NFL Week 7

11-3 last week, making it my best so far this season. Ironically, it was the Falcons that cost me the big payday on the point spread ticket this week. Oh well, hopefully the days of laying a goose egg on the sports select tickets are over at least.

KANSAS CITY at Miami: This one's been bumped up to Friday for hurricane reasons. Miami's number two ranked run defence fell to 14th spot after letting Michael Pittman run all over their faces, what's up with that? I wonder what's going to happen when they face Priest and Larry. The good news for the Marine Mammals is that Trent Green hasn't had that breakout game yet, and may be able to win this one if the Chiefs can't get their passing game going yet again. But if they try to run that retarded "line Ricky up like a quarterback play" again (gee, I wonder who's going to carry the ball?) then they'll be in big trouble. Chiefs by 7.

Detroit at CLEVELAND: Jeff Garcia looks to be starting this one, and he is a better quarterback than Joey Harrington, even if he is gay. The reason Cleveland is the pick is because NFC North teams are 0-9 on the road, and the Browns have a 2-0 record so far against that same terrible NFC North division. Browns by 3.

Green Bay at MINNESOTA: Shocking, isn't it? Green Bay could take first place in the division if they win this one and Detroit and Chicago both lose. Houston is the only team that allows more sacks than Minnesota, but Green Bay has only 10 sacks this season. Minnesota is the worst team in the league against the run, but Green Bay never really runs the ball anyway. This one rests solely on Minny's defence...if Culpepper finds himself in a shootout with Favre, he will definitely lose. I hate having to pick between 1-4 teams. Minny Winny by 6.

INDIANAPOLIS at Houston: Lock of the Week. Total mismatch in this one...the best team vs. the worst team. The scary thing is my Seahawks by 35 prediction last week was almost right. So this week, Colts by 35.

NEW ORLEANS at St. Louis: A matchup between two teams with no defence and major injury problems on offence. May the team with the better second string players win. At least the Aints still have their starting QB...the bad news is it's still Aaron Brooks. Aints by 7.

PITTSBURGH at Cincinnati: It seems that the Bengals aren't as good as they were earlier in the season, but they still sit atop the AFC North and will need this one if they want a home playoff game. The Steelers may also be vulnerable to the Bengals passing game...Palmer has the best TD to INT ratio and has the second highest rating in the league. Only Roethlisberger's is higher, so it's really going to be fun to see these two go head to head. It makes me nervous that no defence has been able to pick off any Ben wobblers yet, and Cincinnati leads the league in interceptions. So my cautiously optimistic prediction is Steelers by 3.

San Diego at PHILADELPHIA: Dare I bet against the Eagles at the Linc? McNabb will play through the sports hernia again, so I don't have to worry too much about Koy coming in to screw things up. The Superchargers look better and better almost every week, and Philly's run defence is not the shutout force it used to be. However, Fat Andy is 6-0 after a bye week, and 17-3 in games following a loss. Nobody in the league has a better record than that. Eagles by 7 in a shootout.

San Francisco at WASHINGTON: It's the 49ers...this one isn't even worth looking in to. Redskins by 21.

DALLAS at Seattle: Pepto Bismol Upset of the Week. This will be a great game between two teams that will most likely make the post-season, if their recent play is any indication. I recall this very same game last year on the Monday Nighter...everyone thought I was nuts for picking the Cowboys, but that's what happens when you hang around with a bunch of Seahags homers. None of the teams the Hags have played so far have much of a run defence, with the possible exception of Washington, who the Hags lost to by 3. I'm not convinced that the Seahawks are for real yet, as they have played three teams with winning records and lost to two of them (embarrassingly, the one they did beat was Mike Vick-less Atlanta...) Alexander does have 12 touchdowns, but 8 of them were against Zona and Houston, so they don't count. So Cowboys by 3.

Baltimore at CHICAGO: In terms of total defence, the Nevermores are second in the league and the Bears are third. When you look at passing offence (this one is fall down funny) the Nevermores are #31 and the Bears are #32. It comes down to who's got the better running game...Jamal Lewis has been a shadow of his former self and Thomas Jones is having a great year. Bears by 3.

Buffalo at OAKLAND: Raiders don't like to run the ball much, but they're going to have to since Buffalo is pretty good against the pass. Then again, they haven't played a team with a half-decent passing attack yet. LaMont Jordan has five touchdowns in four games and Buffalo's run defence is now pretty crappy thanks to injuries. Raiders by 7.

DENVER at NY Giants: Jersey/A had a tough overtime loss. Denver has been white hot winning 5 in a row. Broncos seem to have their running game sorted out and are now 3rd in rushing offence. Jersey/A doesn't have much of a defence...might as well keep riding the horse while it's still winning. Broncos by 3.

TENNESSEE at Arizona: I was impressed last week that Tennessee led the Bengals for most of the game. Arizona is coming off a bye, and Kurt Warner may be back this week. Tennessee will win this one if McNair learns to stop throwing TD passes to the other team. That's a pretty big if. Flaming Thumbtacks by 7.

NY Jets at ATLANTA: Good thing Atlanta's defence can score points or they'd be 3-3 right now. And good thing the Saints decided to send 12 men out there on the last play moving Atlanta into field goal range, and then the defensive holding which moved the birds 5 yards closer. Thank God they go back to the Dome this week for the Monday Nighter which just so happens to be against Jersey/B. The key to this game for the Falcons is the pass rush...Falcons have the second most sacks in the league and Jersey/B is 3rd right now for most sacks allowed. Jersey/B also doesn't have much of a rushing defence, and they're going up against the top rushing attack in the league. The loss of TJ Duckett takes away a large part of their scoring offence. Jersey/A is pretty stingy on allowing passing TDs, so Warrick Dunn's going to have to get into the endzone more often than he has so far this season. Falcons by 7.