Football Friday Fives: NFL Edition For Week 7 from the Sports Mac

5 Storylines To Keep An Eye On

1.         The NFL will begin its new suspension policy against players who make “illegal” hits, although there is no standard punishment in place by the league yet.

2.         The Steelers James Harrison says he thought about retiring after he was fined $75,000 by the league for two violent hits he made last weekend against Cleveland.

3.         Peyton Manning is down a couple of weapons as Dallas Clark is out for the season and Austin Collie is injured and may not be back for the Colts next game next weekend.

4.         Vincent Jackson will report to the Chargers next week after he was advised by the NFL Players Association to do so.

5.         Brett Favre is interviewed by NFL security about an alleged incident two years ago, but neither side has commented on the meeting.

Top 5 Games Of The Weekend

1.         Steelers (4-1) at Dolphins (3-2), 1:00 PM, CBS: Pittsburgh travels south to face Miami in a match-up of teams trying to keep pace in their own divisions.

2.         Eagles (4-2) at Titans (4-2), 1:00 PM, FOX: An interesting game, as Philadelphia tries to stay perfect on the road against a Tennessee team that could be without Vince Young.

3.         Redskins (3-3) at Bears (4-2), 1:00 PM, FOX: Washington will try and keep Chicago on its recent offensive slide, which has been pretty ugly the last couple of weeks.

4.         Vikings (2-3) at Packers (3-3), 8:20 PM, NBC: After the Vikings third loss they looked to be in real trouble.  Now, with a win they are right back in the division race.

5.         Cardinals (3-2) at Seahawks (3-2), 4:00 PM, FOX: This is for first in the NFC West with rookie Max Hall making his first road start facing the wall of noise in Seattle.

5 Worst Games Of The Weekend

1.         49ers (1-5) at Panthers (0-5), 1:00 PM, FOX: San Francisco finally got off the mat last week, but now must make the cross country trip to face a struggling Carolina team.

2.         Bills (0-5) at Ravens (4-2), 1:00 PM, CBS: Buffalo is coming off a bye, but that’s not going to help going on the road to play an unhappy Ravens team.

3.         Browns (1-5) at Saints (4-2), 1:00 PM, CBS: Colt McCoy will get his second start, but the problem for Cleveland is the New Orleans offense showing signs of life.

4.         Raiders (2-4) at Broncos (2-4), 4:15 PM, CBS: While both teams are still firmly in the AFC West race, one of them will have to start playing better for it to matter.

5.         Giants (4-2) at Cowboys (1-4), 8:30 PM, Monday, ESPN: The only question here is how will Dallas get that key penalty to cost them the ball game and essentially end their season.

5 Players To Watch This Weekend

1.         Kerry Collins, Titans QB vs. Philadelphia: The wily veteran will be called on again with Vince Young injured and will have to find a way to keep Tennessee’s offense moving.

2.         Philip Rivers, Chargers QB vs. New England: San Diego has been great this year in their two home games, but Rivers needs to play especially well to keep them in the ballgame.

3.         Adrian Peterson, Vikings RB vs. Green Bay: He hasn’t really had a breakout game in a few weeks and this might be an opportunity for a huge night against a Packers defense that is injury riddled.

4.         Matt Hasslebeck, Seahawks QB vs. Arizona: He has had his share of problems over the last couple of seasons (injuries, interceptions), but this could a week where he puts some of that behind him in a big divisional home game.

5.         Matt Forte, Bears RB vs. Washington: He rushed for over 50 yards just once this season, so he has to be productive to take pressure off of Jay Cutler and that offensive line.

5 Teams That Have To Have A Big Week

1.         Atlanta at home versus Cincinnati: With the Saints starting to look dangerous again, the Falcons can’t afford to slip up against an inconsistent Bengals team.

2.         San Diego at home versus New England: The Chargers slow start must be turned around against the Patriots or there may not be a late season run in the offing.

3.         Dallas at home versus N.Y. Giants: This goes without saying; Dallas has to win this game or they will be playing out the string before the end of October.

4.         Pittsburgh on the road against Miami: The Steelers could really use a win against a quality opponent considering the Ravens should have an easy time with Buffalo.

5.         Jacksonville on the road against Kansas City: I know they looked horrible on Monday night, but if they can find a way to win they keep themselves in the wide open AFC South race.