STORY OF THE WEEK
TITANS, GIANTS STAY PERFECT
If there were any questions about the New York Giants staying focused during their bye week, the Super Bowl champions answered them immediately Sunday against the visiting Seattle Seahawks. On their first drive, the Giants drove 91 yards in four plays, capping it with Eli Manning’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Dominik Hixon (filling in for the suspended Plaxico Burress). The Giants (4-0), who outgained the struggling Seahawks (1-3) by a staggering 523-187, extended their winning streak to eight dating to the start of the 2007 playoffs. With lowly Cleveland and San Francisco up next, New York should remain unblemished going into its Oct. 26 game at Pittsburgh.
While the Giants’ hot start is no surprise, who figured that Tennessee would be the NFL’s only other unbeaten team? Tennessee improved to 5-0 on Sunday by edging Baltimore 13-10 on a late touchdown pass from journeyman quarterback Kerry Collins to tight end Alge Crumpler. The Titans don’t have much of an offense - even speedy rookie running back Chris Johnson was ineffective against the Ravens - but they sure can play defense. Tennessee is allowing just 11.2 points a game, and that figure shouldn’t change much in the next two weeks since the Titans visit punchless Kansas City after their bye week. The following two games are against Indianapolis and Green Bay, but both are in Nashville. Maybe even crybaby quarterback Vince Young can appreciate how good a coach Jeff Fisher is and why he has the most seniority in the league.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Kyle Orton? A week after shredding Philadelphia’s Pro Bowl-filled secondary for three touchdown passes in the first half and surviving the Soldier Field boobirds to lead Chicago to a 24-20 victory, Orton guided the Bears to a 34-7 romp in Detroit. The former Purdue quarterback tossed a pair of short touchdowns in the first half and finished with a career-high 334 yards and a personal-best 121.4 quarterback rating. Could Chicago have a reliable quarterback for the first time since the days of Jim McMahon or, perish the thought, 1940s Hall of Famer Sid Luckman?
FIVE THINGS LEARNED IN WEEK 5
1. The Cowboys might have the most talent in the league, but they won’t win the Super Bowl unless their defense plays together. The Eagles, Redskins and Bengals have given their pass defense problems, and opponents are averaging 4.2 yards a carry against them.
2. The Chargers (2-3) are in trouble. LaDainian Tomlinson’s toe is obviously bothering him more than they want to let on following his 35 yards on 12 carries in the loss to Miami. San Diego’s defense couldn’t have been surprised by the Dolphins’ use of the single wing, but the Shawne Merriman-less Chargers still didn’t stop it. Ted Cottrell simply isn’t a good coordinator.
3. Anquan Boldin’s presence isn’t critical to Arizona’s success throwing the ball. With the receiver sidelined, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner still completed 33 of 42 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Boldin’s replacement, Steve Breaston, had seven catches for 77 yards.
4. Green Bay is missing its defense more than it’s missing Brett Favre. Despite his ailing shoulder, Aaron Rodgers is having a fine season. However, the Packers’ defense is standing at 25th overall and 27th against the run after ranking 11th and 14th in those categories last year. When a team loses to rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and the Falcons at home, it has problems.
5. Michael Turner was the best backup running back in the league when he was Tomlinson’s caddy in San Diego. Given a big free agent contract by Atlanta, Turner has repaid the investment with an NFL-leading 543 yards and six touchdowns. And at 3-2, the Falcons have a better record than the Chargers.
NEXT MAN UP
List of big injuries from Week 5:
QB Trent Edwards, Buffalo (concussion): Was knocked out by Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson on the third play of the game. Backup J.P. Losman was fine, but fortunately for Edwards, the Bills have their bye week, so there’s no need for an immediate decision about his status.
QB Brian Griese, Tampa Bay (elbow): Was crunched by Broncos corner Champ Bailey with the Bucs trailing 13-6 in the third quarter. Former starter Jeff Garcia came in and played pretty well. It’s unsure who will start in this week’s game against Carolina.
WR Domenik Hixon, N.Y. Giants (concussion): Left the game after absorbing a helmet-to-helmet hit from Seahawks safety Josh Wilson in the second quarter. Hixon, who had started for the suspended Plaxico Burress, was slated to return to a backup role this week anyway.
OT Kareem McKenzie, N.Y. Giants (concussion): Also had to leave the game in the first half after being, as they say, dinged. The veteran was replaced by youngster Kevin Boothe, but the Giants kept cruising to the easy victory. Coach Tom Coughlin said he hopes McKenzie will be back for Monday’s game.
WR Deion Branch, Seattle (heel): Had missed the first three games with a torn ACL that ended his 2007 season. The one-time Super Bowl MVP caught three passes for 31 yards against the Giants before departing in the first half with an injured left heel. That’s hardly the news the battered Seahawks receiving corps needed.
NUMBERS GAME
10,074 Career receiving yards for Kansas City’s Tony Gonzalez, who passed the retired Shannon Sharpe for the most by a tight end Sunday. Gonzalez also holds the record for catches (841) and touchdowns (68) by a tight end and is still just 32 years old.
HOT SEAT
Whose performance Sunday puts them in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons next week:
ROD MARINELLI
Making offensive coordinator Mike Martz take the fall for the second-half collapse in 2007 wasn’t the answer for the Lions. Firing general manager Matt Millen after the 0-3 start didn’t get it done in Detroit. Sunday’s embarrassing 34-7 home loss to Chicago can be laid at the feet of Marinelli (10-26). As Ken Beatrice used to squawk on WMAL, “Rod in Detroit, you’re next.”
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