Week 7 NFL Picks: USC Bowl & Superbowl Rematches

The USC BOWL - If newly aquired Raider Carson Palmer starts on Sunday he will be facing his former backup Mat Cassel, who is pictures on the right as the back up of Matt Leinart.  Carson was at one point mentioned as a top 3 QB in the league, has never seem to fully recovered from his season ending injury a few years back.  Leinart has been to the Superbowl but only as a backup, he has failed to establish himself as a starter.  Cassel on the other hand got the opportunity to shine when Tom Brady missed an entire season and was able to lead the Patriots to a 10 win season, I believe that they missed the playoffs that year.  But that year earned him faith from other teams and the Chiefs made the move to make him their starter and paid him a pretty penny. As a starter for the Chiefs Cassel won his division and took the team to the playoffs.

Can the Raiders be a bounce back team for Carson, I believe so.  They are an established running team and they really just need someone to manage plays. Carson can do that and he can get ball down the field to his young and fast WRs.  I'm picking the Carson Palmer Raiders to beat the Matt Cassel Chiefs on Sunday.  But if Carson doesn't start, I'm not as confident in this pick.

Now for the Superbowl Rematches this weekend. We have The Saints vs. The Colts and The Steelers vs. The Cardinals in Superbowl Rematches, the only issue is the teams that lost these particular Superbowls are also losing a lot of games this year and aren't anywhere near a Superbowl or Playoff quality team.

Pittsburgh over Cardinals - Only this time the Steelers defense won't have to contribute as much to win this game.

New Orleans over Indy - No Special Teams trickery needed just an easy stroll in the park should be enough for the Saints to win this one.

Seattle over Cleveland - I really don't want the Seahawks to win, but I think they are a better team than they appear and I really don't think Cleveland has what it takes to win.

Detroit over Atlanta - The Lions are one of the NFL's toughest teams, great defense and dynamic offense, The Falcons have just been OK this year.

Tennessee over Houston - I'm going with the home team in this divisional battle.  The fact that the Texans are missing a few key players makes this decision easier to make.

Miami over Denver - Miami has to get a win at some point, Matt Moore didn't look terrible against a good defense, so I think he will look better against a subpar defense. He was able to get the ball there but the coverage of the Jets was very good against the pass.  Even though its Tebow Day in Miami, I feel that the Dolphins can win this one.

San Diego over NYJ - This was a tough pick but I think a rested Philip Rivers will do better at leading his team to victory than Sanchez. For the Jets to win this game they would need to do it on the ground and on defense, not just one, but both of those and I don't see it happening.

Tampa Bay over Chicago - Eh.... Who knows, I just picked the underdog in this one, if they stick to their formula and run the ball as well as the Lions did against the Bears, the Buccs can control the clock and win this game.

Carolina over Washington - I really want the Skins to win this game, but I'm looking at the close games against tough team that the Panthers have loss.  They have the ability to put up points, I haven't seen that yet from the Skins.  Hopefully they prove me wrong.  The Skins best bet as winning is to just run the damn ball, the Panthers suck against the run. If they get away from that and attempt to make a name for John Beck, then it will be a long ride back to DC.  Skins Please Prove Me Wrong.

Dallas over St. Louis - The Rams are an average team with a lot of injures which makes them a bad team.  They also appear to have the toughest schedule in the west, this game isn't any easier.  The Cowboys can have multiple turnovers and mistakes, but still win this game.

Green Bay over Minnesota - Neither Ponder or McNabb stand a chance against this unreal Packers team. The Packers score at will, the Vikings aren't able to do that.

Baltimore over Jacksonville - The Jaguars are another team that just don't seem to have it together enough to win tough match ups. The Ravens are one of the top 3 or 5 teams in the league this year, wins like this should be easy.

My Week 7 NFL Picks

The Return of the KOLVICK???

Ok ok ok, Kolvick is a bit of a reach, but with Kolb looking good now that he's healthy and Vick possibly being cleared to play this week, we all know Philly has a QB controversy.  Honestly if they go back to that dumb crap of letting they alternate downs or possessions they will lose more than half of the rest of their games.  A QB needs to be in rhythm and keep that rhythm to be a successful leader.  Not to mention the team, they need one leader to rally around.  The 1971 Cowboys tried it and failed horribly until they finally named Staubach as the starter instead of alternating downs between him and Morton each down.  Kolb has promise and whats to lead this team, Vick looks to be in great form, but doesn't care if he leads the Eagles or another team in my opinion, this year is more of an interview process for him so he can get the big check somewhere next year.  Hope its not Oakland, thats where Quarterbacks go to die, plus I think they would persuade him to fight dogs or some other animal again.  Alex Smith is cool, not really a leader, but Michael Vick for the 49ers would be amazing.  I'm done with that here's my picks.

Eagles @ Titans: I'm going with Philly no matter which QB starts.  I think if Desean Jackson doesn't play there will be a slight difference in the game, but not enough for them to lose to Tennessee.  The Eagles only concern should be stopping the run aka Chris Johnson.

Bengals @ Falcons: The Falcons should bounce back this week.  I'm sure the T.Ocho show will party up and let their presence be known in Atlanta, but I don't think their team has it all together to win in Dirt Bird Stadium.  Matt Ryan should have a great game.

Redskins @ Bears: I'm going to put my faith in the Redskins on this game.  The Bears looked good at the beginning of the season, but as of lately they have shown us they aren't really that team that beat the Packers on Monday night.  They will have a decent running game, but nothing through the air will lead to a bunch of field goals.  The Redskins offense lead by McNabb will (hopefully) put up a lot of points early, they will just need to run the ball late to seal the deal.

Jaguars @ Chiefs: Chiefs, the Jags suck. Even if their starting QB is there, they suck.  The Chiefs are looking like the truth this year, and I'm not just saying that so I feel better about them punishing the 49ers in week 3.

Steelers @ Dolphins: I'm picking the Steelers, defense wins games and championships. The Steelers have been stellar this year, and now with Big Ben in full effect its going to take someone more consistent than the Dolphins to take them out.  I think it will be a close game and to the wire but better than the "Ugliest NFL Game Ever Played", but at the end of the day the Steelers have what it takes to finish strong FTW.

Browns @ Saints: No brainer...the Saints, even though I picked against them last week, it was more so a divisional thing. We all know they are better than the Browns.  We might get a glimpse at the Saints from last year for a moment this week.

Rams @ Buccs: I'm taking the Rams just like I did last week, they are this years comeback kids, we all thought it would be the Lions, but they have been played with key injuries. The Rams over the Buccs. I'm seeing a high scoring game but not a blowout.

The No Longer Winless 49ers @ Panthers: Going into the season there were only 4 games I would pick my team to lose (Saints, Falcons, Packers, and Chargers), well we lost the first 5 games which included 2 of those teams I mentioned, and the other two teams are losing games everyone would've picked them to win. I say that to say its no way I'm picking my team to lose to the Panthers. 49ers all day baby.  We need a team slogan....instead of Wale's "No Days Off", ours should be "No Alex Smith Mistakes" if we can do that we can win. Alex isn't the leader for the future but he is 8-0 when he's the reason for 1 or less turnovers.

Bills @ Ravens: The Bills are NOT my pick for any game, and they will get murdered in the Ravens nest and all of the Ravens players will get acquitted of all charges come Monday morning...just kidding. But I think this is gonna be ugly, but it will be a great confidence builder for the Ravens.  They might even get a chance to let some of the backups get in the game. The Ravens by more than 3 scores.

Cardinals @ Seahawks: A divisional battle, but the Seahawks have proven themselves this year, and even more so at home.  The Cardinals are in QB confusion right now, I believe that the Seahawks defense will take full advantage of that.  Not to mention the Seahawks have their home crowd to act as a greater distraction aka the 12th man.

Raiders @ Broncos: I'm going with the Broncos.  I'm hoping (for fantasy reasons) McFadden comes back for the Raiders but even with a great game from him, I don't think they have what it takes to beat these Broncos.  Look for some more TeBow this week, but not too much...Orton owns the starting position.

Patriots @ Chargers: The Chargers proved last week again that they aren't the team they should be and I'm sure LT2 is enjoying it more than the opposing teams.  The Chargers won't have a chance against the Patriots, especially if Antonio Gates doesn't play.  Their Running game isn't all the way there and the passing game is suffering.  I'm still rooting for Rivers (he's my QB in my NFL.com league) and I hope Gates plays (I have him in my CBS aka Money league), but the Patriots are so much better of a team, this should be an easy win after last weeks battle.

Vikings @ Packers: I'm taking the Packers for the revenge.  Last year Favre & the Vikings beat the Packers 2 times and was hoping to beat them again in the playoffs.  The Vikings even with Moss have some defensive issues, but so do the Packers.  I'm calling for a sloppy game with a lot of mistakes but a lot of scoring but the Packers win down the wire by 6-8 points.

Giants @ Cowboys: The Giants should get a divisional win this week.  The Cowboys will make mistakes as always and the Giants have a defense that has become good at capitalizing on mistakes.  I'm gonna give the Cowboy's performance in this game the good ol Wade Phillips *yawn*.  By the way Wade needs this win for his job, and the rest of the NFC East needs the Cowboys to win so that they can move up in the division, especially the Redskins (the only team with divisional wins).  I'm still picking the Giants though, the Cowboys are in disarray.