A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
I don’t know why it irks me so much, but if I have to hear the phrase “at the quarter pole” to describe the first weeks of the season being done, I’m going to scream. Sure, it’s accurate, but something about so many NFL talking heads using the phrase has just begun to grate at my ears.
But I digress.
Week 5 is here, and there are several games to look forward to as you plan your Sunday of football viewing.
There are two undefeated teams left in the NFL heading into Week 5, and both are in the NFC North. The Packers and the Lions are those two teams, and Green Bay will attempt to keep their perfect record alive this Sunday night in Atlanta.
So how’s everyone’s fantasy team doing? Are you confident like the dominating Green Bay Packers or feeling a little lost like the unfortunate Minnesota Vikings? If it’s the latter…well maybe you’re not paying close enough attention to my injury updates! Then again my team is 1-3. Yeesh.
Here are the injury updates for Week 5 of the fantasy football season.
Injuries!
Andre Johnson is gone. Ben Roethlisberger is banged up. Miles Austin is on the mend. Marques Colston is back, but when will he get on track?
With the bye weeks now here, the time has come when fantasy leagues are truly won and lost. If you drafted well, and got a little lucky, you should be near the top of the standings. But nobody can ever completely escape the injury bug. Managing your lineup properly when byes and injuries attack is what separates the good owners from the great ones.
So let’s look at the Week Five games and decide who to start and who to sit this week.
I don’t like that NFL teams wear pink during the month of October. I love the idea that they are celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month and doing what they can to increase awareness and honor those who have fallen victim to the disease, but I don’t like that they add pink to the uniforms for the whole month.
30 years from now when the next generation of kids are watching highlights from the 2011 season, they will randomly see players wearing pink, and unless the NFL continues this practice forever, they won’t know why. The great thing about highlights from the 60s and 70s is that teams always looked the same. They were the definition of uniform.
Nowadays each team has at least one throwback or alternate uniform that they wear periodically throughout the season. And while they look great, it messes with continuity. I realize that the extra uniforms bring in racks on racks on racks of extra money each season, but they need to do away with it. Teams should be forced to pick one uniform design – one home, one away – and stick with it. If the throwback uniforms are such a hit and look better than the default uniforms, then switch back.
On to the Week 5 Power Rankings.
Update 10/7: The announcer assignments have been posted.
There were a bevy of early games in Week 4 that went down to the wire, and some solid afternoon games that either had compelling storylines (Eagles-Redskins) or fantastic finishes (Jags-Colts). It led me to believe that the Sunday/Monday night games might also be compelling.
But no. The Giants-Bears game was as ugly as it gets and the Patriots-Dolphins game was over after the opening kickoff of the second half.
Let’s hope we get a little more drama from the primetime matchups in Week 5. The Jets-Vikings Monday night game this week has promise, and 49ers fans better hope that the Sunday night game does as well. Otherwise, only the Chargers-Raiders game is a divisional matchup, so hopefully what Week 5 lacks compelling matchups on paper it will make up for in compelling games on the field.
The previously winless Cleveland Browns defeated the one win Buffalo Bills in an offensive-less game earlier today, with the final score finishing at 6-3.
The highlights were not plentiful, but yes, there were a few.
Let’s begin with the return of Jamal Lewis. Early in the week, Lewis was not even considered to be able to play versus Buffalo because of a lingering hamstring injury. Later in the week, Lewis was possibly going to play, but would be eased into action. And then here is the Jamal Lewis stat line from Sunday: 117 yards on 31 carries.
I’m glad to see they took it easy on him.
Okay, I know everyone is saying to themselves that this game is pretty much lopsided, and that Detroit’s D will have trouble stopping the Ben-and-Mendenhall combo this Sunday.
I also know that everyone is saying that Matthew Stafford’s passes (if he plays) will be looked at as if they were some juicy steaks by the Steelers secondary.
Well for all of you out there who believe this…you are absolutely right.
According to numerous sources, Steelers HB Willie Parker will be out again this week against the Detroit Lions. Willie Parker’s toe still does not seem to be at 100% like Tomlin wants.
In place of Parker, Steelers HB Rashard Mendenhall will get a second start, and a much deserved second start indeed.
Before we begin this Friday’s Morning Would column, I want to make a declaration about one of its subjects, Browns rookie WR Mohammed Massaquoi.
And that declaration is as follows: henceforth on Midwest Sports Fans, Mohammed Massaquoi will be known as MoMass. This a common practice among fantasy writers and players who are lazy and don’t feel like typing out long, complicated names (ex. Maurice Jones-Drew is “MJD” and DeAngelo Williams is “DAW”).
You see, as much as I love MoMass, both as a building block for the Browns and as a fantasy sleeper for the balance of 2009, his name is one of those difficult ones that is very hard to get through typing without making a mistake.
Here, I’ll try a couple of times typing it at my normal rate without stopping: Mohammed Maaquia; Mohammed Massaquoi, Mohammed Massaqoo, Mohammed Massaquoi, Mohammed Massaqio.
As you can see, the second and fourth attempts were spot on. But 40% accuracy is not acceptable to be. so I’m shortening it to MoMass and that’s that.
And now we can move on to more important subjects…
Two of the hottest names in the WR sleeper category this week — and certainly two of the players that I have been asked about the most in the comments section of the Week 5 start em, sit em post — are MoMass and Pierre Garcon.
This morning, I will analyze which of these two players I’d rather have on my team in Week 5 and beyond.
The Gillette Fusion NFL Power Rankings, presented by Yardbarker and contributed to by MSF, have been posted.
Here is what the top 5 looks like, and then a link so can see the rest:
Big MB contributes our poll. Here is how his rankings shook out this week, and here is the link for the complete Gillette Fusion NFL Power Rankings.
Earlier today, Big MB and I recorded the first edition of a new weekly podcast that will be called 4th and Short. In it, we will each be providing four “locks” against the spread for the upcoming NFL week.
Among the games that we discuss this week: Colts-Titans, Browns-Bills, Ravens-Bengals, and — of course — Broncos-Patriots.
We had been doing this segment after our Monday Night Football Podcast, but obviously spread picks do you know good once the week is over. Hence, why we’ve decided to split that podcast into two.
So whether you want our advice as actual guidance (full disclosure: neither of us actually bets on the NFL), or simply for entertainment purposes, hit play below, grab the mp3 directly, or listen to us on iTunes.
While preparing to answer another wave of questions in the comment section of my Week 5 start em, sit em post, the lightbulb of inspiration flickered above my head.
I spend so much time answering similar questions about similar players, that I might as well consolidate some of those answers into posts.
Don’t worry, I’ll still answer your comments directly. But for the myriad people who are interested in Steve Slaton, Rashard Mendenhall, Jerome Harrison, Knowshon Moreno, and Glenn Coffee in Week 5 — many of whom seem to be faced with the task of choosing between two or three of them for starting spots — this post should help.
Here are my quick hit Week 5 rankings for these five players this week, plus some explanation.
