NFL Week 7 Predictions

by JASmius



LAST WEEK STRAIGHT UP: 9-5
LAST WEEK vs. SPREAD: 6-8

SEASON STRAIGHT UP: 59-32
SEASON vs. SPREAD: 45-46


In lieu of Seahawks analysis, since we unexpectedly held a lead for a change at the Big Bell Bottom this past Thursday, I give you my up-to-date power rankings:


  1) New England
  2) Green Bay
  3) Arizona
  4) Cincinnati
  5) Pittsburgh
  6) Denver
  7) Seattle
  8) Philadelphia
  9) Minnesota
10) Carolina
11) N.Y. Jets
12) Buffalo
13) Atlanta
14) Indianapolis
15) Miami
16) St. Louis
17) Baltimore
18) N.Y. Giants
19) Dallas
20) San Diego
21) Kansas City
22) New Orleans
23) Houston
24) Detroit
25) Washington
26) Cleveland
27) Oakland
28) San Francisco
29) Chicago
30) Tampa
31) Jacksonville
32) Tennessee

How, you may be asking, could the 3-4 Seahawks still sit in the top quartile of the league?  Rank #8 even at 2-4?  Simple: Competitiveness.  Seattle can be beaten, but they never get blown out.  The ex-Champs haven't lost a game by more than ten points since 2011, and that ten point defeat - to the Packers earlier this season - was the first time since the 2011 season that they've lost a game by a double-digit margin.  And that, in turn, is a function of having the best defense in football, because if you have a great defense, you'll never be out of any game.

Even with all their fourth-quarter travails this season, the Seahawks are still the third-ranked defense in the NFL.  Just imagine if their offense was ranked higher than #13 (which is to say, imagine if they had an offensive line to protect Russell Wilson so that their passing game ranked higher than #27).

On the CBS/NFL Network pregame show, color analyst and former Giants quarterback Phil Simms opined that Seattle would remain a Super Bowl threat even if they had lost to the 49ers and fallen to 2-5 because they're capable of going on a huge winning blitzkrieg at any time.  Even I coughed and gagged at his words - hey, I'm a realist, not a "homer" - but when he uttered them, the above was what he was talking about.

Which is to say, if the ship has been righted - and that's a big if - home field advantage isn't always necessary to reach - or, in our case, get back to for the third consecutive year - The Big Game.


Straight up picks indicated by asterisk (*); picks against the spread in parentheses (x).  And no, don't bet the farm on these picks; they're just for my amusement and your aggravation.  Or vice versa.  We'll see how it turns out, now, won't we?



Atlanta* (-4)
Tennessee

Buffalo* (-4)
Jacksonville

Cleveland
St. Louis* (-4.5)

Dallas (+5)
N.Y. Giants*

Houston
Miami* (-4.5)

Minnesota* (-3)
Detroit

New Orleans
Indianapolis* (-5)

N.Y. Jets
New England* (-9)

Oakland
San Diego* (-4 - Sorry, Doug)

Philadelphia* (+3)
Carolina

Pittsburgh* (-2)
Kansas City

Tampa
Washington* (-3.5)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baltimore
Arizona* (-7.5)