PIGSKIN 2020: Week Five

PIGSKIN

FOOTBALL SUNDAY

Week Five

RESULTS

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

SCOREBOARD

Week Four Record:  6-5-1

Overall Record:  30-21-2 (+7)

Schmear of the Week: 1-3 (-6)

Bagels in the Basket:  +1

1st and Ten

• COVID SACKS: Titans; Patriots; Raiders; Jets.  Much league vitriol being aimed at the Titans specifically.
• New York State's greatest team (Buffalo Bills) is undefeated, along with five other teams.
• Aaron Rogers and the Packers lead NFL with +51 point differential/most points in football.
• Joe Burrow wins his first game.
• JETS: False Positive.

2nd and Short

• Second stringer Joe Flacco is back and manning control of the Jets against the Cardinals.
• COVID: forfeit games vs. rescheduling?
• Tuesday Night Football is the new normal ...
• WTF: Dwayne Haskins Jr. benched; Kyle Allen in.
• Giants need more improvement from second year Daniel Jones.  Dak Prescott has thrown for more yards than Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold combined.

No Gain

• However ... Dak Prescott throws for 504 yards and 4 TD against the Browns and the Cowboys still lose.
• NO WINS: Jets, Giants; Texans, Falcons.
• Chargers Tyrod Taylor loses his job because a team doctor sticks a needle into his lung.  Head coach Anthony Lynn said Justin Herbert is the starting QB for the rest of the season.
• Is Dan Quinn on the hot seat?

PUNT!

• We've been through this year's allotment of hurricane names.  Second time through the lineup with Hurricane Delta.
• A player revolt in Houston led by JJ Watt.  Despite four division titles in six years head coach/general manager Bill O'Brien is out.  Fired.  What a raw deal.  The man is a head coach and was handed the general manager position by default because some plan devised by a genius in the Texans front office fell apart like wet toilet paper.  Romeo Crennel is named interim HC.
• If the Texans can fire a head coach after four weeks, then so can the Jets!  
• 2020 still rules.

WEEK FIVE

Friday Line NYP/MGM

COWBOYS -8.5 Giants

The young and gamely Giants defense faces its most formidable challenge to date.  The secondary will be challenged unlike before.  Defensively, the Cowboys are allowing 430 yards of offense per game.  That's the Giants only glimmer of hope.  Doesn't matter how much intel Jason Garrett provides about the Cowboys.  Unless Danny Jones has a career day, victory once again evades the Giants.

• GIANTS: First Quarter Report Card

As crazy as it sounds, the Giants are in supreme position to grab hold of the NFC East.  Six of their next seven games before the BYE are against division rivals: @ Dallas; WTF; @ Philadelphia; TAMPA BAY; @ wtf; PHILADELPHIA.  The Eagles are in first place with a ponderous 1-2-1 record.  Jones has seven turnovers in four games.  Time for him to start turning things around and do things other young QB's are doing with their teams.

Loss  37-34 Cowboys

Cardinals -7 JETS

Sam Darnold is out and Joe Flacco is in at quarterback.  Le'Veon Bell is also back in action.  That means the Jets have a QB who is authorized to audible and better knows how to utilize Le'Veon.  However, Flacco is a statue compared to Darnold.  If the Cardinals blitz, Flacco will be there.  But will the ball?  Cardinals beat themselves last week against the Panthers.  Cardinals are just better.  Period.

WIN  30-10 Cardinals

CHIEFS -12 Raiders

Mahomes was slowed down to a grind by Bell Belichick and still put up 26 points against the Patriots.  Raiders front seven not that great.  The Chiefs defense is yielding just 17 points per game.  Meanwhile, the Raiders are allowing 30 points per game.  Raiders can run, but not like the Patriots.

Loss  40-32 Raiders

Panthers +1 1/2 FALCONS

The Falcons are the most unreliable team in football.  That's different from being the worst team.  Their defense is in complete disarray.  Carolina is showing losing Christian McAffrey is less of a problem than we thought.  Stay away!

WIN  23-16 Panthers

Bengals +13 RAVENS

Ravens have outscored three out of four opponents by double-digits.  But the Bengals are getting help on the defensive line and QB John Burrow is feeling high as a kite after last week's win.  Taking the points and crossing my fingers.

Loss  27-3 Ravens 

  

Rams -7 WTF

The No Names are switching QB's.  When you look at what the Giants defense did to the Rams offense, one can only wonder what this WTF defense can do.  But as much as I tried over the last two weeks, the WTF have let me down.  They're just not scoring enough to cover.  Looking for the Rams offense to rebound in the face of a good WTF front seven.

WIN  30-10 Rams 

TEXANS -6 1/2 Jaguars

Rally around interim head coach Romeo Crennel.  Houston players won their revolution.  Now it's up to them to impose some law.  JJ Watt will be singularly focused on one person: Gardner Minshew.

WIN  30-14 Texans

STEELERS -7 Eagles

Steelers are coming off a forced bye week and thus have done nothing but practice.  The offense is a flaky bunch but their defense is strong.  Do not see the Eagles sustaining last week's success.

WIN  38-29 Steelers

NINERS -9 1/2 Dolphins

Ryan Fitzpatrick is the biggest variable in football and the Fish are the league's biggest pains in the posterior.  However, they only managed 23 points against a very generous Seahawks defense and will be coming off a 2,600 mile flight from Miami.  The Niners are getting healthier by the day.  Jimmy G is back.  Be on the lookout for FitzTragic and lay the points.

Loss  43-17 Dolphins

 

BROWNS +1 1/2 Colts

The best defense in football gets its first major test.  The Colts have cut their teeth against the Jags, Vikes, Jets and Bears.  They are among the top units against the run.  Here come the Browns and the one thing they do best is run the ball.  Most intriguing game of the week. 

WIN  32-23 Browns

Vikings +7 SEAHAWKS

I tried going against conventional wisdom last week betting against Seattle and I'm doing it again.  Jamaal Adams is still out for Seattle.  Their defense is a sieve.  Vikings should be able to score aplenty.

WIN  27-26 Vikings

Schmear of the Week: (1-3)

Cardinals -7

WIN

Monday Night Football II brought to you by COVID

• Broncos +10 PATRIOTS

It's time to break one of the all-time money trends in football: betting against the Patriots at home.  The Patriots last week were screwed out of practice and had to fly the day of the game.  Their practice facility again this week was closed three days.  Cam Newton is still out of action.  Broncos still field a good defense.  Starting Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham won't matter. 

Tuesday Night Football brought to you by COVID

• Bills -1 TITANS

Titans have won all four games by a total of six points and now they're missing a slew of players due to COVID.  To their credit I understand what's going on in Tennessee.  They're playing the closest style of smash mouth that exists in the league.  That means tight margins of victory.  The Vikes were the best offense they've faced to date.  Buffalo is a bit more explosive.

Loss  42-16 Titans

Good luck and have a great Football Sunday and Monday and Tuesday everyone!

POSTGAME:

Week Five Record:  7-5-0

Overall Record:  37-26-2 (+9)

Schmear of the Week:  2-3 (-3)

Bagels in the Basket:  +6