Off Topic - NFL Recap Week 5

Time for another recap of the action this week in the NFL. The prevailing theme so far this year is that nothing is for certain. It's been a really wacky season and I'm loving every second of it. Of course, when the Bears win, especially the way they did, I'm a happy guy. In we go.

Jacksonville vs Buffalo - 36-26 Jaguars
It's utter insanity to me that Jacksonville is tied for first in the AFC South. Actually, all 4 teams are 3-2 now and tied for the lead but the Jags have the second tie-breaker as it sits now. Houston is still technically in first place but the way they've been playing, that won't last for long. As for the Jaguars, they tried to give this game away in the first half but recovered and overcame a 13-3 deficit. 3 turnovers led to Bills points but David Garrard played very well and the receiving corps. finally came alive. The Bills once again showed they can't play defense and the offense isn't powerful enough to outscore anybody. I honestly can't see a single win on the Buffalo schedule. Maybe Detroit or Cleveland but that's it.

Denver vs Baltimore - 31-17 Ravens
Never again. I won't ever say another cross word about the Broncos receiving corps. or their quarterback. Orton continues to impress, as does Brandon Lloyd, but not having a running game will always kill you. Not having a running game and then giving up 233 yards rushing means you can't win in this league. And that's not even mentioning the ten penalties for 90 yards. At this point, the Ravens look like the class of the AFC. The defense isn't feared the way they used to be but now that the running game is showing signs of life and Anquan Boldin and Todd Heap aren't the only ways for them to win games, they are really going to be tough to beat. They may have just moved into the favored spot in the early race for the Super Bowl.

Kansas City vs Indianapolis - 19-9 Colts
Despite the loss, I have to give the Chiefs a lot of credit here. If Dewayne Bowe actually holds on to the ball a couple more times, they could have won this game. The defense was surprisingly effective against arguably the best quarterback in the league. Yeah, the Colts still had the numbers, although not nearly as good as usual, but Kansas City's D kept them in this game. The problem was they were 0 for 2 in the red zone and held the ball almost a full ten minutes less than the Colts. You just can't beat Indy playing like that. Jamaal Charles was given the bulk of the rushing load and he averaged over 5 yards a carry. If they keep him involved and finish more drives, this team could beat any of the best in the crowded AFC playoff picture.

Green Bay vs Washington - 16-13 Redskins
Other than being extremely happy about this result, I'm also happy with the way the Packers were so physically outclassed. The injuries they sustained in this game are going to affect them for weeks to come. Clay Matthews messed up his hamstring but he should be okay for next week. Aaron Rodgers wasn't so lucky, sustaining a concussion on the last play for Green Bay and his status next week against the Dolphins is currently in doubt. JerMichael Finley and Donald Lee, the top two tight ends on the roster, are both out for 3 and 2 weeks respectively. The bye isn't until week 10 and they've got Miami next week coming off their bye and hungry to get back into contention. Washington played really sloppy in the beginning of the game but they made the plays when they really needed to and now own what could be a huge tiebreaker. Big win for the Skins to keep pace with the Giants and Eagles in the East.

St. Louis vs Detroit - 44-6 Lions
Well, that didn't go the way I thought it would. I was touting Mark Clayton so much before this game and what happens? He goes out and tears a tendon in his knee and is now out for the year. Which probably means the Rams can kiss whatever playoff hopes they had goodbye. The defense went back to playing the way we're used to and Sam Bradford just looked horrible. After Shaun Hill performed so well against the Packers in Green Bay two weeks ago and had a monster game this week, do the Lions even want Matt Stafford to come back? They've quietly built a decent offense in Detroit with Megatron, Burleson and Pettigrew making for some serious weaponry on the outside and Jahvid Best coming out of the backfield, this is an offense to watch out for. Now if only that defense could play like this every week.

Chicago vs Carolina - 23-6 Bears
Nothing makes me happier on a Sunday then the Bears cruising to a dominating win. It could have been much better, sure, but it was nice to see them get back to the way I'm used to them winning games. With awesome shutdown defense and a strong running game. Matt Forte busting out for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns has been a long time coming and it gives me great hope that they may have finally found a good combination along the offensive line. You could say that it was the winless Panthers that it came against but they've had a pretty good defense all year and we ran right through them. I mean ran in a literal sense because we couldn't throw the ball to save our lives. Todd Collins shouldn't even be in the league, let alone starting a game. Caleb Hanie came in and looked pretty good and if Cutler can't go against Seattle next week I really hope Lovie does the right thing and plays him. This game also provided my first chance to watch an entire game's worth of Jimmy Clausen. My impression? He's horrible. I mean really really bad. Questionable arm, no accuracy, easily flustered and poor decision making. It's really no surprise they're 0-5.

Tampa Bay vs Cincinnati - 24-21 Bucs
Carson Palmer has officially moved from being a good quarterback who occasionally makes mistakes, to a mediocre quarterback who puts up big numbers but always seems to make enough bad decisions to cost his team the game. That was the story here. Terrell Owens has played well since coming to Cincinnati and they've still got weapons but they're not scoring nearly as much as they should be. Too many mistakes far too often. The Bucs used to make all those same mistakes but they've grown quite a bit in a very short period of time. Josh Freeman continues to improve and make all the throws we used to consistently see from Palmer. This Mike Williams kid is also one hell of a receiver. The defense gave up a ton of yardage but they made the plays they needed to make and in the NFL you have to take advantage of every opportunity. I'm still not buying them as a legit playoff contender but this crazy ass season could see anything occur.

Atlanta vs Cleveland - 20-10 Falcons
I just can't understand how it is that the Browns seem to play every team close. Whether they are playing up or down to the competition they are right there in it in the fourth quarter. The trouble is, they don't have a good enough quarterback to actually pull these games out. As it turns out, both Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme suffered high ankle sprains in this game. I guess now we'll get to see if Colt McCoy can do any better. The Falcons were just a better team in this one. They've got too many skill players for a team like the Browns to handle. Michael Turner ran for 140 yards on just 19 carries and Roddy White did his usual thing with 5 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. Oh and John Abraham made Joe Thomas look like he was back in college. They also held the hot hand Peyton Hillis to just 2.8 yards a carry and a total of 28 yards. It hasn't always been pretty so far this season for Atlanta but they're tied for the best record in the league.

NY Giants vs Houston - 34-10 Giants
I was really hoping that the 10 sacks and utter domination of the Bears offense last week wouldn't represent a turning point in the season for the Giants. Kind of looks like that may be the case. They absolutely took it to the Texans. Houston had nobody to cover Hakeem Nicks and zero pass rush to make up for it. When Nicks wasn't gashing them, Steve Smith was getting it done. Eli threw his typical couple of interceptions but was otherwise brilliant throughout the game and they're right in the thick of things in the NFC. The Texans loss doesn't knock them out of first place but it does put them in a 4 way tie with Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Tennessee. For the first time all year Arian Foster was held under 100 yards from scrimmage and the Giants pass rush had Matt Schaub flustered all day long. It doesn't get any easier for the Texans as they draw Kansas City next week. They better fix that defense and fast or that hot start will be long forgotten in a few weeks.

New Orleans vs Arizona - 30-20 Cardinals
No game better personifies how wacky the NFL is this year than this one. The Cardinals started an undrafted rookie at QB. The Saints started an All-Pro defending Super Bowl champion. The Cards were 4 of 15 on third down while the Saints were 5 of 11. Arizona averaged 1.7 yards per rush play and 4.6 per pass. New Orleans averaged 4 yards on the ground and 6.8 through the air. The craziest stat of all was the fact that the Cardinals scored 30 points on the day without having a rushing or passing touchdown. Incredible that they were able to win this game. After San Diego blew them off the field a week ago, they intercepted Drew Brees 3 times and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Max Hall was efficient in his first career start and in the wide open NFC West he could start in the playoffs this year. As for the Saints, I don't think it's a coincidence that their offensive woes started with the injury to Reggie Bush. It wasn't that long ago that he was thought to be expendable. I wonder if they've changed their tune on that now. Whatever it is, they better get their shit together. Big time division game at Tampa Bay next week.

Tennessee vs Dallas - 34-27 Titans
I will continue to contend that the Cowboys, save for the Bears game of course, beat themselves more than they get beaten by their opponents. 12 more penalties, some of them ridiculous, and still no discipline. Tony Romo is maybe the only quarterback to ever play the game who can throw for over 400 yards and 3 touchdowns and still have a bad game. His accuracy has never been the best but sometimes his throws just get way too far away from him. Desperation can make usually cool players turn into bumbling wrecks but his decision making has to improve or the Cowboys won't ever turn the corner. And this came on a day that they finally had a runner break the 100 yard mark. I don't want to take anything away from Tennessee here, though. Vince Young was impressive in the face of plenty of pressure and he gave his wide receivers every chance to make plays on the ball and, for the most part, they got the job done. Chris Johnson got back to breaking off long runs and punching it in when he was given his chances at the 1 yard line. The defense gave up way too much yardage but winning is winning. Big Monday night game coming up on the road against Jacksonville.

San Diego vs Oakland - 35-27 Raiders
Here is what I said about this game in the picks column for this week:

This could be a trap game. Not because the Raiders are all that good, they're not. And not because the Chargers are overrated because they aren't. I'm thinking trap game because it's the Chargers, coming off a big win and feeling good about themselves, in an away game against a divisional opponent that is good enough to beat them even though there is nothing to point to that.....don't be surprised if the Raiders make this a game and mess around and come away with a win.

With how pathetic my record was in the picks this week, I have to hang my hat on that analysis. Oakland just played tough. They fought for every single inch in that game and did whatever they had to do to win. A punt blocked for a safety and a punt blocked for a touchdown sounds like a gimmicky way to win but special teams is the forgotten art in pro football. The Raiders aren't going to do this often but it was a fun game to watch and Philip Rivers losing is always entertaining.

Philadelphia vs San Francisco - 27-24 Eagles
If there is one thing you can count on so far in this crazy season, it's that the 49ers will surely find a way to lose each game. I said before the game that they needed to make Alex Smith a game manager and feature Frank Gore and Vernon Davis heavily in a ball control style offense. That's not at all what they did and they paid for it with 3 turnovers by Smith. Granted he made some plays but he's just so up and down that they can't depend on him. It got so bad at one point in the game the fans in Frisco were chanting for the Niners to bring in backup QB David Carr. Think about that. LeSean McCoy played despite a rib injury and he was a beast yet again for the Eagles. 92 yards and a touchdown on the ground at 5 yards a carry to go with 5 catches for 46 yards. He was once again the primary focus of the offense with Vick out and it paid off. But Kevin Kolb played very well in his first ever road start, an east to west coast trip. He lost a fumble but made some big time throws and showed why the Eagles had enough faith in him to let McNabb go in the offseason. They need Kolb to keep it up next week in a big home game against the team with the best record in the conference, the Atlanta Falcons.

Minnesota vs NY Jets - 29-20 Jets
There is nothing, other than watching the Bears win, that I enjoy more than seeing Brett Favre and the Vikings struggle so much. They made it a game in the second half but they were dominated for most of the night. Favre was under a ton of pressure and he responded by completing less than 50% of his passes and throwing the game clinching interception to Dwight Lowery that he returned for a touchdown. It was painfully obvious all night that Favre just wanted to heave it up to Moss and hope for the best. He did catch a 37 yard touchdown, which ESPN lost their collective minds over, and ended with a decent stat line of 4 catches for 81 yards and a score but Antonio Cromartie was a blanket for most of the night and when they look back on this game, nice stat line or not, it has to be considered a success. Defensively, the Vikings were uncharacteristically poor against the run and were generally slower than the Jets throughout the duration of the game. Mark Sanchez impressed me with his quick decision making and tight throws in key spots. They converted 7 of 15 on third down, almost all of them through the air. Santonio Holmes return lacked sizzle but he made a play or two himself and the offense was clicking as a unit. No rest for the weary though as both teams are on a short week with the Jets traveling to Denver and Minnesota going home to play the Cowboys.

Another great week of football in the incredible league that is the NFL.