Things I Noticed: Week 7

And then there was one.  Only one undefeated team remains in the NFL - and it's not the one most of us expected it to be.  At least every division has a team with a winning record, so that's an upgrade from previous weeks!  There are also no ties at the top of any division, yet no division leader has more than a two game lead.

Bye Weeks: Oakland, New Orleans.

Here are some things I noticed this week:

• The Seattle defense abused Carson Palmer all night, sacking him 7 times and picking off two of his passes.  One of those interceptions was returned all the way to the 2 yard line, setting up a short TD run for Marshawn Lynch.  Imagine the wave of emotions between fantasy football opponents if one had the Seattle defense and the other had Lynch!
• Hamstring issues continue to limit Larry Fitzgerald, holding him to 2 catches for 17 yards.   Ok, so maybe the Seattle defense had something to do with that too.  I'd add a joke about Carson Palmer being his QB being another cause, but as poorly as Palmer has played, he's still better than anyone Fitzgerald has played with since Kurt Warner retired.
• Gronk is back!  The Patriots star tight end finally made his season debut, about a month later than
  
  most of us anticipated.  Tom Brady wasted little time in showing how much he missed him by targeting him 17 times.  Gronkowski did manage to catch 8 of them for 114 yards, but did look a bit rusty on several of those missed targets.  A couple times he tried to make a spectacular one handed catch instead of using his once injured arm to help reel it in.  He also got turned around on a lob from Brady and missed what would have been an easy TD on a play he appeared to have lost sight of the ball in the sun.
• The Jets shocked the Patriots with a game winning field goal in overtime.  Nick Folk initially missed the 56-yard attempt, but a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct gave the Jets a first down, well within range for the winning kick.
• What a bogus penalty!  New England was essentially penalized for pushing into one of their own teammates.  The controversial call was made due to a new rule this season, which was intended for player safety.  This was the first time a team has ever been penalized for this, despite that it happens all the time.  The Jets were guilty of doing the same thing earlier in the same game, but weren't flagged for it.  To make matters worse, the NFL essentially admitted after the game how confusing the new rule is by altering the wording on NFL.com to clarify it. The way it was originally written stated "players not on the line of scrimmage at the snap cannot push players on the line of scrimmage into the offensive formation."  Except Chris Jones, the player guilty of the penalty, was lined up at the line of scrimmage!  After the snap, he looped around behind his teammate and pushed him into the pile.  Based on how the rule was originally written, this should not have been a penalty.  Misinterpretation of a new rule that nobody has ever seen before cost the Patriots a game against a division rival.
• The banged up Patriots defense managed to make even the Jets offense look pretty good - which is saying something.  Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo are out for the season and DT Tommy Kelly was out again this week.  Without three of their best run stuffers on the field, the Jets rolled for 177 rushing yards.  Oddly enough, it was Chris Ivory doing most of the damage with 104 yards on a whopping 34 carries.  Ivory had received only four carries in each of his last three games, but apparently has overtaken Bilal Powell (3 carries, 6 yards) in the Jets backfield.  Aqib Talib was out this week as well and there's still no sign of how much longer he may be out.  Without their shut down corner, Jeremy Kerley (97 yards, 1 TD) was able to take advantage for a big day.
• No Julio Jones, no Roddy White, no Steven Jackson, plus the defense keys on taking Tony Gonzalez out of game plan?  No problem for Atlanta, at least when they get to face the Bucs.  Matt Ryan made due with what was left, finding Harry Douglas for 149 yards and a score and adding two TD throws to Jacquizz Rodgers.
• An uphill battle for the winless Bucs got even tougher when Doug Martin was knocked out with a shoulder injury.  Martin reportedly had his shoulder in a sling after the game and was being sent for an MRI.  Early reports suggest that he may have suffered a torn labrum, which could end his season.  Just when you thought his season couldn't get more disappointing!
• Vincent Jackson (10 catches, 138 yards, 2 TDs) continues to find success despite the rest of the offense crumbling around him.
• Calvin Johnson (9 catches, 155 yards, 2 TDs) may have just barely edged AJ Green (6 catches, 155 yards, 1 TD) in the battle for the league's top receiver, but it was Green's Bengals that edged the Lions for the win.
• Both receivers had ridiculous TD catches.  Green nearly over ran a deep pass from Andy Dalton, hooked back to make the catch, maintained his balance while eluding a falling defender and coasted the rest of the way for an 82-yard score early in the game.  In the 4th quarter, Matthew Stafford launched a rocket 50 yards into triple coverage, but Calvin somehow managed to out leap everyone else to come down with it in the end zone to tie the game.  That's just not even fair.  There is no stopping Megatron! 
• For the second straight week, the Bengals blew a double digit lead in the second half, only to rally with a game winning field goal.  Last week they blew a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter, but ended up winning by a FG in OT.  This time it was Mike Nugent's 54-yard kick as time expired that earned them the victory.  
• Mario Williams has yet to live up to the hefty contract the Bills gave him a couple years ago, but he earned his paycheck this week against the Dolphins by sacking Ryan Tannehill and forcing a fumble late in the 4th quarter.  That set up the game winning field goal by Dan Carpenter, who oddly enough was released by the Dolphins this past summer after five seasons in Miami.
• Three points and under 300 total yards?  That's not the type of offense we envisioned from Chip Kelley's Eagles, especially against a banged up Cowboys defense.  Then again, we envisioned that offense with Michael Vick, who remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.  Nick Foles was on his way to being terrible before getting knocked out with a head injury, so rookie Matt Barkley came in to finish laying the egg by throwing three 4th quarter interceptions... on the only three drives of the game he played!
• Miles Austin played in his second straight game since returning from injury and made it two straight without catching a single pass.  Terrence Williams remains relevant, catching 6 balls for 71 yards and a score, while Dez Bryant continues to do Dez Bryant things (8 catches, 110 yards).  
• I'm getting dangerously close to giving up on Austin as an impact receiver.  He's yet to really come close to matching his breakout season in 2009, battled injuries in two of the past three seasons and really hasn't been the same since dating Kim Kardashian a few years ago.  The lesson, as always - nothing good can come from linking yourself to the Kardashian family.  Just ask Lamar Odom or Kris Humphries. 
• Roy Helu entered the week with three career TDs.  So of course he doubled that total with a trio of rushing scores this week, including the game winner with under a minute to go in the game.  Alfred Morris was having a fine game, racking up 95 yards on 19 carries, but wasn't rewarded with the goal line carries that he usually gets.  Helu's ascent to the vulture spot came out of nowhere.  This is why fantasy owners hate Mike Shanahan.  
• You know who is finally getting goal line carries this year?  Matt Forte.  He crossed the goal line three
  
  times as well to give him 6 TDs on the season - only two short of his career high.  Forte got all 16 carries from the Bears backfield.  The only other running plays came on two end-arounds by receiver Alshon Jefferey and a few scrambles by Josh McCown, who came in at QB after Jay Cutler exited with a groin injury (out 4-6 weeks).
• The Rams run defense has been shredded the past few weeks, so DeAngelo Williams must have been hungry for a tasty match-up, right?  Eh, not so much.  40 yards on 15 carries, which was pretty similar to what Mike Tolbert produced (13 carries, 36 yards).  Plus Tolbert of course got the goal line carry.  With Jonathan Stewart on his way back soon to add more frustration to the mix, we may be done seeing D-Will as a lead running back.
• The Rams loss to Carolina, which dropped them back below .500, was hardly the biggest loss of their afternoon.  Sam Bradford tore his ACL and is done for the season, crippling any chance St. Louis had at contending this year.  But hey, at least their Cardinals are in the World Series!
• After disappearing for several weeks, Eddie Royal showed up again to lead the Chargers in receiving, with 4 catches for 69 yards.  He also caught his 6th TD pass of the season, which ties him for 3rd in the league with a half dozen other players.
• Jacksonville (0-7) became the first team since the 1984 Houston Oilers to lose their first seven games by double digits.  That Oilers team was pounded by double digits in their first 10 games, but this Jaguars team may soon beat that streak.  Their offense is barely averaging double digits themselves (10.8 points per game), while the defense allows 31.7 per game.  Both are easily league worst marks.
• The Niners spoiled Jake Locker's return from injury by pounding the Titans.  Frank Gore topped 100 totals yards and scored twice, while Colin Kaepernick took off running for 68 yards and a score.
• Chris Johnson has really struggled to find running room over the past month, but in two of the past three games he has been able to use his blazing speed to turn a short pass into a long scoring play.  The Titans never sniffed the end zone until the 4th quarter, when Johnson took a simple screen pass and burst through a sea of Niners defenders on his way to a 66-yard score.
• The top targets for Aaron Rodgers continue to drop like flies.  James Jones was out this week and Randall Cobb was put on injured reserve (designated to return - possibly by Week 15) after hurting his knee last week.  This week it was TE JerMichael Finley, who suffered a scary neck injury and had to be carted off the field and taken to the ICU, where he remains in intensive care.  The Packers still manged to cruise past Cleveland and take over the top spot in the NFC North, but they may not stay there long if they continue to lose key players.
• Cleveland continues to make us forget about that impressive three game win streak from earlier this season because they continue to start Brandon Weeden.  His 24.9 QBR is the worst among any QB that doesn't reside in Jacksonville.  
• Good news for the Texans - they tried out a new QB this week and Case Keenum didn't throw a pick-six!  Bad news for the Texans - given the chance in the two minute drill to rally with a game winning drive, Keenum lost a fumble to seal the victory for Kansas City.
• More bad news for the Texans - Brian Cushing tore his LCL and fractured his leg.  For the second straight season, the veteran linebacker will be placed on injured reserve with a season ending injury before even making it to the halfway point of the season.
• The Chiefs remain unbeaten on the strength of arguably the league's best defense.  Trailing by four in the 3rd quarter, Houston had the ball with first and goal at the KC 1 yard line.  After two stuffed runs and an incompletion, the Texans settled for a field goal to pull within one.  That's as close as they would get.
• Should the Texans have gone for it on 4th and goal to go ahead by three?  If they had, those extra four points would have won them the game.  Even if they failed, the Chiefs would start their drive pinned deep near their own end zone.  Instead, they returned the ensuing kick-off that followed the field goal all the way to the Texans 46 yard line, giving them great field position for a drive that would end in a field goal of their own.  But the Texans could not have known they would give up such a long return.  Given that Arian Foster had been knocked out in the first quarter and they were relying on a QB making his first career start, they were probably wise to take the sure points.
• Jamaal Charles has now gained over 100 total yards and scored at least one TD in all seven games
  
  this season.  Only OJ Simpson has had a longer such streak to start a season and we should always root for a player to break any record held by OJ.
• Pittsburgh (2-4) may already have lost their season, but that won't stop them from celebrating any time they get a win over their hated rival from Baltimore.  Shaun Suisham's 42-yard kick as time expired gave them that reason.  The Steelers kicker nailed all four of his attempts and is a perfect 14 for 14 on the season.
• The Ravens (3-4) are below .500 for the first time in the John Harbaugh era and the first defending Super Bowl champion to have a losing record after seven games since the 2006 Steelers.  Their last four games have all been decided by three points or less, with three of the four resulting in losses.  It's a baffling turn of events for a team with a supposedly elite QB (who was apparently worth handing one of the richest contracts in the league) to struggle to close out games.  Things have gotten so bad that Terrell Suggs has issued a state of emergency for the Ravens!  Funny, I thought the state of emergency happened last summer when half the roster started fleeing to other teams.
• Peyton Manning made his much anticipated return to Indianapolis, but it was hardly a happy homecoming.  It started earlier in the week when Colts owner Jim Irsay made some curious comments about how disappointed he was that Manning was only able to deliver one Super Bowl ring in his time with the Colts and ended with his former team handing the Broncos their first loss of the season.
• Irsay may be smiling now with this win, but his comments were completely out of line.  Peyton Manning is the best thing that ever happened to that franchise.  Winning a Super Bowl isn't easy, so he should just be thankful to have one ring.  Even if his Colts were knocked out of the first round 7 times in 11 postseason trips.  Even though they won their only title in a down year for the AFC, when Brady was saddled with a stable of mediocre receivers (hey, kind of like this year!), and capped it off with a victory against a Bears team that used Rex Grossman as their starting QB.  Actually, when you put it that way, maybe Irsay had a point.  Still, it's not a point that he ever should have made.  It's disrespectful to a player that accomplished a lot of great things for his franchise and made him a lot of money.  To make things worse, he also tried to appeal to Colts fans that still support Manning by claiming that Peyton told him to draft Andrew Luck.  Peyton later refuted those claims, explaining that conversation occurred only after he was told he was being released.  Irsay asked him for his opinion on whether to draft Luck or RGIII, but Irsay is now trying to spin it as if it were Peyton's decision to leave and it was his idea that the Colts start over with a young QB for the good of the franchise.  If I were working for the Colts PR staff, I'd take away his Twitter account and never let him speak in public.  Just sign the checks, boss.
• Manning (386 yards, 3 TDs) valiantly out dueled Luck (228 yards, 3 TDs), but his Broncos fell short when his pass intended for Wes Welker was picked off, putting the Colts in range for the field goal that would give them a 9 point lead with under 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.  Tony Romo would be crucified if the same thing happened to him!  You know, like what happened two weeks ago when Romo out dueled Manning with a historic performance, but lost the game for the Cowboys with a late INT.  
• It was a big win for Luck and the Colts in their biggest game of the year, but they also suffered their biggest loss of the year.  Top receiver Reggie Wayne was forced out with a knee injury and the initial reports are not good.   Test showed Wayne may have had a season ending ACL injury that would be devastating to a Colts team on it's way to their first division title since Manning led them there in 2010.
• It was an ugly, borderline unwatchable game by Monday Night Football standards, but the Giants finally pulled out their first win of the season.  Their depth at running back has been tested all season, but times have become so desperate that they've resorted to bringing in Peyton Hillis!  You know, the guy known as the worst Madden cover of all time.  The Giants signed him five days earlier and were forced to throw him in as their lead RB.  He averaged a pathetic 2.0 yards on 18 carries, but did score a TD.
• What was the key to victory for the Giants?  Apparently it was playing the Vikings, who have turned to their third QB of the season - the reclamation project known as Josh Freeman.  The former Buc was rusty in his first start with his new team, sailing several of his passes far out of range of his receivers.  That didn't stop the Vikings coaching staff from calling in passing plays.  Sure, because anytime you have a struggling QB playing for the first time with a new team, you should definitely let him throw the ball 50+ times (he completed only 20 of 53 attempts -  that's 37%!!).  The Vikings looked like they were treating this like a pre-season game where they just wanted to get Freeman some reps to help him get acclimated.  
• It was an exciting week for those of you that like seeing defenses put points on the board for a change.  Six teams returned either an interception or a fumble for a TD and another team added a safety.  Already this season, the league has seen 30 INTs and 14 fumbles returned for scores, as well as 10 safeties.  Offenses are lighting up scoreboards like never before in recent years, but now so are the defenses.