Week 12 Observations

Week 12 got off to a good start — I had one player going in the under-16 Portugal girls basketball league, and she went bananas — 33 and 19 with six steals in a game they won 55-34. And yes, I was counting her stats from the bleachers. It was crazy because our team has only six players, and two fouled out with six minutes left, so they had to play 4 on 5. Granted it was a soft opponent, but it was thrilling nonetheless. Sasha is more Angel Reese than Caitlin Clark, basically just bullying and bodying people while driving hard to the hole. Probably went to the line 15 times, making about five of them. Steph Curry she is not.

The rest of the day was a mixed bag. I was 1-3 ATS (pending Ravens -2.5) and damn lucky to get the 1 with the Bears +3.5 — though I was one inch away from getting the Raiders, a game I stayed up watching for no reason. Would it kill them to throw the ball to Brock Bowers? And I know Minshew got hurt, but FFS get rid of the damn ball!

One of my teams was dead to rights due to the bye weeks. I never pay attention to them while drafting, but this was extreme:

That’s my first, second, third and fifth round picks on the bench, plus my QB Joe Burrow. (Fourth-rounder was Stefon Diggs.) I even had to drop the Younghoe, though my awful starting lineup managed 99 points thanks in large part to his replacement Wil Lutz. That team is still in third place and could quality for the postseason with a strong stretch run.

My first place team balled out — I picked up Lutz there too, and I have Jonnu Smith everywhere, actually played him in the flex with Bowers. That team has Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle too. Miami stack minus Tyreek Hill for the win!

The Primetime team did okay, pending JK Dobbins tonight. It’s in eighth place, but only 13 points out of fifth and 73 out of second. I think it’s good enough to go on a run down the stretch.

• Saquon Barkley posted the nine-highest rushing total in NFL history and had 302 yards from scrimmage (10th most). I’m bummed to see it happen for another team (especially Philly), but he was the NFL’s Mike Trout and deserved better. (Actually, it’s way worse to be that guy in football, because at least everyone knows how great Trout was.)

• AJ Brown makes it look so easy. I’d give him 15 targets a game if I were the Eagles, but obviously when your back averages 9.8 YPC there’s no need to throw.

• Puka Nacua seems like the No. 1 now that both players are fully healthy. I actually had to use Demarcus Robinson in the bye-week league, and he scored a TD for me.

• What happened to Justin Jefferson? It’s not like teams weren’t already trying to double him for the last three years. I guess he had a long TD called back due to a penalty, but it’s shocking to have Darnold go for 330 and Jefferson only 27. If I still played DFS I’d use him everywhere next week, and I haven’t even checked the matchup.

• I didn’t watch much of this game, but had the Bears +3.5, was overjoyed when they cut it to three only to see them actually make the onside kick and send it to overtime! What are you doing? You had the cover locked up! Now you’re going to make me sweat OT? Luckily they got the ball first, but you never know.

• I took the Colts +7.5 as a sell high on the Lions and got what I deserved. They were a sell-high, but you don’t step in the way of a freight train.

• Anthony Richardson had bad stats, but he had a couple intermediate pass plays called back due to penalties, threw the ball well and didn’t turn it over. He also had 61 rushing yards. He’s not the guy that was totally lost early in the year.

• Jonnu Smith is a top-five TE now. He’s my Stefon Diggs replacement as I have him everywhere now too.

• Waddle had a monster game, and frankly it was overdue. They’ll probably get Hill more involved next week.

• The problem with Rhamondre Stevenson is the offense often bogs down, and he’s not getting enough receptions to make up for it. In the first-place league, I had him in over Bucky Irving.

• In my home picking pool (in which I had a horrible week), I took the Bucs -6. I almost *never* go against the Giants because at low stakes it’s not worth it, but Tommy DeVito might as well be Danny DeVito. After the game Malik Nabers criticized Brian Daboll for not getting him a target in the first half, and Daboll seeemed sympathetic to him. I have to think going DeVito over Drew Lock is purposeful tanking too. Watch Danny Dimes go somewhere decent and pull a Darnold.

• Irving is the Bucs best back even if the GigaRachaad is good on passing downs.

• The Cowboys-Killer Redskins game was one of the craziest of all time. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the score was 13-9. The final total was 60!

• The KaVontae Turpin spin move kick return TD was so sick, as was the 86-yard TD to Terry McLaurin. Just insane plays in a game where 33 people in Circa Survivor (entries valued at $150K each) had the KRs in Survivor. To sweat the fourth quarter TD drive to cut it to three, see Turpin house it on the kickoff, then get the McLaurin miracle TD only to lose a chance for OT on a missed PAT is too much. Defenestration-level shit.

• One of my favorite things about Circa Survivor is there’s always that real man who neglects to enter his pick. I mean it’s $1K to enter, so even Week 1 this is bad, but when each entry has $150K in equity? Ultimate respect for the No Pick TeraChad.

• The Chiefs play close games with everyone and inflict maximum frustration on fantasy owners.

• Why bother activating Jonathon Brooks for two carries?

• Both Richardson and Bryce Young are looking much more credible than earlier in the year. Low bar, I realize.

• I started Richardson over C.J. Stroud this week after doing the reverse last week, and of course Stroud throws a TD on the first place from scrimmage. But in the end, even though Stroud had two TDs and 150 yards in the first half, and Richardson’s team failed to score a TD, Stroud finished with only 7.5 more points. The Texans offense is that miserable. At least Joe Mixon finally got stuffed.

• The Titans are such a random team. Maybe they should throw to Chig Okonkwo every now and then?

• Hopefully you didn’t overEstime the role of a particular Denver running back.

• Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton are startable almost every week, but don’t mess with the rest of this rotating cast of randoms.

• There’s really nothing to say about the Raiders. Why are they even scheduling games at this point?

• I took the Cardinals in Circa as a sell-high on Seattle after their win over the 49ers, but turns out it was Arizona I should have sold instead. The Seahawks defense is nothing special, so why did Kyler Murray have so much trouble?

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba is ahead of DK Metcalf now, it seems, but that was an ugly game all around.

• Josh Jacobs was such an obvious draft target on a decent team (though I passed him up for Diggs and others every time.) Ignore all the metrics dorks who try to extrapolate stats from hopeless situations to good ones. They were saying Barkley was ordinary too.

• The 49ers are still in the thick of the NFC West race, believe it or not. They kind of need Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa though.