My wife, a big-time Pats fan, showed me this video of Tom Brady “miked” during last week’s game against the Saints. I’m usually loath to link to videos from the NFL website, due to the ads, but I recommend this one. Whether you love or hate the Pats, you should respect what Brady has done and continues to do for that team. He’s been given a tough assignment this season, with so many changes in offensive personnel, and he’s handled the situation like a champ.
Bills at Dolphins
I’m still a bit skeptical about the Dolphins’ offence, due to their seeming inability to run the ball or protect Ryan Tannehill. Miami needs to get after Bills’ QB Thad Lewis hard, make him uncomfortable, force some miscues. Should be a close one. Winner: Dolphins
Patriots at Jets
Give Rex Ryan some credit; he began the season with a team on the low end of the talent scale, with a quarterback situation no coach would envy, and he went back to basics of running the ball on offense and stopping the run on defence. Ryan’s counterpart this Sunday, Bill Belichick, has had different challenges. After the offseason purge of, essentially, all of Tom Brady’s top (consistently healthy) receivers (and that other unpleasantness), he began the season with a team loaded with talent on defence, and with deep running attack to support Brady as he acclimated his new receivers to the Pats’ system. However, New England enters Week 7 with an uncertain future, without its three key players on defence; defensive line anchor and run-stopping vortex Vince Wilfork, defensive captain and tackling machine Jerod Mayo, and shut down CB Aqib Talib. (Don’t get too caught-up in the Gronkowski will-he-or-won’t-he talk; Belichick’s saving Gronk for a playoff run.) This should be a hard-fought, close contest. I think the Pats win, based on their advantages in the passing and kicking game. Winner: Patriots
Cowboys at Eagles
If you’re looking for scoring, this should be the game you want to watch, featuring two teams that move the ball quickly on offence but don’t stop anyone on defence. Philly is at a distinct advantage due to its vast superiority on the ground. Winner: Eagles
Rams at Panthers
The Rams scored an impressive win against a Houston team that failed to execute in any facet. Panthers’ coach Ron Rivera has promised a new, more aggressive approach on offense (it’s like he suddenly woke up and realized that he has a dynamically talented QB, talented RBs, and a veteran, playmaking WR, and that offence should be proactive). Factor in a tough Carolina defence, and you’ve got an easy win. That is, if you trust Rivera. I’ll give him a shot Winner: Panthers
Chargers at Jaguars
The Jags gave a good effort against Denver last week. Back to reality. Winner: Chargers
Buccaneers at Falcons
Tampa may be a disappointment this year, but not nearly to the extent that Atlanta has. The Falcons began the season as contenders for one of the top seeds in the NFC, but now they sit at 1-4, ravaged by injuries, with virtually no hope of even making the playoffs. I guess I’ll pick nothing to lose against no hope. Winner: Buccaneers
Bears at Washington
RGIII is starting to run more and more as the weeks go by, which makes him a very dangerous opponent. Unfortunately, if he continues to be such an inaccurate passer, he’s going to end up just like Michael Vick does every season: injured. Chicago’s offence should have little trouble scoring points against Washington’s defence. Winner: Bears
Bengals at Lions
Cincy should be able to generate enough QB pressure without committing extra personnel, so they can devote more attention to not getting beaten by Megatron. The Bengals definitely have the playmakers to go toe-to-toe with anyone, especially with the emergence of rookie RB Gio “Storm” Bernard. Winner: Bengals
49ers at Titans
So, Jake Locker’s back this week for the Titans. That makes this game very interesting. Before Locker’s injury, his solid play, along with Tennessee’s vastly improved defence, made them force to be reckoned with. San Fran is in for a tough test this week. Colin Kaepernick has been talking this week about how Tennessee passed on drafting him in 2011. Between that, and admitting that he gets motivation by reading bad things that people post on Twitter about him, I think he’s got rocks in his head. That’s a lot of negativity, dude. Join a yoga class or something. Arian Foster can probably hook you up. Winner: Titans
Browns at Packers
The Green Bay offence is dealing with some injuries at WR, but Aaron Rodgers is playing really well right now, and it appears he finally has a running game to shoulder some of the offensive load. Winner: Packers
Ravens at Steelers
Pittsburgh’s defence looked decent as the team picked up its first win of the season against the Jets. The Ravens have a bit more talent, but their offence has been inconsistent. Expect another close, heated contest in another installment of one of the NFL’s most heated rivalries. Winner: Ravens
Texans at Chiefs
Have the Texans hit rock bottom yet in this nightmare season? They looked about as bad as a team can look last week. Case Keenum starts in place of injured Matt Schaub at QB, and he couldn’t have asked for a tougher assignment that the KC defence in mega-loud Arrowhead. The nightmare continues, as dreams of a Super Bowl must seem a lifetime ago for the Texans. Winner: Chiefs
Broncos at Colts
Forget all the hoopla surrounding Peyton’s return and Colts’ owner/town half-wit Jim Irsay’s typically asinine comments about Manning. This is the best team that Denver has played so far this season, and that’s the real story. Sure, Indy lost on Monday night the San Diego. I watched that game. Andrew Luck looked sharp, but the Colts had numerous drives killed by untimely and uncharacteristic drops. Maybe they were guilty of looking past the Chargers. Who can say? If Indy’s defence can get a few stops, Luck and Co. are more than capable of keeping up against a bad Denver defence. Broncos’ OLB/Cheating Asshole Von Miller makes his return from his too-short suspension. I expect him to have about as much of an impact as he did against Baltimore in last year’s playoffs. Winner: Colts
Monday Night
Vikings at Giants
My buddy Vince pointed out to me that this is, apparently, the worst matchup in Monday Night Football history. Both teams are playing so badly that it’s difficult to pick a winner. That Coughlin mystique makes me lean towards the Giants at home. However, they have so many injuries to overcome, Brandon Jacobs being one of the most recent (a big blow to their already depleted running game). Do they just let Eli air it out and go for the shootout win? That’s fine in theory, but they can’t seem to protect Eli and he looks lost this year. The answer here lies with newly-acquired Vikings’ QB Josh Freeman. Freeman is talented, but his game suffered tremendously as a result of the way he was treated by the coaching staff in Tampa. I imagine he must be feeling pretty spectacular being out of that mess. Winner: Vikings
Bills at Dolphins
I’m still a bit skeptical about the Dolphins’ offence, due to their seeming inability to run the ball or protect Ryan Tannehill. Miami needs to get after Bills’ QB Thad Lewis hard, make him uncomfortable, force some miscues. Should be a close one. Winner: Dolphins
Patriots at Jets
Give Rex Ryan some credit; he began the season with a team on the low end of the talent scale, with a quarterback situation no coach would envy, and he went back to basics of running the ball on offense and stopping the run on defence. Ryan’s counterpart this Sunday, Bill Belichick, has had different challenges. After the offseason purge of, essentially, all of Tom Brady’s top (consistently healthy) receivers (and that other unpleasantness), he began the season with a team loaded with talent on defence, and with deep running attack to support Brady as he acclimated his new receivers to the Pats’ system. However, New England enters Week 7 with an uncertain future, without its three key players on defence; defensive line anchor and run-stopping vortex Vince Wilfork, defensive captain and tackling machine Jerod Mayo, and shut down CB Aqib Talib. (Don’t get too caught-up in the Gronkowski will-he-or-won’t-he talk; Belichick’s saving Gronk for a playoff run.) This should be a hard-fought, close contest. I think the Pats win, based on their advantages in the passing and kicking game. Winner: Patriots
Cowboys at Eagles
If you’re looking for scoring, this should be the game you want to watch, featuring two teams that move the ball quickly on offence but don’t stop anyone on defence. Philly is at a distinct advantage due to its vast superiority on the ground. Winner: Eagles
Rams at Panthers
The Rams scored an impressive win against a Houston team that failed to execute in any facet. Panthers’ coach Ron Rivera has promised a new, more aggressive approach on offense (it’s like he suddenly woke up and realized that he has a dynamically talented QB, talented RBs, and a veteran, playmaking WR, and that offence should be proactive). Factor in a tough Carolina defence, and you’ve got an easy win. That is, if you trust Rivera. I’ll give him a shot Winner: Panthers
Chargers at Jaguars
The Jags gave a good effort against Denver last week. Back to reality. Winner: Chargers
Buccaneers at Falcons
Tampa may be a disappointment this year, but not nearly to the extent that Atlanta has. The Falcons began the season as contenders for one of the top seeds in the NFC, but now they sit at 1-4, ravaged by injuries, with virtually no hope of even making the playoffs. I guess I’ll pick nothing to lose against no hope. Winner: Buccaneers
Bears at Washington
RGIII is starting to run more and more as the weeks go by, which makes him a very dangerous opponent. Unfortunately, if he continues to be such an inaccurate passer, he’s going to end up just like Michael Vick does every season: injured. Chicago’s offence should have little trouble scoring points against Washington’s defence. Winner: Bears
Bengals at Lions
Cincy should be able to generate enough QB pressure without committing extra personnel, so they can devote more attention to not getting beaten by Megatron. The Bengals definitely have the playmakers to go toe-to-toe with anyone, especially with the emergence of rookie RB Gio “Storm” Bernard. Winner: Bengals
49ers at Titans
So, Jake Locker’s back this week for the Titans. That makes this game very interesting. Before Locker’s injury, his solid play, along with Tennessee’s vastly improved defence, made them force to be reckoned with. San Fran is in for a tough test this week. Colin Kaepernick has been talking this week about how Tennessee passed on drafting him in 2011. Between that, and admitting that he gets motivation by reading bad things that people post on Twitter about him, I think he’s got rocks in his head. That’s a lot of negativity, dude. Join a yoga class or something. Arian Foster can probably hook you up. Winner: Titans
Browns at Packers
The Green Bay offence is dealing with some injuries at WR, but Aaron Rodgers is playing really well right now, and it appears he finally has a running game to shoulder some of the offensive load. Winner: Packers
Ravens at Steelers
Pittsburgh’s defence looked decent as the team picked up its first win of the season against the Jets. The Ravens have a bit more talent, but their offence has been inconsistent. Expect another close, heated contest in another installment of one of the NFL’s most heated rivalries. Winner: Ravens
Texans at Chiefs
Have the Texans hit rock bottom yet in this nightmare season? They looked about as bad as a team can look last week. Case Keenum starts in place of injured Matt Schaub at QB, and he couldn’t have asked for a tougher assignment that the KC defence in mega-loud Arrowhead. The nightmare continues, as dreams of a Super Bowl must seem a lifetime ago for the Texans. Winner: Chiefs
Broncos at Colts
Forget all the hoopla surrounding Peyton’s return and Colts’ owner/town half-wit Jim Irsay’s typically asinine comments about Manning. This is the best team that Denver has played so far this season, and that’s the real story. Sure, Indy lost on Monday night the San Diego. I watched that game. Andrew Luck looked sharp, but the Colts had numerous drives killed by untimely and uncharacteristic drops. Maybe they were guilty of looking past the Chargers. Who can say? If Indy’s defence can get a few stops, Luck and Co. are more than capable of keeping up against a bad Denver defence. Broncos’ OLB/Cheating Asshole Von Miller makes his return from his too-short suspension. I expect him to have about as much of an impact as he did against Baltimore in last year’s playoffs. Winner: Colts
Monday Night
Vikings at Giants
My buddy Vince pointed out to me that this is, apparently, the worst matchup in Monday Night Football history. Both teams are playing so badly that it’s difficult to pick a winner. That Coughlin mystique makes me lean towards the Giants at home. However, they have so many injuries to overcome, Brandon Jacobs being one of the most recent (a big blow to their already depleted running game). Do they just let Eli air it out and go for the shootout win? That’s fine in theory, but they can’t seem to protect Eli and he looks lost this year. The answer here lies with newly-acquired Vikings’ QB Josh Freeman. Freeman is talented, but his game suffered tremendously as a result of the way he was treated by the coaching staff in Tampa. I imagine he must be feeling pretty spectacular being out of that mess. Winner: Vikings
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