NFL Matchup Week 5

So much going on and so little time for me. If you've been reading, I have been a little lax on the postings this week. Trying to get ready for some vacation time with Mrs. Inquisitive Mind and a lot has been going on. So, after Friday (October 3rd) you'll probably see the same content out here until I return on Saturday (October 11th). Last week was a terrible 5 - 8 on my picks, so it can't get any worse. For the year, I'm 37 - 23. Not bad, but still broke in Vegas. So, enjoy this week's matchups.

Kansas City @ Carolina - Fresh off of an upset against the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs look to take their act on the road. Carolina demolished the Falcons and everyone in the league was reminded that if you don't prepare and come out and play, even a team that's as good as the Broncos can be beaten by a team as bad as the Chiefs. Winner - Panthers.

Chicago @ Detroit - The Bears defense finally held (well at least on that 4th and 1) and got a win against the Eagles. For the win they are given a gift of going to Detroit to play the Lions. The Lions have had and will continue to have lots of moving parts within their organization, but I think the players are going to motivated a little to do something. The Bears are favored by 4 points and Kyle Orton seems to be in a nice rhythm. I like the Bears and I agree that this one could go either way, a Bears blowout or a Bears close win. Winner - Bears.

Atlanta @ Green Bay - The biggest question of the game is whether Aaron Rodgers is able to make his 5th consecutive start or not. This game is in Green Bay and the Packers have a lot to prove after a tough loss in Tampa. Green Bay's running game is still hurting along with Rodgers' shoulder. Michael Turner gets to run against two stout defense two weeks in a row and I like Matt Ryan, but I don't think playing on the frozen tundra (no, not frozen yet, but it'll get there) in Green Bay is going to be fun for him. Winner - Packers.

San Diego @ Miami - The Dolphins shocked the world two weeks ago, then went on a bye week where their backup running back admitted to 'wanting to puff puff pass', they still don't have Jason Taylor back, and they get to welcome a nicely tuned Chargers team to South Beach. There is nothing, including Ronnie Brown running for 4 TDs, that will make me pick the Dolphins. Winner - Chargers.

Seattle @ New York Giants - The Seahawks get to travel all the way across the country just to get to wonderful Giants stadium so that they can be introduced to the Giants defense. Their last game was a scrimmage against the Rams, but now they face a real test. The Giants escaped from the Bengals in their last game and then they got a chance to watch the rest of their NFC East foes knock each other out last week. I expect big things from Plaxico for the rest of the year (although he'll sit this game) and I hope his off the field issues don't get him suspended by the league. Winner - Giants.

Washington @ Philadelphia - The Eagles have surprised many, including me with their wins and their 'shoulda won' against the Bears last week. Westbrook returned to practice, but it's not sure whether he will play this week. My best bet is that he'll play. The Redskins pulled of the 2nd biggest shocker of the year by beating the Cowboys in Dallas. I will say this again, Jason Campbell looked good in leading that Redskin team last week. If he can continue to play like this, the Redskins are going to be very dangerous, and could possibly win the NFC East. Winner - Redskins.

Tennessee @ Baltimore - The Titans come in on a 4 game winning streak and looking 'marvelous darling'. They have played Jeff Fisher ball, a good run game, timely passing, and great defense. They go to Baltimore to take on the Ravens who have to be spent after their overtime loss to the Steelers on Monday night. I love the heart of the Ravens, but I don't think they have enough bodies to pull off a W. Winner - Titans.

Indianapolis @ Houston - Will the good football team stand up? We know that's not Houston, but at 1-3, this is a must win for the Colts. They should have most of their starters back, although still without Bob Sanders. I'm not so much concerned about the Colts D though. Their offense is getting scores, either that or I'm just used to the Colts getting 28+ a game. Houston should serve as a sacrificial lamb for the Colts season, although Matt Schaub played pretty well last week. Is he finally getting his legs? Winner - Colts.

Tampa Bay @ Denver - Two weeks in a row? After riding high the Broncos were taken down several notches by the lowly Chiefs. This time, the Broncos are playing a much better defense, but their advantage is that they are playing in Denver. I think the team with the stronger running game wins this and that means,........Winner - Bucs.

Buffalo @ Arizona - With Anquan Boldin questionable with a fractured sinus (didn't know you could fracture your sinus), I'm not sure what to do on this one. I would have said that this is one of those games that should have lots of fireworks (scores), but with the dynamic duo of Boldin and Fitzgerald down to one and the health of Kurt Warner's hand, I think this could turn into a knock 'em down, drag 'em out kind of deal. The Bills will turn to Marshawn Lynch and Trent Edwards is due another big game. Winner - Bills.

New England @ San Francisco - When you think about greatest teams of all time, you'd like this matchup, maybe a little of the Joe Montana 49ers against the Brady led Pats, and this would be something that would have a lot of meat on it. With these two teams as they are now, this looks like cookout food the day after the cookout. The Pats have question marks at QB, and the 49ers have a decent little team. I originally went with the Pats on this one, but something is telling me that the 49ers are able to handle the wrinkles that the Pats come up with after their bye week. Winner - 49ers.

Cincinnati @ Dallas - If Palmer is healthy then this is a good game, not a great game, but a good one. With the chances of Fitzpatrick starting again this week and no leprechaun in sight, this has the makings of a drubbing. The Bengals come to the Big D after they lose to the Redskins. Marion Barber didn't get his touches, Jason Witten didn't get his touches, and TO only got 20 opportunities,.....I think the lights on the scoreboard get tested this week. Winner - Dallas.

Pittsburgh @ Jacksonville - Another tough game for the Steelers (who did they piss off to get this schedule?). Jacksonville will benefit from getting Garrard in a flow and their running game will be tested by the Steelers D. The Steelers on the other hand have a banged up QB, a dude off the street running the ball for them, and they get to travel on a short week after having played on Monday night. Both defenses will keep this tight and I think the Jags win a close one. Winner - Jags.

Minnesota @ New Orleans - Get your popcorn. The Vikings do great at stopping the run, but their pass defense is a sieve. If they can't get a pass rush, Drew Brees might hurt himself from throwing the ball 80 times. The Saints also have Duce McAllister back which will help Reggie Bush get some better matchups against that passing D of the Vikings. The Vikings have a new/old/new again starter in Tavaris Jackson. Did the demotion light a fire under this guy so that he'll be more aggressive? I guess we'll see. Winner - Saints.

NFL Week 1 Wrap Up

Well, it was a good thing that I didn't take my bets to Vegas or I'd be trying to walk back home. All in all a good day of NFL Football, just a bad day to be a QB. We'll see what I got right and what I got wrong on my picks.

Detroit @ Atlanta - Wow!!!! Not sure if I'm more surprised by the Lions not playing or the way the Falcons did. 22 carries for 220 yards, and two TDs, I think that gets Michael Turner the game ball for the week. Atlanta destroyed the Lions, although Roy Williams at least got me the TD I needed for fantasy. Inquisitive Mind 0 - 1 for the week.

Seattle @ Buffalo - Another good game, but the Buffalo special teams won it for them. Marshawn Lynch had 18 carries for 76 yards and a TD. Edwards played well, but Julius Jones disappointed in his Seahawk debut. Inquisitive Mine 1-1 for the week.

New York Jets @ Miami - A little shaky start for the folks in New Jersey. Favre played decently and Thomas Jones got his 101 yards (and a TD), but this game came down to the last few minutes. It really shouldn't have. The Jets should be happy that they played the Dolphins this early in the season. Inquisitive Mind 2-1 for the week.

Kansas City @ New England - Wow and not in a good way. Brady is probably out for the year and the Pats snuck by a terrible Chiefs team. I know they are glad for the win, but thinking about Brady being out for the year has got to temper all of the Superbowl talk. There were reports from ESPN saying that Brady tore ligaments in his knee and that Tim Rattay and Chris Simms are en route to New England for possible tryouts. That last sentence has soooo much wrong with it. Inquisitive Mind 3-1 for the week.

Tampa Bay @ New Orleans - Can you feel sorry for a team that has had success and has won a Superbowl in the last 8 years? The Bucs were so close yesterday, but yet so far. They kept a Saints team within reach the entire game but not enough O to win it. Inquisitive Mind 4-1 for the week.

St. Louis @ Philadelphia - Could I have been wrong? This was an old school out behind the shed butt whuppin!! McNabb looked great and he was throwing to scabs. Philly looked like the team that they said they were, or did they just play a terrible Rams team? We'll see over the next few weeks. Inquisitive Mind 5-1 for the week.

Houston @ Pittsburgh - Add another butt whuppin to the menu. Roethlisberger was almost perfect for the game, Willie Parker had 138 yards and 3 TDs, and even Byron Leftwich played. I don't think that you could write it up any better than this. Inquisitive Mind 6-1 for the week.

Jacksonville @ Tennessee - Things went horribly wrong here. The Titans D stepped up and played great. They had 2 picks of Garrard and they held the Jaguars running game in check. The bad part is that Vince Young hurt his knee/leg and he's being examined as we speak. The hope is that it isn't anywhere near as bad as Brady. Inquisitive Mind 6-2 for the week.

Cincinnati @ Baltimore - The Baltimore D played like they haven't played in a while. They kept the Bengals under 200 yards total offense. Flacco got his first win and my week's picks are starting to go in the wrong direction. Inquisitive Mind 6-3 for the week.

Carolina @ San Diego - San Diego wins this game in a thriller. Oh no,.......what?!?!? Delhomme did what? That wasn't picked? The Panthers shock the Chargers on a last second (actually 2 seconds) touchdown catch by Dante Rosario. The Chargers D looked stale and the offense wasn't that good either. This is one of those that got away from the Chargers. The Panthers took it from them. Inquisitive Mind 6-4 for the week.

Arizona @ San Francisco - This was a yawner. It seemed like the Cardinals thought that by showing up they would win. It took them the second half of the game to put it out of reach. Nothing spectacular in this one, but I did get a pick right. Inquisitive Mind 7-4 for the week.

Dallas @ Cleveland - Talk about a half of domination. I thought the Cowboys would have gotten close to 50 in this game the way they were playing. Romeo Crennel talked to his D at half time and the result was them at least bloodying Tony Romo. The Browns made a lot of mistakes on O, and they couldn't stop the Cowboys running game. Marion Barber got hurt in the first game of the season, that running style isn't going to lend to him playing all 16. Inquisitive Mind 8-4 for the week.

Chicago @ Indianapolis - Was this a home game for the Bears? It sounded like there were more Bears fans in Lucas Oil Stadium than Colts fans. All that talk about Manning just turning the page and coming out smoking, well it doesn't happen quite that easily. The Bears tried their best to confuse Manning and his new starting center by bringing some kind of blitz the entire game. They would line up 7 and you never knew who was coming. Forte played well in his debut ending the game with 123 yards and a TD. He also became the answer to a trivia question, Who was the first person to score a TD in the new Lucas Oil Stadium? Inquisitive Mind 8-5 for the week.

Two more games to go,...let's see if I can't go 10-5 for the week with wins by Minnesota and Oakland.