Postgame Dynasty Notes from Week 16

Gregg Rosenthal's Pancake Blocks blog tackles the 49ers QB situation:

Shaun Hill, "the anti-Alex Smith", may be playing well enough to save Mike Nolan's job. At least that's what Bay Area sage Tim Kawakami thinks.

Kawakami takes it a step further, wondering if Hill's two victories could jeopardize Smith's place on the team. Vernon Davis, never one to keep his mouth shut, had this to say.

“He’s for real–Shaun Hill is for real. You’ve got to have a competition. You can’t let the No. 1 guy sit in front and feel comfortable. He’s got to know if he doesn’t get the job done, he’s got someone behind him to step up.”

It appears that sentiment isn't alone in the San Francisco locker room.

“I’m not going to pick favorites, but I think Shaun’s done a tremendous job," Shaun Heitman said.

Hill's first two starts have been quite promising, even if they show a struggle with the deep ball. But let's not get carried away. The 49ers first beat the Bengals, then a Bucs team that rested some starters after halftime. Hill complete exactly one pass on two of San Francisco's touchdown drives because of short fields set up by turnovers. San Francisco had a total of 213 yards, to 434 for Tampa.

Hill may be lucky, but that doesn't mean the 49ers won't act because of it. Kawakami writes:

Smith has been hurt, and that’s out of his control. He has been bad. And Smith has been under-mined by his coach—and then struck back in public—which was in Smith’s control. His teammates have sided with Nolan. The worst thing that could’ve happened to Smith was the one thing that could’ve possibly saved Nolan: Some no-name QB, showing up and making the 49ers offense look decent.

Shaun Hill has done that. He’s the anti-Smith and soon, he might be the man who made Smith disappear.

Perhaps Nolan will win this battle after all.

High praise for the athletic, gritty Hill. He hasn't made plays down the field, but he's shown competence and an ability to manage the game by sustaining drives. The 49ers figured to bring in a veteran to at least compete with Alex Smith, but Hill's competent play the past three weeks may have them reconsidering their quarterback contingencies for next season. Stay tuned.


Rotoworld on the Kevin Jones knee injury:

Lions coach Rod Marinelli acknowledged after Sunday's game that Kevin Jones' knee injury "doesn't look good."

"It's pretty serious," Marinelli confirmed. Jones will likely have tests taken early this week, but a major ligament tear at this point in the year would cost him a good amount of offseason activities. Marinelli should know more Monday. T.J. Duckett appears likely to start in Week 17 at Green Bay.

If you've been with me for any length of time, you know my feelings on Kevin Jones. Here's an example from three weeks ago when I was questioned about Jones' low ranking:

I have zero confidence in his ability to stay healthy. I don't think you can count on Kevin Jones for more than one game at a time, and that is a major problem in dynasty leagues. If you're not put off by his constant injuries, then I'm sure he has more value to you. Personally, I'd find a Kevin Jones lover in your league and wash my hands of him....but that's just me.

His value is about to go back into the ditch with this latest injury. If you were banking on him staying healthy, you have no one to blame but yourself.

More on the Detroit backfield mess from Gregg Rosenthal:

Kevin Jones' ACL tear puts the Detroit backfield right where they were at this point last season: in deep Millen. It's uncertain if Jones suffered a partial or full tear at this point, but any surgery would mean another lost offseason. Jones will have suffered two of the most devastating football injuries in successive seasons during the prime of his career. It's fair to wonder if Jones even will have a prime like many of us envisioned.

The Lions have no depth at running back. T.J. Duckett had a career-high 102 yards on Sunday against Kansas City, but he's about to be a free agent. He makes a decent spare part, but the Lions probably want a runner with more upside to challenge Jones next year or split carries. Tatum Bell has been a bust and will be lucky to be in the NFL next year. Former third-round pick Brian Calhoun can't stay healthy.

Like many Lions decisions on offense, their choices will depend on whether Mike Martz is back next season. It looks 50-50 right now. Kevin Jones dynasty league owners can only hope the odds are that good that their guy will ever develop into a true RB1.

Raiders' coach Lane Kiffin was not impressed with JaMarcus Russell Sunday:

"Extremely poor decision making," Kiffin said. "I haven’t been around decision making like that before as far as just throwing the ball up across the field, like he did a number of times. He’s got a long ways to go." Kiffin still expects Russell to start in the Raiders' season finale against San Diego.

Since Kiffin doesn't trust Russell to be ready by next season, it looks the Raiders may try to bring back Josh McCown:

ESPN's John Clayton believes the Raiders will attempt to re-sign impending free agent Josh McCown this offseason.

Clayton believes coach Lane Kiffin doesn't have enough confidence in JaMarcus Russell to hand him the starting job in 2008, and that McCown will at worst provide a degree of competition. Russell clearly isn't ready to lead an NFL team, but the Raiders could probably do better than McCown if they tried.