Review and Preview : Week 5

football, news, week 5

Review

Last week was an intense week full of new review terms, so we toned it down a bit this week so that no one’s head exploded (including mine). Here’s what you need to know!

Bootleg: A play in which the quarterback runs behind the offensive line, in the same direction they are moving, before running outside of the offensive line in an attempt to break down the field and gain as many rushing yards as possible. (From Tuesday’s post)

Naked Bootleg: The same as a bootleg, only the quarterback runs in the opposite direction of the offensive line before breaking down the field for as many rushing yards as possible. (From Tuesday’s post)

Rushing: What the NFL calls “running” in all statistics and official terminology. But sometimes they also call it running (running back, running play, running the ball)…because that’s what the players are doing. (From Tuesday’s post)

Pocket: The term used to describe the distance between the furthest offensive linemen – this includes the tight end if he’s blocking with the offensive line and not running a route to catch a pass. Widthwise, the pocket is 2 yards beyond the furthest linemen and lengthwise, it’s as far back as the offense’s end zone. (From Thursday’s post)

And…that’s it! It was a light week around here, although I did really enjoy Wednesday’s post about choosing your NFL team wisely. That’s worth a read if you missed it.

Preview

Normal Girl Game of the Week

Colts at Chargers, MNF on ESPN

Andrew Luck and Phillip Rivers are two red hot quarterbacks at opposite ends of their careers. It should be a high scoring affair in San Diego on Monday night between the kid and the veteran, and definitely one worth watching.

Also on the Radar

1. The Patriots will be looking to bounce back after a close loss to the Bengals, but it’ll be a tall order to do so against an undefeated New Orleans team.

2. The battle for the NFC East rages limps on, this week in a match up between the Redskins (coming off a bye week) and the Cowboys (coming off a gut wrenching loss to the Broncos).

3. How terrible will Jacksonville’s trip to Denver be? It’s unthinkable. There are no words.

At the Water Cooler : Week 5

football, games, week 5

Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns (Browns won, 37-24)

This win was not kind to either quarterback: the Browns lost Brian Hoyer for the season and the Bills lost EJ Manuel for at least a few weeks – both with knee injuries.

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears (Saints won, 26-18)

You might say the Saints are rolling.

New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals (Bengals won, 13-6)

Huge win for the Bengals, huge loss for Tom Brady. The game ended his streak of 52 consecutive games scoring touchdown passes, a number hot on the heels of Drew Brees’ record of 54.

Jacksonville Jaguars at St. Louis Rams (Rams won, 34-20)

Just when you think it can’t possibly get any worse for the Jaguars, they lose their top draft pick, OT Luke Joeckel, for the season, and starting quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, left the game with a hamstring injury. Salt in the wound: they play Denver, in Denver, next week. Anvils spontaneously falling from the sky in Jacksonville is probably the only condition in which this week gets worse for them.

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins (Ravens won, 26-23)

Miami’s receivers tried really hard to not catch any passes in the 4th quarter. And they succeeded!

Philadelphia Eagles at NY Giants (Eagles won, 36-21)

I’m surprised I don’t see eyeballs lying on the side of the road when I drive through New York these days. Giants fans have to be getting to the point where they are ready to poke their eyes out every Sunday. It’s just so bad.

Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers (Packers won, 22-9)

At least one streak was upheld this weekend: the Lions have officially lost 22 consecutive games at Lambeau field (every matchup in Green Bay since 1991!) – the longest road losing/home winning streak in NFL history.

Kansas City Chiefs at Tennessee Titans (Chiefs won, 26-17)

It looked like the Titans were going to make a game of this thing in the second half, but the Chiefs went on to win and become the only team in NFL history to advance to 5-0 after only winning 2 games the season prior.

Seattle Seahawks at Indianapolis Colts (Colts won, 34-28)

What a nail biter. Later this week we’ll be talking about how to pick an NFL team to cheer for, and if you are currently team-less, might I suggest considering the Colts? They have so many components of a compelling franchise. And…even though I’m too bitter about last September to truly advocate the Seahawks…they’d be worth a look, too. Great young teams.

Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals (Cardinals won, 22-6)

The Panthers have gotten a lot of press as one of the more underrated teams in the league this season…but this game didn’t do much to encourage the naysayers to quit nay-saying.

Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys (Broncos won, 51-48)

The best game of the season thus far. Without a doubt.

Houston Texans at San Francisco 49ers (49ers won, 34-3)

The final score is more indicative of the Texans play than the Niners.

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders (Raiders won, 27-17)

Perhaps the Chargers were all asleep for this one, too.

NY Jets at Atlanta Falcons (MNF on ESPN)

All of the other AFC East teams lost this week and it would not be immensely surprising if the Jets join the party tonight.

Bye (off) Week: Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins

What To Know : After Week 5

Here are the Top 5 from Week 5:

  1. Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas’ record for the most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (47). Also significant because it was the Saints first win of the season, and suspended personnel Mickey Loomis, Joe Vitt, and Sean Payton were allowed to attend the game to see the record broken and the game won.
  2. The Colts came back from an 18 point deficit to beat the Packers in an inspirational win to honor their head coach, Chuck Pagano. On the flip side: the Packers looked bad, and things are about to get worse. They are losing one of their most productive offensive players, Cedric Benson, to a Lisfranc foot injury for 8 weeks at the least. They also have the task of playing the undefeated Houston Texans on Sunday night in Texas. It promises to be a long night for me and my #12 jersey.
  3. Speaking of the Texans, they were also dealt a significant blow in last night’s game, losing linebacker Brian Cushing to an ACL injury, perhaps for the rest of the season. They pulled out the victory…but it probably would have been a lot harder if the Jets would actually use Tim Tebow. Not even as the starter if they’re not ready for that yet (emphasis on yet), but just in ways that MAKE SENSE. I said it last night on Twitter and I’ll say it again here: having Tebow on the roster and not using him on critical 3rd downs or in the red zone is like having a dishwasher and choosing to wash your dishes by hand. Blindfolded. It just doesn’t make any sense.
  4. The much-lauded Manning/Brady game wasn’t a bad game, but wasn’t a nail biter, either. It looked like it might turn around in the 4th quarter with the Broncos on their way to a touchdown to make it 28-31, but a goal-line fumble ended that. But competitive or not, it’s still great to see both of them play. They’re just so good.
  5. The Bills have been outscored 91-7 in the past 6 quarters. To every fan I met at training camp who had an optimistic spark in their eyes about this season: I’m sorry.

What To Know : Week 5

Here’s what you need to know about Week 5 in the NFL:

GAME OF THE WEEK: This one is a no-brainer. Whatever you are doing on Sunday at 4:30pm, you should really stop to watch some of the Broncos/Patriots game. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Neither is getting any younger and no one can know how much longer they’ll be in the league, so opportunities to see them face off like this should be treasured.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Drew Brees is only one touchdown away from breaking Johnny Unitas’ for consecutive games with a touchdown pass (47). It’s likely that he’ll break it on Sunday in their game against the Chargers in New Orleans. The interesting part of this story is that suspended personnel Sean Payton, Joe Vitt, and Mickey Loomis are being granted permission to attend the game to see Brees go for the record breaking score. It should be an emotional game for all involved, and will hopefully result in the Saints first win of the season.

STORYLINE TO KNOW: Indianapolis will be playing their first game without head coach Chuck Pagano, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia. The Colts have had an emotional week and will have a tall order facing Green Bay, but they’re playing at home and should be considered an upset threat.

RECIPES TO MAKE:

It’s all about the brownies this week…

2 ingredient pumpkin brownies

brownie batter on a stick

caramel brownies

chocolate covered pretzel peanut butter brownies

fudgy brownies with cookie butter frosting