A week ago, many of us were looking forward to seeing Jonathan Taylor and Javonte Williams face off against two relatively strong defenses, and alongside two future Hall-of-Fame QBs. Regardless of the challenges confronting each team's passing games, at least we'd get to watch two impressive-to-dominant running backs.
But because this is football, we don't always get what we want. As true in fantasy as it is in real life. Mike Boone, Deon Jackson, and Phillip Lindsay suddenly take center stage . . . alongside two future Hall-of-Fame QBs playing like its their farewell tour.
For Denver, I was happy to see Melvin Gordon earn 18 touches, including a healthy 14 in regulation. He's on my fantasy team. Disappointed he didn't do more. But for now he's still a streamer, while Boone certainly showed he belongs as no worse than the 1B. Perhaps Boone will overtake the aging Gordon eventually. I hope note for the sake of my fantasy title aspiarations. But my team takes a backseat to reality. Boone looks ready.
Russell Wilson was simply awful. I've continued to push him ("Don't worry folks, he'll turn things around!"), and have been wrong most weeks. His biggest play of the night was a desperation heave with two Broncos accidentally in the same spot and one of two defenders on the ground. I wonder if things would have been any better if Tim Patrick hadn't been lost for the season. Patrick's one of the best #3 receivers in the game. K.J. Hamler isn't.
Meanwhile, Courtland Sutton continues to operate as the #1 receiver. I ranked him a little ahead of Jerry Jeudy this preseason, but am honestly surprised Jeudy's been an afterthought after his huge Week 1 effort. In my mind, he's a buy-low top-40 WR with strong top-28 potential if the Broncos can make any positive adjustments to their aerial attack. And in fact, while typing that last sentence, Wilson connected with him after getting wide open in overtime. So yeah, more of that please. (Easier said than done, but you get it.)
For the Colts, I can't articulate clearly enough how troubling it is to see a team, year after year, be so close to Super Bowl contention if they'd only had a "very good" QB. Philip Rivers arrived a year too late, as he was already fading as a passer. And Carson Wentz was terrific in the first half of last season, and then he reportedly played worse at the same time Indy became a run-first team. Ryan was supposed to be "the answer." He isn't. At this stage, he looks like a replacement-level starter: Jacoby Brissett with more experience and less mobility.
As for Neheim Hines, what a disaster. If you started him, all I can say is, I get it. I lost last week by less than six points after Javonte Williams and Mlvin Gordon combined for 2.5 points. If Williams hadn't gotten hurt . . . it's a rough way to lose, and it's a rough way wonder if you're going to lose come Sunday/Monday.
I finished writing that last paragraph as Wilson threw errantly into the end zone, handing Indy the victory. 3rd-and-2 from the Colts' 6, and they couldn't find the end zone. How many times have they been stopped that close in these first five weeks? Eight or nine times? We could argue that statistically, their inability to score from up close has cost their players dozens and dozens of fantasy points.
And finally, the winner of the closest-score competition. Could it be? This person knows what it's like to win, because he won last year, and also in Week 2, when he predicted the exact final score. It's . . . Rick Esterly! Rick predicted 20-17 Colts. Every other Colt-victory prediction had a higher score. So Rick is the second 2x winner this season. Congratulations! And good luck becoming the first 3x winner in closest-score-picking history.
But because this is football, we don't always get what we want. As true in fantasy as it is in real life. Mike Boone, Deon Jackson, and Phillip Lindsay suddenly take center stage . . . alongside two future Hall-of-Fame QBs playing like its their farewell tour.
For Denver, I was happy to see Melvin Gordon earn 18 touches, including a healthy 14 in regulation. He's on my fantasy team. Disappointed he didn't do more. But for now he's still a streamer, while Boone certainly showed he belongs as no worse than the 1B. Perhaps Boone will overtake the aging Gordon eventually. I hope note for the sake of my fantasy title aspiarations. But my team takes a backseat to reality. Boone looks ready.
Russell Wilson was simply awful. I've continued to push him ("Don't worry folks, he'll turn things around!"), and have been wrong most weeks. His biggest play of the night was a desperation heave with two Broncos accidentally in the same spot and one of two defenders on the ground. I wonder if things would have been any better if Tim Patrick hadn't been lost for the season. Patrick's one of the best #3 receivers in the game. K.J. Hamler isn't.
Meanwhile, Courtland Sutton continues to operate as the #1 receiver. I ranked him a little ahead of Jerry Jeudy this preseason, but am honestly surprised Jeudy's been an afterthought after his huge Week 1 effort. In my mind, he's a buy-low top-40 WR with strong top-28 potential if the Broncos can make any positive adjustments to their aerial attack. And in fact, while typing that last sentence, Wilson connected with him after getting wide open in overtime. So yeah, more of that please. (Easier said than done, but you get it.)
For the Colts, I can't articulate clearly enough how troubling it is to see a team, year after year, be so close to Super Bowl contention if they'd only had a "very good" QB. Philip Rivers arrived a year too late, as he was already fading as a passer. And Carson Wentz was terrific in the first half of last season, and then he reportedly played worse at the same time Indy became a run-first team. Ryan was supposed to be "the answer." He isn't. At this stage, he looks like a replacement-level starter: Jacoby Brissett with more experience and less mobility.
As for Neheim Hines, what a disaster. If you started him, all I can say is, I get it. I lost last week by less than six points after Javonte Williams and Mlvin Gordon combined for 2.5 points. If Williams hadn't gotten hurt . . . it's a rough way to lose, and it's a rough way wonder if you're going to lose come Sunday/Monday.
I finished writing that last paragraph as Wilson threw errantly into the end zone, handing Indy the victory. 3rd-and-2 from the Colts' 6, and they couldn't find the end zone. How many times have they been stopped that close in these first five weeks? Eight or nine times? We could argue that statistically, their inability to score from up close has cost their players dozens and dozens of fantasy points.
And finally, the winner of the closest-score competition. Could it be? This person knows what it's like to win, because he won last year, and also in Week 2, when he predicted the exact final score. It's . . . Rick Esterly! Rick predicted 20-17 Colts. Every other Colt-victory prediction had a higher score. So Rick is the second 2x winner this season. Congratulations! And good luck becoming the first 3x winner in closest-score-picking history.