Don’t Blink For A Second

What a week last week was from a spectator’s standpoint! It was the highest scoring week in NFL history and contained some of the craziest finishes ever witnessed.

• New England proved to really own home field advantage when they received two critical penalties that helped them erase a 26-14 in the last 2 and a half minutes, though they left enough time for Cleveland to try a very long game-winning field goal that came up short.
• After 20 points total for a 14-6 Detroit lead in 8 inches of heavy snow, Philly exploded for 4 fourth qtr TDs, including 3 of 38 yards or longer, to cruise by Detroit and keep their division hopes alive.
• Baltimore and Minnesota outdid Detroit and Philly for 4th qtr scoring as they managed 13 total points through three quarters and then put up 42 combined in a wild 4th quarter that saw 5 lead changes in the last 127 seconds.
• Green Bay was on the verge of getting the final nail in their 2013 coffin after giving up 21 points to Atlanta in the 2nd qtr and the surprisingly shut them out in the second half to eek out a 1-point win and give them false hope of making the playoffs.
• The Steelers came oh-so-close to one of the greatest multi-lateral finishes in NFL history when the only flaw in the 5-lateral, 79-yard sequence was Antonio Brown stepping out of bounds as he passed the last defender into the end zone with no time on the clock.

The unfortunate part of last weekend was the number of injuries. Gronk is done for the year and we will be inundated with his recovery status again going into the 2014 season. AP went out with a foot injury and one has to wonder if he is done for the year since the Vikings are. Reggie Bush slipped in pre-game warm-ups and re-aggravated his calf injury. Lamar Miller was also hurt for Miami and will be trying to pass the NFL concussion tests in hopes of playing this weekend. Mojo hurt his hammy. RGIII proved again that he cannot win games by himself and will now be shut down for the rest of the season.

I certainly hope that you tethered Toby Gerhart and Joique Bell to AP and Bush. If not and you survived last weekend, here are a few choices to chose from who have now become a factor on the waiver wire.

QB: Jason Campbell (CLE) – so, I have repeatedly bashed Campbell after watching him play worse than Celeb Haney last season for the Bears (rightfully so). However, he has been dynamite for the Browns this year when healthy and on the field. Sure, Josh Gordon helps, but Campbell still has to accurately get the ball to him. He faces a suspect Bears defense coming off a game Monday night and could prove useful.

RB: Daniel Thomas (MIA) – assuming Gerhart and Bell are not available in your league, there is a good chance that Thomas is. Miami’s running game this year has been a bit stagnant and Thomas was dinged up for awhile and ineffective. If available, grab him if you are looking for help as he is playing in nice weather, will most likely get the start and goes against a bad Patriots’ rush defense.

WR: Cordarrelle Patterson (MINN) – Patterson has flashed his speed all season as a kick returner, but has gotten more and more offensive plays as the season has worn on. He is getting carries and Looks each week; moreso of the latter with Matt Cassel at QB. They play at home this week in what should be a shootout so the weather is not a concern.

TE: Dennis Pitta (BAL) – Pitta missed 3/4ths of the season with a hip injury but returned last week and instantly regained the rapport he had in 2012 with QB Joe Flacco. He is Flacco’s main Red Zone target as well as a trusted outlet. Tight Ends are an inconsistent bunch (see Ladarius Green) so Pitta is a nice replacement if you own the likes of Jordan Reed or Rob Housler.