NFL Week 7 Picks

Loren and I battle to a tie last week. Loren loving the Denver comeback on Monday night two fold, one because he's a Broncos fan and two he picked the game correctly. Having said that we both sucked last week with 2-4 records. For the season I have a record of 22-14 and Loren has a 16-20 record.

Washington at New York Giants
Loren – New York Giants. After they stomped the 49ers on the road, I can’t fathom picking against them at home. Washington ranks dead last in pass defense, so look to Eli to have plenty of opportunities all game long.
Derek – New York Giants.  Two streaky teams here. The Redskins have been an offensive juggernaut this year with RGIII, but I think the front line of the G-Men can contain him enough to give Eli the ball for some 4th quarter magic.

New Orleans at Tampa Bay
Loren – New Orleans. Following a theme from the Giants/Redskins game, Tampa Bay is second to last in pass defense. They just happen to be playing the team that ranks first in pass offense. If the Saints can rally even a mediocre defense, they should win handily.
Derek – New Orleans. I’m sure the Saints will score in this game, so you have to look at the D. I think they’ll be able to play well enough to make it tough for Freeman to have a good passing game. He’ll need to pass well in order to keep up with Brees.

Dallas at Carolina
Loren – Dallas. The Panthers have won a single game this year, and they were lucky to hold on to that one. In three of their five games, they’ve been held under 14 points. Yeah, the bye week will help them regroup, but it doesn’t fix a broken defense or get Newton more receivers to throw to.
Derek – Dallas. The more I watch Cam Newton the more I don’t like him. He can put up good stats but the winner label is peeling off. Now we could argue if Romo has a winner label too, but I’ll take the team with more talent. Romo and Witten seem to be on the same page and Bryant despite the drops is having a heck of a year stat wise.

Baltimore at Houston
Loren – Houston. This is the toughest call of the week. Baltimore lost the heart (and the crazy) of their defense. The Texans lost their perfect record and were obliterated by Green Bay. Questions all around. The biggest factor, though, is that the Ravens just don’t win that often on the road.
Derek – Houston. This game had all the makings of a knockdown drag out affair. Too bad for the Ravens Lewis and Webster are now out for the season. That should be just enough for the Texans to overtake Baltimore on the score board. They’ll be able to pass to set up the run in this game and control the clock.

Arizona at Minnesota
Loren – Minnesota. The luster has worn off the Cardinals, just in time for our discussion on Portland Men on Sports to look ridiculous. What else is new? I don’t trust Minnesota, but I trust the Cards even less on the road against a balanced offense.
Derek – Minnesota. The Vikings are showing us something this year. Ponder is playing well and using Peterson to the fullest extent possible. Arizona has lost two in a row and seem to be running out of luck. See Seattle and Miami games. Don’t forget this is a road game but both are dome teams.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Loren – Pittsburgh. Finally, we differ on a pick. The Steelers don’t have the record to show for it, but they are playing great defense yet again. The difference has been holding steady in the red zone where they’ve given up more TDs than we expect. They played better against Philly and had some mental errors that cost them against Tennessee. Meanwhile, Cincy lost their last two games to Miami and Cleveland. Barf. I get the sense the Bengals are looking to the bye week after their game with the Steelers and won’t play with the intensity they need to win.
Derek – Cincinnati. The Steelers have a lot of questions right now. So I’m not sure what to make of them. I do know that the Cincinnati has only been held under 24 points twice this season and that was against Baltimore and Miami. I think the Bengals will get to 20+ and I think that’s good enough to win.