NFL Week 5: Packers @ Redskins

October 8th, 2010 admin

Green Bay Packers @ Washington Redskins Sun. Oct. 10th 1pm EST

The Washington Redskins have been one of the worst teams in the league over the past few years, but after they made the deal in the offseason for six-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb and hired two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Mike Shanahan, the struggling NFL franchise were able to turn their team around with high hopes for the future.

Even though adding Shanahan and McNabb were considered upgrades for Washington, many people still doubted the Redskins ability to compete in the NFC Conference or even in the very competitive NFC East division, but after the first four weeks of the season, the Washington Redskins are in first place in the NFC East.

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In Week 5, Donovan McNabb and company will put their first place standing on the line in perhaps their toughest matchup of the season so far against the Green Bay Packers. Despite coming into this season as arguably a Super Bowl title contender in the NFC Conference, the Packers have struggled on both sides of the football this season.

Coming into Week 5, the Packers are sporting a 3-1 record, but it hasn’t come easy as they faced some tough competition early in the season with the Philadelphia Eagles (27-20), Chicago Bears (20-17, loss) and the Detroit Lions (28-26) all giving Aaron Rodgers and company a run for their money.

In Week 5, things won’t get any easier for Mike McCarthy’s squad as the Washington Redskins will almost certainly give the Green Bay Packers a run for their money. The Redskins may not be one of the best teams in the NFC Conference just yet, but they are without a doubt an up and coming team with playoff aspirations this season.

The one thing that these two teams have really struggled with over the past few weeks has been their production in the ground game. It is no secret that the Packers have had their fair share of struggles running the football as they have had to play without running back Ryan Grant who went down with season-ending injury in Week 1, but the Redskins now have similar problems as they saw Clinton Portis go down last week against the Philadelphia Eagles.

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With both teams having a nonexistent running game, the Redskins and the Packers will go to the air in Week 5 with Aaron Rodgers and Donovan McNabb throwing the football 30+ times.

Even though the Washington Redskins will most likely be able to keep up with the Green Bay Packers, in the end I see Aaron Rodgers getting the best of Donovan McNabb as he has been as good as any quarterback in the league this season.

As of right now, the Green Bay Packers are favored to win this showdown of NFC Conference heavyweights with a -2.5 point spread. I believe that is a solid bet as the Packers should come out on top.

NFL Week 5: Bucs @ Bengals

October 7th, 2010 admin

Tampa Bay Bucs @ Cincinnati Bengals Sun. Oct. 10th 1pm EST

The defending AFC North division champion Cincinnati Bengals came into this NFL regular season with their sights set on repeating as division champs and possibly contending for a Super Bowl title, but after the first four weeks of the season, Carson Palmer and company have begun to realize that the competition within the division is much tougher than last season.

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Fortunately, the Cincinnati Bengals were able to get the best of the Baltimore Ravens in the Week 2, but were upset by the lowly Cleveland Browns last week and given somewhat of a wakeup call as the offense and the defense has some work to do if they expect to get back into the playoffs this season.

In Week 5, the Bengals will be defending their home field against the up and coming Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even though the Bucs were able to get off to a quick start this season with wins over the Cleveland Browns (17-14) and the Carolina Panthers (20-7) in consecutive weeks, they were put back in their place in Week 3 before their bye against the AFC North division leading Pittsburgh Steelers (38-13).

With the Pittsburgh Steelers dominating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, Josh Freeman and company will have had to prepare to up against another dominant defense in the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5.

There is no doubt that the Bucs have started to turn the corner this season with some solid quarterback play and a new found confidence, but I believe they will be headed for the second straight loss of the season against the Bengals.

Obviously, the Bengals have the edge on the offensive side of the football with two of the best wide receivers in the game in Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens, but they have also done damage to opposing defenses in the running game with up and coming running back Cedric Benson. With all these things coming together on offense, the Bengals play on defense has gone unnoticed, but it will be the secondary of Cincinnati that puts them over the top against the Bucs in Week 5 as they will be putting constant pressure on Josh Freeman much like the Pittsburgh Steelers did in Week 3.

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As of right now, the Cincinnati Bengals are the -6.5 point favorites, but even though the Tampa Bay Bucs are capable of upsetting the Bengals, I believe this spread is right on the money as Cincinnati will be looking to make a statement in Week 5 to show that Week 4’s loss to the Cleveland Browns was nothing more than a fluke.

The Cincinnati Bengals should come up big in this one with a couple interceptions and a constant pressure on the quarterback, but I believe the offense will also have a big day as Carson Palmer and company will be looking to put a big number on the scoreboard this Sunday.

Monday Night Football Recap – Week 4

October 6th, 2010 admin

Patriots dominate the Dolphins 41-14

Over the past decade or so, the New England Patriots have been the best team in the AFC East division without question as they have won the division title seven times since 2001, but this season they seem to have their work cut out for them as they are no longer the favorite to come out on top in the division with the emergence of Rex Ryan’s New York Jets.

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With the New York Jets turning into a legitimate Super Bowl title contender and the Miami Dolphins playing much better than anticipated this season, the AFC East division has become much more competitive and Monday night’s football game between the Patriots and the Dolphins would be a must win situation for both teams as they had both already lost to the New York Jets earlier in the season.

With second place in the AFC East division on the line, the Patriots and the Dolphins knew what was at stake in this Monday night showdown in Miami, but no one anticipated the New England defense and special teams stepping up the way they did.

Coming into this NFL regular season, the New England Patriots offense were thought to get right back on track, but the defense was in serious question as most of the veterans defensive side of the football had either retired or been traded away over the past two seasons.

Fortunately, this game became the turning point for the New England Patriots defense as they picked off Miami Dolphins quarterbacks Chad Henne and Tyler Thigpen four times and blocked two kicks, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Not only was the Patriots defense flying all over the place and making plays, but their special teams was playing well too with Brandon Tate returning his second touchdown of the season with a 103-yard return.

Needless to say, the New England Patriots dominated their division rivals on Monday night and went on to win 41-14 with three scores coming from their defense and special teams. Not only did they get the win in this huge divisional matchup against the Miami Dolphins, but they are now in second place in the AFC East division and poised to give the division leading New York Jets a run for their money when they meet for the second time this season in Week 13.

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Along with the defense coming to life against the Miami Dolphins in Week 5, the New England Patriots offense also played a big part in the win as Tom Brady threw for 153 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.

This resurgence from the New England Patriots couldn’t have come at a better time for Bill Belichick and company as they will have their work cut out for them over the next three weeks of the season against the Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers and the Minnesota Vikings.

Green Bay squeaks past Detroit in Week 4

October 5th, 2010 admin

The Green Bay Packers came into this NFL regular season with high hopes of winning the NFC North division and possibly contending for a Super Bowl title at season’s end, but even though perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers could be making a case for the NFL MVP, the Packers have struggled over the last two weeks of the season against the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions.

At this point time, no one questions the potent offense of the Green Bay Packers as it is amongst the best in the league, but the once lockdown defense of the Packers has struggled to keep opposing offenses in check this season as they have only been able to keep the Buffalo Bills from scoring more than one touchdown so far.

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Coming into Week 4, the Green Bay Packers knew they had to get the win over the division rival Detroit Lions as they had just lost their first game of the season to the Chicago Bears and were losing ground in the NFC North division, but despite being 14+ point favorites to come out on top, they struggled to put away the lowly Lions.

There is no question that the Detroit Lions are a much improved team this season as they have seemed to get some consistently good play out of rookie running back Jahvid Best and backup quarterback Shaun Hill, but even though these two players are playing at a high level right now, it hasn’t been enough to get a win as they had lost three straight heading into Week 4’s showdown with the Green Bay Packers.

So despite being big underdogs in this Week 4 matchup, the Detroit Lions played their hearts out against the Green Bay Packers and were in good position to win the game as they battled back from behind and outscored the Packers in the second half 12 to 6, but it just wasn’t enough as reigning Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson’s 49-yard interception return for a touchdown turn out to be too much for the Lions to recover from.

Even though the Detroit Lions lost their fourth straight game of the season to the Green Bay Packers (28-26), the consensus around the league is that this is a team on the rise with high hopes of becoming a playoff contender in the next couple of seasons.

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With Jahvid Best quickly turning into one of the best running backs in the league and the Detroit Lions offense coming into its own much earlier than anticipated, even without quarterback Matthew Stafford (shoulder) under center, this NFC North team could be a force to be reckoned with sooner rather than later, but if they expect to get any kind of momentum going this season they will need to get healthy and learn how to close out teams when they have the opportunity.

NFL Week 4: Patriots @ Dolphins

October 4th, 2010 admin

New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins Mon. Oct. 4th 8:30pm EST

Throughout this entire decade, Tom Brady and his New England Patriots have been the team to beat in the AFC East division and in most cases in the entire NFL, but things seem to be changing and changing quickly as the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets have emerged as legitimate threats to knock the Patriots off their pedestal in the division.

The New England Patriots may have only loss one game in the first three games of the NFL regular season, but it was a big one as they were dominated by the New York Jets in a 28-14 rout that sent shockwaves through the AFC East division.

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There is no question that the New England Patriots are still a very talented team, especially on the offensive side of the football, but they are no longer the dominant team that everyone used to fear on a weekly basis.

In Week 4, the New England Patriots will have their work cut out for them once again as they will face off against the up and coming Miami Dolphins in an AFC East showdown with second place in the division on the line.

As of right now, the Patriots are the team to beat in this matchup as they have been given the -1 point advantage in the spreads, but with the way the Miami Dolphins has been playing over the past few weeks, Tom Brady and company could be in for a long day.

Even though the Dolphins defense has taken it to another level this season, it will be tough for them to handle Tom Brady and his talented receiving corps as they are amongst the best in the league and coming off a 38 point effort against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3.

Coming into this matchup everyone will be taking about the Patriots offense and the Dolphins defense going head to head as that will be the matchup to watch, but what I find even more intriguing is Miami quarterback Chad Henne taking on the vulnerable New England secondary which got torched last week by the lowly Buffalo Bills offense.

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Over the past two weeks, Henne has played as well as any quarterback in the league and played exceptionally well against the lockdown defense of the New York Jets where he threw for a season-high 363 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw one pick, but against the Jets defense that isn’t uncommon for even the best quarterbacks in the league.

With Henne playing like a Pro Bowler right now I believe he will have another big day against the New England Patriots as he tries to connect with his new go to guy in the offense in superstar wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

Even though I do believe that the Miami Dolphins will give the New England Patriots a run for their money and possibly make this one possession game in the fourth quarter, in the end Bill Belichick’s squad will improve to 3-1.

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