From The 5th Down Report Archives: 2007 - Week 12 Edition
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THE 5TH DOWN
REPORT
    Game Plan:

* Kickoff
* Touchdown
* Extra Point
* Fumble
* Interception
* 2 Min. Warning
* Coin Toss
* Under Review
* Sudden Death
* Hall of Fame
* Blitz
* On the Sidelines

** WEEK 12 EDITION **
♦ Top 10 QBs to win one game
♦ Aikman and Simms don't call it like they see it
♦ Why is Pete Morelli still an NFL referee?
♦ Happy Thanksgiving
♦ Would have liked to seen Curtis Martin honored
♦ Should more plays be reviewed?
♦ Should there be full-time officials?
♦ Cards/Browns looking at playoffs
♦ Vinny T at QB is a joke
♦ Time for Steve McNair to hang up the cleats
♦ Our Week 12 picks

~ Kickoff ~

Welcome.

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This site is not a fantasy site, nor a stat site, nor a betting site, nor is it a site that recaps what we as fans have seen and heard over and over, ad nauseam, watching the highlights and listening to the radio all week.

Our views on this site will be astute, concise, and maybe you'll find them insightful.

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So after you've read it and reread it, let us know your opinion about anything we've said here or anything else you'd like to express regarding the great game of football. Contact us at: blitz@5thdownreport.net. Thank you and enjoy.

This site will be updated weekly, primarily on Wednesdays.

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~ Touchdown ~

Around the League

AFC East
Bills Need win at Jags this Sunday or playoffs are in doubt
Dolphins First round pick Ted Ginn returns a punt for a TD in a 17-7 loss to the Eagles to drop to 0-11... definitely the right pick, wouldn't you say?
Jets Get a huge meaningless win against the tough Steelers. Looks like Clemens was the way to go. Who said the Jets don't have a running game?
Patriots Easy as pumpkin pie
AFC South
Colts Somethings seems amiss with the great Peyton. When is Harrison coming back?
Jaguars Jaguars starting to play solid ball
Texans Looks like Andre Johnson is the difference maker. He returns, the Texans win
Titans Vince Young needs more help from his receivers, who seem to drop far too many passes
AFC North
Bengals No running game and too many turnovers spell doom for the bad Bengals
Browns The Browns are to be taken seriously. They should win 5 of their last 6 to finish 11-5
Ravens Brian Billick could start boxing up some of his stuff in his office... any questions?
Steelers Hit a little blip in New Jersey Sunday, but should rebound to send the Dolphins to 0-12 on Monday
AFC West
Broncos Big win at home over the Titans, now have to string some victories together
Chargers Last week we said that the Chargers are not good and we don't know why... maybe it's Rivers?
Chiefs Almost pulled off a huge win over the Colts. Hey Herm: play to win the game
Raiders Same old story, should they try McCown next week?
NFC East
Cowboys Seems simple: throw the ball to T.O.
Eagles McNabb going out is not necessarily a bad thing for the Eagles
Giants Have to score more points, can't keep settling for FGs. If Plaxico is hurt, let Moss play more. If Jacobs is out, it will be a huge loss for the G-Men
Redskins Must keep running Portis for their best chance at winning right now
NFC South
Buccaneers The NFC South is Tampa's to win
Falcons Why start Leftwhich after you just won 2 in a row with Harrington?
Panthers Attention Carolina fans: Testaverde will not save you, he will destroy you
Saints Must get back on track at Carolina this weekend, or their season could be done
NFC North
Bears If Lovie Smith was the Coach of the Year last year, why doesn't he start coaching better this year?
Lions Folks, this team has talent, but they need a RB and Kitna is not answer
Packers After feasting on the Lions on Thanksgiving, they head to Dallas for a huge one
Vikings We knew Chester Taylor was good (22-161-3 TDs)
NFC West
Cardinals At 5-5, home this Sunday against the 49ers, in a weak NFC West, the Cards could start to talk... playoffs
49ers Dead team playing
Rams 2 game winning streak should end this weekend against Seattle
Seahawks Must start to separate themselves in NFC West, and from the not-so-good teams in the NFC

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~ Extra Point ~

Two points on the game's two best TV analysts. First, on the Steelers' last posession in the Jets/Steelers game, Jim Nantz just got done saying that Ben Roethlisberger got his nickname "Big Ben" because in his sophomore year in college he threw a 73 yard hail mary pass to win a game. With 3 seconds to go in a tie game from their own 43 (57 yards from the endzone) on third down, Big Ben kneels down to run the clock out. Nantz then asks the great Phil Simms if he was suprised at that play. Simms responds no, adding what are you going to, you can't throw it in the endzone from there. What! Is Simms implying that Big Ben lost some arm strength since his college days?

Secondly, and this guy really is astonishing. With 1:28 left in the Redskins/Cowboys game, with the 'Boys up 28-23 and with the ball at their own 23 on third down and six with Redskins out of timeouts, Troy Aikman, who for some reason is annointed the #1 analyst on FOX, asks the question about what the Cowboys should do here, run the ball or pass the ball. Is he kidding? Hey idiot, run the ball and run the clock down to about 30 seconds and punt. Duh.

When it's third down and 18 yards or so to go, why do we keep hearing that there are no plays for that situation? How about a pass?

Ex-Jet and Pat Curtis Martin was honored at halftime this Sunday in the Meadowlands. It sure would have been nice to see it instead of the tedious halftime show, the hundreds of commercials, and the thousands of promotions for all the junk that's coming up on CBS this week.

Good to see that that ridiculous play by Mike Shanahan of calling timeout right before the kicker is ready to kick the ball blow up in his face Monday night against the Titans.

We know Troy Aikman and Darryl "Moose" Johnston have won 3 Super Bowls together, but when they are the analysts on a game the stuff that comes out of their mouths sounds like they never played the game before.

Hate to say this because he was a great tough, tough player, but Steve McNair is done.

The fact that Vinny Testeverde is playing QB today is a blemish on the NFL.

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~ Fumble ~

RE: Officiating

Once again, the officials blow the call but get it right after some further "discussion". And once again, it's our old buddy Pete Morelli and his crew. How he's still a referee is beyond us. By now, you've seen the field goal in question in the Browns/Ravens game. Our question is not whether Morelli "reviewed" the "unreviewable" play (and why can't it) but how they got it wrong in the first place. The official who initially called it no good was the one along side the left upright (as you're looking at the goal post). Now the crossbar is 10 feet high and 18.5 feet long, which means the play happened approximately 4 feet over his head and 9.25 feet to his left. How in the world did he not see it clearly? That man should be fired immediately, period.

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~ Interception ~

RE: Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving.

Remember our motto: find out what you like in life and eat it.

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~ 2 Minute Warning ~

Key Games:

Texans at Browns
     - Texans must keep pace with the tough AFC
     - Browns got to keep winning, especially over teams their better than

Saints at Panthers
     - The loser is 4-7 and probably out of the playoffs

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~ Coin Toss ~

This Week's Picks:

JB: (106-54)   Joe Namath Guarantee (7-4)
Cowboys over Jets
Packers over Lions
Colts over Falcons
Giants over Viks
Seahawks over Rams
Chiefs over Raiders
Browns over Texans
Titans over Bengals
Saints over Panthers
Bucs over Redskins
Jags over Bills
Cards over 49ers
Broncos over Bears
Chargers over Ravens
Pats over Eagles
Steelers over Dolphins

MD: (106-54)   Joe Namath Guarantee (7-4)
Cowboys over Jets
Packers over Lions
Colts over Falcons
Giants over Viks
Jags over Bills
Broncos over Bears
Browns over Texans
Saints over Panthers
Chiefs over Raiders
Seahawks over Rams
Titans over Bengals
Bucs over Redskins
Cards over 49ers
Chargers over Ravens
Pats over Eagles
Steelers over Dolphins

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~ Under Review ~

RE: Current QBs you'd take to win one game

10) Matt Hasselbeck
9) Derek Anderson
8) Vince Young
7) Carson Palmer
6) Jeff Garcia
5) Peyton Manning
4) Brett Favre
3) Tony Romo
2) Ben Roethlisberger
1) Tom Brady

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~ Sudden Death ~

Any Questions?

Q: Should the NFL adopt full-time officials?
A: No.

Q: Should more plays be reviewable?
A: Yes, all plays should be subject to review, all plays.

Q: Will the Rams win a game this year?
A: Yes, in fact they will win 4 of their last 8.

Q: Should the NFL play more games in a foreign country or never do it again.
A: Never do it again.

Q: Which is more likely: the Patriots go 16-0, or the Dolphins go 0-16?
A: The Patriots going 16-0.

Q: Will Tom Brady break Peyton Manning's single season TD passing record?
A: Yes.

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~ Hall of Fame ~

To view our previous reports, please visit the Archives Section.

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~ Blitz ~

To contact us, please send an e-mail to: blitz@5thdownreport.net.

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~ On the Sidelines ~

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