Friday, December 2, 2011

THURSDAY NIGHT (T&R)

A quick wrap from last night's game.  I feel like I need to take my convictions more seriously.  I knew Marshawn Lynch would have a good game, but just didn't think it would be 105 yards and two touchdowns midway-through-the third-quarter-kind-of-game.  I own the Seattle defense in at least two of my leagues.  There's a reason.  Their improvement, particularly at home has battered teams like Baltimore and the Giants, and last night just made Vince Young look like a rookie all over again.  Four interceptions, one for a touchdown that I heard on the radio (it sounded bad, looked worse), but in all fairness to Young, with a disgruntled DeSean Jackson (maybe rightfully) and Riley Cooper as his threats du jour, you almost can't blame him.  I still can't explain why LeSean McCoy is seems like a sidebar to the Eagles story line of the year so often.  He averaged 4.9 yards per carry last night, yet carried only 17 times. He was targeted five times, tied for second most on the team, and managed 49 receiving yards and a score.  Yes, he scored both of the Eagles touchdowns, but watching most of that game last night I just got the feeling Andy Reid was relying on Vince Young.  It just doesn't make sense.  The Eagles have lost just one game this year when McCoy carried the ball more than 20 times.  He's a play maker in every sense of the word.  It doesn't help that the wide receivers have hardly carried their weight this year, and that it seems Brent Celek has hardly been a consideration around the red zone.  Two years ago, according to rotowire.com, Celek was targeted 24 times in the red zone.  This year, he's at 11, after having just 12 last year as well, and for the first six weeks of the season, he never saw more than four receptions in a game, exceeding five targets just twice.  Two years ago this was a tight end with 76 receptions.  Granted quarterback indecision and a dynamic turnaround as the Michael Vick era began kept his 2010 from being a repeat of 2009, but the Eagles receivers group has been a mess this year.  With the mobility of both Young and Vick, it's hard to believe Celek should have been kept at home in a blocking role as often as it appears he has. 

Tarvaris Jackson still likes to put the ball in the air off his back foot for me to be too enthused, but last night was his best night all season in terms of efficiency as he went 13-for-16 for 190 yards and a score.  More importantly, he didn't turn the ball over.  Lynch had several fantastic runs, but none more amazing than his 15-yard scamper after he virtually disappeared from view amidst a mass of Seattle and Philadelphia linemen, only to reappear five yards later and score.  I had told some of my buds when asked for advice in their leagues, and I believe written several weeks ago that if there was a fantasy back to trade for it was Marshawn Lynch.  His schedule is good, he played well last year in the final weeks of the season, including the playoffs and this year appears to be even better.  Golden Tate has two scores the last two weeks, but don't go leaping on that bandwagon just yet.  His four receptions Thursday was the most he's had in a game all year, and even with Sidney Rice out for the year, Doug Baldwin and Deon Butler are back to health and it's fantasy playoff time so remember you're taking a big risk in anything more than a flex play.  That being said, Tate was supposed to be a worthy talent, and as the Seahawks' season is unlikely to result in a Wild Card berth, Tate may see more opportunities to prove if he's part of this offense's future.

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