NFL Week 5 Quick Hits

Roddy White and the Atlanta offense went head over heels in Week 5

It was an ugly weekend for the bottom tier of teams in the NFL.  While this is almost certainly to be expected, it was rather unfortunate that the winless Rams, Bucs, Titans and Chiefs as well as the one-win Raiders and Lions all found themselves squaring up against powerhouse teams or teams that are aspiring to make deep runs into the postseason.  Aside from a Cowboys team that celebrated as though they had won the Super Bowl after barely squeaking out a win versus the Chiefs, every one of these hapless teams got crushed by their opposition (the final score to the PIT-DET game was closer than the others, but the Steelers led by double digits for most of the game).  Of course I find all of this humorous because I have been preaching the parity of the NFL in a couple of posts prior to this week, but even so the strong looked real strong in Week 5.

-Speaking along those same lines, it seems as though we have a pack of teams really separating themselves from the rest of the league. We have seen the Colts, Giants, Vikings and most surprisingly the Broncos shoot out of the gates to impressive 5-0 starts.   The first three teams had cake walk matchups this weekend versus teams mentioned in the first bullet point.  However, Denver took it upon themselves to perhaps make the biggest statement of any team so far in the early goings of the season as they knocked off the New England Patriots in a matchup that pitted Pats head coach Bill Belichick against his former apprentice and assistant coach Josh McDaniels. Without getting into much of the back story that played into Denver’s locker room this offseason, I think it goes without saying how well McDaniels has this team playing right now.  They are buying everything he is selling.  Wide receiver Brandon Marshall has righted his personal demons and continued his steady improvement with 2 TD catches, rookie running back Knowshon Moreno has looked stronger every week, and quarterback Kyle Orton has played solid, mistake free footbal. Most surprisingly McDaniels has this defense playing at a level that is really unforeseen considering how much the unit struggled in 2008. That all being said, Ireally cant remember another instance where a city (Denver) went from complete AWOL in regards to a situation to absolute love fest in such a short amount of time.  Lots of people were questioning the direction of this team just five weeks ago, all of whom have since been silenced.   It’s amazing what winning games will do.

Big Ups

Miles Austin, WR, Dallas- Whew. That was a performance.  While the rest of the team struggled to get things going against a horrible Chiefs team, Austin took full advantage of the opportunity and torched KC’s D to the tune of 10 catches-a franchise record 250 yards and 2 TD’s.  Not bad for a guy who was coming off the bench the first 4 weeks.  A Roy Williams injury changed all of that and the rest is as they say history.  Look for Austin to get more looks in weeks to come as none of the other Cowboys receivers have looked even remotely consistent.

Jeremy Maclin, WR, Philly- Another receiver who had a big game on Sunday.  Maclin got his first career start after Kevin Curtis was ruled inactive due to injury and boy did he impress.  The rookie hauled in 6 catches for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns.  While his routes are still a bit inconsistent and his polish as an NFL receiver needs work, no one can argue with his game breaking speed and elusiveness. He and Desean Jackson are very similar in their own rights, and if the early goings of the season are any indication Philly has all the makings for a very exciting offense for years to come.

Roddy White, WR, ATL- Yeah, the ATL had some offense going on Sunday.  White showcased his abilities with a fantastic 8 catch, 210 yard, 2-touchdown day against a formidable 49er defense.  The addition of tight end Tony Gonzales seems to have taken away a good amount of targets from White in the early goings but it should be noted that his rapport with Matt Ryan is second to none.  White should be able to use this performance as a catapult and go on a tear here very soon.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL- Its about time he got things rolling a little.  Granted he hasn’t exactly been a huge bust so far this year but the expectations of him are very high following his breakout 2008 campaign. Turner rumbled through the 49er defense for 97 yards and a vintage 3-touchdown performance. He seems to be keeping pace with his penchant for running through sub-par defenses while performing under par versus tougher foes (even though San Fran has played some inspired defense thus far, I don't know if I would go as far as calling them a "tough foe").  Either way, Atlanta needs him to pound the rock with success in order to keep the pressure of Matt Ryan and company.

Low Downs

Derek Anderson, QB, CLE- 2 completions. That’s it. You know nothing too special or anything, I mean after all it was two more than you or I had on Sunday. Right?  No biggie. And oh yeah, Cleveland actually WON the game after Andersons scintillating 2-14, 23 yard performance.   Maybe…just MAYBE this is the new blueprint for winning in the NFL.  Anderson made Jemarcus Russel look like Dan Marino in Week 5 and THAT is saying something.  Congrats to the Browns and Bills for taking part in a game that was sure to knock 30 years off the lives of anyone that watched it. Final score: 6-3. A win is a win right? Only sometimes.

Calvin Johnson, WR, DET- Megatron caught only 1 ball for 2 yards in a game that saw the Lions hang tough against the Steelers. What should really alarm Lions fans is that he left in the 1^st quarter and didn’t return after sustaining an injury to his leg.  Although it doesn’t sound too serious right now, if it was anything more than a cramp the Lions will have to bite the bullet once again after 1^st overall pick Matthew Stafford sustained a leg injury last week.

Washington Redskins- Washington was supposed to be a big player in the NFC (aren’t they always?).  This season the Redskins are once again under achieving and of course all of the blame is being thrown in head coach Jim Zorn’s direction.  Fair or not it is the reality of the situation and it never seems to matter how much talent this franchise brings in.  They are always simply mediocre at best.  Washington barely pulled out victories against winless St. Louis in week 2, gave Detroit their first victory in two seasons in week 3, and barely got by Tampa Bay (16-13) in week 4 before losing to the previously winless Carolina Panthers this past weekend.  If you exclude their season opening matchup versus the Giants (a game that they…well, lost) the cumulative record of all the teams they have played thus far is a paltry 2-17. Two wins between four teams.  The Redskins have no excuse for NOT being at least 4-1 right now.