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Tuesday, October 8, 2013

NFL Week 5 Snap Judgments

Another week and two more previously unbeaten teams each took a loss.  That leaves us with Denver, Kansas City, and New Orleans as the only unbeaten teams left in the league.  I'm marking my calendar now for November 17, since that Sunday the Chiefs play in Denver.  The Chiefs have a fairly easy schedule between now and then, and the Broncos' only tough game between now and then is in Indianapolis in two weeks.  It's not inconceivable that both teams will be undefeated between now and then, leaving their head to head match up as the clear game of the week.

1. Tom Brady is human after all.  He is presently on pace to throw for 23 touchdown passes this season, which would be by far his lowest total since 2006 (not counting 2008 when he had torn his ACL).  Granted, monsoon season had set in Cincinnati on Sunday which would make throwing any touchdown passes difficult.  His best receiving option is still hurt though, and it's a weekly discussion over when he will make his season debut.  An even bigger question is just how effective Gronkowski will be once he finally does take the field.  Brady is one of a few quarterbacks in the league who can make receivers around him better, but the group of guys the Patriots just aren't effective.

2. Reports of the 49ers' demise are greatly exaggerated.  I actually thought this team was facing being buried after two bad losses to the Seahawks and Colts, as well as losing one of their best defensive players in Aldon Smith.  Instead, they win two games back to back in big fashion, completely shutting down the opposition.  They have an uphill battle the rest of the season with the Seahawks leading the division, but I expect them to still be in the playoff hunt.

3. Meanwhile, the Jaguars' demise cannot be exaggerated enough.  You know the old saying, "The train wreck is horrible to look at, but I can't take my eyes away from it"?  That saying applies to the Jaguars this season.  Their quarterback play is atrocious.  Their offensive line was also bad enough, but they had used their first-round pick (#2 overall) on left tackle Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M to anchor their line.  They made what they felt was a good business decision and traded their current left tackle Eugene Monroe to the Ravens.  Joeckel had been playing right tackle, and they moved him over to the left side (his native position) this weekend.  Naturally, Joeckel sustained a high ankle fracture during the game on Sunday, and is now done for the season.  I'd normally ask what else could go wrong for the Jaguars, but I'm afraid to find out just what that would mean.

4. The Goat of the Week Award goes to Matt Schaub.  Congratulations, Matt.  You now live in infamy by being the first quarterback in NFL history to throw an interception returned for a touchdown in four consecutive games.  I suppose that's one way to get in the record books, though I doubt that's how Matt Schaub wanted to work his way in there.  The question now becomes whether the Texans make a change and have T.J. Yates replace Schaub.

5. What will happen to Tom Coughlin?  I can't think of any other head coach who had won a Super Bowl and faced being fired within two years after winning a championship.  At this rate, the Giants will have almost no choice but to make a change at head coach after the season.  They may cloak it somehow and allow Coughlin to announce his "retirement" versus say he's been fired.  Coughlin has had a history of finding himself on the hot seat in the past and saved his job, but I don't see him leading the Giants out of an 0-5 start.

6. The Broncos can't possibly keep up the kind of pace they're on right now....can they?  Check out this list of offensive stats the Broncos are on pace to shatter this season as a team.  They are currently on pace to break the record for points scored in a single season by nearly 150 points.  Peyton Manning is on pace to beat Tom Brady's record of touchdown passes in a season by 14.  I want to believe that the Broncos will come back to Earth at some point this season, but they prove me wrong every single week.  Still, if they do choke in the playoffs again it will likely go down as the greatest choke in the history of ever.

7. Bryant McKinnie might as well pack up his locker in Baltimore.  When the Ravens made their aforementioned trade for Eugene Monroe, it was pretty much a giant flashing neon sign signaling McKinnie was back in John Harbaugh's dog house.  Monroe would eventually take over the starting job at left tackle, and it was just a matter of how much time he'd need to learn the offense.  McKinnie has repeatedly shown he's unmotivated, selfish, and a bad influence in the locker room.  The Ravens will have to try trading him, though whether they find a team who would want him is another question all together (ironically, the Jaguars have an opening at left tackle now...).

8. The Saints are quietly running away with the NFC South.  Funny how the Saints are 5-0, and yet somehow fly under the radar a bit.  Every other team in their division is under .500, and they've already beaten their primary divisional opponent in the Falcons.  The Saints' defense is still their liability, but since their offense is one of the best in the league, they can overcome their Achilles heel.

9. Speaking of the Falcons, what on earth happened to them?  They've already lost more games than they did all of last season, and while I didn't expect them to equal last year's success, I didn't expect them to be 1-4 after 5 weeks.  Matt Ryan certainly isn't the problem; injuries to their wide receivers and running backs are at least part of the problem.  They're already in deep trouble, and if not for the Giants they'd probably be one of the most disappointing teams this season.

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