Week 7 Record and Week 8 Predictions

So week 7 was a 7-7 affair. Three massive upsets broke my gambit for a winning streak. Nobody but nobody saw the Browns and Saints turning out that way. I think very few expected the Titans to win in lopsided fashion without Vince Young. Nobody expected the Raiders to score the greatest number of points in their franchise history going against Denver last week.

Then we have the all-out robbery of the Miami Dolphins. I don't want to labor the point. This is all they have been talking about (aside from Lorenzo Favre) on the NFL Network, even rolling out the chief of officiating to discuss the issue. Most of us realize this was a near instant replay of Super Bowl XL. The Refs handed one to the Steelers.

This week we have a few filthy matchups that are tough to call. Who will be worse, the Broncos or the 49ers? Can the 49ers suddenly ignite with new QB Troy Smith? Who will be worse, the Jagwads or the Cowboys? How about the Bucs Cardinals? How about the Seahawks and Raiders? How about Rams Panthers? Filthy match-ups one and all.

Tough to know who is going to win this week.

The big matches are the Packers v Jets, the Saints v Steelers, and the Texans v Colts. These are good shake-out match-ups that will indicate who is for real, and who isn't.

The worst of the day is the Vikings v Patriots. It is interesting, as usual, for all the worst reasons. High melodrama there. If Favre plays, The Hoodie wins by 50. This is not really a competitive match up. It's soap opera. When and if the Patriots crush the bumbling Vikings, the media will certainly draw the fallacious inference that the Patriots are in the hunt for the Super Bowl, and the Vikings aren't out of it yet.

Week 6 Record and Week 7 Predictions

So, I haven't had much time for blogging lately. I also see that my last attempt at a blog didn't post until just a moment ago. This is disconcerting.

I had one heck of a good week last week. 9-4-1. I punted on the 49er vs Raiders game. I will count that as a push. I was one of the few dudes who called the Rams-Chargers upset. I will confess that this choice was more gut than reason. However, it was not entirely irrational. Most of us close to San Diego and listening to the Mighty 1090 AM know that the Chargers have been spinning down for a couple of years now. We know A.J. Smith has run that franchise into the ground. They have missed their window and it is now closing in front of them.

I must say that the picks this week were pretty difficult. The Falcons v Bengals, the Steelers and Dolphins, the 49ers vs Panthers, the Packers vs Vikings and even the Giants vs Cowboys all provoked considerable sweat. All those games are closer than anyone wants to admit.

I wouldn't put it past the Jekyll and Hyde Bengals to rise up and do the Falcons. I doubt it, but it can happen. I have a heck of a lot more confidence in the Dolphins than everybody else. I still believe they are an AFC contender. Still, the Steelers give one pause. The 49ers and Panthers make you pull your hair out because these are two franchises going nowhere because of their dastardly QB situations. Who knows who will win that game? The Packers are badly wounded, but the Vikings are just plain bad. This is another pick'em type situation.

The biggest sweat buster of them all is the Giants v Cowboys. The Giant offense is better than it has ever been. They have a very underrated QB--yep I said underrated--and a fleet of wide receivers. I think they have the best young receiver corp in the business. The defense is flashing signs, but they are a bit inconsistent right now.

The Cowboys are pretty healthy and highly ranked on both sides of the field, but just keep finding new ways to loose games when it matters. As I mentioned before, I don't think the Cowboys are going to continue to lose at this pace. I do believe they are going to debug their shtick and go on a run, but will they begin this week against this Giants?

I don't know. It is certainly possible that they may hulk up and produce a ball buster of an effort like the one they did against the Texans.

When next I blog, I am going to blog about the Rams very surprising 2010 season, and we will go into some detail there.