Week 5: What Happened?

OK! Better late than never, right? Let's get right to it:

Morning Game:
CINCINNATI BENGALS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS:
Cincinnati is now on a four game winning streak after losing their first game to Denver. Bengals RB Cedric Benson had a nice game against an incredibly tough Ravens Defense and QB Carson Palmer had a decent game completing 7 passes to his favorite target, Chad "I changed my name to 85" Ochocinco. Young Ravens QB Joe Flacco had a rough game against the suddenly tough Bengals defense. The Bengals play Houston next which should be a high scoring game with two good QBs matching up against each other.

What to say to a dude:
"Can you believe how well Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco are playing after having such an awful season last year?"

"The Bengals now have a running game with Cedric Benson that they haven’t had in years"

"Cedric Benson is finally living up to his hype."

Afternoon Games:
ATLANTA FALCONS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS:
Yikes! The Falcons destroyed the 49ers this week (not a happy week in our household). RB Michael Turner had 3 TDs and WR Roddy White caught for 2 TDs. Recently, the 49ers defense has been winning their games for them since their offense has been relatively stagnant without star RB Frank Gore who should be back after this upcoming bye week. The Niners defense couldn't stop the high powered Atlanta offense lead by 2nd year QB Matt Ryan. The 49ers didn’t score in the second half. They are going to have a long week off. My recommendation is that they go purchase some new bling. Diamonds make everyone feel better, right?

What to say to a dude:
"I wonder how many times the 49ers are going to have to run the hill after that devastating loss."

Or "I guess Michael Crabtree is coming into this offense at the right time since they haven’t been able to score much lately."

HOUSTON TEXANS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS:
Arizona pulled off the win but both QBs and star receivers had good games. QB Matt Schaub passed for 2 TDs--both to star receiver Andre Johnson. Kurt Warner threw for over 300 yards and 2 TDs--both to his star receiver Larry "Fitz" Fitzgerald who still has not felt the Madden curse. This was a game that wasn’t decided until the last two minutes when Matt Schaub threw an interception to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Really? You hyphenated that?) for a TD.

What to say to a dude:
"Who do you think is the better receiver, Andre Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald? In Andre Johnson’s defense this is the first year that Matt Schaub has stayed healthy for this long."

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT DENVER BRONCOS:
This was a great game that went into overtime before a winner was decided. Again the Broncos were down in the fourth quarter and underpaid WR Brandon Marshall scored a TD. He had two TDs in the game and Randy Moss didn’t have any……looks like Marshall is proving why he should get a bigger paycheck. Cha-ching! The Broncos are still undefeated and have beaten tough teams in Cincinnati, Dallas and New England along with easy wins over Oakland and Cleveland. The Broncos have a few more tough games coming up but it looks like they are a serious contender in the AFC and their defense is playing incredibly tough football.

What to say to a dude:
"So who is gonna beat the Broncos first--Baltimore, Pittsburgh or the NY Giants?"

"Can you believe how well that safety, Brian Dawkins, is playing after being let go by the Eagles?"

"So do you think the Broncos have the best defense in the league this year?"

Night Game:
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AT TENNESSEE TITANS:
Poor Tennessee--they get a sad face :(. After having such a great season last year they are now at 0-5. Coming up, they have to play New England, Jacksonville and SF who all have pretty tough defenses. Titans star RB Chris Johnson was held to 34 yards rushing which might be the lowest total of his career (remember that a "good" rushing number should be somewhere around 200-300. 34 stinks.). Colts QB Payton Manning had another fantastic day (shocker) passing for over 300 yards and 3 TDs. The Colts are now 5-0 going into a week off to rest up and heal their bruises (or buy diamonds). Plus, they get to go up against the terrible Saint Louis Rams in two weeks which should be a nice easy win for them.

What to say to a dude:
"Payton Manning doesn’t need Marvin Harrison on his team, he makes any wide receiver great."

Monday Night:
NEW YORK JETS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS:
This was a fantastic game. Our Super Villain Jets coach Rex Ryan has lost two in a row now. Braylon Edwards played great after being traded to the team only two and a half days before playing in a game. New York scored 14 points in the fourth quarter but Miami scored 21 points--the last 7 of which came on a TD with 6 seconds left in the game. The Wildcat offense (this is when they do NOT use a QB on the play. The ball is hiked directly to a Running Back. Weird, right?) was successful again for the Dolphins along with a great performance by QB Chad Henne (rhymes with "Jenny") when he did actually play. Miami's running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams who stepped in for the QB during those Wildcat formations both had great performances.

What to say to a dude:
"Isn't it crazy that Braylon Edwards is only the second player ever to be traded during the week and start the game that Sunday or Monday."

And that's about it! Until next time...