Week 5 Recap

The Monday night game capped off a perfect 4-0 weekend, which was a really nice way bounce back from dropping two games the previous week.  I felt pretty good about picking a double-digit dog on Monday Night Football (historically a pretty high-value play), but was pretty surprised with how the Jets (and Geno Smith in particular) were able to bounce back from last week's debacle.  Atlanta is a hot mess, to say the least, though if they could just get their red zone offense figured out, they could be decent.  The thing that makes Atlanta such an interesting storyline is how deep they are buried in the division-- do they fold and pack it up, or try to reel off wins in hopes something crazy happening and looking at a wild card (the odds are way, way, long on that one, now that it seems Jones may be out for most or all of rest of the season). 

Chicago got exposed; the defense ain't your Grandpa's Chicago D.  Though the offense has improved, it's not good enough to hang with a team like the Saints-- and had it not been for some red zone miscues for New Orleans, this game could have been a huge blowout. 

The NFC East continues to be the soap opera of the NFL.  The winless Giants, the Romo INT, health worries for RG III, and the whole Philly experiment.  The Giants' offense woke up a bit in this game, but Philly's secret weapon got to come in when Vick went out-- Nick Foles was very, very good.  I actually think, given Vick's age and tendency to be hurt a third of the season, the Eagles should concentrate on bringing Foles along in that offense.  With those weapons, he could be really effective in a Chip Kelly offense. 

I'm going to stop calling the Colts over-rated-- the clutch, gritty win at home over Seattle (the first SU and ATS loss for the Seahawks of the year) was pretty impressive.  With the apparent meltdown of the reigning AFC South champs, they look good to take the division and go back to the playoffs.

Arizona is slightly under-rated, I think.  The defense is playing well and they are a bit under the radar.  I don't think that they are good, per se, but they aren't terrible.  Bruce Arians is a good coach, and they seem to be coming along. 

NFL 2013 Week 5: 4-0
NFL 2013 Season Total: 9-2