Bolt Notes: San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders and All NFL Week 5 Picks!!!
The San Diego Chargers were pretty in pink last week as they destroyed the Arizona Cardinals in what was supposed to be a clash of last years Western Division champions. Well, let's face it, Arizona is a shell of it's former self. The loss of Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin is just too much to recover from. Even Matt Leinhart was missed during this 41-10 drubbing.
Yes, the Chargers were determined to do a couple of things. One, prove they could cover a kick, which they did. No returns of note this week against the Bolts. How did they fix their problem so fast? They benched the guys who were not doing their jobs and replaced them with defensive and offensive starters who are able to stay in their lanes and do the job right.
As long as they don't get hurt on special teams, they should be okay until the young guys get some more practice.
Two, the defense wanted to prove they could put pressure on a quarterback and that their secondary was not soft. Nine sacks (four by Sean Phillips), a pick six (also by Phillips), and 124 total yards allowed later, you can check that box as completed.
Now let's not kid ourselves. The Cardinals are not the kind of test that the Chargers have to pass in order to convince anyone that they are ready to challenge for a championship. First, they have to win on the road and second, they have to beat a good team. On the bright side, the Chargers travel to Oakland this week in what should be their first road win.
Also on the bright side, the Chargers next home game is against New England, in Week 7, and they may actually sell out The Q and get on local TV! Win that game and the fan base may become believers again.
Now on to week 5 picks!!!
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Buffalo Bills
1 of 14
Who can figure the Jaguars out? They beat the Broncos, get pounded by the Chargers, and then come back and beat the Colts on a last second 59 yard field goal!
This makes it kind of hard to predict which Jaguars team will show up this week in Buffalo. On the bright side for the Jaguars, the Bills are a very bad club and that alone should be enough to help the Jaguars win two in a row.
Jaguars 24 Bills 12
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Cincinnati Bengals
2 of 14
T.O. got off last week for the Bengals with over 220 yards receiving.....and the Bengals still lost to the lowly (but improving) Cleveland Browns.
The Bucs have two wins, but they were over bad teams (Cleveland and Carolina). Looking at this game you have to consider that the Bengals are on the road and both teams had different results against the Browns.
The Bengals do have one quality win with a low scoring victory against the Ravens. That tells me that their defense may be strong enough to win in Tampa Bay.
Bengals 20 Bucs 10
Atlanta Falcons @ Cleveland Browns
3 of 14
Atlanta is coming off three straight wins and Cleveland just got their first win in week 4. I'm not completely sold on either team, but I think Atlanta is a more well rounded team and should be able to beat the less than impressive Browns.
Falcons 28 Browns 20
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St. Louis Rams @ Detroit Lions
4 of 14
I would really like to pick the Lions in this one. They're at home, the Rams are an average, to below average team, and the Lions have been able to score points week in and week out.
That all sounds great for the Lions, but the fact is that the Rams can move the ball and score some points as well and the Detroit defense should get the Ghandi award for the team least likely to hurt their opponent. Roll out the red carpet and show them to the end zone is their motto.
Rams 31 Lions 27
Kansas City Chiefs @ Indianapolis Colts
5 of 14
This should be the week when the Kansas City Chiefs come down to earth. They are the only 3-0 team left in the NFL. Some say they are still undefeated because of some off season moves that greatly improved the team. I say they are still undefeated because of their bye week in week four.
This week, they have to travel to Indy and take on a frustrated and angry Peyton Manning and his Colts team. Weather will not be a factor but Manning will. Let's face it, the Colts lost last week because Manning is too good! He pulled a Dan Fouts and scored too fast.
Old time Chargers fans will surely remember days when Fouts would have 1:30 left on the clock and down by four. He would score in about 30 seconds and leave the other team a minute to answer. The defense wouldn't hold and the Colts would lose. That is exactly what happened to the Colts last week.
The Colts defense could be better and will have a tough time handling the run game of the Chiefs. Also, the extra week of practice and planning will help the Chiefs as well. In my opinion, the Colts will have little problem with the Chiefs and Manning will sleep much better this week.
Chiefs 17 Colts 34
Green Bay Packers @ Washington Redskins
6 of 14
This looks like a good game to me. There are some factors that may lean to the Packers side, but the home team could have the edge as well.
The way I see it, the Packers looked past the Lions last week and almost blew the game. The Redskins played well in an emotional game against the Eagles and came out with a nice win.
However, the Redskins offense and quarterback Donovin McNabb did not move the ball well after the early part of the game.
I look for the Packers to come in fired up and determined not to look past anyone. I also see the Redskins having a bit of a let down after all the attention they got for the McNabb, Philly reunion last week.
Packers 24 Redskins 20
Chicago Bears @ Carolina Panthers
7 of 14
So I pulled out my Droid the other day and opened up my Google Sky app. I looked at the sky over Carolina's stadium and saw that the stars may just be aligned for the Panthers to actually win a football game this week! Yes, the 0-4 Panthers just may pull this one out against the Bears.
Non only did the Bears show that they have no offensive line, they about got their starting quarterback killed! Yes, nine sacks in the first half against Jay Cutler and the Bears.
Now, when you break it down, Cutler did hang on to the ball too long on many occasions and the Panthers pass rush is not equal to the New York Football Giants. That being said, Cutler is out and Collins is in for Chicago. That means unless the Bears score on defense or special teams, they may not have enough points to beat anyone this week.
Bears 9 Panthers 24
Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens
8 of 14
Kyle Orton has been on fire thus far, but the Broncos ground game is non-existant. The injury to Knowshawn Moreno has been too much for the Broncos ground game to overcome. That means that the Broncos are a one dimensional team. That is not a good thing when going on the road against a defense like Baltimore's.
Look for Baltimore to challenge the Broncos to run and attempt to take away the passing game of the Broncos. Orton will be lucky to get out of this game healthy, much less with a win.
Broncos 6 Ravens 24
New York Giants @ Houston Texans
9 of 14
The Texans are coming off a road win in front of the smallest NFL crowd since the 1960's. The Giants are coming off of a dominating win against the Bears on Sunday night.
I think the Giants will find a stronger opponent this week when they travel to Houston. Not that Houston has been world beaters this year, but neither have the Giants. If Eli Manning is on his best game, the Giants have a shot. If he turns the ball over, look for the Texans to run away with this one.
Giants 20 Texans 27
New Orleans Saints @ Arizona Cardinals
10 of 14
The Saints Cheerleaders have been reported to be in the starting lineup against the Cards this week. The Cheerleaders are favored by a field goal.
That is how I look at this game anyway. Unless the Chargers are actually God's gift to football (which I highly doubt), the Cardinals are just a bad football team. I don't see the Saints getting tripped up by the Cardinals even though they have not been playing the greatest ball this year.
Saints 44 Cardinals 12
San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders
11 of 14
I have tried to look at this game objectively and I still can't find a way that Oakland wins this game. The Raiders injury report looks like a novel. They are giving up an average of 160 yards rushing per game. They are using a quarterback who in the off-season was replaced by a guy who has never won either.
Add to all of that the fact the Chargers have the leagues leading offense and defense (for teams who played four games) and are moving the ball equally well on the ground and in the air. Antonio Gates leads the world with six touch down receptions, and Mike Tolbert just ran for his first 100 yard game.
The Chargers have had great success playing the Raiders in the recent past. In fact, the Bolts have won the last 13 matchups between these two rivals.
On the bright side for the Raiders, LaDainian Tomlinson, the Raider Killer, is gone now and will not add to the 25 touch downs that he has scored against them in his storied career. That is good news but look out Raiders for rookie Ryan Matthews who, if healthy, should be ready to break out and start his own streak of great games against the mighty silver and black.
Chargers 31 Raiders 13
Tennessee Titans @ Dallas Cowboys
12 of 14
This is another interesting game to call. Both teams have pros and cons, but the difference I see here is that the Cowboys are coming off of a bye week and the Titans have shown they can't stop the pass as the Broncos basically told them they were passing every down and still won the game.
Titans 17 Cowboys 28
Philidelphia Eagles @ San Francisco 49ers
13 of 14
Will the real Kevin Kolb please stand up? Personally, I think that Kolb will rebound from a poor effort in last week's game against the Redskins. He hadn't been starting and that means that he had not practiced with the first team offense.
Timing is everything with an NFL offense. A week of practice should solve lots of problems there. Remember, last year Kolb totalled over 700 yards in his two starts.
The Niners are a mess and continue to disappoint.
Eagles 27 Niners 17
Minnesota Vikings @ New York Jets
14 of 14
It's nice to see L.T. running like he did in his younger days...unless you are a defender in the NFL.
The Vikings may be getting all the press this week with the trade for Randy Moss, but it's the Jets who have been playing better football. I do think that the Vikings will be a lot to handle for most teams, especially when Rice returns from injury. However, he is not there yet and Revis is there to shut down Moss in his debut for the Vikings.
Look for a better game from Moss in week 6 as he and Favre get to know each other better and he doesn't have to play on Revis Island.
Vikings 20 Jets 24
Enjoy the games everyone and please leave comments and your picks below!!!
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