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NFL Instant Replay: Week 5
Posted by Dr. Tom on Oct 12, 2004, 14:56
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NFL INSTANT REPLAY: Week 5
The mighty have fallen. The Atlanta Falcons left the ranks of the undefeated with their loss to the Lions. The mighty are still falling at Lambeau Field, where the Packers are 0-3 en route to their 1-4 start. Only nine teams have made the playoffs when starting 1-4. Can the Packers be the tenth? The upcoming weeks will tell. This is one of the great things about the NFL, though: the short schedule makes every game mean something. In any of the other major sports, a team can start off 1-4 and still coast into the playoffs, since they have about 75 or 157 games remaining. In the NFL, not so much. If you�re 1-4, you only have 11 more chances to turn that record around, and you can�t afford to flub any of them.
Week 5: The Week That Was
RAVENS~! 17, at Racists 10. Who needs an offense? The Ravens don�t seem to, and it�s a good thing, because they�d be in serious trouble if they did. Kyle Boller continues to show nothing of why he was first-round pick, racking up a whopping 81 yards on 18 pass attempts, to go along with a trio of interceptions. Maybe the Ravens� anemic passing game (actually, calling their passing game �anemic� is an insult to those with low iron in their blood) will get a boost once Todd Heap and Travis Taylor come back, and when (or if) Boller gets into a good rhythm with wideouts Randy Hymes and Kevin Johnson, both of whom have played as well as can be expected. It�s a maybe, though, because I have absolutely no confidence in Boller, and it�s gotten to the point where I cringe every time he doesn�t hand the ball off.
The lone bright spot on the Ravens� offense was JAMAL~!, who rushed 28 times for 116 yards. The Ravens� offense, however, scored only three points the entire night. The team�s first TD came because Ed Reed is a PLAYER and sacked Mark Brunell, forced a fumble, recovered it, and ran it in for the score. The guy does it all on defense and is crazy good. BJ Sams returned a punt 78 yards for the team�s second TD, after faking a reverse to Deion Sanders on the play. The Ravens can beat teams like the Racists in spite of their offense, but that�s not going to work against everyone. Certainly not against the Eagles.
NJ Giants 26, at Dallas 10. The Giants continue to be a surprise team, now sitting at 4-1. Kurt Warner is playing like he knows what he�s doing, Tiki Barber is hanging onto the ball, and the defense is stepping up. It�s only Week 5, but a 4-1 start has the Giants positioned nicely for a playoff run. Dallas has some work to do if they want to get back to the postseason.
at NJ Jets 16, Buffalo 14. The Jets might be 4-0, but they just barely squeaked past a Buffalo team that has looked like a collection of cadavers this season. Perhaps sacking Gregg Williams was not the change the Bills needed � not that I disagree with the firing of a gutless coward, mind you. Chad Pennington continues to impress, and Curtis Martin turned in another solid game in the backfield. No word on when Herman Edwards will go off on a rant about winning and why you play the game, though.
Minnesota 34, at Houston 28 (OT). In the battle of the wide receivers, Houston�s Andre Johnson had the more impressive stat line (12 for 170, 2 TDs, including an absolutely SILLY catch at the back of the end zone), but Randy Moss� team came out on top. Moss hauled in 2 TD passes of his own, but it was Marcus Robinson who caught the game winner, redeeming himself for dropping a sure TD just before. The Vikings won while getting zero total carries from Michael Bennett, Onterrio Smith, and Moe Williams. Even with their RB situation in question, they still have Culpepper � who passed for 5 TDs � and Moss.
at The City 31, Arizona 28 (OT). The Cardinals, who had played a stout defense all year, gave up 16 points to the 49ers in the last five minutes of the 4th quarter to send this one into overtime. Tim Rattay earned his starting wings by throwing the ball 57 times, completing 38 for 417 yards and 2 TDs. Meanwhile, he sat on my fantasy team�s bench in favor of Aaron Brooks, while I went up against the Manning and Edge show and got my head caved in. Sigh.
St. Louis 33, at Seattle 27 (OT). Now showing: When Good Defenses Fall to Hell in the Fourth Quarter II: The Seattle Suckitude. The Seahawks had this game won, until they decided to not play defense and give up 17 unanswered points to the Rams in the 4th quarter. They continued in their stupor when OT began, as the game ended on a long TD pass from Marc Bulger to Shaun McDonald, who is neither Isaac Bruce nor Torry Holt. Seattle had made some good strides on defense so far this season, but their collapse in the 4th quarter of this game has to be a cause for concern.
at Denver 20, Carolina 17. This game featured the Battle of the Running Backs You�ve Never Heard Of. And as we all know, the Broncos could pull a one-legged bum off the streets and have him rush for 100 yards in a game. Reuben Droughns definitely has two legs, and is apparently no bum, as he torched the Carolina D for 193 yards on 30 carries. The Broncos are now 4-1, while Carolina is struggling along at 1-3, with long odds of making it back to the postseason. Not to toot my own horn or anything (OK, this is entirely me tooting my own horn), but I took the Broncos as my dark horse pick to get to the Super Bowl. They�re well on their way to the playoffs, at least.
Tampa 20, at New Orleans 17. The Bucs finally got in the win column, and they only needed to play their third-string QB, who had been asking for a trade, to do it. New Orleans lost in spite of 100 yards from DEUCE~!, as Aaron Brooks never really got going, and Brian Griese came off the Tampa bench to play some inspired football. The Saints, despite a lot of talent, are now 2-3, and the consensus is that Jim Haslett has to make the playoffs to keep his job. His work is cut out for him.
at Pittsburgh 34, Cleveland 23. Where have you gone, Tommy Maddox? To the bench, that�s where. Maddox�s injury (at the hands of Ed Reed, no less) looks like the best thing that�s happened to the Steelers since they benched the worthless Kordell Stewart. Rookie Ben Roethlisberger plays like he�s been in the league several years. He throws a good ball, takes the hits he knows are coming, and confidently leads his team down the field. Going back to his college days at Miami of Ohio, Ben-Ro has won his last 15 starts. The Steelers (another team your �humble� scrivener said would exceed expectations) are now 4-1 and sit atop the AFC North.
Other Scores:
at Indianapolis 35, Oakland 14
at New England 24, Miami 10
Detroit 17, at Atlanta 10
at San Diego 34, Jacksonville 21
Tennessee 48, at Green Bay 27
Pass For Show, Run For Dough
In this era of Sports Center highlights and fans with short attention spans, the passing game gets a lot of love. Every week, at least one QB goes en fuego passing the ball, and a couple teams live and die putting the ball in the air. Maybe I�m just an old-school ball-control guy, but I think the running game is still the most important offensive ingredient, since it lets you wear down both your enemies at once: the opposing team, and the game clock.
I�m going to chart some rushing statistics this season (as I did last season, until time constraints forced me to scrap this column) and see how important the running game really is. Each week, I�ll tally up the 100-yard rushers and see how their teams did. Also, I�ll look at teams that ran the ball 30 or more times, and teams that ran it 20 or fewer times, and see how they did.
Week 5:
100-yard Rushers: 9
Team record: 7-2
30 or more rushing attempts: 10
Team record: 8-2
20 or fewer rushing attempts: 5
Team record: 1-4
Season to Date:
100-yard Rushers: 47
Team record: 35-12 (74.46%)
30 or more rushing attempts: 52
Team record: 40-12 (76.92%)
20 or fewer rushing attempts: 25
Team record: 4-21 (16.0%)
News From Around the League
-- The Carolina Panthers, already beset by injuries, have gotten one more drubbing in that department: RB DeShaun Foster will miss 6-10 weeks with a broken collarbone. This leaves last year�s NFC Champions (1-3) in a precarious spot at running back. Stephen Davis, thought to be able to go this past weekend, was a late scratch. KR/PR and third RB Rod �He Hate Me� Smart is out with a knee injury. Nick Goings and Brad Hoover were left to man the backfield in the Panthers� loss to the Broncos Sunday. The team hopes Davis will be able to go this weekend when it faces the Eagles in a rematch of last season�s NFC Championship game.
-- Brian Griese will start for Tampa in the Bucs� upcoming Monday night game against the Rams. Griese replaced Chris Simms, whose NFL starting debut lasted all of 19 plays, after Simms left the game with a sprained throwing shoulder. Simms was starting in place of Brad Johnson, whom Gruden benched in favor of the second-year player. Simms is not expected to practice this week.
-- The City�s All-Pro LB Julian Peterson will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Peterson was injured in the first quarter when Arizona�s LJ Shelton blocked him low. He was taken to the locker room on a cart in the second quarter, but came back out in street clothes � and on crutches � after halftime to rally his teammates from the sidelines.
-- The Ravens signed CB Chris McAlister to a �seven-year� contract, with the deal being officially signed on October 9th. McAlister had been bitter about being named the team�s franchise player two years in a row, as past negotiations on a multi-year deal had stalled. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, but as usual, both sides said all the right things to the media.
-- In case you�ve been living under a rock the past few weeks, the New England Patriots have set the record for consecutive wins. The Pats beat the franchise which formerly held the record, the now-hapless Dolphins, to earn their place in history. New England has won all four of its games this season, and won 15 in a row last year between the regular season and the playoffs. Reports that stoic coach Bill Belichick actually smiled may or may not be exaggerated. Not to diminish their achievement, but the Pats are undefeated against teams whose combined record is 5-14. The streak may end when they get some quality opposition.
The JAMAL~! Saga: Over
With a plea agreement reached this past week, Ravens RB Jamal Lewis has gotten the answer to his questionable future: four months in jail in the offseason, and a two-game suspension from the NFL. On October 7th, Lewis pleaded guilty to federal charges of using a cell phone to facilitate a drug transaction. Under the NFL�s substance abuse policy, criminal drug charges are punishable by the league. In addition to the two-game suspension, Lewis was fined an addition two games� pay, meaning he�ll forfeit $761,000 in this matter. Lewis is not expected to appeal his suspension.
My take: Wow, only two games. Considering how the NFL normally acts toward Baltimore, I was expecting six. Score one for the NFL being reasonable. Those of you who think they came down lightly on JAMAL~! should take Commissioner Tagliaboob�s letter to the Ravens� RB to heart. In the letter, the Commish says that JAMAL~! has cost himself a lot of money, four months of his freedom, and untold damage to his reputation. A harsh suspension from the league would be piling on, and that�s a penalty.
Dr. Tom�s Official Power Rankings
I�ve been asked about doing power rankings since this column debuted. My opinion on them is that they�re worthless very early in the season, since one bad game can leave a good team winless. Now that every team has played at least four games, the power rankings have some meaning.
1. Patriots (4-0). Let�s see them against some good competition.
2. Eagles (4-0). Ok, so I was wrong about Terrell Owens� contributions. So far.
3. Colts (4-1). The Peyton And Edge Show, soon coming to a city near you!
4. Vikings (3-1). Just wait until they have a RB again . . .
5. Broncos (4-1). Reuben Droughns had 127 rushing yards in his career before Sunday.
6. Jets (4-0). Just squeaking by a bad Bills team hurts them in the rankings.
7. Steelers (4-1). Jerome Bettis� stats: 32 carries, 56 yards, 1.6 ypc, 8 long, 6 TD. Word, Bus, word.
8. Giants (4-1). OK, so I was wrong about Kurt Warner and the Giants, too.
9. Seahawks (3-1). A 17-point home collapse coming off a bye? Inexcusable.
10. Falcons (4-1). Is the coaching staff to the last to see that Michael Vick looks uncomfortable in the West Coast offense?
11. Rams (3-2). A good comeback against Seattle, but Bulger needs to keep the picks down.
12. RAVENS~! (3-2). Maybe the Great and Powerful Oz can give an offense.
13. Lions (3-1). They�re very lucky they didn�t lose phenom Roy Williams.
14. Chargers (3-2). Drew Brees has a deathgrip on the starting QB job. Will the Chargers pull a Cincy with it next year?
15. Titans (2-3). They might be under .500, but that domination of Green Bay has them on the right track.
16. Jaguars (3-2). Missing: one defense. If found, please return to Jacksonville.
17. Texans (2-3). Carr-to-Johnson. Get used to hearing it.
18. Panthers (1-3). Two dumb penalties cost them a chance to tie. Discipline, chaps, discipline.
19. Cowboys (2-2). So, any bets on Vinny finishing out the year in the starting lineup?
20. Saints (2-3). Much talent, few important wins, many headaches.
21. Chiefs (1-3). A couple wins in a row and they might turn this around. It can happen.
22. Browns (2-3). Jeff Garcia was their leading rusher Sunday. That, friends, is a problem.
23. Raiders (2-3). I don�t feel bad about dropping Kerry Collins in my fantasy league now: 2 starts, 6 INTs, 0 wins.
24. Packers (1-4). Brett Favre makes at least one stupid throw for every good one, and always has. This year, it�s obvious.
25. Bears (1-3). Urlacher coming back will help. But can he play QB?
26. Bengals (1-3). It�s not too late to go back to Jon Kitna, Marvin.
27. Bucs (1-4). No Sapp, no Lynch, no Keyshawn, but hey, they�ve got Brian Griese now! Yeah, I know.
28. 49ers (1-4). Tim Rattay now holds the team record for completions in a game. Not Montana, not Young. Tim Rattay.
29. Racists (1-4). I wonder if Joe Gibbs longs for the glory days of his NASCAR team yet?
30. Cardinals (1-4). Dennis Green is making progress, but it won�t get better overnight.
31. Bills (0-4). New coach, same cowardly punting tactics. Must be the cold.
32. Dolphins (0-5). Has Ricky run out of ganja yet?
Picks for Week 6
Last week: 11-3
Season to date: 40-18 (68.96%)
Carolina 13 at Philadelphia 28, 1:00 pm
Cincinnati 17 at Cleveland 21, 1:00 pm
Green Bay 24 at Detroit 28, 1:00 pm
Houston 23 at Tennessee 27, 1:00 pm
Kansas City 26 at Jacksonville 20, 1:00 pm
Miami 10 at Buffalo 17, 1:00 pm
San Diego 24 at Atlanta 16, 1:00 pm
Seattle 21 at New England 23, 1:00 pm
The City 20 at NJ Jets 24, 1:00 pm
DC Metro Area 17 at Chicago 20, 1:00 pm
Denver 28 at Oakland 14, 4:15 pm
Pittsburgh 27 at Dallas 17, 4:15 pm
Minnesota 30 at New Orleans 21, 8:30 pm
Tampa Bay 14 at St. Louis 27, 9:00 pm (MNF)
(Open date: Arizona, Baltimore, Indianapolis, NJ Giants)
That�s all the time I have for this week. We�ll do this again next Tuesday. Don�t forget to toss back a brew for me as you sport a stylish throwback and cheer on your favorite team this weekend.
Next week: beer and strippers. Just not in this column.
Dr. Tom Fowler
drtomfowler at yahoo dto cmo (screw you, email spiders!)
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