Week 12 Observations: The Ethics of Leading with your Head.

"If you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all."


I remember this phrase dominating my childhood years. I remember there were a lot of times that I can remember that I did not follow this rule. I remember my classmate Richard always seemed to be good at making me not follow this rule. I mean, say what you want, but the kid actually tried erasing my name off of my homework and turning it in as his. Like I needed any help failing math. Honestly, if I hadn't said anything to Richard, I'd probably still be wallowing in recesses and playing dodgeball during gym class. Wait, that sounds wonderful......Can I do that?

I'm trying to find something redeeming about Tebow, I really am. In college, I wasn't a huge fan of him , but you'd be wrong to say I hated him, either. In the NFL, however, Tebow has rubbed me the wrong way simply because of the credit he receives for rather mundane tasks.  No one has ever been so famous with such a dismal statistical impact on the NFL. He is gaining fame because his team is on a five game winning streak, and If you asked most people, they would probably say it's because Tim Tebow has been a great quarterback during that span. WRONG. During the Broncos improbable, albeit impressive win streak, Tebow has been a better runningback than quarterback. His throwing accuracy and power are poor for even a backup in this league, and he consistently misses open receivers all over the field. If you want to hail his performance as a running back as of late, go ahead, I won't stop you. You can even chide me here and say that none of this matters because he's a winner, thats fine too. I'm not trying to deny that the kid is 5-1 as a starter, but I'll tell you, I don't think it will last. During the reign of Tebow, he has led the team to an average of 17 points per contest, which is probably about the middle of the pack in the league. During that same span, the defense has held opponents to a very low 15 points per game, which has played an enormous  role in the team's second wind. The main weakness of the Broncos option attack is its inability to score a whole lot of points. So, as long as Timmy wants to continue his win streak and get on the front page of ESPN each week for handing the ball off on the final drive, he had better be buying his defense dinner as well.


I remember playing a lot of games in grade school. Dodgeball was far and away my favorite. Kickball....had its moments too. Dodgeball, yes dodgeball was THE game growing up. Simple concept, tag all members of the opposing team with the ball before they did the same to you. Not a whole lot of rules. The only rule dodgeball DID have was that you could not hit someone in the face. I don't think there was any other real rules of protection, you could literally nail you classmates with a shot to the rectum, ball sack or kidneys and it was all okay. Little Tommy is in the bathroom peeing blood, while you got a gold star for the day.

What is this, amateur hour?

Now consider this. In today's NFL, you are realistically limited, as a defensive player, to hit less of any player's body than you are in elementary school dodgeball. In a league where the average player makes several hundred thousand a year, every single hit on the 1)Head, 2) Shoulder pads, 3) knee cap, 4) lower leg or 5) neck will earn you an automatic fine of at least $5,000. Now that may not seem like a lot, but after taxes and other living expenses, most NFL players can't readily pay a $5,000 fine every time they take the field. However, these players are asked to provide an exciting, authentic product for fans, while simultaneously taking extra precautions not to hit a player anywhere where he might sustain an injury. The very definition of a hard hit is now changing, as defensive players have to adjust their play style or risk losing all of their money throughout the course of a season. In a game where a quarterback can pass for 400 yards in a game and still lose, it  has become apparent that quarterbacks are  almost too protected, and can easily light up any secondary. So here we run into the dilemna. Many players, current and former, are up in arms over the league going "soft", and to an extent, I'm inclined to agree with them. Every NFL player is now briefed of the dangers of prolonged hits to the head and its effect on memory loss. Furthermore, these men are raised through a football culture which stresses these issues as well. With that in mind, every NFL player knowingly and willingly accepts the possible dangers and takes the field anyways. By creating these rules to help protect players, the NFL has lost sight of the truth; football is and always will be an intensely physical sport, and people will always get hurt playing it. However, as long as they know and accept the risks, it should be their choice on how they choose to play the game, not Roger Goodell's. 

Fantasy Outlook

Marion Barber, RB Bears (14% owned): Barber makes the list again because I like what I saw from him on Sunday. He had 10 carries to Matt Forte's 12, and while he won't be involved in the passing game going forward, the Bears have to run to support Caleb Hanie and Barber has the best chance to find the endzone when they do. 

Caleb Hanie, QB Bears ( .09% owned): Speaking of Hanie, he wasn't that bad on Sunday, and in the next two weeks he gets an okay matchup with the Chiefs and then a good matchup against the Broncos. You certainly could do worse. 

Harry Douglas, WR Falcons (1.4% owned): Douglas has been the Falcons wideout on the rise for the past few weeks, and with Julio Jones missing time provides a sneaky play because of his open field evasiveness and speed. He won't fill up the stat sheet, but he's worth a look in most deeper leagues. 

Scott Chandler, TE Bills (27.7% owned): Woohoo, Ryan Fitzpatrick was on his A-game Sunday, against none other than the vaunted secondary of the Jets. We had a Scott Chandler sighting, to the tune of 6 catches for 50 yards, as the elusive fantasy dance continues with the tight end. Its tough to rely on Chandler, especially if you started him week 4. Or 5, or 6, or week 9. Yes, he has hurt us all, but we all give ex-girlfriends, religion and snuggies an extra shot, so why not Chandler too? Oh, and also, the Titans give up the 6th most points to opposing tight ends. Enjoy. 

Greg Little, WR Browns (11.1%owned): Little has worked his way into fantasy relevance and has emerged as Colt McCoy's favorite target. Little has two subpar matchups ahead of him, in the Steeler's and Ravens, but both have allowed 7 touchdowns this year to wideouts, so theres a decent chance they give one up to Little. Later on down the road, Little gets Arizona and their soft pass defense.