NFL Week 5 Observations: Peterson, Smith, Painter, Kolb, and Lions Fans

After watching an insane amount of football this weekend, I’ll drop the 5 things that stood out the most, non-Titans related.

1. Adrian Peterson re-claimed the “best back in the league” trophy

The Vikings are terrible, we all know that. There’s no question that bringing in McNabb, at least from the outside, looks like a horrible decision. If you manage to talk to a Viking fan, all they mention is how “the rookie needs to start”. Do you know why? It’s not just to see what they have. It’s to see if their rookie QB Chrisitan Ponder might be better than Andrew Luck. That’s right, all of their fans believe that they will be drafting high enough to get Luck. That’s how bad their season sits as of now.

Fortunately, the Vikings do have Adrian “All Day” Peterson. Peterson literally won Sunday’s game by himself. Rushing for 122 yards and 3 touchdowns on 29 carries. The best part? No fumbles, despite his history.

2. Alex Smith is the real deal

That’s not a typo. I’ve long been defending Smith, saying that he needed stability. Drafted first overall by the 49ers, Smith spent most of his career known as a colossal bust. It doesn’t help that he is now known as the guy the franchise took instead of Aaron Rodgers. Smith gathered a mere 51 touchdowns and 53 interceptions to enter the 2011 season. Coach Jim Harbaugh, the guy that created Andrew Luck (no milkman jokes) seems to have fixed Smith, who has 7 touchdowns and 1 interception on the season. He looks like Pro Bowl material and the niners are 4-1. Who woulda though, right?

3. Curtis Painter isn’t bad

Maybe you’ve heard: The Indianapolis Colts lost Peyton Manning for what should be the entire season. In steps Kerry Collins, who played terribly. Amidst the “of course” reactions of Titans fans, Collins suffered a concussion. Forced into play, hated backup Curtis Painter enters the scene (hated for not being Manning, no less). Did you know that Painter played the majority of 3 games, starting 2 and hasn’t thrown an interception? With 4 touchdowns and 618 yards, Painter now has a QB rating of over 100. He’s not bad. Don’t look now, but he might be good. If Colts fans don’t like him, however, I’m sure Jim Sorgi is available.

4. Kevin Kolb isn’t proving he’s worth $60 million

It was cool in week 1 when he threw for 300 yards, 2 touchdowns and lost one fumble….and they won. That’s the key. Amidst a good individual performance, the team won. In weeks 2 and 3, Kolb topped 500 yards passing and threw for 3 TD’s and 3 INT’s. That’s not bad for a young guy learning the system in this weird year. The problem? They lost both. After 5 games, Kolb has nearly 60% completion and more interceptions (6) than touchdowns (5). The important thing to remember is that he is young and also young in the system. The other thing rests as a heavy chip on anyone’s shoulder that is worried about the money. Kolb costs a lot of money, and right now he doesn’t seem to be worth it, but hey! Winning solves everything.

5. The Detriot Lions Fans

That was the loudest crowd I have ever heard on a tv. At the end of the game, I had started to walk off to get something to drink and I just stopped and stared at the tv. I couldn’t make out what the announcers were saying. There is no way at all the Bears knew when to start their plays. That crowd was violently loud!! I can’t say enough about them. The Superdome in New Orleans during the NFC Championship game was my previous vote for loudest crowd ever, but these rowdy fans in Detriot certainly took the cake as they helped cause false start after false start for the Chicago Bears’ offensive line. It was amazing to watch. So, congratulations, Detriot, on that amazing evening.