If you make predictions for the NFL, I feel bad for you. In this season, teams have not been consistent from week to week, making any sort of prognostication moot. Only Tennessee and Detroit have been steady in their ways, each having a zero in one of their columns. For everyone else, it’s a crap-shoot. Now onto week seven in the NFL:
Buffalo Bills 24, San Diego Chargers 14
Okay, now we all should know the Buffalo Bills are as good as advertised. Trent Edwards is the best quarterback in the NFL that no one’s talking about. Edwards completed a Brady-like 25 of his 30 pass attempts, and was protected by an offensive line that allowed no sacks. That same line pushed the Chargers around for running backs Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch who combined for a workmen-like 28 carries for 103 yards. The Bills offense never turned the ball over while the Bills defense took it away three times. As long as Trent is upright and health, the Bills will contend for the division title this season.
The Chargers are a mess. One week they’re the best team in football, scoring in the thirties and punishing the opposing quarterback. The next they’re at the bottom of the barrel, struggling to put drives together while their defense can’t get off the field. I have no idea which team will show up. The one constant used to be LaDainain Tomlinson’s play out of the backfield, but this season he has been severely hampered by a toe injury. The Chargers’ week nine bye can’t come fast enough for L.T., who needs to return to form if the Chargers want to make the playoffs. If his admirable but poor play continues, the Chargers might not get above 8-8.
St. Louis Rams 34, Dallas Cowboys 10
Welcome to Dallas Roy Williams. Hope you enjoy your stay. It was an atrocious day for the Cowboys, who were used as a punching bag by the Rams. Brad Johnson tossed three picks, but was never replaced by Tony Romo as the situation grew worse as initially reported would be the situation for an appearance. Romo apparently came to his teammates before the game and told them he’d be unable to take the field. It proved to be devastating news, as Dallas couldn’t control the tempo in this game. Roy Williams had zero catches in his debut and T.O. only snagged three. Jason Witten caught 6 for 44 yards, but was held in check for most of the afternoon. The only thing Dallas did correct was hand the ball off to Marion Barber 18 times for 100 yards. Turnovers may have killed the Cowboys, but their porous defense buried them. The pass rush was decent, accumulating 5 sacks (3 coming from the freak of nature DeMarcus Ware). It didn’t matter, however. Their rush defense was atrocious, allowing the Rams to dominate them on the ground.
Steven Jackson was the key on Sunday, rushing for 160 yards on only 25 carries. Marc Bulger only needed to heave 19 pass attempts thanks to Jackson’s tremendous day. Safety Oshimogho Atogwe accounted for two of Brad Johnson’s three interceptions, showcasing his big play potential. It was another great game by the Rams, who have won two straight after losing their first four. Interim head Coach Jim Haslett may earn his was into a solid job if he can keep his team focused. It’s a great story for the NFL and for the Rams, who were easily the worst team in football over the first four weeks.
Carolina Panthers 30, New Orleans Saints 7
This was another game that was supposed to be highly competitive between two teams fighting for NFC South supremacy. Instead, we have another blow-out, and New Orleans has another injury to one of its stars. This time it’s the electrifying Reggie Bush, who left with a knee injury in the first half. He had surgery on Monday, and he’s expected to miss around 4 weeks. Tight end Jeremy Shockey may have re-injured his groin after returning to action after having sports hernia surgery about a month ago. Bush is the more serious injury, as he’s not only the Saints’ premiere running back, but he is among the league leaders in receptions, and he is the Saints’ primary kick returner. These facets of Reggie’s game have helped him to lead the league in touchdowns with eight (tied with the Titan’s Lendale White). If he’s out for an extended period of time, the Saints could be in trouble of falling completely out of the NFC South picture. In the stats, this looked like an even game, aside from the Saint’s two turnovers. It was anything but, as the Panthers asserted themselves.
Carolina seemed a tad upset. After their disappointing blow-out loss to the Buccaneers, they returned with a vengeance to smite the Saints. Their defense showed up to play, managing to hold MVP Drew Brees under 300 yards passing for the first time since week two. Jake Delhomme recovered from his interception-laden game a week ago with a two touchdown, zero turnover performance. Steve Smith caught the bulk of Delhomme’s passes, going for 122 yards and a fairly impressive backwards-diving touchdown grab. Running backs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams split the carries evenly with 18 and 17 respectively, going for 134 yards on the ground. If the Panthers can stay on target, they’re one of the best teams in the NFC.
Oakland Raiders 16, New York Jets 13
Brett Favre always looks so depressed after a loss. I know he has the most wins at quarterback in NFL history, but shouldn’t he know how to cope with defeat? In the post-game conference, he talked about how it was one of the worst losses of which he’s ever been a part. He honestly looks like he’s going to cry in his post-loss conferences. Man up Favre. If you can call a former division rival and offer up strategy to help beat the Packers, you can suck it up after a loss, crushing or not. He’s also mostly to blame, as he threw two interceptions to kill Jet drives. Added with a Leon Washington fumble, the Jets turned it over three times, while the Raiders didn’t let it go once. New York dominated in the running game, rushing for 242 yards on a collective 33 carries. When you’re gaining over 7 yards a carry, the only thing that can stop you is turnovers. Nice job Brett. This one’s on you.
Despite their 14 penalties and 4 for 17 third down efficiency, Oakland won their second game of the season as well as the first under interim head coach Tom Cable. Jamarcus Russell is making strides in his first season under center, which is a good sign for a team that looks like it may never climb out of the gutter as long as Al Davis is the owner. Cable utilized the “call timeout right before the field goal kick” at the end of regulation, a tactic oft-employed over the last two seasons. It backfired (as it naturally does), and allowed Jay Feely another chance to hit the 52-yarder to send it into overtime. During the extended frame, both teams were fairly inept and lackluster on offense, much like the previous four quarters. Oakland finally found themselves on the Jets’ side of the fifty, and set up for big-legged Sebastian Janikowski to kick the winner from 57 yards. It was an exciting win for a very boring team. It doesn’t mean they’ll get into the playoffs, but it’s a solid base for the rest of Cable’s tenure.
Green Bay Packers 34, Indianapolis Colts 14
I certainly didn’t see this coming. After the trouncing they laid on the Ravens last week, I was convinced the Colts were back and ready to make a run. That’s why the NFL is so great. Indianapolis ran into the buzz saw that was the Packer defense, who forced Peyton Manning into completing only fifty percent of his passes and two interceptions. Indy also uncharacteristically racked up 12 penalties for 110 yards. For a Tony Dungy coached squad, that’s a surprising lack of discipline. Joseph Addai’s absence also was apparent, as back-up Dominic Rhodes only gained 73 yards on the ground, the entirety of Indy’s rushing attack. Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison only had four catches between them, which will almost always end in a Colts loss. At 3-3, the stumbling Colts have Tennessee next week, and their AFC South crown will be on the line.
Aaron Rodgers had another solid game for the Packers, completing 21 of 28 for 186 yards and a touchdown. Tailback Ryan Grant finally broke the 100 yard barrier, needing 31 carries to do it. The real surprise was the Packer defense. Dealing with injuries in the secondary, they played man-to-man coverage on the Colt wide receivers and won the battle more often than not. It was a gutsy showing from a much-maligned unit, who was rightly carrying the blame for the Packers’ three losses. Staying healthy will be a concern, but if the defense can bring themselves up to the offense’s level of production, the Packers will be in contention for the NFC North all season long.
New England Patriots 41, Denver Broncos 7
This game featured another pair of teams that can’t show any consistency whatsoever. The first few weeks of the season Denver appeared to be a great offense that rarely turned the ball over matched with a defense that couldn’t stop anyone. With 13 turnovers in their last four games, their offense has regressed tremendously, along with quarterback Jay Cutler. They handed possession to the Patriots five times, and never took it away. No team in the NFL can overcome a minus five turnover differential. The real problem for Denver has been holding onto the ball, as they fumbled three times in this one. Your young gunslinger quarterback is going to throw interceptions every now and again, but fumbling this consistently is just a joke. It got worse for Denver with the loss of the Bailey brothers on defense, as corner Champ injured his groin and linebacker Boss hurt his knee. That means an already suspect defensive unit is without two of its best players. If Denver can’t curb their turnover problems, they might not even be able to maintain first place in a disappointing AFC West.
I guess all New England needed was to move from Sunday night to Monday night. After being hammered by the Chargers last Sunday, the Patriots welcomed the Broncos to Gillette Stadium with open arms. Instead of hugs, the Patriots received turnovers (a much better gift in my opinion). This is the Patriot team fans hoped to see after losing Tom Brady for the season. Matt Cassel had his troubles, getting sacked six times thanks to an unsteady offensive line. However, unlike most of his outings, Cassel made up for it. He completed a solid 18 of 24 pass attempts for 185 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s exactly what Bill Belichick and the coaching staff are looking for when Cassel is under center. Make no mistakes and trust your receivers and tight ends to make plays. Cassel’s real help came from the backfield, where fill-in Sammy Morris racked up 138 yards, fresh from the practice squad BenJarvus Green-Ellis added 65 yards, and mainstay Kevin Faulk put in 50 yards of his own on their way to a 257 yard day for the Patriots. The defense was great against the pass, holding Cutler and company under 200 yards through the air. It was an all-around performance for the highly criticized Patriots. Injuries did pile up after Monday, as Laurence Maroney and Rodney Harrison were placed on injured reserve and Morris left the game in the first half with a knee injury. I guess that means next week they’ll get blown out by St. Louis. Stranger things have happened this season.
