Week 7- The Huddle @ gregorydowell.com


Hail Mary: Week 7 10.21.2007 Well what a day of football it was. As I said in "Inside Out", one marquee game with a lot of games with potential Well the potential turned into many exciting finishes. So lets check out all the action. Crazy Eight The Titans entered the fourth quarter against the Texans holding a 32-7 lead, mainly on the leg of Rod Bironas. Bironas had already connected on 6 field goals and the Titans looked on their way to victory. But Sage Rosenfels replacing an injured Matt Schaub led the Texans to 29 fourth quarter points, including the go ahead touchdown, following a successful onside kick, with only 57 seconds to go. But the Titans own backup quarterback, Kerry Collins, led the Titans into field goal range and a chance for Bironas to knock through a NFL record 8 field goal, and an amazing victory. The 29 yard chip shot sailed through and the Titans held off what would have been the 3rd biggest comeback in NFL history. Perfect Timing The Bears only touchdown against the Eagles, came during the most unlikely of circumstances. Down 16-12, having only scored on four Robbie Gould field goals, Brian Griese marched the Bears down the field 97 yards in 1:53 with no timeouts, to shock the Philadelphia Eagles 19-16. The Eagles did everything necessary to win the game, including not letting Hester touch the ball on special teams, but their prevent defense gave Griese enough time to connect on big gains to Hester and Muhammad on the games final drive. Considering everything, the Bears are looking pretty good in the NFC North, with next weeks game against the second place Lions. Without Elam, They're 0-6 Okay, so I was wrong about the Sunday Night Football game. It was a very exciting game that also came down to the last play. Taking advantage of some costly Big Ben turnovers, the Broncos jumped out to a two touchdown lead over the Steelers. But the Steelers battled back and tied the game at 28 with 1:10 to go. Jay Cutler moved the Broncos 49 yards down the field, to set up a 49 yard field goal for the Broncos win. As he'd done two times previously this season, Elam connected on the field goal and the Broncos moved to 3-3 and are right in the thick of things in the AFC West. The much maligned Broncos defense excelled in all parts, grabbing two interceptions, returning a fumble for a touchdown, and holding Willie Park to 93 yards and no scores. Quick Hits On the day 9 games were decided by 7 points of less. Now thats some exciting football. A blocked Neil Rackers' point after touchdown, forced the Cardinals to go for a two point conversion later in the game that ultimately failed. So down 2 with only seconds to go, Neil Rackers missed a 55 yard field goal that would've won the game. The Giants are looking like the best team in the NFC reeling off five consecutive victories. Next up is the dismal Dolphins in London, and then the bye week. The NFC East battle between the Giants and Cowboys is going to be good. Tom Brady and the Patriots did their thing again. However the second half wasn't that great defensively for the team. Check back tomorrow for the new rankings and Gridiron Challenge standings. The Picks: Week 7 10.19.2007 Saints over Falcons (10) Buccaneers over Lions (8) Cowboys over Vikings (11) Texans over Titans (1) Redskins over Cardinals (7) Patriots over Dolphins (14) Giants over 49ers (13) Ravens over Bills (6) Bengals over Jets (2) Raiders over Chiefs (4) Eagles over Bears (3) Seahawks over Rams (3) Steelers over Broncos (12) Colts over Jaguars (9) Hail Mary: Week 7 10.18.2007 Well here it is another week in the NFL with one marquee game and a bunch of other match ups with potential but little else. But thats doesn't mean it won't be exciting. So lets check out Week 7. More of the Same The Patriots sit at 6-0 after last week's pounding of the Dallas Cowboys. And this week's game will be little more than a clinic. They head to Miami to take on the Dolphins who are winless and look very far away from getting that first win. The Patriots are the best team in the league, but I won't listen to the undefeated season chatter until at least after their game at the RCA Dome against Peyton Manning and company. They've scored 34 or more points in each game this season and there is no reason for that to end this week. Tom Brady will most definitely pad his already ridiculous stats, and take stranglehold over the race for league MVP. Back in Texas At this time its still unknown to the general public if Vince Young will be playing this weekend, but if he's even close to 100% expect him on the field. He'll be back in Texas to face the Texans, a team that passed on him 2 years ago in the draft. If you forgot what happened last time Young was in Houston, he ran for the game winning score. The Titans are the better team unless Kerry Collins plays a majority of the game. The Texans are heading in the right direction with improvement at offensive line and quarterback, but they still seem to be a little behind the rest of the AFC South. Prime Time Immaterial Over six months ago when the NFL schedule came out, I think we'll all agree a Steelers/Broncos match up on Sunday Night Football looked like a good idea. Not so much anymore. Expect a lot of talking points not football related from Al and John. The Broncos come into this weekend with the worst ranked rush defense in the league, and Willie Parker is coming to town. Parker averages over 100 yards a game and will look to exploit the Broncos poor defense. The Steelers are 4-1 and one of the top teams in the AFC while the Broncos are heading in the wrong direction with second year quarterback Jay Cutler, and the legal problems of Travis Henry. And with the Rockies in the World Series, the people of Denver have better things to do. Quick Hits We'll see if the Saints have turned things around as the Falcons with newly inserted Byron Leftwich at quarterback head to the Super Dome. The Redskins missed a gold opportunity to grab a road game against a top tier team at Lambeau Field last week, so they'll need to beat a Cardinals team that will have Tim Rattay at quarterback. Games I won't be watching if I have a choice: Ravens @ Bills, Jets @ Bengals, Bears @ Eagles, Rams @ Seahawks. Game of the Week Its the AFC South matchup between the 5-0 Indianapolis Colts and 4-1 Jacksonville Jaguars. And hey its on Monday Night Football, finally a deserving game. Check out the Game of the Week podcast at the top of the right column. Week 7 Schedule Sunday October 21st Cardinals @ Redskins Falcons @ Saints Ravens @ Bills Vikings @ Cowboys Patriots @ Dolphins 49ers @ Giants Buccaneers @ Lions Titans @ Texans Chiefs @ Raiders Jets @ Bengals Bears @ Eagles Rams @ Seahawks Steelers @ Broncos Monday October 22nd Colts @ Jaguars Byes: Panthers, Browns, Packers, Chargers	Week 7 Rankings 1.Patriots (7-0) 1. Colts (6-0) 3. Cowboys (6-1) 4. Giants (5-2) 5. Packers (5-1) 6. Jaguars (4-2) 7. Steelers (4-2) 8. Titans (4-2) 9. Redskins (4-2) 10. Chargers (3-3) 11. Buccaneers (4-3) 12. Panthers (4-2) 13. Lions (4-2) 14. Chiefs (4-3) 15. Browns (3-3) 16. Ravens (4-3) 17. Seahawks (4-3) 18. Broncos (3-3) 19. Bears (3-4) 20. Texans (3-4) 21. Saints (2-4) 22. Cardinals (3-4) 23. Bills (2-4) 24. Vikings (2-4) 25. Eagles (2-4) 26. Bengals (2-4) 27. Raiders (2-4) 28. 49ers (2-4) 29. Falcons (1-6) 30. Jets (1-6) 31. Dolphins (0-7) 32. Rams (0-7) Gridiron Challenge The Picks 1. Gregory Dowell 66-37 (571) 2. Eric Mittermann 65-38 (550 +0) 3. Rick Barritt 65-38 (539 +13) 4. Matt Dowell 64-39 (561 -1) 5. Jeff Blackinton 62-41 (552 +3) 6. Gabe Dadi 60-43 (540 +4) 7. Dan Audette 56-47 (466 -69) Links NFL.com Features The 14 Days of Super Bowl