Thursday Night Overview/Week 8 Awards

Before we get to the overview and awards, huge news came through today involving Justin Blackmon. He's been suspended for the rest of the year as a repeat offender of the Substance Abuse Policy. This is a CRUSHING blow to Mark's team, as Blackmon was basically his #2 receiver. Mark will have to hope some combination of Brian Hartline/Ted Ginn/Marvin Jones/Michael Crabtree/Andrew Hawkins can replace Blackmon's production but none of those guys offer any kind of consistency. So last night was the Gio Bernard show. Gio was a beast and had probably a TD that is in contention for TD of the year. He finished with two TD's and over 70 yards rushing but did get hurt and didn't finish the game. Still, I'm sure Eugene will take the 23 points Bernard got. Brandon Gibson got a zero for Leland, but then again, when you have a torn ACL and are injured reserved, it's kinda hard to produce any stats. Leland's spoiler bid is probably thwarted for this week. BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 72 yards for Mayra's team as a bye week fill in. He wasn't bad, He wasn't good, he was just average as he reached his projected points. Kenny's in the hole as it is, and it's got to be even MORE disappointing that Charles Clay couldn't even reach his low projection. He only finished with 4.5 points. For Albert, A.J. Green had another nice yardage and receiving game with 11 for 128 though he failed to score a TD. Mike Wallace also had 6 for 82, but Albert probably wished for a TD from at least one of those guys. Mark is really lucky he's playing Leland this week. His team doesn't look that great but he'll have enough to still win and beat Leland especially since Leland used up a slot on Brandon Gibson. Mark used Brian Hartline (3 receptions for 39 yards) and Marvin Jones (4 for 66, though he did have a TD called back) and they had mediocre production at best. Now on to the awards!

Wane McGarity Stud of The Week

Calvin Johnson (Not Even Lying)

14 receptions, 329 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 1 fumble lost, 43 points

Yeah, the numbers speak for themselves

Michael Wiley Dud of The Week

Marshawn Lynch (Passion ofthe Puente)

23 rushing yards, 1 reception 4 yards, 2.5 points (Against Rams, Down 9.5 going in to Monday Night)

 

Lynch picked the worst time to pull of the biggest choke job of the season so far. Against a bad Rams Run D, he managed a mere 23 rushing yards. Pathetic and the main reason Mike lost his 2nd straight game. 

Drew Bennett Sneaky Surprise Play

Jimmy Graham (The Bad Robofies)

3 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD's, 16.5 points

 

Normally, there's no way in hell Jimmy Graham would qualify as a "surprise play", this past week though was definitely an exemption. Graham went from not playing to suiting up Sunday morning, but everyone believed his snap count would be really limited. Dad contemplated what he should do. Go with his stud Graham, and just pray he's used more than just a decoy or take a gamble on a Ben Watson or Joseph Fauria and hope it works out for the best? Dad decided on the first, and plugged in Graham and prayed he would be decent. The yardage wasn't there, and he didn't play a ton of snaps, but he played enough to grab 2 TD's. I don't think Dad wins without this performance. Gutsy call by Dad that paid off.

Tony Romo Bad Decision Award

Drew Plays Carson Palmer over Terrelle Pryor

 With Andrew Luck on bye, Drew's first inclination was to roll with Terrelle Pryor. Unfortunately he looked at Carson Palmer's juicy matchup against a horrible Falcons secondary and made the switch. Drew lost by half a point. Palmer wasn't even that terrible, it's just his services weren't really needed as he only threw for 172 yards. Pryor on the other started the Steelers game with a 92 yard rushing TD and though he was fairly ineffective the rest of the game, and still would've outscored Palmer by 3.5 points. Bottom line, Drew plays Pryor he wins. Just one of those decisions that backfired at the end.