3M Report: Week Five

Brian Bulmer Posted On October 12, 2015

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Welcome to this week’s edition of the “3M Report” – a weekly look back at the mayhem, magic and mishaps from around the NFL, focusing on situations and players that caught my eye or made me scratch my head in either awe or disbelief. So let’s take a look at week number five of the NFL season.

Matt Hasselbeck proves that age is just as a number as the 40-year-old led the Colts to a victory for the second week in a row. I found it interesting how the Colts neutralized JJ Watt with a short, rhythmic passing game. If this same philosophy is utilized for Andrew Luck it should result in a more efficient offense and better fantasy numbers for the Colts skill position players.

Some of the biggest news of the weekend took place on Saturday when 2017 NFL prospect Nick Chubb left the game with a serious knee injury. Chubb was a devy darling during the offseason. His athleticism combined with size, vision, and explosiveness has put him in the Heisman conversation in the early part of the college football season. This knee injury was explained by DLF’s own, Dr. Scott Peak, as a Marcus Lattimore “like” injury. Current reports state that the PCL was injured but the ACL was alright. It was also mentioned that “two other ligaments” were injured. These would be the lateral stabilizers of the knee the MCL and LCL. This is still a significant knee injury and will require time to heal.

It appears similar bad news is coming out of Kansas City when Jamaal Charles went down in the middle of the game with a non-contact knee injury. Early indications were that Charles has a torn ACL, and they turned out to be correct. Charcandrick West filled in for Charles and finished the game with seven carries for 31 yards. It appears that West is the immediate pickup in light of this news with Knile Davis likely to take some carries as well.

It is a different Andy Dalton under center for the Bengals this season. He seems to be a lot more confident in his arm and is throwing downfield with solid accuracy. The Bengals got a huge win in overtime to stay perfect heading into week six after a late comeback against the Seattle Seahawks. Dalton is utilizing Tyler Eifert in the passing game putting him in the conversation of next elite tight end. He is second among tight ends in average fantasy points averaging 17 PPG behind Rob Gronkowski who is averaging 20 PPG.

It was fun watching some of the throwback pictures of the 1997 Heisman finalists, Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson. Both guys were exceptional athletes coming out of college, but Woodson was a two way star for the Michigan Wolverines and took home the Heisman. Heading into the game on Sunday, Woodson had never picked off Manning and he ended up with two interceptions. He got the better of Manning on the stat sheet, but the Broncos defense led them to a victory over the Raiders.

Aaron Rodgers went into the week with 586 passing attempts without an interception at Lambeau field. Rodgers had not thrown a pick since December of 2012 at home. That stat alone shows Rodger’s elite decision making and ability to limit mistakes.

The offensive line in New Orleans is offensive. Drew Brees is getting beat up and the pressure is forcing him into making errant throws leading to incomplete passes and interceptions. The Saints defense is comparably awful looking like Swiss cheese against a Philly offense that has been showing signs of life and got the Saints at the right time. Philly had 519 yards of offense and for the first time this season DeMarco Murray and Sam Bradford looked more comfortable in the offense. After a week of national media talking heads calling for the firing of Chip Kelly, it should be interesting to hear their response this week after the Eagles could have easily scored 50 against New Orleans. Philly gets a stiffer defense next week with the New York Giants visiting Lincoln Financial Field.

Jay Cutler engineered two fourth quarter drives that helped lift the Bears over the Kansas City Chiefs. Chicago must love the last few days and their success over Missouri teams.

The Falcons have been able to take their offense and turn it into the Devonta Freeman show over the last three weeks. The Florida State product is showing that he can run and catch the football and he opens things up for Julio Jones in the passing game. Matt Ryan was stymied by the Redskins defense all day, but it was Freeman who continued to show why the Falcons should have passed on Tevin Coleman in the draft. Outside of depth and a spot snaps, Coleman is slowly losing value due to Freeman’s dominance.

Blake Bortles had a great game for the Jaguars but still couldn’t get the win. On the other hand the Jaguars defense gave up 158 total yards and three touchdowns to Doug Martin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Martin showed burst and vision and the Bucs got him into a rhythm early in the game. It’s good to see “The Muscle Hamster” showing signs of his rookie season.

[inlinead]The Ravens have lost four games in the fourth quarter this season. This week it was Josh McCown posting 457 passing yards and Gary Barnidge making a ridiculous catch and posting some great numbers with a 8/139/1 stat line. The Ravens have the Niners, Cardinals, and Chargers before the bye week. If the Ravens lose to the Niners, John Harbaugh will have a hot seat for the rest of the season.

For the second week in a row Todd Gurley posts some monster numbers with 30 carries for 159 yards. In the last two weeks Gurley’s numbers are 49 carries for 305 yards for a 6.2 yard average per carry. The Rams worked him back in slowly and today he had 30 carries. I did hear that Gurley took off the knee brace this week. Gurley must be feeling great, but I hope the Rams are not rushing him by offering up 30 touches a week.

Tyrod Taylor took over the game for the Bills in the third quarter mounting a comeback win with his feet. Taylor led the Bills over the Titans despite missing Lesean McCoy, Sammy Watkins, and Karlos Williams. I think the Bills have found the quarterback they have been looking for over the last few years.

Matthew Stafford looked absolutely terrible against a stout Arizona Cardinals defense. The Cardinals dismantled the Lions early and Stafford was removed after his third interception. Jim Caldwell waived the white flag at the beginning of the fourth quarter when he kicked a field goal down 35-7. To put it lightly it was a very ugly game for the Detroit Lions.

Tom Brady and company visited Jerry’s new place in Dallas for the first time in his career. Brady finished with two touchdowns and the Patriots steamrolled the Dallas Cowboys. Julian Edelman was open on multiple occasions and finished the game with 4/120/1. “Mr. Everything” Dion Lewis had 34 rushing yards and eight catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots play the Colts in week six.

Eli Manning provided some late game magic on Sunday night leading the Giants from behind to knock of the Niners. Manning continues to play well in the Ben McAdoo offense and the short passing game is essentially the running game for the Giants. It should be fun to see how the Giants improve when Victor Cruz returns in the near future.

Thomas Rawls continues to impress in the absence of Marshawn Lynch. At this point he appears to be the heir apparent to Marshawn Lynch. Rawls is a former three start recruit to Michigan prior to a transfer to Central Michigan. Rawls is a big body that was beating the Bengals stout running defense with speed and power. He outran the defense on a 69 yard running play and consistently pushed the pile throughout the game. I am a fan of Rawls and if he is available in your league I would recommend a pickup on waivers.

Javorius “Buck” Allen showed why he was a solid depth pick for the Ravens. Allen had 58 yards on eight carries in the Ravens game on Sunday. Jamison Crowder also continues to impress in Desean Jackson’s absence. Crowder finished the game with eight catches for 87 yards on Sunday. Both guys are solid depth additions and their roles in their respective offenses should continue to grow.

This wraps up week five of the NFL season. Here’s to hoping your week was filled with maximum production and minimum losses.

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