NFL Week 5: What We Learned

            The Oakland Raiders were 15.5 point road underdogs against the New York Giants this past Sunday and got beaten to a bloody pulp, losing 44-7.  Their offense is just plain awful.  They are averaging 9.8 points per game and only 191.6 yards of total offense.  JaMarcus Russell, the former number one overall pick, is a total bust as he thrown only 1 touchdown pass in the first five games. Defensively, the Raiders aren?t much better, giving up 26 points per game.

            St. Louis lost to Minnesota by a final score of 38-10 as 10 point home underdogs.  Believe it or not, their offense is even worse than Oakland?s as they are averaging just 6.8 points per game.  Kyle Boller has taken over for the injured Marc Bulger but it doesn?t seem to matter who plays quarterback. This team hasn?t been competitive in any of their games except in their 9-7 loss to the Washington Redskins.

            Tampa Bay is now 0-5 after getting crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles 33-14.  Tampa is also just 1-4 against the spread.  Their offense has been a little better than the Raiders and Rams but their defense is extremely poor.  The Bucs are giving up an average of 28 points and just under 380 total yards per game.  Much like the Rams, the Buccaneers have only been competitive in one game against the Washington Redskins.  It seems as if no matter what the spread is, these three teams can?t cover.  Vegas odds makers are trying to compensate for the lack of talent on these teams but still haven?t found a spread that is manageable.

            There was still a lot of question marks about just how good the Denver Broncos were heading into this past weekend?s game against the Patriots.  Yes the Broncos were 4-0 but they had beaten up on the likes of Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Oakland.  Their biggest win came two weeks ago against a Dallas team that really doesn?t look like a true contender.  Then, the New England Patriots rolled into town and this Denver team answered the bell.  Their defense is for real, shutting out Tom Brady and company in the second half.  Kyle Orton was spectacular taking advantage of the loose man coverage that the Patriots? defense was playing.  Orton finally has weapons around him in Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall.  With Orton playing well and an outstanding defense to go with it, this could be a very dangerous team down the stretch.

            Miami is just 2-3 but their offense was very impressive in Monday Night?s win.  Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are two outstanding backs and probably the best duo in the NFL.  Against a very good Jets defense, the Dolphins rushed for 151 yards on 36 carries.  It seemed as if every time they went to the Wildcat, the Jets simply could not stop it.  The Dolphins ran the ball right down the throat of the Jets defense on the final drive.  They were determined to win that football game and Chad Henne is playing extremely well despite his inexperience.  He was 20 for 26 and threw for 241 yards and 2 touchdown passes.  Henne did a great job of managing the game and the rushing attack really seems to be taking pressure off of Henne. Defenses are so focused on stopping Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams to the point where there aren?t too many defenders in pass coverage which gives Henne the opportunity to find holes in the secondary.