NFL Week 7: Boys Will Be Boys, Thugs Will Be Thugs

An 8-5 week keeps the overall record simmering. It now sits at 48-34 on the season. Thanks to the Cardinals and Browns covering, I was also 8-5 against the spread. That makes me 44-36-2 this year. Let the good times keep rolling. As always, don't use the following picks for gambling purposes.

SUNDAY

Tennessee Titans (5-0)(-7.5) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (1-4)
1:00 p.m. Arrowhead Stadium
There’s a Chiefs fan at my office who said he would put his life savings on Kansas City beating Tennessee this week. Unfortunately, he walked away before I could take the bet. I would have even given him decent odds.
Pick: Titans

San Diego Chargers (3-3) vs. Buffalo Bills (4-1)(PK)
1:00 p.m. Ralph Wilson Stadium
I can’t believe this game is a pick ‘em. The Chargers have to cross-country for the second time in three weeks. The last time they went east, the Dolphins embarrassed them. The Bills are coming off a bye, and last I checked, they’re a pretty good team. 14 days to get ready for a team that struggles on the East Coast? I don’t think Buffalo needs that advantage, but they do need to be favored.
Pick: Bills

Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1)(-9) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (0-6)
1:00 p.m. Paul Brown Stadium
I think my worst preseason prediction was having Cincinnati penciled in for an 8-8 season. I think I’m going to miss that mark by a few games. Meanwhile, the Steelers have already opened up a two game lead in the AFC North, and have a great chance this week to make it a three game lead over the lightweights of Cleveland and Baltimore.
Pick: Steelers

Baltimore Ravens (2-3) vs. Miami Dolphins (2-3)(-2.5)
1:00 p.m. Dolphin Stadium
It was great to see all few-hundred Ravens fans stick their heads out of their holes a few weeks ago when the team was 2-0. I guess they all saw their shadow, which means we’ll have an extra month of winter or an extra Joe Flacco interception in each game. Something like that.
Pick: Dolphins

Dallas Cowboys (4-2)(-6.5) vs. St. Louis Rams (1-4)
1:00 p.m. Edward Jones Dome
That giant sucking sound you heard coming from Irving was someone flushing the Cowboys season down the hole in their stadium’s roof. The last three weeks have been ugly in Big D, and as predicted here, a minor meltdown has occurred around Cowboys headquarters. The line can’t keep Tony Romo healthy (he was hit 20 times by the pathetic Cardinals defense), no one can keep Terrell Owens happy, Jerry Jones can’t stop getting plastic surgery and Pacman Jones can’t stop assaulting people. Thugs will be thugs, I guess.

The Cowboys now have full fledged problems along their offensive line, at quarterback, linebacker and secondary. So they solved those problems by trading three draft picks for a…receiver? Not only that, they traded for the second best receiver on the Detroit Lions. That would be the 0-5 Detroit Lions. And it’s another player that has serious attitude issues. The Cowboys now undoubtedly lead the league in guys named Roy Williams, but haven’t fixed any of the problems that have popped up in the past three weeks. However, there is no way they lose to the Rams. What team would lose to the Rams? Ugh.
Pick: Cowboys

Minnesota Vikings (3-3) vs. Chicago Bears (3-3)(-3)
1:00 p.m. Soldier Field
The NFC North continues to live up to the disappointment it was supposed to be by having three .500 teams tied for first place. The Bears have lost all three of their games in the 4th quarter by handing wins to their opponents. Sadly, they are the best of the bunch. Minnesota has no quarterback and a suspect defense and barely beat the hapless Lions last week. Green Bay was dominated at home by Atlanta no less than two weeks ago. They also have quarterback and defensive issues of their own. At least one of these teams will be over .500 at the end of the day.
Pick: Bears

New Orleans Saints (3-3) vs. Carolina Panthers (4-2)(-3)
1:00 p.m. Bank of America Stadium
The opposite of the NFC North is the NFC South. The Saints sit at 3-3, but instead of being tied for first, they are by themselves in the cellar. The Panthers, Falcons and Bucs all sit one game ahead of New Orleans. The Panthers looked awful last week in Tampa, and put an end to the good feeling I had about Jake Delhomme returning to top form (Delhomme usually dominates the Bucs). Drew Brees appears to be channeling shades of his 2006-self, and despite the lesser record, New Orleans is playing better ball right now.
Pick: Saints

San Francisco 49ers (2-4) vs. New York Giants (4-1)(-10)
1:00 p.m. Giants Stadium
Somehow the NFC West is even worse than the North. San Francisco would find themselves in last place in either the East or the South, and they would be in fourth place in the North behind the three 3-3 teams. In the West, they are in 2nd place alone, despite a three game losing streak. Not that they’ll sniff the playoffs, but it does look nice in the standings.
Pick: Giants

Detroit Lions (0-5) vs. Houston Texans (1-4)(-9)
4:05 p.m. Reliant Stadium
Ok, let’s move along. Nothing to see here.
Pick: Texans, Lions cover

New York Jets (3-2)(-3) vs. Oakland Raiders (1-4)
4:15 p.m. McAfee Coliseum
It’s tempting to take the Raiders, considering it’s a cross-country trip for the Jets. However, the Jets had two weeks to prepare for a bad football team. The Raiders looked completely hopeless against New Orleans under new coach Tom Cable instead of only looking somewhat hopeless under old coach Lane Kiffin.
Pick: Jets

Indianapolis Colts (3-2)(-1.5) vs. Green Bay Packers (3-3)
4:15 p.m. Lambeau Field
I’m sure that this game was originally scheduled to be the Sunday Night Game, but somehow Manning vs. Rodgers doesn’t have the same appeal as Manning vs. Favre. Needless to say, the Colts offense appears to be back on track after their 31 point outburst against the Ravens. Wouldn’t be surprised if they put up another 31 points against a weaker defense. Only 1.5 points from Vegas is a gift.
Pick: Colts

Seattle Seahawks (1-4) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2)(-10)
8:15 p.m. Raymond James Stadium
Then again, I’d rather watch Manning vs. Rodgers on Sunday Night than this matchup. It’s painful to see what the Seahawks are doing in poor Mike Holmgren’s final season. He deserved better than this.
Pick: Buccaneers

MONDAY

Denver Broncos (4-2) vs. New England Patriots (3-2)(-3)
8:30 p.m. Gillette Stadium
Right now, I’m not taking the Patriots against any team in the top half of the league. The Broncos have their flaws (as losing to the Chiefs and at home to the Jaguars suggest), but they are certainly one of the best 14-16 teams in the NFL. The ineffectiveness of the Patriots offense is hurting an undermanned defense. The 30-10 loss to San Diego is just the beginning of the Patriots slide to 7-9.
Pick: Broncos

Bye Week: Arizona, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Philadelphia

I hope everyone blew off some steam following last Sunday’s monstrosity. Like Jim Zorn says, let’s keep it medium. I’ll try to do the same soon when discussing the Browns and Skins.