Week 9 Observations

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Published on November 8, 2010

Heading into the week, I was feeling hopeful about my teams again which are heavy on Beanie Wells, Steve Smith (CAR) and Ryan Mathews. Now not so much.

Peyton Manning targeted Jacob Tamme 16 times Sunday. With Dallas Clark, Anthony Gonzalez and now Austin Collie likely out, that should continue. Tamme's a top-5 tight end going forward.

Brett Favre threw for 402 yards against the Bears on December 5, 1993, but his career high of 446 yards was on Nov. 7, 2010.

The ticky-tack call on Trent Cole for grazing Peyton Manning's helmet on 4th and 18 that gave the Colts a late first down and ultimately cost me the cover was abominable. Yes, by the letter of the law, it was a penalty, but you have Cole trying to strip the ball (God knows why he was doing that on 4th down), and being blocked, and Manning moving in the pocket - some contact with the helmet is not unusual, and as long as it's incidental and minor, the refs need to show some discretion there. It was friggin' 4th and 18 - you can't award a team a first down for that crap.

There's no reason to analyze the Chiefs running back usage except to say the overtime loss to the Raiders will very likely be the difference if Kansas City doesn't make the playoffs.

The tight end attrition this year is truly epidemic - not only are Dallas Clark and Jermichael Finley out for the season, but two other top-five options Antonio Gates and Zach Miller missed last week's games and Vernon Davis left the week before. It makes you appreciate that Tony Gonzalez has only missed two games in his 14-year career. Considering the position he plays, that achievement in durability is arguably as impressive as Brett Favre's.

The Giants are pretty good.

During the Seattle-NY game, the announcers mentioned that receiver Mike Williams had at one point ballooned up to 300 pounds. Calvin Johnson and Vincent Jackson are about 240, but it'll probably be 2200 (barring environmental, nuclear and/or super volcano-induced disaster) before we see a 300-pound receiver in the league.

Jacoby Ford ran a 4.28 40 at the NFL combine, the fastest time for a receiver since 2005. And It's not merely that he caught six balls for 148 yards in addition to returning a kick for a score, but how he did it. Ford made a couple spectacular plays and was the difference in the Raiders' biggest win in the last several years. Louis Murphy will be back after the bye, and Ford's only 5-9, but no Raiders receiver is particularly established. Ford should get a chance to show whether he's a key weapon over the next several weeks.

Steve Johnson is 12th among receivers in yardage (554) and tied for sixth in touchdowns with six. Keep in mind his first couple games were with Trent Edwards at the helm, too.

Even though the Seahawks have four wins, I'd argue Marshawn Lynch actually downgraded his supporting cast by going from Buffalo to Seattle.

Terrell Owens has to be a top-10 receiver. He leads the NFL in targets and has seven touchdowns. Only Hakeem Nicks (9) and Calvin Johnson (8) have more.

Darrelle Revis is back.

Even if Wes Welker qualifies at kicker now, he's not worth starting there in non-PPR leagues. After scoring three TDs in the first two games, Welker hasn't had one since.

It's a travesty the Cowboys didn't give Wade Phillips more of a chance. As a Giants fan, I'd like to have seen what he could do over the next 5-10 years.