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Inside Out: Week 5
10.08.2007
**HOLY SHIT! Monday Night Football may have not been quality football but it was amazingly entertaining football. A few things I'll address with Thursday's Hail Mary, the defensive time out on field goal attempts...again, and the booth review under 2 minutes.**As it is these days in the NFL, just like in America, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class shrinks. The Colts and Patriots proved they're a class above the rest. The Steelers, Packers, Jaguars, Titans, and Redskins are hanging around. And minus a few exceptions, the rest is...well..crap.Not Buying ItI will not buy that the Patriots are any more unbeatable than the Colts and Cowboys at this point into the seascon. But we're lucky, as the Patriots head to the Cowboys next week, and then to Indianapolis in four weeks. At that point, if the Patriots have taken care of business (and at this point that means winning), then I'll gladly place the Patriots as the frontrunner. But I haven't seen anything totally glaring to make me think twice about the Colts or Cowboys. In fact the smugness of the Patriots and the media drinking the Kool Aid is really pissing me off. Does anybody even remember SpyGate/CameraGate at this point? You can't tell me that just because the videos were destroyed the Patriots aren't still gaining some sort of competitive advantage. The Cowboys play tonite, but if you didn't happen to catch the Colts yesterday, minus five starters, they looked more impressive in beating a better Buccaneers team, than the Patriots did with their normal lineup, against the Browns. This isn't just the Patriots and everybody else, its at least a 3 team party. I'm just saying.Setting Back FootballAs they've done for years the Baltimore Ravens help set back football at least a decade. I still can't believe they won a Super Bowl in 2001 with yesterday's opponents starting QB, Trent Dilfer. The Ravens have been setting back the NFL on the offense front for nearly a decade now. I haven't had time to look back at scores, but I'm pretty sure they've played in the most games without scoring an offensive touchdown than any other team in the league. It was a brutal game to watch, and I only caught the "exciting" end because CBS switched away from the Chargers blowout of Denver. I like a great defensive game, but lets not confuse that with an offensively inept game. I hate the Ravens.Big WinsSome teams rose to the occassion yesterday and scored some big wins in must win games. That list includes the Chargers, who finally executed a successful game plan, that included over 200 yards rushing. With LT, Michael Turner, and Lorenzo Neal, there is no reason the Chargers shouldn't pound the ball 70% of the time. Philip Rivers finally looked the quarterback they were expecting him to be at this point, and now at 2-3 find themselves right in the thick of the AFC West, since the Raiders lead by virtue of a bye week, sitting at 2-2. The Bears are another team that pulled of a must win. In a game the Packers didn't deserve to win (though it looked as though they might for 57 minutes), the Bears managed to make a play. On third and short, instead of trying for a first down on the ground and kicking a field goal if unsuccessful, Brian Griese sold a play action pass, and the Packers who were selling out to the run, were not in position to defend the pass that Desmond Clark took to the house. I won't say the Packers handed the game away, because I do think the team that wins has to make at least one play to win, but it was as close as a give away as you'll see.Good, Not GreatAs I mentioned to start, there are a handful of good teams, that aren't in the top echelon but above the cellar, who won some close games yesterday that shouldn't have been so tough. That includes the Texans squeaker that involved 3 Kris Brown field goals of over 54 yards, including the game winner of 57 yards at the horn. Tennessee pulled out a 7 point victory over the Falcons, despite 5 turnovers, in what would have been the ugliest game of the day, but remember the Ravens and 49ers played each other.Quick HitsThe combined record of the AFC South is 14-4. Hands down the best and most competitive division in the league.After a 0-2 start the Giants can easily be 6-2 come their bye week. With the Falcons, 49ers, and Dolphins to come, they'll be favorite in every one.Pittsburgh is for real, but still the 3rd best team in the AFC.
The Picks: Week 5
10.05.2007
It seems like things are back to normal. All these picks came to many natural sans one or two. It was just a matter of deciding where to place the big points. And at this point I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying thats always on the Patriots, Colts, and Cowboys.Redskins over Lions (1)Patriots over Browns (14)Steelers over Seahawks (2)Cardinals over Rams (7)Jaguars over Chiefs (9)Saints over Panthers (4)Giants over Jets (11)Texans over Dolphins (5)Titans over Falcons (10) Coltss over Buccaneers (12)Ravens over 49ers (8)Chargers over Broncos (3)Packers over Bears (6)Cowboys over Bills (13) Hail Mary: Week 5 10.04.2007 Here we go again. It's time for another look ahead at what the NFL weekend has in store for us. Week 5 is upon and some interesting matchups await. Its now or never for a few teams.Do or DieThere are teams besides the Chargers, Bears, and Saints who must win this week in order to have a shot at the playoffs. But of those teams, none had the preseason expections and hypes as the aforementioned teams. And none of the teams have it easy (as in playing the Dolphins, Vikings, etc). The Saints may have it easiest as they are at home against a depleted Panthers team who will most likely be without starting QB Jake Delhomme. If you saw David Carr filling in for him last week, you may have realized it wasn't 100% the offensive lines fault in Houston. The Chargers and Bears are both on the road against division foes, in the Broncos and Packers, respectively. The Broncos aren't anything to write home about, but they are always a tough challnege at Mile High. THe Packers, well they are 4-0, and looking to continue the winning streak in primetime against the Bears. Not to mention the Bears are in complete disarray. I'd say I like 2 of the 3 to win this weekend, but as bad as they played to this point, its very conceivable they all lose. And even with a win its a long way to the playoffs.Pretender or ContenderIts never too early to play a little game of Pretender/Contender as this week lends itself to some interesting debate as suspected pretenders play top echelon teams and may prove their worth even in a loss. Then theres also some intriguing matchups involving two teams battling the pretender tag. So here we go:Buccaneers @ ColtsI'm not sure how many people expected the Bucs to be sitting at 3-1 (I didn't) and if they go into the RCA Dome and come out within a possession of victory that'll be enough for me to make them the prohibitive favorite for the NFC South. Jeff Garcia and the offense seem to be clicking since the poor showing in Seattle from Week 1, and the defense is always tough. The Colts are expected to be without 4 starters, so I'm not expecting a blowout.Browns @ PatriotsThe Patriots have easily handled the first 25% of their schedule, and things look to continue against the Browns. The Browns are surprising at 2-2, but like the Patriots previous opponent, the Bengals, the Browns seem to have a powerful offense, but not an exactly intimidating defense. And we saw how the Bengals performed at the Patriots on Monday, and they were at home. Again, if the Browns keep it respectable, and look like they are getting things done, despite losing, it'll be enough to consider them the major competition for the Steelers in the AFC North.Lions @ RedskinsThis is where it gets interesting. Few, if any, suspected the Lions would be at 3-1 and their Week 5 opponent at 2-1. But thats where they stand, and the winner of this one, can't be considered a pretender any longer. The Lions are already a game back in the NFC North, despite the single loss, so Kitna's 10 win prediction looks necessary to have a shot to take the division. The Lions score in droves, but their defense is suspect. The Redskins had a bye week to think things over and recover from the surprise loss to the Giants. In that game they failed to score a TD from inside the 1 yard line, that would have tied the game. Joe Gibbs continues to talk about making the Redskins a "pound it" running team, and yet the gameplan seems skewed to passing. Maybe its starts this week, but I doubt it considering the Lions weak pass defense. This game is huge for both teams.Quick HitsIts the battle of the "city that never sleeps" as the Jets head to the Giants. Technically the Giants are the home team.After the Ravens came last week, I'd probably lay off picking them as a winner, but they'll be going against the 49ers with the ancient Trent Dilfer.The St. Louis Cardinals...I mean Arizona Cardinals head to St. Louis to take on the Rams. At the end of the day they could be tied for the NFC West lead with a win and Seahawks loss.Seahawks @ Steelers. That should be a good one. Week 5 Schedule Sunday October 7thCardinals @ RamsFalcons @ TitansPanthers @ SaintsBrowns @ PatriotsLions @ RedskinsJaguars @ ChiefsDolphins @ TexansJets @ GiantsSeahawks @ SteelersBuccaneers @ ColtsRavens @ 49ersChargers @ BroncosBears @ PackersMonday October 8thCowboys @ BillsByes: Bengals, Vikings, Raiders, Eagles |
Week 5
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