Suicide Watch Week 5: Pick Your Boat
By Justin Boylan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – I'm looking at five games in week 5 for us to pick from. Depending on which teams you've used to keep your pulse steady, your choice may differ. Or you could pick a different game entirely, who am I to stop you? If you are one of the more than 9,000 left above water that means you're doing something right.
Here are those games. I have to pick one of them, which boat are you getting in?
Falcons vs. Jets. I really like this one, but I used Atlanta to get through week 2. The J-e-t-s are sitting at 2-2, but without a road win. The Falcons, with losses to the Saints, Dolphins and Pats, are much better than their 1-3 record. Matt Ryan has never lost three games in a row, and the two times he has face a three-game skid, Atlanta bounced back at home. I'm feeling a Saints-Dolphins-type Monday night massacre. Geno Smith isn't ready for this one.
Broncos at Dallas. For those of us who didn't stab the Eagles in the chest, the Broncos are always an option. You can think Denver is vulnerable away from Mile High, but there's no snow in the forecast Sunday in Dallas. In Breaking Bad terms, Peyton Manning is a remote-controlled machine gun, and the Cowboys are a room full of Nazis.
Rams vs. Jaguars. Jacksonville has scored 31 points in four games. They can't move the ball. MJD is averaging 2.4 yards per carry, and the team has ONE passing touchdown (Clay Harbor for the backdoor cover!!). The only team with a worse ground game than the Jags are … wait for it… the Rams. A pick against the Jaguars is a pick for the Rams, and I have a problem trusting bad teams with my life.
Chargers at Raiders. The pick breaks two cardinal rules by taking the road team in a divisional game, but it's the Raiders. I was all ready to break those rules and pick against Matt Flynn, but he dropped from the starter to the third string faster than any quarterback in the history of the league. Terrelle Pryor is back this week, and I'll only break rules if I have to.
My Selection – Packers vs. Lions
(Teams used: Colts, Falcons, Seahawks, Chiefs)
Aaron Rodgers hasn't lost coming off the bye week since his first season as starter in 2008 (a 19-16 overtime loss in Tennessee). In those five games, A-Rod is completing 70 percent of his passes with 13 touchdown passes to 3 interceptions, and two of his post-bye wins are against Detroit. The Lions can try to keep up, but Green Bay has had too much time to stew over that Bengals loss.
Best Bet For Survival – Falcons vs. Jets
See above.
Cheating Death – Eagles at Giants
It worked the last time the Eagles played a division opponent on their home turf. The way things are going we could be running out of opportunities to get something out of the Birds. Plus the Giants are perfectly terrible. You do have to worry about Victor Cruz going off for 20 catches, 250 yards and 3 touchdowns, but the one-sidedness of the Giants offense makes me believe that will be all they'll get.
Vick won't feel much pressure because the Giants don't apply any. It's a must-win against a team that loves to turn the ball over. The Eagles outscore the Giants and send them to 0-5.
As always, the choice is yours, and this week there's more than a few.
Stay alive.
Justin Boylan is a producer at 94WIP and graduate of Temple University. You can email him at justin.boylan@temple.edu and follow him on Twitter @justintboylan.
