Week 4 Wrap Up

It's the most wonderful time of the year. The Major League Baseball playoffs are about to begin, we're in the middle of another exciting NFL season, and the NBA and NHL seasons are starting (Go Caps!). Now at least I don't have to sit around all week long waiting for Sunday to come.

Last week I did sit around waiting for Sunday to come...and it surely didn't disappoint, partly because the 49ers crushed the Rams, but mostly because there were plenty of great games.

Brett Favre didn't disappoint the Minnesota faithful against his former team...playing possibly the best game since his 6 TD performance against Arizona last season. Great atmosphere and a great game at the Metrodome. Give credit to Aaron Rodgers who played very well but there was just not enough protection and too much Jared Allen.

For the second time in three years, the Pats pulled out a game against the Ravens that they shouldn't have won. In both cases the refereeing played a big part in deciding the game. Last time New England was stopped on 4th down twice near the end of the game but a late timeout and a false start penalty bailed them out. This time it was the refs protecting Tom Brady with two roughing the passer calls as well as missing a pass interference call against the Pats on Baltimore's last drive.

And somehow the Broncos keep finding ways to win. What a play made by Brandon Marshall to make the Dallas defenders look foolish..Everyone sleeps on Kyle Orton, but he continues to win games. Also, give props to Mike Nolan for making Denver a defensive force.  Now for Dallas. It's painful to watch them play even though I'm not a fan and could care less what they do. They have so many talented players that will show flashes of greatness snuggled between dumb mistake after dumb mistake. Errant passes, dropped balls, missed tackles and penalties have marked the first quarter of their season. This kind of undisciplined play reflects poorly on coaching. It's inevitable that Wade Phillips is gone after the season is over.

Unfortunately the three aforementioned games screwed my picks over from last week. So I'll have to swallow my first sub-.500 week (2-3) to drop my season record to 10-5.

With my fantasy projections last week I accidentally had six "Start 'Ems" and only four "Bench 'Ems".
Start 'Ems: 3 for 6
Correct- Glen Coffee (106 all purpose yds), Steve Slaton (89 total yds 2 TD), Carson Palmer (230 passing yds, 2 TD 1 INT)
Incorrect- Wes Welker (48 yds receiving), Jason Campbell (170 yds 2 TD 3 INT, lost fumble), Darren McFadden (-3 rushing yds...what the hell happened)

Bench 'Ems: 2 for 3

Correct- Kellen Winslow (21 yds), Darren Sproles (0 carries, 1 rec, 16 yds),
Incorrect- Pierre Thomas (132 total yds, TD)
In the middle- Matt Cassel- I'm not counting this one against me of for me. Cassel didn't play well, throwing for only 127 yds on 15 of 32 passing. His 2 TDs were in garbage time against the Giants.

Now for a new segment that I'm going to call High Five/ Low Five where I rank the five best and worst teams, impact players, coaches, or whatever I think is interesting.

Five Best Teams
1. Giants- Based on the Giants past two seasons and their 4-0 start, there's no way they should be ranked any lower. This is truly a balanced offense and Eli has shown that he can take the team on his shoulders if need be.

2. Colts- Many predicted that the Colts offense would have a significant drop-off this year. I think Peyton Manning took that to heart and is making the rest of the league pay for it. It's scary that they've been this dominant with all the injuries. An all-Manning Super Bowl is something we can at least realistically dream about.

3. Vikings- No team is better up front on both sides of the ball then the Vikes. The proof was all there Monday night. Favre had all the time in the world to throw (7.4 seconds on one play) and wasn't sacked the entire game. And we all saw what Jared Allen and the Vikings' D-line did to Aaron Rodgers.

4. Saints- The Saints have won their four games by an average of 19.5 pts/game and have beaten two teams that I believe will make the playoffs (Jets, Eagles). Drew Brees hasn't looked invincible the past two weeks but that just means the Saints are more of a complete team than we thought. If that defense continues to produce points like it has, look out

5. Patriots- When all is said and done, I think the Patriots will be a better team than the Saints. But right now their body of work doesn't warrant that kind of rating. They lost to a team the Saints beat (Jets) and they've struggled on offense for most of the four games. Pulling off wins over the Falcons and Ravens the past two weeks is impressive.

Five Worst Teams
1. Rams- St. Louis has been handed two shutout losses and scored just 24 total points. The Saints doubled that in their first game! They looked downright pathetic against the Niners. It doesn't get much easier when they face Minnesota next week

2. Buccaneers- I still can't get over their horrible offensive outing against the Giants in Week 3. They hung in there against the Skins, but that really isn't saying much these days. Josh Johnson will have a long season ahead of him.

3. Chiefs- The Chiefs offense is abysmal. They have the worst 3rd down conversion percentage in the NFL. If Matt Cassel, is going to be a star QB, he's going to need some help from his offensive line. Maybe Willie Roaf can crawl out of retirement at 50 years old...it would actually be an improvement.

4. Browns- At least the Browns were competitive against the Bengals. They look much better with Derek Anderson taking the snaps. And the combined record of the teams they've faced is 14-2. Ok enough positive talk, they're still bad. They have no star power and no identity.

5. Raiders- The Raiders impressive performance in their season opener against the Chargers seems so long ago. I still don't understand why they cut Jeff Garcia.

Coaches most likely to be fired after the season (or during)

T-1 Jim Zorn/Wade Phillips- take "most likely" out of this statement. There's no way either of these two come back next year.

3. Dick Jauron- T.O. isn't the answer in Buffalo. I'm not sure if anything is. The Bills are just cursed.

4. Raheem Morris- During their next coach search maybe Tampa Bay's management will look for a guy that's not young enough to be Ronde Barber's son.

5. John Fox- At some point Carolina has got to get sick of the one year on, one year off program that the Panthers have been on for the past six years.

Top Five MVP Candidates
1. Peyton Manning- He's thrown for over 300 yds each game this season. At age 33 he looks better than ever. With the changes in personnel on offense, it proves that it's Peyton can do it with anyone around him.

2. Drew Brees- Brees has cooled down a bit lately, but we know he can turn it on at any point.

3. Eli Manning- Eli has done a great job handling the pressure of playing in New York and living in his brother's shadow. I don't care what anyone says, he a star in this league.

4.Adrian Peterson- I know he hasn't been explosive the past couple weeks, with defenses gearing up against the run, but he ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards and has 5 TDs.

5. Darren Sharper- I know it's crazy to think of a free safety winning the MVP. But right now he deserves to be in the discussion. He has added big play ability to a secondary that was known for giving them up. His five interceptions and two touchdowns lead the league.

Keeping checking out The Gridiron Guru all week and season long.