A couple of quick-hit thoughts (fantasy thoughts) on the four teams that played today.
New England: The entire offense struggled, but a couple of pass catchers were particularly noteworthy. James White has the size and speed of a good third-down back, but he doesn’t seem to have much ability to adjust to throws or win on contested balls. He was a huge part of their game plan but caught only 5 of the 16 passes they threw to him, for 45 yards. There were about 4-5 balls that were of the contested type where I think a lot of third-down backs around the league would have caught them. He had a big opportunity to enhance his standing. Instead, I wonder if he’ll even make the team in 2016. Similarly with Brandon LaFell, he came up awfully small in this game. He didn’t even get on the field all that much. He seemed to be splitting time with Keshawn Martin, and LaFell wasn’t even targeted. That’s weird. Tom Brady throws 56 passes, and LaFell isn’t even the intended target on any of them. LaFell was good in 2014, but he seems to have slipped. He caught only 35 of 70 passes in the regular season, a remarkably low efficiency for a receiver working with a Hall of Fame quarterback. I don’t think he’s playing with the Patriots next year.
Denver: My favorite play of the day was Peyton Manning running 12 yards. Manning can’t run anymore. His body is breaking down. So it was cool to see him take off to convert that first down. It served as a reminder that this is playoff football, where everything is more important and guys start taking chances they would never take in the regular season. Manning actually had two other plays where he showed more mobility than I’ve seen all year. In each of the last two weeks, he’s played a little better than I expected. His arm looks a little better than it did earlier in the year. But against Carolina in two weeks, he’ll need to figure out how to come up with more points. The Panthers keep scoring touchdowns. In Manning’s 11 games, Denver’s offense has scored only 19 touchdowns.
Arizona: Carson Palmer came up remarkably small in this game, with 4 interceptions and 2 lost fumbles. He missed a lot of throws that were there. He also didn’t play well in their game against the Packers, and he’s 36 years old. He’ll start on opening day for the Cardinals, but they’ll need to think about who their next starting quarterback will be, and make obtaining said player more of a priority. Back in 2014, recall, they had interest in drafting Blake Bortles (but the Jaguars ended up selecting Bortles early in that draft.
Carolina: Can we wind the clock back to Draft Day in April, 2007? The Dolphins pulled the shocker of the first round, selecting Ted Ginn Jr. 9th overall. Miami’s then-coach Cam Cameron got up and explained how he liked Ted Ginn’s family. The pick was laughed at. Ginn didn’t work out particularly well for Miami, and he’s bounced around, from San Francisco to Carolina to Arizona and back to Carolina. But he looks pretty darn good right now, playing the best ball of his career. He’s threatening defenses downfield and making a lot of good catches. In this game, he caught a 13-yard ball against Patrick Peterson, had a 32-yard punt return, scored a really nice touchdown on a 22-yard run and caught a 39-yard ball down the sidelines. This receiving corps looked like a huge weakness at the start of the year, but it looks just fine right now, and it’s Ginn who’s leading the way. Back in 2007, Calvin Johnson was the No. 2 pick overall. The rest of the receivers selected in the first and second rounds aren’t playing anymore – Dwayne Bowe, Robert Meachem, Craig Davis and Anthony Gonzalez in the first round (okay, Bowe was on Cleveland’s roster in 2015, but I don’t think he’ll be around in 2016). And Sidney Rice, Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith (the Southern Cal version).