Tag Archives: week 5

October 11, 2012 · 3:58 pm

Giants/Browns Post game Reaction

The Giants went down 14-0 before people got comfortable, but just as the rain let up at Met life Stadium, the Giants began pouring on the points as they ran away with the game in the second and third quarters.  Here is the box score, as the Giants improved to 3-2 setting up the week 6 rematch of the NFC Championship game against the 49ers.

Here are some of the storylines coming out of this game:

Story lines

1. Plug and Play.  No Hakeem Nicks for the third straight game.  No Ramses Barden thanks to a concussion.   Martellus Bennet went down with a leg injury (more on him.)  And yet, there was Ruben Randle getting more looks his way.  There was Victor Cruz doing the salsa three times.  There was the running game coming alive.  There was Domenik Hixon, the oft-injured and oft-forgotten member of this receiving unit making tough catches.  Its amazing what a good, sound offensive unit looks like without making excuses and just simply executing.  I know I’m beating a dead horse with it, but Eli Manning’s leadership can’t be under sold.  He makes the wheels turn here.  He and Kevin Gilbride have the kind of relationship where both know how to direct the offense and work in tandem to put the Giants in the best position possible.  Its almost redundant at this point to say it but the offense’s injury woes are nothing but a speed bump for this team.  They keep plugging new guys in and keep clicking.  Of course, that depth will be tested this Sunday against arguably the best team in football, the San Francisco 49ers.

2. The running game is making a comeback.  In 2008, after a Super Bowl campaign, the Giants were looked upon as lottery winners against a Patriot team that would’ve beat them 9 times out of 10.  A 10-6 team that made it to the playoffs on the next to last week of the regular season and rarely looked the part were under dogs in EVERY SINGLE playoff game including the final one where they overcame the largest set of odds EVER for a Super Bowl game.  Of course, that season, the Giants just continued their magical carpet ride and ran out to an 11-1 start and looked the part of defending Super Bowl champions that many suggested they were lucky to be.  We all know what happened next: Plax enters the club with gun.  Plax shoots himself with gun.  Giants wind up losing in teh first round of the playoffs thanks to the distraction.  What that season had was a lot of running and the Giants ran the ball because they COULD.  They were the best offensive line in football that nobody cared to discuss.  This season’s offensive line has also been markedly improved over previous units and yesterday Ahmad Bradshaw working primarily as the lead back thanks to Andre Brown’s injury, rushed for 200 yards on 30 carries.  Even David Wilson got into the act and ran for his first TD through huge gaping holes.  When the offensive line pushes around the D-line like that its a beautiful thing and it will be very important for them to do the same next week against the uber tough San Fran D line.

3. Speaking of the D-Line… Where is the feared, vaunted pass rush that every broadcaster likes to bring up whenever the Giants are being talked about?  Granted they went up against an offensive line that features two of the best linemen in all of football in Alex Mack, the Pro Bowl Center and Joe Thomas the Pro Bowl LT, but STILL.  I’m convinced JPP is injured and needs a week off, of course that’s not going to happen anytime before the bye week, but its emerged as the most unlikeliest of concerns.  Yesterday I saw them play a lot of contain which had to do with the threat of the running game.  Trent Richardson looked like the number 3 pick and never seemed to go down with the first hit.  Elusive guys like Trent Richardson and LeSean McCoy give any team fits but when they get on the edges against the Giants they wreak havoc because the backside just does a horrible job in tackling rushers.  Especially rushers who bring the specific dimensions that Trent Richardson and LeSean McCoy do.  Guys who can cut on a dime or guys who have that extra muscle to shake off that first arm tackler.  The Giants began to gang tackle more as the game progressed because it seemed like they underestimated T. Rich’s ability to shed the first tackle.  The Giants were fortunate in facing a QB as inexperienced as Brandon Weeden, as they tried to play more coverage while playing contain on the line to make sure that they stayed at home to try and stop Trent Richardson.  Getting to the edge became difficult but not an arduous task and you can expect that more teams will try to employ that same strategy against the Giants.  Running to the edges will be something that I’m sure Perry Fewell and the Giants defensive coaches stress during the coming week of practice as they head west to face off against Frank Gore and that amazing running game of 49ers who just rushed for their second consecutive 300 yard game collectively.  If the Giants don’t get any pressure on Alex Smith like they did during the NFC Championship game, the Giants will be in for a long day as the Niners have obviously improved their passing game with Randy Moss and Mario Manningham in the fold with Michael Crabtree and Ted Ginn while also having Vernon Davis.  That’s a lot more than they had during the NFC Championship game where receivers had a total of 1 reception for six yards.  An improved receiving corp though has helped out the running game because of the respect defenses must give to the passing game.  If the Giants get zero pressure schematically like they did in these last few games the Niners will have their way with the defense because the secondary can not be left on an island to be picked apart, even if its Alex Smith doing the picking apart.

4. Do the Giants have the deepest receiving corp in football?  I’m not willing to go that far yet but I know Giants fans are thinking that following another game in which another receiver broke out.  Ruben Randle was the Giants 2nd round pick from this year’s draft and they love his athleticism.  They always felt like his potential was limited thanks to the bad quarterbacking in LSU.  You forget about Domenik Hixon because he’s gone down with injuries the last two years.  Ramses Barden was a featured receiver these last two games before his concussion forced him out of Sunday’s game against the Browns.  There was a Jernel Jernigan sighting.  But the Giants real star has always been continuity.  Whether it be at the quarterbacking position OR the offensive philosophy, the Giants bring up their receivers in the same system and give them time to grasp it before throwing them out there.  Victor Cruz might have come out of nowhere but he was in the Giants camp the previous summer and had a whole year to grasp the complicated offensive system.  Ramses Barden has been under bubble wrap since being drafted in the 3rd round in 2009.  Hixon has had two ACL surgeries worth of years to sit and learn the system.  Jernigan is entering his 3rd season in the system.  These aren’t newbies walking on and making the team. These guys earn their stripes by sitting and learning.  They gradually get comfortable and that’s why the Giants always look so good when they plug in these guys.  Its because of the experience they have.  So when the argument starts up with do the Giants have the deepest receiving corps in football?  I’d answer not exactly but they are the most prepared to step in and step up thanks to the Giants extensive grooming process they have.

5. New Giants showing their toughness.  I’m giving away the game ball early here but Martellus Bennet showed me something Sunday by playing with what was being announced as a hyperextension of the knee.  That happened in the first quarter and yet there was Bennet, toughing it out and playing through the injury.  That may not sound like much but for a brand new teammate who still has to prove his worthiness, not only to his teammates but to his coach, he showed them that he’s willing to play through it.  That builds trust in you from your teammates and gives the coaches an understanding of what you are willing to do in order to help the team’s success.

Decisions worth a second look aka In Hindsight, get ya mind right.

Just as self serving as the title is, we look at decisions that affected the turn out of the game after they were made and tell you why they were stupid.

In this situation, the Giants have just scored and have cut the deficit to 17-10.  Its the second quarter and 4:30 remains in the first half.  Trent Richardson has rushed the Browns to a 3rd and 1 situation at the Giants 25 yard line.  This is basically a wet dream for offensive coordinators because they can virtually call any play they want to depending on how frisky they are feeling at the moment.  So now that your star rusher has just got you to that position, what do you do?  Do you

A. Go with a simple rushing play up the middle?

B. Go with a rushing play to the edges where its been working all day?

C. Go with a play action for the big play?

D. Take out Trent Richardson and roll out with Brandon Weeden?

Well, you won’t believe it, but the Browns picked D.  Its easy to say that Trent needed a rest.  Its also easy to say that the Giants needed a rest too.  Why take out your most effective offensive weapon on a play in which even using him as a decoy would’ve increased the chances of you getting that first down?  Unless you just feel that your offense is good enough to make plays regardless of who is out there both on offense OR defense.

Subsequently Weeden rolls out, double clutches the football and overthrows the receiver and into the waiting arms of replacement safety Stevie Brown and into another Giants scoring drive.  Yes, it turned out to be a terrible decision and yes, judging by how the rest of the afternoon went, even if they had punted the feeling was that the Giants still would’ve scored.  But by turning the ball over they gave the Giants an extra possession at the close of the half and let’s not even get started on why the Browns would ever draw a pass interference call with :04 left in the half and gifting the Giants 3 points by setting them up in field goal range when they were no where near close to it.  These are the plays that separate the good and bad teams and why the Browns are winless and why the Giants are 3-2.

For some reason, there were people who questioned Tom Coughlin’s decision to leave Ahmad Bradshaw in the game after the opening hand off resulted in a fumble.  Where does this come from?  Simple.  We’ve been talking non stop about the Giants ability to plug and play.  The next man up attitude has filtered into our genome and enabled us to believe that no matter who steps in for the G-men, they too will be successful.  Its been a luxury but as we can see, a curse as well.  It makes us say and think stupid thoughts like bench Bradshaw.

There are subtle moves to coaching and much of it has to do with gut instinct.  First you have to ask yourself who could Coughlin turn to?  Sure, you had Andre Brown (who later left with a concussion) and David Wilson.  Secondly you have to look at the actual play that resulted in the fumble.  If you did, you would see that Chris Snee actually ran into the arm of Bradshaw and caused it to drag Bradshaw’s arm and pop the ball loose.  It was a freak play.  Plain and simple.  But those decisions have to be taken within context and in the context of that particular play, I don’t see how Tom Coughlin could reach in and bench Bradshaw.  Its a good thing to.  30 Rushes and 200 yards later, Coughlin’s non move was the right one.

NOTES

– There were a few pass interference penalties not called on the Browns that I thought were egregious.  Buster Skrine on Ruben Randle in the third quarter where half his shoulder pad was out was one of those “how did he not see those” penalties where the evidence was right there.  Then there was the interception where Sheldon Brown (former Eagle- no wonder I hate him so) had his arm in Victor Cruz’ arms before the ball got there, enabling him to swat the ball to Usama Young who made the interception.  That should have been pass interference and the interception should’ve been wiped off.  It wasn’t called and it will stay as an interception even IF that shouldn’t be the case.  There hasn’t been a graphic released about how many fewer pass interference calls there are but its clear that the regular refs have allowed a ton of contact down the field.

The reason I suspect that’s the case is that the flow of the game would be ruined.  We all cried about how long the games had become under the supervision of the replacement refs who enjoyed drawing attention to themselves by throwing laundry on to the field, but its clear that for the benefit of keeping the game moving they swallow the whistle.  Especially considering that the game was firmly in the grip of the Giants, the refs made a gut decision to NOT call that.  Of course, had the game been tight I’m willing to believe that the refs would have blown the whistle there but I’m sure that will come to play too.

– Not to offer excuses for his play but could there be something ailing Jason Pierre Paul?  After notching 16 sacks last season he has 1.5 and sometimes that number goes dramatically down for an established player when he’s playing through injuries.  Some believe its the constant double teams he faces now that are affecting his sack totals, but his motor isn’t one to just slow down and its clear that he doesn’t have similar burst off the line like he did.  The great thing about JPP is that he understands pad levels and normally gets his meat hooks underneath the pads and has enough strength to bull rush right up and collapse the pocket and force the QB into a mistake which are his specialty.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we learn that JPP is actually battling a few injuries much like Justin Tuck was all last season.

Looking ahead:

– The Giants now have established Ruben Randle, Ramses Barden, Martellus Bennet, and Andre Brown, as offensive weapons that teams must worry about to add on to Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks the established head ache inducers.  The beauty of that is how it plays into game planning against the Giants especially, if as rumored, Hakeem Nicks comes back.  Much like the Super Bowl where the Patriots used the presence of Rob Gronkowski as a decoy, the Giants can widen the playbook and force the Niners to play one on one across the board when the Giants go 4 WR.  The good thing about the Niners is this: they have LB’s who can cover in space as well and they are across the board solid tacklers.  The issue for the Giants will be to force the Niners into match ups that they don’t like and go with whatever Eli picks.  Eli will have added pressure of releasing the ball quickly enough to make the Niner pass rush obsolete.  This means that the Giants may do some quick slants and WR screens.  Of course this means that their play makers have to do things in space that teams have not been able to do against this aggressive Niner defense.  What the Giants have to protect against is merely being satisfied with the underneath routes.  Having Barden or Nicks go deep on routes are great but if they aren’t catching them it won’t mean anything.

The biggest players on the field this Sunday may be Martellus Bennet and the offensive line.  Bennett will have a lot of underneath passes thrown his way early to set up the deep ball.  It will be the offensive line’s job to keep the Niner pass rush at bay which will NOT be an easy task given who the Niners line up.  As great as Justin Smith and Aldon Smith are, Ray McDonald is such an important presence inside because he’s able to push the pocket almost as effectively as Justin Smith does and when they line up McDonald and Smith inside, and rush Willis, Brooks or Bowman through that opening that almost always opens up, the QB has about five seconds to release that pass.  Its an amazing testament to how great those inside guys are.  Underrated member of that linebacking corp is Ahmad Brooks who has had a sack in each of his last three games.  Of course he’s a recipient of all the attention that Bowman and Willis get but he’s taking advantage and it seems at times that there aren’t any weaknesses on the linebacking unit.

– The Giants have a ton of injuries but I expect guys like Jayron Holsley, Keith Rivers and Hakeem Nicks to play Sunday because of how important it is to the Giants to have a good group out there to play a quality team.  Had the Niner game been last Sunday, I fully believe Nicks would’ve played.  The Giants do tend to err on the side of caution but make no mistake that this team understands the importance of a conference game in October especially after going 0 fer in the division.  The schedule offers no gimmies and does no favors for the boys in blue, but this is most certainly not a definite loss for the Giants.

– The one group we will find out about tonight more so than any other group on the Giants is the offensive line.  They have been pretty good leading up to this game and have rarely given Eli reason to push them around on the sideline like Jay Cutler, but this week they face a defensive front as talented as there is in this league I’m dying to see how they respond.  They have now been together for the better part of three years and most of them have played together during that stretch.  Offensive lines usually take a few seasons to really gel to the point where you feel good as a coach and the Giants may be nearing that point on the line.

The Giants face another great offensive line but nothing like the one in Cleveland.  Like I said earlier, the offensive line for Cleveland has two Pro Bowlers who are the best at their individual positions (Center Alex Mack and LT Joe Thomas), and so I give them somewhat of a pass.  But come away sack less against the Niner offensive line and the alarm bells will definitely be ringing.  Not just because of the donut they put up, but also because if the Giants defensive line doesn’t get pressure on Alex Smith the Giants are going to lose this game.

– One thing I’ve noticed about Smith is that he’s quicker making decisions.  That comes with having experience in Jim Harbaugh’s system.  Alex Smith is making the proper reads and couple that with his ability to throw the touch passes he becomes a real head ache.  What the Giants will see offensively from the Niners is what every team should always do.  Generally you should always draw up a play that the defense doesn’t see coming.  Now, there’s enough data compiled this season in which teams have a good sense of what personnel will appear for what packages.  You see Colin Kaepernick you know to expect Wildcat.  The Giants conversely run a traditional offense not predicated on trick plays.  They may run a reverse but that was run with Mario Manningham mostly and wouldn’t you know, that the Niners have run the Mario Manningham reverse play twice, both resulting in gains of over 20+ yards.

The 49ers, across the board, understand that winning with Alex Smith will take more than just running a conventional offense.  It will take a few creative plays, a bunch of different formations running the football and a atleast 7-10 looks to Vernon Davis in space.  Many times people last year wondered how in God’s name Vernon Davis ever got open if he were the only weapon in the Niner arsenal in terms of receivers.  But what the Niners did well was keep Vernon in to block as a means of play action.  Davis has the body to be an excellent down field blocker.  Imagine Joe Staley, Anthony Davis and Vernon Davis all pulling left, those plays will almost always net you a large chunk of yardage.  When they effectively run that play well, it means they are setting it up for play action where Davis chips an oncoming rusher OR gets a clean release from the line of scrimmage and he wanders into an open space in any zone and sits there for a big gain.  They also LOVE to line him up in the slot as a traditional receiver and he automatically becomes a match up nightmare because he’s too fast for linebackers and too big for corners.  If Chase Blackburn winds up covering Vernon Davis the Giants will have a long day.  Which is why it might behoove the G-Men to use Jacquian Williams or even Michael Boley as a spy to stay on Davis.  Jacquian can stay there to match him for speed and Boley can keep up with him and play physically with him.  He creates spacing for the other receivers as much as the running game does.

Dont forget, that Mario Manningham will be playing for revenge and so will the Niners who still are under the same mystic spell that the Packers are that the Giants STOLE their chance at winning a Super Bowl last year.  Oh and Randy Moss I’m sure doesn’t forget that 2008 undefeated, greatest team of all time label that the Giants robbed his Patriots of.  There’s plenty of motivation on the San Fran sideline and plus they are playing at home which is an added bonus.  We’ll see how it plays out this Sunday.

Enjoy the game everyone!

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October 9, 2011 · 1:00 pm

WEEK 5 Picks and some baseball drama!

What a first quarter of the season it has been!  It isn’t hard to make the statement that football is the best sport and have evidence to back that statement up.  All you need to do is show them the tape of the Dallas Cowboys/Detroit Lions game.  First, the video of Nate Burleson’s riveting opening monologue going over the Detroit Lions recent history of 0-16 and other exploits.  Then the favored, hometown Cowboys going up 20-3 with another Romo to Dez Bryant touchdown.  As all hope looks to fade, Dez Bryant has an incomplete yet talks trash to the Lions defense and bench which suddenly rejuvenates the upstarts and gives them life back.  Throw in an emphatically excited coach Jim Schwartz motioning incomplete to Dez defending his team’s honor.

Then the team rallies back with two exciting pick sixes surrounded by one of those exciting scenes in a movie that you know the QB and receiver (that’s Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson in case you’re keeping score at home) just sort of give each other a look and as the play transpires, close-ups of both of them show their subtle communication with one another that can only be described as something so unique to their relationship and it goes in slow motion right from the moment Stafford releases the ball to the time Johnson begins his ascent.  That scene includes the moment that the third defender who  realizes what’s going on and tries to get there in time gives chase to the play and in case the director wants more decides that upon release of the football, Stafford gets pancaked by two Dallas defenders, and Johnson jumps, and with the close up catches it and comes down all in slow motion and the crowd in stunned silence watches as Johnson emerges with the football as the ref in the background comes up to make the touchdown signal and the shot goes back to the QB celebrating on the ground as nice magical Disney theme music plays.

Then there’s the final play where Calvin Johnson goes up and catches the winning touchdown to ice the game and then the post game press conference where Jim Schwartz memorably goes on to shoot one back to Rob Ryan who ignorantly* said during the week of the game that he’s faced better receivers in practice about how he’s glad the third best receiver on the Cowboys was actually a Lion in reference to Romo’s 3 INT’s, two of which were pick sixes and transformed the dynamic of the game.  Yeah, just show someone that footage and I’m sure you could end any argument right there.

*= This is why Rob isn’t a head coach.  Atleast Rex isn’t stupid enough to say something like that which from the moment he said it kind of made you raise your eyebrow.  I mean if you watched Calvin Johnson since he came into the league you knew that this guy was a top 5 receiver.  But this season, with a healthy Stafford is turning into Randy Moss 1998 season where everytime you threw up the ball you knew it was to Randy and you knew he was going to catch it.  That catch in triple coverage had to make Rob sick to his stomach.  Don’t get me wrong.  The Cowboys have a beast of their own in the making with Dez.  He’s going to be great.  I said during the draft that he had the chance to make everyone pay like Randy did for passing on him in the draft thanks to shaky background information.  But let’s not bark up that tree.  Calvin is better than Dez right now and I believe always will be.  Something about Dez is missing.  But back to my original point:  this is why Rob isn’t a head coach.  He’s too much of a wild card.  He also needs to shave and cut his hair.  The NFL is too rigid and conservative to allow a coach to look like a hippie.  Trust me, its the good ole boys network and they won’t want that kind of guy in.  It sets too bad of a precedent.

But you have to give baseball its due.  These past two weeks, baseball has given us two nights worthy of our bravos.  First, game 162 on September 28th where two playoff spots were up for grabs and there were four teams competing for them and two trying to complete the most amazing comeback ever in league history.  The Cards were as far back as 10 games at the end of August and the Rays were as far back as 9 during the beginning of September.  Somehow, both went into that final game needing but one win and some help to keep playing.  Wouldn’t you know, Evan Longoria hit two homeruns to help his team come back from a 7 run deficit while the Red Sox, a team whom many considered overwhelming favorites to win it all couldn’t keep a lead in the ninth completing the meltdown.  Meanwhile, in the National League, the Phillies honoring the gods of baseball by playing out every game to the fullest blocked the Braves from entering the playoffs by beating them in a game they had to have after the Cardinals had beaten the Houston Astros (you know, the Phillies minor league affiliate) 12-0 to complete the Cards own miraculous comeback with a complete game shutout thrown courtesy of Chris Carpenter.*

*= Foreshadowing anyone?

But if that weren’t enough drama for you, the first round featured 3 sudden death game 5’s featuring the Yankees against the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee against the upstart Diamondbacks, and Phillies against the upstart Cardinals.  The Yankees were the first to be eliminated as the big bats of that Yankee line up could not overcome Detroit’s great bullpen and timely hitting.  Timely because they jumped on the Yankee starter, young Ivan Nova who was later removed from the game thanks to arm stiffness or so said the medical report given by the Yankees.  Joe Girardi, overmanaging as he usually does brought out his ace in the pivotal game five and Sabathia eventually surrendered the go-ahead RBI.  The Yankees closed to within one in the bottom of the 9th when the heart of their line up came up with Yankee stadium on their feet hoping for the new Stadium to enjoy great memories like the old one had.  Naturally the season came down to Alex Rodriguez at the plate and he struck out swinging to end the game as he left the mound with no regrets as he later said in a press conference showered by the boos of the high expectations of their fan base.  The Yankees head into the offseason plagued by questions of their age, the remaining years on A-Rod’s contract and the eventual CC Sabathia opt-out from his contract.  Remember how A-Rod had no leverage but he still managed to talk the Yankees into making him the highest paid player in all of sports, for a second time?  Well, CC does have the leverage since he’s their ace and there’s no sure thing in their minor leagues yet and King Felix remains untouchable according to Mariners people.  It will be interesting how the Yankees approach this offseason.

Not to be outdone by the natural drama that New York brings, the Brewers and Diamondbacks continued the wild ride of one run games by giving us a dramatic extra inning affair.  John Axelford who had not blown a save since mid April came in and naturally blew the save as the scrappy Diamondbacks went the run producing route.  Get a man on base, move him over, suicide squeeze and score a run.  Typical Gibson fashion.  But the year of T-Plush continued as he faced a bunch of ex-Mets and as any former National does, he scored a run as former Met farmhand Carlos Gomez raced from second on a single and scored the winning run as the ball sailed over the catcher’s head avoiding what would’ve been a more incredible play, the play at the plate.

If that weren’t enough for you, the capper was the Philadelphia Phillies and their vaunted rotation went up against those pesky Cardinals.  Met fans remember these Cardinals as the ones that sneak up on you and can kill a magical season as they did to us in 2006.  But this time they went in against the Cards in a 5 game set and the Phils had them right where they wanted them.  Roy Halladay in a winner take all.  And he gave up only one run.  If you had told me before the game that Roy Halladay would only give up one run and go 8 innings I would’ve told you that the Phillies would win 9 out of 10 times.  Of course that’s why you play the game.  How do you beat an ace that pitches that effectively?  Have your own ace that pitches a complete game shutout and that’s what Chris Carpenter did.  He had the Phillies completely fooled all night as he weaved and bobbed through their line up with relative ease and efficiency.  Finally Ryan Howard came up with the Phillies season in the balance and he put a strong swing on a ball that ended up weakly going to second where Nick Punto could’ve walked it to first.  In fact he could’ve stayed on the field and did a few laps around Citizens Bank Ball park, hi five every Cards fan and then run to first.  Why?  Because Ryan Howard, it turns out, had torn his achilles as he made the turn on his swing and couldn’t make it down the base paths.  Fitting end.  Next year begins Howard’s big 5 year extension that runs for $125 million and suddenly the Phillies, everyone’s preseason pick to win it all thanks to that rotation doesn’t look AS formidable.  Suddenly their line up is old in many spots.  Chase Utley, who for my money was the heart and soul of that Phillies team, hit a drive to deep center in that bottom of the ninth that would have made it past the wall if he had full rotation of his hips.  Something he clearly is no longer able to do after he had to rest himself.  Jimmy Rollins yet another integral cog who has been disappearing from superstar status slowly since 2008 is up for a new contract.  Which I’m told he will receive because of his status in the Philly clubhouse.  So more of that payroll will be plugged into several superstars and Ruben Amaro will have to dig deeper to try and find that young superstar bat.  Perhaps its Dominic Brown or John Mayberry Jr.  Who knows exactly.  The only thing the Phillies know is that they will have several questions moving forward.

So now the ALCS is a Midwesterner’s paradise.  No longer is baseball being destroyed by those Satans of the East Coast and that media love they always get.  Now its small town versus small town.  Its Detroit, the town that has seen a revival in these past few months.  The Lions are destroying the NFL with their 4-0 record and keeping pace with the Green Bay Packers, the Super Bowl champions, and now their beloved Tigers are going back to the ALCS hoping for a return trip to the World Series.  They have the Cy-Young Winner and possible MVP on their team, Justin Verlander leading the charge.  Then there’s the Milwaukee  Brewers.  After the NLDS win, when asked to do an interview which the interviewer would’ve certainly asked him what his thoughts were as the Brew-Crew were playing on and his impending free agency, Prince Fielder overcome with emotion could not give a response and ran to join his teammates.  Then of course there are the St Louis Cardinals.  Tony LaRussa’s bunch who somehow always end up in the playoffs.  Who somehow always wind up in these circumstances when they sneak up on people.  Albert Pujols is another midwestern super hero whom Cardinal fans are praying will stay with them for the rest of his playing days.  What will happen once this season is over?  Perhaps winning his second title will convince him that this is the place he wants to be.  The Cardinals have plenty of pitching in the minor leagues and some hitting coming up.  Finally, there’s the the Texas Rangers.  The team that continues to bash its way to the top.  The team with the young GM from Bayside, Queens.  The same GM whom sources add would have definitely become the Mets GM had they simply placed a call and an offer.  Naturally the Mets failed to do neither, but hey who cares.  He’s the guy who built the Rangers into a superpower.  Now have the Rangers again knocking on the door of a World Series which would be the second year in a row they would be there.  Of course this is on the heels of a Dallas Mavericks NBA championship.  This would turn that sports crazed state into one big championship parade route.  They won game one and are now trying to get to the World Series and finish the job a year after letting their ace go.  Amazing how things happen right?

Who knew baseball could be this exciting and October baseball continues with the ALCS and NLCS.  While football is taking a minor backseat with bye weeks starting this week, plenty of cities will be wide awake watching their respective baseball teams try to bring some pride to their cities.  Who knew baseball had that kind of football drama?

Here then are the week 5 picks with the hometeam in caps:

COLTS (-2) over Chiefs

Cardinals (+3) over VIKINGS – i’m sorry am I missing something here? Why is Minny still getting love?

Eagles (-3) over BILLS

RANGERS (-5) over Raiders

PANTHERS (+6.5) over Saints

Bengals (-1) over JAGS- stat of the week that will mess you up:  NFL’s number one defense:  your 2011 Cincinnati Bengals!

Titans (+3) over STEELERS-  Start writing up the Steeler obituaries folks.  And the curse of the Super Bowl losers continue.  By the way, yet another stat that will mess up your day?  Matt Hasselback is a relevant QB again.

GIANTS (-10) over Seahawks

49ERS (-3) over Bucs

PATRIOTS (-7.5) over Jets

Chargers (-3.5) over BRONCOS-  The Chargers this week took out a full page ad in a LA newspaper.  I’m just saying.

BREWERS (-5.5) over Falcons-  I’m totally off the Matty Ice bandwagon by the way.  I got off that express two weeks ago.

TIGERS (-5) over Bears-  Can’t wait for this game.  CANT WAIT!

Enjoy week 5 folks.

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October 10, 2010 · 4:30 pm

Week 5 lines

Since my writing has become annoyingly inconsistent.  I was unable to do a complete power ranking.  Maybe its the fact that if I held true to my standard, Kansas City would be the best team in the NFL.  But I hold true to the formula that your record dictates how good you really are.  If you are 2-2, then that’s how good you are.  Many times teams ride the momentum of good starts all the way through.  But most of the time, things even out in the NFL and we will eventually look at this weeks rankings at week 10 and say “how could KC possibly have been the best team at one point?”. As they say, the cream rises to the top.  Either way, just know and keep for your personal amusement that I thought Kansas city was the best team in the league at one point.

Broncos (+7) over RAVENS-  The Ravens have been doing this well with moxie and toughness.  Disguising their weak secondary with good pressure up front.  Teams somehow give in and don’t throw it on them even though there’s no Ed Reed back there to scare off would be passers.  Enter Kyle Orton and the Broncos offense who won’t shy away from that.  The Broncos missing Knowshon Moreno will not effect a gameplan which is unchanging.  The Broncos love to pass the football and that they will do.  This will either set a precedent for teams to not pass on the Ravens secondary or for teams to pass on them and open the flood gates.

Jaguars over (+1.5) BILLS-  This is the Bills chance to claim their victory, but the Jags are coming off an exciting win over division rivals Colts.  David Garrard went back to the efficient passer/scrambler that made him successful two years ago.  The Jags need that guy to show up.  The Bills face another real good runner in MJD who I think can have his stat sheet filling weeks.  You look at his week by week stat sheet and see a few duds followed by a major game that helps the bottom line at the end of the year.  He’s the kind of guy that you look at his stats at the end of the year and think, how did I lose with a running back with those kind of numbers?

COLTS (-7) over Chiefs-  I want to pick the Chiefs.  I want to believe that their running game will show up and take advantage of the 29th best run defense.  But then the Colts have one of those guys, you might have heard him, that can take over games and beat a team.  Have you seen the names of the guys who he’s made into fantasy studs?  Austin Collie?  (Thanks Peyton). A guy right off the practice squad?
By the way, the best part of that is, I could hear every play by play guy scrambling over their notes trying to figure out who he was, and tried to make this explanation that Peyton really thought highly of him and he had full confidence in his abilities.  Really?  If Peyton really liked him what the hell was he doing on the practice squad?  If Peyton gives you that kind of approval you would think that the decision makers wouldve made room for him.  Then again, knowing Bob Sanders will end up on IR every year, gives them the unfair advantage of having an extra roster spot open up every year, thereby lessening the blow of preseason cuts.

Rams (+3) over LIONS-  The difference between the Rams of this year and last year is one thing: Sam Bradford. Its that simple.  He’s confident, young and makes guys like Danny Amendola look good.  The Rams have a long way to go, but they have the kind of foundation that is a start.  Too bad they are headed to LA.

Falcons (-3) OVER BROWNS-  No need to look past the fact that the Falcons could be walking into a trap game.  But here’s where good teams establish themselves.  The Jets did so by walking into Buffalo, and convincingly defeated the Bills.  The Falcons need to do the same.

BENGALS (-6.5) over Bucs-  No need to tell me how wrong I was on the experiment of T.O..  His comments now are just annoying.  The guy is talented yet has no problem in tearing everyone down around him.  One thing he is right is that Carson Palmer is just not himself.  The completion percentage that had stat geeks crowning him in 05 and 06 is also what they are pointing at to explain his regression.  I do expect them to put forth a victory at home, but my expectations going forward is not good.

BEARS over (+3) Panthers-  Despite Carolina’s impressive effort in the Bayou, Da Bears D is good enough to score and keep the Panthers from doing so enough in beating a rookie QB.  Todd Collins is an experienced back up who will play better even if the offensive line looks like they’ve never played in the NFL a day in their lives.

Packers (-2.5) over REDSKINS-  After a major victory for Donovan McNabb, the Redskins come home to a Packer team who continue to lose players left and right.  Now LB Nick Barnett suffered a serious injury that ended his season.  The Redskins have won their divisional games which of course make them the number one team in the most overrated division in the NFL.  Truth is, they are not that good offensively.  How do I know? All offseason they talked up their receivers, said Devin Thomas would take a step forward with Donovan throwing to him.  Guess who got cut this week?  Yeah, some future.

TEXANS (-3) over Giants-  I want to be wrong about this. I do.  But last week either woke the defensive line up or that was a terrible offensive line and if you were watching that game, you know its the latter.  The secondary will be tested.  The defensive line will be tested and more than anything that’s who I will watch: the front seven against Arian Foster.  He’s averaging an insane 6 yards per carry.  He basically played three quarters and still went over 100 yards rushing.  By the way, they have 3 receivers who can stretch the field.  What I will watch for is whether the Giants stick to the running game.  Last week, against a very good Chicago run game they stubbornly stuck to it and they benefited.  But with a very bad pass D, Kevin Gilbride will want to throw.  I can smell it coming and I’m fighting back the feeling of disgust.

Saints over (-7) CARDINALS- We are patiently waiting for Drew Brees and Co. to go crazy and score 40+ points in a game and while I think its highly likely its this week, the Cards are an interesting team this week.  In the most shocking of developments, Arizona realized Derek Anderson is not the solution at QB.  Enter Max Hall who the press have talked up.  They say his intangibles and eerie similarity to Kurt Warner (competitive, accurate, and close relationship to God- he went to do a 6 month mission trip immediately after transferring to BYU), make him a very good replacement and possible upgrade (another shocker) at a position where they are stocked at skill positions.  This game could be close, but the Saints will make this a track meet.

Chargers (-6.5) over RAIDERS- No Darren McFadden (when he finally was beginning to justify his hype), and this game falls too heavily on Bruce Gradkowski who despite being decent,  is in way over his head.  The Chaaaaahhhhgers are going to be too much for the Raiiiiiiiiiiders in the battle of two teams who nobody outside of California is remotely interested in hearing about.

COWBOYS (-7) over Titans- I don’t like this game.  I’m looking at both of these teams and they are so deceiving.  You feel good about them if you aren’t fans of either.  From a fantasy perspective they have guys you would start every week.  But if you’re a fan of either, you think they suck.  Why?  Because they never come through when it counts and the fan bases have been mentally toughened to the point that unless they see something big happen, they won’t believe it can.  Case in point, after Roy Williams 2 TD game, I asked a Cowboy fan if he was now going to pick up Roy Williams off the waiver wire.  He responded by calmly saying “hell no, that bum?”  The only reason it was calm was because it was through text message, I imagine he was yelling that as soon as he saw me type the message.

49ers  (-3) over EAGLES-  With Kevin Kolb, the Philly offense shouldn’t be too bad, that is if he doesn’t bring the Mark Sanchez of Week 1 game plan with him.  His underneath dink and dunk (I swear a Malayalee person started that phrase, its so us) passing game was about as effective as Terrell Owens lecturing on team work.  The fact is, the Niners are with their backs to the wall and if they can’t do any damage tonight, forget Mike Singletary’s coaching career.  It will end before it starts.  Its too bad, I was really waiting for him to blow a gasket in a press conference.  By the way, is there anyone else in the league who can end interviews just with his eyes?  I didn’t think so.

JETS (-4) over Vikings-  Return of Brett Favre.  Trumped by the return of Randy Moss to Minnesota.  Trumped by the return of the slouch against Revis.  Trumped again by the penis of Brett Favre who clearly enjoyed his time in New York.  I dont think there are any lingering feelings of disgust over number four’s departure now.  His whole plan was to go to the Vikings once it broke down in Green Bay and naturally Ted Thompson didn’t want to pull and Andy Reid (even before there was such a thing) and trade him to an in-division rival.  Especially one that was just a QB away.  But robbing Favre of that year is proving to be costly since that one year where he spent with the Jets ended disastrously and got him injured has come back to haunt him this year where he’s finally showing his age.  The Vikes made a desperation move and the more and more I watch them the more I see how much they resemble the Mets.  Quick little fixes in hopes that it will lead to a championship.  Its sad really that I can relate it back to the Mets, but the Vikes are loading up for a run.  Too bad they still have Brad Childress running things.  The Jets meanwhile get back Calvin Pace, Santonio Holmes and Darrelle Revis, that’s a starting LB, number one receiver and the best cover corner in the league.  Like a Jet fan told me this week ” I don’t just want to hit him, I want to knock him out.”  I dont blame you.

Enjoy Week 5 everyone!

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