Week 7 Picks

Its time to pick it up. The last two weeks were embarrassing. 7-18-3 calls for myself to look in the mirror and start taking this seriously. How can I not? This is for pride and honor.
This week will be different. I will pick correctly. And the Browns will win (or at least cover). I'm still going to pick them. Mike won't. I think only Isaac is with me on that one. And with that, let Week 7 begin.

Pittsburgh (-3) at Miami
Mike: PIT. The Steelers are going to sweep through this regular season but this will be the season that something disastrous destroys them in the playoffs. I'm hoping for Ben to be arrested during the coin toss. Or Hines Ward is sucked into a pit of quicksand.
Joe - MIA. Pittsburgh almost came out of my mouth as my pick but just in time I remembered how much I hate them. Somebody please spear Harrison today. That's all I really want.
FINAL: PIT by 1. (Joe 1, Mike 0). Well that figures. Whenever there's a lucky bounce, a lucky turnover or a lucky bad call, Pittsburgh is the beneficiary.

Cincinnati (+3.5) at Atlanta
Mike: ATL. This is more of a vote against Cincinnati. The Bengals are frauds. I don't know how they won the division last year or how they managed to string together those divisional wins before their loss to Cleveland. If the Cardinals had been playing the Bengals that fateful day in Dennis Green's past, he'd have declared postgame, "They weren't who we thought they were!"
Joe - ATL. To me, Carson Palmer is done. He can't make the throws anymore or Cincy would be undefeated. Atlanta is out to prove its the NFC's best team.
FINAL: ATL by 7. (J2 M1). The Bengals just don't seem like a team that's good enough to win.

Jacksonville (+9) at Kansas City
Mike: KC. Maybe if the Jags brought back Mark Brunell they'd have a chance.
Joe - KC. Todd Bauman is the QB for the Jags this week. Pretty sure he isn't good. At least no Matt Cassell. Its the season of dreams for the Chiefs.
FINAL: KC by 22. (J3 M2) The Jags were demolished, but holding his own was Todd Bauman. Which gives him one thing in common with Brett Favre.)

Philadelphia +3 at Tennessee
Mike: PHI. Andy Reid stumbled into a good problem to have: two quarterbacks better than what he had in Donovan McNabb.
Joe - TEN. I like them at home. I don't really have a reason. DeSean Jackson out is not good for the Eagles. They should start Vick, but they aren't.
FINAL: TEN by 18. (J4 M2). Kenny Britt went nuts with 5000 yards receiving and 72 touchdown, or at least so it seemed to the Average Joes fantasy football team.

Washington +3 at Chicago
Mike: WASH. This could be a really big win for the Redskins. The ship off Lake Michigan is sinking.
Joe - WASH. Not really sure why Chicago would be favored? Aren't they bad but lucky? They lost to Seattle at home last week. This week will be no different.
FINAL: WASH by 3. (J5, M3). This win continues Redskin fans' delusions of playoffs.

Cleveland +13.5 at New Orleans
Mike: NO. If the Browns have their best game and the Saints have their worst game, there's a chance -- a chance! -- that the Browns cover the spread. I have a bad feeling that Eric Wright is going to get picked on.
Joe - CLE. Again Colt McCoy will keep it close. Keep an eye out for Calton Mitchell this week. The Browns 6th round draft pick will break out in the next few weeks. He is their biggest, faster WR, it's just too bad he can't catch.
FINAL: CLE by 13. (J6, M3) What? Really? Amazing! Three of the Browns best plays of the year occured in the first half of this game. The defense played amazing and the successful fake punt from inside their own 30 was completely gutsy. This kind of win gives hope to even a pessimistic fan like me.

Buffalo +13 at Baltimore
Mike: BAL. The Bills are even worse than the Browns. Thank goodness for small favors.
Joe - BAL. I pity Buffalo today. Ray Lewis is going to put on a clinic of hard, legal tackles. Thinking right now, I have no idea who the Bills QB is... hmmmm, nothing. This won't be pretty.
FINAL: BAL by 3. (J6, M3). Ryan Fitzpatrick gave it a go...

San Francisco -3 at Carolina
Mike: SF. Now's the time to buy low on the 49ers. The Panthers are horrible.
Joe - SF. West Coast team going east usually isn't pretty but Carolina is that bad. SF is too talented to lose this game. But again Alex Smith sucks and SF doesn't blow them out.
FINAL: CAR by 3. (J6, M3). That's going to be a long flight back to the west coast.

St Louis +3 at Tampa Bay
Mike: TB. Coupled with KC, these are your surprise overachievers this season. I'll reluctantly go with the home team for this matchup.
Joe - STL. This will be the Rams first road win. TB is still reeling from the beatdown they received from the Saints last week.
FINAL: TB by 1. (J7, M3). How about them Chiefs. I support their run towards respectability.

Arizona +6 at Seattle
Mike: SEA. Oh, you silly Cardinals. You cut Matt Leinart in favor of Derek Anderson, then benched him and started an undrafted rookie Max Hall. And here I thought Pittsburgh churned out smart coaches.
Joe - SEA. Seattle at home is tough. Max Hall will not win on the road. Is Hasselbeck the Comeback Player of the Year? Ok, Vick is but Matt might be 2nd.
FINAL: SEA by 12 (J8, M4)

New England +2.5 at San Diego
Mike: SD. Do the Patriots have the whitest offense in the NFL since the 1970s?
Joe - NE. The Chargers are too banged up and the Pats are pulling it together. Norv Turner and his terrible special teams will fall to 2-5 and nearly out of the playoffs after another bad loss.
FINAL: NE by 3 (J9, M4)

Oakland +8.5 at Denver
Mike: OAK. We haven't seen much of Tebow and even less from Brady Quinn. Does this explain the Broncos success?
Joe - DEN. Still haven't figured out quite why the Broncos are so explosive. Is Orton that good? Would they be even better with an elite QB? Kinda scary. Anyway, the Raiders show who they really are in this one and stay out of the endzone.
FINAL: OAK by 45 (J9, M5)

Minnesota +2.5 at Green Bay
Mike: GB. As much grief as Brett Favre gets, it was the Packers draft choice of a falling Aaron Rodgers that precipitated all that followed. For the record, in that 2005 draft, Alex Smith went #1, the Browns took Braylon Edwards at #3. Imagine if the Browns trade down 10 spots and get Rodgers instead.
Joe - MIN. I'll take the healthier, more talented team in this one. Brett Favre at night is fun to watch [Ed note: hahahahah!] and they also have a good deep threat to challenge the depleted GB defense. And Peterson too, I hear he's good.
FINAL: GB by 4 (J9, M6)

NY Giants +3 at Dallas
Mike: NYG. It was nice knowing you, Wade.
Joe - NYG. I'm going to go ahead and make Dallas' season right here by picking against them. If I were to pick them they would be sure to blow this one but with this pick Jerry Jones will go home happy for once. Or does he live in that stadium? He should. I would. With the cheerleaders.
FINAL: NYG by 6. (J10, M7)

(As we roll into Week 7, our picks are pretty tight. Mike's at 42-44-4 while Joe stands at 41-45-4. The monkey, meanwhile, is one game up.)

Update: Week 7 Finals: Joe 10-4, Mike 7-7

New Standings
Mike 49-51-4
Joe 51-49-4