NFL Football Week 6

8/8/2019 NFL Football Week 6

1/22

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2/22

Baltimore Ravens

New England PatriotsRavens (4-1) at Patriots (3-1)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Patriots by 3

The Ravens returned to their roots last Sunday, bringing back

the retro-chic dive-and-bomb offense that helped them

reach the playoffs in 2008 and 2009. The scheme is footballcomfort food: fullback plunges and mashed potatoes in an

N.F.L. world dominated by spread-shotgun fusion cuisine.

The Ravens kept it simple last year, rushing for 234 yards in a

33-14 win against the Patriots. Ray Rice missed practice with

a sore knee this week, but hes expected to play, so the

Ravens offense should remain nice and starchy.


3/22

Baltimore Ravens

New England Patriots

The Patriots have been guilty of serving a few tilapia-and-gorgonzola pita frittatas on offense in recent years: since 2007,

they havent seen a screen or formation they didnt like. All thatmay have changed now that Randy Moss is gone. Look for fewerempty-backfield tunnel screens and more of a two-tight endpower offense, the kind the Patriots used during their rise todominance. Tom Brady told WEEI Boston that the Patriots offensewont be completely overhauled, but it just may be a little bit

different than what youve seen. Who knows if its better orworse? That remains to be seen for all of us. Sounds as if the chefwasnt consulted before the menu changed. Pick: Ravens


4/22

Indianapolis Colts

Washington RedskinsColts (3-2) at Redskins (3-2)Sunday, 8:20 p.m.

Line: Colts by 4

The Redskins are 1-1 in overtime

games, were stunned by the

Rams, and beat the Cowboys on

an end-of-half fumble-return

touchdown and an end-of-game

holding penalty. Donovan

McNabbs return to Mount Doom

of Mordor two weeks ago was

actually the least dramatic event

of the Redskins season so far.

Thats saying something.


5/22

Indianapolis Colts

Washington Redskins

The Colts, meanwhile, are acting like abaseball team in mid-May, shrugging off

losses and sloppy wins, biding their time until

their inevitable playoff run. The Colts havereal problems this year, like a run defensethat cant stop anyone and a goal-line offensethat consists mostly of incomplete passes and

angry Peyton Manning scowls, but theRedskins lack the running game to capitalize.Pick: Colts


6/22

Dallas Cowboys

Minnesota VikingsCowboys (1-3) at Vikings (1-3)Sunday, 4:15 p.m.

Line: Vikings by 1 1/2

Part Game.

part Over Dramatists Anonymous meeting, this matchupguarantees that one of these teams will go 1-4 and indulgein Chicken Little news conferences and a long dark midweekof the soul. Unless theres a tie. Wouldnt that be swell?

The Cowboys secondary cannot cover anyone, their once-reliable offensive line is crumbling, and their get everyoneinvolved immediately approach to offense has resulted in alot of unproductive screen passes to Dez Bryant and 10 first-quarter points in four games.


7/22

Dallas Cowboys

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings offense started clicking on Monday

night onceB

rett Favre realized he should throw toRandy Moss, not the other way around. Favre thenlapsed into full Melancholy Dane mode, saying thathe may miss this game because of his sore elbow.Oh, the suspense. What will he do?

Analysis suggests that the Cowboys are the betterteam. Psychoanalysis proves inconclusive. Pick:Vikings


8/22

Miami Dolphins

Green Bay PackersDolphins (2-2) at Packers (3-2)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: off the board

The Packers are grappling with an injury plague.Aaron Rodgers has a concussion, tight end

Jermichael Finley may miss the season with a knee

injury, and Clay Mathews is nursing a pulled

hamstring. At the rate players are dropping, thehealthy Packers will each be forced to commit six

penalties per game, just to keep the pace up.


9/22

Miami Dolphins

Green Bay Packers

As

The Wildcat offense has been

downgraded from conservation dependent tovulnerable in recent weeks. Eight Wildcat plays bythe Dolphins against the Jets resulted in a net loss of20 yards once penalties were factored in, and theDolphins used the tactic just once against the Patriots

(on third-and-long, no less). In place of the Wildcat,the Dolphins are using the Chad Henne Wild Throw,which has been effective only in boosting theconfidence of the opposing secondary. Pick: Packers


10/22

Atlanta Falcons

Philadelphia Eagles

Falcons (4-1) at Eagles (3-2)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Eagles by 3

Michael Vick may return from injury to face his former team; Kevin Kolbtook most of the practice snaps this week, but Vick claims that he

doesnt need practice to play. (Or was that Allen Iverson in an Eaglescap?) Either way, the Falcons have moved on nicely without him.

Vicks arrest before the 2006 season was a disguised blessing for theFalcons, who were forced to purge their roster and coaching staff ofhotheads, underachievers and self-promoters, ushering in the ThomasDimitroff-Mike Smith-Matt Ryan era. Thanks to Dimitroffs management

and Smiths coaching, the Falcons now have one of the strongest rostersin the N.F.L., though few have noticed because they lack a high-profileplayer with Vicks After-School-Special appeal.


11/22

Atlanta Falcons

Philadelphia Eagles

W

ho needs feel-good stories when your defense

intercepts 10 passes in five games and youroffense controls the ball for 33 minutes 15seconds per game?

The Phillies face the Giants across the streetfrom Lincoln Financial Field at 8 p.m. Visitorsshould find a sensible place to park. LikeTrenton. Pick: Falcons


12/22

New York Jets

Denver BroncosJets (4-1) at Broncos (2-3)Sunday, 4:05 p.m.

Line: Jets by 3

If engineers designed a team precision-tuned to lose to theJets, they would probably create the Broncos. The Broncos

dont run well, dont try to run well or pretend to try to runwell, averaging 2.2 yards per rush once you take out thescrambles. They cannot pressure the quarterback (five sacks,with the sack leader Robert Ayers injured), and their rundefense gave up and allowed itself to get mulched at the end

of the Ravens game. The Jets can start blitzing as soon as theteam bus is parked, and they can keep hammering awaywith LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene until theBroncos cave in. Pick: Jets


13/22

Seattle Seahawks

Chicago BearsSeahawks (2-2) at Bears (4-1)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Bears by 6 1/2

After Sundays trip to Chicago, the Seahawks return home for aweek, then fly to Oakland on Halloween (the one day a year whenRaiders fans dress normally), then back to Seattle to face theGiants. Then they head down to Arizona, over to New Orleans andfinally back to Seattle for a two-game homestand. Theyll haveenough frequent flyer miles for a trip to Neptune, and theirluggage will be scattered across the continent by Thanksgiving,but the Seahawks are doing their part to keep the airlines in

business. Jay Cutler returns to find the Bears in first place, lookingdown at the injury-plagued Packers and pressure-cooked Vikings.Its such an unlikely scenario that he may think he needs to liedown a little longer. Pick: Bears


14/22

Detriot Lions

New York GiantsLions (1-4) at Giants (3-2)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Giants by 10

The Lions executed a trick play in the fourth quarter of a 44-6

victory last week, but Jim Schwartz swears that he wasntchanneling his inner Spurrier. The Lions have a backlog of playsthey want to run when they have a big lead and can afford toexperiment; theres also an overflow of victory cigars in the teamhumidor and about 200 post-win movies backed up in their Netflixqueue. The Giants have figured out the defensive problems that

plagued them in Weeks 2 and 3, and Matt Dodge has booted fourstraight quality punts without calling Dr. Melfi. Chances are, wewont see that Jahvid Best option pass again until 2012. Pick:Giants


15/22

Cleveland Browns

Pittsburg SteelersBrowns (1-4) at Steelers (3-1)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Steelers by 13

Ben Roethlisberger is back, so we can look forward to all of

the Big Ben staples: 15-second intermezzos in the pocket,

pump-fakes into the face of oblivion and penitence-on-display sit-down interviews during the pregame and halftime

shows. As if on cue, all of the Browns quarterbacks got

injured last week, leaving the rookie Colt McCoy (who was

so bad in preseason that the team considered cutting him)

to face the Steelers defense. Browns quarterbacks may not

have much skill, but they do have self-preservation instincts.

Pick: Steelers


16/22

San Diego Chargers

St. Louis RamsChargers (2-3) at Rams (2-3)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Chargers by 8

Dont leave your seat when the Chargers line up to punt or kick. So

far this year, theyve allowed three touchdown returns, had threepunts blocked and committed a variety of other entertainingmiscues: kicks out of bounds, fumbles and 46-yard, kicker-saves-the day returns. They are due for: a) a botched onside kick off aplayers helmet, b) one of those plays where the punt returnerbacktracks into his own end zone and is tackled for a safety, and c)

a fumbled field goal snap that forces kicker Nate Kaeding to throwa desperation pass backward, Garo Yepremian-style. If all three ofthose events occur this week, the Rams could actually win. Pick:Chargers


17/22

Saints (3-2) at Buccaneers (3-1)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Saints by 4 1/2

The talisman that made every bouncing ball and tipped pass

land in the Saints arms last year has lost its enchantment.The Saints are now vulnerable to the same vagaries of luck

as the rest of us, as they learned the hard way last week

against the Cardinals innovative fumble into the end zone

game plan. The up-and-comingB

uccaneers could capitalize,but their record is padded with wins over the Panthers and

Browns, and their secondary is among the leagues worst

despite nine interceptions. Pick: Saints

New Orleans Saints

TampaB

ayB

uccaneers


18/22

Kansas City Chiefs

Houston TexansChiefs (3-1) at Texans (3-2)Sunday, 1 p.m.

Line: Texans by 4 1/2

Just as Cowboys-Vikings

guarantees that some

erstwhile preseason

contender will sound the

red-alert claxons, this game

ensures that one pesky

upstart will stay in theplayoff picture for another

week.


19/22

Kansas City Chiefs

Houston Texans

The Texans are brilliantly inconsistent, a talented

but mistake-prone team completely incapable ofstopping a forward pass. The Chiefs are slow andsteady, great at controlling the clock andfrustrating opposing offenses but awful atthrowing downfield. The matchup favors theTexans, but that hasnt stopped them fromplaying terribly in two of the last three weeks.Pick: Chiefs


20/22

Los Angeles Raiders

San Francisco 49ersRaiders (2-3) at 49ers (0-5)Sunday, 4:05 p.m.

Line: 49ers by 6 1/2

Coach Mike Singletary threatened to bench Alex Smith in favor of

David Carr on Sunday night, but he was really just using reversepsychology: once Smith protested the move, he proved hisworthiness to keep his job. No one told Carr that Smiths benchingwas just a page from the Riddle of the Sphinx ManagementWorkbook, so Carr walked into the Niners huddle, only to findthat Smith was already there. Keep in mind that the offensive

coordinator Jimmy Raye was recently fired because of his poorcommunication skills. Niners fans shouted We want Carr! duringthe loss to the Eagles, but being from San Francisco, they reallywanted some kind of hybrid. Pick: Raiders


21/22

Tennessee Titans

Jacksonville JaguarsTitans (3-2) at Jaguars (3-2)Monday, 8:30 p.m.

Line: Titans by 3

Theres nothing like a brief benching to splash some ice

water on the face of a slumping quarterback. David Garrardhas completed 78 percent of his passes and thrown for five

touchdowns in the last two weeks. Vince Young has thrown

for four touchdowns and no interceptions since his

reintroduction to clipboard duty three weeks ago. The Titansare more solid all-around than the Jaguars, but this is just

the battle to see who gets to be in first place until the Colts

wake up in three weeks. Pick: Titans


22/22

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