Something Ryan Tannehill’s game has never lacked? Valid criticisms. His deep ball leaves much to be desired. It chased Mike Wallace out of town. His pocket presence can often be scarily light on the “presence.” Since his first start in 2012, Tannehill almost certainly leads the league in surprise helmets to the back as he’s waiting to uncork a pass. An exceptional athlete, Tannehill doesn’t run enough. A bland personality, he isn’t vocal enough.
The one thing you’ve never been able to criticize? Tannehill’s toughness and durability. Playing behind typically awful offensive lines with his aforementioned lack of awareness, Tannehill has taken colossal shot after colossal shot during his five-year career. Yet, through 77 games, he’s never missed a start. That will change in Week 15 after Tannehill finally took a hit he couldn’t walk off.
Tannehill has a sprained left ACL and MCL, an injury that will likely knock him out for the rest of the season. Despite all of Tannehill’s deficiencies, it’s a massive blow for a team hunting for its first playoff berth since 2008, and first playoff win since 2000. Matt Moore will not be an upgrade, and the quarterback change clouds the offense’s well-established truths. Will Jarvis Landy remain one of the league’s most targeted players? Will Jay Ajayi keep averaging five yards per carry now that opposing defenses have even less reason to fear the Dolphins’ passing game? Will DeVante Parker’s development stall for the remainder of 2017? We don’t know, but all three are distinct possibilities.
For Week 15, Ajayi will probably struggle against the Jets’ solid run defense, putting the onus on Moore to work his connections with Landry, Parker and Kenny Stills. Only Landry can be trusted for the fantasy semifinals, and even he will probably best be limited to WR3 status.
Locked into big money next season, Tannehill will be back as the Dolphins’ starter. The big question is, with the one unimpeachable aspect of his game now impeached, will he be the same? The Dolphins will be praying so, as a Tannehill that does even one more thing poorly might be a Tannehill no longer worthy of starting in the NFL.
Five Week 14 Storylines
Melvin Gordon avoiding the worst possible news with his hip injury. Trying to cover up one of Philip Rivers’ five turnovers, Gordon got his left leg rolled up in the ugliest of fashions. Carted off the field, it appeared his season was over. That’s when we got our first surprise. It wasn’t Gordon’s leg that was injured, but his hip. It was strange news, and even more worrisome than the initial fear of a leg/knee ailment. Remember Bo Jackson and Dennis Pitta? That’s what made surprise No. 2 all the more comforting. “He’s OK,” were the words of a source to the San Diego Union-Tribune. A Monday MRI will be the final word, but if nothing else, it appears Gordon has avoided an injury that could cloud his 2017 status. For now, the final three weeks cannot be ruled out. Assuming Gordon sits for the fantasy semifinals, backup Kenneth Farrow will be a plug-and-play RB2 against the Raiders’ soft run defense.
Russell Wilson’s career-worst start. Wilson rolled flaming tires into the Packers’ defense, getting picked an unfathomable five times. In the regular season, Wilson hadn’t thrown more than two interceptions since his fourth career start. Sunday’s giveaways represent 11.4 percent of his career total. Two of the picks probably weren’t his fault. The fifth came with the game already over. The performance is most concerning in the context of Seattle’s road struggles, and Wilson’s recent issues with the deep ball. Evan Silva blew my mind when he pointed out the Seahawks are averaging 28.4 points at home and 12.5 on the road. That’s ominous news for a team that won’t be getting back to the Super Bowl without winning at least one away playoff game. The good news is, the Seahawks have the right schedule to work out the kinks. They host the pathetic Rams on Thursday night before welcoming Arizona in Week 16. For their season finale they’ll be venturing to Santa Clara’s empty stadium to put the tanking 49ers out of their misery. It’s probably too late for the majority of Wilson’s fantasy owners, but not the Seahawks.
Tyrod Taylor’s deepening slump. Taylor took four sacks before completing a pass against the Steelers. With just 860 total yards over his past four starts, Taylor’s hot mid-season play is a distant memory. Taylor is a playmaker who’s stopped making plays. In the past month, he hasn’t completed more than 19 passes or totaled more than 40 rushing yards. He’s produced just five touchdowns as the Bills have gone 2-2 to fall out of the playoff race. His play has grown so erratic that hot-seat coach Rex Ryan won’t even commit to him starting the season’s final three games. There’s a magic about Taylor’s game when it’s right, but the league has adjusted. If he can’t adjust back and start, you know, completing more passes, he probably won’t be back as starter in 2017. For Week 15, Taylor will be a risk/reward QB2 against the 0-13 Browns.
Kelvin Benjamin’s benching. Trovon Reed was busy housing a Cam Newton pass for a 96-yard touchdown. Benjamin was busy not caring, loafing about like he was at a croquet match instead of a football game. That was enough for coach Ron Rivera, who watched Benjamin pull a similar stunt on an earlier Newton pick that ended up getting overturned. Rivera might not have been so harsh had Benjamin been doing anything positive. Benjamin had one catch for 11 yards before being told to take a seat. He has eight catches for 138 yards over his past four games. That’s supposed to be Benjamin’s weekly ceiling, not his monthly output. Just completely lost at the end of an up-and-down season, Benjamin will be a bottom-barrel WR3 against Josh Norman’s Redskins next Monday night.
Donte Moncrief’s hamstring injury. Moncrief was invisible before he got injured, snagging zero passes on four targets. The doughnut laid bare Moncrief’s 2016 fantasy reality: He’s useless if he doesn’t score. Of course, Moncrief has scored in all six of his healthy appearances. Now he’s banged up for the second time this season, and highly questionable for Week 15. The injury is an aggravation of a previous issue, which is always a worrisome development. Even if Moncrief can suit up for Week 15, he’ll likely be at far less than 100 percent against the Vikings’ elite pass defense. Moncrief will be off the WR2 map for the fantasy semifinals.
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Five More Week 14 Storylines
Matt Forte’s latest knee injury. No stranger to knee woes, Forte felt “cracking and popping” on Sunday. The issue ended his day six snaps into a dream matchup with the 49ers. Forte’s initial feeling was that he avoided ligament damage, but a Monday MRI has been ordered. Considering the fact that Forte was ruled out so quickly in San Francisco, he’s looking mighty dicey for this week’s showdown with the Dolphins. It doesn’t help that the game is on Saturday night, giving Forte one less day to get healthy. If Forte can’t go, Bilal Powell will have a golden opportunity to build on his career Week 14 (29/145/2). Those numbers were matchup aided, of course, but Powell will be a legit RB2 for the fantasy semifinals if Forte is sidelined.
Aaron Rodgers picking up a calf ailment to go along with his hamstring issue. Rodgers suffered the injury in the first quarter, playing into the fourth before finally checking out. Rodgers looked highly limited, but it still didn’t stop him from carving up the Seahawks and badly outplaying Russell Wilson. Speaking afterward, he made it clear he was going to suit up in Week 15 against the Bears. That’s to be expected with the Packers’ season on the line, though it is worth wondering how effective Rodgers will be as he guts out two injuries. The Bears have played surprisingly tough defense for most of the year, especially at home. Two scores is Rodgers’ bare minimum. That could also be his maximum for the fantasy semifinals.
The Broncos’ backfield officially becoming a committee. Neither Devontae Booker nor Justin Forsett were good against the Titans. The duo combined for 46 yards on 14 touches. The takeaway is that Forsett out-touched Booker 8-4 in his first game as a Bronco, and got out-snapped just 29-26. Coach Gary Kubiak clearly has a ton of faith in a player he coached in both Houston and Baltimore. Forsett’s career year came under Kubiak in 2014. That might as well be a lifetime ago for a 31-year-old running back, but with Booker showing nothing for the better part of two months, Forsett should be the 1A to Booker’s 1B as the Broncos play for their season next Sunday against the Patriots.
Isaiah Crowell’s revival. Crowell had his best game since September, rushing 10 times for 113 yards. It’s hard to pinpoint why. Robert Griffin III’s return would seem to be the obvious reason, but RGIII was patently awful, completing 12-of-28 passes for 104 yards and an interception. Nevertheless, it’s still possible Griffin’s supposed running threat was clearing lanes for his running back. Something changed, as Crowell literally rushed for more yards than he had managed across his past five starts. The theory will be put to immediate test in Week 15 against the Bills. Coach Rex Ryan’s defense is (slightly) better against the run, and has a week to study film of RGIII’s trainwreck. Despite the big day, Crowell is still best approached as what he was in Week 14, a high-risk option on the RB2/3 borderline.
Philip Rivers’ continued meltdown. Rivers turned the ball over once every 7.8 dropbacks, tossing three interceptions and losing two fumbles. Crumbling in the second half of the season for the third straight year, Rivers now has 12 turnovers across his past four starts. Aside from San Diego’s typical injury issues, Rivers lacks convenient alibis. He simply isn’t playing well, making mistakes that would be unacceptable for a rookie, let alone an 11th-year starter. With Melvin Gordon (hip) now injured, things could stay ugly in Week 15 against the Raiders. Rivers is a QB2 you’d be wise not to stream in one-quarterback leagues for the fantasy semifinals.
Questions
1. If the 49ers weren’t tanking, what exactly were they doing?
2. Have you sent your Tony Romo/Dak Prescott #taek to finishing school yet?
3. Why are you wasting time sleeping when you haven’t come up with one single good idea for stopping the Bryce Petty/Robby Anderson connection?
Early Waiver Look (Players owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Sam Bradford (vs. IND), Alex Smith (vs. TEN), Trevor Siemian (vs. NE)
RB: Bilal Powell, Kenneth Farrow, Ty Montgomery, Kenneth Dixon, Dwayne Washington, Justin Forsett, Charles Sims
WR: Pierre Garcon, Dontrelle Inman, Taylor Gabriel, Adam Thielen, Marqise Lee, Robby Anderson
TE: Jermaine Gresham, Daniel Brown
DEF: Texans (vs. JAX), Falcons (vs. 49ers), Packers (@CHI)
Stats of the Week
The Falcons have scored 70 more points than any other team in football. Their six touchdowns in Los Angeles yesterday were as many as the Rams have scored at home all season.
0. That’s how many touchdowns Drew Brees has over his past two starts.
10. That was Jordan Reed’s snap count against the Eagles. There’s no particular reason to expect it to soar for Week 15. Reed still seems to be in a lot of pain.
Cam Newton is completing 42.9 percent of his passes over the past month.
Per Michael David Smith: Chip Kelly has twice as many losses over his past 15 games (1-14) than he did his entire tenure at Oregon (46-7).
Awards Section
The Only Good Player of the Week Award: Le’Veon Bell
Week 14 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Aaron Rodgers, RB Le’Veon Bell, RB Bilal Powell, WR Jordy Nelson, WR Emmanuel Sanders, WR Demaryius Thomas, TE Tyler Eifert
Most Absurd Moment of Week 14: The Eagles needing their third-string long snapper Trey Burton.
The This Is Your Life Award: Losing a game where Brock Osweiler throws for 147 yards and zero touchdowns.
The Bears Have A Tight End Named Daniel Brown Who Is Like Their No. 2 Receiver Award: The Bears have a tight end named Daniel Brown who seems to be their No. 2 receiver.
Tweet of the Week, from Rodger Sherman: Brock Osweiler still leads all NFL QB’s in Yards Above Ground
Play of the Week: This “throw” from Ryan Tannehill.
