Saturday, October 23, 2010

Quick thoughts for Week 7 in the NFL

Cincinnati @ Atlanta-
Huge game for Atlanta. Everyone thought they were the best of the NFC (Junior Varsity for the AFC), and they got outplayed badly by Philly. Cincinnati looks pretty vulnerable right now, here is Atlanta's chance to get back in the mix.
ATL 31 CIN 20
Washington @ Chicago-
Chicago's offensive line is killing them (especially killing Cutler), and Washington is coming off a tough loss to Indy. I smell an upset.
WASH 27 CHI 20
St. Louis @ Tampa Bay-
Tampa needs to bounce back after the beating they took last week (Where was the run defense? Chris Ivory? Really?), but St. Louis looked very solid last week. This might actually turn out to be quite a game (Sam Bradford vs. Josh Freeman! The future of the NFL!)
TB 21 STL 20
San Fransisco @ Carolina
Wow. Awful game.
CAR 24 SF 23
Buffalo @ Baltimore
At this point, I just feel bad for Buffalo. They may not have enough players left for an active roster after this one. Welcome back Ed Reed!
BAL 38 BUF 6
Philadelphia @ Tennessee
This is going to be a fun game. Possibly Kolb's last start, look for him to have another big game. Tennessee has been very hot and cold this season, but have picked it up the past few weeks. If Tennessee can win this game, we will all see how far the AFC really is ahead of the NFC. It is getting kind of ridiculous at this point.
TEN 30 PHI 27
Jacksonville @ Kansas City
Kansas City is going to crush Jacksonville. The Jags couldn't have looked much worse than last Monday night, and KC is very underrated (especially their defense, which has been great). Blowout alert.
KC 31 JAX 13
Pittsburgh @ Miami
Great test for both teams. Miami has won some tough games and lost some tough ones, a win here would really make them a contender. Pitt really hasn't beaten a good team yet (especially on the road). Let's see what Roethlisberger can do when everyone in the stadium is booing him and he is playing against a real NFL franchise (sorry Cleveland, you are not quite there yet). Pitt's defense might just win them another game (60 points allowed in 5 games! Crazy good!)
Pitt 24 MIA 16
Cleveland @ New Orleans
I know i just bashed Cleveland, but New Orleans hasn't looked so spectacular this season. Potential trap game after a big win last week.
NO 30 CLE 23
Arizona @ Seattle
Only god knows what will happen in this one. [Refuse to make a prediction]
New England @ San Diego
Another potential trap game, this one is going to be fun to watch. The Pats pass defense sucks (273 yrds allowed per game through the air) and Rivers leads the league in yards- he already has 2000! But without a few key players and possibly Gates, I think the edge goes to NE. If Gates plays and his healthy, it would be a battle, without Gates, it may be over by halftime.
NE 27 SD 24
Oakland @ Denver
Denver will make up for last weeks debacle against the Jets where they let a W slip away. Oakland is not good enough to win a tough game on the road (as long as the Patriots have their first round pick, I keep telling myself they aren't good. They're not. Right?)
DEN 34 OAK 17
Minnesota @ Green Bay
Favre. Favre. Favre. Favre. Favre. Favre. Favre. (In case you forgot).
GB 23 MIN 20
NY Giants @ Dallas
I think Dallas finally shows up. If I'm wrong, Jerry Jones kills a man (possibly Wade Phillips?). These Giants-Cowboys prime time clashes always seem to be entertaining though.
DAL 34 NYG 30

Quick thoughts about Pats game tomorrow:
1) Protection is key. Despite the Chargers failures, they do have a terrific pass rush. Neutralize them, and the whole offense will open up.
2) Deion "Randy Who?" Branch and BJGE will have big games. Also, look for Aaron Hernandez to bounce back.
3) Rivers has an unbelievable down field arm. If the Pats go into the deep Cover-2 defense (like they used in the second half last week), they will be able to keep the big plays to a minimum.
4) Don't turn it over! The Chargers have no momentum going into this game, turnovers can change that momentum very quickly. The Pats have done a nice job this season of making the field longer for opposing offenses by not turning it over, Zoltan's booming punts, and Gostkowski's deep kickoffs.

Some quick links-
Good article about the Chargers' troubles. It is an ESPN Insider article, so I tried to make it so everyone can see it by linking the print-page version. Let me know if it works or not:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=5714513&type=story

Peter King's predictions (didn't look at these until after I finished, although I did sort of steal the idea for this column from him. Shhhh):
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/10/21/week.7.picks/index.html?eref=sihp

Because there is nothing I like more than an article that says the Yankees have no heart:
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/columns/story?columnist=oconnor_ian&id=5716297

Another great one. Hows that 10 year, 275 million dollar contract look now?
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/columns/story?columnist=matthews_wallace&id=5716363

Getting excited for Tuesday night's battle royale between the C's and Heat? Me too.
http://si.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Preview+2010-11+NBA+season%2C+LeBron+James%2C+Miami+Heat+-+Ian+Thomsen+-+SI.com&expire=&urlID=438842902&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%2F2010%2Fwriters%2Fian_thomsen%2F10%2F22%2Fguide.2010-11.nba.season%2Findex.html&partnerID=2356

And One Last Thing-
Great win tonight for the San Fransisco Giants. I honestly don't know how they made it this far with that offense, but I guess that's why they say pitching wins championships. This is going to be a heck of a World Series.
My prediction based on nothing: Rangers in 6

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