He left two games early. Seattle and the Chargers. And in Week 13, Mattison had more yards from scrimmage. I know it sounds like nit-picking, but if you're going to make the argument that he was still the most effective player on the team, I'm gonna push back on the details.Cliff wrote: ↑Mon Jun 29, 2020 3:37 pm It wasn't really after week 8, not sure why anybody would start there. He was the best offensive weapon on the team in weeks 9 and 10.
Honestly I think he was actually injured after the Cowboys game in week 10. Only 11 carries in week 11 was really out of character for the team.
Week 11 he only had 11 attempts 2.4 yards. Rushing game never really got going. He still caught 5 passes for 31 yards
Week 12 was a bye.
Week 13 only 9 attempts. Injury to shoulder reported in this game, I believe. Even so, he still had the most all purpose yards on the team (64).
Week 14 he had 18 attempts for 62 yards and nearly split carries with Mattison who had 14 for 46. He also had 2 passes for 13 yards. He had the second most yards on the team behind Diggs who got 92 yards that game.
Week 15 he went out early and didn't make a significant impact
Week 16 he was out (Cousins goes 16/31 for 122 yards 1TD/1INT - Mike Boone gets 2.5 YPC in 11 attempts)
Week 17 starters sat, no useful information
From week to 11 to 17 (5 possible games discounting Bye and 17). Though his output was low he still mostly performed well compared to the rest of the team.
1 game he was out completely, 1 game he left early, 1 game (Week 11) he had limited impact, and 2 games he was 1st or 2nd in yards on the team.
In other words, 3 games in that stretch Cook didn't make an impact for the team. In the game he was completely out the team got stomped.
Also the games you cite as Cook being the most effective ... you call 18 carries for 62 yards with a long of 9 effective? Kirk Cousins was the player of that game, going 24-of-30 for 242, along with the defense, which shut down hapless David Blough.
From week 9 to the end of the season, Cook never once averaged more than 3.7 YPA on the ground in any game, including the playoff game against New Orleans. That is not effective. And if he was the most effective player on the team, then that's sort of like being the world's tallest midget (or whatever the PC term is).
If Dalvin Cook had continued his first-half success to any degree, I would have a hard time arguing he can't be replaced. But come on. Cook was not the same player in the second half, and there's no argument that can be made that he was. Neither the numbers nor the eye test back that up.
I know fantasy doesn't mean squat, but even fantasy experts don't recommend drafting Dalvin Cook in the first round. The reason is that you simply don't know what you're going to get with him. I personally think he's the most talented back in football. But he's not the best back in football. That title goes to Christian McCaffrey, largely because McCaffrey is almost always available and effective. With Cook, all we ever get are glimpses of what he can do. Your mileage may vary, but to me, glimpses are not worth $10 million a year.