the franchise sack record .. in week 13. This team is definitely on the rise and probably will not be able to beat the AFC top contenders. Still fun to watch and deserving of the #7 spot.

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8. Seattle Seahawks (8-4) 

Speaking of defenses — the Seahawks check in right behind the Jaguars ahead of a showdown this weekend. The Seahawks, despite huge losses of Sherman and Chancellor are still ball-hawks on defense. Russell Wilson is having a MVP caliber season and they may have found their running back in Mike Davis. Watch out for the Seahawks in January.

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9. Carolina Panthers (8-4) 

The Panthers had a let-down game in which one that they could have made a solid statement in the NFC playoff run. They are however still in prime control of the first wildcard spot and with Cam Newton at the helm — anything can happen. Lack of receiving depth is going to hurt them but the return of Greg Olsen can definitely boost this team to dangerous.

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10. Baltimore Ravens (7-5) 

The Ravens are very quietly having a solid season in Baltimore. The defense has pitched 3 shutouts and made the Lions offense look foolish. The season-ending injury to CB Jimmy Smith definitely hurts but nobody should want to play against Joe Flacco in January. The Ravens have a Sunday night showdown against bitter rival Pittsburgh this week which will say a lot about where they’re at.

 

JUST MISSED: Tennessee Titans (8-4), Atlanta Falcons (7-5), Los Angeles Chargers (6-6)

The Jimmy G Era in San Francisco Begins With a Win

The Garoppolo era began yesterday with a 15-14 win at Soldier Field on a last-second FG by Robbie Gould (against his old team, nonetheless) to propel the 49ers to their second victory of the year.  Obviously a lost season for the Niners, who — to be honest are just spoiling their draft spot at this point, were able to have a bright spot this season after the big mid-season trade. With reports already that they are going to franchise tag Garoppolo after the season, Kyle Shanahan looked to the former Patriots’ backup QB to see if he could provide the spark that the Niners franchise needed.

Jimmy G finished the game going 26 – 37 with 293 yards and 1 interception. Not eye popping numbers but he did lead his team 92 yards to kick the game winning FG. Also, pretty hard to argue these stats:

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Kidding obviously but this was a huge sign for the 49ers to see some positivity come out of Garoppolo. They’ll still end up with a high draft pick and look to add a star to bolster their rebuild. The future looks bright for the 49ers for sure but in the NFC West, it may be awhile until we’re able to see a competitive Niners team.

Giants Fire Ben McAdoo

Well good riddance — how it took this long for the Giants organization to realize that McAdoo needs to be fired was ridiculous. The Giants organization deserves every bit of the storm that is going to come to them. Granted, the Giants have not fired a coach mid-season in over 40 years — so kudos to them for breaking that streak with the worst possible hire that they could replace Coughlin with. Geno Smith, of course, fell flat on his face and Eli’s streak was ruined for absolutely no reason.

McAdoo was hailed as a good hire and did make the playoffs at 11-5 last year but this year has been a complete trainwreck, with the Giants sitting at 2-10. The Giants made the right decision here, albeit a bit too late. The only thing McAdoo will be remembered for is benching Manning.

UPDATE:

Looks like the Giants are cleaning house — can’t blame them. Reese has done a horrendous job at the helm of this team. The Giants haven’t had a running back worth notice since Brandon Jacobs — and that’s saying something.

Expect the Giants to be bad for quite some time now. Wouldn’t surprise me if Eli left next year and if Odell leaves as soon as he can as well.

 

 

 

 

Joe Flacco “Eating the W” After the Game

The Ravens won a big game on Sunday, beating down the Lions 44-20. Though the defense has done most of the work, everybody’s favorite elite QB has quietly been having a decent season. Flacco threw for 269 yards and 2 TDs to move into 7-5, bolstering their hold on that second wild card spot.

The clip of the game, and maybe the season however was Joe Flacco post-game. Let’s take a look.

 

Cool Joe is eating the W today! Legendary stuff from Flacco, alluding to Winston’s infamous speech made earlier this season. This would be funny if anybody this season did it, and Joe Flacco is probably at the bottom of the list of people who I would expect to do this. I’m officially scared of January Joe and the Ravens once again.

Week 13 Picks

The NFL season is starting to come to a close but there is still plenty of time for some shifting in the leaderboards. Tyler, after starting slow, sits comfortably at the top. Last week was primarily a chalk week with not too many upsets. The Falcons-Vikings NFC showdown and the return of Josh Gordon headline Week 13.

CONSENSUS:  61-19 (LW: 9-2)

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CONSENSUS PICKS:  NE, TEN, GB, JAX, NO, LAR, OAK, PIT

Belichick’s Reactions to TDs are Prime Belichick

Belichick was mic’d up for the game against the Dolphins and from that we were able to retrieve this gem. This is as Belichick as it gets — divisional rival game and he couldn’t care less about any of the touchdowns. Doesn’t even crack a smile, not even a slight fist bump. There is no schtick with Belichick, this is exactly how the guy is and is why he has been the most successful NFL coach. He’s never satisfied until the whistle blows on a Super Bowl victory. Unless of course it’s regarding special teams…

Nothing gets Bill going like a nice debate about punt protectors. Onto Buffalo.

Bye Week Episode 3

Office Chatter’s fantasy football podcast returns with a preview to the last week of the regular season. The fantasy crew discusses whether you should start your studs or play the matchups if you need a big win. Other talk includes Kenyan Drake, if it’s seriously time to consider benching Kareem Hunt, and the big return that everyone is talking about. We finish up with the weekly Start of the Week segment.

https://soundcloud.com/allen-gray/bye-week-episode-3