During the final minutes of the early afternoon games, there was a five-ten minute period where viewers that NFL RedZone's viewed saw, and it's the snapshot that you see on the top of your screen. Quadbox, where the fourth quarter of the Lions/Cowboys game, the Bills/Bengals game, the 49ers/Eagles game, and the Redskins/Rams game (all of them close, by the way) was being shown by the channel, in this case with two of the games showing two kickers ready to kick important field goals almost simultaneously. Watching it live, it was football heaven, and just another reason why NFL RedZone continues to be, as I have been saying multiple times since its 2009 inception, one of the greatest things to happen to the sport's viewing experience since high def. turned mainstream. If that isn't pure NFL ecstasy, then it looks like I will never know what is.
But enough about how awesome NFL RedZone is! Let's move onto the games that week six has to offer. Six teams are having bye weeks this weekend (boo!), but that still doesn't mean that there are interesting games a plenty, from Jets-Patriots to Eagles-Bills. On top of all that, we have the Lions and the Packers fighting to remain one of the league's lone undefeated teams, the Begnals and the 49ers trying to continue their surprisingly good start, Indianapolis and Minnesota trying to fight off an 0-5 start, and more! So, despite the loss of three games, week 5 should still be an interesting two days of football actions to watch unfold. But until, here are this week's game fifteen predictions from myself (11-5 last week, 42-22 overall) and mj50 (8-8 last week, 39-25 overall) to keep you distracted.
Let's begin (Note: game times are based on the Central time zone):
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Indianapolis Colts (-2.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Kansas City
You have to admit, both of these teams have really pulled themselves together these last two weeks. Indianapolis has played close during their games against Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay (both losing by only one possession), which is why they're the favorites to win it in Vegas by a small margin, while Kansas City have actually gone on to win a game for a change! Sure, they're still bad, but at least they haven't given up their seasons just yet. And now, these two teams meet in what is considered to be the second leg of the Andrew Luck head-to-head sweepstakes (the first being last week's Chiefs-Vikings game). Indianapolis was tempting to pick because of their homefield advantage, but I'm gonna go ahead and picks the Chiefs because they have two things working for them that Indianapolis doesn't: an efficient rushing game (something that the team has consistently done well in the past decade), good QB to WR combo in Cassel and Bowe, and a slightly more reliable pass rush.
mj50's pick: Indianapolis
Arizona Cardinals vs. Minnesota Vikings (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Minnesota
If there's any team with the worse luck this season, it has to be the Cardinals. Three straight losses, each by four points or less, including last week's loss to the Giants that had the refs for the gamer completely botching Victor Cruz's diving play late in the 4th quarter that would've given the team a game-winning turnover. And the worst part of it all? Their bad luck is going to continue this week. They're on the road, playing at a historic incovenient starting time for them, and they're going up with a Vikings team that are able to stop the Cardinals only good asset (Beanie Wells) and desperate to get a win after starting the year 0-4. Oh, and Jared Allen will have a feast playing against Kevin Kolb.
Also, Bernard Berrian is an ass.
mj50's pick: Minnesota
Philadelphia Eagles (-3) vs. Buffalo Bills: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Philadelphia
This was a tough match to pick. In the end, I chose Philly I have a feeling that this is the point of the year where the so-called "Dream Team" will start playing like the team they were expected to be, much like how this year's Boston Red Sox (another team favored to win their respective league) went on their impressive winning streak following their 0-6, or how last year's Miami Heat team (ditto) went on a 12 game winnning streak after their opening 9-8 record. But then again, I may be undermining Buffalo's abilities again. We'll see.
mj50's pick: Buffalo
Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Texans (-6): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Oakland
Ehhh...not definitively ready to hop onto the Houston bandwagon. Last week's win against the Steelers was pretty big, but the significance of it diminishes a bit once you realize that this is a much older, battered (with injuries to Rashad Mendenhall and Casey Hampton, among others) team that you saw win the AFC Championship earlier this year. Now, with Andre Johnson out for the game in what should be a critical injury to Houston's high-flying offense, they're up against Oakland that is absolutely one of this season's dark horses to contend in the AFC, thanks in large part to their #1 ranked rushing game and the defensive lineman duo of Tommy Kelly and Richard Seymour, arguably one of the league's best. Either way, this should be a fantastic matchup to watch, easily one of the five games that I'm most looking forward to seeing unfold.
mj50's pick: Houston
New Orleans Saints (-6.5) vs. Carolina Panthers: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New Orleans
For the same reason that the Panthers have lost three times already this season despite Cam Newton throwing for over 370 yards in each of those losses: their defense, something that I'm sure that Drew Brees and the dynamic Saints offense (easily the best offense in the league that doesn't include Tom Brady at QB) will experience little to no problems against.
mj50's pick: New Orleans
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (-2): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Cincinnati
I don't know what's more astonishing: the fact that Cincinnati is 3-1 when they should've been one of the season's worst teams, or that their defense leads the league with only 276 yards allowed, better than the Steelers defense, the Ravens defense, the Packers defense and pretty much every other defense in the league. Regardless, I'd imagine that owner Mike Brown is having a nice, boisterous laugh at Carson Palmer's expense.
mj50's pick: Jacksonville
Tennessee Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Pittsburgh
I really have no idea why. Just a hunch, I guess. With Tennessee playing some solid football to start the season and Pittsburgh being banged up in almost every major position from quarterback to defensive end struggling in their offensive line, defense and rushing game, I will totally understand if you disagree with me.
mj50's pick: Pittsburgh
HALFTIME! This week, the halftime funnies are being brought to you by the rich, comedic stylings of Patton Oswalt, who I believe is one of the five best comics working today. He released a new standd-up special this past Labor Day weekend simply titled "Finest Hour," and well...it was pretty damn impressive. Because the special is copyrighted by Viacom (a company that compares to MLB in their hatred of YouTube), I can only offer you an audio of some of the bits. Here's him talking about a Christmas Day experience watching "Jerry MacGuire" with his brother. Enjoy!
Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Giants (-9.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New York
Seattle have lost 8 out of their last 10 games outside of the loud friendly confines of Qwest Field, all of which came in double digits. I don't know about you, but I see absolutely no reason as to why their road struggles will continue against the 3-1, NFC East leading Giants.
mj50's pick: New York
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. San Francisco 49ers (-3): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: San Francisco
Tampa Bay is on short rest, and switching coasts to play this game. Meanwhile, San Francisco is basically playing like the team that many thought they would be like last year (before starting the season 0-5), by which I mean they're the best team in the NFC West. They're coming off a comeback win over Philly, so the momentum is theirs, the defense leads the league in turnover ratio, and Alex Smith has been playing one of his most consistently efficient stretches of football in his career. Count me in on the 49ers starting off the season with a rather startling 4-1 record.
mj50's pick: San Francisco
New York Jets vs. New England Patriots (-8): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: New England
REVEEEENGE! REEEVENGE!
(Get it? 'Cause this is going to be a revenge game for New England? Are we all caught up now? Okay, good.)
mj50's pick: New England
San Diego Chargers (-4) vs. Denver Broncos: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Denver
Because the Chargers are long overdue this season of an authentic, Norv Turnian-style loss to a team they're favored to win against. And with the Chargers to this one heading on the road to take on the Broncos in Mile High under trap game circumstances (at the Jets, Denver playing better over the past few years in divisional matchups than in any other cirucumstance), I expect this to be that game.
mj50's pick: Denver
Green Bay Packers (-6) vs. Atlanta Falcons: Sunday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: Green Bay
Ever since the Packers exposed the Falcons to their many flaws during last year's divisional round showdown, things have not been as happy-go-lucky in Atlanta. They're 2-2 (could've even gone 1-3 had it not been for Michael Vick's injury in the week 3 Philly game) and playing average football at best. They even came close to giving up a 27-7 lead to the Seahawks last week, for Goodness sakes! A lot of this is due to the team's struggling defense, but the team's inconsistent offense has also been a problem. Take Matt Ryan for example. One game, he throws for 4 TDs and 0 INTs; on another, he only throws for 1 TD by turning it over three times.
This week, they're up against the best team in the league, a team that has won ten straight games, including the four playoff games they needed to win Super Bowl XLV. Will their fortunes become overturned? Will Atlanta prove that these past four weeks were just a fluke? In one word, no. Better yet, how could you possibly say yes, when their defense (who gave up over 300 yards passing to Tavaris Jackson of all people) is facing a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers that not only picked apart their defense easily months earlier and combined for over six touchdowns (four pass, two rush) last weekend alone? In other words, expect Atlanta to be the reverse New England in their playoff-loss revenge game.
mj50's pick: Green Bay
Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions (-5): Monday- 7:35 p.m.
mj15's pick: Detroit
There is nothing more than I want to see as a Bears fan than my favorite team going on the road Monday Night to take on Detroit in their biggest matchup in over a decade and not only defeating them, but also gaining up on them in what should be a very interesting NFC North race this season. However, I just see to many factors going against Chicago to actually believe that they will be able to pull it off. Chicago's offensive line is still bad, and there's no way that Jay Cutler isn't going to cross paths with Ndamukong Suh multiple times during the game (hopefully not as rough as last season, though). Detroit's going to be at home in what should be an incredible atmosphere at the stadium. Calvin Johnson, the first player to catch two or more TDs in the first four games in an NFL season ever, is poised to have another big game as the Lions' currently unstoppable #1 wideout (all 6'8'' of him, by the way) against an injured Charles Tillman. The Tigers are in the ALCS, the Lions are going to go 5-0, and the Big Three auto companies are rebounding; it's a great time to be alive in the Motor City!
mj50's pick: Detroit
RECAP
The Undertaker at "WrestleMania" Lock of the Week: New York Giants over Seattle
The NC State winning the 1983 Final Four Upset of the Week: Denver over San Diego
The "Breaking Bad" versus "The Wire" "I'm Not Sure" Pick: Pittsburgh over Tennessee
Be sure to stop by next weekend for my week 6 picks, and a quick recap of my week 5 results! Until then, enjoy the games, everyone!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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