Shimmering T: Thanksgiving Day Observations
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Thoughts from NFL action on Turkey Day:
- Bryant Gumble might have the most annoying voice I have ever heard. I almost feel like I am in the car with Jim Carrey's character Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber, except instead of asking whether I want to hear the most annoying sound in the world once, Gumble doesn't even ask and insists on repeating the practice on every play of the game.
- Favre's 381 yards and 3 TDs was the easiest amassing of yardage I have ever seen. I remember at the end of the first half I was thinking about how little of the ball Green Bay had seen and how Favre was not coming up with the fantasy performance I expected, when in fact he was on pace for around 300 yards and 2 TDs. Music selection questionable.
- Ryan Grant looked good once again and his emergence in the passting game (six receptions) can only help fantasy owners. Fantasy owners in points-per-reception leagues should take notice.
- I am sure there are more than a few fantasy owners, myself included, who are hating Jarrett Bush's inability to block tonight, as he cost Charles Woodson and the Packers team defense six points.
- Jason Hanson made a lot of fantasy owners happy, knocking in four FGs of 40+ yards, including a 52-yarder. Once again he will finish the season as a top-10, if not 5, kicker.
- The Lions offensive line is terrible, allowing 4 more sacks to the Packers.
- Charles Johnson provided more than a few momentum changing plays with early drops and a general lack of aggressiveness. Game could have been very different if he hadn't dropped an easy first down catch in the first quarter.
- Tony Romo, despite throwing for two more TDs, looked off tonight, missing a few open receivers for TDs, including Jason Witten late in the third quarter. Witten returned to form today, as expected, and should have had the second TD.
- Marion Barber runs hard. Troy Aikman made a good observation when he said that Barber gets most of his rushing yards late, eating up the clock. This was reinforced by Julius Jones standing on the sidelines in the 4th quarter with his arms folded. Barber is not the funnest runner to bring down for opposing defenses.
- As I tried to tell the Fleafounder, Thomas Jones was a one-week wonder, if you can call 124 total yards and 0 TDs a wonder. The Cowboys have a very solid run D, if you hadn't already noticed.
- Reggie Wayne has dropped a lot of passes recently. It started against the Patriots and he really seems to be fighting himself. It's almost as if the harder passes—the one's he can just react to—are easier for him to catch right now. Still, he put up another solid but unspectacular game.
- Anthony Gonzalez was big for the Colts tonight and his 11-week apprenticeship building a rapport and timing with Peyton Manning seems to have paid off.
- The Colts' continued babying of Joseph Addai is a worry. Whenever Addai seems to really be coming into his own as an elite fantasy RB, he gets knocked off track by a slight ding. Keep Kenton Keith close by, but I still don't think the Colts trust their backup RB enough to give him the rock when it counts.
- Peyton looked like he got back on track, but his interception is cause for slight worry. I can't remember seeing him ever throw balls as badly and inaccurate as the past few weeks. That throw was terrible. One reason may be his pass protection, as the Colts have given up a ton of sacks and pressures the last few games (4 tonight alone), which does not bode well for fantasy dominance. Last year Manning was sacked a total of 15 times, ranking the Colts 1st in sacks against. This year he has already been sacked 16 times already, 11 in the past four games. I don't see a return to fantasy superstardom if that doesn't change.
Alright, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Take the next few days to burn off your meals reading news and analysis on Flea Fanatics and get ready for Sunday's games. I love football.
- Shimmering T.
