Sports Articles Johnson

Week 5 in the NFL

My 3 best bets are:
Colts -10 over Bucs
Patriots -16.5 over Browns
Chargers +1.5 over Broncos

Featured game:
Colts over Bucs

Taking their place alongside the Green Bay Packers as the NFC surprise of the seasons first quarter, the Buccaneers head into the RCA Dome this weekend nursing a one-game lead in the conferences South Division, having gone on the road to dump Carolina last week and improve to 3-1.

The victory was not without consequence, however, as Tampa lost both feature running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and offensive tackle Luke Petitgout for the season with serious knee injuries.

Michael Pittman (90 yards against the Panthers) and Earnest Graham (three TDs in last two games) will be immediate replacements for Williams absence, though the team has already been rumored to have interest in Minnesotas Mewelde Moore.

Meanwhile, the defending Super Bowl champion Colts are still... well...pretty good.

Indianapolis improved to 4-0 for the third straight season with a 38-20 downing of the Denver Broncos at home, though they too incurred a loss when veteran standout wide receiver Marvin Harrison left the game with a bruised knee.

Harrison is listed as questionable for the meeting with the Bucs, as are safety Bob Sanders (ribs) and running back Joseph Addai (shoulder).

The Colts were a memorable winner in the last edition of the Gruden/Dungy rivalry four years ago, taking a 38-35 overtime decision from host Tampa and becoming the first team to win a game in which it had trailed by 21 points with less than 4 minutes left.

The Colts have a 6-4 edge in their all-time series with the Buccaneers, including the aforementioned win when the teams last met, in a Monday night matchup in 2003. As mentioned, Indianapolis erased a 35-14 deficit with less than four minutes to play to force overtime and eventually win. Tampa Bay won the previous meeting in the series, a 31-28 road triumph in 1997. The Colts are 2-1 against the Bucs in Indy, with their home wins in the series coming in 1987 and 1988.

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden is 2-1 in his career against Indianapolis, with both wins dating back to his tenure in Oakland (1998-2001). The Colts Tony Dungy, the head coach in Tampa Bay from 1996 through 2001, is 1-0 against his former team and 1-1 head-to-head against Gruden.

QB Jeff Garcia has continued his career resurrection, completing 58-of-90 passes for 771 yards, two touchdowns and a 98.9 passer rating through four games. He and Indys quarterback -- Elis Mannings older brother, Peyton -- have combined to throw just one interception through four weeks...and it wasn Garcia that threw it. Overall, the Bucs have a plus-4 turnover ratio, good for third-best in the NFC. The aforementioned Pittman has gained 170 yards on 30 carries in shared running duty, and his teams are 10-2 lifetime in games where hes gone for at least 90 yards. Elsewhere, Garcia can throw to veteran speedster Joey Galloway, whos notched three 100-yard games and scored four touchdowns (two of 60 yards or more) in his last seven games. Ike Hilliard, who leads the team with 15 catches for 246 yards, had seven grabs for 114 last week, the most yardage hes gained in a game since December 1999.

Second-year man Addai is rapidly making Colts fans forget Edgerrin James, and will continue to do so if he maintains the pace that has him scheduled to surpass last seasons 1,081 rookie yards. His five rushing touchdowns are best in the NFL through four weeks and his 407 yards are third. But, he may not play, so watch out. Manning has been his usual winning self. Hes 16-5 in 21 meetings with NFC foes since 1998. Look for Reggie Wayne to assume the No. 1 target role with Harrison hobbling. Wayne has 21 catches for 307 yards and three touchdowns so far, and has caught at least one scoring toss in seven of his last eight home games. Tight end Dallas Clark also scored twice last week and the Colts improved to 13-3 in games in which he has at least one touchdown.

Summary

Once again, its a game the Colts head in to as the better team both on paper and on the field. They
e at home. And, injuries to key personnel or no, they should win against a team thats been a nice story so far but really can match up player-for-player. Of course, there will be a time this year where exactly those sentences are written and they turn out to be wrong. This won be that time. Manning makes a few plays. Addai gains a few yards. And when all is said and done, the Bucs are impacted more by injuries than Indy is.

Here are the rest of the picks.


Favorite Spread Underdog My Picks
TENNESSEE 8.5 Atlanta TENNESSEE
HOUSTON 5.5 Miami Miami
Jacksonville 2 KANSAS CITY KANSAS CITY
Arizona 3.5 ST. LOUIS Arizona
NEW ENGLAND 16.5 Cleveland NEW ENGLAND
NEW ORLEANS 3 Carolina NEW ORLEANS
NEW YORK (NYG) 3.5 New York (NYJ) NEW YORK (NYG)
PITTSBURGH 5.5 Seattle PITTSBURGH
WASHINGTON 3.5 Detroit Detroit
INDIANAPOLIS 10 Tampa Bay INDIANAPOLIS
DENVER 1.5 San Diego San Diego
Baltimore 3.5 SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO
GREEN BAY 3 Chicago GREEN BAY
Dallas 10 BUFFALO Dallas


Good luck with your action tonight!



by Johnson