NFL Week Seven-The Quick Read

By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano

The controversy yearly between media and fans alike has always been the question of who deserves the title “best quarterback in the NFL”. The thoroughbreds of the in the game are the big four of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Farve, and more recently Drew Brees and they make it more and more difficult to decide who should hold that title with every clutch touchdown they throw and every previous record that falls to one of them, seemingly weekly. When breaking down NFL games there are five key components that I look at first as it goes for personnel, starting with the QB position followed by the RB, WR, Centre, and the LB positions. If Peyton Manning is out and the Colts are a 14 point favourite you are going to definitely reassess. Thankfully those four are healthy but I am going to ride two of them this week.

Chargers @ Chiefs +4.5 O/U 44.5

After the first win of the season and the monkey off their backs the Chiefs who with a little luck could have been 3-3 right now should be riding high with some confidence. The move to pick up Cassel is looking as though it may pay dividends eventually and their young team is starting to play with the athleticism they possess. The Chargers can’t run the ball and sit last overall in the NFL in rushing yards, and with LT (questionable, illness) and Darren Sproles, I know I’m flabbergasted as well! It looks as though the flu bug may be the only thing running for this Chargers team as it seems a number of the players are ill as well as banged up, but they are desperate. The four starters on the O-line for the Chiefs are injured which could make it difficult for them to protect Cassel.

Chargers win 23-20

Colts @ Rams +13.5 O/U 45

Coming off the buy Peyton Manning should tear up the secondary of winless Rams which gives up 252 yards per game through the air and basically can’t seem to do anything right on either side of the ball. The Colts are number one through the air and the Rams rank nowhere below 26^th in any defensive category.

Colts win 31-10

Bears @ Bengals -1 O/U 42.5

Both of these teams rank middle of the road in most categories but the matchup between the Bengals run game with Cedric Benson who is third overall in the NFL and the Bears run D which ranks fifth should be great to watch and will be a decisive factor in the outcome of the game. With the Bengals defensive line banged up they may have a hard time getting to QB Jay Cutler and he has been getting better and better and looking more comfortable in his new digs and should go to the air quite a bit with success. The Bears left side has some bumps and bruises and I would expect the healthy offensive line of the Bengals to pull to that side and work their running game there.

Bears win 27-24

Packers @ Browns +9 O/U 41

The Pack are a little banged up but the Browns could be dressing the water boy just so they have enough healthy bodies to fill the rosters spots. The Browns are 1-5 with the one win coming in a snorer against the bungling Bills 6-3 and are in the bottom of the league in almost every category aside from an 18^th ranked running game. Green Bay is 3-2 and needs to continue playing the way they did against the Lions last week shutting them out 27-0 if they hope to sneak into the post-season. Packs D has 10 INT’s and I’d look for them to get a couple more. Pack will score on both sides of the ball and perhaps post back to back shutouts.

Packers win 45-0

Vikings @ Steelers -6 O/U 45

The 6-0 Viks visit the 4-2 Steelers in the premier match up of the early games. A couple of these wins by the Viks have been last second Farve moments or as in last week’s win, a miscue by the opposing team. The Steelers who could be 6-0, lost both games by a mere three points and those losses came against the Bengals and Bears. Adrian Peterson (limited in practice ankle) leads the league in rushing with 618 yards, no surprise, and will be going up against the second ranked rush defence of the Steelers, but as long as he is partially effective the Steelers won’t be able to just key off on Farve. Big Ben leads the league in passing yards and averages 314.5 per game and will be going up against a pass defence that ranks 24^th in the league and gives up 248.3 yards per game, he should have a big day. Viks, a dome team, playing outside against a very good home team, though weather doesn’t look as though it will be a factor, may still struggle. Steelers are a healthier team as well.

Steelers win 27-17

Patriots @ Buccaneers +14.5 O/U 45

Tom Brady’s performance against the Jekyll and Hyde Titans last week was nothing short of unbelievable and this elite quarterback’s touchdown passing extravaganza should continue against a terrible 0-6 Bucs team though their best statistic is that against the pass where they rank 11^th overall. I don’t expect that bad of a blowout but it’ll be close.

Patriots win 42-10

49ers @ Texans -3 O/U 44

The 49ers are coming off the bye and have had two weeks to think about how badly they got whooped by the Falcons. The Texans have been anything but predictable this year, seems you never know which team is going to show up and they’ve been good on the road and poor at home completely opposite of last year’s trends. Frank Gore will return to the line-up after nursing a sore ankle and bring a boost to the 49ers. If Houston paid any attention to how the Falcons picked apart San Fran considering they have similar weapons they should be able to exploit a secondary that gave up 329 yards in the air to the Falcons and ranks 20^th in the league with opposing teams averaging 234 yards per game in the air against them. This is a mirror image game of last week’s win over the Bengals for the Texans.

Texans win 28-17

Jets @ Raiders +6 O/U 34.5

Though ranking last in almost every offensive category the Raiders have two wins and the biggest surprise to everyone was them beating the Eagles last week, I still have no clue how it happened, must have been the pigeon! As for the Jets after starting the year hot have gone ice cold and the cherry on top of the sundae was the loss to the Buffalo Bill patties last week! This is a good game for both teams one looking to get back on track against a poor team and one trying to get another win against a struggling team. The Jets are all healthy and the Raiders are nursing some injuries on an already thin roster. Miracles don’t happen often and the Raiders may have to wait awhile for their next one I hear the pigeon was signed by the Browns to fill a roster spot!

Jets win 24-6

Bills @ Panthers -7 O/U 37

The loss of Trent Edwards due to concussion may be the best thing to happen to the Bills, no wait it was beating the Jets last week after he was knocked out of that game, so somewhat one in the same. Ryan Fitzpatrick who will start this week went 10 of 25 with a TD and an INT by no means good showing, and I expect more of the same. After three decisive losses to start the season Carolina has won a couple close ones against the weak offensively challenged Redskins and the inept Buccaneers. Delhomme and the Panthers have won back to back after the bye week although he can’t stay away from throwing picks. The supposed high powered passing offence of Buffalo hasn’t done squat. This is going to be a run run incomplete pass punt game and should be about as exciting as fishing in puddle in a playground sandbox though the Panthers should be able to move the ball on the ground since the Bills run D is fairly porous though I would figure the scoring overall will be kept to a minimum.

Panthers win 13-3

Saints @ Dolphins +6.5 O/U 47

The 5-0New Orleans Saints have been on fire out of the gate and are in discussions as one of the best teams in football right now. They have outscored opponents 192-93 including a beat-down of the Giants last week 48-27 and they rank in the top ten in three of four categories on defence. Getting it done on the defensive side of the ball has been a soft spot on the team in the past seemingly no longer. The Dolphins, just off the bye, have been doing what they do best, running the ball with their Wildcat offense and rank first overall with that rushing attack. Now that QB Chad Henne has three games under his belt and has looked more confident with each game their passing attack has a deep threat possibility which was utilized in the win over the Jets last week with Ted Ginn catching a 57 yard TD pass. Miami has controlled time of possession in almost every game this year having the ball for an average 35:29 per game. With scattered showers and thunderstorms in the forecast Brees and the air attack of the Saints may grounded and they may have to run the ball, which they have done well this year. The game might come down to Miami’s #1 rushing attack versus NO #5 rush D and NO #4 rushing attack versus Miami’s #3 ranked rush D.

Dolphins win 24-21

Falcons @ Cowboys -4 O/U 47.5

The Cowboys are off the bye and are looking to continue the success they had in KC when Romo went 20 of 34 for 351 yards with two touchdowns while Tashard Choice led the rushing attack that ran for 145 yards combined and Miles Austin had 10 receptions for 250 yards and two touchdowns, not bad right, well this Falcons team is not the Kansas City Chiefs. Matt Ryan and the Falcons came off the bye and went in and destroyed San Fran (3-1 at that point) 45-10 then went home and beat Chicago (3-1 then as well) 21-14 and are now 4-1 with their only loss coming to the Patriots. Their defence ranks fourth in points allowed yet ranks no higher than 20^th in any of the three other categories. The Boys were banged up previous to the bye but all had full participation in practice while the Falcons took a big blow to the speed part of their run game losing Jerious Norwood who is battling a hip problem and is listed as doubtful. This is the third game in the new stadium and with over a hundred thousand it will be loud and expecting a win.

Cowboys win 31-21

Cardinals @ Giants -7 O/U 46

After being sounding beaten on the road by the New Orleans Saints last week the Giants will definitely be looking to rebound at home Sunday night against the Cardinals who never seem to travel to the east coast very well. The Cardinals rank first in the NFL against the rush only allowing 59.6 yards per game surprisingly and incredibly, not so, it’s because teams can just throw on them all day and they rank 31^st overall against the pass giving up 265.2 yards per game, so no need to run! The Giants will change that statistic and should bully them at the line of scrimmage moving the ball at will either through the air or on the ground. With WR Anquan Boldin (ankle), RB Chris “Beenie” Wells (hip) and WR Steve Breaston (knee) all limited in practice and obviously not a hundred percent the Arizona Cardinal offence will not be firing on all cylinders and it would have to be to able to stick around with this angry Giants team this week, oh yeah the Giants are first overall against the pass and total yards. The Giants are battling bumps and bruises of their own yet most of the starters are listed as probable and had full participation in practice aside from Ahmad Bradshaw who was limited yet still probable and the Giants have that pride factor to help quell the aches and pains.

Giants win 33-17

Eagles @ Redskins +7 O/U 37

This divisional game on Monday night in prime time has the apparently offensively and defensively sound Eagles who lost last week, to everyone’s surprise to the all around incompetent Raiders, facing the offensively challenged (understatement) Washington Redskins who were beat by the then winless KC Chiefs. Now Donavan McNabb as everyone knows has a brain fart here and there (remembering the fact that he didn’t know about the one quarter of overtime or the tie concept) and last week it seems he was in that mindset where they just couldn’t finish drives. Washington’s coach is Jim Zorn, for now, but the real question is who is going to be Washington’s next coach. The Redskins have a fairly talented team who underachieve yearly. Defensively Washington is excellent ranking in the top five three out of four categories, the lone problem being stopping the run where they rank 22^nd giving up 118 yards per game. Westbrook and McNabb should be able to get it going with screens and a running game freeing up WR DeSean Jackson and TE Brent Celek along with rookie WR Jeremy Maclin for possible big strike plays. There are injuries on both sides of the ball but it seems as though all the Eagles had full participation and one key component for Washington’s defence is the middle with both Cornelius Griffin (limited elbow) and Albert Haynesworth who did not practice nor did their running back Clinton Portis and their game status is unknown. All in all the Eagles hit a bump in the road last week and need to rebound and get this win because their schedule just gets tough from here on out, where as the Skins are just down-right poor offensively and should continue to struggle even under the warm October night projected for the game.

Eagles win 24-10

So much for being a quick read may be going through you head right now, and I know, though I could write a page more on each game with ease, at any rate enjoy the games! All the Best!