After a rough weekend of head shots, here's look at some of the big games in Week 7 of the NFL.
OK, so the NFL doesn't want defensive players to decapitate helpless offensive players. That makes sense to me.
The one thing that wasn't discussed was the 250 pound battering ram fullback who lowers his shoulder pads and uses his helmet as a weapon to run over helpless defensive backs. I'm just saying.
Now, it's time to take a look at some of the key games in Week 7.
The Jack Nicholson One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest game
Die hard football fans in Carolina might need a large dose of Randle Patrick McMurphy electro shock therapy after sitting through this game. The 49ers finally won a game last week, thus reducing Mike Singletary's blood pressure by 50 per cent. The Panthers show little signs of winning much of anything this year. Panthers rookie Jimmy Clausen had the distinction of having the lowest quarterback rating of any starter in the NFL at 52.2. So John Fox decided to go back to the more experienced Matt Moore at quarterback for this week's game. Of course Moore was 0-2 and had a quarterback rating of 33.3 when he originally lost his starting job to Clausen.
The Panthers are a mess and poor John Fox has been relegated to being a lame duck coach. Thanks to DeAngelo Williams, the Panthers can run the ball a little bit. But the 49ers will do what any other team would do when facing the Panthers; they will focus on stopping the run and dare Moore to throw the ball down the field. Now that the 49ers have their first win of the year, maybe they can relax a little bit and focus on just playing football. This is how bad the NFC West is right now, if the 49ers beat the Panthers, they are right back in the mix in the division.
The James Harrison is a mean man and he doesn't really care what you think game
Steelers linebacker James Harrison is one mean dude. I interviewed him on media day at Super Bowl 43 and just his mere presence is enough to intimidate anyone. So imagine the pain and suffering Mohamed Massaquoi felt when Harrison lowered the boom on the Browns receiver last week. Harrison's wallet felt some pain and suffering after the NFL fined him $75,000 dollars for his vicious hit on Massaquoi. But understand this about Harrison; the man was cut four times early in his career and refused to give up. Harrison only knows one way to play football, fine or no fine; and he is never going to change. So if Chad Henne accidentally throws a "suicide" pass over the middle to Davone Bess, Harrison will eagerly give him the "Massaquoi" treatment and pay whatever fine the NFL decides to give him. With Ben Roethlisberger back from his suspension, the Steelers offence can continue to evolve. The Dolphins secondary will have to guard against the deep ball to Mike Wallace. Picking up the slack from the departed Santonio Holmes, Wallace is averaging over 25 yards per catch.
As good as Harrison is, you could make a strong case that the best linebacker taking part in this game is the Dolphins Cameron Wake. The former B.C. Lion is coming off a tour de force three sack game against the Packers and you can be sure that the Steelers have spent a lot of time this week trying to devise a blocking scheme to slow Wake down. The other worry for the Steelers is Brandon Marshall. A big strong receiver with outstanding leaping ability, Marshall is on pace to catch 118 passes this year. Shutting down Marshall will prove to be a tough challenge for Steelers cornerbacks Bryant McFadden and Ike Taylor.
The where is Jimbo Covert when you need him game?
For those who don't remember, Jimbo Covert was a badass left tackle for the Chicago Bears during their magical Super Bowl season in 1985. Covert must be disgusted with the sorry state of the current Bears offensive line. The 4-2 Bears are an enigma. With next to no offensive line, Jay Cutler is taking a beating this season. In 2009, the Bears allowed 35 sacks. This season, the Bears have allowed 27 sacks in six games and are on pace to allow a whopping 72 over the entire year. I will take the issues with the Bears offensive line one step further. The Bears have allowed 27 sacks and another 45 quarterback hits. That means through six games, the Bears offensive line have allowed whomever is in at quarterback to be hit a staggering 72 times.
The Redskins come into this game with a 3-3 record. Under Shanahan, the Redskins have proven to be a tough and physical team with an emerging running game thanks to Ryan Torain. If the Redskins walk into Soldier Field Sunday and beat the Bears, then everyone will realize that this team is for real in the wide open NFC. As if Jay Cutler didn't have enough problems in his life, now he will have to deal with Redskins star pass rusher Brian Orakpo. Considering the sorry state of the Bears offensive line, Cutler and Orakpo will surely get to know each other this week. Who knows, maybe they can become Facebook friends? Chicago will not only have to contend with Orakpo, they will have to account for LaRon Landry as well. Now in his fourth year, Landry has evolved into one of the top safeties in the NFL.
The these two teams could be clones games
While the personnel and the offensive philosophy of the respective teams might be different, it is uncanny how much the Eagles and Titans mirror each other. Both teams have identical 4-2 records. Both teams have a perfect 3-0 record on the road and bothhave an identical 1-2 record at home. So by that logic, Kevin Kolb and the Eagles must feel pretty good about their chances this week in Tennessee. With DeSean Jackson out with a concussion, Kolb will be missing a key piece to his offence. The Titans run what can best be described a vanilla, old school offence. They love to run the ball with Chris Johnson and only want Kerry Collins or Vince Young to make safe, high percentage throws. Crazy gunslingers who love to fling the ball all over the field do not apply to Jeff Fisher's offence. The Eagles love to throw the deep ball. Even with Jackson out, Kolb will still take shots down field with Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant. The man they call "Shady" in Philly, running back LeSean McCoy rounds out the Eagles offence. The Eagles will quickly find out what the Jaguars and every team has found out this year, the Titans play a punishing, physical brand of football.
The somebody from Buffalo is going to take an old school ass whooping game
Pity the poor winless Buffalo Bills. Of all the times to see the Ravens, they have to face them when they are in a major league pissed off mood. Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and the rest of the Ravens are still seething over their overtime loss to New England. It just so happens that the Bills are the team they plan to take out their collective frustrations on. I would like to advise Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to use his Harvard education and not get into a shouting match with Suggs or Lewis. This is the kind of bad luck the Bills have been dealing with this year. The odds are the Bills will win at least one game this season, but this just isn't the game where they will do it.
The great NFC North showdown in Green Bay game
I can only imagine the kind of heckling that Brett Favre will have to endure once he steps onto the grass Sunday at Lambeau Field. Unlike the Canucks Rick Rypien, I doubt that Favre will be making a Lambeau leap and going after any offending fan. This game is not about what the fans might be yelling at Favre, it is more about what Favre will be able to do on the piece of Wisconsin real estate that he called his own for so many years. Coming off their win over the Cowboys, the Vikings are facing the Packers at just the right time. The Packers are dealing with a host of serious injuries to key players at key positions. Clay Matthews, bad hamstring and all, will be back for the Packers. That is a good thing because the Packers defence is sure to receive a steady diet of Adrian Peterson. Much like General Patton liked to use his heavy artillery to soften up the enemy before sending in his troops. Brad Childress will attempt to soften up the Packers defence with Peterson before telling Favre to go bombs away with Randy Moss and Percy Harvin.
Ultimately, the Packers fate will be determined by Aaron Rodgers. For Rodgers to be seriously considered an elite quarterback in the NFL, he needs to rise above all the obstacles and win a game like this. For Rodgers to have time to make some plays, it is imperative that Chad Clifton and the Packers offensive line control Jared Allen and the Vikings front four. I will be very interested to see how two all-time greats like Randy Moss and Packers cornerback Charles Woodson match up head-to-head.
The Wade Phillips must be trying to become the least popular man in Texas game
Dallas Cowboys coaching legend Tom Landry once said; "Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve." With all due respect to Wade Phillips, I find it difficult to believe that there's anything that he could do to get his players to achieve anything right about now. Unless your goal is to take as many stupid penalties as possible and give away games with mind numbing mistakes, then listening to Phillips is probably not your best option. Winners of three straight, the Giants come into the game on a serious roll. Osi Umenyiora and the Giants defensive line has been the scourge of the league the last three weeks. Now they face a Cowboys team with an offensive line that leaves much to be desired. The Giants also realize that if they get an early lead, the crowd at Jerry Jones' billion dollar palace will turn on the Cowboys. Eli Manning and Hakeem Nicks are developing nice chemistry with each other. One of the Cowboys biggest concerns has to be Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who leads the NFL with eight runs of 20 yards or more.
My Vegas lock of the week takes place in Kansas City as the Chiefs host the Jaguars. The Jags lost both David Garrard and Trent Edwards to injury in their loss to the Titans. That means Jack Del Rio may have to rely on a quarterback tandem featuring Patrick Ramsey and Todd Bouman. That is not exactly the second coming of Joe Montana and Steve Young.
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