Not Another Predictions Column! Week Seven
Baltimore 4-2 @ Buffalo 1-4
Some key offensive players are hurting for the Baltimore Ravens heading into this matchup with Buffalo. Tight ends Todd Heap and Daniel Wilcox are both listed as doubtful with thigh and foot injuries respectively. In addition, defensively, Trevor Pryce is out and cornerback Chris McAlister is listed as doubtful with a knee injury. That said, whatever nervousness anticipation the Ravens fans may have is nothing compared to the trepidation likely felt by Buffalo’s faithful. After Buffalo’s six turnovers forced against Dallas last week on Monday night, followed by a late collapse allowing the Cowboys to win anyway, those fans must need a steady supply of defrillabrators for their hearts. I would like to think Buffalo will come out fired up to win this week, but I do not know what Buffalo has left. Of course, the same can be said for Steve McNair and the Ravens’ offense, but I like the Ravens to win it this week.
Atlanta 1-5 @ New Orleans 1-4
I was afraid the Saints would win by some miracle last week – it just seemed like it was bound to happen sooner or later, and what better target than the up and down Seahawks? Unfortunately, trust is not something that I give to the Saints in large quantities, so I went with the Seahawks last week. The Falcons made a move at the quarterback position this week, benching Joey Harrington and declaring Byron Leftwich, late of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the starting quarterback. Frankly, I am not sure what to make of this. The Falcons’ offensive line is being plagued with injuries, so they go to one of the most immobile quarterbacks in the NFL who also happens to have the slowest release in the NFL? This move does not make all that much sense. Do not expect Leftwich to do much as a starter for the Falcons – maybe a good week every now and then. The Falcons do have a running game, however, and that is something that the Saints are still trying to find. Neither team has much of a defense, so points may be put up in bunches in this game. Atlanta was blown out last week 31-10 by the Giants, but the Saints are coming off a road victory and are now at home, where they will want to please their fans with their first home victory this season. Thus, I say the Saints win this week.
Arizona 3-3 @ Washington 3-2
The Redskins, despite playing well statistically last week, still managed to find a way to lose to Green Bay – a forced fumble returned by Green Bay’s Charles Woodson for a touchdown won the game for the Packers. Journeyman quarterback Tim Rattay is looking to start against Washington for Arizona in place of the injured Kurt Warner, though that still seems up in the air. For Arizona’s cause, if it is Rattay they start, then they better hope Edgerrin James, JJ Arrington, and Marcel Shipp can create a running game this week. Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald leads the NFC in yards and receptions with 545 and 40 respectively. Speaking of receivers, Santana Moss of the Redskins has not been playing well this season with only 12 receptions for 199 yards. Even the Panthers’ Keary Colbert has 16 receptions for 205 yards. Moss pulled himself out of the game against Green Bay with a hamstring injury but will play this week. For another week, Cardinals MLB Karlos Dansby will miss a game due to injury, which means the Cardinals will be down a key component in their defensive scheme. This is a hard game to pick, but I go with Washington to rebound at home.
San Francisco 2-3 @ New York Giants 4-2
The Giants have won four games straight, putting them one game behind the Dallas Cowboys, who lost to the Patriots last week. Their quarterback-wide receiver tandem of Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress has been electric – Burress, despite missing loads of practice time with a sprained ankle, has eight touchdown receptions in only six games. Their offense is quite capable of scoring points – something the 49ers have shown little ability to do. The 49ers have the NFL’s 32nd ranked scoring offense. They may receive a slight boost this week as injured starters Alex Smith and Vernon Davis may return. However, even with the two of them their offense was still anemic. To mention wide receiver Keary Colbert again – he ties Darrell Jackson, the Niners’ number one receiver, in receptions and is only 5 yards behind Jackson. Neither team appears to have much of a defense, although the Giants have a ferocious pass rush. Look for the Giants to put up more points than the Niners. It IS that simple. Giants win to move their winning streak to five straight games.
New England 6-0 @ Miami 0-6
Future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady has 21 touchdown passes in 6 games thus far on the season. Right now Brady looks likely to break Peyton Manning’s single-season passing touchdown record of 49 touchdowns. There are some interesting subplots in this game – for one, wide receiver Wes Welker had been a productive Dolphin for some time before the Dolphins traded him to New England in the offeseason. Now Welker is having a home-coming of sorts. For another, Patriots running back Sammy Morris used to play for the Dolphins, and so this is also a homecoming for him. Thirdly, Tom Brady has historically struggled a bit on the road against Miami, with only two victories in six attempts. However, the Dolphins are only making it harder on their offense to do anything against the Patriots as they traded off their number one receiver Chris Chambers to the San Diego Chargers for a 2nd round draft pick. Yes – that means that in the same year the Dolphins have traded off both their best receivers. Apparently they must really like the rookie Ted Ginn, JR. At any rate, the Dolphins are struggling right now – an understatement, I know. However, running back Ronnie Brown continues to have a phenomenal season with 526 rushing yards and nearly 400 receiving yards. This could be a prime upset game selection – but I am not daft. New England to win and continue on to 7-0.
Tennessee 3-2 @ Houston 3-3
After a great start to the season, the Texans have been besieged by injuries and slumping players. This calls into mind whether or not they are as good as their early success betrayed. The running game has struggled with both Ahman Green and Ron Dayne averaging a combined 3.35 yards per carry. On the other hand – the running game is about all the opponent Titans have. If starting quarterback Vince Young misses the game or cannot go, look for backup Kerry Collins to come in and perhaps manage to spark the passing game a bit. If I were playing fantasy football this year, I would be looking at the kickers in this matchup. Field goals should be aplenty in this game. And if it comes down to kickers, the Titans’ Rob Bironas and the Texans’ Kris Brown are both solid – but Brown is having the kind of year kickers dream about, with 16 field goals made on 17 attempts in six games including a new NFL record for number of 50+ yard field goals made in a single game (4). However, I have a hunch Tennessee wins this on the road.
WEEKLY UPSET GAME: Tampa Bay 4-2 @ Detroit 3-2
Attentive readers will be thinking that I must secretly be employed by Matt Millen or something since I keep picking Detroit to win – really, it is not that. And no, the other rumor of the hit man coming to murder me for not picking the Lions is not true either. Rather, I enjoy seeing Detroit win after having so many horrid seasons of late. Unfortunately for Jon Kitna, he continues to have to lead the Lions’ offense against top-tier defenses. This week, he has to contend with the Bucs’ 4th-ranked defense. Odds are the Lions’ offense will be grounded most of the day, and their defense really is not that threatening either. So why do I think they will win? Because. And that is my only reason – just because. Besides, if Detroit wins, Tampa Bay drops behind the Panthers for the division lead in the NFC South. Certainly that is really the only thing that matters. Earlier this week before the trade deadline the Buccaneers made a move to address their need at the running back position and they traded for former Viking and now former Chief Michael Bennett, who may actually play this week for the Bucs. He will likely provide at least a minimal boost to a struggling rushing attack, but it will be too little too late this week as somehow or another the Lions pull off the upset.
Kansas City 3-3 @ Oakland 2-3
Kansas City has rebounded since their horrid season opener against Houston. Their offense has started to click a little bit more as the passing game has begun to get on track and Larry Johnson is getting himself into gear. The Raiders’ defense may give them some problems this week, at least in the passing game, however. LaDainian Tomlinson proved last week that the Raiders could be rushed upon, however. Or at least he proved that he himself could rush on the Raiders. Tight end Tony Gonzalez has now set his own record for most receiving touchdowns by a tight end and looks to keep adding to it. This AFC West is a wide-open race – every team has 3 losses and 2 or 3 wins. Every divisional game is crucial in the AFC West – and the Raiders have lost an NFL-record 16 consecutive divisional matches. That streak extends to 17 this week as the Chiefs win on the road.
New York Jets 1-5 @ Cincinnati Bengals 1-4
Now this could be a high-scoring affair. Both teams want to snap losing skids, neither team’s defense is amazing (though the Jets’ is definitely better than the Bengals’), and each team is capable of putting up points on offense. Carson Palmer has thrown 12 touchdowns on the season but it has proven to matter not because the defense cannot stop opposing offenses. Maybe if they could work out some sort of a halfway house deal with the NFL and the government they could get some of their players back and get some sort of a boost. Chad Pennington has to be wondering where, if anywhere, he will be playing professional football next year, but until then the best thing he can do for himself is to put up the best numbers he can. Against the Bengals defense, he should not have much of a problem with that assignment. I would like to pick the Bengals to win this, but I find it difficult to pick a team with a defense that allowed the Cleveland Browns to score 51 points. I also find it difficult to trust the number of road teams that I am trusting this week – last time I did that I was faced with disastrous results. However, being an eternal optimist, I will take the Jets on the road this week.
St. Louis 0-6 @ Seattle 3-3
Well, Marc Bulger is expected to give it a go this week. It seems to be forcing the issue (rib problems) to come back this fast, but perhaps after watching his backup throw eight interceptions in two starts he realized he ought to come back sooner rather than later. I apologize for mis-informing people earlier in the week – I had thought Gus Frerotte had only thrown six interceptions in two games but my information was incorrect. The Rams’ porous defense may be what the Seahawks need to get back on track after an ugly loss to the Saints last week on Sunday Night Football. Defensively, the Seahawks need to blitz Marc Bulger all day long. The Rams’ offensive line is in an offensive plight with all their injuries. Seeing as how Bulger will be playing on broken ribs, it may not take much for the Seahawks to aggravate that injury. I find it hard to pick a team, on the road, with no victories yet. Seahawks win it.
Chicago 2-4 @ Philadelphia 2-3
I was being facetious last week talking about an “Adrian Peterson Bowl” in the Bears-Vikings contest, but the Vikings rookie running back was incredible with over 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns, including two of 60+ yards. The Bears’ defense allowed over 300 yards rushing in that game. Perhaps not so shockingly, the Bears’ defense is now ranked down at 27th in the league. I am not sure where the Bears’ rushing offense is ranked, but it is also down there – Cedric Benson is averaging 3.1 yards per carry. The Philadelphia offense has also been inconsistent – a strong rushing game and a passing attack that should be pretty good have been failing to produce touchdowns. Since I am not an Eagles fan, this bothers me not. However, I am not a Bears fan either and so I do not know exactly what to do for this game. What the heck – Bears to win it on the road.
Minnesota 2-3 @ Dallas 5-1
Congratulations to Adrian Peterson for providing an amazing highlight reel of plays against the Bears – with a 35 yard touchdown run, 67-yard touchdown run, and a 73-yard touchdown, he was running all over the place. Adrian Peterson now leads the NFL in rushing yards. After that performance, what will he do to top it? Whatever he does, it will be exciting to watch. The way he is playing he is practically a lock for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. This may have been a good upset game choice to go with, but I did not want to put that sort of pressure upon the young rookie – he already has enough pressure being the Vikings’ only consistent weapon. The Cowboys matched up evenly against the Patriots for a while but then the Pats pulled away and ended up winning 48-27. Not to say ‘I told you so’ or anything, but I figured the Cowboys had used up too much luck against the Bills to be able to knock off the Patriots. Dallas has enough luck to defeat the Vikings though, and they will.
Sunday Night Football: Pittsburgh 4-1 @ Denver 2-3
Both teams are coming off their byes. The previous games for both teams were one-sided – the Steelers won 21-0 over Seattle two weeks ago, and the Broncos lost to the Chargers 41-3 two weeks ago. The Steelers have a slight lead over the Ravens in their division, whislt the Broncos are only a game back in the AFC West. The Broncos are 4-0 in games coming off their bye week the past four seasons, and they look to try to improve to 5-0 in the last 5 years. However, the Steelers have found a way to win that works. Willie Parker is 6th in the NFL in rushing with 507 yards rushing in five games – and the Broncos have proven unable to stop the run. With Fast Willie having a week off last week, his wheels should be ready and willing to run. This could have been an upset game selection, but the Steelers are looking good under new head coach Mike Tomlin, and I will keep rolling with them. Steelers win it on the road in what I expect to be a hard-fought contest.
Monday Night Football: Indianapolis 5-0 @ Jacksonville 4-1
Here is a marquee match-up between the two teams vying for the division crown in the AFC South. The Jaguars have been finding a way to win and have now won four games on the season. Just one game behind Indy, the Jags are now in a position where if they win they could not only break Indy’s winning streak and be the first team to knock off the World Champs, they could also be leading the division. I still do not trust the Jaguars – they have time and time again done exactly the opposite of what I expected them to do. However, I do not see how I can pick them to win this week when Peyton Manning has had two weeks of time to review film for this game and figure out how to win it. Manning is also three touchdown passes away from breaking Johnny Unitas’ franchise passing touchdown record. Anyone want to bet he breaks that record in this game? If the Colts win, they will become just the third team in history to start 6-0 for three consecutive seasons. The Jaguars typically give the Colts a good fight – but the Colts are expected to get both Joseph Addai and Marvin Harrison back this week. Colts win it to advance to 6-0 before taking on the Carolina Panthers next week.
Last week I went 9-4 and am now 55-34 on the season.
By Robert “RingLeader” Gilbert
[Comments Will Be Taken In The PantherCoalition Forums]
Baltimore 4-2 @ Buffalo 1-4
Some key offensive players are hurting for the Baltimore Ravens heading into this matchup with Buffalo. Tight ends Todd Heap and Daniel Wilcox are both listed as doubtful with thigh and foot injuries respectively. In addition, defensively, Trevor Pryce is out and cornerback Chris McAlister is listed as doubtful with a knee injury. That said, whatever nervousness anticipation the Ravens fans may have is nothing compared to the trepidation likely felt by Buffalo’s faithful. After Buffalo’s six turnovers forced against Dallas last week on Monday night, followed by a late collapse allowing the Cowboys to win anyway, those fans must need a steady supply of defrillabrators for their hearts. I would like to think Buffalo will come out fired up to win this week, but I do not know what Buffalo has left. Of course, the same can be said for Steve McNair and the Ravens’ offense, but I like the Ravens to win it this week.
Atlanta 1-5 @ New Orleans 1-4
I was afraid the Saints would win by some miracle last week – it just seemed like it was bound to happen sooner or later, and what better target than the up and down Seahawks? Unfortunately, trust is not something that I give to the Saints in large quantities, so I went with the Seahawks last week. The Falcons made a move at the quarterback position this week, benching Joey Harrington and declaring Byron Leftwich, late of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the starting quarterback. Frankly, I am not sure what to make of this. The Falcons’ offensive line is being plagued with injuries, so they go to one of the most immobile quarterbacks in the NFL who also happens to have the slowest release in the NFL? This move does not make all that much sense. Do not expect Leftwich to do much as a starter for the Falcons – maybe a good week every now and then. The Falcons do have a running game, however, and that is something that the Saints are still trying to find. Neither team has much of a defense, so points may be put up in bunches in this game. Atlanta was blown out last week 31-10 by the Giants, but the Saints are coming off a road victory and are now at home, where they will want to please their fans with their first home victory this season. Thus, I say the Saints win this week.
Arizona 3-3 @ Washington 3-2
The Redskins, despite playing well statistically last week, still managed to find a way to lose to Green Bay – a forced fumble returned by Green Bay’s Charles Woodson for a touchdown won the game for the Packers. Journeyman quarterback Tim Rattay is looking to start against Washington for Arizona in place of the injured Kurt Warner, though that still seems up in the air. For Arizona’s cause, if it is Rattay they start, then they better hope Edgerrin James, JJ Arrington, and Marcel Shipp can create a running game this week. Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald leads the NFC in yards and receptions with 545 and 40 respectively. Speaking of receivers, Santana Moss of the Redskins has not been playing well this season with only 12 receptions for 199 yards. Even the Panthers’ Keary Colbert has 16 receptions for 205 yards. Moss pulled himself out of the game against Green Bay with a hamstring injury but will play this week. For another week, Cardinals MLB Karlos Dansby will miss a game due to injury, which means the Cardinals will be down a key component in their defensive scheme. This is a hard game to pick, but I go with Washington to rebound at home.
San Francisco 2-3 @ New York Giants 4-2
The Giants have won four games straight, putting them one game behind the Dallas Cowboys, who lost to the Patriots last week. Their quarterback-wide receiver tandem of Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress has been electric – Burress, despite missing loads of practice time with a sprained ankle, has eight touchdown receptions in only six games. Their offense is quite capable of scoring points – something the 49ers have shown little ability to do. The 49ers have the NFL’s 32nd ranked scoring offense. They may receive a slight boost this week as injured starters Alex Smith and Vernon Davis may return. However, even with the two of them their offense was still anemic. To mention wide receiver Keary Colbert again – he ties Darrell Jackson, the Niners’ number one receiver, in receptions and is only 5 yards behind Jackson. Neither team appears to have much of a defense, although the Giants have a ferocious pass rush. Look for the Giants to put up more points than the Niners. It IS that simple. Giants win to move their winning streak to five straight games.
New England 6-0 @ Miami 0-6
Future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady has 21 touchdown passes in 6 games thus far on the season. Right now Brady looks likely to break Peyton Manning’s single-season passing touchdown record of 49 touchdowns. There are some interesting subplots in this game – for one, wide receiver Wes Welker had been a productive Dolphin for some time before the Dolphins traded him to New England in the offeseason. Now Welker is having a home-coming of sorts. For another, Patriots running back Sammy Morris used to play for the Dolphins, and so this is also a homecoming for him. Thirdly, Tom Brady has historically struggled a bit on the road against Miami, with only two victories in six attempts. However, the Dolphins are only making it harder on their offense to do anything against the Patriots as they traded off their number one receiver Chris Chambers to the San Diego Chargers for a 2nd round draft pick. Yes – that means that in the same year the Dolphins have traded off both their best receivers. Apparently they must really like the rookie Ted Ginn, JR. At any rate, the Dolphins are struggling right now – an understatement, I know. However, running back Ronnie Brown continues to have a phenomenal season with 526 rushing yards and nearly 400 receiving yards. This could be a prime upset game selection – but I am not daft. New England to win and continue on to 7-0.
Tennessee 3-2 @ Houston 3-3
After a great start to the season, the Texans have been besieged by injuries and slumping players. This calls into mind whether or not they are as good as their early success betrayed. The running game has struggled with both Ahman Green and Ron Dayne averaging a combined 3.35 yards per carry. On the other hand – the running game is about all the opponent Titans have. If starting quarterback Vince Young misses the game or cannot go, look for backup Kerry Collins to come in and perhaps manage to spark the passing game a bit. If I were playing fantasy football this year, I would be looking at the kickers in this matchup. Field goals should be aplenty in this game. And if it comes down to kickers, the Titans’ Rob Bironas and the Texans’ Kris Brown are both solid – but Brown is having the kind of year kickers dream about, with 16 field goals made on 17 attempts in six games including a new NFL record for number of 50+ yard field goals made in a single game (4). However, I have a hunch Tennessee wins this on the road.
WEEKLY UPSET GAME: Tampa Bay 4-2 @ Detroit 3-2
Attentive readers will be thinking that I must secretly be employed by Matt Millen or something since I keep picking Detroit to win – really, it is not that. And no, the other rumor of the hit man coming to murder me for not picking the Lions is not true either. Rather, I enjoy seeing Detroit win after having so many horrid seasons of late. Unfortunately for Jon Kitna, he continues to have to lead the Lions’ offense against top-tier defenses. This week, he has to contend with the Bucs’ 4th-ranked defense. Odds are the Lions’ offense will be grounded most of the day, and their defense really is not that threatening either. So why do I think they will win? Because. And that is my only reason – just because. Besides, if Detroit wins, Tampa Bay drops behind the Panthers for the division lead in the NFC South. Certainly that is really the only thing that matters. Earlier this week before the trade deadline the Buccaneers made a move to address their need at the running back position and they traded for former Viking and now former Chief Michael Bennett, who may actually play this week for the Bucs. He will likely provide at least a minimal boost to a struggling rushing attack, but it will be too little too late this week as somehow or another the Lions pull off the upset.
Kansas City 3-3 @ Oakland 2-3
Kansas City has rebounded since their horrid season opener against Houston. Their offense has started to click a little bit more as the passing game has begun to get on track and Larry Johnson is getting himself into gear. The Raiders’ defense may give them some problems this week, at least in the passing game, however. LaDainian Tomlinson proved last week that the Raiders could be rushed upon, however. Or at least he proved that he himself could rush on the Raiders. Tight end Tony Gonzalez has now set his own record for most receiving touchdowns by a tight end and looks to keep adding to it. This AFC West is a wide-open race – every team has 3 losses and 2 or 3 wins. Every divisional game is crucial in the AFC West – and the Raiders have lost an NFL-record 16 consecutive divisional matches. That streak extends to 17 this week as the Chiefs win on the road.
New York Jets 1-5 @ Cincinnati Bengals 1-4
Now this could be a high-scoring affair. Both teams want to snap losing skids, neither team’s defense is amazing (though the Jets’ is definitely better than the Bengals’), and each team is capable of putting up points on offense. Carson Palmer has thrown 12 touchdowns on the season but it has proven to matter not because the defense cannot stop opposing offenses. Maybe if they could work out some sort of a halfway house deal with the NFL and the government they could get some of their players back and get some sort of a boost. Chad Pennington has to be wondering where, if anywhere, he will be playing professional football next year, but until then the best thing he can do for himself is to put up the best numbers he can. Against the Bengals defense, he should not have much of a problem with that assignment. I would like to pick the Bengals to win this, but I find it difficult to pick a team with a defense that allowed the Cleveland Browns to score 51 points. I also find it difficult to trust the number of road teams that I am trusting this week – last time I did that I was faced with disastrous results. However, being an eternal optimist, I will take the Jets on the road this week.
St. Louis 0-6 @ Seattle 3-3
Well, Marc Bulger is expected to give it a go this week. It seems to be forcing the issue (rib problems) to come back this fast, but perhaps after watching his backup throw eight interceptions in two starts he realized he ought to come back sooner rather than later. I apologize for mis-informing people earlier in the week – I had thought Gus Frerotte had only thrown six interceptions in two games but my information was incorrect. The Rams’ porous defense may be what the Seahawks need to get back on track after an ugly loss to the Saints last week on Sunday Night Football. Defensively, the Seahawks need to blitz Marc Bulger all day long. The Rams’ offensive line is in an offensive plight with all their injuries. Seeing as how Bulger will be playing on broken ribs, it may not take much for the Seahawks to aggravate that injury. I find it hard to pick a team, on the road, with no victories yet. Seahawks win it.
Chicago 2-4 @ Philadelphia 2-3
I was being facetious last week talking about an “Adrian Peterson Bowl” in the Bears-Vikings contest, but the Vikings rookie running back was incredible with over 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns, including two of 60+ yards. The Bears’ defense allowed over 300 yards rushing in that game. Perhaps not so shockingly, the Bears’ defense is now ranked down at 27th in the league. I am not sure where the Bears’ rushing offense is ranked, but it is also down there – Cedric Benson is averaging 3.1 yards per carry. The Philadelphia offense has also been inconsistent – a strong rushing game and a passing attack that should be pretty good have been failing to produce touchdowns. Since I am not an Eagles fan, this bothers me not. However, I am not a Bears fan either and so I do not know exactly what to do for this game. What the heck – Bears to win it on the road.
Minnesota 2-3 @ Dallas 5-1
Congratulations to Adrian Peterson for providing an amazing highlight reel of plays against the Bears – with a 35 yard touchdown run, 67-yard touchdown run, and a 73-yard touchdown, he was running all over the place. Adrian Peterson now leads the NFL in rushing yards. After that performance, what will he do to top it? Whatever he does, it will be exciting to watch. The way he is playing he is practically a lock for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. This may have been a good upset game choice to go with, but I did not want to put that sort of pressure upon the young rookie – he already has enough pressure being the Vikings’ only consistent weapon. The Cowboys matched up evenly against the Patriots for a while but then the Pats pulled away and ended up winning 48-27. Not to say ‘I told you so’ or anything, but I figured the Cowboys had used up too much luck against the Bills to be able to knock off the Patriots. Dallas has enough luck to defeat the Vikings though, and they will.
Sunday Night Football: Pittsburgh 4-1 @ Denver 2-3
Both teams are coming off their byes. The previous games for both teams were one-sided – the Steelers won 21-0 over Seattle two weeks ago, and the Broncos lost to the Chargers 41-3 two weeks ago. The Steelers have a slight lead over the Ravens in their division, whislt the Broncos are only a game back in the AFC West. The Broncos are 4-0 in games coming off their bye week the past four seasons, and they look to try to improve to 5-0 in the last 5 years. However, the Steelers have found a way to win that works. Willie Parker is 6th in the NFL in rushing with 507 yards rushing in five games – and the Broncos have proven unable to stop the run. With Fast Willie having a week off last week, his wheels should be ready and willing to run. This could have been an upset game selection, but the Steelers are looking good under new head coach Mike Tomlin, and I will keep rolling with them. Steelers win it on the road in what I expect to be a hard-fought contest.
Monday Night Football: Indianapolis 5-0 @ Jacksonville 4-1
Here is a marquee match-up between the two teams vying for the division crown in the AFC South. The Jaguars have been finding a way to win and have now won four games on the season. Just one game behind Indy, the Jags are now in a position where if they win they could not only break Indy’s winning streak and be the first team to knock off the World Champs, they could also be leading the division. I still do not trust the Jaguars – they have time and time again done exactly the opposite of what I expected them to do. However, I do not see how I can pick them to win this week when Peyton Manning has had two weeks of time to review film for this game and figure out how to win it. Manning is also three touchdown passes away from breaking Johnny Unitas’ franchise passing touchdown record. Anyone want to bet he breaks that record in this game? If the Colts win, they will become just the third team in history to start 6-0 for three consecutive seasons. The Jaguars typically give the Colts a good fight – but the Colts are expected to get both Joseph Addai and Marvin Harrison back this week. Colts win it to advance to 6-0 before taking on the Carolina Panthers next week.
Last week I went 9-4 and am now 55-34 on the season.
By Robert “RingLeader” Gilbert
[Comments Will Be Taken In The PantherCoalition Forums]
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