Life on the Wildside: Random Musings and the Best of Week 5 in the NFL

By: N-F-L Correspondent Chris Kubak

Hello once again to all you football freaks, gridiron gurus, and fantasy fanatics. Are we already to week 5 in the NFL Season? Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess. Anyway, for those of you who missed the action because you were too busy watching playoff baseball (I certainly can’t blame you as there were some great games on this weekend), here’s the best and most captivating in the week that was in the NFL.

Minnesota at New Orleans: Reggie Bush Run’s Amok x 2

I think that it’s fair to say that the Saints/Vikings game on Monday night was one of the more frustrating and groan-inducing games to take place last weekend. Despite all that, the game was peppered with an iota of heart-stopping moments that, for brief periods of time, took your breath away. It was like the college student trying to get through mid-term studying with energy drinks, alternating between big rushes of energy and debilitating crashes back to earth.

Most of all, this was the game where the world was reminded why Reggie Bush was once one of the most electric and highly regarded college football players in the country. He had the brilliant speed, the gridiron presence, vision and explosiveness that marks several names and careers in Canton.

They were finally on display in the Superdome on Monday night. For those of you who missed it, Bush returned two second half punts distances of 64 and 71 yards for TDs to get his team back in the game and give them the lead in the 4th quarter, a lead which they couldn’t hang on to. It wasn't just the fact that he returned them all the way that made them so spectacular. It was how he did it: cutting his way back across the field, finding holes that shouldn’t have been there, skirting the sideline, leaving everybody to eat his proverbial dust. Those two plays, along with his 269 all purpose yards made him the talk of water coolers around the nation. If only he could get himself established firmly in one role…

Minnesota at New Orleans: Take Evasive Action!

Who would’ve thought way back in the spring that Minnesota’s early season resurgence would be spearheaded in large part by Gus Frerotte? Not only that, but that Frerotte’s personal resurgence would make Bernard Berrian look like a new man? Then again, most people expected the Vikings to compete right from the get go and not stumble out of the gate at 1-3. So it’s been a season of odd and interesting occurrences under the lights at the Metrodome.

Anyway, its 3rd and 17 with 7:16 left in the game, Vikings down by seven. Gus Frerotte heaves one up for the endzone, getting hit just as the ball leaves his hand. Two guys are in hot pursuit: Berrian and 2nd year wideout Aundrae Allison, both converging on the exact same spot on the field. They damn near run into and kill each other in the process. Somehow, they don’t and instead, the ball ends up in Berrian’s hands for his first touchdown as a Viking. It’s a spectacular play to watch unfold in slow motion.

It reminds me of that famous play in baseball where Fred Lynn and Brian Downing of the California Angels are both in pursuit of a fly ball and both crash into the wall, missing each other by inches and damn near killing themselves. Yet Lynn ends up with the catch. In a lot of ways, the parallels are uncanny.

Atlanta at Green Bay: Donald Driver’s Hands

Things have gotten rocky in the friendly confines of Lambeau Field these past few weeks. The sheen is off the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay, although for this past week nobody could place the blame on him. On 3rd and 1 in the 2nd quarter, near midfield and his team down 10-0, Rodgers rears back and heaves one up for Donald Driver, into double coverage. I mean serious double coverage. Most of the time that would be considered an idiotic maneuver…but we are talking about Donald Driver. If the ball is anywhere in his vicinity, there’s a pretty good chance that he’ll be able to catch it…and he does. Touchdown, Green Bay.

Washington at Philadelphia: Incredibly Rare and Oddly Tantalizing

Why was I the only one of my inner group of football friends not surprised by the outcome of this game? Maybe its me but I just don’t trust the play calling of Andy Reid. It's 1st and 10 on the Philly 18 yard line, Redskins trailing by 5 early in the 2nd half. Redskins QB Jason Campbell gives the ball on the reverse to Antwaan Randle El, who runs it up towards the sideline before lobbing it to TE Chris Cooley for the TD.

Seriously? A reverse TD pass to a tight end? When was the last time that was done? Has that ever been done? That’s a fine piece of trickery right there. The more I see the Redskins play and develop, the more I really like the way Jim Zorn is running this team. Looks like the Skins found a good one when they chose him.

Chicago at Detroit: Marty Booker’s Reacharound

Detroit sucks, this much is painfully obvious, even to Tibetan monks who have never seen a football or seen the game played. Hell, my brother’s cats could probably tell you that the Lions suck. Give Chicago the credit that they’re due here; they did play a damn good ballgame.

Anyway, the highlight of this game came early in the 3rd quarter, with Da Bears up 17-naught on the Lions. Orton tosses one up for Marty Booker but there’s one problem: Booker has a man all over him. The personal bubble was more than just violated; Booker could probably tell the guy what he had for lunch that day. To make matters worse, the defender gives Booker a shove in what is clearly a blatant case of pass interference that even a deaf, dumb and blind man could’ve called. Here’s what makes it special: Booker, despite being shoved away from the ball, somehow manages to reach around the defender (Travis Fisher) and make a one handed catch, grabbing the ball at its very end. The slow motion video of it makes it look like he’s balancing the ball on his left hand as if he were a kicking tee as he went crashing to the ground. Now to hold onto that takes some serious athleticism. Speaking of which, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a side judge throw a penalty flag with such vigor before in my life.

Seattle at New York (Giants): Delivery to the Loading Dockery

This was a game and a day that the Seahawks would love to have back. They just look awful out there. Garbage, as The Commish would say. It was the kind of game every Giants fan longs for week in and week out. Not having Plaxico Burress on the field turned out to be the biggest non-issue of the week in the entire NFL (at least that’s what I think).

With all that offense on display, the real highlight in my opinion was Kevin Dockery’s interception in the 3rd quarter. After picking off the errant pass from a scrambling Matt Hasselbeck, Dockery makes his way up field just consistently making defenders look silly. He bounces off of one man, jumps over another, spins away from a third, bounces again off of a fourth before a tag team of two or three guys manage to drag him down. He didn’t score, but over the course of the 44 yards he covered, he showed some of the best open field running and tackle-avoiding that you’re bound to see all year.

Slippin’ on Nuts Award: Wrong Guy Dummy

This week our esteemed award goes to the Seattle Seahawks for their pathetic performance against Big Blue. Most specifically during Ahmad Bradshaw’s impressive run in the fourth quarter, which very nearly made the list above. During the course of that run if you watch the highlights, right when the clock hits 10:51 remaining in the 4th, SS Deon Grant misses in his attempt to tackle Bradshaw and instead tackles his own teammate! His teammate had a chance to get him before Grant took him down from behind. It was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve seen all season. LOL Seattle.

Other Notes and Ramblings:

- Is Antoine Winfield the best Defensive player in the NFL right now? Seriously, it seems like the man is coming up with one or two monstrous, game-changing plays every week now. It’s both awesome and fun to watch.

- KC and Herm Edwards gets shutout. Hell hath become fiery again.

- Detroit’s Kevin Smith needs to work on his touchdown celebrations, granted he doesn’t get many opportunities to practice. After scoring the Lions only TD on Sunday, he proceeds to spike the ball hard to the turf…and then trips over his own feet. You have much to learn, grasshopper.

- At one point during the Jags-Steelers game Mewelde Moore ran the ball and dragged two or three Jags along with him, before they were all jumped on and flattened by 6’7”, 310 lb DT Tony McDaniel. In my mind, the one thing I thought of after seeing that was the scene from the 1st season of Family Guy when Peter Griffin is at Cheesy Charlie’s and belly flops into the ball pit while shouting “Hong Kong Phooey!” Yeah, I’m messed up, I know.

- There was a David Carr sighting this weekend in the Meadowlands and he was not sacked. More on this story in coming weeks.

- I purchased a copy of Madden 09 finally for the Nintendo Wii. Just couldn’t find it for a while. In my first game (playing on the 2nd hardest setting), my NY Jets defeated the San Fran 49ers by a score of 97-13. Alex Smith was sacked 10 times and had 3 interceptions before leaving with a severe elbow contusion. In the 2nd game, the NY Giants defeated the Raiders 90-17, with Brandon Jacobs putting up a 17-251 and Eli Manning throwing for 568 yards. Ah video games…

Chris’ pick record for the week: 9-5
Season: 38-21

That’s all I got for now, see you all next week.