What an NFL season we have going here. The Saints are no longer Aints, and the Broncos finally showed me in week six that they were for real. What a mixed up year. Still, it makes for great football every single week, and week seven should be no exception. Here are your free NFL picks for the NFL week seven of action:
Green Bay at Cleveland – Green Bay looked like world beaters in week six, but they were playing the Detroit Lions. It is a good thing they are facing Cleveland this week. The result should be similar as Cleveland just can not seem to get it together at all.
Winner – Green Bay Packers
San Diego at Kansas City – The Chargers totally bombed on Monday Night Football against the Broncos but it seems the Broncs have a way of doing that to teams. The Chiefs finally got a win last week, but will return to their losing ways against the Chargers. Especially the angry Chargers.
Winner – San Diego Chargers
Indianapolis at St. Louis – The Rams have zero chance. Zero.
Winner – Indianapolis Colts
Minnesota at Pittsburgh – This is easily the game of the week to most NFL fans, and it should be a doozie. It is not every day we see Brett Favre face Ben Roethilisberger. This should be fun, but I see the Vikings finally losing one. It will be at the last minute, but the Steelers steal a much needed win.
Winner – Pittsburgh Steelers
New England at Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay has zero chance. Zero.
Winner – New England Patriots
San Francisco at Houston – This is another game that will be better than advertised. Schaub has been excellent this year, and the Niners struggled in their last outing. I think the Texans are just hot enough to take down the Niners this week.
Winner – Houston Texans
Buffalo at Carolina – Don’t look now but that Carolina running game is starting to rumble again. Just about this time last year, the Panthers did the same thing and ended up nearly taking home field advantage from the Giants in the NFC. The Bills are simply in the way. Just do not let Jake throw the ball, and the Panthers roll easily.
Winner – Carolina Panthers
NY Jets at Oakland – The Jets and Sanchez rebound in a big way. Nothing like having Oakland around to get back on the horse.
Winner – NY Jets
Atlanta at Dallas – The Cowboys have to win, and will for that reason only. The Romo watch continues though as he will struggle again against the Falcons rush.
Winner – Dallas Cowboys
Chicago at Cincinnati – The Bears will pull this one out but not without some serious fight from the Bengals. The Bengals and Bears might become an annual classic someday. It should be already. This will be a fun one.
Winner – Chicago Bears
New Orleans at Miami – I am smelling an upset here, but I think that if I pick against the Saints I might lose some readers here. If you are so inclined, feel free to take the Dolphins as they could very well upset the Saints at home. I still think the Saints will weather the storm though in all probability.
Winner – New Orleans Saints
Arizona at NY Giants – The Cardinals are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Giants are angry.
Winner – NY Giants
MON, OCT 26
Philadelphia at Washington – See above. Add to this that the head coach is really not the head coach in Washington and they can not score. Philly better win or they might just be disowned when they go home.
Winner – Philadelphia Eagles
Tiebreaker Score – Eagles 21 Redskins 3
Week Six Record – 8 – 6
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Will Favre Be Smiling?
The truth of the matter is that when Favre retired, he retired as a Green Bay Packer. His signing with the Jets was no big deal really in Green Bay. It stunk. It made Green Bay mad. It was odd on every level. Favre signing with arguably the Packer’s worst on field enemy is another story all together. The fact that the Vikings are serious contenders in the Packers own division is just icing on the cake. The Packers are going to be in for the fight of their life to ward off the Vikings this season. Brett Favre could very well be the reason that Green Bay does not make the playoffs this year. What crime could he commit that would be any worse to a Green Bay fan?
Watching this game on Monday night will be like nothing else in recent memory as sports go. The Packers are going to be playing against Brett Favre. No matter how many times you say it, it still has to sound strange. What will it look like? The real question is, will the Green Bay players have it in for Favre? Regardless of the niceties that are sure to be thrown around on Monday night’s pregame, you can bet that the Packers are going to be a little pissed in the back of their minds. They will be coming after Favre hard and fast.
To tell you the truth, I see that as being their ultimate downfall. They are going to be looking for Favre all night long, and Adrian Peterson is going to be running by them while they do. The real weapon in Minnesota is not Brett Favre. He is the decoy now. The real weapon is Adrian Peterson. Given this, the Vikings would do well to sling some shots down the field early against Green Bay. They should get all eyes squarely on Favre. Once they focus in, then they should smash them in the mouth with a steady dose of Adrian. The worse thing they could do is get into a passing game with the Packers.
Aaron Rodgers is actually the better quarterback at this stage of their careers. Physically he is just more put together than Favre. Favre has the experience and the mojo over Rodgers, however. If Favre is going to beat Rodgers, it will have to be between the ears. He will have to shelve his ego, and let the strengths of his team lead the way. To Favre’s credit, he has done so this year so far. This is why the Vikings are 3-0. It remains to be seen if he can do the same against the Packers.
Pull up a chair, and enjoy the ride. This should be a good one.
The NFL preseason gets into full swing this week with a full slate of games. For those of us that have been dying for some NFL action, this week is like a football dream come true. The season got off to a great start in the Hall of Fame kickoff classic with the Titans beating the Bills. (just as I picked) Here are the rest of the week one NFL preseason games along with who I predict will come away the winner:
THU, AUG 13
New England at Philadelphia
The Patriots and the Eagles are actually two of the favorites according to most NFL experts in the NFL this season. It will be interesting to see how Tom Brady looks in preseason action, though I am sure he will not play very much. As for the Eagles, they should keep Mcnabb on the bench as well as Westbrook. They are simply too fragile. I expect that the Patriots will win this preseason matchup.
Winner – New England Patriots
Washington at Baltimore
The Redskins are hoping that Portis has at least one more big season, and the Ravens are simply hoping that defense can remain as strong as usual. The Ravens are not nearly as deep as they once were on defense. I still expect they will win this preseason match up.
Winner – Baltimore Ravens
Arizona at Pittsburgh
The Cardinals take the field for the first time since the Super Bowl, and they are fired up about it. Ironically, this Super Bowl rematch is set to be pretty interesting. Both teams have some second and third string players that are looking to make a splash. This game will come down to the running game and defense which puts the win firmly with the Steelers.
Winner – Pittsburgh Steelers
Dallas at Oakland
The Cowboys take the field without Terrell Owens and they have to find a way to replace him. This game will begin to answer the questions that the Cowboys have at wide receiver. While Oakland is not exactly the greatest secondary ever, they are a solid enough group to get a feel for the Cowboys. More importantly, the Cowboys second and third string running backs are better than most team’s starters.
Winner – Dallas Cowboys
FRI, AUG 14
St. Louis at NY Jets
The Rams just found out that they are without Donnie Avery for at least four to six weeks, and this injury is going to hurt. The Rams just do not have the firepower at the position that they have been used to. The Jets are anxious to unveil new rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. It will be a big splash for NY.
Winner – New York Jets
Minnesota at Indianapolis
The Vikings and the Colts will be a very fun game to watch simply because of the talent on the second and third teams. Both teams are pretty darn deep, and so it should be a good preseason game to watch. This one smells like a Colt win to me, however.
Winner – Indiannapolis Colts
Cincinnati at New Orleans
The Bengals are hoping for a huge return for Carson Palmer, but that likely won’t begin against the Saints in preseason. Still, there are a lot of answers to be had in this game. Can Reggie Bush play a whole game without breaking a leg? Can the Bengals play a whole game with no felonies? I mean penalties? We shall see. Either way, the Saints win this one big in preseason action.
Winner – New Orleans Saints
Denver at San Francisco
The post Cutler era in Denver gets started here and Kyle Orton has to be a bit nervous. Then again, he was a quarterback in Chicago, so he has nothing to be nervous about. All kidding aside, I think he will do quite well in Denver. He especially will do well against these 49ers in preseason action.
Winner – Denver Broncos
SAT, AUG 15
Atlanta at Detroit
The Falcons are amped up for an NFC South battle this season and the Lions are simply hoping to win a few games. While optimism is high in Detroit, the depth of this team is still very shallow. Rome was not built in a day, and neither will Detroit be.
Winner – Atlanta Falcons
Chicago at Buffalo
The Bears are anxious to see what they have with Jay Cutler under center, and the Bills are coming off an opening week loss against the Titans. While the Bears are not quite as strong as the Titans, they should still handle these Bills.
Winner – Chicago Bears
Cleveland at Green Bay
The Browns have a quarterback situation to work out. The Packers need to get a running back in order quick. This game will do little to solve either situation, but it will be a good game. The Browns will surprise an amped up Green Bay squad.
Winner – Cleveland Browns
Tampa Bay at Tennessee
The Bucs, like many other teams, need to find a quarterback. The Titans are pretty set in their lineup, and looked pretty impressive against Buffalo. I expect that the Titans will take advantage of the Bucs early growing pains.
Winner – Tennessee Titans
Houston at Kansas City
The Texans are going to be fun to watch this season. Kansas City is a team that is very much in turmoil. Expect the Texans to spring a little preseason surprise on the Chiefs.
Winner – Houston Texans
Seattle at San Diego
The Chargers and the Seahawks will be a great preseason game. The Seahawks are searching for some semblence of a running game, and the Chargers are just trying to keep LaDanian Tomlinson healthy. Expect LT to skip this one for sure, and it might be the difference.
Winner – Seattle Seahawks
MON, AUG 17
Jacksonville at Miami
The Jaguars and Miami are always a fun game with the whole intra-state rivalry thing. This game will be fun to watch as well. Expect that Miami will have a little more firepower in the backups for this one.
Winner – Miami Dolphins
Carolina at NY Giants
This game will be the ultimate expression of power struggle in the NFC. The Panthers are just too good at running back, and they should be able to handle the Giants in this one.
Winner – Carolina Panthers
Preseason Record Overall – 1 Win 0 Losses
