Week 11 Observations

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Published on November 23, 2009

There are few backs these days that get 20 carries a game, all the goal-line looks, perform ably as a receiver out of the backfield and play for a team that can block well and generate red-zone and goal-line opportunities. Ricky Williams is one.

Including the Week 10 game against CIncinnati which Troy Polamalu left after the first series, the Steelers are 2-4 without him, with losses to Kansas City and Chicago. When he plays they're 4-0.

The Ravens are a couple bad plays/calls away from being 8-2 or 9-1 with wins over Indy, Minnesota and New England. Instead they're 5-5 and look like a long shot to make the playoffs.

Aaron Rodgers took just two sacks Sunday, and Greg Jennings had his best game of the year.

Terrell Owens broke out the game after Dick Jauron was fired and Trent Edwards demoted. You have to wonder why the team brought him in at all if it wasn't going to use him until it was too late. Jeff Fisher's tardy switch to Vince Young at quarterback is at least defensible on the grounds that Kerry Collins was successful last year, and Young had quit on the team. But Jauron hasn't had a good season since he was in Chicago, and Owens has been a monster at every stop. Why wait until Week 11 to use him? Of course, the Jaguars defense was banged up and not very good at covering wideouts to begin with, but Miami, Kansas City and Atlanta are still on Buffalo's schedule.

The Giants defense held Matt Ryan to 5.8 yards per attempt and Jason Snellings to 3.0 yards per carry. Each team had just one turnover. So how on earth did Atlanta score 31 points? The only thing I can think of is third down (9-for-16) and fourth down (2-for-2) efficiency.

I was more patient than most, but you can now count me as a Pierre Thomas owner who's infuriated with Sean Payton/Mike Bell. Thomas averaged more than eight yards per carry in a game the Saints scored 38 points and in which Reggie Bush was injured. Sorry, 103 total yards and zero touchdowns is not going to cut it. At least I started David Thomas in all six of my leagues.

Calvin Johnson finally broke out, but just as he was developing a rapport with Matthew Stafford, Stafford hurt his non-throwing shoulder. I hope Stafford's okay because Johnson could pay huge dividends down the stretch if those two are finally in sync. On the 75-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, Stafford effortlessly flung the ball 50-yards down field while on the move, showing the tandem's huge potential.

It's hard to fault Jim Zorn for attempting a 51-yard field goal up 6-0 with a few minutes left, but I could not have been more sure that Shaun Suisham was going to miss, and the Cowboys would predictably drive down the field for the winning touchdown. Where I erred was in permitting myself the false hope that Jason Campbell would drive the team into field-goal range where Suisham would probably miss again. Instead Campbell threw a pick, and many unworthy survivors extended their lives.

The level at which Brett Favre is playing is astounding. So long as he's heathy, it looks like he could play 3-4 more years, and even Peyton Manning would have a tough time breaking his all-time records. While Adrian Peterson is not disappointing - on pace for 1600 rushing yards, 17 TDs and 40 catches - it feels like this is Favre's team. If the season ended today, I'd expect him to win the MVP, though Manning and Drew Brees are also very close.

Darrelle Revis again did a great job on Randy Moss, but it's one thing to force Wes Welker to beat you and another to allow him to kill you singlehandedly. Welker's no problem when he catches 9 balls for 89 yards, but 15 for 192 is another story.

After getting destroyed by the Broncos pass rush the first time around, Philip Rivers largely got the day off Sunday - taking no sacks and attempting just 22 passes. San Diego's defense has also turned things around, and after a slow start, this once again looks like the team that many predicted to win the Super Bowl before the season. The loss of Pro Bowl nose tackle Jamal Williams still hurts, and it's important for San Diego to earn a first-round bye and avoid playing at Cincinnati, Pittsburgh or New England.

Jay Cutler was obviously shellshocked from his five INT game against the Niners as he routinely overthrew wide open receivers Sunday. It's a fine line between gunslinging greatness and reckless stupidity, and Cutler is having trouble walking it right now. He erred too far on the side of caution against the Eagles, and is plainly out of sync. It was nice to see Donovan McNabb, a quarterback who's taken as much criticism as any over the years, seek out Cutler and show him some empathy after the game. I expect Cutler to find the balance eventually, and getting reassurance from a survivor like McNabb can't hurt.

The Titans are the sucker side tonight against the Texans as it's a rare case where the public bet the underdog but the line moved |STAR|higher.|STAR| That means while most of the bets are on the Titans, some bigger bets from pros are on the Texans. Still, the RotoWire Staff made Tennessee a consensus pick, and this game is a good test of aggregate stats (Texans) vs. momentum/coaching/toughness (Titans), and the importance of playing the sharp/square angle - at least insofar as one game is a test for anything.