Thoughts From the NFL Week 5

by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Oct 10, 2011 3:00 PM CDT in Notes

Week five in the NFL is nearly in the books and were continuing to see offenses explode. Or is it defenses break down? Either way it's exciting football. If this is an aftereffect of the lockout and the missed practice time, it would not surprise me to see the NFL look into ways to take away OTA's every year.

1) Even though I've used WCG as a place to poke a little fun at Al Davis through our create-a-caption posts, I've always admired the man and what he meant for football. His rebellious nature, pioneering spirit, and passion for the game was unmatched. More professional sports owners should thirst for winning as feverishly as Al Davis. It was good to see the Raiders win yesterday.

2) The Denver Broncos should have traded Kyle Orton in the off season. They weren't going to be a playoff team in 2011, so why not give Tim Tebow the year to see what you got? Getting a pick or two for Orton is much better than allowing him to walk as a free agent, and his trade value is no where near what it was before he was benched.

3) The Carolina Panthers are the best 1-4 team in the NFL. Silly timeout though...

4) The Philadelphia Eagles are living proof that you need to be strong in the trenches to win in the NFL.

5) I did not think Jim Harbaugh would get the 49ers turned around this quickly. They are playing real good right now. My Rams to win the NFC West prediction is shot.

6) The Colts couldn't close out the Chiefs at home with a 17 point lead... Looking over their schedule I only see the two games against the Jaguars as possible wins for them. Andrew Luck could be Indy bound.

7) Great game-plan by the Vikings. Run Adrian Peterson. Now the next step is to get their rookie QB in the game. Is Donovan McNabb at this point really a better option than Christian Ponder? I'm just not a big proponent of playing aging veterans when a season isn't playoff bound.

8) I wonder what Carson Palmer thinks about the Bengals 3-2 start? And I wonder why they haven't traded him away yet. Even snagging a 7th round pick is better than nothing.

9) Is it just me or are teams using the shotgun more than ever.

10) Aaron Rodgers is great and the best QB in the league. I hate him.

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No disrespect to the Davis family

but seeing a giant billboard of a ghostly Al Davis would scare the bejeezus out of me.

Re: #2 – I can understand why the Broncos stuck with Orton initially. Tebow looked awful in preseason, and with their defense looking solid, the Broncos thought Orton could game-manage the offense back to the playoffs. Orton was just a little too mediocre; starting Tebow basically announces that Denver is playing for 2012 now.

Re: #4 – I knew the Eagles would struggle a little bit to align all that talent, but I never thought they’d be this bad.

Re: #9 – Yes, a lot of teams are using the shotgun, except for this one offensive coordinator in Chicago who treats the shotgun like he treats running plays – only does it if he absolutely has to.

Re: #10 – I hate that I agree with both of those sentences.

by NorthSideBearsFan on Oct 10, 2011 3:46 PM CDT reply actions

Very interesting....

1. True

2. I’ve always disliked Tebow and I still do. He’s not a good QB but having said that, he does give the Broncos somewhat of a fresh start. He can move around and make plays with his legs, which is something Orton “The Statue” can’t do. You’re right the Broncos should’ve traded him away and that they should see what they have in Tebow.

3. Yeah no kidding. Smith is making Newton look that much better and Newton looks pretty damn good on his own lol. If he can stay healthy, he’ll beast it for another decade. I was wrong about him and am eating crow!

4. True and true. The biggest culprit to me is Reid. He fired their DC for some b.s reasoning, hired the OL coach to be the DC, who in turn has turned the best man to man corner in the league into a bumbling fool who can’t play zone. They also spent a ton of money on defensive reinforcements yet neglected the OL (where have I heard that before). Also Vick should be hated on for his terrible performances so far. He’s coughing the ball up, not accurate and not showing the same pocket awareness and patience he showed last season.

5. The Niners are looking damn good and their defense is playing lights out. Carlos Rogers looks good. Would’ve looked even better in a Bears uniform.

6. If they indeed win the Luck sweepstakes then that’s going to piss me off. They have the best QB of the past decade and have the chance to draft another QB that has the ability and skills to be one of the best QB’s of the next decade.

7. Agreed with every point!

8. Not a TCU fan since I’m a Longhorns guy, but I’ve been on the Dalton bandwagon for a while. If he can continue to learn from his mistakes he can develop into a solid QB in the Pennington-with a stronger arm-mold, who just happens to stay healthy. It doesn’t hurt that he has AJ Green to throw to. That kid is an animal!

9. Haven’t paid much attention to it since our team’s QB gets sacked the handful of times they’ve tried it.

10. Yeah the guy isn’t human!

by frenchbears113 on Oct 10, 2011 3:52 PM CDT reply actions

As to the shotgun bit

there was an article on NFL.com (I believe) about that very topic…said offenses are lining up in the ’gun 40+% of the time (A LOT)…also said dis team called “Da Bears” only did it 15% of the time…huh?

by BOBdaBEAR on Oct 10, 2011 4:54 PM CDT reply actions

they are mirroring the college game

Whenever Mike Ditka boards an aircraft, it changes its call sign to Bear Force One.

by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Oct 10, 2011 5:48 PM CDT via iPhone app up reply actions

Response...

1) Agreed completely. As long as his 80-year-old mug isn’t seen on my screen, though. Post pics of him from the 60s and 70s. But not of the Emperor. Good lord, that thing STILL gives me nightmares.

2) Urgh. Good LORD do I hate Tebow. Not really Tebow. More the aura of Tebow. I wish that Orton could be given his due in this league. He’s not a bad QB by any means. He’s not Peyton, but he’s at least as good as (if not better than) Cassel, Campbell, and a few others out there…

3) And Cam Newton is the best rookie QB this game has seen probably since Peyton. Chico must have taken time management classes from Lovie Smith, but he’s got that team clicking right now.

4) I feel about the Eagles like I do about the Heat. I just wanna see them fail after all that superteam nonsense they were spouting in the offseason.

5) I thought for SURE he’d tank the season on purpose to get his boy Luck next draft. What’s going on in Alex Smith’s head right now?

6) If I were them, I wouldn’t bother with Luck. Painter is the real deal. Like the Bears, they should be focusing on the trenches in this upcoming draft. That’s where their weaknesses are showing. But Painter now has some pretty good games strung together. He won’t be Peyton, but he’s probably as talented, if not moreso, than Eli, and if you’ve got a good team around him, he could lead you to a SB.

7) Agreed, and agreed. If they lose 7, I’d just as soon shelf AP and see what Ponder can do on his own before entering the Luck Sweepstakes. AP is the best RB in the NFL, has been for a few years, and as long as he’s healthy will continue to be for years to come.

8) That team’s a giant cluster right now, but they’ve got some good pieces on offense. Palmer’s a fool.

9) Passing league. Look at the CFL, even more of a passing league than the NFL. They almost NEVER go under center anymore.

10) The Bear fan in me has to pull Brady, Brees, Peyton, and Rivers out as counters, but the arguments are getting less and less…

by Doshi on Oct 10, 2011 5:02 PM CDT reply actions

1) Al Davis has been out of touch for quite some time lately, but other than Papa Bear, it’s hard to find someone who has done so much for the game.

2) Because they’re a mess after McDaniels Mattmilered the place, and nobody on the organization trusts Tebow to be the franchise QB. I still think he could be useful as a double.threat full back, as a starting QB, he lacks weapons other than his legs. Half of his passes are bricks.

3) The Lovie Smith school of looking at the clock and the video-wall all the time and still do stupid crap.

4) They’ve also imploded under the expectations.

5) Which is why, if this season tanks, I believe our best shot is to find a promising OC that can use everyone’s best abilities.

6) But is Manning going to allow it?

7) Agree.

8) Wondering “Maybe I was part of the problem” ?

9) Yep

10) Yep, but at least he’s not the Farver.

by lmfsilva on Oct 10, 2011 7:14 PM CDT reply actions