East Coast Offense: Wait on Quarterbacks?

This article is part of our East Coast Offense series.

While drafters this year have suffered for pushing wideouts too far up their draft boards at the expense of top running backs, it seems like the wait-on-the-quarterback philosophy has largely proven correct. And I'm not talking about the obvious "Don't take Cam Newton in the second round," but "Don't take any quarterback until at least the fifth and be fine waiting until the 12th or 13th if there are backs and receivers you like in Rounds 7-10."

One reason I have this impression (before even looking at the numbers) is I rank the quarterbacks each week for the rest of the year, and I have very little basis to differentiate (going forward) between the No. 4 QB (Matt Ryan) and the No. 9 (Ben Roethlisberger.) But let's take a look at the year-to-date stats for the top-10, compare them to last year's and see if this sentiment is warranted:

Using a top-six round pick on Rodgers or Drew Brees this year or a seventh on Tom Brady was actually worth it, though some owners were even better off grabbing Matt Ryan or Marcus Mariota late, or Dak Prescott off waivers.

That said, I still don't see a huge difference between most of these players going forward, and Russell Wilson (now healthy) and Cam Newton aren't even on the list. Moreover, surgers like Mariota and Kirk Cousins are probably more valuable than their season-long averages.

Tony Romo's Press Conference

I've talked about this on the SXM show and on Twitter - the bizarre extent to which Tony Romo's statement regarding Prescott's status as the team's starter was widely and lavishly praised. I have no problem with Romo's speech - it was obviously heartfelt, and nothing in it was wrong or off base. But why the over-the-top praise for acknowledging something that was obvious to everyone and clearly in his best interest to concede?

Put differently, the Cowboys had won eight games in a row behind Prescott, who had a 14:2 TD:INT ratio, 8.4 YPA and four rushing touchdowns at the time. He is a legitimate MVP candidate while Romo is 36 and has played four games since 2014 (He's started five, but did not even attempt a pass before getting hurt this year.) The ship had long sailed on this "controversy", and there was no chance, barring a Prescott injury or extended meltdown, Romo was getting the job back this year - or ever. It sounds as though local media like Ed Werder had been hounding Romo for some click-worthy responses for quite a while now, and Romo finally caved to get them off his back. Again, I don't fault Romo for doing so, and I do feel for a borderline Hall of Famer losing his job via injury to a rookie, but Romo's statement was self-serving, in his interest and merely stated the obvious, irrespective of the pitch-perfect delivery.

So why is the media falling all over itself to praise the guy, when for much of his career they badly underrated him? (Looking at all-time career per-play metrics Romo is sixth in YPA, second in Net YPA and tied for third - with Tom Brady - in QB rating.) My theory is (1) They love the narrative of the one-time star being humbled; and (2) They're mostly virtue signaling.

As for the first part, the media loves exaggerating the positive and negative qualities of players to fit into the hero/villain frame, usually favored by league and team management. Players who do something for the team are heroes, while those who look out for themselves are villains. While there are often cases where a player must choose, e.g., contract holdout situations, Romo's was not such a case. Nevertheless, because it had the optics of such a situation - a humbled Romo seemingly agreeing to stand down - that was good enough to squeeze into their frame. (Again, Romo did not agree to stand down - he was shoved aside by a superior option, and merely acknowledged it after the fact.)

Secondly, once the narrative of Romo giving Prescott his blessing (what else was he going to do?) was set, many in the media love to gain points with their audiences by virtue signaling, i.e., expressing opinions whose chief purpose is to reflect well on them. "Romo is a class act," often means "I'm the type of person who respects classy, team-first players like Romo," as opposed to selfish ones who pout when they lose the job. (Never mind no one in his right mind would pout publicly in Romo's situation - where the entire team, media and public had moved from him already. This is not Brett Favre disagreeing with the Packers decision to turn to Aaron Rodgers who had been his backup, or Sam Bradford expressing displeasure with the Eagles trading up for the No. 2 pick. In both cases, there was doubt about the direction in which the team would or should go. In Romo's case, there was none.)

Virtue signaling is big on social media especially, and once you start to look for it, you'll see it everywhere with empty platitudes about all manner of topics. One of my favorites is how on Veteran's Day, so many with platforms feel the need to say how much gratitude they have for their service. There are many actual ways to show that gratitude in real life, but if all you're doing is tweeting about it, you're probably virtue signaling. Another is the self-appointed celebrity-death spokesperson - yes, we get it, you care so much.

In any event, it's unfortunate Romo is being celebrated for something so banal as admitting Dak Prescott has won the job when he should have been appreciated for consistent Hall-of-Fame-level of play for more than a decade. But of course this wasn't really about him.

Week 11 Observations

• Ben McAdoo's Giants are 7-3 and have the Browns in Week 12, so some might consider his debut a success. But the team's point differential stands at a mere plus-four, and it's tied with San Francisco for 23rd in points per game (20.4) and just ahead of Jacksonville in yards per game at 339.9 (20th.) Neither of these numbers is due to bad luck, either, as the passing game has a meager 7.0 YPA (18th), despite 10 interceptions (T-8th.) The running game – which McAdoo loves to "establish" without any rational justification is 30th in YPC at 3.4, ahead of only Los Angeles and Minnesota. Remember – McAdoo is an offensive coach, he calls the plays and is responsible for the scheme and philosophy. Why are the Giants 7-3? (1) They're lucky (no win has been by more than seven points); and (2) Steve Spagnuolo's defense is good, allowing only 3.6 YPC (6th), 6.7 YPA (7th) and 20 PPG (11th.)

• The Giants took a six-point lead with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter, and McAdoo – as he always does when the team has even a small lead – took his foot off the gas completely, running into the teeth of the defense on first and some second downs, with a safe, barely-at-the-sticks pass play on third. As a result, the Giants managed two first downs and five punts in the last 22 minutes against a defense on which they'd moved the ball with ease. Luckily for McAdoo, his defense stepped up, and the Bears were never able to get their game-winning score.

• I'll give McAdoo an ounce of credit though – he went for it on 4th-and-2 from the Bears 17 in the first quarter to set up a TD.

•Rashad Jennings, graded as Pro Football Focus' top pass blocking halfback, seems to have recaptured his near full-time job back from rookie Paul Perkins. Jennings' 4.0 YPC doesn't look like much, but he was ripping it up early before the Giants went into a predictable shell. That's two good games in a row for Jennings who didn't hit his stride until the second half last year too.

•Jordan Howard looks stiff as a runner, but for some reason he always seems to be racking up big gains. He might never see the red zone again with Matt Barkley at quarterback, however.

• Once A.J. Green went down – possibly for the year – it was over for Andy Dalton's fantasy value. Throw in Gio Bernard (torn ACL) for good measure, too. Jeremy Hill, Tyler Eifert, Tyler Boyd and Brandon LaFell should see big shares off this offense, but there won't likely be much to go around.

•LeSean McCoy needs surgery on his thumb, but supposedly won't miss a game.

• What a bad beat if you had the Browns plus 8.5 – they were either going to mount a drive and for the tie, or fail and cover – before a fumble TD by Pittsburgh's defense. Cleveland still could have backdoored it on the final drive, but fell short.

•Le'Veon Bell is the top fantasy player right now – no back, not even David Johnson, has his role in the passing game along with being an elite running back. Like Newton last year who was a top-10 passer and a Jeremy Hill-type back, Bell is a top-10 runner and a Cole Beasley-type WR.

• It's amazing the Patriots passed on Terrelle Pryor last year. He'd be a top-10 receiver on a good team. It's also too bad Josh Gordon couldn't get it together – what a tandem that would be with first-rounder Corey Coleman also in the mix.

• Odd the Cowboys were only seven-point favorites over the Ravens. If we credit Dak Prescott for his level of performance over 10 games, he's essentially a healthy Russell Wilson. I know people loved Tony Romo admitting Prescott's earned the job, but they're underrating Lance Dunbar and Alfred Morris silently conceding the tailback job to Ezekiel Elliott. Prescott could very well win the MVP award this year.

• If Dez Bryant is truly back – as it appears – the Cowboys have the best offense in the NFC and possibly the NFL, though the Patriots with a healthy Rob Gronkowski and Dion Lewis are a high bar to clear.

• It amazes me Steve Smith, Frank Gore and Darren Sproles remain relevant at their ages.

• Odd the Ravens abandoned the run game – both Terrance West and Kenneth Dixon were successful despite small workloads.

• The Jaguars passing game is beyond ugly. Power back Chris Ivory led the team in receiving with 75 yards, Marqise Lee had 52 and no other receiver had more than Allen Robinson's 18. The Lions were more efficient (8.4 YPA), but Theo Riddick, Eric Ebron (who got a rushing TD) and Andre Roberts led the way, further marginalizing the team's inconsistent receivers. Marvin Jones went from top-10 to unplayable over the last six weeks.

• People are complaining about all the missed extra points, but you can see why the NFL did it. Why waste everyone's time on something that converts 99 percent of the time? Either make TDs count for seven automatically (or six with the option of going for two) or push the PAT back. Those were the only real choices.

•DeMarco Murray always gets his. Even on a modest 70-yards rushing and three catches for nine yards, he found the end zone.

•Rishard Matthews is easily a top-20 WR. He's not a game-breaker, but he's caught everything that's been thrown his way (45 catches on 66 targets.)

•T.Y. Hilton is one of the safest players in the league when he and Andrew Luck are both healthy.

•Adam Vinatieri finally missed a FG after making 44 straight. It's an especially remarkable record given his age (43) and the number of kicks from 50-plus (9) in that span.

•Spencer Ware cannot be a top-10 back despite high efficiency and good versatility if Andy Reid doesn't feed him the ball.

• At some point, the Chiefs have to open up the offense if they want to do better than a first-round playoff exit. At least they targeted Travis Kelce this game.

•Mike Evans is on an historic target pace with another 13 for 105 yards. Jameis Winston was lucky the Chiefs dropped a couple picks, but he was otherwise efficient (except in the red zone) in a tough spot.

•Doug Martin had a bad game, but it appears he's healthy.

• Apparently Xavier Rhodes' 100-yard INT return had him clocked as the fastest player in the NFL this year per the next generation NFL stat tracker. But Cordarrelle Patterson looked like Usain Bolt on his kick return TD – blowing by the cover team and extending the margin between him and his nearest pursuers with ease. You rarely see a return that's not remotely in doubt before midfield.

• The Vikings defense destroyed Carson Palmer down the stretch, but Palmer hasn't been his 2015 self all year and probably won't ever be.

• Another 160 YFS and two scores for David Johnson. The venue and the opponent don't matter in his case. He's the only player with a case against Le'Veon Bell for the top spot right now.

• It's amazing the Rams didn't cover despite being up 10-0 with five minutes left and getting 1.5 points.

•Jared Goff did nothing in his debut, but the Rams have no choice but to play him. Kenny Britt and Lance Kendricks got seven targets each, at least.

•Todd Gurley ran well early, but still wound up with only 3.8 YPC. It's hard to see Goff's arrival changing anything for him.

• Maybe the Dolphins have figured out Jarvis Landry doesn't deserve 10 targets a game. DeVante Parker (79 yards and a TD) led the team with 10.

• It was torture taking the 49ers plus 13 at home against the Patriots. Even after the 49ers heroically backdoored a TD to cut it to 13, the Patriots were trying to punch in a gratuitous LeGarrette Blount score in the closing minute, rather than running out the clock. Mercifully, Tom Brady took a knee on third down to seal it. Despite being a public team, the Patriots cover 58 percent of the time in the Bill Belichick era because the models that generate point spreads are too robotic to realize New England is a different animal. While everyone else trades margin of victory for time off the clock, the Patriots increase their margin mercilessly, irrespective of the score.

•Carlos Hyde looked healthy, hitting holes quickly and breaking tackles.

•Julian Edelman had 17 targets with Rob Gronkowski out. Edelman's a top-20 WR again.

•Tom Brady's line was pedestrian for him, but he escaped the pass rush several times and made perfect throws on the move. While he'll never be Russell Wilson, Brady at 39 looks faster and more athletic than he did 10 years ago.

• Blount never did get into the end zone, but he's a big part of the offense and a top-10-ish non-PPR back.

•Dion Lewis made some plays, looking as shifty as last year's version, but James White had six targets and caught a touchdown. Both players are good, but with Blount getting a lot of the early-down work, Gronkowski likely back soon, Edelman, Martellus Bennett and an outside receiver (Chris Hogan/Malcolm Mitchell), there are a lot of mouths to feed in this offense. Moreover, the Patriots won't telegraph ahead of time who's eating and who's fasting for a given game.

• I really needed the ~60-yard TD catch by Zach Ertz that was called back on an illegal formation penalty by Nelson Agholor who was standing a couple yards off the line of scrimmage when the ball was snapped. The NFL needs to revamp its rules to avoid negating amazing, game-changing plays on account of some inconsequential error that had no effect on the play. Maybe a $50 fine and an hour of community service is in order in cases like that. Agholor followed up the error with a terrible drop on a 20-plus yard would-be catch a couple plays later. He's got to be in danger of getting cut at this point, former first-round draft pick or not.

•Dorial Green-Beckham finally made an appearance, scoring a TD and going 5-for-54 on eight targets. He could be the No. 2 wideout opposite Jordan Matthews, not that that designation has any value in this offense. Ertz would have had a huge day but for the penalty, but still saw 11 targets and caught a TD.

•Wendell Smallwood has some upside again if Ryan Mathews misses time with a knee injury, especially if Darren Sproles (rib) is also out. Kenjon Barner would also see work in that case.

•C.J. Prosise looked like a potential difference-maker down the stretch after his 72-yard TD run, but now he's out indefinitely with a clavicle injury. Welcome back Thomas Rawls – you're now a top-12 back (assuming his being "banged up" won't cost him another game.) Because the team cut Christine Michael last week, Alex Collins is worth a look.

• Oddly, despite a healthy Jimmy Graham and Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse led the team in targets with six. The Seahawks receivers could be said to be a blessing and a Kearse.

• Don't feel bad getting only one TD pass from Wilson – he also caught a TD from Doug Baldwin.

• The oddsmakers keep giving the Packers too much respect – again they were less than three-point dogs in Washington.

• Rodgers keeps getting his, but this time it was Jared Cook and Randall Cobb who benefitted, not Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams. Nelson did score his league-leading ninth TD, but on five targets, three catches and only 28 yards.

•Rob Kelley doesn't have much wiggle and can't catch, but he has a job in a good offense and breaks some tackles. That was good enough for 137 yards and three TDs.

•Pierre Garcon has been Cousins' top target of late, and he delivered. The Redskins spread it around a good deal, though, so it's hard to count on anyone other than Jordan Reed.

• With DeSean Jackson back, Cousins has arguably the deepest group of targets in the NFL, including RB Chris Thompson, backup TE Vernon Davis and top slot man Jamison Crowder. He's a top-10 QB, and there's not much difference between No. 1 and No. 10.

•DeAndre Hopkins owners can't buy a break. Instead of 5-for-58, he should have gone about 5-for-100 and a TD. He did make a few key third down grabs, though, but saw only six targets.

•Brock Osweiler's numbers were poor (6.2 YPA, one pick, two sacks), but could have been a lot worse had Oakland not dropped at least two easy interceptions.

•Derek Carr's stats looked good Monday, but it was mostly on two blown coverages, one a 75-yard catch and run to the fullback. The Raiders are 8-2, same record as the Patriots, but I'd be surprised if they do anything in the playoffs.

•Michael Crabtree had a bad game, with only five yards on seven targets and a couple drops.

•Lamar Miller was solid, getting outside, breaking tackles and finishing with 102 rushing yards and a score. The Texans didn't use him much as a receiver, though – only two catches for nine yards.