Chops316 Monday Morning Quarterback: Thoughts on NFL Week Five

Another week in the NFL, another batch of ridiculous roughing-the-passer penalties.

Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin boiled over in his post-game press conference by declaring the new rules a joke and saying he's pissed about it. I wish every coach would follow his lead.

He had reason to be angry after LB T.J. Watt was flagged for bumping Matt Ryan's leg and knocking him slightly off-balance. How can you be flagged for roughing when the QB never even leaves his feet? The call didn't matter in the end since the Falcons laid an egg in Pittsburgh and the Steelers won handily.

Different story in Philadelphia. Near the end of the first half, DL Michael Bennett was flagged for roughing after sacking Vikings QB Kirk Cousins. The reason was a low hit. Bennett was shoved to the ground by a lineman and first made contact above the knee, but slid down and grabbed Cousin's ankles, pulling the QB down to the ground. What the hell was he supposed to do, let go? The call was huge because it turned a third and long into a first down. The Vikes scored a TD where they should have had to settle for a field goal attempt. Big play since the final was Vikings 23 Eagles 21.

These stupid calls are making my head spin. Could you imagine what it would be like if a true monster like Lawrence Taylor played now? Instead of being MVP he would be flagged into obscurity. It's good to hear Tomlin make comments like this public since he is one of two coaches who sit on the competition committee (Sean Payton is the other). Something has to change or soon we will be watching flag football.

Arizona Wins! Time to pop the corks in Detroit and Cleveland!

Good news for Lions and Browns fans, the Cardinals finally got off the schneid and defeated the 49ers 28-18. Now that the last winless team in the league somehow managed to find victory nobody will finish 0-16 this year. The 2008 Lions and the 2017 Browns can rest easy knowing their historic failures will not be challenged for another year.

I'm not trying to pick on the Lions or Browns. No, really I'm not. If you are going to stink, then do it right and stink it up better than anyone. Who remembers 1-15 teams? Are they any better because they got lucky one time? No. If you are going to be bad, be historically bad. If you don't win the Super Bowl, nobody cares anyway. Maybe, just maybe, the Browns or the Lions will win a championship before the sun explodes. Then their fans can look back at those 0-16 seasons and laugh a winner's laugh. Maybe.

Giants finally top 30 points, lose anyway

On Sunday the Giants accomplished a feat they haven't done in 36 games. They scored 30 points. 31 actually. The football gods didn't care and broke their hearts when Panthers kicker Graham Gano nailed a record-tying 63-yard field goal as time expired to give Carolina a 33-31 victory.

The highlight of the day for New York came on a trick play when Odell Beckham Jr. hit Saquon Barkley with a 57-yard TD pass. Which is pretty funny considering Beckham crapped all over Eli Manning and the Giants coaching staff in an ESPN interview that aired Sunday morning.

Giants Head Coach Pat Shurmur seemed rather pissed off in his post-game interview when he said the locker room addressed the issue and he was done talking about it. Good luck with that buddy. I'm sure the New York media will be having a field day with this for a long time.

Sorry Giants, but you had to see this coming. Beckham has not exhibited one iota of maturity since he joined the team. And the team handed him a large long term contract anyway. You reap what you sow.

Hmm, maybe not such a bad trade after all

The Raiders are still being roasted for trading Khalil Mack, but you know what? They did the right thing. This team is going nowhere fast.

Raiders fans were hoping hiring Jon Gruden would push this team over the top, but it is obvious that isn't happening this year. Derek Carr is regressing, that goal line interception against the Chargers was horrifically bad. This is a team that needed some very questionable calls to beat the Browns at home in OT. I know the Browns are getting better, but they still aren't a team to be feared when they are on the road.

The Raiders received a nice haul of draft picks for Mack. They better use them wisely because this team is full of holes.

Random Stuff

Congrats to the Cleveland Browns for winning their first division game in three years. Karma repaid them after last week's awful calls by letting a partially blocked field goal make it over the cross-bar.

Jeez Baltimore, what the hell? They thumped the Steelers in Pittsburgh, but couldn't come out of Cleveland with a win. I don't understand this league anymore. If you saw my picks this week you know what an understatement that last sentence is.

The Titans get big wins over the Jags and Eagles then lose to Buffalo. Buffalo! Maybe they got some tips from the Vikings.

Patrick Mahomes had no TD passes and two picks against Jacksonville. He is human after all. He still managed to top 300 yards and rush for a score. Man I would like to see him shred the Patriots this upcoming week.

Weren't the Falcons supposed to be Super Bowl Contenders this year? They have a worse record than Dallas! It doesn't look good to get stifled by a Pittsburgh defense that has struggled mightily this year.

Guess I better mention the Lions win over Green Bay in case Mikey is reading. Way to go Detroit! You still lost to the Cowboys. Detroit is another team that confuses the hell out of me. Mikey made a good post about, check it out here. And be nice to him if you do or @bethalea will be on your ass!

Congrats to Drew Brees for breaking the all-time passing yardage record as I write this. What a pro career this guy has had. Yet I still remember his days at Purdue, getting his ass handed to him by Penn State. Those were good times. Anyway, Congrats Drew!

Let me know your thoughts on Week Five.