Lessons and Notes from Week 5

Dolphins 31- Jets 27
Is Chad Henne for real? A lot of reports have been coming out from Miami highlighting the organizations high regard for the Michigan man. While I remember Henne as a dual knee braced slightly above average QB, he looked great last night. His deep balls were on point and, with the Wildcat taking some pressure from him, comfortable. The Dolphins are 2-3 going into a bye until their Week 7 game with at New Orleans. If the Phins are gonna make a real run after their 0-3 start, they have to win that game.
Meanwhile, the Jets D apparently missed the memo. That was TWO (2) road games in a row, not one! Zero QB hits likely made Henne look a lot better than he should have looked. Expect the Jets to get to 4-2 next week with an easy game against the offensively inept Bills at home.

Browns 6- Bills 3
I feel so badly for those who had to watch this. Cleveland fans watched their passing attack fail like an early Wright Brothers flight. The Browns team completed one more pass to the right team than Ronnie Brown did Monday night. Your starting quarterback....DEEEERREEEEHHHHHKKKKKK AAAANNNNDDDDEEERRRSOOOOOONNNN!I don't know if his legendary 2-17 for 23 yard performance speaks more poorly of him or Myoplex man Brady Quinn. How bad did Quinn look in practice that week? He didn't take a single snap in the game. Anyway, the Browns got off the schneid.
Where did the Bills offense go? Fred Jackson looked like a great dark horse Pro Bowl candidate the first two weeks. They scored 59 points the first two weeks! Since their 1-1 start, they have 20 points and 3 loses. The Terrell Owens experiment is a failure in Buffalo as he continues to be taken out of the offense by opposing defenses. He recorded his season high in catches last week, bringing in 4. That is not enough for him to help himself or the team. Buffalo is going nowhere fast.

Steelers 28- Lions 20
The Lions lost another close one. Stafford was out and Culpepper looked like a decent backup. While he reminded fans of his fumblitis, 3 on the day, he did throw for 282 yards. The Lions did well to cut down their penalties, only 6, they have a lot of areas in need of improvement.
The Steelers won on the road in the NFL. That's hard to do anywhere, even in Detroit. Style points don't play in the big leagues so let's call it a win and move on.

Cowboys 26- Chiefs 20
Style points? Yeah, they play in Dallas. And let's be honest, the Boys looks bad. If it hadn't been for The Miles Austin Explosion, Dallas probably loses. They were minus 2 on turnovers and recorded 13 penalties. Good teams do not do that. Dallas is off Week 6 and I honestly have no idea what kind of team will play the Falcons Week 7. They are the Florida State of the NFL.
The Chiefs suck.

Vikings 38- Rams 10
The Vikes continue to roll and have serious contender status. Favre has 1 TD and 1 INT in his 40s. Adrian Peterson was held to his fourth straight sub-100 yard game. Weeks 6 versus Baltimore will be great.
The Rams are the worst team in the NFL. They have scored 34 points this year. Get ready Sam Bradford.

Giants 44- Raiders 7
It took the Giants 34:59 to outscore the Rams' season total. The game was over before it started. The Giants recorded 6 sacks while the Raiders hit the QB once. JaMarcus Russell threw for 100 yards on the day. There is no way he is better than fellow training camp QB Jeff Garcia. More on that later.
The Giants are 5-0 with a trip to the Saints next week. Maybe this New York D will fair better against the NO assault. A battle of undefeateds in Week 6 will be a treat.

Eagles 33- Bucs 14
McNabb and Westbrook looked solid and healthy in an easy win. Vick was a non-factor while a TBG favorite Asante Samuel picked Bucs QB Josh Johnson twice. Bucs fan can expect to see atleast one other QB start this year as the Bucs are thick in the Sam Bradford race (0-5).
A sweet cruise to Oakland will have the Eagles 4-1 for their Monday Night game against the Washington Racists. That game could be a final nail in coach Jim Zorn's coffin with a Week 8 bye looking like a good potential coaching switch week.

Panthers 20- Racists 17
Bad game. The Racists blew a 17-2 lead. Running back Clinton Portis only recorded 57 yards while QB Jason Campbell threw for a lowly 145 yards. Gotta take the reins off every now and then to win, Zorn. Both teams are bad and Zorn is on the hot seat again after a loss like this.

Bengals 17- Ravens 14
The Bengals are 5-0 as far as I'm concerned. This team is a real contender. My boy Rey Maualuga led the Bengals in tackles and tackles for loss. QB Carson Palmer led Cinncy to a nice comeback throwing his only TD of the day. This team has enough on both sides of the ball to play with anyone. However, with three straight victories coming by 3 points, look for next weeks visit by the Texans to be a trap game. Can't take an week easy in the NFL
My Super Bowl Ravens dropped their second straight game. With Minnesota, Denver and another Cinncy game in the next four weeks, the Ravens are going to be battle tested by midseason. I still feel solid about them and am eager to see how they rebound against the Viks.

Falcons 45- 49ers 10
The 49ers aren't there yet. They missed Frank Gore and ached over Shaun Hill. This teams defense will continue to win them games this year but need help from the other side of the ball.
The Falcons looked sharp out of their bye and moved to 3-1. Matt Ryan threw for 329 yards and 2 TDs. 148 yards on the ground made for a balanced attack. A Sunday Night meeting with Chicago in the Georgia Dome could be a big win for this team.

Seahawks 41- Jags 0
Seeing a theme yet? A great running back is nothing by himself. Maurice Jones-Drew, Larry Johnson, Steven Jackson and Run DMC have a total of 3 wins this year. Hasselbeck looked solid in his return and Aaron Curry has another sack. Both of these teams are bad and Jacksonville looks due for a new coach.

Cards 28- Texans 21
The Cards win at home, but almost blew this one. 21-0 at half, the game was 21-21 with 6:59 left. An All Junior Team member Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie came up huge with the game winning INT return. Andre Johnson out did Larry Fitzgerald in catches, 8 to 5, and yards, 101 to 79, while they both had 2 TDs. At 2-2 Arizona is a contender in the weak NFC West.

Broncos 20- Pats 17
The Broncos again proved this blogger wrong. QB Kyle Orton played out of his mind, tearing the Pats D for 330 yards. The Wildhorse wrinkle was great. Having Orton come from out wide to under center proved very effective. Tom Brady just is not looking the same as he did pre-injury. Four straight sub-300 yard games is not Bradyesque, he had 8 300-plus yard games in 2007. Fact of the matter is, the Pats offense is not the juggernaut it was in '07. The Broncos look like Super Bowl contenders, with a great defense and a QB who threw his first INT in his best game of the season. Look for the Pats to bounce back against the Titans. The Broncos have a good AFC West test next against a rested Chargers team.

Colts 31- Titans 9
Brady may be having his struggles but Manning is on point. He has thrown for 300 plus in every game this year. Look for Manning to pull down his fourth MVP. Kerry Collins is done in the NFL. The Titans need to start Vince Young. And if he isn't the answer, draft a QB in the offseason. And in regard to their defense; was Albert Haynesworth that influential?
Last week I announced an open tryout for any Schmo off the street to become a Packers O-lineman. I hear a couple other teams are doing similar ploys this week. The openings include:
Raiders QB (No Garcia's welcome!)
Browns QB

Only 8-6 only the picks last week.

TBG