PIGSKIN 2021: Week Five

PIGSKIN

FOOTBALL SUNDAY

Week Four

RESULTS

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Scoreboard

Week Four Record: 10-4

Overall record (ATS): 25-28-1

Schmear of the Week: 3-1

Bagels in the Basket: +2

1st and Ten

• London Calling! 9:30 am (EST)
• And then there was one - the Arizona Cardinals are the only undefeated team left.

2nd and Long

• Both the Jets and Giants win for the first time this season, in overtime!  We're so spoiled.
• Too bad: Russell Wilson out 4 to 8 weeks.

No Gain

• Urban Meyer at the bar ... C'mon, man!
• Speaking of which, the Jaguars and Lions are a combined 0-8.
• Someone is gonna break Big Ben.

PUNT!

• John Gruden apologizes for using racial language in a 2011 email.  That was no slip of the tongue either, you really have to want to say something like that.

WEEK FIVE

Friday Line ~ NYP/MGM

COWBOYS -7 Giants

The question is can Daniel Jones, Kenny Golladay, and Kadarius Toney win a shootout against the Cowboys.  If Jason Garrett lets Saquon Barkely run 20 to 25 times, maybe.  I'd love to see it.  The Dallas secondary is indeed terrible.  But the Giants defensive front isn't generating any pressure.  Even when they blitz, they're still not getting near the quarterback.  Even though Ezikiel Elliott and Amari Cooper are banged up, you just can't give Dak Prescott that kind of time.  Blake Martinez and now Jabrill Peppers are out.  The Giants still aren't rushing effectively either, and now (guard) Ben Bredeson is out.

WIN; 44-20 Cowboys

Jets +3 Falcons *LONDON

Why do we constantly export terrible games across the pond?  Atlanta is just aweful.  They had no business defeating the Giants.  Three of four opponents have scored 30 points or more against the Falcons.  You know which team didn't top 30 points against Atlanta?  The Giants.  Stick with the Jets coming off last week's defensive marvel against the Titans.

Loss; 27-20 Falcons

BENGALS +3 Packers

Trap game!  The Packers should win, but will they?  Joe Burrow is hotter than the sun ... something to be said for the up and comers of the league.  Gotta take underdogs if you wanna win (ATS).

Push; 25-22 Packers

Lions +9 VIKINGS

Week Five Toilet Bowl: Just looking for the Lions to cover.  Like last week, Dalvin Cook is playing on an injured ankle, and you saw what happened against the Browns.  Minnesota's win over Seattle was unimpressive.  The Lions are 2-2 against the spread and so are the Vikes.  Heads I win, tails you lose.

WIN; 19-17 Vikings

STEELERS +1 Broncos

The Steelers have one more win in them.  They'll do it for their coach.  Big Ben has a bum hip, but he should be able to bust the Broncos.

WIN; 27-19 Steelers

BUCCANEERS -10 Dolphins

It turns out Miami's week one win against the Patriots was a fluke.  Meanwhile, the world awaits Tom Brady versus Jacoby Brissett.

WIN; 45-17 Bucs

WASHINGTON +2 Saints

Washington has no business winning this game, not with their lack of discipline.  I'm giving Coach Rivera one last vote of confidence to garner some competency from his talent.  They should be able to create all kinds of chaos around Jameis Winston, but will they ...

Loss; 33-22 Saints

PANTHERS -3 Eagles

Panthers are banged up.  But the Eagles are the most undependable team in football.  They're harder to solve than a sudoku puzzle.  Sam, I Can ...

Loss; 21-18 Eagles

Titans -4 1/2 JAGUARS

Urban Meyer missed the team flight back to Florida so he could chill in Ohio and party.  You can take the man out of college but you can't take college out of the man.  I wanna see Jacksonville lose their 20th in a row.  When it rains it pours.

WIN; 37-19 Titans

Patriots -9 TEXANS

This is a lot of points.  Houston's defense can make this game closer than Bill Belichick would like.  A touchdown and a field goal, I'll take my chances.

Loss; 25-22 Patriots

RAIDERS -5 1/2 Bears

Back to the desert, they go ... not a good place for bears.  Chicago's problem is points - they simply do not score.  They average 16-points per game.

Loss; 20-9 Bears

Browns +2 1/2 CHARGERS

It's time the Bolts experience a short circuit.  Chargers are a legit 3-1 team.  But ya can't hold the Browns' competition against them.  Their defense is good, really good.  If Baker Mayfield plays under control, they're in.

Loss; 47-42 Chargers

CARDINALS -5 49ers

No Jimmy G ... I picked the Cardinals last week against the Rams.  The Cardinals can seize the NFC West by the neck, and they know it.

WIN; 17-10 Cardinals

Bills +3 CHIEFS

If there was ever a game the Chiefs should plow forward behind the run, this is it.  Run, run, run, chew up yardage behind that big offensive line, and keep Josh Allen and the Bills off the field.  Problem is, Buffalo's defense is among the NFL's best.

WIN; 38-20 Bills

Schmear of the Week (3-1)

Bucs -10

WIN

Good luck, and have a great Football Sunday!

POST-GAME

Week Five Record: 7-6-1

Overall Record (ATS): 32-34-2

Schmear of the Week: 4-1

Bagels in the Basket: +5

N.Y. Giants: The Post Odell Beckham Jr. Era Begins

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

FIRST WORD

New York Football Giants: Rings, Receivers, and Rebuilds.

Here is a small list of reasons why I believe the Giants did right by trading Odell Beckham Jr., and why they'll survive without him:

• Bobby Johnson; Lionel Manuel; Phil McConkey; Stephen Baker; Stacy Robinson; Mark Ingram; Plaxico Burress; Amani Toomer; David Tyre; Victor Cruz; Hakeem Nicks; et al.  

Odell is unquestionably the best talent at the position the Giants ever had.  In fact some of the aforementioned names shouldn't even be mentioned in the same conversation where it concerns the freakish ability Beckham brings to the gridiron.  However I do not believe Super Bowl contenders are predicated on wide receivers.  They're low on my list after defensive play makers, offensive linemen, and quarterbacks.  I'll take a Pro Bowl caliber center or a two-way tight end any day; receivers not so much.  Give me good pass protection; give me a productive running game; and I'll show you a highlight stream packed with game breaking pass receptions made by ordinarily good receivers.

There's also the matter of Odell's contract.  At $90 million dollars the Browns can have him.  I can think of numerous other ways to ruin the salary cap, but spending that much money based on Odell's previous availability alone is not one of them.  However by first signing Beckham Dave Gettleman just may have provided another general manager a measure of cost certainty versus having to wait out the process and acquiring him as a free agent.  Just a theory, and perhaps a bad one.  But truth is Cleveland was perfectly positioned to acquire him.

Otherwise I find it virtually impossible taking NFL general managers at their word.  Rather I expect half truths and double speak.  Expecting them to reveal their hand is being naive.  It's just the nature of the business.  Therefore, I pay little or no attention to what they say, and focus instead on what they actually do.  Be it a shrewd move on Gettleman's part or not, this transaction still must be viewed within the context of team building and roster maneuvering.  In two short seasons Gettleman has purged many a popular name from the Giants ranks, not just Odell.  The team Beckham once knew and played for has all but been disassembled.  Therefore it was hard envisioning him outlasting a third head coach, much less Pat Shurmur.  And that's why I do not get caught up in Dave Gettleman's widely perceived propaganda.

If defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, drafted with the #1 pick they received from Cleveland, develops into a legitimate player, and safety Jabrill Peppers proves his worth, all the better.

I purposefully steered clear from making any mention of Eli Manning.  There's a reason for it, of which I will get into very shortly ...

NEXT: The Hog Mollies Are Coming!