- The Romo injury is big for Dallas. But, their season was already over. Cowboys fans can look forward to Jon Kitna (I doubt they'll be as excited as Ron Jaworski though), and probably a top ten pick in next year's draft.
- Packers Left Tackle Chad Clifton really impressed me this week. He went one-on-one with Jared Allen on every snap and never looked to be in trouble. A welcome sigh of relief for Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was sacked seven-and-a-half times by Allen last season.
- Kenny Britt abused Ellis Hobbs last Sunday. Despite being benched for the first quarter due to a scuffle in a nightclub last week, Britt had a career day, catching seven balls for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Though pundits are saying Britt is 'an elite receiver' now, I have to disagree. He beat up the unreliable Hobbs and a rookie Safety in Nate Allen. That's not very impressive. Sure, the numbers speak for themselves, but the opponent has to be evaluated. If he's elite, he should be going against the top cornerbacks and doing well against them.
- Brad Childress probably shouldn't have called out Brett Favre about his play. Yes, he played badly, but Favre has the keys to the Vikings bandwagon. If he doesn't play Sunday, the Vikes are left with Tarvaris Jackson, and that's never good.
Week 7
On to week seven, looking in-depth at the top four games.
Minnesota Vikings @ New England Patriots
Randy Moss returns to New England; slew of writers predict career day for him. It would be sod's law for Moss to go into “beast mode” against his former team, but I just can't see it. I don't think he'll do poorly, of course not, not against THAT secondary, but a career day? C'mon man. Moss's production lies solely on Brett Favre being healthy, because who knows how T-Jax will play for the first time in seemingly years and years. I think it'll be close, but I'm with the Patriots. Coach Belichick is starting to turn the young defense and it's hard to pick against Brady, who has won his last twenty-three games at Foxboro. One thing to note however, Favre's last appearance against the Patriots in 2008 – 26 for 33, 258 yards, 2 touchdowns, with a 119.4 Passer Rating.
Prediction: Vikings 28 Patriots 31
Pittsburgh Steelers @ New Orleans Saints
This could be completely one-sided if the Saints don't begin to pick up their play of 2009. What has happened? Are Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush that pivotal to the offense? Drew Brees threw three interceptions last week (two for touchdowns) against the lowly Browns. How many will he throw Troy Polamalu's way? The good news for the Saints is that Steelers DE Aaron Smith is out, and he's a massive piece to their defensive line. In the last three seasons, Ben Roethlisberger is 2-0 in dome games, but this is neither Detroit nor St. Louis. Brees hasn't faced Ben since 2006, when the Steelers came out 38-31 winners, but Brees has come a long way since then. He's cemented his place amongst the top tier of Quarterbacks, but to beat the Steelers he's going to have to play like one, and not like he has been recently (throwing ten interceptions this season already after he had eleven all last year).
Prediction: Steelers 27 Saints 28
Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets
It's hard to know what to expect in this game. The Packers are decimated by injury, but are still getting it done. Meanwhile, the Jets are coming off the bye, meaning coach Rex Ryan will have schemed like a mad-man to stop Aaron Rodgers. The Packers run-defense worries me, and with LT playing the way he is, he could be the deciding factor in this game. Sanchez's turnover ratio is a lot better this season, he's thrown only two interceptions in 177 pass attempts. I think the Jets force enough turnovers to win this game, as long as Sanchez doesn't start throwing in Charles Woodson's direction.
Prediction: Packers 27 Jets 30
Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts
I've seen writers split on this game, and it's easy to see why. The Texans ran all over the Colts in week one (257 yards rushing), yet Peyton Manning can and has, thrown all over Houston's thirty-second ranked defense (463 yards). I think it all comes down to how the Texans get to Manning. The defensive line is their strong point, and Manning won't be able to get those quick throws off to the injured Dallas Clark. Clark is a big loss, but Manning could probably beat the Texans with high-school receivers. Some unlikely names are going to come up big on Monday night, the likes of Jacob Tamme, Blair White and Brody Eldridge to name a few. This shouldn't be too competitive.
Prediction: Texans 27 Colts 37
Denver Broncos @ San Francisco 49ers - @ Wembley Stadium
Once again, the UK plays host to probably the worst game possible. Besides, there shouldn't even be any games in the UK. It's a stupid idea that only leads to British pundits clamouring for a British franchise. Simply put, it's never going to happen.
Prediction: Broncos 23 49ers 14
Miami Dolphins @ Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals better hope CB Jonathan Joseph is back. Matt Ryan and Roddy White killed their secondary last week, and now Adam Jones is on IR too. This could be a big day for Chad Henne.
Prediction: Dolphins 23 Bengals 20
Washington Redskins @ Detroit Lions
Matt Stafford is back in at Quarterback after his lengthy injury. I think this'll be an ugly game. It's two teams that are struggling offensively and succumb to turnovers often, and it will likely be decided because of turnovers. DeAngelo Hall will not have four interceptions this week.
Prediction: Redskins 17 Lions 14
Carolina Panthers @ St. Louis Rams
After the Rams fizzled out last week at the Bucs, it's hard to pick against a Panthers team that may be starting to turn it around after giving Matt Moore a deserved second chance.
Prediction: Panthers 23 Rams 20
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs
The surprisingly dominant Chiefs won't slip up at home to the Bills, even though Buffalo forced the mighty Ravens into overtime. Jones and Charles will lead the Chiefs on the ground, and Cassel will do just enough through the air. I'm becoming a fan of Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick though, who seems to play every snap like it's fourth down.
Prediction: Bills 13 Chiefs 30
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Dallas Cowboys
Jon Kitna replaces the injured Tony Romo. No one notices because it's Jacksonville.
Prediction: Jaguars 13 Cowboys 27
Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers
A tough game to pick. The Titans are rolling at the moment, but I think the Chargers are due a win. If Marc Mariani has any impact on special teams for the Titans however, Tennessee wins easily. Antonio Gates should have a big day (74 yards and a touchdown in his last appearance against the Titans).
Prediction: Titans 17 Chargers 28
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Arizona Cardinals
Ugh. This will be ugly. I have no idea. A tie is just as likely.
Prediction: Buccaneers 13 Cardinals 14
Seattle Seahawks @ Oakland Raiders
Despite the Raiders dropping fifty-nine on Denver last week, everyone knows they're not as good as the scoreboard read. This has field goal battle written all over it.
Prediction: Seahawks 18 Raiders 13
Last week: 7-7
Overall: 68-36
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