Five full weeks have now been completed in the NFL season and I would like everyone who thought the Minnesota Vikings would be 4-1 at this point in the season to put their hands up. Now keep your hands raised if you also thought the Saints would be 1-4. If anyone has their hands in the air at this point in time, I would like for you to send me your phone number, there is some gambling to be done. Looking at the schedule this week we have the Panthers, Bears, Jaguars and Saints on bye, meaning I have fourteen games to look forward to watching.
– Thursday night special features two AFC teams: the Steelers and the Titans. Last week we saw Mendenhall come back and have an immediate impact on the Pittsburgh offense, can he carry his momentum to this Thursday night? Can Chris Johnson improve on his current 2.9 YPC average or will the tough “Steel Curtain” have their way with the once All-Pro “CJ2K”? The latter is much more reasonable but how will the absence of Lamar Woodley and Troy Polamalu affect the Steelers defence?
– After the GM mortgaged their future, the Falcons drafted wideout Julio Jones last year to give their offense a deep threat. It has turned out to be a good addition as Drew Brees is the only QB having a better statistical season than Matt Ryan. Raiders are coming off their bye but Atlanta’s firepower will just be too much to handle. Side note: it will be nice to see Darrius Heyward-Bey back on the field after receiving a dangerous hit from Ryan Mundy a few weeks back.
– The next matchup features what could be the most overrated team in all of football: the Dallas Cowboys. With the offense they possess, they should be able to fight with the big boys day-in and day-out but their offense can never seem to put things together. Baltimore, on the other hand, are putting the ball in Joe Flacco’s hands and seeing what he can do with it. Although a bit inconsistent, he has brought the Ravens to 4-1 and should be capable of pulling out a victory here.
– The Browns vs. the Bengals, I mean rather, the Trent Richardson’s vs. AJ Green and the Bengals. Richardson is awesome, but is he enough to take on 22 players at once, playing both offense and defense? Can’t blame a guy for trying.
– What could turn out to be my favourite pick in this year’s draft: Janoris Jenkins, has 24 total tackles this year, with seven pass deflections and one interception. The Rams took a chance with his past off-the-field issues, and it seems to have worked.
– The Jets are just terrible… plain, old, terrible. The Colts on the other hand, what a week! No one could have expected Andrew Luck to be capable of putting the team on his shoulders so early on in his career, but four games in, Luck is making it easy for Indy fans to forget about Peyton. Can the Jets stop Luck, or will the Colts keep playing for Chuck Pagano?
– Is this the week the Eagles put everything together? Is this the week the Lions put everything together? A little repetitive, you think? Both teams are filled with star power but have heavily underplayed their potential thus far.
– Jamaal Charles. He really does deserve his own point, meanwhile the Bucs definitely do not.
– Cardinals vs. Bills; the battle of who can score the least amount of points. Fitzpatrick likes throwing INT’s and Kolb gets sacked more than newly grown potatoes.
– Seattle’s defense has turned out to be one of the league’s best thus far, and Brady’s offense is very diverse, but something’s gotta give. Seattle gets the advantage of being at home, so the game will consistently feature 12 men vs. 11.
– When the Giants face off against the 49ers, the public will be subject to a rematch of last year’s NFC title game, where the Giants came out eventual champions. Will the Giants repeat their success, or can San Fran complete all the plays they need to win? Side note: Kyle Williams’ key turnovers hindered 49ers’ chances last time the teams faced off, will he be up to those antics again?
– After being on the receiving end of a vicious hit last week, RG3 has been cleared for practice and should be capable of playing this weekend. This is very good news for the Redskins as their defense has already lost two of it’s all-star linebackers. Vikings, on the other hand, are sitting at a surprising 4-1 and are playing great football. Will Minnesota be capable enough to stop the Shanahanigans or will RG3PO prevail?
– Packers vs. Texans. Anyway I can box this game? Texans are throughly amazing, both offense and defense, but the Pack have been inconsistent and have surprisingly choked in the 2nd half of games. Which team will show up this week?
– Battle of AFC West teams on Monday night. Peyton Manning has been nothing short of his old self and he can thank the Bronco receivers for that, meanwhile Ryan Mathews had a bit of a breakout game last week. This game is going to be a shootout, and a meaningful one at that.
Any comments on the above points? Leave them below.
