NFL Picks Week 7: The .500 Separator

Thanks for a great week on Sports News on Tap. We are over 2,000 pageviews for the third straight day. I appreciate everyone checking it out. I wish I had more to put here, but it has been a long day for me already at 3:55 pm.  Enjoy the football this weekend.

Tampa Bay (0-5) at Atlanta (1-4) (-7) 12:00 pm FOX - I have no idea why Atlanta is favored by seven points here. I understand Tampa Bay is bad, but Harry Douglas is their number one wide receiver.  Harry Douglas!  To make matters worse, Steven Jackson's injury is looking like a longer injury  I do not think Tampa will win this game, but they will certainly cover the spread in an ugly game. ATL 20-16

Cincinnati (4-2) at Detroit (4-2) (-3) 12:00 pm CBS -The Big Cats Bowl!  Game featuring two teams with above .500 records, but it does not really appease the viewer. Andy Dalton has been mediocre at best all season. Detroit is beating the teams they are supposed to and a not 100 percent Calvin Johnson. I wavered on both teams and at the end, I went with the better quarterback, Matthew Stafford. I think this will not be a pretty one either. DET 21-14

Buffalo (2-4) at Miami (3-2) (-8) 12:00 pm CBS - Once upon a time children, this used to be a great rivalry with the likes of Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. Thad Lewis and Ryan Tannehill definitely are not the same thing. I believe Buffalo is a team who will always put a fight. They do not seem like ones who get blown out of games no matter whose at quarterback. Dolphins are looking to regain their winning ways after back-to-back losses against New Orleans and Baltimore. I think they get it done in a tightly contested game. MIA 28-24

New England (5-1) (-4) at New York Jets (3-3) 12:00 pm CBS - Much was made about Rex Ryan telling his players to take it easy throughout the week when they were not at practice. From Ryan's quotes, people implied Rex meant for the players not to have sex either. Ryan said he just did not want them doing chores around the house, that's all so get your mind out of the gutter.  Feel like we will get another Tom Brady comeback in this one.  I could see the Jets hanging with New England all game, leading most of it and the last second, Brady comes in hot again. Related: GRONK BACK!!! NE 23-21

The last time these two teams played at noon,
VINNY TESTAVERDE WAS DALLAS' QB!!! 

Dallas (3-3) at Philadelphia (3-3) (-3) 12:00 pm FOX - Because I am a weirdo, I cannot remember these two teams played a noon game against each other. It seems like it's been forever as they always get the late afternoon game or a primetime game and it is December 2004... Unbelievable. Nick Foles looked great in Chip Kelly's system last week against Tampa Bay, but I would trend lightly given the opponent. Dallas should be licking their chops when facing a weak Philadelphia defense. This will be a fun, high-scoring game, but Tony Romo will finally figure out Philadelphia on the road in a close victory. DAL 38-30

Chicago (4-2) (-1) at Washington (1-4) 12:00 pm FOX - Robert Griffin III looked much better on Sunday against Dallas. He ran a bit more, and his passes seemed crisper. The Bears are hoping this is not RGIII's coming out party.  Chicago's defense is about as shaky as its been in the past twenty years. Washington's defense did not get better over the bye week. This should be a shootout with Culter and Griffin III leading the charge. I will take Cutty. CHI 34-30

St. Louis (3-3) at Carolina (2-3) (-6) 12:00 pm FOX - Pretty much says it all about your three wins when you are a six-point underdog against a team with only two wins. I do not know what to think about Carolina. Some days they look awesome and other days, Ron Rivera should just wear a clown suit with a red nose instead of his coach's outfit. I am hoping for the first one against the Rams. I think their defense is the real deal and with the Rams barely having a running game, I feel like they can cause some problems. Cam Newton will take care of  a 'If not for Janoris Jenkins, we would need our AARP cards' secondary. CAR 31-17

San Diego (3-3) (-9) at Jacksonville (0-6) 12:00 pm CBS - You know what I do not think this is the worst game on the slate. San Diego is a decent team and Jacksonville showed some good fight in Denver last week. Do I think this could be a game? Probably not, but I still think it could be a game for awhile. San Diego's defense is not as good as it was against Indianapolis so Jacksonville may be able to get some points. Keenan Allen is the player to watch to see if he really is Philip Rivers number one option. It looks that way and feel like we will see it more on Sunday.  SD 35-23

San Francisco (4-2) (-4) at Tennessee (3-3) 3:05 pm FOX - This is your 'Easy E Lock It Up' of the week. Tennessee played Seattle last week and every team who has faced the Seahawks loses by more than 10 points the next week. Seeing as this team is San Francisco, I think that's a guarantee. Colin Kaepernick might have some difficulty with Tennessee's defense, but Ryan Fitzpatrick will make his life easier with turnovers. SF 23-13

Cleveland (3-3) at Green Bay (4-2) (-10) 3:25 pm CBS - Check out our Packer preview and playlist for this game posted earlier today.

Houston (2-4) at Kansas City (6-0) (-7) 3:25 pm CBS - Case Keenum will be starting a game in the National Football League. He is going up against the best defense in the league. This will be a bloodbath. KC 42-10

Baltimore (3-3) at Pittsburgh (1-4) (-1) 3:25 pm CBS - Even though Pittsburgh is favored, would it be an upset if they won? I am going to say yes. The reason is Pittsburgh had one good game against an unknown Jets team on the road. Baltimore did not impress me at all. They need to be better at running the football if they want to be a playoff team. Pittsburgh offensive line still scares me enough to take Baltimore in a brutal game viewing wise. BALT 16-14

Denver (6-0) (-7) at Indianapolis (4-2) 7:30 pm NBC - The game of the day. Everyone is waiting to watch this one. Peyton Manning, Jim Irsay and John Fox threw a couple barbs this week adding some fuel to the fire. Indianapolis looked like a team not ready for the bright lights last week, but they get Denver at home at the Oil Drum. Von Miller is back from suspension which could improve a struggling Denver defense.  People are forgetting the Broncos D does not match their offense right now. If Andrew Luck wants to come out victorious, he needs to get to scoring early and often. This Denver team starts slow and finishes strong. I like Denver to win this one, but in much closer fashion than what Vegas says. DEN 42-37

Monday
Minnesota (1-5) at New York Giants (0-6) (-3.5) 7:30 pm ESPN - Instead of talking about this brutal game, let's highlight what Pioneer Press writer Tom Powers said about Adrian Peterson. He believes the team should trade Peterson and used Herschel Walker as the example. I expected this to be a #HOTSPORTSTAKE but it was not. Actually, Powers made some solid points. I do not think the Vikings would do it because they would alienate a fanbase they need to open up a new stadium in 2015 but nonetheless an interesting thought. As for the game, this is yet another high-scoring affair. Both teams cannot play defense if their lives depended on it. I will take the home G-Men. NYG 33-27

Bye Weeks: Oakland and New Orleans

Straight Up - 59-36

ATS - 38-52-1

Charlie.