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Well, here’s the way this week went, if I picked you to win, you lost. I won’t say my picks got hammered this week, but if I predicted the sun to come up in the east yesterday, I don’t even think that would have come home. Nevertheless, it was a very exciting day of football, with a lot of important games, so let’s take a look at what went down.

(1-4) PACKERS 52, (2-3) SAINTS 3
Whattsamatta You?
The Saints somehow managed to find a way to lose 52-3 despite yielding only 94 rushing yards and 215 passing yards, and winning time of possession. That is almost mathematically impossible.

How About?
Packers RB Najeh Davenport replacing the injured Ahman Green? He averaged close to 4.5 yards a carry and scored 2 TDs. Quick! Sign him on your fantasy team! Oh wait, he broke his ankle and is out for the year. Never mind then.

Late Note- Deuce McAllister is out for the season with a torn ACL.


Pick Up Najeh? Undo! Undo!

(2-2) LIONS 35, (1-3) RAVENS 17
Whattsamatta You?
It wasn’t bad enough that the almighty Ravens defense got 35 points hung on them by a team that had scored 35 points ALL YEAR coming in to this game, they also were flagged for 147 penalty yards. They were one penalty short for tying the NFL record for most penalties in a game.

How About?
Third string RB Shawn Bryson embarrassing the Ravens with a 77 yard TD run to drive the final nail in the coffin?

(2-2) BROWNS 20, (1-3) BEARS 10
Whattsamatta You?
The Bears were up 10-6 and had the ball with a little over five minutes remaining in this game, then gave up 33 and 28 yard TD passes to Antonio Bryant sandwiched around a key turnover to lose by 10 . Teams whose defenses are as good as the Bears think their defense is don’t let Trent Dilfer lead miraculous fourth quarter comebacks against them. If you can’t hold a lead against Trent Dilfer and the Browns, what is Brett Favre going to do to you when you play the Packers twice?

How About?
Bears running back Thomas Jones has been a huge bright spot in what’s been a mostly dismal season for the Bears thus far. He carried 24 times for 137 yards.

(2-3) BILLS 20, (2-2) DOLPHINS 14
Whattsamatta You?
Gus Frerotte’s 3 interceptions were a big reason why the Dolphins lost this game. Ronnie Brown’s fumble on the Bills’ 18 yard line late in the game was a bigger one.

How About?
Kelly Holcomb completed 20 of 26 passes in his first start of the year, and was the solid veteran game manager the Bills have been so desperately in need of this year. Dolphins TE Randy McMichael has found in the end zone in each of the Dolphins’ last 4 games.


A Sweet Start For Holcomb

(3-2) PATRIOTS 31, (3-2) FALCONS 28
Whattsamatta You?
Falcons nickel back Allen Rossum was flagged for a pass interference penalty on 2nd and 20 on New England’s game winning drive. The penalty set the Pats up on the Falcons’ 44, and they hit the game winning field goal soon after.

How About?
With their defense depleted by injuries, the Patriots offense pulled together and came up big. Corey Dillon was effective for the first time this season, rushing for 106 yards on 23 carries. Tom Brady was insane, completing 22 of 27 for 350 yards and 3 TDs. Brady spread the ball around, getting both Daniel Graham and Deion Branch over 100 receiving yards.

(2-3) JETS 14, (4-1) BUCS 12
Whattsamatta You?
Without Cadillac Williams running the way he does, the Bucs are not so good. Their replacement committee of Michael Pittman, Mike Alstott, and Earnest Graham managed 76 yards on 23 carries. Not bad, but not what they’ve been getting out of Williams this year.

How About?
Vinny Testaverde was adequate in his first start for the Jets this year, and Curtis Martin found the end zone twice (despite averaging less than 3 yards a carry), but the Jets won this game with their defense. Jonathan Vilma is fast becoming the best linebacker in the game. He had 14 tackles and a forced fumble. Tackle Dewayne Robertson also had a huge game, making 8 stops and getting 2 sacks.

(3-2) SEAHAWKS 37, (2-3) RAMS 31
Whattsamatta You?
The Rams defense was nothing short of awful in this game. Despite missing both of their starting wideouts, the Seahawks had 316 receiving yards.

How About?
Joe Jurevicius getting the start due to injuries to Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram, and catching 9 passes for 137 yards and a TD? Tragically, Jurevicius’ son passed away of a neurological disease in St. Louis 2 years ago. “This is a hard place for me to play,” Jurevicius said on the subject.


A HUGE Win For the Seahawks

(2-3) TITANS 34, (0-4) TEXANS 20
Whattsamatta You?
David Carr was sacked 7 times. The chicken or egg debate rages on of whose fault it is. The answer is probably that it’s part his fault, and part the offensive line’s fault.

How About?
The Texans lost again, but RB Domanick Davis had his best game of the year. Not only was he the team’s leading rusher with 130 yards on 19 carries, but he was also the leading receiver with 8 catches for 43 yards.

(5-0) COLTS 28, (1-4) 49ERS 3
Whattsamatta You?
Alex Smith had a nice debut. 9 of 23 for 74 yards, 4 interceptions. For some reason he just doesn’t look as good playing against the Indianapolis Colts as he did playing against Air Force.

How About?
Kevan Barlow was 1 yard away from being SF’s first 100 yard rusher since Roger Craig did it in 1988. No, it hasn’t really been that long, it just feels like it.


“Let me give you some advice, kid. You….you….you’re not good. And for Christ sake eat something.”

(4-1) BRONCOS 21, (3-1) REDSKINS 19
Whattsamatta You?
This wasn’t one of Jake Plummer’s better days. He completed 10 of 25 for 92 yards, despite Washington being without CB Champ Bailey. The Broncos won despite being outgained 447 yards to 257, and managing only 11 first downs to the Redskins’ 28.

How About?
Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson split carries for Denver. Bell gained 127 yards on his 12 carries, Anderson only managed 34 yards on his 11 carries.


The Broncos Are 4-1

(3-2) COWBOYS 33, (3-2) EAGLES 10
Whattsamatta You?
Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Terrell Owens all laid eggs in this game. The Eagles’ vaunted secondary got torched by Terry Glenn. The Eagles are in last place in the NFC East after Week Five. No really, they are.

How About?
Glenn has looked like an All Pro this year. He had 7 catches for 118 yards and 2 TDs. Keyshawn Johnson and Drew Bledsoe did a nice, McNabb/TO impersonation, yelling at each other on the sidelines after a Keyshawn fumble.

(3-2) PANTHERS 24, (1-4) CARDINALS 20
Whattsamatta You?
The Cardinals continue to be totally unable to run the ball. They managed only 72 yards on 27 carries. Why is this important? Well, maybe they don’t blow a 20-10 lead in the final quarter if they can run some time off the clock.

From Saturday’s Pancakes Column:
“But to win, at some point they (the Cardinals) are going to have to establish a running game, and they’ve been unable to do that this year.”

See, I’m not TOTALLY retarded.

How About?
The aerial fireworks in this game? There were three 100 yard receivers. Steve Smith had 8 catches for 119 yards and 2 TDs after being shut down last week. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin have been insane since Josh McCown took over at QB for the Cards. Boldin caught 10 passes for 158 yards and a TD, Fitzgerald had 9 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown.

(3-2) JAGUARS 23, (4-1) BENGALS 20
Whattsamatta You?
The Bengals lost this game because they couldn’t stop Fred Taylor and the Jags running game. Taylor carried for 132 yards a week after managing only 14 against Denver. Now that this weakness has been found, expect teams to run it right at the Bengals until they show they can stop them. Willie Parker, Jamal Lewis, I’m looking in your direction.

How About?
The Jags getting more than twice as many points (23), as completed passes (10)?


Leftwich Handed Off Real Nice

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOOOBALLLL?????
MONDAY NIGHT
(2-1) PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT (2-2) SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
9 PM Eastern, ABC, Chargers favored by 3

The Storyline
Don’t let the so-so records fool you, this is a clash of two of the best teams in the league. The Chargers are coming off a stunning destruction of the Patriots in Foxboro, and they feel that a win over the Steelers this week establishes them as the team to beat in the AFC, and thus, the whole NFL.

What’s the key matchup to watch in this game?
Steelers safety Troy Polamalu against Chargers TE Antonio Gates. Last week, Gates ran roughshod over the Patriots secondary, in large part because they were without safety Rodney Harrison. When Gates is getting the ball, it makes it impossible for the defense to dedicate a safety to stopping the run. That’s when LaDanian Tomlison kills you. Polamalu’s ability to shut down Gates is going to be a key to this game.

Will Willie Parker bounce back in this game?
If he doesn’t, we could be seeing the end of Willie Parker as the Steelers’ starting running back, and the re-emergence of Deuce Staley and Jerome Bettis. Parker managed only 55 yards on 17 carries in the Steelers’ last game, a loss to New England, a similar performance early in this one, and the Steelers could turn to somebody else.

Who’s going to be the most pissed off player on the field tonight?
Chargers WR Keenan McCardell, hands down. An arbitrator ruled last week that Keenan has to pay the Tampa Bay Buccaneers $1.5 million for holding out and forcing a trade last season. The Ravens might want to look into something like that regarding the Terrell Owens thing last year, I’m just saying.

HERE’S YOUR FORECAST
These teams are virtually mirror images of each other. Their strengths lie in running the ball, and stopping the run, a formula which will win you a lot of games. At the same time, both teams are far from being one-dimensional. The Steelers have made teams that don’t respect their passing game pay with some big plays this year, and the Chargers mix things up by spreading the ball around to all of their receivers.

With two teams as evenly matched as these teams are, turnovers are going to tell the tale of who will win this game. Ben Roethlisberger has not thrown an interception yet this season. He and the Steelers have done a great job of protecting the ball, and that’s a key.

Both of these teams came out of nowhere to have very successful seasons last year. It’s still too early to tell whether they will approach that level of success this year. That said, San Diego’s 2005 resume just looks a little better than Pittsburgh’s does right now. The win over New England was a dominating performance, they easily handled a Giants team that hasn’t lost to anyone else this year, and their losses to Denver and Dallas look a lot better now than they did a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh easily beat Houston and Tennessee, but “suck” is an adjective that can be applied to both of those teams. Their one test was the home game against New England, and they didn’t pass it. So I’ve got to take the Chargers.

CHARGERS 24, STEELERS 21


All Smiles For the Chargers Tonight?

That’s it for this week. Check back this weekend and for some Week Six Sickness!