Tag Archives: nfl week 4 recap
NFL Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 5
Week 5 is in the books, save for the Monday Night game, which should be a good one. We had a little bit of everything in week 5: some blowouts, close games, and some upsets. Now let’s get onto my thoughts on week 5.
How bout them 5-0 Broncos
The pupil take takes down the teacher, as the Broncos come from behind to shock the Patriots and move to 5-0. Kyle Orton threw for over 300 yards and Brandon Marshall hauled in two touchdowns in the 20-17 win.
McDaniels was fired up after the big win.
They shut down Randy Moss, only yielding one catch to him. Moss ended up with as many interceptions as catches.
The loss for Belichick dropped him to 8-7 against his former assistants, a shocking stat.
Orton, whose record as a starter is now 26-12, looked like Brady out there engineering drives of 90 and 98 yards in the second half to spur the comeback. The Broncos also finally got Eddie Royal involved this week as Royal finished with 10 catches after coming into the game with 8 on the season.
Josh McDaniels has shut up the critics, including myself, who chastised the young coach in the pre season and it’s clear he is a great coach and has this Broncos team as an AFC contender. They have a huge game next week against San Diego on Monday, in which they can seize control of the division.
The Broncos are definitely serious contenders in the AFC but one still has to winder whether if they’d be the Super Bowl front runners if Jay Cutler was still in town?
Don’t forget about the Bungals
Who what have thought the week one showdown pitting Cincinnati and Denver could loom large in the AFC playoff picture?
With another win, the Bengals sit alone atop the AFC North with wins away wins over Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
The real key for the Bengals though, has been Cedric Benson. The rejuvenated back has been the centerpiece of the Bengal’s offense and has transformed the Bengals into a run first team. Carson Palmer hasn’t been asked been asked to do too much and the 120 yard performance of Benson snapped the Ravens 39 game streak of not allowing a 100 yard rusher.
They have now won three games in a row all by three points and all against divisional opponents. While they stand at 4-1 I’m still not completely sold on the Bengals. They got a couple favorable calls late in the Raven’s game that extended their drive and Shayne Graham missed the overtime winner against Cleveland.
Undefeateds Roll
The Giants, Colts, and Vikings all rolled to easy victories this week to improve to 5-0.
The Giants absolutely embarrassed the Raiders and had David Carr in before halftime. For the first time this season JaMarcus Russell had a completion percentage over 60%.
Peyton Manning continued his aerial assault of opposing defenses in the Colts romping of the now 0-5 Titans. The Titans are a mess right now and we finally had a Vince Young sighting!
The Vikings continued their dominance and Jared Allen wrecked havoc all day long for Kyle Boller. Also Brett Favre starts 5-0 for the first time in his career.
Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 4
Can you believe we’re already 1/4 of the way through the season. Teams are now starting to separate from the pack and were seeing who is for real and who isn’t. Let’s recap all the week 4 action.
The Saints D is Legit
The Saints made Sanchez uncomfortable all game long.
The Saints offense is great but the Saints defense is the reason they beat the Jets on Sunday. The defense has been the Achilles Heel for the Saints for years but they have stepped up this year. Darren Sharper has been a beast in the secondary, especially on Sunday, and the addition of Greg Williams as defensive coordinator can not be forgotten as well. The Saints are for real and look like a contender come January.
Sanchez Less than Stellar
The Saints exposed Mark Sanchez for what he is, a rookie. He did not look sharp yesterday, throwing three picks and losing yet another fumble. Games like these are to be expected with a rookie quarterback. He can’t play great every week. One thing that has concerned me about Sanchez is his ball control. Through three games he has fumbled five teams and has lost two of them. It’s something Sanchez needs to work on before it becomes a big problem.
Pats are Back
It’s official the Pats are not done. Back to back wins against two quality teams has cleared any doubt of a possible collapse. The return of Wes Welker certainly helped Brady. The Ravens could have easily won this game but they passed the ball 49 times compared to only 17 runs. Flacco was good but Ray Rice ran for over 100 yards while only receiving 11 carries. That’s not Raven football and they need to get back to running the football.
Titans are a different Team
The collapse in Nashville continues. This team is a shell of the team it was last year. The defensive has been horrid, in particular the secondary, which is now hampered by injuries. New defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil is feeling the heat now. He isn’t calling any blitzes, a stark comparison to former defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz.
Marshall came up big with his go ahead fourth quarter touchdown.
With the season now all but lost it is time to go to Vince Young. I wrote about this in detail last week and a change needs to be made. Jeff Fisher is still standing by Kerry Collins but with games coming up against the Colts and Patroits, a 0-6 start might do the trick. The Titans need to find out what they have in Vince Young before this salary takes a big jump in the off season.
Are the Broncos for Real?
Even after starting 4-0 I still can’t tell if the Broncos are for real. Their wins include Cincinnati on a fluke play, Cleveland, Oakland, and a suspect Cowboy team. Whether or not they’re for real or not you can tell the Broncos players are buying into what Josh McDaniels is preaching. Hey, even Brandon Marshall was all smiles after the game, embracing McDaniels with a big hug. A lot of things seem to be forgotten when you win games. The real test come s in these next four weeks though as they face the Patriots, Chargers, Ravens, and Steelers, as tough a slate as you can ask for in the A.F.C.
