Thoughts on week 5 in the NFL

-First and foremost I have to start on the Houston Texans. I don't normally use internet lingo in any of my entries. But scratch that for today and 'LMAOOOOOOOOO' @ Sage Rosenfels. I can't fault the guy for the second fumble since it was an excellent play by Robert Mathis, but the first one was simply, for lack of a better word, hilarious.

Funny components of that play:
1) The situation in the game. Rosenfels' team was up by 10 with a little less than 4 minutes left in the game.

2) The fact that Sage Rosenfels apparently thought he was LeBron James and tried to jump over/through FOUR Colts defenders, not one, FOUR.

3) The fact that if he landed safely he, in all likelihood, is STILL short of the first down, even with that incredibly idiotic effort.

4) The fact that Sage could have literally sat down and farted on the football for the last 5 minutes of the game, and that would have helped the Texans more than the events that actually took place.

- As most people who know me would tell you, I have a bias towards good quarterbacks. Ben Roethlisberger's 4th quarter performance is basically the epitome of why I hold that bias. Watching him dodge defenders and make throws in nail biting situations, was an absolute pleasure. And its also been nice watching him grow as a quarterback. He gets better every year, and it's like the man is impossible to sack. That was a big time performance at the tail end of that game Sunday. There's nothing like watching a QB with that proverbial 'ice in his veins' with the game on the line.

- The Lions are just bad, REALLY bad. Exactly what is the point of Marinelli still coaching that team? He won't be there next year anyway.

- Watching Herman Edwards fold tent is nice. He is proving his worth as a head coach right about now. He rode Parcells leftover talent in new York to two playoff appearances, weaseled his way out of New York, and now is stuck in Kansas City making a fool of himself on a weekly basis. Way to go, Herm.

- You know I must tip my hats to the Dolphins for two relatively impressive wins in a row. That being said, Chad Pennington getting credit for this success makes zero sense. All I've hard is how 'well' he's playing and how he brings 'credibility' to the QB position in Miami. A couple things about that, Chad has 3 TDs in 4 games, and Miami's offense is ranked 24th in the NFL in points scored. What exactly is Chad doing differently, that now all of a sudden is worth praise? Is it the fact that in nearly every big down, Miami takes the ball out of his hands and has Ronnie Brown in the shotgun taking snaps? Or the fact that Miami's defense held San Diego and New England to 23 points combined in successive weeks? Think that might have a tad bit more to do with the success of the Fins?

-Big time props to Matt Ryan. I've been on the 'Matt Ryan is a bust' train since Atlanta took him at #3 in the draft. He has been relatively underwhelming in my opinion, but much props to him for his performance against Green Bay this past Sunday. He was precise on his passes, and was very productive against a good Packers team. Kudos to Ryan.

- I'm glad to see Eli Manning still doing well as I thought he would. I realize the Giants have played nothing but pancakes asides from Washington thus far, but that never stopped Eli from playing like Inconsistent Eli in the past. He looks like a different QB, and his pocket presence is EONS better than it was at this point last season. On a side note, this Eli is the best Manning talk is WAY premature, and that is coming from one of his biggest fans. Eli could only dream to be as good as Peyton is.

- The Titans defense is just plain nasty. That style of football, while often ugly, is quite enjoyable at the same time. Physical, in your face football is enjoyable on so many levels. There is nothing better than the defense who hits you, hits you again, then gets in your face to yap about it, then comes back the next play and does it again.

- Either San Diego is not as good as I personally believe they are, or they are just slacking as usual early in the season, or the Shawne Merriman loss as severely damaged their season. Maybe it's all of above sprinkled with a side of bad Norv Turner coaching. Who knows, but San Diego needs to turn on the switch soon. I don't think they have too much to worry about since the AFC is all over the place, but so are they at the moment. They need to get it together.

-Jay Cutler is growing tremendously as a quarterback weekly. This past week the Broncos played a tough defensive team in Tampa, one that forces patience. Cutler, while he was not productive, took what the defense instead of recklessly forcing the ball like he has throughout his career. While it was a fairly nondescript day for Cutler, his maturity shows. If he ever puts it all together, you may be able to call him the best QB in the league at some point in his career. Oh and I am still laughing at the Titans for taking Vince Young over him. That was a bright move. Is it finally safe to say that Cutler is by FAR the best QB in that draft class or does the never-ending patience with the two busts, Leinart and Young, continue?

- I enjoy seeing the Eagles lose. I also enjoy McNabb talking out of his rear (per the usual, see the many times he has played the race card unnecessarily).

After the game, 'There's no way those guys are better than us'

Really Donovan? The 10 offensive points that you led the team to, and the 200+ yards than the Redskins amassed on the ground seem to scream otherwise. So instead of giving the other team credit, you decide to take the 'we were better even though we were dominated and lost' angle. Well you can be 'better' all you want, but if McNabb doesn't step up his utterly underwhelming play then the Eagles will be golfing come January. Then McNabb will have all the time in the world to talk about how great the playoff-less Eagles were much like he did this past offseason when he claimed that the Eagles were the best team in the NFC. Really, is that why the Eagles finished 8-8 with little offensive production the entire year? Some people just do not belong with a microphone in front of them, and McNabb is one of them.

- I love watching Lee Evans play. That guy is so ridiculously fast and it looks like he isn't even trying. He's a nice all around WR, and as Trent Edwards develops as a QB, he'll be able to flourish in other areas to compliment his supreme deep ability. The guy is putting up madden esque numbers, 16 catches for 432 yds for an average of 27 YPC and a couple of TDs. On a side note, J.P. Losman might be a bad quarterback, but my oh my can he launch the deep ball.

- Reggie Bush had an excellent night in the return game on Monday but that leads me to a question. After the first return for a TD, and Reggie tripping over himself possibly preventing another TD, why would you tempt fate and kick it to him again? Bravado? Or the kicker just couldn't find out of bounds?