Week 7 Review

This weekend New York sent two of its team to Texas to go get 3 victories. They sent the Giants into Dallas to knock off the 1-4 Cowboys and maintain their standing atop the NFC East. They also sent the Yankees to the Ballpark at Arlington to get 2 victories over the Rangers to win the ALCS. One of those teams was able to comply, and one failed miserably. Until last night it was beginning to look like New York would not get any of those 3 victories, but then the Giants rallied back from being down 20-7 in the first half and won 41-35. Instead, it looked a lot like Christmas! The Giants won and the Yankees did not. The Yankees went deep into the heart of Texas and got whacked around by Josh Hamilton and the Rangers. Luckily for the Yankees they did not extend the series to 7 so that their big free agent signing this winter, Cliff Lee, did not have to pitch more innings this year. But, today's post is about football and the weekend that was in the league where they play for pay, as some like to say.

The Eagles looked ready to join the Giants at 5-2 atop the NFC East, but then they fumbled away a chance to put the Tennessee Titans away. All that led to was Rutgers' own Kenny Britt having a huge day as he scored 3 TDs and had 255 receiving yards, all of which came in 3 quarters because he was benched for the first quarter by the coaching staff.

The Steelers were awfully lucky that the referees could not determine who came up with the ball at the bottom of the pile when Ben Roethlisberger fumbled the ball near into the end zone. They got a huge break and a go-ahead field goal to beat the Dolphins and improved to 5-1 and first in the AFC North.

In San Diego the New England Patriots almost gave away a game against the Chargers, but thanks to a missed field goal late they got the victory. Bill Belichick apparently hasn't learned, however. Late in the 4th quarter he decided to go for it on 4th and short near midfield in order to put the Chargers, who had no time outs left, away. However, the Chargers came up with the big stop and took over on downs. Working with a short field, the Chargers easily got into field goal range for the tying field goal try, but Kris Brown's attempt of 50 yards hit the upright and the Chargers lost 23-20. To me, this move by Belichick is about as dumb as it gets. He should have punted the ball away, forcing the Chargers to come the length of the field in order to get into field goal range; instead, they only needed about 15 yards to do so, which the Chargers had no problem doing. He got burned last year doing against the Colts doing a similar thing, and apparently he still hasn't learned.

By the way, it cannot get much better: the Giants won and the Eagles lost, and the Yankees and Phillies both lost and were dismissed from the baseball playoffs. As for my picks, I went 9-5 and improved to 61 and 43 on the season.

Week 7 Picks

My apologies for the delay in getting these picks out. So without further ado, the picks in week 7 in the league where they play.........for pay

Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) @ Atlanta Falcons (4-2) - The Falcons will do just enough to pick off the Bengals. Carson Palmer will throw a key interception and the Falcons will come away with the W. Pick: ATLANTA

Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) @ Miami Dolphins (3-2) - Pittsburgh's dominant defense will hold the Dolphins down and the Steelers escape Miami with a victory. Pick: PITTSBURGH

Buffalo Bills (0-5) @ Baltimore Ravens (4-2) - If Baltimore is the elite team I think they are, they'll have no trouble knocking off the Bills. Buffalo will struggle to move the ball against the vaunted Ravens defense. Pick: BALTIMORE

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) @ Kansas City Chiefs (3-2) - Even though they've lost 2 in a row, the Chiefs have looked tough through the first 5 games. I believe. Pick: KANSAS CITY

Cleveland Browns (1-5) @ New Orleans Saints (4-2) - After struggling early, the Saints seem to be regaining their form that won the Super Bowl last year. If this one was in Cleveland, it would be tempting to pick the upset, but since it's in New Orleans...laissez les bon temps rouler (let the good times roll) Pick: NEW ORLEANS

Washington Redskins (3-3) @ Chicago Bears (4-2) - Donovan McNabb returns to his hometown and the Redskins, another surprising team, pick up a victory. Pick: WASHINGTON

San Francisco 49ers (1-5) @ Carolina Panthers (0-5) - It's usually tough for a team to come all the way across the country and pick up a victory, but even at 1-5 the 49ers are still better than the Panthers. Pick: SAN FRANCISCO

St. Louis Rams (3-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2) - This one seems like a toss-up, but Tampa is home. Pick: TAMPA BAY

Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) @ Tennessee Titans (4-2) - The Eagles seem to be picking up the pace now with Kevin Kolb at QB, and with a good defense they'll go in and pick off a team that is every bit as good as they are. Pick: PHILADELPHIA

Arizona Cardinals (3-2) @ Seattle Seahawks (3-2) - The Seahawks are 2-0 at home and the Cardinals are 1-2 on the road. I'll take the Seahawks, even though I've yet to figure them out this season (0-5 in their games). Pick: SEATTLE

New England Patriots (4-1) @ San Diego Chargers (2-4) - The Chargers are not as good as they thought they would be. Pick: NEW ENGLAND

Oakland Raiders (2-4) @ Denver Broncos (2-4) - Oakland will struggle in the Mile High City. Pick: DENVER

Minnesota Vikings (2-3) @ Green Bay Packers (3-3) - The Packers, when healthy, are an elite team in the NFC; however, they're not healthy, and the Vikings may be getting ready to go on a roll. Pick: MINNESOTA

Monday Night Football

New York Giants (4-2) @ Dallas Cowboys (1-4) - The Giants will win in a shootout, and look for the Giant defensive line to overwhelm the Cowboy offensive line. Pick: DALLAS and 50 points