Week 5 NFL thread

Has this not been created yet? Haven't seen it.

New England at Denver. Who ya got?

 

Denver.

 

That was my first reaction, but the more I think about it, the more I'm waffling.

McDaniels vs. Belichick.
Denver tough at home, right?
New England seems to be getting warmed up finally.
Orton vs. Brady.

So many things to consider.

 

Sometimes I wonder if the "mile high" atmosphere is a myth, though I think it helps Denver teams a little more.

That said, if I'm Belichick, why not bring the team to Denver today and get 2 good days of practice in that atmosphere so it's not that much of a shock come game day?

 

The Patriots will win by 17.

 

Wonder what Belichick's record is against former coordinators?

Denver's got to come back down to Earth eventually, right? Doesn't this seem like the week that happens?

Logic says go with New England, but dammit, I can't get away from Denver. I'm in a high-dollar pick em league (straight up) and the winner usually loses only one or two games. This is the only game I'm really waffling on.

Denver, New England....Denver, New England....dammit....

 

How is it the Giants get to play Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland back-to-back-to-back.

I thought good teams got hard schedules the next season. Were the Giants sucky last year and I just forgot?

 

A lot of it has to to with the out of conference divisional matchup. NFC East vs. AFC West this year. Just the way it works out.

 

Denver made a believer out of me last week, but so did New England with the win over Baltimore. I can't see the Patriots* losing this one.

 

Here's an interesting nugget from Jason Cole's column....

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Stat maven Dutch Wydo, who doubles as the unofficial president of the Ben Roethlisberger Fan Club, passed along some interesting numbers this week. Through the first four games, the Indianapolis Colts are averaging 2.7 yards more per play than their opponents. The next best team in the league is Denver at 1.8 yards more per play. Any team that’s over 1.0 yard more is generally in good shape to make the playoffs.

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I'm leaning toward Denver. Can't question my instincts, right? Ugh.

 

Dutch is famous for 2 things, his stats and his hatred for Willie Parker. And this stat is a bit skewed when you consider the 87 yard tipped touchdown play to Stokley. I guess we'll see as the season plays out how much of this is denver's defense, how much of it is their offense, and how much of it is their opponent.

 

Oy. You can't say the stats are skewed because of a fluke play. Fluke plays are a part of the game. I mean, do you discount every play of more than 50 yards that should have been tipped away or picked off by the defense?

But you're right, we'll find out a lot about Denver this week.