Week 6 Preview

This is the most interesting collection on games I can ever remember for one week of the NFL. There are great story lines involved in nearly every game. This could be called Surprise Sunday. Everyone is on Upset Alert.

First, the strangest news of the week involves both the Jets and Dolphins, who both play each other on Monday night.

- Jets traded receiver Derrick Mason to the Texans for (likely) a 7th round draft pick.
Mason has over 12,000 receiving yards in his career. He seems healthy, but the Jets aren’t even getting him on the field. He only has 13 receptions and hardly played the last two games (by the way, both losses).
Some history: Last offseason the J-E-T-S cut ties with Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery, and Brad Smith and replaced them with 37 year old Mason and Plaxico who had been in prison the previous two years.
The year before, they gave up RB Thomas Jones right after a 1400 yard, 14 TD campaign (his fifth straight year topping 1100 yards) to give full reigns to Shonn Greene, who since then has not reached 1000 yards combined and reached the endzone only 4 times.

Whoever is in charge of this team is a terrible judge of talent, and a terrible game planner.

- And along with this, the Jets are imploding on the inside. One reason Mason may have been traded away was for his critical comments about the team’s offense. Hello, can you blame him? Santonio Holmes, a team captain, also made comments this week about how the offensive line was letting the team down. Anybody who has watched the Jets, especially the last three weeks, would agree. And now guard Brandon Moore is fighting back and ripping Holmes for his lack of leadership. Meanwhile, the Jets are in a must-win game on Monday Night against a Dolphins team who gets a long rest and preparation time for the game.

- On the other side of the ball, the biggest knucklehead of the week has to be Dolphins’ star receiver Brandon Marshall. Here’s a direct quote from a press interview this week:
“I don’t care if I have penalties, it doesn’t matter, I’m gonna let it all out. I don’t care what you guys write, …I’m just gonna play football. So I don’t know if it’s throwing a football 15 yards in the bleachers and getting a 15-yarder, or punting the ball and getting thrown out of the game, something’s gonna happen. I’ll probably get kicked out after the second quarter. They want to fine me, I don’t know, it’ll probably be a $50,000 fine, but that quarter and a half that I’m out there I’m gonna play like a monster. And I might get in a fight with Bart Scott, Cromartie…, so we’ll see. I consider myself a monster now. If you see a beast you should run because a beast is really scary. I don’t want to be that, I want to be a monster. A monster is like a little nightmare. You should run, you should be scared… hopefully I get kicked out in the second quarter.”

Right Brandon, because throwing or kicking the ball into the stands, fighting, collecting fines, earning 15-yard penalties and getting kicked out of the game in the first half will help your team win a game. Especially with a quarterback making his first start of the season. On the other hand, with Marshall playing the whole game the Fins are 0-4 so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have him in the locker room for the second half. Don’t forget, a beast is not as scary as a monster. What a moron.

- Another interesting note: ESPN has established a new quarterback stat called Total Quarterback Rating, which is the most perfect stat rating of all time, blah blah blah. Last week, in a game where Tim Tebow played only the second half, completed only 4 of 10 passes in a Broncos loss, his TQR was higher than Aaron Rodgers, who completed 26 or 39 passes for 396 yards and 2 touchdowns in a win. Explain that.

The Games

- Lions vs. 49ers: Oddly enough, this pairing of two of the league’s worst teams over the last ten years is probably the best matchup of the week. 49ers defense has been really good and Alex Smith has surprisingly been a good quarterback, despite dealing with many injuries in his receivers. The Lions are 5-0 and have a great offense and defense, but they have to lose sometime and this looks like a potential letdown. The difference will probably be a defensive or special teams touchdown. My pick: 49ers.

- Patriots vs. Cowboys. Patriots have the league’s best offense and worst defense, despite their beat down of the Jets in Week 5. They have also given up the most plays of 20+ yards. Tony Romo will have Miles Austin and Dez Bryant in this one, along with a healthier Felix Jones. But don’t forget, the Cowboys secondary is just as bad and the Tom Brady will have a big day. I’m tempted to follow the hype and pick against the Patriots, but they are at home and Tom Brady doesn’t lose at home. My pick: Patriots.

- Redskins vs. Eagles: Things are going from bad to worse in Philly. Here’s a stat for you: the Eagles have outgained their opponent in every game and are 1-4. How does that happen? Turnovers, penalties, and mistakes, and no one has made more than the Eagles. Redskins are coming off a bye and have had a lot of time to prepare. The Eagles are definitely desperate, and another loss would put them at 1-5, and the Redskins at 5-1. My pick: Redskins.

- Falcons vs. Panthers: In this offense-happy league the Falcons were supposed to field one of the top offenses in the league but they have been in the bottom half of the league, as well as their defense. The “improved” defense has been disappointing and can’t get pressure on any quarterback. Enter Cam Newton. This is a home game for the Falcons, and Matt Ryan has a great record at home, and the Panthers certainly aren’t the Packers, but there is definitely upset potential in this game, especially with Julio Jones not playing. My pick: Panthers

- Giants vs. Bills: Giants are the only team that plays better on the road than at home (and this is a home game). They are coming off the biggest disappointment of the season. They are starting to get some injured players back but several more are pulling out. The Bills have beaten the Patriots, Raiders, and Eagles this season, Fred Jackson has been incredible in the backfield, and the Giants have been run on a lot this year. I hate picking against my team, and they win every time I do so here goes. My pick: Bills.

- Ravens vs. Texans. Joe Flacco has been disappointing but as long as he can hand the ball off to Ray Rice or dump it off to him this ought to be a blowout. Schaub is hurting and Andre Johnson is out, and the Ravens defense is coming off a bye week to rest up. My pick: Ravens.

-Buccaneers vs. Saints. Like my Giants and Titans, the Bucs have looked good in 3 games and very disappointing in the other two. We all know what the Saints have on offense, so can Josh Freeman bounce back? Not likely without LeGarrette Blount. My pick: Saints.

- Bengals vs. Colts. Who needs Carson Palmer? Bungles look like they are for real this year, even with rookie starting quarterback and wide receiver. That receiver A.J. Green is a stud. The defense is one of the league’s best, and with the crappy Colts in town that shouldn’t change. My pick: Bengals

- Packers vs. Rams: Green Bay is 15 point favorites in this game but that still seems too low. The Rams have no one to stop Jennings, Finley or Nelson and no one on offense to keep up. This has the looks of a major blowout. My pick: Packers.

- Steelers vs. Jags. Big Ben hobbled into last week’s game and threw 5 touchdowns. The Jags are terrible. This game may be close but there is no way the Jags win. My pick: Steelers.

- Raiders vs. Browns. First home game for Oakland since the passing of Al Davis, for what that is worth. The Raiders are the better team. My pick: Raiders.

- Bears vs. Vikings: Bears have been the most generous defense against the run (5.7 yards per carry) and the Vikings finally discovered that if they give All Day Adrian Peterson the ball they can win. The Bears defense certainly has the capability of creating big turnovers and scoring, and with Donovan McNabb that is definitely a possibility, but I like Jared Allen to increase his league-leading sacks total against a very susceptible Bears o-line and create havoc for Jake Cutler. My pick: Vikings.

- Jets vs. Dolphins: Like I said earlier, the Jets are self-destructing amid a 3-game losing streak, and they Dolphins are coming off a bye. But with Marshall potentially sabotaging the Dolphins and Matt Moore making his first start of the year, it’s too hard to pick against Gang Green. My pick: Jets.