NFL Week 7 Review

Week 7 is done and over with, which means we're almost halfway through the regular season.  Isn't that a depressing thought?   Not for Lions fans - they wish the season ended two weeks ago.  Colts fans wish there were a lockout and Dolphins fans wish Tim Tebow wore a different shade of blue and orange.  Anyways, here are your winners and losers from Week 7.

Winners

1.  New Orleans Saints:  62-7? That looks like a score more appropriate for an LSU game than an NFL game.  Each year the NFL seems to have one of these memorable blowouts that either accentuates how good a team is or how bad a team is.  Last year it was Mike Vick and the Eagles shredding the Redskins, 56-28.  This year, Drew Brees and his near-perfect passer rating (31 of 35 for 325 yards and 5 TDs) led the Saints' air strike on the Manningless Colts.  More good news for New Orleans: next up are the winless Rams.  More records? It's a possibility.

2.  Minnesota Vikings:  Yeah, they lost their game to the Packers, but they were right to start Christian Ponder.  The first-round pick out of Florida State had the Vikings in the game late against the NFL's best team and clearly gave them a better chance to win than Donovan McNabb ever would have.  Minnesota probably reached for him on draft day, but Sunday's performance (22 of 49 for 219 yards and 2 TDs/2 INTs) hinted that Ponder could be the long-term answer at quarterback.

3. Houston Texans: Andre who?  As long as Arian Foster is carrying the ball,  the Texans might not even need a quarterback.  Trying to compensate for the loss of star wideout Andre Johnson, Foster was able to score 3 touchdowns and lead Houston to a 41-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans, with whom they were tied for the division lead before the game.  As far as Andre Johnson goes, he could be back in action as soon as next week, but there's no need to rush - the Texans don't face a team with a winning record until week 10.

Losers

1. Indianapolis Colts:  The last time the Colts and Saints played each other in the regular season, Peyton Manning went into the Superdome and put up 41 points.  By that measure (as simple and inaccurate as it is), Indianapolis would have lost even with their star quarterback playing.  My point is, the Colts have too many problems to blame their winless season on Manning's injury.  The defense is porous, the running game is awful - it's amazing what Peyton was able to cover up when he was on the field.  More bad news for the Colts:  of the winless teams, they have the easiest remaining schedule.  The Suck 4 Luck campaign could be in jeopardy as well.

2. Detroit Lions:  Two weeks ago I was ready to peg the Lions as the second-best team in the league, ahead of the Patriots.  Since then, the defense has stalled, Calvin Johnson has stopped being amazing, and Matthew Stafford has limped off of the field with a knee injury.  And between Jim Schwartz's run-down of Jim Harbaugh last week and Ndamukong Suh's taunting this week, Detroit is earning a reputation as a dirty and disrespectful team.  Next week they face their polar opposite: golden-boy-knight-in-shining-armor-Jesus-of-football Tim Tebow (and the rest of the Denver Broncos...I almost forgot they existed).

3. AFC West Uncertain Futures:  I'll dedicate this last one to two teams who could be headed in a great direction or an awful one, depending on how the next couple weeks play out.  We'll start with the Denver Broncos.  John Fox caved in and started Tim Tebow against the Dolphins on Sunday.  For 57 minutes he looked like he was going to have a career in speech writing or motivational speaking -anything but football.  But then he turned it around and led his team to an overtime victory by scoring twice in the final two minutes. Which Tebow will we see this week? Speech writing Tebow or Two-minute Tebow?   The second team is the Oakland Raiders.  Who knew that between Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer, it wouldn't matter who played?  The six interceptions weren't pretty, but neither was seeing Darren McFadden go down with a bruised ankle.  Good news though - the Raiders have a bye to let McFadden heal and teach Palmer the offense.  We'll see in a couple of weeks whether or not the Palmer trade was worth it.

Top 5

1. Green Bay Packers (7-0):  Aaron Rodgers completed passes to eight different receivers on the Packers' first drive, which resulted in a touchdown.  Best QB in the league? I think so.
2. New England Patriots (5-1): Patriots bye killed and saved a lot of fantasy owners this week.
3. New Orleans Saints (5-2): I bet Reggie Bush would have liked to be a part of Sunday's game.
4. San Francisco 49ers (5-1): 49ers bye had no effect on fantasy owners this week.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2): After a slow start, the Steelers are getting back to winning again.


Playoff Teams

AFC
East: New England Patriots
North: Baltimore Ravens
South: Houston Texans
West: San Diego Chargers
Wild Card: Pittsburgh Steelers
Wild Card: Oakland Raiders

NFC
East: Philadelphia Eagles
North: Green Bay Packers
South: New Orleans Saints
West: San Francisco 49ers
Wild Card: Detroit Lions
Wild Card: Atlanta Falcons

Commentary:  I'll start with the AFC North.  I see both the Ravens and Steelers in the playoffs, and I'm giving the division to Baltimore because they won head-to-head.  The AFC West is tricky.  The Chargers have only beaten bad teams and the Raiders could be really good or really bad.  Also, the Chiefs are back in the race.  I don't see the Jets in the playoffs because they can't go the whole season only winning must-win games.  In the NFC East, the Eagles need to beat the Cowboys this week to prove they belong at the top.  The Giants and Cowboys could secure a wild card spot if Detroit continues this rut they're in.  The Falcons are starting to put it together, and once they do, look out.