NFL Week 5 Primer (With Picks): Trends Emerge

Kam Chancellor's return has put the "boom" back in Seattle's secondary, but how will they deal with a red-hot Cincinnati offense?

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We've seen four weeks of football, which means we have five data points - the four games we've seen from (most) teams, plus our preseason expectations. Week Four presented a lot of compelling evidence. The three unbeaten teams we were still on the fence about - Carolina, Atlanta, and Cincinnati - all put a big whoopin' on their opponents. All three teams sport average scoring margins of +9 or better, which, through a quarter of the season, seems like we can say is not a coincidence.

At the very least, we can separate the league into "have"s and "have-not"s, with very few exceptions (for example, I still have no flippin' idea what to make of Minnesota and St. Louis). We know which teams are good and which teams are bad, the only questions that remain are with regards to degrees.

Joe & Daphne's Preview: The NFC West

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) and Daphne Parello (@DaphnePup)

We took an extra long weekend, but Daphne and I are back to preview the NFC West, home of reigning conference champion Seattle, (mostly) involuntarily revamped San Francisco, and a pair of nasty defenses in St. Louis and Arizona.

Other than the Seahawks, major questions linger for each of these teams, and even Seattle comes into 2015 with something to prove after coming up one play short of back-to-back titles in last February's Super Bowl.

Will the Seahawks make it back to Super Sunday, or can somebody like Arizona or St. Louis possibly snatch the division from them? Daphne and I investigate.

Rich Gannon on the NFC West

Our Adam Lowenstein spoke with current CBS commentator, former NFL quarterback, and guy I always thought was going to bite off his own tongue, Rich Gannon.

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Ed. Note- Correspondent Adam Lowenstein won the California Almonds Ultimate Bro Snack Sweepstakes he entered earlier this year at Gillette Stadium, and his prize was a 15-minute phone conversation with CBS Sports commentator Rich Gannon.

Adam spent most of that conversation talking football (duh), though the conversation did take place before yesterday's NFL action. Still, he got to speak with a former NFL quarterback, and we think that's pretty cool, so we're gonna run this a day after the fact and adjust records accordingly. Enjoy!

Earlier in the week, I had the pleasure of speaking with CBS commentator Rich Gannon about a lot of the goings on in the National Football League as we head into Week 10. The former quarterback and I discussed quite a few storylines, but the most intriguing conversation that we had was about what most deem the league’s best division, the NFC West.

Although the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have both underachieved thus far this season, the Arizona Cardinals own the league’s best record at 8-1, and Rich does not think that this will change any time soon.

“The Cardinals are going to win the division” Gannon said when asked how he sees the NFC West shaking out.

He spoke highly of Arizona head coach Bruce Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowels, as well as Patrick Peterson. The Pro Bowl cornerback played so well in the Cardinals’ 28-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9 that Gannon went so far as to say “(Peterson) owned Dez Bryant.”

However, Gannon does see a weakness in Arizona’s rushing attack, which ranked 28th in Football Outsiders’ DVOA heading into Week 10.

Long And Suite Preview: The NFC West

Russell Wilson is poised to lead the Seahawks on another Super Bowl run.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

There is one common thread in the NFC West: Defense. Each of these four teams has a potentially elite defense - some of them have already established themselves as such (Seattle, San Francisco), others have been at that level without anyone really noticing (Arizona), and one has several budding superstars that could coalesce to be the best unit of the bunch (St. Louis). For the divisions playing the NFC West this year (the AFC West and NFC East), they'd better bring a lunch, because it's going to be a long fight.

The top of the division is a two-team race between the usual suspects: Seattle and San Francisco. The title very well could come down to scheduling. Both teams play the AFC West, but Seattle gets the Broncos at home. San Francisco has to travel to Denver for their matchup. As the first place team from a year ago, Seattle has the good fortune to play against Carolina (who will almost certainly take a step back from their NFC South Division Title last year), while San Francisco has to go on the road to play New Orleans, the second-place team from the South a year ago. This seems to point to Seattle being the favorite (and this is born out in Seattle's steeper odds for the division title), but as we've seen in recent years, especially in this division - weird stuff happens.

Tim Tebow, Michael Sam, Tony Dungy and the NFL's "Distraction" Issue

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

I love when people leave comments on our site.

Really, I do. It gives me such joy that people take even 20 seconds to either express their agreement with my view or, more commonly, tell me I'm an idiot. 

These comments are usually reserved for my high school power rankings and all star teams, but every now and then somebody will take issue with something I say on a national sports story. When I wrote my blog on Tony Dungy I fully expected it to be one of those kinds of posts.

The issue of gay athletes seems to get people riled up on both sides, and is certainly something that is going to be in the news for much of the foreseeable future.

Now, with these comments, I usually just respond with a couple of sentences in the comments section, but this particular remark, I believe, represents the beliefs of a very large group of the American sports fan population.

If you don't feel like going back and reading the comment in my Dungy blog, I have pasted it below.

Tony Dungy Should Just Own His Homophobia Already

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In the least shocking incident of the NFL off-season, football moral compass and former Bucs/Colts head coach Tony Dungy publicly stated that he wouldn't have selected Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the history of the NFL Draft.

I say least shocking because, if you know anything about Tony Dungy, you know he is a devout Christian who has spoken out in favor of a Gay Marriage ban in Indiana, and taken President Barack Obama to task, albeit briefly, on Twitter for "veering from the Biblical interpretation" of marriage.

Here is Dungy's exact quote on Sam.

“I wouldn’t have taken him,’’ Dungy told the Tampa Tribune. “Not because I don’t believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it. It’s not going to be totally smooth . . . things will happen.’’

That's all fine and dandy. The former Super Bowl winning coach is entitled to his faith and his views. This is America, after all.

My issue is that a man who used to occupy what is essentially a hiring position (NFL head coach) outright said he wouldn't hire someone because they are a minority… And we take that as a "stance."

The Top-10 Super Bowls in NFL History

For historic plays and dramatic finishes, Super Bowl XLIII is tough to beat, but is it No. 1 on our list?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

By now you're surely ready for Super Bowl Sunday, and what should be a fantastic game between Denver and Seattle.

Like we mentioned earlier this week, Sunday's game will be a Super Bowl like no other, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be remembered as one of the best in league history.

So, which games are the 10 best Super Bowls ever? Are they the games with the most history on the line? The ones with the most drama? The ones featuring the most legendary players?

Well, they are all of those things and more. Check out our slideshow below for my Top-10, and click on the picture in each slide if you want highlights from that game.

Weekend Football Roundup - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Triple coverage? Megatron don't care.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Every Tuesday during football season, editors Jeremy and Joe will bring you the good, the bad and the ugly from the college and pro football weekend that was.

The Good

Megatron

Good might be an understatement after Calvin Johnson snatched 14 balls for 329 yards against Dallas, the second-highest single game receiving total in NFL history. Only historical footnote Flipper Anderson of the LA Rams has ever had more, and Megatron seemed to make his most impressive plays in the biggest moments.

The biggest, of course, being the Johnson's 22-yard catch on a sensational throw from Matthew Stafford that set the Lions up with first and goal at the Cowboy one-yard line. Seconds later, Stafford jumped over the pile to complete the 10-point Lions comeback.

Some scary thing to consider about Megatron's day, which I would consider the greatest receiving game in NFL history.

-He only had one touchdown. Twice he was stopped at the one-yard line.
-He did it all in regulation against a defense built to defend the pass. Flipper Anderson's 336-yard record setting performance came in overtime when Jim Everett and the Rams were one of the few teams in the league airing it out.
-Half his reception went for 20 yards or more. That's absurd.
-His 14 caches came on 16 targets. Also absurd, considering the Lions were playing from behind, and you knew who they wanted to get the ball to.
-Oh yeah, and he may not be fully healed from a leg injury that's nagged him the majority of the year.
“Just wait until he’s 100 percent,”  Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said.

-JP

Long And Suite Preview: The NFC West

Pete Carroll (left) and Jim Harbaugh (right) already have the most intense coaching rivalry in football, dating back to their days in the Pac 10 (now 12). The stakes are even higher this year, as Carroll's Seahawks and Harbaugh's 49ers might just be the two best teams in the NFL.

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The transformation that this division has undergone over the last three years is pretty incredible. In 2010, A Week 17 matchup between the 7-8 Rams and 6-9 Seahawks actually decided which of the two teams would HOST a playoff game the following week. It was pretty embarrassing. Now there’s an argument to be made that it’s the best top-to-bottom division in the league. Even 2012’s last place finisher Arizona had wins over Seattle and New England.