Week 6 Preview, Spread Picks, Hot Seat: Coach Edition
Welcome to the week 6 preview! This week we start to make sense of the true contenders as well as the pretenders, take a look at the spread for each game, and talk about a coach who is already on the hot seat (or may already have been there to start the season). Big games this week include the Thursday night opener between Philadelphia and Carolina, then on Sunday GB/Min, LA Rams/Jax, and Pit/KC all promise to be exciting. Continue reading below to find out more and as always, if you enjoy the content or you just feel like doing something nice today, follow me on here as well as on Twitter at @CoachTylerPauly for more content from a coaching perspective.
Week 6 Picks
Philadelphia at Carolina, Car. -3.5 Carolina
Cleveland at Houston, Hou. -10 Houston
Green Bay at Minnesota, GB-3 Minnesota
Detroit at New Orleans, NO -6 Detroit
Miami at Atlanta, Atlanta -11.5 Atlanta
Chicago at Baltimore, Balt. -6.5 Chicago*
New England at New York Jets, NE -9.5 New England
San Francisco at Washington, Washington -10 Washington
Tampa Bay at Arizona, TB -1.5 Arizona
Los Angeles Rams at Jacksonville, Jack. -2.5 Jacksonville
Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland, Even, Los Angeles Chargers Oakland
Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City, KC -5 Kansas City
New York Giants at Denver, Denver 11.5 Denver
Indianapolis at Tennessee, even, Tennessee
*-Will cover point spread but lose game
Highlight Game of the Week
Green Bay at Minnesota
Every football season there are two games I cannot wait to watch more than any others, and those are the two games between Minnesota and Green Bay. This year is no different. Green Bay is in a great spot to start off the year (and look like they have a great chance at representing the NFC in the Super Bowl, as predicted by yours truly) while the Vikings have a whole bunch of question marks just like they do every season especially at QB.
I'll start with Green Bay first. On offense, Green Bay is once again loaded with talent and an absolute juggernaut. It's hard not to be with one of the best QBs under center in Aaron Rodgers. He is top 5 in yards, and touchdowns, however his one weak spot (which really isn't his weakness) is he has been sacked a league high 19 times. That could be an issue against a great Vikings front 7. Aaron Jones filled in last week as the top back and seemed to run well. The Packers zone scheme fits with Jones and it opens up other options for Ty Montgomery to be moved around. Jordy Nelson and Randal Cobb have been consistent and can challenge this Vikings secondary.
On defense, Green Bay has actually looked much improved from previous years. They are in the top half for points per game and yards per game and are also top 10 in passing yards allowed per game. The one area of weakness for this defense has been their run defense which is in the bottom 3rd of the league. The biggest issue I see is the defensive line is great at creating pressure but many times will come up field too far allowing backs to find a crease in the line. This also doesn't help clear the way for LBs to make tackles as guards are then free to move up to the 2nd level and get their hands on them.
On special teams, Mason Crosby hasn't had much action this year when it comes to kicking field goals as he is only 5/5. He has missed 2 extra points which is noticeable considering how often Green Bay's offense scores. Justin Vogel has been in the middle of the pack all year with a 41 yard average and 44 yard net average. In close games he could play a vital role in their success.
For Minnesota, the offense is what is going to determine if this team has any success this year in making to the playoffs. The QB carousel between Bradford and Keenum (and hopefully Bridgewater soon) hasn't helped this offense stay in sync. Bradford looked great Week 1 but was slow and hobbled in his 1 half against the Bears while Keenum has had a great games, and not so great games. When Bridgewtaer comes back it may not make things any clearer but at least they will have options. The best thing about these 3 is they all play best in different styles of offenses. Bradford has always been a west coast offense quarterback working through quick reads and play action. Keenum excels in the spread where he can make reads and throw the ball around to set up the run. Bridgewater is by far the most athletic of the two and excels in RPO style playbooks (Run/Pass option). If they can figure this question out they have excellent players at the skill positions and what seems to be a much improved offensive line.
On defense, Minnesota continues to be strong week in and week out. Our front 7 is strong and Ben Gedeon has come in and made an impact as a rookie. The one issue that is still plaguing the Vikings on defense is their 2nd cornerback opposite Xavier Rhodes. So far teams have been targeting the likes of Trae Waynes and Mackenzie Alexander (even Terrance Newman in the slot) just to stay away from Rhodes who has played like an All-Pro this year. Unfortunately for the Vikings, none of the guys mentioned have done much to solidify themselves in that spot. One last note on this defense: Danielle Hunter is a beast and should be considered a top 5 defensive lineman in the league.
On special teams Kai Forbath has been somewhat inconsistent on extra points already having missed 2 however he is 8 of 9 on field goals and was very reliable last year. Ryan Quigley is 32nd in the league in punt average which is an obvious weakness for their special teams. I wouldn't be surprised if they made a move midseason to give them some more production from that spot.
Player to watch: Danielle Hunter
Bold Prediction: The Vikings defense holds the explosive green Bay offense to only 17 points and Danielle Hunter has 3 sacks on Rodgers.
Game Prediction: Minnesota 21 Green Bay 17
Hot Seat: Coach Edition
There are a few obvious choices to choose from this year but I'm going to discuss Adam Gase's future down in Miami. I know it is his first year, but hear me out. Gase has had a really rough start to the season which started with his team losing their starting QB Ryan Tannehill for the year. In response, the Dolphins sign veteran QB Jay Cutler who had recently been let go by the Chicago Bears, the team Adam Gase was the Offensive Coordinator for last year. Most people were skeptical of this decision (including myself) as Cutler hasn't proved himself to be much more than a game manager and a cry baby. So far that hasn't turned out well for the Dolphins as their offense is one of the worst in the league and to top it all off, their offensive line coach filmed himself ingesting drugs before a meeting, and said film was somehow released to the public.
It may be his first year but I have to imagine the Dolphins front office is already questioning their decision of hiring Gase. I believe Gase's chances of getting fired at the end of this year are around 25%.
