Week 7 review and my writing schedule for the week,

So my plan for the week rolls a little something like this;

- Review the week 7 action (now)
- Follow up post about zone running by looking at some of the play-action possibilities,
- At look at the unsung heroes of the great contemporary 3-4 defenses,
- Matt Forte's touchdown run versus the Bucs,
- Picks for week 8,

So, we'll start with;

Redskins @ Panthers
A much more comprehensive performance from Cam Newton, with a wider range of passes and a better showcase of his full skill set. No interceptions was also a big plus point. The Panthers offense still has kinks to work out of its system though. They gave up 4 sacks and it could have been more were it not for Newton's physical skills. They finished 5/12 on third down and 3/5 in the red zone. Newton is also still a little too reliant on Steve Smith, who caught 7 passes for 143 yards. That's more to the detriment of the Redskins defense though, which at times appeared to have given Smith far too much room to run, despite him being the only major receiving threat on that offense. I often wonder what till happen to the Panthers this season if Smith gets injured or gets game planned out of the game by a defense.

Speaking of game plans, the Redskins offense have had theirs wrecked with an injury to Tim Hightower. At times Hightower gashed the Panthers defense, but outside of Hightower the Redskins only ran the ball three times; twice with Ryan Torain and once for Roy Helu. Helu is a good rookie and Torain can run pretty good too, so it'll be interesting to see how much the Redskins lean on them in the coming weeks, especially given the quarterback play they've had recently. Beck was ok, but only completed 22/37.

Seahawks @ Browns
Nine points between them? What in Gods name was this, because it wasn't a football game. In fairness there were points left on the field, but not a lot of them. Red Bryant blocked two Cleveland field goal attempts that otherwise could have left the Browns winning 12-3, while the Seahawks had a punt return touchdown by Leon Washington brought all the way back by one of my most hated penalties in all of football; a block in the back.

Now by rule, it was a penalty. I'm not questioning that the referee called it correctly by rule. But why, why in the name of Vince Lombardi is that even a penalty? All it was, was a little nudge in the back, to a player that had no real hope of catching the return man. I can understand something like spearing, because you don't want guys smashing each other in the back during a return. But a little nudge that just about knocks the opponent off balance? C'mon, surely that's not what footballs about, wiping out a great individual play for something so insignificant.

The question out of this game is this; who has the worst offense? Instinctively you might say Seattle, who picked up a whole 9 first downs with 137 net yards, were 2/12 (16%) on third down and gave up 3 sacks to Chris Gocong, T.J. Ward and Jabaal Sheard, all of whom are under rated, largely as a result of playing for the Browns.

But Clevelands offense has to be in there with a shout. They gave up 5 sacks themselves, including two for poor Chris Clemons (deserves to be on a better team). They held the ball for a record setting 42 minutes and 56 seconds, running no less than 84 offensive plays, yet managed just 12/24 on third down (they had 24 third down plays!), a total of 298 net yards, were 0/2 in the red zone and scored a whole 6 points. I just want to vomit reading that.

Falcons @ Lions
Both quarterbacks took their licks, getting sacked three times a piece and suffering some nasty looking injuries, but it would appear neither quarterback will miss any real significant time. That's especially good news for the Lions, who are really struggling even with Stafford. Their last two games have begun to expose the early season hype for what it was... hype. Like the Panthers, the Lions offense is something of a one receiver show, except this one receiver show has no running game to pick up some of the slack when needed.

Unlike the Falcons, who have Michael Turner carrying 27 times for 122 yards, as well as three receivers who went over 50 yards a piece. One of them was tight end Tony Gonzalez, who reaffirmed his future hall of fame credentials by equalling and then surpassing Marvin Harrison to take second in the all time catches list. Only Jerry Rice is ahead of him now, which considering Gonzalez is a tight end, is a huge achievement.

Broncos @ Dolphins
Well, I did pick it right. But perhaps not in this fashion. What an exciting late rally though, coupled with the over time sack/fumble that set up the winning field goal. In truth though it was another horrible game from both teams. Tebow's 13/27 for 2 touchdowns belies the fact that for about three quarters he was something like 3/10 and looked quite shaky. The Broncos offense finished 4/16 on third down and only made the red zone twice, both of which times they converted.

But a win is a win. And a loss is a loss. And it's another loss for the Dolphins, who we should all remember, had less net yards on offense, less first downs, were 3/14 on third down, 1/3 in the red zone and on defense gave up over 180 yards on the ground. The sole bright spot was that they poured on the sacks, finishing the game with seven. Though I'm not sure if such a strong defensive performance doesn't actually make their offense look worse for not capitalising on it?

Both teams have a long way to go before being competitive again. The Dolphins can't seem to buy a break right now. And the Broncos need to seriously reassess their offensive and decide if they really want Tim Tebow holding onto the ball that long waiting for passes to develop down field. They could also do with some better performance at the offensive tackle spots.

Chargers @ Jets
I just don't understand what has happened to Phillip Rivers. Nobody does. He had Antonio Gates out there. He had Vincent Jackson out there. Yet he only hit 16/32, for less than 200 yards, along with two interceptions. It's just not very... Phillip Rivers like. There was some pressure from the Jets defense, but it wasn't like they were over running the Chargers line. They finished with one sack.

Perhaps more remarkable was the play of Mark Sanchez, who completed 18 of his 33 passes, for less yards than Rivers, with one interception but crucially 3 touchdowns to Plaxico Burress. I found this amusing mainly because ProFootballTalk.com spent the first part of the season praising Burress, then have spent the last couple of weeks trashing him, then went into utter back track mode yesterday when mentioning his scores, as if they hadn't said a bad word about him all season.

Shonne Greene ran over 100 yards for the Jets as New York finally managed to find some of that "ground and pound" that Rex Ryan is always harping on about. Just don't mention that a quarter of the yards came on one carry alone. Still, it's an improvement for the Jets. Kind of.

Bears @ Buccaneers
Well, as it turned out well over 70,000 fans arrived at Wembley to watch the Buccaneers and the Bears. I suspect there were a lot of discount tickets among them. Anyway, game on, and once again the Buccaneers offense imploded. With injuries to LaGarrette Blount and Earnest Graham it left only Kregg Lumpkin is a viable back for Tampa. 8 carries for 15 yards tells that story. So the Buc's turned to Josh Freeman and 51 passes later he'd thrown 4 interceptions and just two touchdowns, The Buc's were 4/14 on third down and 1/4 in the red zone. Also, I'm not sure if it's my eyesight, but I'm pretty sure that Freeman keeps lining up in the shotgun just 3 or so yards deep, instead of the usual 5? Weird.

The Bears offense responded in pretty nifty fashion for a change. Ok, so they were only a little better on third down than the Buc's and Cutler was 17/32 with just one touchdown and two interceptions, but Matt Forte was again came up trumps for the Bears, with 25 carries for 145 yards and a TD. There was also an interesting play in that game where the Bears pulled both the center and guard for a touchdown run, so we''l take a look at that later in the week.

Texans @ Titans
Hmm, now I distinctly remember someone I know saying that they didn't think the Texans offense would get going without Andre Johnson and that the Titans defense was more stout than people are giving them credit for. I wonder who said that? Surely it wasn't me? Oh wait... yeah it was. Whoops!

It was just a slaughter. Schaub threw close to 300 yards and had two touchdowns. The Texans had 222 net rushing yards, with Arian Foster carrying 25 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns, plus another 104 yards from 15 carries by Ben Tate. Foster wasn't done though, catching 5 passes for 119 yards and another touchdown, which is one of the play action plays I'll look at when I do my post later this week about play action off of zone running.

The bigger picture here though is the Titans offense. Or rather, lack of offense. Hasselbeck made just 14/30 with two interceptions. Chris Johnson was booed off the field with his ten carries for 18 yards. It was just non existent play from the Titans. No offense, no defense, no tackling. Even the Texans kicker Neil Rackers embarrassed them, by running down hill to lay a hit on Mark Mariani during a kick return. Proof here.

Steelers @ Cardinals
Ok, so this was an optimistic pick me taking the Cardinals. I did my old trick of trying to second guess what the coaches would game plan for and got burned. Specifically, Chris "Beanie" Wells got just 12 carries. I also didn't account for Roethlisberger seemingly having shaken off his foot injury. He was mobile and looked much more comfortable in the pocket, shifting around to avoid the rush and hitting 26/39 for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns in a very impressive performance, including another deep shot over the top to Mike Wallace for a 95 yard score.

Kevin Kolb could only watch in admiration. He still put over 250 yards and 2 touchdowns, but the Steelers pass rush made its presence felt, with LaMaar Woodley getting two sacks. The Cardinals still managed to scrape together 23 first downs, which is pretty good. You just get the sense that there is a hump lying in the road ahead of the Cardinals and if they could just get over that, then they'd have a pretty good season again. Priority one in the offseason; pass rushing outside linebackers.

Chiefs @ Raiders
This was never really going to go any other way. Kyle Boller thre three picks to start with, but then I was frankly stunned to see Carson Palmer enter the game, as if that was going to make a huge change. It didn't, and another 3 picks later the Raiders were done for, shut out, with Palmer completing just 8/21 passes. Matt Cassel tried to get in on the fun for the Chiefs, but he only managed two interceptions, leaving the Chiefs plus four in that regard. Notable among the picks for the Chiefs were Brandon Flowers who had two, one returned for a touchdown, and second year safety Kendrick Lewis, from last years rookie watch list, who had a pick six as well.

Rams @ Cowboys
This was basically a bye in terms of picking the winner. Even with the return to action of Steven Jackson, the result wasn't really in doubt. A.J. Feeley tried his hardest, but it was a bit of an uphill struggle against what is still a very good Cowboys defense. For once though the spotlight was off of Tony Romo, who made 14/24 with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. And it fell on rookie DeMarco Murray, who carried 25 times for 253 yards and a touchdown, which is a single game rushing record for the Cowboys. The blocking up front was excellent and once Murray hit the open field his speed was very impressive.

Packers @ Vikings
I thought I was just being optimistic picking the Vikings. It was more of a moral support kind of thing for Ponder. Damn thing nearly paid off! Ponder was... ok. 13/32, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions. There were some big throws, there were some very nice throws. But you can see that he's only spent a week taking snaps with the first team. Some of the passes were well off, but you get the feeling a bit more time with his receivers will sort out some of those problems.

The Packers? Well they were the Packers. Rodgers was 24/30, over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. James Starks put in some unsung work at running back with 75 yards off 13 carries. The big winner was Greg Jennings, who exploited some truly awful coverage to pick up 147 yards and a touchdown. And that's really where the Vikings are falling down right now. With Winfield still out and Chris Cook being remanded in custody, the Vikings secondary is rapidly falling apart.

(Just read that the Vikings have waived receiver Bernard Berrian).

Colts @ Saints
I left this before the end of the third quarter. The result wasn't exactly in doubt. It was a case of "how many?" would the Saints win by. The answer was 62-7, tied for the fourth highest deficit in NFL history since the merger. Drew Brees was just electric. 31/35, for 325 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tack on 236 yards net rushing. 6/8 on third down. 7/8 in the red zone.

The only good thing to come out of the game for the Colts was the play of rookie running back Delone Carter, who had 89 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, emphasising the fact that despite being a pass first team the Colts run blocking technique is actually pretty good.

A dark cloud now hangs over Indianapolis though. There is almost constant talk about Jim Caldwell losing his job, and the possibility that the the Polian's might go to, the reasoning being that their failure to develop a plan B behind Manning is what has lead to this mess.

It does look pretty serious. Without Manning, the Colts offense is practically non-existent. More worrisome is that the defense - used to playing while ahead and having plenty of rest as Manning kept the other teams offense off the field - are getting badly exposed. They kept throwing the same two zone defenses at Brees, with minimal pass rush, and he just kept picking it apart like a pro bowl quarterback should. The Colts are almost entirely reliant on Freeney and Mathis for pressure, and don't seem to have a defensive plan B outside of Cover 2 and Tampa 2. It makes for grim watching.

Ravens @ Jaguars
And finally, the Ravens swoop to bail me out of a bad week of picks... what the fuuu, fudge? Are you kidding me? The Jaguars?

The Ravens averaged about 3.6 yards per pass, in what has to be the biggest upset not just of this week, but of the entire season. I don't believe it. I don't think anyone can. The Jaguars didn't even score a touchdown. Blaine Gabbert had another terrible game, making just 9/20 for 93 yards. But 30 carries for 105 yards by Maurice Jones-Drew (who also fumbled three times), plus an interception and an important fumble recovery were enough for the Jaguars.

After the game, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs bemoaned his teams offensive play calling. And to be fair, he has a point. The Ravens defense played their part, laying down four sacks, three forced fumbles and containing the Jaguars pass offense. The Ravens offense however didn't pull their weight. Ray Rice, pro bowl running back and widely acknowledged best offensive player on that team, had 8 carries for 28 yards. Flacco meanwhile made 21/38, for just 137 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception.

Now a lot of people aimed their displeasure at John Harbaugh for trying an onside kick with two minutes left, two timeouts and down by only 2 points, but I don't think you can really blame him that much for that. He was rolling the dice a little sure, but it's not the cause for the Ravens loss. That offense is. They didn't even have to do anything amazing. Just one field goal prior to the touchdown probably would have sealed the game. Just one field goal was all they really needed and they couldn't even produce that.

They were 2/12 on third down (Jaguars; 2/14). 34 net rushing yards. 112 net passing (off 38 attempts plus three sacks). On a day when the Jaguars were 0/3 in the red zone, the Ravens just needed to get into the red zone more than once and that probably would have done it. The Ravens looked gutted afterwards, and well they should. The Jaguars opened the door for them and practically begged them to run off with the game. They didn't.


So thanks to the Ravens, that leaves me 7-6 for week 7, by far my worst week. That brings my season tally to 61-42. I hate the Ravens. And the Texans. And the Panthers.

Next up, taking a look at play-action off the zone running game. That'll likely be up tomorrow. Till then, enjoy your day and hit the old facebook or Google like button thing. Hell, I don't even know what the Google like button does.

Week 7 picks

It's that time again. Picks: Cincinnati Bengals @ Atlanta Falcons: God, what a way to start. The Bengals aren't as bad as people think. They just have a habit of shooting themselves in the foot at the worst possible times. The Falcons on the other hand are an oddball; they pound bad teams into the floor and then struggle to beat the better sides. So which group do we throw the Bengals in? Bad team that the Falcons will pound? Better team that the Falcons will struggle against? My gut instinct is to give the Bengals the benefit of the doubt and say they take it. Bengals win. Pittsburgh Steelers @ Miami Dolphins: Probably not a high scorer on the cards, but a good game none the less. For me, the Steelers offense looked much better with Ben Roethlisberger in the line up and I can see the Steelers taking the early lead and forcing Chad Henne to air it out as the Dolphins play catch up. You have to think the Steelers defense will like the sound of that. Steelers win. Buffalo Bills @ Baltimore Ravens: Even though I've defended the Bills at time against what I feel has been unfair criticism of certain players, I have to say that the Bills are on their own for this one. I cant see them taking down a Ravens team that is very good still, despite their offensive coughs and splutters. Ravens win. Jacksonville Jaguars @ Kansas City Chiefs: I ask the question every week, but it's probably the most relevant one with regards to the Jaguars; which David Garrard will show up? Not that the Chiefs are an imposing offensive force to be reckoned with, but their defense is a hell of a lot better than the Jaguars. As we saw against the Titans on Monday night, the Jaguars can self destruct in the face of a tight D, while the Chiefs have remained pretty disciplined, even in the face of adversity. I don't fancy the Jags chances in Kansas. Chiefs win. Cleveland Browns @ New Orleans Saints: I can just see it now. The return of Darren Sharper from injury this week coinciding with the arrival of a Browns offense led by a rookie QB. Sharper gets a pick or two and then I have to listen to a week of "Darren Sharper was the missing piece!! Defensive MVP of the league!! The Saints will 2-peat 4 sur!!". No, no they wont. And learn to spell, a$$hat (It's 'who that?' What are you eleven?). Sadly though, the Saints will probably win this one. Saints win. Washington Redskins @ Chicago Bears: The wheels are falling off the Bears bandwagon quicker than the Democrats off of Obamas'. And the Redskins are poised to take advantage. LB Brian Orakpo looks like a child whose been promised he can go to Disneyland at the weekend and is now getting progressively agitated as the time approaches. You sense he is about to explode in phenomenal fashion. The only problem for me is the Redskins offense matched with the Bears D. It's not a good combo for the Redskins, but they should have enough to squeak it out. Redskins win. San Francisco 49ers @ Carolina Panthers: Surely San Francisco. Surely my guys in red and gold can't lose to the Panthers? Surely? I wouldn't put it past them. That's how bad our season is. I'm looking at the Carolina Panthers who are truly terrible on offense and I'm thinking to myself; "this isn't a guarantee..." How can this be? How did the Panthers sink to this level and how did the 49ers get sucked down with them? It has to stop this week. 49ers win. Surely...... St. Louis Rams @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Every year each team plays 6 games inside its division, 4 games against teams from another division in its own conference, and 4 games against teams from another division in the opposite conference. To fill out the remaining two game gap, teams then play the other two teams in its conference that finished in the same position within their respective divisions last season (got all that?). This has resulted in the almost annual Colts vs. Patriots game. This year it has given us the Rams vs the Buccaneers, god help us. The Rams have improved quite a bit with a steady hand at the tiller in Sam Bradford. Their defense has even remembered what it's like to get a sack. I have to go with St. Louis on this one. Rams win. Philadelphia Eagles @ Tennessee Titans: Hmm. I always seem to start at least one pick per week by saying that. This week it's the Eagles and Titans (though I probably didn't need to explain that). But I only say hmm for a reason, usually being that I have no Earthly clue who is going to win the game. The Eagles offense has potential, regardless of who suits up as the QB. But without DeSean Jackson among its receiving corps, the game just got a bit harder for the Eagles. The Titans defense meanwhile has the talent to generate heaps of pressure when they want to and could really put Kolb in some tough spots. I'm not sure how confident I am with this, but I'm backing Tennessee to come out, play conservative "Titans" football and sneak it. Titans win. Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks: The Cardinals (or "Cradinals" as I normally end up mis-spelling their name each week during my first draft) are really not anything approaching a good team. Luckily for them, nor are Seattle! I felt the Seahawks drafted really pretty well, but that's more of a looking-into-a-crystal-ball-at-the-future type thing, not so much this year. I also can't stand the motivational style of the worlds single finest Bill Walsh look-a-like; Pete Carroll . Every time he gets mic'ed up and I hear him tell his players about how great everything is and how great they are, it just makes me cringe. Maybe it's just because I'm such a miserable git. Either way, I desperately want to say that the Seahawks are vastly over rated and have bodged all their wins together this season in some Frankenstein-esque combination of offense, defense and special teams, thus they will lose and be exposed by the Cardinals. But the reality is the 'Cradinals' are just that bad. Seahawks win. We interrupt this blog post to point out that I've just noticed that the NFL has changed the Super Bowl logo for this year, so it now looks distinctly less like a p**** compared to last year. Back to the picks. New England Patriots @ San Diego Chargers: What, you think I trust the Chargers to win a game now? Especially given their record on special teams, specifically protection. Remember the Dolphins fired their special teams coordinator earlier this year after a disastrous performance against..... the Patriots. Screw that. Patriots win. Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos: The Broncos are starting to frustrate me. I picked them at the beginning of the season as surprise winners of the AFC West. To help me in this bold endeavour, the Chargers have kindly agreed to systematically fall apart. The Raiders are.... well they're the Raiders. And although the Chiefs have been good defensively, they obliged me by not upgrading their offense at the QB position, leaving them open to lose their fair share of games along the way. The Broncos then have had the road to the division title opened for them... and have decided to take a detour across the field of "no running game". It's there, trust me. They Broncos can run, if they just tried. They even -- dare I curse them by saying it -- have the inner workings of a Super Bowl caliber team in the making (I would openly admit to being a partial Broncos fan, but that won't sit very well when I head to Wembley next week to watch them against the 49ers). So where was all this going? Honestly, I've forgotten. Broncos win. Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers: The Mummy Returns to Green Bay (are we getting sick of Mummy related jokes yet? No? good). They say that where there's smoke, there's fire; and where there's a Vikings vs. Packers game, there will inevitably be a flame war somewhere on the Internet. Who's the better QB blah, blah, who's more likely to win a play off game this year, blah, blah, did the Packers make the right choice etc, etc. Well, the point could well end up being mute, because the reality is that the Packers defense is more banged up than an abused spouse and the secondary has more holes in it than a politicians election pledge. Stick that up against the combination of Brett Favre to Randy Moss and what you end up with is a one-legged man at a butt kicking competition. Vikings win. New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys: Hmm (that's twice this week). The trouble with this game is that the Giants seem to be rather selective as to which games they decide they're actually going to show up to and play properly. The Cowboys at least have a degree of consistency; turning up to every game with no serious intention of winning it. If they did then maybe they wouldn't keep getting flagged for things like excessive celebration, though the way things have been going in Dallas lately, every touchdown is a positive. There's just something about "Americas Team" that makes them so easy to hate. Maybe it's the smug sense of self-supremacy and entitlement that seems to hang around the team. Or maybe it's just because they have the biggest telly in the neighbourhood. Either way, I'm taking New York. Giants win. There we go. 14 games, 14 picks. Given the way this season has gone, if I can go above .500 Ill be happy. Have a great day everyone.

... and some ridiculous ineptitude by the Panthers offensive play calling...

Ok, so all of Sundays games are now done and dusted, time to assess how I did in my first week of picks. Well, as I've already said I was 6-0 for the early games and most of the late games were goinf in my favour, but it didn't all go to plan.... Buffalo: 20 @ Carolina: 9 -- Remember these names; John Fox and Jeff Davidson. The first is the Panthers Head Coach, the second is their Offensive Co-ordinator. These have to be the two stupidest coaches in professional football right now (yeah, worse than Eric Mangini!!!). How can you overlook Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams in favour of Jake Delhomme? Between them the two running backs were given just 23 carries. 23. Delhomme on the other hand was given 44 (!!!) pass attempts, of which he completed 27 for 325 yds. But no TD's. But of course, this is Jake Delhomme we're talking about, so naturally he turned the ball over 3 times with INT's. It just boggles the mind. I knew that it was risky picking the Panthers. I knew that even though the Bills defense was gashed by the Jets rushing attack the week before, and that they have Williams and Stewart as their running back tandem, I knew that the Panthers might just fall in love with Delhomme again and throw it a lot. And turn it over. And sure enough, they did. Words can't begin to describe how retarded this decision is. If I was the owner of the franchise I'd be furious. And Fox and Davidson would both be jobless. Jets: 38 @ Oakland: 0 -- No real surprise here. Sanchez came back from his disaster last week with a conservative game and threw a TD to Clowney. But the most fun part is that the Jets surpassed even the Steelers in the diversity of their rushing attack, giving 8 (!!!) different guys the ball. Obviously Thomas Jones was among them, with 26 carries for 121 yds and a touchdown. But with Leon Washington leaving the game injured it fell to rookie Shonn Greene to fill in the gap. And boy did he. 19 carries, 144 yds, 2 touchdowns. That's one way to get your coaches attention!! Bears: 10 @ Bengals: 45 -- I took the Bengals because I didn't think the Bears would run the ball well and because I thought the Bengals had too much offensive punch through the air and on the ground. And holy crap was I underestimating the disparity. 6 carries, 24 yds. That was Matt Fortes production. Compare to Cedric Benson, who was playing against his old team. He got himself 37 carries... for 189 yds & a TD!! That's pretty damn impressive. And on any other day that would win you the awe of the crowd. Except that Palmer went 20/24 for 233yds and 5, count 'em, 5 TD's. Compare that to Jay Cutlers 26/37, 251 yds, 1 TD and 3 INT's. Bengals looking like the real deal in the AFC North, but it's still early days. Falcons: 21 @ Cowboys: 37 -- I went Cowboys here, but to be honest it was by no means a dead cert. I also proclaimed earlier that the Cowboys should run the ball more (which they should), but they didn't listen. Still, no matter, when Romo is throwing 21/29 for 311yds and 3 TD's. Credit again to Miles Austin who nearly went for 200 yds twice in a row, this time though settling for a mere 6 catches for 171 yds and 2 TD's. Saints: 46 @ Dolphins: 34 -- I mentioned earlier today that if anyone was gonna come back from being 24-3 down, then it would likely be the Saints. And sadly for my picks, they did. Bugger. Throwing away two interceptions for touchdowns didn't exactly help the Miami cause. In fact, if it weren't for those 13 points (the Saints missed a 2 point conversion), my pick would have come up as a gem. Bloody Drew Brees. Still he finished, 22/38, 298 yds, 1 TD and 3 INT's, which is way below par for him. Especially the INT's. Sadly though the ball was thrust into Chad Hennes hands, and predictably he threw 2 interceptions among his 36 attempts. Which annoys me. Not the interceptions. Just the principle that for a team as good on the ground as Miami, why throw 36 (37 if you include Ronnie Browns effort) times? Ricky Williams notched 3 TD's, and you have to think they would have had more if they had just stuck with that run game. Damn it! Cardinals: 24 @ Giants: 17 -- This game I had the chance to watch on telly. Man was it tight at times. Credit to Anquan Boldin, whose 3 catches for 75 yds doesn't tell you the whole story about how physical and determined this guy was. Ultimately though, Mannings 3 interceptions cost his team dearly. There are also continuing questions about his play calling actions at the line of scrimmage. In a desperate attempt to look like as good a field general as his brother, Eli spends in ordinate amounts of time trying to call plays and adjust protections. Except that often those protections breakdown. And 'cos he spends so much time doing it, the play clock gradually burns away, leaving Eli with a double headed monster; he either doesn't get the ball off in time and suffers delay of game penalites, or he has so little time left that he has to give away his cadence to the D. He never leaves enough time to run the kind of fakes that his brother does, and subsequently the D is able to time their releases to perfection, usually resulting in them teeing off on Manning. And unlike his brother, he isn't nearly as adept at spotting who's blitzing and who's faking. Them Cardinals turned out to be a good pick. So, that's the Sunday night games done and dusted, and thanks to a ridiculous comeback by the Saints and some ridiculous ineptitude by the Panthers offensive play calling, I'm now at 10-2 in my picks this week. Tomorrow sees the Eagles travel to Washington, where I'm backing the Redskins to pull an upset. Please Redskins, run the ball, run play action, and take me to 11-2 on my first weekend!!!

Week 7 picks

Right, it's Friday night, which means prediction time. My first set of predictions to actually be heard by the world (or maybe even just one random passer by). No time to waste, let's get down to it: Green Bay @ Cleveland -- I hear D'Qwell Jackson has been placed on injured reserve. That's pretty much it then for Cleveland. Short of some kind of miracle involving Josh Cribbs in the return game and Jamal Lewis on the ground, it's gonna be Green Bay all the way. Despite questions over the Packers run game, when you look at their offense it really does have the makings of something special. Their receivers, in terms of technique, catching and Yards After the Catch (Y.A.C) are among the best in the league. The only trouble they might have is separating the two Rogers; Their QB Aaron Rogers from the Browns Nose Tackle Shaun. I'm backing the Packers. San Francisco @ Houston -- My beloved 49'ers travel to Houston this week. And get mauled. The final unveiling of Michael Crabtree will do little to ease the pain. The 9'ers were trounced by Atlanta before spending last week on a bye. This week they come back and face a team on the up. Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, Steve Slaton. Four names which will scare the crap out of most D's. Frank Gore. The only name that might really trouble Houston. This one might even turn into a rout. Until San Francisco can learn how to generate some offense, they will always struggle. Note: Michael Crabtree does not constitute generating offense. I'm backing Houston. Damn. San Diego @ Kansas City -- Last year this was a no brainer. This year.... who knows? The vultures are already circling over Norv Turner and The Chargers. Everyone is waiting for Merriman or Tomlinson (who I just found out is ill) to make a mistake so they can swoop in and tear them to shreds. Conversely, everyone in Kansas is getting ready for a big run that will lead Kansas to a Wildcard spot. I think both groups will disappoint and let's be clear on this. Last week the Chiefs beat the Redskins. The REDSKINS. And even then it was a battle of the field goals. Everyone seems to be surprised that Kansas hasn't exploded in some kind of offensive orgy since Todd Haley and Matt Cassel showed up. But truth be told, Haley doesn't have Warner, Fitzgerald and Boldin this season. And Cassel doesn't have Moss or Welker. On top of that, the Chiefs don't have Tony Gonzalez this season either. On the other side, the Chargers do still have Phillip Rivers, Darren Sproles, Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates (& L.T. if he's recovered). They also still have Merriman on D. Ignore him at your peril Kansas, I have a feeling he's looking to shut a few mouths with a big game. I take San Diego for this one. Indianapolis @ St. Louis -- Jesus, this could end up like World War 1; a massacre. The undefeated Colts coming fresh off a bye week against the winless, hopeless, Rams. Manning is simply on fire. He's making Garcon and Collie look like Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin. Steven Jackson of the Rams is ranked 4th among all NFL rushers this season..... and still hasn't found the endzone. Oh dear. Colts, all the way. New England @ Tampa (@ London) -- It's that time again as the International series rolls into Wembley stadium. Last year I was there to watch the Saints and Chargers shoot it out. This year I wont be taking the 50 odd mile trip south west, to watch New England blow the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back to Davey Jones's locker. An believe me, they will. I admire Tampa for trying to build a young(ish) team. Josh Johnson has potential with his mobility and their receiving corp continue to pull amazing catches out of the bag each week. But Brady & Co. have a point to prove still, and they'll doubtless take this opportunity to make it. The big question lingering over this game is why is it even happening. Anyone that believes for a second that this game is about anything other than money is deluded. And while I appreciated the chance to see my first NFL game live in the flesh, I also think it is a waste of time. The teams hate it, and the NFL would sell more shirts if it simply made more deals with the free-to-air channels here in the UK. Anyway, I say New England makes the fouding fathers trip in reverse successfully. Minnesota @ Pittsburgh -- Brett Favre has a photo in his holiday album from when he visited Egypt. If you look carefully in the background, you can just about see the pyramids of Giza being built. But despite his mighty age, the man can still throw. And throw hard. Coupled with a nice group of receivers, a stellar running game, and Jared Allen making hay in opposition backfields, this one has 'Vikings win' written all over it. Except the Steelers are gonna come out on top. Yeah I know, I'm taking the Steelers. My keyboard nearly exploded when it realised what I was typing. How can I possibly take the Steelers? Easy. They play better D and their Yellow and Black attack is on fire. Ben surname-un-spellable is looking good, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes are getting the job done downfield, and their two headed rushing attack is slicing and dicing people left, right and centre. Add home advantage and it all looks good. Steelers to win. Buffalo @ Carolina -- In their final drive last week, Carolina threw a quick pass to receiver Steve Smith. Other than that, it was all runs as DeAngelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart gashed Tampa Bay, finishing with a touchdown. And that's just how the Panthers roll. Or should roll. Except for someone unknown reason they seem determined to throw the ball whenever the slightest chance rears it's head. And surprise, surprise, Jack Delhomme throws a pick. Or two. Or three. If it wasn't for his five turnovers in last years post season game with Arizona, the Panthers had a good shot at going to, if not winning the Superbowl. It's also worth noting that when Jonathan Stewart gets 14 or more carries, the Panthers are 9-0. This is important because it highlights the benefits of having two backs with contrasting styles, who compliment each other. But, they must be used as a tandem. All this is of course directed at the Tennessee Titans, who seem oblivious to the fact that they have LenDale White on their roster. If the Panthers play to their strengths then they will cream the Bills, who got blasted on the ground last week by the Jets. I think they will. At least I hope they do, because I'm picking them. Panthers for the win. New York (Jets) @ Oakland -- Honestly, I don't want to take either team. Rex Ryan has brought attitude to the Jets D, but not sacks. They get pressure, which helps. But it doesn't stuff drives and force three and outs the way sacks do. Luckily, help is at hand for the Jets. Because JaMarcus Russell has a way of stuffing drives all on his own. Don't be fooled by his performance last week. Russell is not going to be lighting up the scoreboard anytime soon. And to be honest, nor is their run game. Now I know Mark Sanchez is hardly rocking and rolling himself. But he does have better support in Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. As long as Rex and his coaches don't get too excited at the prospect of throwing the ball to their new toy Braylon Edwards, all should be right with the world. And the Jets win. I'm taking 'em. Chicago @ Cincinnati -- Please, please, please, would someone alert NFL commentators and pundits that Matt Forte has not suddenly been drained of all his prowess, like Samson having his hair removed. Forte is fine. His O-line is a different matter. If you watch Chicagos run game carefully, you'll notice that often Forte ends up flat on his back behind the Line Of Scrimmage. This tells us that he's not getting adequate help up front. So, much of the Bears offense now relies on Jay Cutler, Devin Hester and Greg Olsen. I can think of a worse trio in which to vest my hopes of victory. Sadly though, for Bears fans at least, the Bengals have this one wrapped up. Cedrice Benson has had something of a revelation this year. Expect that continue against his old team, nicely supplemented by Palmer and the Bengals pass game. Bengals to win. Probably in the last 10 seconds. Atlanta @ Dallas -- Last week was a breakout game for Cowboys receiver Miles Austin. If Tony Romo can find him and veteran receiver Roy Williams downfield then that opens up opportunities underneath and in the red zone for TE Jason Witten. But more importantly, it'll help keep the safeties off the two headed backfield monster that's just waiting to be unleashed; Marion Barber and Tashard Choice. The two backs are averaging over 5 yards per carry each and have the potential to join the elite of the NFL's one-two punch combos. All they need is the carries. And across the field from them will be a running back tandem that is already establishing itself; The Falcons Michael Turner & Jerious Norwood. This pair of running back beasts has set a tone for the Falcons offense, and the play-action game that works off them has benefitted receiver Roddy White and TE Anthony Gonzalez. With Matt Ryan at the helm the Falcons offense is explosive. The trouble is their D is a little, how do you say, flimsy. In other words, I can see The Cowboys running right over them and picking up the win. This is probably the pick I'm least sure about, but I'm going to back Dallas for this one. New Orleans @ Miami -- God help me for this, but Im gonna back Miami. Yeah, Miami. I can already see the image now of Drew Brees hurling balls all over the field and burying my pick into the ground. But something about the Dolphins tells me that they're gonna steal a win by the smallest of margins. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are something else. Even when Miami doesn't run the Wildcat, those two still burn people for big chunks. And this ball control will force the Saints to do the thing they do pretty darn good, which is throw the football. But that's not how they score. They score on play action. You get a receiver evenly slightly open and sure enough, Brees will find the guy. But if Miami has been studying the film the way I have, hopefully they'll see past it. The Dolphins are the kings so far this season for stopping the run. Hopefully they will treat Pierre Thomas with a bit of respect, but not so much as to get caught with their pants down. I know they can do it. I hope they do it. Because I'm picking them to do it. Arizona @ New York (Giants) -- Toughie. Ahmad Bradshaw is one hell of a running back. Brandon Jacobs has been... inconsistent. Overall the Giants have looked good. But this week, probably against a little twinge of better judgement, I'm backing the Card's. Why? Basically because I think Warner and co. are gonna have a field day with the Giants secondary. And because the Cardinals secondary is gonna have a field day with Eli Manning. Arizona has gradually creeped back into this season after a bad start and I think they may just creep back in a little further by taking a bite out the big apple. So I'm going on a limb to take Arizona. Philadelphia @ Washington -- Hmm, not too sure. There was a time early in this season, for example up to last Sunday morning, when this would have been a no brainer. Eagles all the way. But now, I'm not so sure. The Eagles almost out right refusal to run the ball last week cost them dear. Will they be that stubborn this weak against the 'skins? Who knows. On the other hand, you have a team in Washingotn who are in turmoil. Relieving Jim Zorn of play calling duties will probably not inspire their head coach, who already has that look in his eyes of a man who has been thoroughly beaten down. But, there is hope. The Redskins are built for two things; power runs and play action. That is the real strength of their set up. And maybe a change at the play calling position will lead the Redskins away from the West Coast attack promoted by Zorn and onto more fruitful pastures. With Eagles Linebacker Omar Gaither injured it opens up the chance for big gains by Clinton Portis. Conversely, Eagles QB Donovan McNabb will get little respite this week with Albert Haynesworth lining up at NT for the 'Skins. And with their 3rd ranked pass D, I think maybe the Redskins will have the edge. I'm picking the Redskins to win this one. Christ, did I just say that. So, there we go. Theres some in their that I'm far from 100% sure about, but that's football. Let's wait and see.