From The 5th Down Report Archives: 2007 - Week 17 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 17 EDITION **
♦ Top 5 Under-achieving Teams of 2007
♦ The Pats will be 16-0, but that's not perfection
♦ Michaels and Madden have become a bore
♦ Can anyone stand Tony Siragusa?
♦ Bryant Gumbel better than Collinsworth
♦ Mike Ditka the top talking head
♦ Should there be full-time officials?
♦ Who could upset Pats/Colts?
♦ Ravens worst team in the NFL?
♦ The third best team in the AFC is...
♦ Our Week 17 picks

~ Kickoff ~

Welcome.

You have arrived at the most authentic site about professional football. This site is all encompassing in its no nonsense, to-the-point, "real" analysis of the teams, players, coaches, officials, broadcasters, and of the league itself.

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.

You will notice that this site is quite simple in its design. This is so, not because of a lack of imagination or web design talent, but rather because of a disdain for the clutter found on a lot of other sites. This site focuses on content rather than graphics. There are a few flashing lights and animations for those who feel they are a requirement on a web site.

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 Poor special team play let one slip away in the wind, rain, and snow of Buffalo
Dolphins 0-15... oh we mean 1-14, all right!
Jets The "great" Jets' D holds Brady and Young to 0 TD passes in consecutive weeks
Patriots 16-0 all but assured
AFC South
Colts Don't make the same mistake you made 2 years ago by "resting" players, then showing up flat in the playoffs
Jaguars Rolled over the hapless Raiders
Texans We all know Sage Rosenfels is not the answer
Titans With playoffs on the line, all the Titans must play better
AFC North
Bengals Sure missed all those Chad Johnson dances this year
Browns Picked a bad time to lay an egg
Ravens Season can't end soon enough
Steelers Should get to 11 wins this Sunday at Baltimore
AFC West
Broncos Failed to show up in San Diego on Christmas Eve
Chargers Starting to play real good at the right time
Chiefs Herm returns to New Jersey for a battle of who gets a better draft choice
Raiders Let Russell play the last game of the season, at home, against the Chargers
NFC East
Cowboys We guess Jessica Simpson didn't make the trip to Carolina Saturday night
Eagles Up-down, up-down season continues. Probably finish, what else, 8-8
Giants Made the playoffs, but how far are they going to go?
Redskins Is this team ready for the playoffs? We think so
NFC South
Buccaneers Let's be clearer, Garcia must play the whole game in order for the Bucs to have any shot at winning
Falcons Played hard in the desert, but not getting a chance in OT dooms them
Panthers Would have been an interesting year had Jake Delhomme not gotten hurt
Saints Tough team to figure this year. Although some of the playcalling was very questionable
NFC North
Bears Winning every way but via their offense
Lions Kitna guaranteed 10 wins, might have to settle for 7
Packers Favre is going to hurt this team come the playoffs
Vikings Not yet ready for primetime
NFC West
Cardinals This team has all the makings that it's going to be a pretty good team, pretty soon. (Other than that its the Cardinals)
49ers They're really hurting the Pats' #1 pick
Rams Could Linehan be gone?
Seahawks Hasselbeck and Alexander better amp it up as the playoffs await

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~ Extra Point ~

Perfection is not 16-0, it's 19-0.

Some of the playcalling around the league seems quite unbelievable, especially by the Giants, Saints, Redskins, and Vikings.

We don't know about anybody else, but we're sick of this running up to the line to get a play off after a close play so that the other team can't challenge it. (What is this high school football?)

The Sunday Night announcing crew of Al Michaels and John Madden have really become a poor listen. Madden's schtick sounds so bored and ridiculous coming from a 61 year man.

The question around the league this weekend seems to be will teams rest players before the playoffs. In regards to the Giants, who are they going to rest? In the game against the Bills, Eli was 7-15-111 yards with 2 INTs, Plax had 1 catch. These guys don't need rest, they need more practice.

Is everyone as tired of Tony Siragusa as we are?

It was reported that Kyle Turley of the Chiefs will donate most of his $25,000 game check from his December 23 game against the Lions to the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund. This fund provides medical aid and social services to retired NFL players. He also issued a challenge to all current players to do the same. Good stuff from Turley. We'll see how many of these millionaires will give a dime.

As for the NFL Network's announcing team, it's not Bryant Gumbal who is bad, it's Collinsworth.

And as far as Jessica Simpson is concerned, let's just say she's no Christina Aguilera.

It was reported that Bills TE Kevin Everett, who was injured with a serious spinal cord injury in Week 1, was walking on his own. Good news.

Of all the talking heads on all the different shows about the NFL, the person who seems to be the most logical is Mike Ditka.

It's a shame that we have to accept poor officiating as the norm these days.

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~ Fumble ~

RE: Christmas truce

In the spirit of Christmas, we want to turn a blind eye and keep our heads in the sand this week as to the negative goings on around the league. We should have something next week though.

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~ Interception ~

RE: Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas!

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~ 2 Minute Warning ~

Key Games:

All games with playoff implications are key, such as:
Titans at Colts
If the Titans win, they're in, if they lose they're out and the Browns are in.

Cowboys at Redskins
If the Redskins win, they're in or if they lose and the Viks and Saints lose, they're also in.

Vikings at Broncos
If Vikings win and Redskins lose, Vikings are in.

Saints at Bears
If Saints win and Redskins and Vikings lose, Saints are in.

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~ Coin Toss ~

This Week's Picks:

JB: (164-76)   Joe Namath Guarantee (10-6)
Pats over Giants
Seahawks over Falcons
Packers over Lions
Bengals over Dolphins
Saints over Bears
Jags over Texans
Eagles over Bills
Browns over 49ers
Panthers over Bucs
Jets over Chiefs
Steelers over Ravens
Chargers over Raiders
Broncos over Viks
Cards over Rams
Redskins over Cowboys
Colts over Titans

MD: (165-75)   Joe Namath Guarantee (12-4)
Pats over Giants
Eagles over Bills
Bucs over Panthers
Bengals over Dolphins
Redskins over Cowboys
Packers over Lions
Jags over Texans
Saints over Bears
Steelers over Ravens
Seahawks over Falcons
Browns over 49ers
Vikings over Broncos
Chargers over Raiders
Cards over Rams
Jets over Chiefs
Colts over Titans

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~ Under Review ~

RE: Top 5 Under-achieving Teams of 2007

5) Saints
4) Jets
3) Bengals
2) Bears
1) Ravens

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~ Sudden Death ~

Any Questions?

Q: The remaining AFC/NFC playoff teams will be?
A: Browns and Redskins.

Q: The third best team in the AFC is?
A: Jaguars.

Q: What team in the AFC could knock off the Pats and/or the Colts?
A: Jaguars.

Q: What team in the NFC could knock off the Cowboys and/or the Packers?
A: None.

Q: Will the Patriots go 16-0?
A: Yes.

Q: Will the Dolphins go 0-16?
A: No.

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: 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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