Here and Gone- Week 5 NFL Wrap-Up

As always, my predicted winners for the week are in bold. I had my third straight double-digit win week. Of course, if I did this for money, I'd be 3-11, but that's why the blog is here. I get the picks right and save my money at the same time. Here we go:

Chicago 40, Buffalo 7- Here: the Chicago offense- to stay. Gone: The notion the Bills were this close to turning the corner under J.P.

Carolina 20, Cleveland 12- Here: 3-game win streak by the Panthers. Gone: Romeo Crennel? (Maybe too early a prediction, but give it time to fester by Week 17 when the Brownies are 2-13.)

Indianapolis 14, Tennessee 13- Here: VY's 1st TD (rushing) Gone: The Colts mythos- I mean c'mon, this was the Texans they nearly lost to.

N.Y. Giants 19, Washington 3 Here: Giants' souring playoff hopes rebirth! Gone: Joe Gibbs- NASCAR is so much more relaxing than this.

Kansas City 23, Arizona 20 Here: Damon Huard, season savior. Gone: Larry Fitzgerald, at least 2 weeks on the sidelines.

Jacksonville 41, N.Y. Jets 0 Here: Jags' winning ways Gone: Jets' winning ways.

San Francisco 34, Oakland 20 Here: 49ers as the most improved team from a year ago. Gone: The Raiders motivation to win any game.

Philadelphia 38, Dallas 24 Here: Eagles as toast of the NFC East. Gone: Drew Bledsoe after this season (and possibly never to return again?).

San Diego 23, Pittsburgh 13 Here: Home rebound after Martyball road gaffe. Gone: Steelers' playoff aspirations (with Cincy and Baltimore in the same division, a 2nd WC in the AFC North has about 0% probability).

Denver 13, Baltimore 3 Here: Denver the pretender. They always play well on MNF at home. Gone: The notion Steve McNair is the answer to Baltimore's QB struggles. 3 INTs? Unacceptable.

Record this week: 11-3
Overall: 52-22

The FIRST College Poll results for Week 6.

Saturday is not even over, and I am daring to throw up an NCAA Top 10 D-1 Football rankings . Heck the "real" polls aren't worth the computer they are crunched on, so why shouldn't mine be taken seriously?

1. Ohio State- to be the best you gotta beat the best.
2. Florida- Thank LSU for this one.
3. USC- Struggled, but still won.
4. Michigan- Michigan State was a decent win, but not enough for the 3rd spot.
5. WVA- Only because they're undefeated.
6. Georgia- Until the SEC attrition hits them too, they are now the favorite to survive this nasty conference.
6. Texas- No movement up the charts, but doing it with a freshman QB is eye opening.
7. Notre Dame- They lost to Michigan who is a BCS championship contender- other than that they've played better every week.
8. Louisville- Until they lose, keep them in the picture.
9. Tennessee- HUGE win at Georgia- both the score and the implicaitons to the SEC (and Fullmer's job).
10. Cal- Beating the Ducks tonight vaults them into Top 10 territory.

LDS Hangover

I feel like one of those mediums in the early part of their careers. You know the point in time where you sense the future, but it's still all fuzzy so your predictions are somewhat... off. But the clues were there. You just interpret them wrong. Observe, my predictions for the ALDS and NLDS and how I was this close to getting it right.

Tigers over Yanks:

• "While the Yankees on paper have a distinct advantage in the batting order now that Sheffield and Matsui are healthy to compliment, Jeter, Cano, Damon, and Giambi, they can't pitch their team to wins like the Tigers." Looks like I was right. Too bad I didn't stop there...
• "If the Tigers steal Game 1, an inconsistent Mussina and an aged, aching Johnson give the Tigers potential for a sweep, let alone taking this series while in Detroit in Game 4 (if necessary)." Well, the striped cats didn't take Game 1. Instead they just took an extra day to gather themselves before Game 2 (thank you rain delay) and went on a post-rainout sweep of the next 3 games to make my 'Tigers in 4' vision a reality. Doh.
  
• "My Pick: Yankees in 4. Detroit's 1st foray into the post season after such a long layoff just doesn't bode well for Leyland & Co." Um, yeah, I should have listen to the voices instead.

A's over Twins

• "Matchup to watch
  The closers. Which young closer shows he's got the stuff to be the next Mariano?" OK, I picked the best matchup correctly.
• "Meanwhile, Huston Street hasn't been to the post-season and, in fact, is only in his second season, AND he's only 23 years old! Closing out the 9th inning, when the game is on the line in a deciding Game 5 is a lot to ask a 23 year old kid." It still is a lot too ask. Which is why he came up big in Games 1 and 2 instead to put the Twins in an 0-2 hole- and those saves were on the road, giving the A's an all but certain finale at home.
  

Fortunately for me, I still have 2 series to blow before I can officially declare my powers worthy of my own TV show 5 years from now once I hone this skill. More to come at the conclusion of Padres/Cards and Mets/Dodgers series.