The QB situation in the 49ers locker room, Shawne Merriman's shameless attention grab, why the Panthers could runaway with the NFC South and BCS predictions.
If Favre comes back, he better stick it out for a full season whether he starts, is a back-up, or gets benched several games into the season.
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Once again the NFL provided football fans with another fabulous week of action. Week Five was by far the most exciting weekend of football we’ve seen this season, and another successful campaign by my fantasy teams only increased my enthusiasm. Nine games were decided by ten points or less, and we saw thrilling comebacks by the Chiefs, Colts, and Saints.
The Colts dominated their opponents in the first four weeks of the season but were held scoreless by halftime, Kansas City rallied back from a 14-0 deficit, and New Orleans won on Reggie Bush’s first career touchdown. That was just a sampling of the amazing action from the NFL in week five. Here’s the highs and lows from the week that was:
The Highest of the Highs It’s Reggie Time Reggie Bush made sure that his first career touchdown was a meaningful one in the Saints 24-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bush, who totaled 86 yards on Sunday, scored the winning touchdown on a 65-yard punt return with less than five minutes remaining. The win gave New Orleans a 4-1 record and the lead in the NFC South over the idle Falcons (3-1).
Donovan 1, Terrell 0 It was one of the most hyped regular season games in the history of the NFL, and it didn’t disappoint. Terrell Owens may have only caught three passes for 45 yards, but the electricity at Lincoln Financial Field could have provided power to the entire city of Philadelphia. Donovan McNabb kept his hot streak going, throwing for 354 yards and two touchdowns. Eagles’ cornerback Lito Sheppard sealed the win with a 102-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minute of the game.
Colts Gallop Back Through the first forty-five minutes of the game it looked as though the Tennessee Titans were going to pull of the upset of the season over the undefeated Colts. Leading 10-0 at half time the Titans took a 13-7 lead into the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Then with a little over five minutes remaining Peyton Manning hooked up with Reggie Wayne for the game-winning touchdown. The Colts won 14-13, and improved to 5-0.
The Best Offense I never thought I’d say this in my lifetime, but the Chicago Bears have the best offense in the National Football League. Chicago improved to 5-0 with a 40-7 win over the hapless Buffalo Bills on Sunday. They scored thirty or more points for the third time in the season’s first five weeks and lead the NFL in points scored. Maligned running back Cedric Benson even got in on the act, scoring two touchdowns and totaling 48 yards.
Jags Blank Jets The battle between two of Marshall’s greatest alum ended badly for Chad Pennington and his New York Jets. Jacksonville shut out the Jets 41-0, scoring early and often in the Sunshine state. Pennington threw three inceptions in the loss, while pal Byron Leftwich connected with his receiving corps for two touchdowns. Jaguar running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew combined for 170 yards and three scores in the win.
The Lowest of the Low The Winless Quartet None of the NFL’s four winless teams were able to pick up a victory this weekend. The Titans, Raiders, Buccaneers, and Lions all lost on Sunday. The worse part of all? Aside from the Raiders, who lost 34-20 to the 49ers, each winless team was in position to earn their first victory in the final minutes. In week six things won’t get easier for these cellar-dwellers. Detroit has the most favorable match-up, facing the Buffalo Bills, but nothing has come easily for the Lions this season.
Matt Leinart You’d think that two touchdown passes and a 14-0 lead in the first ten minutes of the game would be enough for a victory in your first career start, right? Not if you’re Cardinals starting quarterback Matt Leinart. After the initial offensive outburst Arizona failed to move the ball effectively, and lost 23-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs and back-up quarterback Damon Huard. Things will only get tougher for the former USC standout; the Cardinals face the Bears in week six.
Terrell Owens Three catches for 45 yards…
Zero touchdowns…
A constant chorus of boos…
A heart-breaking loss to his former team…
…Things are about to go south in Dallas.
Super Bowl Champion Steelers It seems like just yesterday the Pittsburgh Steelers were atop the NFL Mountain with the Lombardi Trophy in hand. Now, just five weeks into the new season they’re a dismal 1-3, and have a hard road ahead of them if they plan on defending their Super Bowl title. Their chances at repeating are fading fast, especially with both the Ravens and Bengals ahead of them in the AFC North.
Pro Bowl Injuries Sunday was another rough day for the NFL’s elite performers. Kansas City running back Larry Johnson, who has disappointed Chief fans and fantasy die-hards with his poor production, totaled 142 yards against the Cardinals but left the game with an injury in the fourth quarter. The injury occurred after Arizona cornerback Antrell Rolle ripped at Johnson’s facemask. In the same game Cardinal wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald suffered a right hamstring injury following a 5-yard touchdown reception. He’s now out for at least two weeks.
Lions’ wide receiver Roy Williams was also hurt in week five. No, he didn’t accidentally shove his own foot in his mouth. Williams injured his upper back against the Vikings, and left with just one catch for seven yards.
My Fantasy Diary… For the second straight week my legion of fantasy teams generated a winning record. They went 5-4 in week five, but they could have easily been 7-2 had it not been for the fantasy hell that was Monday Night Football. The Broncos victory over the Ravens cost me two nail-biting wins. In my Home Town Heroes league hosted by MyFantasyLeague.com, my Nipsy Russell All-Stars lost to the Fluffheads by a single point. I had Baltimore running back Jamal Lewis and the Ravens defense playing, while the Fluffheads had the Denver defense.
I was up by a point when the Ravens offense took over with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Then, the unthinkable happened. I lost when Steve McNair threw yet another interception into the Bronco’s secondary. The league awards two points for an interception and The Nipsy Russell All-Stars fell to 2-3. I couldn’t even make this stuff up, that’s how frustratingly dramatic my fantasy season has been.
If you though that loss was bad, wait until you hear my Tatum Bell story. Last week I told you guys that my team, Cut That Meat, was 4-0 in The Dan Orlovsky Charity League. I explained that is was a league of owners form Shelton, Connecticut – the same hometown as Detroit back-up quarterback Dan Orlovsky. Heading into Monday Night Football I was down six points to Damage Inc. However, things looked optimistic because I was starting Denver running back Tatum Bell, he had Baltimore kicker Matt Stover.
All Bell had to do for me was outscore Stover by a mere six, but hopefully seven, points and my team would remain undefeated. Here’s how it went down…
As the clock ticked down in Denver’s 13-3 win over the previously undefeated Ravens I prematurely celebrated an expected fantasy win, and a 5-0 record. By my count Stover had just one field goal, giving Damage Inc. a nine point lead before accounting for Bell’s scoring. Tatum accumulated 91 yards rushing and 9 yards receiving. I figured that handed me at least the tie, and quite possibly the win, as Bell had to provide me with at least the nine points needed to tie it up.
After the game was over I logged onto the Orlovsky League homepage to check the scoring rules to refresh my memory. In all honesty, I was checking to see if the league awarded fractions of a point, because that would assure a victory as opposed to a tie. Much to my dismay I discovered that Mark, the league commissioner, decided to award one fantasy point per TWENTY rushing yards, not the assumed ten I had been counting on.
Before verbally assaulting him via Instant Messenger, I double-checked the rules and slapped myself in the face repeatedly. I also surfed over to the rules for each of my other eight leagues. The Orlovsky league was the only one to award a point per twenty rushing yards, rather than the standard ten per point. Although, I can take some of the blame because I should know the league’s scoring system, I’m in nine damn leagues! Give me a break, I assumed Mark, the commissioner of our fantasy league since it’s inception about six years ago, was up on the times.
I ended up falling to 4-1 after losing to Damage Inc. by seven points. Apparently, I had also changed the channel when Tatum Bell had lost a fumble. Good enough for negative two points, which is the standard for a fumble I might add (Good job Mark).
Enough blasting of Mark, I’m just jealous he smoked me in our annual fantasy baseball league and that he has full, thick sideburns.
Onto, the happier events of fantasy football’s week five. I earned my second victory in as many weeks in the uber-important East Coast Pigskin League. The Drew Crew crushed the High Strokers by nearly thirty points, thanks in part to the Carolina defense’s twenty-four point performance. I won myself into a four-way tie for third place in my division, and this after my quarterback earned negative points (Thanks, Chad).
The East Coast Pigskin League contains twelve teams, and after five weeks of play there are nine teams with 2-3 records! After beginning the season 0-3, all of a sudden The Drew Crew is alive and well. I’ll battle the Springfield Isotopes this weekend and The Vipors in week seven, before battling the currently undefeated Big Bulls in week eight.
The injury to Larry Fitzgerald, which will keep him out of my lineup for at least two weeks, and the bye weeks for Indianapolis running back Joseph Addai and Jacksonville’s Fred Taylor is going to deplete my roster this week, but after consecutive wins I’m feeling more confident about my guys. I’ll probably be complaining about them once again next week, but what can you do?
That’s how the rollercoaster of events goes in fantasy football…
Heading into week six here’s what The Drew Crew squad looks like:
Chad Pennington (my starter weeks two through five)
Daunte Culpepper (a recent pickup when someone else gave up on him)
Trent Green (contemplating sending him a pink slip)
Joseph Addai (praying that Rhodes pulls a hamstring)
Reggie Bush (wish my league awarded points for kick returns)
Fred Taylor (I can’t believe he’s still healthy)
Maurice Morris (hoping to trade him, but he may start for me this week, gulp)
Larry Fitzgerald (two people cried when he got injured, me and his mom)
Lee Evans (finally putting things together after I nearly dealt him)
Deion Branch (Hasselbeck spreads the ball around too much for my liking)
Bernard Berrian (If my team is going to keep winning he better keep producing)
Desmond Clark (he won’t be on my roster come Thursday)
David Akers (I wish I got points for every time he gets in a scuffle)
Carolina Defense (I hope week five’s performance was a sign of things to come)
Roster Suggestions? Inside Information? Magic Healing Potions? Let me know…Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com
