These are the picks for the 2005 season. Bold represents the team selected to win. Games in red represent the Upset of the Week. At the bottom, The weekly and overall records for the season appear at the bottom. These picks are based purely on winners and losers with no consideration from the spread. The spread is only used to determine upsets for the Upset of the Week.
What if the New Orleans Saints were 4-1?
Coming into the season, the coaching staff wanted the team to be more physical. To make the plan come to fruition, they wanted the offense to set the tone by becoming a power-running team. And they had the ball carrier to execute the plan. Deuce McAllister was a workhorse for the Saints two? years ago when he gained more than 1,600 yards and scored eight touchdowns. At 6-1 230 pounds, he was built to pound away. He's talented enough to play all four downs. Strong enough to break tackles and athletic enough to go the distance after breaking a defender's grasp, McAllister was the key to making the transition happen.
This past Sunday, McAllister tore a ligament in his knee in the 52-3 loss to Green Bay. Under this hypothetical situation, it would be obvious that as McAllister went, so did N'Orleans. How would the Saints recover from this setback?
With a little help from a former player. Back in 2002, Ricky Williams was sent packing to make way for McAllister to be the number one ball carrier. It worked out well until now. In order the salvage the season, they could call Miami and ask how much would it take to bring Williams back in a trade right before the trade deadline.
This could be the opportunity Williams needs. The Dolphins have their running back of the present and future in rookie Ronnie Brown. They drafted him second overall for a reason and Brown is performing well. Williams would be nothing but a back-up in his current situation. If Williams lets bygones be bygones, he could return gloriously to the team that drafted him and once again become a marquee running back and earn a new contract.
Normally a player would need time to adjust to his new team. But Williams played in this offense before so it wouldn't take him long to get back in the flow of the Saints offense. He could start upon arrival.
With a potential playoff season on the line, New Orleans couldn't afford not to pull the trigger on this kind of opportunity. It shouldn't take much to exchange for Williams. The cost would be less than what they got for Williams when they traded Ricky to Miami. This would be the move to keep the Saints on the path towards the playoffs.
In reality, N.O. is going n-o-where at 2-3 and sinking fast. They did make a trade for a RB with the Dolphins, but got Jesse Chatman instead for a lot less. For now, Antowain Smith is the starter. The next step is stripping the team down and rebuilding virtually from scratch to compete in the future.
Rarely can one player come in and be a difference-maker immediately for any team. Football is too complex. If any team were to make a blockbuster trade before the deadline, the effects wouldn't show until a year or two. A few players that could use a fresh start:
Quarterbacks: Phillip Rivers has already said he wants a chance to start. That might not happen while in San Diego...If Rob Johnson can parlay one good performance into a multi-million dollar contract, then Atlanta's Matt Schaub can do the same after Sunday's three TD no picks debut...Patrick Ramsey isn't the present in Washington (Mark Brunell), nor is he the future (Jason Campbell). What's next for Ramsey is obvious...If Rex Grossman could only stay healthy, he would be Chicago's franchise player. But injuries over the past three years and the drafting of Kyle Orton makes Grossman's future with the team shaky...Joey Harrington had plenty of time to develop, but Detroit likely isn't satisfied with his slow progress. The Lions might lose their patience...It's a similar story for Kyle Boller in Baltimore. He isn't as advanced as he should be and the Ravens might be ready to move on without Boller.
Wide receiver: He's been hounded by injury, breaking his collarbone in his first two years. Now Detroit's Charles Rogers is suspended for violating the league's substance policy. Tack on the talent the Lions have at wide out (Roy Williams and rookie Mike Willams), then Rogers might get squeezed out.
Running back: Mewelde Moore, Ontarrio Smith, Michael Bennett. They've all had 100-yard games for Minnesota, but getting their chance to be the primary ball carrier differs from game to game. Sharing the ball won't keep all of them happy...Both William Green and Lee Suggs had a taste of starting for Cleveland. They won't savor that feeling getting leftovers behind Reuben Droughns...Over and over, Arizona has tried to find a premiere ball carrier, ignoring the production by Marcel Shipp. Next challenger is rookie J.J. Arrington. If Arrington gets elevated to starter, then Shipp might want to ship out.
Me? I'm going nowhere, despite my 7-7 record last week. I gotta pick up the pace.
Cleveland at Baltimore - W
Baltimore did one heck of a job of piling up the yards...through penalties. The 147 penalty yards was almost equals their passing yards the previous week. They'll play with better discipline and most yards won't come via the hankie as the Ravens roll over the Browns.
Minnesota at Chicago - W
Desperate Housewives has nothing on the Vikings. Up to 17 players were allegedly caught with their pants down by participating in a cruise that included sexual acts. That would at least explain the lethargic play by the Vikes. The Bears will have the energy to knock off the Vikings.
New York Giants at Dallas - L
QB Eli Manning has come a long way since last year, and oh so quickly. The only hang-up is his 0-9 road record with New York. Baby Manning will get his road monkey off his back before his older brother shakes his championship game gorilla. Eli grows up a bit more as he directs the Giants past the Cowboys in the Upset of the Week.
Carolina at Detroit - W
Lions running back Kevin Jones wasn't half bad with his touchdown celebration impersonations. Jones won't be able to mock 'Lina wide out Steve Smith because Smith has a new celebration for every score. Jones will have a couple more moves to analyze as Smith the Panthers put on a show.
Washington at Kansas City - W
By scoring 19, the Redskins improved their per game scoring by more than a point, up to 15.5. But they'll need more than that to come out ahead in K.C. Like last week, the 'Skins come up short against the Chiefs.
Atlanta at New Orleans - W
Matt Schaub played his way to a starting job and a multi-million dollar contract last week. Regardless who starts for the Falcons, they should add to the 52 unanswered points the Saints allowed starting last week.
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh - W
The winning strategy against Pittsburgh has always been to stop the run and force them to beat you by passing the ball. That technique worked twice against quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Using the same game plan with possibly Charlie Batch under center for the Steelers is a recipe for success. The Jaguars make the strategy work for a win.
Miami at Tampa Bay - W
The bad news is Buccaneers corner Ronde Barber will be 30 grand poorer thanks to a fine from punching an official during a grapple with a New York Jets offensive lineman. The good news is Barber could make up that money and more after signing on to participate in the second season of The Contender. Barber and the Buccaneers knock out the Dolphins.
Cincinnati at Tennessee - W
Wide out Chad Johnson needs to put in some extra credit. He has a checklist of the top corner for every team on Cincy's schedule with a blank box next to the name to check if Johnson got the better of the match-up. After a five catch, 52-yard and a TD performance, Johnson must admit he didn't clearly beat the Jacksonville corners. The story should be much different against the Titans. Johnson and the Bengals have a A+ day.
New York Jets at Buffalo - W
Just goes to show you the value of veteran leadership. Both teams won their games after starting mature passers. But it will be the youth of the supporting cast that propels the Bills past the Jets.
New England at Denver - L
N.E. finally got burned for playing their "Ice the Kicker" game with timeouts. The officials, already hip to the mind game, purposely accepted the first timeout after the miss, then denied the second one, after the 58-yard field goal split the uprights. The Patriots won't fool around as they get serious against the Broncos.
San Diego at Oakland - W
Yo Marty Schottenheimer! Before questioning if a team has enough fingers to plug the holes in a dike, why don't you make sure your leads don't seep through your S.D. defense. Don't let the Raiders slip through the cracks and the Chargers should cruise.
Houston at Seattle - W
What a difference a change makes. Seattle played without their starting receivers and got better. Joe Jurevicius had a career game in place of Bobby Engram and Darrell Jackson. Either Engram or Jackson won't come out with the first eleven Sunday. The Seahawks won't need much of a contribution from the third wide out anyway as they toast the Texans.
St. Louis at Indianapolis - Monday Night - W
Best wishes to Rams head coach Mike Martz as he takes time to recover bacteria infection of a heart valve. You could have a room mate in Joe Vitt because trying to stop the Colts offense could make him sick as well.
Home | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Wild Card | Divisionals | Conference Championships
Super Bowl XL