The Atlanta Falcons are one Carolina first down and 55
seconds away from being a 3-1 football team. Instead, Matty Ice continues to
prove the validity of his nickname as he drove his team 74 yards in 50 seconds
to secure an undefeated start. While Matt Ryan and the Atlanta offense
continued their hot start, it was the Falcons defense that struggled to contain
Cam Newton. It was obvious that both John Abraham and Ray Edwards were cheating
outside on the play-side read, allowing for open running lanes for Cam Newton.
In week five, the Falcons face yet another read/option quarterback in rookie
RGIII. RGIII’s main goal will be to dominate the time of possession in order to
keep the explosive Falcons offense off the field. Despite Griffin’s heroic
efforts, the Redskins defense will not get enough pressure on Matt Ryan to slow
Atlanta down.
Atlanta- 37
Washington- 27
Cleveland at NY Giants
Before the season, if someone had said that the Cleveland
Browns had the same record as the New Orleans Saints after four weeks that
person would have been laughed at and ridiculed. Going into week five, the
Cleveland Browns do have the same record as the Saints, but it is not one to
boast about. The Browns are winless and will remain without a win when they
lose to the New York Giants. The Giants have always been a team that has
overcome adversity, and it looks as though they will have to accomplish that
same task again in week five. The Giants have eight starters on the injury list
including Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Phillips, and Antrel Rolle. Despite those
injuries, Eli Manning will connect with his younger receivers to light up the
28th ranked passing defense.
Cleveland- 24
NY Giants- 33
Miami at Cincinnati
While there are no moral victories in football, Joe
Philbin has to be proud of the way his team has played the first four weeks of
the year. Few gave the Dolphins any chance at being successful this season and
most considered them a four or five win team. Over the last two weeks, Miami
has lost two overtime games and have proven that they will be competitive this
year. They travel for the second week in a row to take on the Cincinnati
Bengals. The Bengals are currently 3-1 thanks to the sophomore connection of
A.J. Green and Andy Dalton. Dalton currently ranks fifth in the league in quarterback
rating and is in the top ten is total passing yards. However, one major flaw in
the Bengals team is their inability to stop the run. This Sunday, Reggie Bush
and Daniel Thomas will be key to a Dolphins upset.
Miami- 23
Cincinnati- 21
Green Bay at Indianapolis
The Indianapolis Colts are a young football team. As an
organization, they decided to go through a longer rebuilding process by letting
go of Peyton Manning and drafting Andrew Luck. When a rookie quarterback comes
into the league they need a sense of continuity and their coach needs to
nurture and guide them. Unfortunately, Luck, the Colts organization, and the
NFL, learned earlier this week that Head Coach Chuck Pagano would miss the rest
of the season recovering from cancer. This is news no person, family, or team
wants to hear. The Colts come off their bye week with that news and now have to
welcome Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to Indianapolis. Without Chuck
Pagano, and most likely without Dwight Freeney, there is no way Andrew Luck
will be able to keep up with Aaron Rodgers. Packers big.
Green Bay- 40
Indianapolis-20
Baltimore at Kansas City
The Baltimore Ravens are one point away from being
another undefeated team after week four. Joe Flacco leads the fourth ranked
passing offense to take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead stadium. In
their most recent game against the Chargers, the Chiefs turned the ball over an
incredible six times. They lead the league in a category no team wants to be in
first place; turnovers. On a more positive note, the Chiefs do have the
league’s number one rushing attack. That rushing attack led by Jamaal Charles
will be the reason the Chiefs foster an upset at the hands of the Ravens.
Baltimore- 27
Kansas City- 28
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
The battle for Pennsylvania features two hopeful playoff
contenders. The Philadelphia Eagles have amazingly won their three games by a
mere four points. Their defense has improved tremendously over the last several
weeks compared to last year, but Michael Vick continues to be injury and
turnover prone. Their counterpart in PA, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are coming
off of a bye week, and have to be fuming after their week three upset loss to
the Raiders. Rashard Mendenhall will return this week hoping to improve upon a
rushing attack that averages a putrid 2.7 yards per rush. Expect a healthy
Mendenhall, and defense with the additions of Troy Polamalu and James Harrison,
to make a difference as the Steelers knock off the Eagles in a defensive
struggle.
Philadelphia- 21
Pittsburgh- 24
Seattle at Carolina
For 59 minutes, Cam Newton looked like the phenomenon
that he was in 2011. He threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for
85 yards and added another touchdown on the ground. However, with one play, and
in a matter of seconds, Cam Newton transformed back into the pouty, sad
quarterback we saw in week three. He fumbled on a third and short opportunity
that would have clinched an upset over the Falcons. Instead, the Panthers come
into a week five matchup with the Seahawks with a 1-3 record. Newton’s
counterpart in week five, Russell Wilson leads a passing attack that ranks dead
last in the NFL with a pathetic 130 passing yards per game. Despite Newton’s
poor performance at the end of last week’s game, expect him and the Panthers
offense to explode at home against the Seahawks.
Seattle- 23
Carolina- 35
Chicago at Jacksonville
In the first round of this years draft, the Jaguars
selected supposed game changer Justin Blackmon. Blackmon has proven to be a
major distraction off the field, and has been virtually non-existent on the
field. While he had six total catches Sunday against the Bengals, his longest
reception on the season was 14 yards. If Blaine Gabbert has any chance of being
the Jaguars franchise quarterback, he needs his franchise receiver to step up
and start making plays. Until that point, Gabbert will be the focal point of
the Jaguars losses. Chalk up another loss in week five as the Chicago Bears
travel to Jacksonville. A defense that picked off Tony Romo five times last
Monday Night will feast on the inaccuracies of Gabbert.
Chicago- 31
Jacksonville- 17
Tennessee at Minnesota
Leslie Frazier has to be the front runner for Coach of
the Year. He has the Vikings, specifically sophomore quarterback Christian
Ponder, playing at a much higher level than expected. Minnesota was pushed
aside in all playoff talks before the season, but after week four, find
themselves in the mix in the NFC North. If they aim to make the playoffs in
2012, they will have to win games like the one they have in week five against
the Titans. In the Titans three losses they have been outscored 110-37. Against
Tennessee’s 27th ranked rushing defense, expect Adrian “All Day”
Peterson to tally 150 rushing yards.
Tennessee- 14
Minnesota- 27
Denver at New England
The rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and the New
England Patriots disappeared when Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos. Now
the rivalry has ultimately shifted from teams to the two future Hall of Famers.
When Tom Brady and Peyton Manning meet, football fans truly get to watch
something special; the greatest regular season quarterback of all time in
Peyton Manning versus arguably the greatest post-season quarterback of all time
in Tom Brady. Both quarterbacks and teams exploded in week four with dominating
performances against division rivals. This game will be determined by the
defense that can apply the most pressure and disturb the timing between
quarterback and receiver. With Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil in Tom Brady’s
face all day, the Broncos will come out of Foxborough with a win.
Denver- 31
New England- 27
Buffalo at San Francisco
San Francisco’s efforts were simply just dominating
against the Jets last Sunday. They absolutely manhandled the Jets in the
trenches, on special teams, and ran all over the Jets totaling 245 yards on the
ground. Couple the 49ers abilities on the ground with a Buffalo Bills defense
that allowed 247 yards to the Patriots last week and it is a recipe for disaster.
Throw-in a 3000 mile trip to San Francisco, and the Bills don’t stand a chance.
Buffalo- 14
San Francisco- 30
San Diego at New Orleans
An argument can be made in most professional sports that
head coaches are nothing more than just figureheads. A head coach is someone
who controls a team’s discipline and motivates a team to fulfill their
potential. The absence of Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints should
completely dispel that myth. It is obvious that Sean Payton had a greater
impact on this team than anyone could have imagined. It is also curious how
negative the impact of hiring Steve Spagnuolo has been to their defense. The
Saints defense ranks last in the league in total yardage allowed and last in
the league in rushing yards per game allowed. New Orleans will attempt to get
their first win of the season this week when they host the San Diego Chargers.
On Sunday Night Football, Drew Brees will not only break Unitas’ consecutive
games with a passing touchdown record, but he will also lead the Saints to
their first win of the season.
San Diego- 31
New Orleans- 38
Houston at NY Jets
Monday Night Football will host quite possibly the
ugliest game of the week with two teams headed in totally opposite directions.
The Houston Texans are being looked at as something special; a team that comes
around once every decade that truly dominates every facet of the game. The Jets
meanwhile, have a quarterback whose completion percentage is the worst in the
league, two star players in Darrelle Revis and Santonio Holmes whom are out for the
season, and a rushing defense allowing 172 yards per game. The two headed
monster of Arian Foster and Ben Tate is the last duo the Jets wanted to see in
week five. Just as predicted before the season, the poor play of the Jets,
specifically Mark Sanchez, will have most New York fans thinking it’s Tebow
Time. This one will be over by the end
of the first quarter.
Houston-35
NY Jets- 10
Arizona at St. Louis
Arizona- 26
St. Louis- 20
