Week 6 Review/Week 7 Preview

For the Week/Season:

v. W/L:                      (5-9)/ (47-44)

v. Spread                    (2-12)/ (31-60)
v. Aggregate:             (9-5)/(54-37)

Bye Weeks: Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego

Six teams are off this week and that’s probably a good thing based on what happened last week. We got smoked with our picks last week and take little solace in the fact that most prognosticators took a beating as well. It was a big day for the Vegas Boys, no doubt.

At Buffalo

-3.5

Tennessee

46.5

The Bills are coming off of a huge road win against the Cardinals and return home to face a Titans’ squad that upset the Steelers last Thursday night. It’s hard to get a feel for this matchup as both teams have played poorly just as much as they’ve played well. Hasselbeck remains the starter for the Titans but it remains to be seen which Bills’ defense shows up. Will it be the one that allowed the Jets and ‘Niners to put up a plethora of points? Or will it be the one that shut down the Cardinals? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out…

Projected Final Score: Buffalo 24, Tennessee 20

At Minnesota

-5.5

Arizona

40.5

Both of these teams are trying to rebound from disappointing losses. Just when the football world thought that the Vikings might have turned a corner they were shut down in their tracks by the Redskins. What can you say about the Cards? The defense played up to snuff but Kolb took a beating and the offense couldn’t get off the ground all day having been stymied by an opportunistic Bills’ defense all day. Kolb is out for “several weeks” after getting hammered by the Bills last week. John “Red” Skelton returns to the starting lineup after he suffered injuries in the early part of the season. The leaky offensive line of the Cards is going to get one of those quarterbacks really hurt. Look for Jared Allen and the Vikes’ D-Line to have a veritable field day.

Projected Final Score: Minnesota 24, Arizona 17

At Indianapolis

-3.5

Cleveland

45

As predicted, Indy was thrashed in the Meadowlands as it was hard to rebound from a huge emotional victory the week before. They return home to face a Browns’ team that’s trying to make it two in a row following their decisive win over the Bungles. New ownership has taken over in Cleveland and the first move was to put Mike Holmgren out to pasture. Many of the Browns’ staff will suffer a worse fate than Holmgren’s if they don’t begin to play better pronto. Indy has shown that they’re a much better team at home, and that gives them the edge.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 24, Cleveland 20

At Houston

-4.5

Ravens

47

Think about it: after six weeks these are the only AFC teams with winning records. The Texans’ juggernaut hit a serious bump in the road as Aaron Rodgers took their defense to school on Sunday night, throwing six touchdown passes. Perhaps the Texans should make more of Brian Cushing’s loss than they originally let on. The Ravens found a way of getting it done against Dallas, but it wasn’t easy as they won 31-29. In the process, they lost Webb for the season and that’s a catastrophic blow to the secondary. Ray Lewis is also done for the year as he suffered a triceps injury. Reed is playing with a torn labrum and Suggs is expected to return after missing the first six weeks with a Achilles injury. Both defenses are a bit banged up, to say the least.

Projected Final Score: Houston 28, Ravens 20

Green Bay	-5.5	At St. Louis	44.5

Aaron Rodgers had the game of his life on Sunday, throwing for six TD’s as the Pack blew Houston off the field. Unfortunately for the Pack, their linebacking corps gets thinner by the week. The Rams barely lost in Miami as the Florida heat wore down Sam Bradford and the offensive attack. If Rodgers continues at his torrid pace, the Rams don’t stand a chance. But the Rams are a highly competitive bunch at home so don’t expect them to roll over and play dead for the Packers. Coach Fisher is probably hard at work developing a scheme to slow down the Packers’ attack.

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 31, St. Louis 21

Dallas

-2.5

At Carolina

45.5

The Cowboys played really well at M&T only to come up on the short end of the stick. They stay on the road this week to face a struggling Panthers’ team that had the luxury of a bye to get their house back in order. It’s now a fact that Cam Newton is in the midst of a sophomore slump and has been nasty with the media over it. He has shown flashes of the brilliant performances from last year, but there have been more disasters than normal.

Projected Final Score: Dallas 24, Carolina 21

At NY Giants

-6.5

Washington

49.5

RGIII bounced back quite well from that scary hit he took in Week 5 as the Redskins posted a big win over the Vikings, which included RGIII’s long rushing touchdown. He’d better keep those running shoes nice and tight as the ‘Skins travel to the Meadowlands and a big NFC East showdown with the Giants. The G-Men showed that they’re for real with a dominant two-way road victory over the ‘Niners. They played to the ‘Niners strength (rush defense) and Ahmad Bradshaw pounded the rock to the tune of 100+ yards. Even though Washington swept the Giants last year, the Giant defense is on a roll right now and are highly motivated to shut down RGIII.

Projected Final Score: NY Giants 27, Washington 23

New Orleans

-3.5

At Tampa Bay

49.5

The 1-4 Saints are coming off of a bye following their Week 5 victory over San Diego. This week, they travel down to Mabry Blvd and a date with the Bucs, who simply crushed Kansas City last week. They obviously want to keep their feet firmly pressed on the Saints’ necks by denying them a chance for back-to-back victories. Coach Schiano’s opportunistic defense was marvelous last week and hope for a repeat performance.

Projected Final Score: New Orleans 24, Tampa Bay 21

At New England

-10.5

NY Jets

47

There’s no way that the spread should be this high. The Patriots played a stupid brand of football last week and were burned by Russell Wilson. Tommy Boy did not play up to par and he (along with the secondary that leaks like a sieve) bears the brunt of the loss. There were so missed opportunities for that Pats to seal the deal that it wasn’t funny. They allowed Wilson a chance to get back into the game in the fourth quarter and he made them pay. Meanwhile, the Jets put forth their best two-way game of the season and are in a four-way tie in the crazy AFC East. The Jets offense may be lousy but their defense isn’t. The Vegas Boys  have this penciled in as a blowout for New England, but rivalry games are generally hard fought.

Projected Final Score: New England 28, NY Jets 24

At Oakland

-4.5

Jacksonville

42.5

Again, the 1-4 Raiders played well enough to lose in Atlanta. They just don’t have the horses to overcome the better teams in the League, but fear not Raider Nation, as the Jags come to the Black Hole this week. Even though the Jags are similarly 1-4, they’ve played like a doormat most of the time and this week should be no exception.

Projected Final Score: Oakland 24, Jacksonville 16

Pittsburgh

-2.5

At Cincinnati

46

Sunday night brings the NFL to the Queen City where the Bungles look to bounce back from last week’s disaster against Cleveland. This is the second straight road game for the Steelers, who have so far shown that they’re not the same intimidating bunch as they are at home. They lost on a last-second field goal last Thursday in Carolina and continue to suffer through the injury bug. But the Bungles are so inconsistent that there is no level of comfort in trying to predict how they’ll play next.

Projected Final Score: Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnati 21

Week 7 Monday Night Preview

At Chicago

-5.5

Detroit

47

Soldier Field hosts this Monday Night mash up between two bitter old rivals of the NFC North. The 4-1 Bears sit atop the division while the Lions are within striking distance. Detroit came away with a nice win over Philly last week while the Bears are coming off of a bye. Trying to predict what the Bears will do is like handling nitroglycerine, one simply never knows when Jay Cutler will explode next.

Projected Final Score: Chicago 24, Detroit 17