FFT's Blog O' Fantasy Football

Has Luck hit the rookie wall?

1. Currently on pace to set a rookie record for passing yards and lead Indianapolis to a wild card playoff berth, the Colts Andrew Luck has lived up to his billing as the premier quarterback in the 2012 rookie draft. While Luck has played well, he appears to have hit the rookie wall over the last two weeks as the Indianapolis offense has struggled against the defenses of the Titans and Texans. With a subpar offensive line, the Colts struggles against Houston were hardly surprising as the team managed just 196 passing yards and 272 total yards in a 27-19 loss. Most concerning was the play of the offense in a 27-23 win over the Titans as the offensive line struggled to protect Luck, who was held under a 50% completion and finished the game with just 196 passing yards. In fact, Luck has completed fewer than 50% of his passes in three straight games and has completed just 54.6% of his passes for the season. While the Colts are likely to secure a playoff berth, a first round exit seems likely unless the team’s offensive line regains its health and the Colts rediscover the strong passing attack that has led them to a 9-5 record.

2. Sticking with rookie passers, in Miami, the Dolphins Ryan Tannehill has also enjoyed solid success as a rookie, throwing for 2,929 yards with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions through 14 games. Tannehill has been more of a caretaker of the Dolphins offense, throwing for a career-high 431 yards in Week 9 but failing to top 300 yards in any other game while failing to top 200 passing yards seven times. However, the issue with the Dolphins passing attack isn’t so much Tannehill’s play as that of the wide receivers. Miami has arguably the least talented group of wide receivers in the league as its decision to sign Chad Johnson in the preseason and go with Brian Hartline in the leading role has proven to be disastrous. While Hartline has had some decent games, he is more suited to a backup role as is fellow starter Davone Bess. With Greg Jennings hitting free agency and unlikely to be back in Green Bay, it won’t be a surprise if he joins his former offensive coordinator Joe Philbin in Miami. That seems a match that will almost certainly come to fruition in early February.

3. In a marriage of convenience, the Broncos signed former Saints cornerback Tracey Porter to a one-year, $4-million contract in the offseason in the hopes that he would shore up the starting position opposite perennial Pro Bowler Champ Bailey. While the Broncos have shored up the position, Porter has spent most of the season on the bench as injuries and his poor play early in the season have cost him playing time. Both Chris Harris, a second year former undrafted free agent, and Tony Carter, a 2009 former undrafted agent, have passed Porter on the depth chart. Given his lack of playing time, Porter will likely be on another one-year deal in 2013, this time with his third team in three years and for far less money than he will earn in 2012.

4. The 49ers Randy Moss became the third all time leader in receiving yards this week in San Francisco’s win over New England. With 15,220 receiving yards, Moss passed former Ram Isaac Bruce.

5. Raiders backup running back Mike Goodson has had an up and down four-year career. Drafted in the 4th round of the 2009 draft by the Panthers, Goodson barely played as a rookie but was productive in 2010 when injuries struck DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Goodson finished that year with 452 rushing yards, 310 receiving yards and three touchdowns despite receiving seven or fewer touches in ten games. He spent most of 2011 on injured reserve before the Panthers gave up on him this year, trading him to the Raiders. After missing time with two separate injuries, Goodson had 89 yards on 13 carries this week and should see decent playing time over the balance of the season. With 2011 4th round pick Taiwan Jones being a non-factor during his first two years in the league and the Raiders with plenty of other needs, look for Oakland to make a solid effort to re-sign Goodson as Darren McFadden’s backup for 2013.

6. The Vikings have made an unexpected playoff run in 2012, currently sitting as the NFC’s 6th seed on the strength of Adrian Peterson’s outstanding season. While the Vikings are thought of as a young team (and to some extent they are), they are also loaded with players whose contracts will expire within two years, not to mention the current situation with enigmatic wide receiver Percy Harvin, who seems at odds with Vikings management. Four starters are free agents at the end of this season, the most important of which are starting right tackle Phil Loadholt and linebacker Jasper Brinkley. However, Harvin and defensive ends Jared Allen and Brian Robison lead the brigade of players hitting unrestricted free agency after the 2013 season. Vikings management will need to dole out plenty of long-term extensions to avoid having the team gutted over the next two years.

7. The 2012 rookie draft is being hailed as the best draft ever with respect to quarterbacks, with only the 1983 draft being in consideration of that honor. That draft provided the league with a number of Pro Bowl quality quarterbacks in Dan Marino, John Elway and Jim Kelly as well as other players who enjoyed productive careers. However, this class appears likely to feature at least four players who figure to remain starters for several years in Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson. In addition to those players, Brandon Weeden has likely shown enough to remain the starter in Cleveland in 2013 regardless of who is spearheading the team’s football operations and Nick Foles will likely enter next season as the Eagles starter. Perhaps most impressive of all is that Luck, Griffin and Wilson have the chance to lead their team to playoff berths, a remarkable achievement considering each of their franchise’s had losing records a year ago.

Quarterbacks

Moving Up

Wilson: Saving his best for last.

Russell Wilson, Seahawks
Despite a middling fantasy performance in Week 14 due to a blowout 58-0 win over the Cardinals, Wilson is averaging 27.9 FPts/G over the last three weeks making him the 2nd rated fantasy quarterback over that period. This week, he did it once again, throwing for 205 yards and a touchdown and managing three rushing touchdowns and 92 yards on the ground in another Seahawks blowout win, this time over the Bills. Wilson’s been using his legs more in the last few weeks and that’s padding his fantasy point totals.

Moving Down

Mark Sanchez, Jets
Yeah, the receivers are bad but Sanchez made a pile of awful decisions on Monday night. Decisions that a player wit four years of experience and 61 career starts under his belt should not be making.

Colin Kaepernick, 49ers
Sure, Kaepernick’s fantasy point total looked good, courtesy of his 216 passing yards and four touchdown passes but those touchdowns weren’t exactly beauties and he could have had even more if he knew enough to put some air under the ball. Announcers drive me nuts with their fawning over newbies and that’s what happened this week with Kaepernick. Dude’s got plenty of potential but he was 14 of 25 this week despite having a whole host of wide-open receivers to throw to.

Josh Freeman, Bucs
The Bucs season was likely over anyway but Freeman provided the last nail in the proverbial coffin, courtesy of his four pick effort against the Saints.

Running Backs

Moving Up

Vick Ballard, Colts
Ballard’s getting it done in the running game for a Colts team that hasn’t been able to muster a consistent rushing attack over the past several years. The rookie 5th round pick topped 100 yards for the first time in his career this week despite facing a tough Texans run defense and with Donald Brown having another injured plagued season, look for Ballard to be the lead dog in Indy in 2013.

Beanie Wells, Cardinals
Three touchdowns was nice but the 3.9 yards per carry average against the Lions was somewhat modest. Up next are the Bears and 49ers and let’s make the assumption the Cards won’t roll up 38 points against those defenses. In fact, let’s make the assumption they won’t score 38 points in total to finish out the season.

Danny Woodhead, Patriots
Meet the only Patriots running back who didn’t fumble during this week’s home loss to the 49ers. His reward? Touches and plenty of them. Woodhead was a focal point of New England’s furious comeback, gaining 61 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries and catching five passes for 23 yards. With easy matchups against the Jaguars and Dolphins up next and the playoffs just around the corner, here’s betting that head coach Bill Belichick will send a message to Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen by loading up on Woodhead’s touches over the balance of the season.

Curtis Brinkley and Jackie Battle, Chargers
With Ryan Mathews lost for the season, Brinkley or Battle will likely step into the starting line-up. While Battle may be the better player at the moment, look for Brinkley to gain the majority of the touches as he is the younger player and the Chargers may want to see what they have in him. Of course, he hasn’t done much so maybe they already know the answer to that question.

Moving Down

Ryan Mathews, Chargers
Touted by the Chargers to become a heavy touch, Pro Bowl caliber running back this season (not to mention consensus top five fantasy back), Mathews was a total bust as injuries and ineffectiveness ruined his season. Headed to injury reserve with another broken clavicle, Mathews will finish his 3rd season in the league with 707 rushing yards, 252 receiving yards and one touchdown. Given his inability to stay healthy, it won’t be a surprise if San Diego uses a mid-tier selection in this year’s draft to provide some competition for him.

Stevan Ridley, Patriots
Two fumbles, one lost, a trip to the bench and nine carries for 23 yards. Ridley carried some teams to the fantasy playoffs but his fumbleitis likely cost more than a few fantasy owners a win this week. And therein lies the conundrum of owning Ridley or any New England back over the last several years. All it takes is a fumble or two and a bad performance to see a player’s workload decrease dramatically that week and in subsequent weeks.

Wide Receivers

Moving Up

Antonio Brown, Steelers
Look who’s back and hopefully just in time to help his fantasy owners grab a championship. After a pair of okay performances since returning from injury, Brown was Ben Roethlisberger’s favorite target this week, hauling in eight receptions on 12 targets for 76 yards and a score, his second straight game finding the end zone. Brown is averaging 8.8 targets per game this year and with the running game struggling, expect plenty of looks for Brown over the remainder of the season.

Brandon Lloyd, Patriots
A disappointment for much of the season, Lloyd has become a big part of the Patriots offense over the past two weeks, catching 17 of his 26 targets for 279 yards and a touchdown. With New England playing from behind this week, he set a career-high with 190 receiving yards and was Tom Brady’s go to guy on the deep ball. Maybe the Patriots have finally figured out that’s what he does best and that’s why they signed him.

Danny Amendola, Rams
The little man that could is finally back fully healthy and immediately returns to his role as the Rams top wide receiver. He was only decent this week, with six receptions on 12 targets for 58 yards and a score, but he was shaking off the rust so expect better performances to end the season as he attempts to gain leverage for offseason contract negotiations with St. Louis.

Moving Down

Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals
Weekly Fitz update. Four receptions for 22 yards this week. Guess the Cardinals got the screen game going this week. No, I wasn’t watching. Five weeks totals: ten receptions for 89 yards. That’s 1.8 FPts/G, folks.

Jonathan Baldwin, Chiefs
He was Moving Up last week based on opportunity so it is only fair that he’s Moving Down this week based on squandered opportunity. No receptions on four targets. Looks like the Chiefs have two options at wide receiver. Give in to Dwayne Bowe’s salary demands or draft another wide receiver high.

Danario Alexander, Chargers
A donut at precisely the wrong time. Ouch.

Tight Ends

Moving Up

Dennis Pitta, Ravens
Slow week at tight end so Pitta gets the nod to be Moving Up. He had the best game of his three year career this week, setting career highs in receiving yards with 125 and touchdowns with two while hauling in seven of 10 targets. He had disappeared from the Ravens offense for several weeks but apparently in back in vogue.

Moving Down

Vernon Davis, 49ers
Hey, what team needs a blazing fast tight end when they have Michael Crabtree? The San Francisco 49ers, that’s who. Davis got open for a touchdown this week but unfortunately Colin Kaepernick couldn’t get him the ball. Can’t remember what happened on his other TWO TARGETS.

1. With former commissioner Paul Tagliabue ruling that the Bountygate suspensions should be vacated and placing the blame for the scandal squarely at the feet of the New Orleans Saints management and coaching staff, we can safely now conclude on who the real losers were in relation to this whole fiasco. First off, the Saints organization and their fans come out as losers as they watched their team struggle out of the gate to an 0-4 start on their way to their current 5-8 record. A team just two years removed from a Super Bowl victory and with a talented roster was not able to overcome the adversity that Bountygate brought to the organization and head coach Sean Payton shares plenty of blame in this regard. Not only did Bountygate happen on his watch but Payton refused to hand over the reigns of the coaching staff to an experienced hand such as defensive coordinator Steve Spagnolo, instead relying on inexperienced offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, who in fact held that title in name only prior to this season. General manager Mickey Loomis presumably also had a hand in that regrettable decision. Secondly, Roger Goodell has clearly been exposed as a commissioner more interested in laying down his version of the NFL’s law and playing the league’s top sheriff as opposed to being a calm voice of reason, capable of balancing the facts of a case, arriving at a fair conclusion and dishing out punishment that is warranted without being heavy-handed. One can only guess as to Goodell’s true personality but it’s not hard to imagine him being the smartest person in all the rooms he walks into. He clearly wants his legacy to be that of the law and order commissioner who stood up for player safety but his desire to fulfill that legacy clearly clouded his judgment in this case. And having scuttled the Saints season because he was unable to view the facts in the proper light should net Goodell some sanctions of his own, perhaps even his job. However, given the solid state of the league’s overall affairs, and especially their sound financial footing despite the state of the American economy over the last several years, that is a remote possibility at best.

2. Sticking with the Saints, their prospects for 2013 aren’t great given the uncertainty surrounding the team’s coaching staff as well as the team’s current salary cap situation and a defense loaded with aging veterans. Payton will be a free agent once he is reinstated by Goodell, leaving him free to negotiate with any team. Saints owner Tom Benson isn’t exactly known for tossing money around like a drunken sailor so there are no guarantees Payton will return, particularly given the uncertain future of Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. On defense, the Saints have struggled in 2012, relying on veteran mainstays such Will Smith, Jonathan Vilma, Jabari Greer and Roman Harper. While all of those veterans remain useful players, collectively the Saints defense lacks the speed necessary to defend against the league’s faster skill position players. In addition, the lack of a pass rush hurt the team this season although 2011 first-round pick Cameron Jordan appears on the verge of being a Pro Bowl quality player. With the Saints well over next year’s expected salary cap, New Orleans will be forced to purge a number of veterans from the roster and the defensive shortcomings this season dictate that the purge will focus on that side of the ball, particularly if Payton, an offensive minded coach, returns in 2013.

Jennings will likely be in a new uniform in 2013.

3. Entering a contract year and having suffered an abdominal tear in Week 1 that caused him to miss eight games while watching 2011 2nd round pick Randall Cobb emerge as a potential leading wide receiver in the Packers offense, veteran Greg Jennings has plenty of reasons to be motivated over the final three games of the season. Jennings has clearly not been his normal self over the past two weeks, hauling in just five receptions for 73 yards. Clearly the Packers leading wide receiver entering the season, there are now serious doubts as to whether he will remain in Green Bay following 2012. With Cobb emerging as a solid threat, Jordy Nelson coming off a career year in 2011 and James Jones having a career year this season and signed to a modest contract in 2013, it won’t qualify as a surprise if Jennings is in a new uniform in 2013. Not helping matters is the team’s desire to sign certain veterans to contract extensions before their current deals are up.

4. The Steelers offensive line struggled to stay healthy in 2011 and that remains the case this season with only left tackle Max Starks, signed to shore up in the line during the preseason, remaining healthy for the entire season. At this point, veteran guard Ramon Foster will line up on the left side for the injured Willie Colon while rookie 1st round pick David Decastro is expected to see his first action of the season as right guard playing alongside fellow rookie Kelvin Beachum, a 7th round pick. Center Maurkice Pouncey has missed time for the second consecutive season while rookie 2nd round pick Mike Adams has struggled when in the line-up at right tackle for the injured Marcus Gilbert. Add it all up and it appears that the Steelers are likely to address the offensive line once again in the 2013 draft.

5. Despite the readily apparent lack of playmakers on the Dolphins offense, there are no assurances that veteran running back Reggie Bush will return to the team for the 2013 season. A free agent at season’s end, Bush entered 2012 coming off a contract year but he has not lived up to the team’s expectations, even being benched at one point this season. With 2011 3rd round pick Daniel Thomas and rookie 4th round pick Lamar Miller waiting in the wings, the Dolphins could very well decide that it is time for a changing of the guard at running back with the salary cap space that re-signing Bush would require being allocated to the wide receiver position, where the Dolphins have what is arguably the least talented depth chart in the league. With Miami having made little to no effort to re-sign Bush, the odds are looking good that he will be elsewhere in 2013.

A big Week 14 from Moreno may lead to a bigger 2013.

1. After spending eight consecutive weeks on the inactive list, Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno was expected to fill a backup role behind rookie Ronnie Hillman and Lance Ball when he was added to the game day roster when Willis McGahee was lost for the remainder of the season with a torn MCL. However, Moreno was inserted into the lead back role and has responded with three solid performances, including this week’s 119 rushing yard, 48 receiving yard, one touchdown effort against the Raiders in a game in which he received a whopping 36 touches, a career high. That marked the first time Moreno had topped 100 rushing yards since Week 13 of the 2010 season and gave him 361 total yards and a touchdown during his three game renaissance. His performance ensures that Moreno will remain the Broncos starter over the remainder of the 2012 season and opens the possibility that he will regain the starter’s role in 2013. McGahee will almost certainly return to the team given his manageable salary of $2.5-million and with Moreno set to earn just $1.7-million and Hillman $515,000, Denver figures to have a solid three player rotation at the running back position for a very reasonable salary cap charge.

2. Sticking with the Broncos, with his 310-yard passing performance in Week 14, Peyton Manning is now on pace to finish the season with 4,701 passing yards which would be a career high. His previous best was the 4,700 yards he threw for during the 2010 season. With 30 touchdown passes with three games to go, Manning is likely to post the 2nd most touchdown passes of his career, bettering the 33 he threw for during the 2000, 2009 and 2010 season. In the preseason, Manning’s fantasy value took a hit based on the historical differences in his production in games played outdoors and his return from a neck injury but it is now long past time to put those theories to rest. Manning shapes up as an upper tier QB1 for the 2013 season.

3.In San Diego, reports circulated this week that Chargers owner Dean Spanos would fire both general manager A.J. Smith and head coach Norv Turner at the conclusion of the season. Turner was surprisingly retained following a disappointing 2011 season that reportedly also almost cost Smith his job. Now it appears that a third straight season out of the playoffs will cost both men their jobs. With the team’s personnel clearly in decline, Smith has been blamed for a number of less than stellar drafts in recent years, including the questionable decisions to draft players such as Craig Davis and Larry English in the 1st rounds of the 2007 and 2009 drafts. In addition, Smith’s run of finding solid role players later in the draft ended years ago. However, Smith’s biggest mistake this past offseason was the decision not to sign veteran wide receiver Vincent Jackson to a long-term contract. Jackson was a huge asset to an aging and seemingly in-decline Philip Rivers at quarterback and free agent acquisition Robert Meachem, signed to replace Jackson, was an absolute bust before finally losing his starting job to in-season pick-up Danario Alexander.

4. After starting the season 7-1, the Bears have dropped three of their last four games to fall to 8-4 and to 2nd place in the NFC North behind the surging Green Bay Packers. While Chicago’s schedule over their remaining four games likely ensures a playoff spot, a deep run into the postseason seems unlikely. The Bears have struggled against quality opponents, losing four of five games against teams that would currently qualify for the playoffs and that win came in Week 1 against an Indianapolis Colts squad that is a vastly superior now than they were back then. With a banged up Brian Urlacher, a defense that is no longer turning turnovers into points and the league’s 31st ranked passing attack, look for the Bears to make an early exit from the 2012 playoff picture.

5. Cleveland currently sports a very modest 4-8 record, a mark that is likely to cost head coach Pat Shurmur his job after the team’s recent management shuffle. However, a closer look reveals a squad that could make some noise during the 2013 season. The Browns have won their last two games and three of their last five with the defense surrendering an average of just 15.2 points per game over that five-game stretch. In addition, the average margin of defeat in Cleveland’s eight losses has been 6.5 points, with three losses by four or fewer points and two more by seven points. With five potential cornerstone pieces on offense (left tackle Joe Thomas, running back Trent Richardson, quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receivers Josh Gordon and Greg Little), the Browns figure to show marked improvement in their scoring ability in 2013. The defense also features a number of young, up and coming performers (defensive linemen Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard, cornerback Joe Haden and safety T.J. Ward) as well as solid veterans such as Ahtyba Rubin and D’Qwell Jackson on a unit that currently ranks 16th in points allowed missing key players due to injuries and suspension during the season.

6. Long considered a mainstay of the Dolphins offensive line, there are now serious doubts as to whether left tackle Jake Long has played has last game in a Miami uniform. With a triceps injury, Long will finish the year on injured reserve for the second consecutive season. He will be a free agent entering the 2013 season and the Dolphins will have the remainder of this season to determine if rookie 2nd round pick Jonathan Martin is a potential replacement for Long at left tackle. While the Dolphins are high on Martin, they appear to be committed to re-signing Long although the two sides have thus far failed to agree on extending his current contract. With Long’s recent injury history and coming off what may have been the worst year of his career, the Dolphins will likely prefer using the franchise tag to retain Long’s services giving them the option to re-sign him at the conclusion of the 2013 season provided he bounces back strongly next season.

7.Another player with an interesting contract situation is Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola. Clearly the team’s top threat at wide receiver (with apologies to solid rookie 4th round pick Chris Givens), Amendola is a free agent at season’s end and has proven to be both productive and injury prone over the past three seasons. Given his small stature and inability to remain healthy, it seems unlikely that St. Louis would sign Amendola to a lucrative long-term contract or place the franchise tag on him.

1. It appears that the Eagles’ Andy Reid will not be back with the team in 2013, ending the era of the franchise’s most successful head coach. Reid’s success in that role has largely come about due to his offensive acumen as well as shrewd drafting that allowed the team to bolster their roster with young talent and avoid having to re-sign aging veterans to lucrative contracts. This season’s subpar effort will almost assuredly be Reid’s worst performance as the team’s head coach and that has been the result of numerous injuries to the team’s offensive starters as well as the continued poor showing on defense. This week against the Cowboys, it is possible that the Eagles will start six players who were not expected to fill those roles at the outset of the season. Three starting offensive linemen are on in injured reserve including arguably the team’s most valuable offensive player in left tackle Jason Peters while starting right guard Danny Watkins has struggled with an ankle injury and is not fully healthy. The team is also missing its top threat at wide receiver in the speedy DeSean Jackson, starting running back LeSean McCoy, and quarterback Michael Vick. It is little wonder why the Eagles rank 30th in the league in scoring at just 16.7 points per game and why Reid will be looking for a new employer in 2013.

McCoy may see extended time on the bench.

2.Sticking with the Eagles, don’t expect to see LeSean McCoy back in the line-up for at least another week and possibly longer. With the team out of the playoff picture and rookie 7th round pick Bryce Brown providing solid production in the team’s Monday night loss to the Panthers, Philadelphia has little incentive in rushing McCoy back. Not only that, the MNF announcers made it clear that he was still in the early stages of his recovery from the concussion he suffered in Week 11.

3.While much has been made of 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh sticking with second-year signal caller Colin Kaepernick over incumbent starter Alex Smith, the decision is hardly entrenched in stone. Harbaugh has left himself with plenty of wiggle room to go back to Smith, describing the situation as the team deciding to go with the hot hand at the position. While Kaepernick has played well and provided added dimensions in the deep passing game and running game, he will need to remain hot over the team’s final five games to enter the playoffs as the starter and there are plenty of roadblocks in the way of that happening. The 49ers Week 13 opponent played them to a tie in Week 10 and San Francisco also faces the Patriots and Seahawks over the next five weeks.

4.Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin has had an outstanding season but struggled this week against a Falcons defense that stacked the box and effectively bottled up the Buccaneers prized rookie. Prior to Martin’s 21-carry, 50-yard performance in Week 12, he had an amazing string of solid performances over his prior six games, amassing 1,019 of total yards and scoring seven touchdowns. Only two other rookies in the history of the league have accumulated 1,000 yards over a six game stretch, Eric Dickerson of the Rams in 1983 and the Colts Edgerrin James in 1999. Both players accomplished the feat twice.

5.With center Lyle Sendlein having suffered a torn left MCL during last week’s loss to the Rams, the Cardinals starting offensive line in Week 13 will feature just one holdover in the starting line-up from last season. Starting tackles Levi Brown and Jeremy Bridges were lost for the season in training camp and replaced by veteran journeyman D’Anthony Batiste and rookie 4th round pick Bobby Massie. Batiste was recently demoted in favor of rookie 7th round pick Nate Potter while Massie has struggled mightily. At guard, Adam Snyder was signed to replace Deuce Lutui, leaving only fellow guard Daryn Colledge as a returning starter from last season. The lack of continuity along the offensive line has clearly contributed to the poor overall play of the team’s offense due to their struggles in pass protection where they rank last in the league with 46 sacks allowed, nine more than the 31st ranked Packers.

6.While there is some noise emanating from Oakland regarding the fans wanting to see 2011 supplemental 3rd round pick Terrelle Pryor take the field at quarterback, the odds of him playing a meaningful role in the Raiders final five games are remote. Pryor hasn’t even be listed as the team’s 2nd string quarterback this season, with Matt Leinart having assumed that role behind Carson Palmer. However, head coach Dennis Allen has said the team needs to find out what they have in Pryor so there is a strong possibility that he will be used on a limited basis in a Wildcat or read-option role.

7.In Tennesseee, the unceremonious sacking of offensive coordinator Chris Palmer has owner Bud Adam’s fingerprints all over it. Known for meddling in his team’s affairs and influencing which players to take in the draft (remember Vince Young?) and sign in free agency (remember Peyton Manning?), Adams displayed his impatience with the team’s performance several weeks ago and threatened changes if it didn’t approve. Sure enough, Palmer was given his walking papers by head coach Mike Munchak this week and there is a strong likelihood that Adams will give Munchak his following the season if the Titans don’t finish the season strongly. After a solid rookie season as the team’s head coach in which the Titans finished 9-7 and missed making the playoffs on a tiebreaker, Tennessee is just 4-7 this season.

8.In what was very likely the worst performance of his career on Thursday night, Saints quarterback Drew Brees failed to throw a touchdown pass, ending his streak of 54 consecutive games with a passing TD. In addition, he threw a career-record five interceptions as the Saints were all but eliminated from playoff contention with their 23-13 loss to division-rival Atlanta.

9.Sticking with the Falcons, their 11-1 record is impressive but a closer look reveals that it’s not as impressive as it appears and another disappointing playoff run could be in order. Seven of their wins have been by seven points are less and the team’s running back has been shut down often this season, a situation that also occurred last season. The Falcons face the Panthers in a road game next week followed by games against the Giants, Lions and Bucs – a three game stretch that should tell us more about their chances to make a Super Bowl run in 2012.