Here's a quick list of observations from Week 5.
1) Matt Schaub is on the precipice of ending his career. I don't envy trying to manage this situation as a coach. It's hard to watch and I'm not sure how one would navigate this situation. The Texans probably can't win a championship with Schaub, but where do you go from here? Andre Johnson is mostly spent and Foster has only two or three more years of top notch play. Really tough situation in Houston.
2) The 49ers are going to be what we expected at the beginning of the season by the end of the season. Don't let the score in the Texans game fool you, this team is limited right now. What's really turned things around is the fact that Harbaugh is calling more running plays. Kaepernick doesn't have the weapons to develop his passing skills and that's okay. The 49ers need to focus on getting healthy, running the ball well, and playing good defense. They'll be in the mix at the end of the season.
3) Tony Romo is Brett Favre. The Cowboys' lack of late game success is more a product of a team that doesn't function well in crisis. Romo is exceptional IF he has a supporting cast that is more disciplined than he is. Romo makes those type of plays late in games because he knows he has to overcome a team that hasn't supported him in the past. Romo is not Brees, Brady, Rodgers, or Manning. He's just not that good, but he is better than almost every other QB. Romo is the scapegoat that prevents fans from demanding the management changes that will fix the real issue.
4) Luck and Wilson should be an entertaining battle for years to come. What a fantastic game! The Colts are only going to get better and if the Seahawks manage their roster well in the coming years these two teams should provide some excitement when they face off.
5) Josh Freeman is not the answer in Minnesota. He's certainly better than Ponder and has a higher ceiling than Cassel, but I doubt if he becomes their franchise QB. Coaches rarely keep their job with QBs they didn't draft (the most recent exception is Payton and Brees). Lesley Frazier is probably not going to keep his job for more than two years and when that happens the team will draft another QB. Freeman has shown that he's got some work to do on his soft skills as well as his quarterbacking skills. Some of that is coaching, but the best in the league don't precipitate situations like what happened in Tampa. Either a QB is too good an too well liked to get booted or he's not ready for the situation, no matter how problematic the head coaches methods are.
6) New Orleans is the most capable challenger to Seattle. If it comes down to those two teams in the NFC championship game the winner will likely be the home team. The scariest thing about the Saints is that they're playing very good defense. That offense is problematic enough without a defense that can hold opponents to less than 25. Watch out for the Saints. The last time they went 5-0 they won it all. What a rematch that would be with Peyton!
7) The Broncos may not lose a game to an AFC team. Make no mistake, if starting middle linebacker Wesley Woodyard is out for an extended period of time then the Broncos are not nearly as formidable on defense, but does that really matter? Manning's offense can't be stopped and running back Knowshon Moreno is looking like the first round pick we thought he'd be. This team is the biggest offensive juggernaut since Brady's 18-1 team.
8) The Chiefs aren't as good as their record, but that may not matter. Right now there are only three games on the Chiefs' schedule where they won't be favored, two against Denver and one against the Colts. They are a legitimate threat to get home field throughout the playoffs because their opponents are collectively that poor. The only quality team they've faced so far has been the Cowboys and that game was very close. The Chiefs can be beat, but not by teams that don't play smart and certainly not by teams that are significantly less talented. The Chiefs are for real because their path to the playoffs is one of the easiest.
9) Ryan Tannehill is a franchise QB. There. I said it. The third and long throw late in the game to put his team in position to win convinced me. His supporting cast is not doing him any favors and the front office should be face palming themselves for massively overpaying for Wallace. I hope the Dolphins' brass gets their act together because by now it should be clear to them that they are hindering the development of their franchise guy. I wasn't smart enough to see what they saw in Tannehill, though it was a good pick. The front office needs to get out of its own way and make sure their franchise guy has a clearer (and cheaper) path to success.
10) Speaking of screwing things up, Cam Newton and this coaching staff/front office need a divorce. I go back and forth on who's more to blame, but assigning blame matters less right now than fixing the issue. Cam has been woefully immature, but this coaching staff and front office have been woefully inept at putting together a good team. Newton is ultra talented, but he needs better guidance to reach his potential. How the Panthers handle the offseason will depend on who they bring in to replace Rivera and his staff. If they keep Cam then they'd better get serious leadership and talent to run the team. If they get rid of Cam they should be able to get some serious compensation. I would clean house and keep Cam only if I could find the right coach to work with him. What's Warren Moon's email?
Enjoy the game tonight. Atlanta should win, but I think the game is close for at least the first half. Geno Smith may not be a franchise guy, but he certainly plays like he wants to be. If the Falcons can't run the ball or pressure Geno then this is going to be a close game.
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