NFL Rundown - Week 5

This post written while wondering who that cute girl over there is. Hey there. What's up? I like your dress. It would look great crumpled at the end of my bed.

Week 4 Recap

Chris	Adam
Most Surprising Team: Cleveland. While the Browns ultimately lost the game, they took a good Bengals team (now 3-1, with wins over Pittsburgh and Green Bay) deep into overtime. The Browns scored more than 1 offensive TD for the first time since Week 11 of last season.	Most Surprising Team: Pittsburgh. You know they're going to turn it around eventually, but I didn't think it would happen (and happen so easily) against the Chargers. Mendenhall may be for real, and this team may be close to being back where they should be.
Most Disappointing Team: Dallas. This was supposed to be the week that the Broncos fell back to earth, against a sexy Dallas team with Tony Romo and Marion Barber. Well, the Cowboys managed only 10 points, all in the first quarter.	Most Disappointing Team: Dallas. I picked them to go 8-8, so my expectations were relatively low as it was, but to be a month into the season and leaving fans of the new stadium with nothing to talk about other than an over-sized jumbo-tron is painful. They better pull it together soon.
Offensive Player of the Week: David Garrard. Whoa, man. 27/37 for 323 and 3 TDs? I know the Titans' defense isn't as good as last year, but they made Garrard look like Peyton Manning out there. Now the Titans get to play the real Manning. Uh-oh.	Offensive Player of the Week: David Garrard. Garrard completed 73% of his passes for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns against Tennessee on Sunday. We always like giving the award to players who aren't up for it every week, but this week he was the best QB in the league.
Defensive Player of the Week: Darren Sharper. In leading the Saints to a win over the previously undefeated Jets (wait, the Saints have a defense?), Sharper had 5 tackles, half a sack, and most importantly, 2 interceptions, one of which he returned for a 99 yard TD. That's the kind of day you dream about as a defensive back.	Defensive Player of the Week: Jared Allen. 7 tackles, 5 TFL, 4.5 sacks. Love 'em or hate 'em (and I'm typically in the latter category) the dude is an absolute beast. The fact that neither of us chose him as our defensive player to watch for last week was a severe oversight.

Top 10:
1. New Orleans Saints (4-0) - They can win by throwing the ball, they can win by running the ball, and now we know they can win by scoring on defense. And now, Sean Payton will cure cancer while rescuing puppies from a burning building.
2. New York Giants (4-0) - It wasn't really as close as the score indicated against the Chiefs. The Giants actually looked kind of bored - that is, until Eli hurt his foot. Yeouch.
3. Indianapolis Colts (4-0) - Their win over Seattle wasn't as close as the score would indicate either, and the score wasn't that close. They made the Seahawks look like the Little Sisters of Mercy.
4. Minnesota Vikings (4-0) - All I can say is, the Packers offensive line is the worst thing since unsliced bread.
5. Denver Broncos (4-0) - Ok, I give - that defense is for real.
6. New England Patriots (3-1) - They seem to be easing back into form. I don't think they'll have an offensive explosion, per se, but sometime around week 12 we'll probably be wondering when they started putting up 35 a game.
7. New York Jets (3-1) - Ok, that was pretty bad. Sanchez will have growing pains, like any other rookie QB. They're still a good team though.
8. Baltimore Ravens (3-1) - That was a hard-fought game against the Patriots. They could easily be higher.
9. San Francisco 49ers (3-1) - I think there's a big gap between the 8th ranked Ravens and the 10th ranked Bengals. The 49ers are somewhere in the nondescript middle.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) - That was an ugly win against the Browns, and it doesn't bode well for the rest of their season. But they're tied for the division lead, and get a chance to take sole possession of that lead by beating the Ravens this weekend.

Week 5 Picks:

	Chris	Adam
Cleveland @ Buffalo	Buffalo	Cleveland
Minnesota @ St. Louis	Minnesota	Minnesota
Cincinnati @ Baltimore	Baltimore	Baltimore
Tampa Bay @ Philadelphia	Philadelphia	Philadelphia
Oakland @ N.Y. Giants	N.Y. Giants	N.Y. Giants
Dallas @ Kansas City	Dallas	Dallas
Pittsburgh @ Detroit	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh
Washington @ Carolina	Carolina	Washington
Atlanta @ San Francisco	San Francisco	Atlanta
Jacksonville @ Seattle	Jacksonville	Jacksonville
New England @ Denver	Denver	New England
Houston @ Arizona	Houston	Houston
Indianapolis @ Tennessee	Indianapolis	Indianapolis
N.Y. Jets @ Miami	N.Y. Jets	Miami
Week #4	7-7	7-7
Overall	39-23	37-25

Players to Watch

Chris	Adam
Offensive Player to Watch: Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. The Browns are 31st in the NFL in rush defense, and they've given up 8 rushing TDs so far. They've also given up the most rushing first downs in the NFL. Could be a banner day for the Bills' tandem.	Offensive Player to Watch: Tony Romo. Kansas City ranks 28th in pass defense, and Romo needs to have a big week in order for members of the media to continue believing there's a minute chance of him being a marginally successful quarterback in the NFL.
Defensive Player to Watch: Jared Allen. Too bad he can't play the Packers every week. But he does get the hapless Rams, who have allowed 10 sacks so far and have the second lowest completion percentage in the NFL. It could be like last week never ended.	Defensive Player to Watch: Darrelle Revis. Miami has given up 13 sacks (tied for 3rd most in the NFL) this season, and the Jets will bring pressure. This should result is some errant throws from new QB Chad Henne, and Revis is the real deal @ CB. He could have a big pick this week.