Week 6 NFL picks (part 1)

Right, finally time to pick my week 6 winners. Or -- based on how the season has gone so far regarding picks -- losers. Seven today, seven tomorrow: Miami Dolphins @ Green Bay Packers: Has anyone seen the Packers injury report? It basically covers most of the team, including QB Aaron Rodgers. I'm banking on a banged up Packers struggling to cope with what is a pretty good Dolphins team. And by pretty good I of course mean very good. I'm not sure where things have gone wrong at times for Miami (special teams anyone?), but they are better than their record would suggest. Dolphins win. San Diego Chargers @ St. Louis Rams: Oh what? Do these kind of match ups really have to happen every week? The Chargers are very good on offense. Philip Rivers is currently on course to take Dan Marino's single season passing yards record and Hail Mary it into obscurity. The only trouble with the Chargers is everything else; special teams, defense, rushing. Not that the Rams are in a great position to take advantage. Their offense was doing pretty well.... till it ran into a brick wall against the Lions. Their defense was doing superbly.... till it ran into a brick wall against the Lions. I have to take the Chargers. Chargers win. Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots: Despite my pre-season optimism about the Ravens, I seem to have developed a habit of picking against them, largely because their offense struggles to put points on the board. Luckily for the Ravens (and bad for my picks) their defense has come to the rescue on many occasions now. The Patriots are the polar opposite. Their offense has done well, their special teams have come up big at the right moments, but their young defense has often been exposed. Well this time I'm siding with the Ravens (don't let me down now!). I think they have some players on special teams (safeties Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski) who can match the Patriots, and their receiving corps is ideally matched to exploit the weak Patriots pass defense. Ravens win. Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers: Seneca Wallace is day to day. Jake Delhomme is not ready to return. That leaves the Browns relying on rookie QB Colt McCoy. Now I like McCoy, but more over the long term than right away. And against the Steelers I can see this getting ugly. Really ugly. Especially when you keep in mind that the big quarterback story this week is the return of "Big" Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger has -- other than an annoyingly difficult to spell name -- a lot of work to do in Pittsburgh to restore the faith, but he has the advantage of being a pretty good quarterback, and it's amazing how much wins can contribute to a quick healing process. I'm going to have to back the yellow and black attack. Steelers win. Kansas City Chiefs @ Houston Texans: Tough, tough picking right here. The Texans are bouncing back off a big loss to the Giants, while Kansas is looking to recover from its first defeat of the season (that still doesn't sound right). The trouble I see is this; you have the excellent Texans offense playing the excellent Chiefs defense, while the terrible Chiefs offense is matched against the terrible Texans defense. Ultimately though, given how few points the Chiefs have conceded so far including in games against the Chargers and the Colts, I think they might edge it. Maybe this is the game where Matt Cassel comes alive? Don't bank on it. Still, Kansas can win this. Chiefs win. Detroit Lions @ New York Giants: Ohhhhh, tough pick. Which Giants team shows up though? Come to think of it, which Lions team shows up? Does Eli Manning light it up or stink it up? Do the Giants O-line man handle Detroit, or get run over by Kyle Vanden Bosch and Ndamukong Suh? And can Shaun Hill and Jahvid Best stand up to the Giants D-line, or will they be run down like their fellow NFC North team the Chicago Bears? All good questions and in the end, I think it's the Lions tight ends who decide it. If Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler can get open short and help alleviate the pressure on Hill, then the Lions have a great chance. I'm thinking Detroit picks up back to back wins. Lions win. Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles looked ok last week against the 49ers. Trouble is, I'm not sure as 'ok' can get it done against the Falcons, a team that nearly came up short against the 49ers themselves. See, when the 49ers offense got going last week, the Eagles defense looked incredibly vulnerable, as it has many weeks now. I see the Falcons being able to run with Michael Turner and pass the ball to Roddy White without much difficulty. The Eagles on the other hand could struggle. Ever heard of King Dunlap for example? Neither had I till Sunday night, but basically that's who the Eagles have had to fall back on at Left Tackle. He's the guy who has to contain the excellent Kroy Biermann. I don't see it. Falcons win. That's your first seven and I'll be back tomorrow to finish off the last seven. Till then, Have a great day everyone.