I hate the Panthers. Hate 'em.

With the early games finished, now is as good a time as any to catch up on some results and see how my picks for the week are doing, starting in Baltimore: Broncos @ Ravens (7-30): This pick was all the more satisfying due to the fact that everyone and his brother (and his uncle) seemed to be touting Denver as one of the leagues elite teams. You're not elite until you consistently (and by that I mean season on season) win lots of games and batter lowly opposition. The Ravens are one of the leagues elite teams. And today they proved it. Orton failed to throw a TD and the Broncos rushing attack was basically stuffed dead. Meanwhile Flacco and Rice kept the Ravens on course, plus a Lardarius Webb kick return for good measure. Texans @ Bills (31-10): There was a point in the first half that I was worried about this pick. No real need to fret. The Bills are the Bills, and that means at some point they were going to fold like a soggy pack of cards. The question is, who is Ryan Moats? I have no idea. But he bagged 126 yds and 3 TD's off 23 carries for the Texans against a typically abysmal Bills rush D. Browns @ Bears (6-30): Derek Anderson. 6 of 17 passing. That's really it. That's all that I need to say. Seahawks @ Cowboys (17-38): To be fair, the tale of the stats is pretty even. Ish. Romo got an extra TD and Barber ran one in, but other that not a huge lot to separate them. Dolphins @ Jets (30-25): Stats wise, this should have been all Jets. Sanchez doubled Henne's pass yardage and also his TD's. The Dolphins rush was... non existent. Enter stage left; Ted Ginn Jr. With 2 kick returns for TD's, totalling 201 yds between them. I have to admit, I got the pick right, but maybe not for the right reasons. Ah who cares, I picked it. 49'ers @ Colts (14-18): Ok, so yeah the Colts won. But man was this close, much closer than I thought it would be. It seems Alex Smith has found a so far solid connection with his TE Vernon Davis. But what jumps out more is the stats of Peyton Manning; 31/48, 347 yds, 0 TD. How do you get so many yards and no touchdown? Peyton Manning never ceases to amaze. 6-0 so far. Not bad. Giants @ Eagles (17-40): Damn Giants. On Friday I called this game the 'Battle of the Untrustworthy'. Go figure. A few weeks ago the Eagles couldn't, and hardly even attempted to, run the ball on the Raiders. The Raiders. Last week their offense sputtered and choked and finally overcame the Redskins. Then this week it went nuts and tore the Giants a proverbial new one. What happened? LeSean McCoy & Leonard Weaver, that's what. They combined for just 19 carries, but racked up 157 yds and 2 TD's. I'd take that kind of tandem over a single 'superback' any day of the week. Oh yeah, and I guess Donovan McNabb helped by going 17/23 for 240 yds and 3 TD's. That is more like what we've come to expect from the Eagles. Rams @ Lions (17-10): Do I have to mention this game? I do? God almighty. Well as you might expect, both teams lit up the scoreboard like.... a fundamentalist energy savers conference. Calvin Johnson didn't play, so predictably the Rams won. Steven Jackson even managed to rustle up a TD. And so those two downers leave me at 6-2 for the week. That leaves four remaining this evening and another on Monday night as the Falcons head down to New Orleans. Just peeking at the latest in the late games (??), it looks like my picks might be in trouble. Especially the Panthers @ Cardinals game. Wouldn't you just bloody credit it. As soon as I abandon Carolina for lack of use of their run game, they give the ball to Williams and in 5 carries he racks up 98 yds, while Stewart provides the punch, getting 2 TD's and 26 yds of his 5 carries. I hate the Panthers. Hate 'em.