The NFL Roundup - Week 5

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Getty Images)

The second quarter of the 2016 NFL Season is upon us and that means one thing...the push for the playoffs begins. Sure, there's still plenty of games left in the regular season, but teams with excellent records want to snag as many wins as possible to secure that all important spot in the postseason. It means we are about to be in for some incredible football games as those teams light it up, pouring on the points, and in some cases...finding themselves humbled by losing squads that still have something to prove to themselves and their fans. It simply means that there will be plenty of stories to talk about once the weekend comes to a close and here are the top ones we are keeping an eye on for Week 5 in the NFL. 

Will Odell Beckham Jr. finally focus on the game at hand?
Here's the thing. OBJ is actually quite the talented receiver, there's no denying that fact. I will also say outright that he's a class act since he took the time to shake the hands of every service member present at Monday Night's game...but while he has class and skill, the man has zero maturity on the field and that needs to come to an end. He lets every little thing get into his head and affect his play and for proof look no further than the Vikings game where he caught a whopping three passes for 23 yards and well, the fix to such an issue is simple, he needs to worry about the game and nothing else. He needs to take that passion and that energy and channel it into his play on the field, and if he does that...the end results will be outright incredible. But it's up to him to get there, and hopefully he takes a big first step toward permanently changing his mindset for the better this week.

Can the Arizona Cardinals turn around their misfortunes this week?
Arizona is perhaps one of the biggest surprises this year, since they in no way resemble the squad that went to the NFC Championship game last year. Carson Palmer has looked like a shell of his former self when he is under center, and the once stout defense is suddenly porous and their 1-3 record is a shocking one to say the least. Which means that time is running out for this team to salvage their season. Can they turn it around however? It's possible. For starters, they'll need turnover free play from Drew Stanton while he fills in for Palmer, a punishing run game and a defense that refuses to back down, and most importantly...they need more leadership outside of Head Coach Bruce Arians. These players have to want it, and need to support one another and motivate one another. So if they accomplish all those things, absolutely they will turn this awful season around, but if not...well, better luck next year.

Has the time come for the New York Jets to make a change at Quarterback?
The New York Jets spent most of the offseason locked in a financial battle royale with the best QB they've had at the position in years in Ryan Fitzpatrick. But, thus far, it seems as though that struggle to hammer out a contract was all for naught. Fitzpatrick is having an ugly season, throwing for only four touchdowns and ten interceptions through four weeks and regardless of whether or not father time has caught up to him, or if missing OTA's hurt him...it may be time to send Ryan to the bench and try out one of the other three QB's on the Jets roster, and considering that the season is quickly falling to pieces...why not make a change? At best, they find their QB of the future and start winning some games, at worst...well they have another bad season and reload the QB position in the offseason with a high level draft pick or a top tier free agent, either way, Fitzy's time in New York is running out and a decision will have to be made.

What can we expect from Tom Brady in his first game back?
It's been four weeks, and while Tom Brady has been silent during his suspension for #Deflategate, you know football has been on his mind. He's undoubtedly studied the game from afar and he will be ready and raring to go when he emerges from the locker room come Sunday. But, will he be rusty when game time arrives? Did the time away diminish his skill set? I think the answer to those questions is a resounding no, and there's a good chance he is going to put on a football clinic this week against the Browns, because we cannot forget that he's angry and embarrassed by his four game suspension, and his team was beaten badly last week by the Bills, so all of that will serve as grand motivation to resume the 2016 Patriots Revenge Tour.

Will any of the unbeaten teams leave Week 5 with a loss?
Being undefeated in the NFL, at any point in the season is quite the rare feat when you take into account injuries and the parity that the league works hard to maintain. So to have three teams with a perfect record going into this week is quite the accomplishment for those franchises. But teams rise, and teams fall and we have seen time and time again the moment where a perfect team eventually records a loss, but...the three teams in question, Denver, Philadelphia and Minnesota have been playing lights out which makes one wonder...will any of them lose their respective games this weekend? After all, the Broncos Defense should be able to neutralize the Falcons Offense. Philly is playing a ridiculously bad team in Detroit and Minnesota has proven they can handle balanced teams like Houston. Of course on any given Sunday, anything can happen, so it's possible one or two or all three of these teams could lose...but if I had to guess, these three teams are going to bask in another victory and we will be pondering this same question at this same time next week...

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