Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Week 5 Quick Hits

Week 5 has given us good teams proving their worth, questionable teams fading and personnel issues that will affect teams the rest of the season.
  • The Houston Texans remain at the top of the league after a nice road win against the New York Jets who had their backs against the wall and put up a good fight.  The Texans are so solid all the way through their team.  The offense is efficient in it's passing and powerful in it's running.  Matt Schaub is a top flight QB that can make plays when necessary and run their offense to perfection.  He is made even better with the running prowess of Arian Foster.  Foster is staking his claim as the games best RB along with Adrian Peterson, and brings consistent performances each week (532 yards, 5 TD through 5 weeks).  Foster is quick and powerful making him very difficult to take down on first contact, and he always finds the end zone.  The defense has been outstanding but may take hit following the torn ACL to LB Brian Cushing.  Cushing has been a game changer as the leader of the Texans defense.  This will be a big blow to the team, but Houston has shown resilience through injury as any great team does.  I suspect this will hurt them in the next two weeks, but not enough to keep them from winning and definitely not enough to stymie their Super Bowl aspirations.
  • If someone said we would be talking about the Vikings sitting at 4-1 and looking like a legitimate playoff contender, we all would have quit the NFL to watch underwater basket weaving.  This is a team with a second year QB, a RB recovering from ACL surgery, only one good, while undersized, receiver in Percy Harvin, and a defense that lost a step last season.  Instead you have a QB that is a leader and playmaker, a RB who is as strong as ever, Percy Harvin playing like a superstar and a defense that has found themselves and made opposing offenses look amateur.  The Bears and Vikings are clearly the class of the NFC North, but the Vikings have been the surprising team making a statement that they are not rebuilding, but instead ready to contend for the division and make a legitimate playoff run.  QB Christian Ponder is definitely not blowing the top off each week, but he moves the ball effectively with accuracy and few poorly timed turnovers.  Cam Newton was the sophomore QB getting the attention, but Ponder is the one producing.  The Vikings are not smoke and mirrors, certainly primed for a strong 10 win season resulting in a playoff birth, but they must withstand a tough upcoming schedule the rest of the way.
  • What do you take away from the Ravens/Chiefs 9-6 game?  Turnovers impact games.  I believe the Ravens are still a top tier team in the NFL.  Ray Rice is a great running back and Joe Flacco is continuing to improve as the leader of the offense.  The Ravens turned the ball over two times in the game that put a halt to their offensive flow, but it was the Chiefs who absolutely killed themselves with ill-timed turnovers.  3 of their 4 turnovers were in the Ravens half of the field with one fumble coming on the goal line.  I have been saying the Chiefs are not as bad as they appear and this is because of turnovers.  They are near the top of the league in turnovers which is a sure sign that you will not be at the top of the standings.  The Chiefs moved the ball effectively.  Jamaal Charles is as good a runner as any.  The QB situation could certainly be better with Matt Cassel going down and Brady Quinn the backup, but there remains potential with this team.  This leads me back to the Ravens who were on the road, at one of the toughest stadiums to play in against a team that has talent that must improve during the week and clean up the mistakes on the weekend.  This game will give the Ravens plenty to focus on going forward, and make them a better team down the line.
  • There are six teams sitting with a 2-3 record.  Three from the AFC East in Buffalo, Miami, and NY (Jets).  Then there are Green Bay, Denver, and Washington. 
    • I am not a fan of the Jets as I have said before.  They have no talent on offense and a defense that cannot make plays like they used to.  Even Tim Tebow will not save this team from a sub .500 record.  
    • Miami is young and promising.  Ryan Tannehill has impressed all the doubters with steady play and some highlight passes to none other than Brian Hartline...who?  The Dolphins play tough and seem to have found a way to be effective even with a new coach and young team.  
    • The Buffalo Bills are a mediocre team with some nice pieces, but little chance of putting it all together in the same week.  They are inconsistent at best and will hope to hit 8-8.  
    • Green Bay is one dimensional at best with little hope of changing this season.  Many people point to either the defense or the running game.  It is actually both that are terrible.  There are spurts for the defense but no consistency and the running game is nonexistent in both running talent and offensive line blocking.  Aaron Rodgers is still one of the best and will give the Pack opportunities to be in games, but this season's future is not bright for Green Bay.  
    • Denver is a team that is still finding itself.  Peyton Manning must continue to show improvement in his arm and stay healthy for the team to be competitive, but there are pieces on defense that give the Broncos a chance each week and a running game that can be effective.  Denver will be a completely different team come playoff time in which they will be participating.  
    • Washington just has too many injuries and not enough pieces in place to withstand them.  The defense has been shreaded and now RG3 is possibly out with a concussion.  The one bright spot is RB Alfred Morris on an otherwise unimpressive Redskins teams that will certainly not be in the division hunt and may not win another division game the rest of the season.  
Of these 6 teams only the Broncos will likely make the playoffs as there is no strong contender from the AFC West.  The Broncos and Chargers play Monday night and could give us some indication of who will be the division winner.  There is likely one more from this group and odds are it will come out of the AFC East, so I will say the surprising Miami Dolphins will sneak into a Wild Card spot by the end of the season.
Week 5 is gone and thank goodness after a 5-10 picking week for myself.  Atlanta, San Francisco, and New England are very good teams.  They all won solid games on Sunday and will be there until the end this season.  Unfortunately for teams like Tennessee, Cleveland, Carolina, and Jacksonville their seasons are all but over but will show a lot in how their young guys improve in practice and what sort of effort they put forth on Sundays.

Week 6 is already on it's way so be sure to check out my picks later in the week.  Thursday night showcases the Steelers at Titans.  Tennessee is clearly at the bottom of the league, but the Steelers have not shown much promise yet either and continue to battle injuries.  This will be a road win for them, but there is no telling how difficult it may be.

Steelers -6.5 at Titans

No comments:

Post a Comment