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Week 17 Observations

I have to admit the strongest emotion I feel at the end of this NFL regular season is relief. Don't get me wrong - there were some great moments - but for the most part watching 15 hours per week this year with an interest in every game was like driving in stop-and-go traffic. There's always been an aspect of this - turnovers, penalties, bad calls, dropped passes and frequent breaks in the action have long been a huge part of the experience. But the emphasis on pass interference (on both offense and defense) and the resultant increase in overall calls, combined with the mandatory reviews of every turnover and touchdown have pushed me to the edge. I doubt I'll ever quit the NFL, but it's a major relief to have only 11 games left - all of which are presumably between good teams. It's strange because the great thing about fantasy sports, office pools and survivor was caring about every single game - even the Titans-Colts with Matt Hasselbeck playing the second half. Now, I'm ecstatic to have a break from caring. On the bright side, it's not as bad as baseball where the draft-day excitement wears off in early June, and by August, making Sunday FAAB moves is like cleaning up on New Year's Day after throwing a rager that got out of hand.

Nice of Michael Floyd to go off when no one cared. Actually, in our Steak League, where we have a 17-week total points bet, I thought about starting him, but opted for Marqise Lee (0.8 points.) I'm pretty sure it won't matter (I'm eating for free anyway), but it would have saved me some stress.

Interesting the two good coaches (Rex Ryan and Jim Harbaugh) who got fired today both went out with wins. The Jets were six-point underdogs in Miami too, but the team showed up for Ryan.

I had the Seahawks in Survivor, but the Rams +12.5. Obviously, survivor took precedent, but my picking pool's coming down to one game (I have CIN tonight), so it would have been really nice had the Rams not thrown that pick six and then fumbled at the half-yard line on the next series. Does that sound greedy? Maybe, but even when the Seahawks were down 6-0, I wasn't too nervous they'd blow home-field throughout the playoffs to this Rams team in Seattle.

Does any team besides the Cardinals have less chance of going deep in the playoffs than the Lions?

For the Packers to have any chance in Seattle - assuming they get by Dallas or whoever they're facing - Aaron Rodgers can't be gimpy.

What a no-show by the Falcons. Maybe the Panthers defense is actually good again, given how well Atlanta's offensive line held up at Green Bay and at New Orleans.

It would be hard to draft LeSean McCoy ahead of C.J. Anderson if the latter were somehow assured of his current role in 2015.

Odell Beckham simply does not juggle the ball. Even on passes zipped above his head, he catches it with his hands, and it sticks permanently. And despite having only average size, his hands and athleticism allow him to play like he's 6-3. Beckham finished the year with 91 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 TDs in 12 games, despite missing all of his rookie training camp with a hamstring injury and not seeing double-digit targets until Week 9. He also had 90 or more yards in nine straight games to close out the year. Prorate those nine games (once he was fully healthy and integrated into the offense) over 16, and he'd have 144 catches for 2132 yards and 16 TDs.

Crazy the Cowboys left their starters in the entire game. I get there was a chance (nine percent according to Vegas) the Seahawks would lose, and Dallas would get a bye, but once the Cowboys had a lead, the odds of them blowing it and Seattle losing were even more remote. It's too bad because Scott Pianowski went 14-1 ATS in Staff Picks (with Sunday night pending), and DAL-WAS was his only loss.

So odd the Patriots were 5.5-point favorites over the Bills despite benching Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman and having nothing for which to play. It was only a matter of time before Tom Brady would sit too.

The Jaguars showed up the last several weeks, but Blake Bortles' numbers have been abysmal. It's amazing they were knocking on the door in Houston for a go-ahead TD in the closing minute.

I'm a Josh Gordon apologist, so my instinct is to assume something's wrong with Mike Pettine and the Browns more than Gordon, who seems immature and probably just needs an authority figure he can respect. Even Pettine's hot and cold handling of Terrance West every week is annoying. I'd love to see the Browns deal Gordon to a team like the Patriots for a second-round pick, the way the Raiders dealt an apparently immature and unprofessional Randy Moss to them in 2007.

It's midway through the third quarter in the Steelers-Bengals game, and Andy Dalton is killing me.