The NFL Roundup - Week 7

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The midseason is nearly upon us in the NFL and that means that sadly, losing teams will continue to lose, winning teams will continue to win and the playoff picture will begin to take shape. But that doesn't mean the games won't be exciting. The losing teams that still have a little pride still have something to prove and will no doubt put up a fight and the winning teams...well they just want to be ready and tuned up for the playoffs. The desire to be better and the desire to be perfect always makes for a wonderful story and here are the ones to keep an eye on this week in the NFL. 

Will the Atlanta Falcons recover from their first loss of the season?
This is an important question to ask, simply because no one likes losing and Atlanta has been showing cracks in their armor for two weeks now. First Washington gave them a run for their money, and then New Orleans worked them like a second job on national television. Some teams know that a loss is a good reminder to not take their winning ways for granted and always be ready for their next opponent and other teams simply fall into a losing streak, unable to handle a loss. Which category Atlanta falls into will be revealed this week. If they trounce Tennessee then we know they got the message, but if they lose then we know this is the kind of team that lets things get under their skin, and that's never good. Should be interesting to see what they do on the field come Sunday.

Is this the week the Buffallo Bills finally figure out who they are?
I mean seriously, this team is so back and forth its outrageous. One week they're a phenomenal football team, dominating on offense and defense and winning decisively. The next minute they look like a Pop Warner squad, making mistakes left and right and handing the game to their opponent. This is why they are 3-3 and it really seems like they have no clue who they are or who they want to be and I'm hoping this is the week they finally put it together and stick with that for the rest of the season. After all, they're playing a lame duck team in Jacksonville so this should be a slam dunk victory for the Bills...then again it might not be. I guess it all depends on what Rex Ryan has for breakfast, so let's hope it's Wheaties on Sunday and this back and forth madness finally comes to an end.

Will the Jets be the first team to beat the Patriots this season?
Look, New England is playing lights out football. They're mad, they're mean and on the field they're a wrecking machine. But the Jets have been a pleasant surprise this season, playing relatively mistake free football on offense, putting up points and rarely turning over the ball and the defense has been stout through and through. Not to mention, their star cornerback, Darrelle Revis, spent a year in Foxboro, which means he has some pretty solid knowledge of the team and their weaknesses. It's a fact Tom Brady made mention of this week in his weekly press conference, and it makes you wonder...with the Jets playing solid football and having that intimate knowledge of Brady's play and tendencies, will they be the squad to bring down the Patriots at last? It's hard to say, I think it will be a closer game then we are already thinking, but the Jets have a great chance of pulling off a big upset here.

Can the Detroit Lions pull it together and snag another victory?
The Lions are a bad, bad football team. Scary bad in fact so it goes without saying that last week's win against Chicago was nothing more than a football miracle and I think we are all wondering if this is something they can achieve again this season, especially with the Vikings coming to town. Minnesota isn't doing too shabby this season and they have shown that they can play some solid defense and score plenty of points on offense. That will put the Lions in a tough place, since they are totally the opposite with a porous defense and sometimes they score points on offense. If they can shut down Bridgewater and A.P. they have a fighting chance, provided that Stafford can figure out how to get the ball to someone else other than Megatron. This will be a game worth watching to see how Detroit handles the momentum from their first win of the season.

Will Washington be making a change at Quarterback?
You have to feel a little sorry for Kirk Cousins. At times he really looks like a solid quarterback, making some impressive throws and igniting a passion in his team to win. Then he does something stupid and throws a terrible pass that ends up being returned for a touchdown and those bad throws have cost the team the game from time to time. Yet to make matters worse, his coach is now making excuses for him, and you know the fans and people on the team are wondering if it is time to make a switch at the position. Not to RG3 because that nightmare is over thankfully...but to Colt McCoy instead. Everyone in that franchise is desperate to see some wins and sadly no one is safe at QB, but one has to wonder how long before Cousins gets the hook and I don't think he has much time left, so don't be shocked if it happens at halftime this week or shortly after the game if Cousins costs the team another win.

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OUR PICKS OF THE WEEK

John's Picks
New York Jets at New England Patriots - New York
Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins - Houston
Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants - New  York
New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts - New Orleans
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions - Minnesota

Scotty's Picks
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars - Buffalo
Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs - Kansas City
Cleveland Browns at St. Louis Rams - Cleveland
Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers - Oakland
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Redskins - Washington

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