Week 5 Overview
by Mark Schlereth
You can check out his picks here on our
experts' picks page.
Arizona at St. Louis: The Rams' offensive line is decimated by injuries and they are playing a Cardinals defense that is filthy and playing great football.
Cleveland at New England: What can you say about the Patriots except that they are the best team in football. They get Rodney Harrison back this week and Richard Seymour is on his way back soon.
Carolina at New Orleans: A week off to see what's wrong should be enough for coach Sean Payton to figure how to get this ship righted. They will get back to running the football and establishing their tempo early.
N.Y. Jets at N.Y. Giants: The Giants are coming off a dominant defensive performance and that is because the defensive coordinator has figured out his defensive tools. They have excellent talent on the field and they now seem to know how to use them.
Seattle at Pittsburgh: The Steelers didn't run the ball well last week because they played a very good Cardinals defense. They will go back to running the ball effectively.
Detroit at Washington: Detroit has never won at Washington (0-20). The Commanders have a formula for controlling the tempo of this game with Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts.
Miami at Houston: Matt Schaub has been amazing getting rid of the ball. He's got a great deep ball.
Atlanta at Tennessee: The Titans' defensive front seven and offensive line is as physical a line as any other in football. They will win a lot of games because of those guys. They will play ultra-aggressive defense.
Jacksonville at Kansas City: This is a tough one because it is so difficult to play in Kansas City. Both defenses are pretty legit, but the Kansas City offense has struggled mightily at times. This will be a fairly low-scoring affair.
Tampa Bay at Indianapolis: As good as Tampa has played, they don't have a strong chance against this efficient monster. The Colts are a close second to New England.
San Diego at Denver: One of San Diego's biggest issues is tackling. They are giving up a ton of yards after the catch and after making the initial hit because they aren't wrapping people up.
Baltimore at San Francisco: The Ravens look really old and tired, but the 49ers' offense has been very average and won't be a big problem for the Ravens' defense. The 49ers don't have enough continuity to make the big plays necessary to beat the Ravens.
Chicago at Green Bay: Brett Favre has been phenomenal this season. He's been extremely judicious with the football but is still gunslinging. He's been amazingly accurate.
Dallas at Buffalo: I think Dallas is the most complete team in football right now. They are doing it on both sides, and they are the superior team in this matchup.
