NFL Week 5 Wrap-Up

In what might is hopefully the worst weekend of football this season, there was some real ugly stuff happening:

The Good:
The Denver Broncos
Denver is 5-0 for a reason: they really do seem to have the best defense in football right now. Trailing 17-7 at halftime, the Broncos D kept the Patriots from scoring in the second half, allowing the offense to tie the game, and finally win in OT without giving Tom Brady the ball. For a team that many thought would be the worst in football(personally I thought they would do well, but finish second in their division to the Chargers), they've put their preseason differences behind them and have been able to play as a unit so far this season.

Seattle Seahawks
Did anybody see this coming? I know I didn't. Facing a Jacksonville team that looked like they had put everything together the week before, Seattle shut out the Jags in a 41-0 rout. After missing two games with a rib injury, Matt Hasselback exploded on the Jags D, throwing for 4 TDs. If thats not a statement that Seattle wants to win their division, I don't know what is.

The Bad:
NY Jets
The Dolphins made the Jets D look completely overmatched on MNF. They were completely unable to stop the Wildcat, and Chad Henne pretty much threw at will. To make matters worse, with a 3 point lead late in the game, the Jets couldn't stop the Dolphins at all and gave up the game-winning touchdown with less than 10 second left. This game was a complete embarassment for what was looked at as one of the best defenses in football. I don't care what some of the ESPN analysts say, Miami didn't win this game, the Jets D gave it to them.

Oakland Raiders
The Raiders were ready to annoint JaMarcus Russell as the Greatest Quarterback in History when they drafted him with the first overall pick in 2007. In a blowout loss to the Giants, they let Russell throw the ball 13 times. That shows a complete lack of faith in the passing game, and Russell as an NFL talent. It also might show just how incompetent Tom Cable is as a head coach.

The Ugly:
Cleveland Browns 6 - Buffalo Bills 3
If you watched this game, I'm sorry. In a game full of bad play, the Browns got the win on a late field goal thanks to Roscoe Parrish failing to pick up a punt he should have either fallen on or let go. Instead, the Browns recovered on the Bills 16-yard line. On the other hand, Browns QB Derek Anderson went 2/17 for 23 yards and an interception. Thats a completion percentage of 11.8. The good news coming out of the game: Browns RB Jamal Lewis rushed for 117 yards, and Bill WR Terrell Owens had a season-high 4 receptions.

The Broncos Throwback Jerseys
My God, those things were ugly. I haven't found a picture of them that truly does justice to how ugly these things looked on TV. Find highlights of the game and watch those. You'll understand.

Rookie Roundup: Using a complex scoring system to rank two major rookies for the season

Mark Sanchez: 12/24, 172 yards, 1 TD, 1 sack, 6 rushing yards
Points: 10.2, 41.2 overall

Matthew Stafford: DNP
Points: 0, 36.7 overall

Week 5 Winner: Sanchez


Injuries:
Eric King, CB, Lions: out for the season with a shoulder injury
Kawika Mitchell, LB, Bills: out for the season with a knee injury
Marcus Buggs, LB, Bills: out for the season with a knee injury

Fantasy Studs:

1. Miles Austin. With Roy Williams out, this is Austin's first start. He made the most of it, with 250 yards and 2 TDs.
2. Roddy White. Apparently inspired by Austin an earlier game, White blew up for 210 yards and 2 TDs of his own in the late afternoon.
3. Donovan McNabb/Matt Hasselbeck. Both players played in their first game since injuring their ribs, and both players put up over 200 yards passing. McNabb had 3 TDs and Hasselbeck had 4.
   

Fantasy Duds:

1. Roscoe Parrish. He had 16 yards, but lost 2 fumbles, including the one that gave Cleveland the win, giving him -2.4 points this week.
2. Derek Anderson. After looking good in his first start this season, Anderson was just 2/17 for 23 yards.
3. DeSean Jackson. In two games with Kevin Kolb, Jackson had 250 yards and 2 TDs. In two games with McNabb, he has 10 yards and 0 TDs, including his 1 catch, 1 yard peformance of this weekend.

Week 5 Picks:
Straight up: 8-6, 51-25 overall
ATS: 6-8, 47-29 overall
o/u: 4-10, 34-42 overall

What Have We Learned?: Three things we can take away from this weekend
1. Rib injuries are overrated
Donovan McNabb and Matt Hasselbeck both injured their ribs, took a couple weeks off, and came back this week to lead their teams to big wins, including Seattle's 41-0 beatdown of Jacksonville. Hasselbeck had 241 yards and 4 TDs, while McNabb had 264 yards and 3 TDs.

2. The Wildcat might be underrated
Most people "in the know" seem to think the Wildcat is a gimmick system and it will be gone in a couple years. But Miami is leading the NFL in rushing using the Wildcat, and they made the Jets D look foolish on MNF this week. Maybe they're right and it will be gone soon, but Miami is showing that a team can play consistently well in the system with the right players in place.

3. Peyton Manning: still good
The Peyton Manning dominance of NFL defenses continued this week, as he put up yet another 300 yard game, this time against Tennessee. Sure, these last 5 games have been against weak/inconsistent D's, but that shouldn't take away from what Manning brings to the table: pure throwing ability and the leadership to control the offense on his own. Next week: St Louis and another 300 yards!

Questions for Week 6:
How overrated are these guys?
At various points in the preseason and first 4 weeks, the Jets, Patriots, 49ers, and Cowboys were all picked to win their divisions by somebody. Now, the Cowboys look bad after almost losing to Kansas City, the 49ers got crushed by Atlanta, and the AFC East looks like one of the weakest divisions in football, with Miami ready to take it back after starting the season 0-3. Are all these teams simply overrated? Or are these just bumps in the road to the playoffs? Overrated or not, they all need big games next week to get back on track.

How much longer for Jim Zorn and Dick Jauron?
Rumors out of D.C. say that Daniel Snyder is looking at John Gruden as his next head coach, and has been leaning that way since Detroit beat the 'Skins in Week 3. Gruden, an analyst on MNF, will be in town in Week 7 for the game against the Eagles. Could that be the end of Zorn's tenure? For the Bills, the contract extension they gave Jauron after last years 5-0 start is looking like one of the biggest mistakes in football history. Since then, the Bills are 3-13, including 1-4 this year. Their big offseason aquisition, Terrell Owens, is averaging 2.4 catches a game, with one game without a catch. And this weekend 6-3 loss was one of the worst games in NFL history. Ralph Wilson is believed to have never fired a coach mid-season, but theres a first time for everything, right?



Will the Broncos yellow-and-brown throwback jerseys be fully retired?
Seriously, those things were horrible. I love some of the throwbacks, like the Oilers, Patriots, and NY Titans, but those things need to be forgotten.