NFL PICKS FROM THE BLACK LAGOON: THE MUCK 5, WEEK 5

Week 5 is here ladies and gents.....that's right go ahead....drink it in.....we are now into beautiful October, the SwampMan's favorite month by a landslide! The fall weather is now in full effect. That cool crisp air stings the nostrils, it smells like.....football! Gotta love it!!! I definitely do, it truly makes me the happiest man alive. The fall and football combination, there aint' anyhting quite like it!

Okay let's recap a bit real quick shall we? The Swamper had a pretty awesome Sunday last week falling one short of going a perfect 5-0 on the week 4 Muck 5! The Jags although coming out the gate playing well, just couldn't seem to hold on against Mr. Rivers and the Chargers who we now know just do not LET UP at all whatsoever no matter who their opponent may be, hint hint....foreshadowing alert, heheh! What really chaps my behind is that I went ahead and closed out the Muck write up with adding how much I loved the Vikings but just didn't have the kahunas to pull the trigger and list them as one of the five picks. It looks like I should've went with my gut and swapped them with my least favorite of my 5, the loser Jaggies. Oh well, it's easy to look back and say that now of course I know. The Saints forgot to show up in Dallas on Sunday night so I ended the great day with a bad call at the end there, my bad! But really, what the hell was that about? One would think with the record that they had a fragile situation with possibly going 1-3, they would definitely come to play and beat a team that they are supposed to beat like the Cowboys. That game drove me crazy! The Saints drove right down the field at will when they wanted to, and then would just shoot themselves in the foot with a turnover, needless to say it was a very frustrating game. Now don't get me wrong, the Cowboy offensive line did competely OWN the Saints defensive front. They were completely nonexistant. I was impressed by that big time and will give credit where it is due, the Dallas Offensive Line is for real. I know Demarco Murray is a great running back and all, but I think even the SwampMan could've took his time and moseyed on along through those holes they were so damn big, sheesh! Anyway, I did bounce back nicely with a perfectly predicted game on Monday NIght with the Chefs as they completely spanked Brady and the Pats in a AMPED UP Arrowhead Stadium Monday Night! That one felt good to sit back and watch as it was a total beatdown from kickoff. Unfortunately then the Swamper got himself so excited with Teddy and the Vikes that he still bit with the points eventhough he was well aware of the atrocious QB that Christian Ponder is, I thought they could've still stayed within the number versus the Packers....man oh man was that way off. This angered me greatly as I know better than this!!!! I KNOW just how bad both Ponder and Cassel are. I wrote this whole great big extensive write up on how Teddy is the real deal and so are the Vikings when playing with him, but if Ponder plays disregard everything I just said..... and then went on to say I actually still like them with the points even with Ponder!!! AHHHH SHAME ON MEEEEE.....I am truly sorry about this stupidity. There is no excuse for that, I just had my heart set on the Vikings and thought for sure that the Tedster would man up and play through the pain like he did in college. Okay enough of the recappage.....let's go baby we're going to go 5-0 today in week 5 of the Muck!!!!

***CAROLINA PANTHERS -2.5***

The Carolina Panties have been battered and beaten the last couple of weeks and have just seemed lost. It is no secret that their M.O. is their defense, it is their security blanket. Their defense is swarming and smothers and plays well, and then the offense just has to do the bare minimum and everything is okay. Well, these last few weeks the defense has been exposed and gashed through both the ground and the air. The offense has been unable to pick up the slack with a hurt QB in Cam Newton and ghost backfield due to being plagued by injuries. However I think this all changes today at home versus a wounded and vulnerable Chicago Bears team. Cam is said to be feeling healthier than usual and I feel as though this team has woken up after those couple of recent beatings and will come to play today focused with a great gameplan. The defense will get back on track and be in Cutler's face forcing him into making some bad decisions. Cutler straight up went back to his old self last week throwing a handful of costly interceptions against long time kutler kryptonite, the Green Bay Packers at home in Chicago nonetheless. Their WRs are banged up and not playing at full speed thus becoming less of a threat and easier to cover. The run game is really the only strong point of the offense at the moment and they don't do enough of it. Today I am foreseeing more of the bad Jay Cutler as I think DA BEARZ will start to slide a bit and do what the Panthers have been doing and lose a couple games by just being a bit "off." The Panther offense I also think will find success against this injured Chicago defense. Rookie standout WR Kelvin Benjamin will have a big day today and seem somewhat uncoverable utilizing his size against this small secondary. I think Cam also will eat a bowl of man the hell up this morning and run a bit more than usual to supplement for the recent absence of the run game. Panthers get the W at home today.

***TENNESEE TITANS -1.5***

The Titans are fresh off of a bye week and will be playing today in front of their home crowd as they host a tough Cleveland Browns team. Now I do like this Browns team very much don't get me wrong, however I think they go down today to a Titan's team playing all out and desperate for a win. Although the Browns are also fresh off a bye week, I think the Titans needed it more. They have had quite the tough schedule as of late dropping three straight games but all against very good playoff caliber teams since beating Kansas City on opening day. That being said, this Titan defense isn't as bad as it seems by any means. The Titan defense will be focused and stingy as ever today, smothering the Cleveland running game and forcing QB Bryan Hoyer to beat them with his arm where he has a lack of weapons at his disposal through the air. The absence of stud WR Josh Gordon has really hurt them so far this season as they are still looking for somebody to step up and be their "go-to" guy. They still have yet to find that person, and they might never do so. Last week they lost a heart breaker against hte Baltimore Ravens in the last seconds with a Raven FG. The Browns had every right to win that game and blew it because of failed first down conversions late in the game with dropped passes. Titan QB Jake Locker will be back today and will be playing his heart out to win the job over in a convincing fashion utilizing his run and gun style against a tough and stingy Brown defense. They will also utilize rookie RB Bishop Sankey who is a jitterbug type of RB that has yet to receive a healthy workload with the rock in his hands. Tennesee now knows that they need a spark and will turn to him for it. You can bank on the fact that Coach Ken Wisenhunt has worked hard all during the bye week to put together a plan of attack and have his team ready to go today. Although it won't be easy, they will do it because they can't afford not to. The Titans will give MAXIMUM effort today, and some how, some way will get the dubbya.

***NEW YORK GIANTS -4***

Short and sweet; this Giants team is for real and has found themselves. They will continue to be the dominant team we last saw two Thursdays ago against the Redskins when they went into Washington and absolutely detroyed the Redskins. They get rookie WR Odell Beckham back today and I think he makes his debut in a big way today in front of the Giant's home crowd. He will be the perfect compliment to Cruz and Randle and complete what will now be a dangerous WR core. Along with the running game thunder and lightning combo in Jennings and Williams, and Eli's favorite new found weapon Tight End Larry Donnell, don't look now but I would go as far as to say the Giants are now my pick to win that division. Yes, even with the Dallas Cowboys and Philly Eagles looking as good as they have lately. I think the GMen have a great defense who finally seem to have gotten their stuff together and are playing to their strengths, and now Eli has gotten into a groove and is playing with confidence again. No more football folly GMEN as I truly believe they will go on a run here and string together some wins. The Falcons are awful on the road and have zero defense, seriously....zero. Rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater was able to look like a Hall of Fame worthy QB against them and two no-name running backs gashed them at will. The Gmen will have a huge day today and will be rolling on all cylinders in a blowout.

***BUFFALO BILLS +7***

The Bills looked terrible last weekend in Houston and got stomped out by the Texans, so much that they went ahead and made a huge decision to sit QB EJ Manuel and will go with hand the keys over to journeyman QB and veteran Kyle Orton. I like this decision very much, heheheh (evil laugh). I have always liked Orton and his gunslinging ways. I believe he was dealt a crappy hand when he was in Denver during TebowMania. It essentially ruined his career. There was no way that Tebow was not going to start and I have never seen a team hate their own QB so much. I don't know any body that could've overcome this. The guy would literally get booed every time he walked onto the field before he even did anything. I actually think he handled it pretty well and played through your own home stadium hating you more than the opponent. I give the guy a lot of credit. The main thing is here is that he has an arm, and the Bills have weapons. Especially a serious weapon in rookie WR Sammy Watkins. It was documented that Sammy really wanted to become a Detroit Lion before the draft took place and was lobbying for them to trade up and get him, as we know, they didn't. Something tells me he wants to show them today that they should've and Orton has the arm to get him the ball early and often. Yes, the Lions have the "number 1 defense" currently in the league but I believe that is somewhat flawed. Their secondary is by no means strong yet and definitely can be exposed. Along with the dangerous run game of the bills with scary combination in Spiller and Jackson....the Bills have what it takes to hang with Detroit today and give them a bit of a scare at home today. The Lions are banged up and may be without the face of their franchise Megatron today. Even if he goes, he will be no more than a decoy. The Bills defense is very good against the run and it doesn't help that the Lions will most likely be without their starting RB Joquie Bell and backup Theo Riddick, and only left with primary screen and swing pass type RB Reggie Bush. Carrying a full workload and running up the middle isn't something Reggie is really built for. The lions will have their hands full today on defense and may be a couple bad mistakes that turn into turnovers today on offense that just may slip and drop one to the Bills here today. That being said, I definitely love the points here and think that Orton will give this team a spark that they need right now.

***SAN FRAN 49ers -5***

The 49ers are on a mission lately as they seem to have also found themselves last weekend by going back to their old ways utilizing the running game and feeding their horse Frank Gore and rookie backup Carlos Hyde. The Niners ran all over the Eagles last weekend and their defense came to play and absolutely smothered and stifled an extremely potent Eagles offense whcih was very impressive. The Eagles couldn't do anything against the Niners last weekend and I expect the same thing to happen to Kansas City today in SF. Kansas City put on an absolute show last Monday Night at home against a downward spiraling Patriots team. They were rolling on all cylinders and beat the crap out of them. Today is a bad spot for them however as they now travel to San Fran on a short week and play a team who is focused and hungry to turn their season around and fast. They will run the ball down the KC defense's throat and not led up one bit. This will open up the passing game for Kaepernick and he will also use his legs when needed to get first downs. The Niner defense will smother Jamal Charles like they did Shady McCoy last weekend and then take away tight end threat Travis Kelce and boom, the KC Chiefs don't have much else to turn to on the offensive side of the ball. Once the Niners go up by a couple of scores which they will, KC will not be able to come back. Niners big today!

The Swamper is in a hurry and has to run everybody! Enjoy the games today and lets' kick some butt and go 5-0 whaddya say?! Cheers everyone!