From The 5th Down Report Archives: 2007 - Week 8 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 8 EDITION **
♦ Top 5 Most Overrated Coaches
♦ Randy Moss or T.O.?
♦ Giants/Dolphins in London?
♦ Gadget plays?
♦ World Series prediction
♦ Eli 2nd best QB in NFC
♦ Al Michaels as bad as Phil Simms
♦ Pats 16-0 or Dolphins 0-16?
♦ Harrington or Leftwich, does it matter?
♦ Will Brady shatter TD passing record?
♦ Our Week 8 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 Trent Edwards getting it done
Dolphins From really bad, to really really bad... Ronnie Brown out for the season
Jets This is a sinking ship and sinking fast. With all the Chad Pennington talk... the fact that the defense stinks is getting lost
Patriots Only 84 yards rushing... could that hurt the Pats later in the year?
AFC South
Colts Made it look fairly easy in Jacksonville
Jaguars At 4-2, not so bad... but Quinn Gray at QB... uh oh
Texans Tremendous come back lead by Sage Rosenfels is ruined by letting the Titans march right down the field to kick game winning FG
Titans 8 FGs sounds great, but it won be enough to win later in the season (6 of the 8 FGs were from 30 yards or less)
AFC North
Bengals Kenny Watson, who? Rushes for 130 yards filling in for Rudi Johnson
Browns Must not have a let down against the 0-7 Rams this Sunday
Ravens Sooner or later we knew the poor Raven offense wouldn't be able to pull out another ugly win
Steelers Going to have to play more consistent to compete with the elite teams
AFC West
Broncos Cutler leads Broncos down the field in the final minute to win it. Big win for the Broncos at home after their 38 point loss to San Diego
Chargers Looks like it's time for the L.T.-led Chargers to ascend to the top of the AFC West
Chiefs Priest Holmes returns - 4 carries, 9 yards; 1 catch, -6 yards... yikes
Raiders Folks, why waste games with Culpepper at QB. You know what you're getting with him. Get the #1 pick in there, there is no point waiting any longer
NFC East
Cowboys Had almost double the total yards as the Viks, yet only won by 10 points. Get it to Owens in the end zone
Eagles This team is going nowhere
Giants Jacobs breaks out - 107 yards on 18 carries. The defense continues to play very well
Redskins Pulling out close victories. Going to have to get more from the QB position
NFC South
Buccaneers Garcia still hasn't thrown an INT in 189 attempts this season, but costly fumbles doom the Bucs
Falcons Harrington, Leftwich. Leftwich, Harrington. What's the difference?
Panthers Can you imagine the Panthers have a 43-year-old quarterback and we're supposed to take them serious?
Saints Saints are on a roll. Should win #3 against the Niners this Sunday
NFC North
Bears Brian Griese, the savior of the Bears season so far
Lions Come off the bye week with a big win at home against the Bucs
Packers Huge test in Denver, Monday night
Vikings Stayed with the Cowboys for most of the game, but getting only 72 yards from QB Jackson won't get it done
NFC West
Cardinals In a day of game winning kicks, Neil Rackers can't do it for the Cards
49ers The hopes of a once promising season are sinking fast
Rams Only 6 points for the punchless Rams. 5 turnovers don't help
Seahawks Alexander and Hasselbeck must play better if the Seahawks are to get on a roll

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~ Extra Point ~

During the Cards/Redskins game, after the Cardinals cut it to 21-19 they lined up for a 2-point conversion to tie the game. The QB Tim Rattay split out wide and WR Anquan Boldin lined up as the QB in shotgun formation. Boldin took the snap, scrambled right, and threw an INT in the end zone. The announcer calling the game said it was a "gadget" play. Our question is where was the gadgetry? Just because you split a QB out wide or put a WR under center doesn't make it a trick play. Someone (a corner) still has to cover the guy split wide, whoever it is. And why would another player playing QB affect how the defense plays defense on that particular play?

Al Michaels is starting to sound as ridiculous as Phil Simms on plays that are being challenged.

During the Jets/Bengals game on Sunday, Solomon Wilcots who was the analyst during the game, said the Jets were using a silent count to combat the crowd noise. Yet when Jets center Nick Mangold snapped the ball to a not ready Chad Pennington in shotgun formation, Wilcots attributed it to crowd noise... huh?

During the Viks/Cowboys game, DT Kevin Williams recovered a Tony Romo fumble and scampered 84 yards for an apparent TD. However, there was a penalty on the play nullifying the TD, but the Viks retained posession. After his long run, Williams remained on one knee in the end zone for a while as a trainer brought him drinks. A few moments later, sideline reporter Pam Oliver said that if he had to go back into the game right now, he probably couldn't (which he couldn't, as he was out of the game until the late stages). Troy Aikmen doing the game, right after Oliver's statement, as if he didn't hear one word she said, said that you could see what a terrific athelete Williams is. (Yeah one 84 yard sprint, then take 2 quarters off.)

Tom Brady is on pace to throw 56, eh 62 touchdown passes this season.

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~ Fumble ~

RE: Giants vs. Dolphins in London

Why is the NFL making the Giants play the Dolphins in a regular season game in London, England? Sure seems a little ridiculous to us.

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~ Interception ~

RE: World Series Champions

Colorado Rockies

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~ 2 Minute Warning ~

Key Games:

Lions at Bears
     - All division games are huge in tight NFC North

Eagles at Vikings
     - Loser is 2-5 and in bad shape

Packers at Broncos
     - Is Green Bay a legitimate 5-1 team?
     - Broncos must string together some victories, especially at home

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~ Coin Toss ~

This Week's Picks:

JB: (68-35)   Joe Namath Guarantee (3-4)
Giants over Dolphins
Bears over Lions
Titans over Raiders
Browns over Rams
Viks over Eagles
Steelers over Bengals
Colts over Panthers
Chargers over Texans
Bucs over Jags
Saints over 49ers
Pats over Redskins
Jets over Bills
Broncos over Packers

MD: (65-38)   Joe Namath Guarantee (6-1)
Giants over Dolphins
Bears over Lions
Titans over Raiders
Browns over Rams
Viks over Eagles
Steelers over Bengals
Colts over Panthers
Chargers over Texans
Jags over Bucs
Saints over 49ers
Pats over Redskins
Bills over Jets
Broncos over Packers

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~ Under Review ~

RE: Top 5 Current Most Overrated Coaches

5) Sean Payton (Saints)
4) Lovie Smith (Bears)
3) Mike Shanahan (Broncos)
2) Mike Holmgren (Seahawks)
1) Andy Reid (Eagles)

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~ Sudden Death ~

Any Questions?

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.

Q: Should Kellen Clemens be the Jets starting QB this week?
A: No.

Q: Other than Tony Romo, who is the best QB in the NFC?
A: Eli Manning.

Q: If you were a coach, who would you take: Randy Moss or Terrell Owens?
A: Moss.

Q: Who will win a game first, Rams or Dolphins?
A: Rams.

Q: Who is the early season MVP?
A: Randy Moss.

Q: The worst team in the NFL right now is?
A: Dolphins.

Q: Will the Patriots lose a game this season?
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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