NFL Week 5 Wrap-Up and Week 6 Preview

This won't be the usual NFL reaction blog post that I always do because it's a little late in the week to go in-depth with Sunday's games. So, I'm just gonna wrap-up the week really quickly and summarize the week that was.

Things to take in from Week 5:

1) Through five games, Houston may just be the best team in Football, but they aren't unstoppable. Denver did so in Week 3, and the Jets proved that last Monday night. They're the only two teams Houston hasn't blown out.

2) The NFC West maybe one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. People can talk about Seattle's defense all they want, but I think San Francisco has the best defense in the NFL. Their only bane is that their rush defense isn't magnificent, but they have a deadly defensive line. Arizona is still lurking around there as well so this should be an interesting race.

3) Denver's defense needs to be fixed ASAP. Lucky for them, the AFC West is a winnable division, but if they expect to go far, or even get to the playoffs, this defense needs to get fixed. 

4) The Indianapolis Colts have one impressive football team. Coming back from 18 down and defeating Green Bay in exciting fashion is something to be proud of. The jury is still out on whether or not they can challenge Houston for the division, but they don't play each other until December so it's not a topic to talk about right now.

5) Good teams find ways to win: Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New Orleans and New York come to mind. 

- Pittsburgh could barely move the ball in the first half, but they came back to win against Philly in the last seconds. 

- Same thing with Pittsburgh applies to Atlanta, and once they got their act together, they got it going like they only know how.

- The Saints were down 10 in the 3rd, but there wasn't a doubt they wouldn't win, and they came back to win.

- The Giants were down 14 in the first quarter against The Browns and ended up winning by 14. 

Matchups to watch in Week 6:

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers

A rematch of the NFC Championship game. The Niners will be out for redemption and The Giants will be out to prove that beating them was no fluke. Should be a classic. The Niners have more offense than they did last postseason, and The Giants will be without Nicks again, should be interesting to see.

New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks

The Patriots lead the league in total offensive yards. The Seahawks are statistically the best defense in the league right now. Something has to give. Seattle has always been a tough place to play. New England should keep that in mind.

Green Bay Packers at Houston Texans

Aaron Rodgers vs The Houston Texans defense. We already saw how Rodgers struggles against a tough defense like San Fran. Houston is every bit as physical. The game is in Houston in Primetime. I don't like Green Bay's chances. 

Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets

Andrew Luck takes The Colts to New York to face The Jets. This is a very intriguing game. It's Luck's second road game and this is the same team that beat Green Bay. I think they pose a matchup problem for The Jets. The Jets can't defend the run as good as they use to and with Revis out, I think Wayne is a bad matchup for someone like Cromartie. Besides, Luck has a few weapons to spread the ball around to. A win on the road against a team like The Jets could be something BIG.

Sanchez is throwing to a whole new group of receivers. No Holmes, or Keller. The Jets need this win for themselves. They're struggling to find their identity and win against The Colts could be the thing they need to get back in the AFC East race. A loss is something I don't think they can recover from.

Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Ravens

Dallas needs to bounce back after that poor showing against Chicago. Baltimore defense isn't as good as Chicago's but Romo is still in trouble. I think Romo will have a bounce back game, but they won't win. The Ravens are a better team than The Cowboys.

Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers

Monday Night Football in San Diego. This is just all bad for Peyton Manning. For starters, it's in San Diego, Peyton Manning struggles against The Chargers, and his defense can't stop a nosebleed. Brady and The Patriots moved the ball at will against Denver. This is a division game, so Denver's defense needs to come prepared to contain Philip Rivers and Ryan Matthews. If they play like they did against New England; allowing 17 yard runs on 3rd and 15, not getting off the field on 3rd downs, not defending slants and underneath passes, and not tackling they're going to get blown out. Without question. Look at Peyton Manning's last appearance on MNF. Nuff said.



Week 6 is going to say a lot about some teams.


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Thoughts on NFL Schedule

This has been a long overdue post, but here it is anyway. The NFL Schedule was released last Tuesday and man, there was A LOT of buzz about it already. Now, I'm not gonna go through the entire schedule. I'm just going to give some feedback on some of the games that I find interesting, along with my thoughts of which team starts 0-2.


Now, let's start with Week 1:

Wednesday, Sept 5th: 

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants

Sunday, Sept 9th:

Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets

Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans

New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans

St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions

Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns

Atlanta Falcons at Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

Monday, Sept. 10th:

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders

From top to bottom, looking at every single game from Week 1, the one game that really JUMPS out at me is The Niners heading to Lambeau Field to battle Green Bay. I mean, could you ask for a better match in the first week of the season? This is essentially a playoff game here. The Niners came off a great season and had a case of bad luck and the same can be said for Green Bay. Both teams are clearly going to get better, and it's going to be really amazing to see how Aaron Rodgers competes against The Niners defense. To take it a step further, it'll be even more interesting seeing how Alex Smith connects with his new receivers. We're in store for a treat in Week 1.

Continuing on with the schedule, The Giants and Cowboys open the season. Now, this a BIG statement game for both teams. The Giants already have an insanely tough schedule as it is, and a win against Dallas would make quite the statement. A win for Dallas would be an even bigger statement. It's the fact that they came into the Giants' Home stadium on the night where they raise the banner I believe and if they can escape with a win, that can damage the Giants' psyche. Not to mention, they travel to Seattle the week after which is not an easy place to play. Dallas can't afford to start 0-2.

Let's go a little further with this. The Pittsburgh Steelers start their season in the same place they ended it: Denver. But this time, they're not facing Tebow, they're facing Peyton Manning. That is a different level without a doubt. If Peyton Manning shows up and plays like the Peyton Manning we all know, the Steelers don't stand a chance, and that's putting it nicely. That may sound a bit arrogant, but let's be honest here. Peyton Manning is arguably one the best QBs of all time and can turn nobodys into superstars. Imagine what he'll do with guys like Decker and Thomas. But, if Manning plays like a man that's had five neck surgeries, he could be in for a long season. They start with Pittsburgh and then travel to Atlanta where Matt Ryan is seemingly undefeated. I can't imagine the media coverage if Peyton Manning and the Broncos start 0-2.

What about the rookies? Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Peyton Manning's old team, The Colts host The Bears and what a game to welcome Andrew Luck into the league. He's gonna have Urlacher, Briggs, and Peppers all coming after him. I'll be watching this one. And then we have RGIII vs The Saints. If they presumably make Griffin the starter, this another Welcome to the NFL game for the rookie, playing against The Saints in the Super Dome. The rookie sensations are in for some tough tests to start up the season.

Another slate of games that people usually can't wait for is Thanksgiving Day. People will make plans weeks or months in advance to make sure they're ready and have everything set when the weekend arrives. Well, this year, this may be the best slate of Thanksgiving games in quite some time. Here's how it looks:

Houston Texans at Detroit Lions

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

New England Patriots at New York Jets

My goodness. I mean, you wake up, shower, get dressed and the day starts off with The Texans and The Lions. Two young QBs, two great offenses, and two aggressive defenses going at it. And let's not forget we have the two best receivers in the league facing off: Calvin Johnson and Andre Johnson. The Texans are looking like a team that can get back to the playoffs and the same goes for Detroit. The Lions finally at a stage where they aren't the team that'll be easy to beat anymore. They're now a legitimate threat in the NFC and this should be a slobber-knocker.

But it doesn't end there, RGIII (maybe) leads The Redskins into Dallas to face the Cowboys. The Redskins improved a great deal last season and if they start RGIII and he really lives up to the hype, then this should be an interesting game. Besides, these guys always give Dallas fits.

And then, there's the night game. When the Turkey and Stuffing has been put away, you got The Jets and The Patriots. What a game to close out the night on Thanksgiving. Ever since Rex Ryan took over The Jets, he's made them more a challenge to The Patriots, that is until last season when they got swept and that includes an embarrassing 21 point blowout in New York. But now, there's an interesting story added to this: Tim Tebow. I think it's a foregone conclusion that a lot of people believe Tebow can steal the starting job from Mark Sanchez sooner than later and...well, that would make things very interesting. Tebow vs Brady on Thanksgiving Day? Enough said. It'll be a Zoo and the media will eat it up. Look at how ESPN reacted when Tebow was getting ready to face Brady last season. They talked about Tebow the whole day pretty much and ESPN2 had like a 3-Hour long "Life of Tim Tebow" thing.


Playoff Teams that might start 0-2


Now, another thing I noticed about this schedule is that some teams have a lot of tough back to back games.

The Broncos have The Steelers Week 1 and go to Atlanta to face Matt Ryan where, at Home, he's nearly invincible. It would behoove Peyton Manning and The Broncos to be on their A-Game, it's not going to be good for them if they start 0-2.

Speaking of Matt Ryan, he needs to be careful as well. His woes on the road have been his Achilles Heel and he opens the season at Kansas City. A lot of people may not think that this game is that big of a deal, but The Chiefs defense was lethal towards the end of the season when Crennel took over as The Head Coach. If The Falcons fall to the Chiefs, they have to rebound against Peyton Manning.

The 49ers have a tough game against Green Bay, and the week after host the Detroit Lions and if you remember what happened the last time these two teams faced off, you'll understand why this game is even more interesting.

While we're on Green Bay, they came off a disappointing playoff loss to the Giants and start off with The Niners who are every bit as physical. And then, they host The Chicago Bears the week after. With Cutler, Forte, and Knox back healthy and the addition of Brandon Marshall, a win that looked easy, might not be as easy as people think.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are also in a bind as well. Not only do they have to start the season in Denver, but they now have Peyton Manning to deal with and this is no small feat to overcome. The week after, they host The New York Jets. The last time these two played was in the AFC Championship game last year. And in the Regular Season, The Jets beat Pittsburgh IN Pittsburgh. Two must win games indeed.

And since we're on The Jets, they're in a state of total disarray. Some team players don't like Sanchez, and now you have the signing of Tim Tebow. These are two important games for Mark Sanchez, he has to prove himself in order to keep his job. The Bills aren't as easy as people think. The Bills have a habit of coming out of the gate Hot, but cooling down later on in the season. The Jets better take them seriously, because if they don't, Pittsburgh will be waiting for them and it's not gonna be easy for Mark. He struggled at the end of last season and these first few games don't do him any favors: Bills, Steelers, Dolphins, 49ers and The Texans. If the Jets end up 2-3, 1-4, or God Forbid, 0-5, the fans will clamor for Tebow without hesitation. Sanchez won't make it to The Jets bye week and the way this schedule is lined up, it looks like the beginning of the end.


So, there you have it, all my thoughts on the schedule. I can't really say a lot more than this until the Draft, and ultimately until preseason. All in all, this is going to be a fun season like always.


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Offseason Winners and Losers

IT BEGINS IN THE OFFSEASON

"HOPE CAN ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR" -

Many believe that the new season starts September 5, 2012, but im here to show you that the next season starts right after the superbowl. The NFL is a unstoppable machine that keeps on pushing, the infamous "offseason" is a season on its own. The offseason can either make or break your team before it even starts, many teams have strived through free agency and the draft to help build their dynasties. We've seen Drew Brees arguably the greatest free agency pick up in history and Darren Sproles to Donovan McNabb, and Albert Haynesworth. Drew Brees and Sproles went on to break records while McNabb and Haynesworth went on to many not so great things thus leading to both getting released.
The offseason is a key step to a teams future, the decisions you make can either put your team steps closer or futher to a Superbowl. We will take a look at the top five best and worst offseason moves so far.

THE BEST MOVES

1. Denver Broncos - (Peyton Manning) The Broncos just signed arguably the greatest quaterback in the history of the NFL. The Broncos were a exciting team last year because of Tim "The Chosen One" Tebow but the fact is their passing game was inconsistent and down right embarrasing at times, in two games against the Chiefs Tim Tebow completed eight passes i repeat 8. Denver knows if they want to be true contenters they need a field general, which Peyton Manning is. This team should be in the playoff mix if Peyton Manning can remain healthy and the defense stays focus.
2. St. Louis Rams- (Trading the Second Overall Pick) The Rams traded the second overall pick to the Redskins for a kings ransom. They recieved three number one overall picks and one second round pick from the Redskins.With three number one picks and one second round pick they can perhaps bring back the "Greatest Show on Tuff". they need to draft Justin Blackmon.
3. Dallas Cowboys-(Brandon Carr, etc) "Americans Team" has quietly been making key pick ups to fix that suspect defense. I know they lost Laurent Robinson but they can draft another wide reciever to fill his void. The cowboys have picked up Brandon Carr a dynamic corner with above average man to man skill and just signed a interior guard Nate Livings. A sleeper pick up was Dan O Connor MLB from the Panthers often over shadowed by Jon Beason now has a chance for playing time in Dallas watch out. The D is back in Dallas well on paper atleast.                                           
4. New York Jets- (Laron Landry, Tim Tebow) The Jets will be a media circus but they have just improved their team dramatically. Laron Landry is the dynamic safety Rex ryan has been missing i have some doubts about his coverage skills but i see him being used as a Troy Polamalu type safety/ linebacker in this scheme. Tim "The Chosen One" Tebow will bring third down conversions and a red zone threat. "AS LONG AS TEBOW DOESNT START" the Jets will improve.
5. Chicago Bears- (Brandon Marshall, Michael Bush)  The Bears got a steal for Brandon Marshall from Miami now they have a big time reciever and a solid back in Michael Bush who could start on any team. They just need to sign Matt Forte to a long term deal and draft a saftey and the Monsters of The Midway will be a force. 

THE WORST MOVES

1. Miami Dolphins- They lost Brandon Marshall, didnt sign Peyton Manning and couldnt sign Matt Flynn. they have a rookie head coach, a suspect offense without Marshall and a good defense but we know that wont be enough to stop Tom Brady, also the Bills and Jets just got way better. I see the first overall pick in this teams future.
2. Cincinnati Bengals-  The Bengals offseason stragety is a confusing one, "the guys that played well for us we wont sign back" and then we wont sign anybody at all for weeks. The Bengals just signed Benjarvus Green-Ellis a good running back but flashy and game changer wouldnt be the definition of his game. This team needs to add pieces on defense and offense to have a chance against the Steelers and Ravens.
3. Oakland Raiders-  They showed promise last season then they decided to trade their whole offseason for Carson Palmer, which failed dramatically.  Carson Palmer only had thirteen touchdowns to sixteen Interceptions. Carson Palmer often looked rattled and confused in the pocket, a shell of his former self. The Raiders fired their, head coach, cut their second best linebacker, and cut their best cornerback. The new general manager is trying to start over in Oakland but it seems Raider nation was finally starting to take steps forward to only be moving backwards now. It will be a few years till the Raiders "just win baby". 
4. Jacksonville Jaguars- This team is a mess a quaterback with no heart, many believe it to be a boring franchise, which  failed to bring their most popular player home. Signing Laurent Robinson was good but they failed to make the Tim Tebow trade which cost the team millions in revenue. Jacksonville hands down has the most boring team in the NFL and they did no favors for themselves missing out on Tim Tebow. 
5. New Orleans Saints/ Indianapolis Colts- These teams make the list by defaullt the bounty scandle losing Carl Nicks and not signing Drew Brees to a long term deal shows this team needs to get it together. They found a good replacement for Carl Nicks with Ben Grubbs, but the lost of their head coach and draft picks will hurt this franchise. The Colts releases their greatest quarterback ever and also could have traded the first overall pick for a fortune. Andrew Luck maybe be the quarterback of the future but what if he isnt? 

        We didn't forget about those who over spent such a Tampa Bay Bucs(good moves), Buffalo Bills (good moves). Also Washington trading to get RG3, that can hopefully turn that franchise around. Also Patriots finished just outside the top five for good moves, because Brandon Lloyd signing was huge that offense will be deadly. 

     

 By. Phillip "STATS" Rodney 

Thanks for reading

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