NFL Week 5 observations


Week 5 of the NFL provided a lot of drama, including the first head coach firing of the season. The 0-5 Washington Redskins, rightfully, parted ways with Jay Gruden after five disappointing years in the role.

It also left teams asking many questions about where they are and left fans, analysts and experts alike questioning the officiating of the game.

Here are my Week 5 observations.

Parity is sky high

If it wasn’t already obvious, Sunday Night Football only proved the level of parity in the NFL right now. On a weekly basis I wouldn’t be surprised if any team lost to virtually any opponent – save the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets. Even the New England Patriots look vulnerable, they just have a defense that is currently on pace to be the unquestioned greatest of all time.


For example, if you’d watched the Houston Texans this week you wouldn’t believe the Carolina Panthers had beaten them 16-10 in Houston last week, or that they’d struggled against the Jaguars. Or, if you’d watched the Indianapolis Colts lose to the Raiders last week you wouldn’t believe they went to Arrowhead and beat the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs 19-13.

I could go on naming results that just don’t seem to make sense given many others, but they prove the NFL is as wide open as ever. At least right now. There are clearly teams who are, on balance, better than the rest, but their inconsistencies are keeping them in the pack. 

 It’s going to be fascinating to see how the season shapes up from here and who gets hot at the right time.

Officiating is horrible

Watching football this weekend was painful. It felt like every other play brought a flag, and an unreasonable amount of plays were reviewed. What’s worse is the number of flags and reviews that left the commentators, rules experts and fans completely perplexed.

The Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers game had a host of incredibly questionable calls. Be it no pass interference on Lamar Jackson’s first interception, the ruling of a catch on Jackson’s third interception, a pass interference call on Brandon Carr, the neutral zone infraction penalties called on both teams, or two roughing the passer penalties called against the Steelers. It was a shambles that left everyone confused and frustrated.
However, that game wasn’t the only one. The New Orleans Saints, specifically Michael Thomas, got away with a few obvious offensive pass interference penalties, in the Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys game there were at least three obvious errors regarding pass interference or illegal contact down field, and the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts fell victim to several more. There were more from other games but I’m not going to list them all.
The introduction of reviewable pass interference calls has been horrible. Not only is it being misused for marginal calls, the reviews are proving to be futile with very few actually being overturned, despite what seems to be clear and obvious evidence. The NFL seems glaringly reluctant to overturn any call as to not undermine their officials.

Since Week 2, only one of 20 coaches’ challenges have been reversed. The ability to challenge the call is ultimately useless because it pretty much never works.

This cannot continue.

The LA Chargers are cursed

The first month of the season was a mixed bag for the Chargers. They entered the year optimistic and were seen as a favorite in the AFC. They ended the month 2-2, failing to really perform on a regular basis. Nevertheless, there was still plenty to be hopeful for, including a matchup at home against the 0-4 Denver Broncos.


However, in true Chargers form they found a way to lose. The 20-13 final score honestly makes it seem closer than it really was. If not for a punt return touchdown, the Chargers wouldn’t have had a chance to win this game. The offense couldn’t put points on the board and somehow stalled at every opportunity. 

Be it injuries or poor play, the Chargers seem cursed to never reaching their full potential, and it is frustrating to see a team with unquestionable talent not reaching the heights they should.

I’m all in on Minshew Mania


 I’ve been pretty high on Gardner Minshew II since his first start for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but I hadn’t yet fully bought in to the movement it has become. Now, I’m all for it. The timing may be peculiar considering he is coming off a loss in which he turned the ball over three times, but he still showed that special something despite his mistakes.

Throughout the game against the Panthers, a defense which held the Texans to 10 points a week ago, he looked poised and confident in everything he did. What’s more is he made several excellent throws. He is so accurate and has great touch, as he showed on his dime to DJ Chark Jr. in the first quarter.

His three fumbles weren’t great and he held the ball too long, but they didn’t fluster him. He kept coming back and still led the Jaguars to within a score, and even had them in a position to tie the game on the final play. 

As of now there is no way I’m going back to Nick Foles if I’m the Jaguars, because Minshew has shown nothing to say he shouldn’t be this team’s starting QB.

Quick hits

Here are some other observations I had that I’m not going to break down fully, but hit me up to talk about them or give me your own!
  • The AFC North is the Cleveland Browns’ to win
    • Though they are yet to play and this may look bad if they lose tonight against the 49ers, The AFC North is absolutely the Browns' to win. The Ravens’ performance on Sunday only left me more concerned about the teams’ trend, so if the Browns can string together a few wins they could stroll to a division title.
  • Colin Kaepernick needs a job
    • Watching Chase Daniel, Luke Falk, Mason Rudolph and Delvin Hodges play on Sundays makes it inexcusable that Kaepernick hasn’t even been able to work out for a team.
  • Dak Prescott is good, but he isn’t a truck yet
    • Bucky Brooks of NFL Media has often used the phrase ‘a truck or trailer’ when describing QBs. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, for example, are trucks – they pull their team. Prescott is not yet that, he is still a trailer, meaning he needs a good team around him to elevate his play. He’s a very good trailer, but the last two weeks go to show he isn’t yet pulling the Cowboys along.
  • The Indianapolis Colts are only going to improve
    • Not only do they have the best offensive line in football, they are a young team that is showing they are capable of great things. Their defensive performance against the Chiefs was excellent, and displays the upside this young unit has while missing three of their top players. This team will be very dangerous come the playoffs.
  • Adam Gase and Dan Quinn are competing to be the next head coach fired
    • Gase’s tenure in Miami was nothing short of terrible, and his stint in New York has started worse. His team is winless and his third string QB didn’t get a single first-team rep in training this week, as Sam Darnold, who was by no means guaranteed to play, took all of the reps. What horrible coaching. 
    • Meanwhile, Quinn responded to questions about his job security by being thoroughly beaten by the Texans thanks to a very poor defensive performance. Things do not look good for either of these coaches.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

XFL player draft: Wide receivers

Image
The XFL has announced its player pool ahead of its inaugural season starting in February. The XFL player draft will start on Tuesday October 15 and wrap up the following day. So who are these players? You can find them all listed by position here on Cabache’s Corner. QB  |  RB  |  TE  |  OL  |  DE  |  DT  |  LB  |  CB  |  SAF  |  ST As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, the offense in the XFL is going to have to be the draw for a fanbase, at least initially. With QBs and RBs already covered, next up is the WRs who’ll be vying for targets once the action gets started. The players are listed in alphabetical order, on order of the days they were announced – Day one players come first, then day two players are listed alphabetically and so on. Floyd Allen, Ole Miss Anthony Amos, Middle Tennessee State Dontez Byrd, Tennessee Tech Jordan Gandy, Murray State Antoine Grif...
Read more

NFL Week 14 Power Rankings

Image
If nothing else, Week 14 can be remembered for giving us the game of the season. Monday Night Football was an all-time great between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, and was hopefully a precursor for the final months of the NFL season. It truly felt like a playoff game, and in the final three weeks of the season we have many playoff-like matchups to look forward to. While we have a fairly clear picture of the teams who are legitimately in contention, there are many questions to be answered ahead of the playoffs, and I can’t wait to find the answers. So, heading into the final three weeks of the season, here are my Week 14 Power Rankings. 1.        Kansas City Chiefs (12-1) Even on a day Patrick Mahomes throws three interceptions, the Chiefs still put up 30+ points and win a game. Kansas City were genuinely tested by the Dolphins throughout the game, but their quality ultimately won out. With teams around them faltering, the route to the Su...
Read more

Post 10 - The second wave of free agency is upon us. Who should we keep an eye on?

Image
Hello! And welcome to my corner. Most of the big names are off the market, the huge contracts have been signed and lots of teams are now focusing on the draft. However, there are a lot of guys still on the market, with plenty to give for any team who comes calling. The Ravens still have many needs, here are the guys I think are at least worth a look. At this point, following the resigning of Justin Forsett and loss of Torrey Smith, receiver is our biggest need. Most of the big name receivers are gone, the only receivers raked in Around the NFL's Top 101 Free Agents list are Michael Crabtree, Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings, Hackeem Nicks and Denarius Moore. Of course, there are more than 5 receivers, but I only see a few that are worth a look. That said, I think any of these players would only be a filler for a year or two whilst younger guys develop.   Hackeem Nicks  Down the stretch last year, Nicks showed glimpses of his old self. I think that he could function as ...
Read more