Week 7 NFL Recap:

For the Week: For the Season:
Vs W/L (7-6) Vs. W/L (65-35)
Vs. Spread (7-6) Vs. Spread: (52-47-1)
Vs. +/- (8-5) Vs. +/-: (46-54)


The season’s first 100 games are in the books, and it was another winning week. The Florida Three picks proved to be bad calls: Miami (L), Tampa Bay (W) and Jacksonville (L), but there were good upset calls on Atlanta, Oakland and the Giants…after seven weeks your fearless prognosticator takes the lead in the race with the cbs.sportsline.com experts, by one game. It appears that after last night, the Boy Blunder Era may be over in Dallas. The camera panned on him about 500 times during the second half looking morose. It’s too bad, because he’s always had a great arm and good leadership skills; his problem has always been a lack of mobility. Against a wildly blitzing team, his flaws were exposed and magnified. His was a very good quarterback with the Patriots, especially his years with the Tuna. He led the team to one Super Bowl, and were it not for his relief work in the 2001 AFC Final at Pittsburgh, chances are the Patriots never get to Super Bowl 36. Is he a HOF quarterback, on numbers alone, the answer is undoubtedly yes. His numbers already surpass Dan Fouts’ in a number of statistics…so you go figure.


The Vikes are for real, gang. The Patriots will have their hands full next Monday, especially on the lines. Minnesota’s O and D line simply swat opponents around like flies. Their offense simply does what’s necessary, no flash, bells or whistles. It will be hard to defense a team with basic schemes. The Eagles continue to disappoint, especially against good defenses. Sure, it took a miraculous 62-yd. field goal by the Bucs to gain the victory, but a team with Philly’s firepower should not have allowed Chucky’s Crew the opportunity. McNabb & Co. may make some noise down the line, but don’t look for any big finishes later on, it’s all for show from here on out.
The problem with Tampa Bay is they’re in a division with Carolina (who is expected to win) and the surprising Saints. At 2-4, it will be very difficult for them to fight their way back into contention. The biggest disappointment so far has to be Miami; it is virtually unthinkable that a team that was picked by the alleged "experts" to contend sits at 1-6. Their QB’s have combined for 5 td’s and 10 interceptions. The Bengals saved their season winning at home against the Panthers. Jacksonville is a disappointment, they had no business getting manhandled in Houston. Next week they play at Philly in "The Underachievers Bowl"…the Texans hit the road for three, so it will be interesting to determine whether Sunday’s win has a carryover effect…
On the injury front, there were some big hits. Arrington (NYG), Doss (IND) and Lepsis (DEN) are done for the season. Hasslebeck (SEA) injured his knee and is out for at least three games. Big Ben took an awful bell ringin’ in Atlanta and his status for next week is unknown.
Much has been said about the high number of bad teams this season, but look at the teams really isn’t surprising. I contend that there are 9 teams out of contention already and there are 9 teams with a probable shot of making playoffs. Here’s how I see it after 7 weeks:

Put a fork in ‘em (9)

Houston (2-4-0) Buffalo (2-5-0) Detroit (1-6-0)
Miami (1-6-0) Cleveland (1-5-0) Arizona (1-6-0)
Oakland (1-5-0) Tennessee (1-5-0) San Francisco (2-4-0)

Gasping for air…(2)

Washington (2-5-0) Green Bay (2-4-0)

Hangin’ in there (2)

Tampa Bay (2-4-0) NY Jets (4-3-0)

Don’t pull the plug just yet…(5)

Jacksonville (3-3-0) Pittsburgh (2-4-0)
Atlanta (4-2-0) Philadelphia (4-3-0)
Dallas (3-3-0)

In the hunt…(5)

Carolina (4-3-0) San Diego (4-2-0)
Kansas City (3-3-0) New Orleans (5-1-0)
St. Louis (4-2-0)

Contendahs (9)

Cincinnati (4-2-0) New England (5-1-0) Denver (5-1-0)
Minnesota (4-2-0) Seattle (4-2-0) Indianapolis (6-0-0)
NY Giants (4-2-0) Baltimore (4-2-0) Chicago (6-0-0)