12:30 UPDATE!
CHIEFS 7, CHARGERS 0 6:21 Q1
A Philip Rivers interception sets KC up at the Chargers 11 yard line. Damon Huard then turns that into a Chiefs TD pass to TE Kris Wilson (if Tony Gonzalez or LJ is on your fantasy team, this is where you begin swearing), to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead.
PANTHERS 7, BENGALS 0 2:09 Q1
It’s a great day to be a backup tight end, especially one named Kris with a K! TD for Kris Mangum, a 7 yard pass from Delhomme, and the Panthers lead in Cincinnati 7-0. The Bengals have 10 yards of total offense with the first quarter almost gone.
PATRIOTS 14, BILLS 3 1:33 Q1
New England gets on the board right away with a Corey Dillon TD run, but the Bills answer with a 56 yard shovel pass reception by Willis McGahee to set up a field goal. A 74 yard kickoff return by Laurence Maroney sets up another Dillon TD run to make it 14-3 Pats.
STEELERS 10, FALCONS 7 2:22 Q1
An exciting game in the Georgia Dome. The Falcons opened the scoring on a 22 yard pass from Michael Vick to Alge Crumpler. Since then it’s been all Steelers, and they have just taken the lead on a pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Hines Ward. Vick is 1 of 5 for 22 yards, a TD, and an INT. The Falcons have rushed for only 5 yards so far.
JETS 14, LIONS 0 2:31 Q1
This will teach me to write things like “The Lions are playing better of late, and I think they get an upset win in NJ today”. Leon Washington and Justin McCareins have scores for the Jets.
DOLPHINS 7, PACKERS 0 1:22 Q1
Jason Taylor has a pair of sacks and 2 forced fumbles for the Dolphins, one of which set up an 8 yard TD pass from Joey Harrington to Marty Booker.
Two games are scoreless after one quarter, Jacksonville at Houston, and Philly at Tampa Bay.
PREGAME SHOW
– I’m getting a late start today! Last night was spent drinking Long Island Iced Teas and carving pumpkins, a winning combination. So today, we’ll have to have a very brief pregame show. But, I assure you, it will be brief and to the point, and give you all the info you need to enjoy Week 7.
CHIEFS IN DO OR DIE VS. BOLTS
Herm Edwards’ Chiefs have persevered pretty well in the absence of their QB, Trent Green. But last week they were throttled on the road in a big game against the Steelers. This week, they return home to face a Chargers team that doesn’t have any discernible weaknesses. The Chiefs are a much better team at home than they are on the road, and they’ll need all the Arrowhead mojo they can get to avoid falling to 2-4, and having an unclimbable mountain to scale to get to the playoffs.
BANGED UP JAGS FACE TEXANS
WR Matt Jones is out, and Byron Leftwich is a gametime decision as the 3-2 Jags attempt to get to 4-2 in a roadie at Houston. The Texans have been dreadful in every possible area this year. They rank 20th or worse in total, rushing, and passing offense AND defense. Not even the Raiders suck that bad.
PATS TRY TO EXTEND AFC EAST LEAD
The AFC East is awful, and the Pats will win in a walk. The only question is how soon will they have things sewn up. Their weak pass defense won’t be tested by the Bills 29th ranked passing game today.
STEELERS/FALCONS TRY TO BUILD MOMENTUM
The defending champs had a must win game at home against KC last week, and they won, big time. At 2-3 though, they still have no room for error. This week’s assignment is tougher. They go to the Georgia Dome to face the NFL’s #1 ranked rushing attack, (and #32 ranked passing attack). Running on the Steelers is usually a futile excercise though, and unless the 3-2 Falcons can come up with some sort of passing game today, they will fall to 3-3.
PACK AND DOLPHINS SOUTH BEACH SUCKFEST
Miami’s defense has been good, even if the offense has been intolerably awful. Green Bay relies on it’s still very effective passing game to be competitive. It will be difficult for them to do that against Miami’s D today.
TRAP GAME FOR EAGLES
The Bucs may be 1-4, but I don’t think teams are lining up to go to Tampa and play them right now. Especially not the Eagles. Philly is heavily reliant on Donovan McNabb and the passing game. The Bucs pass defense ranks 8th in the league. Brian Westbrook will need to step up and give the Eagles a 100 yard game, or the Eagles are going to get upset and fall to 4-3.
JETS TRY TO GET TO 4-3??
Somehow, the Jets are 3-3. This is despite being the only other team in the league besides Houston to rank 20th or worse in each of the Big 6 offensive and defensive categories. The Lions are playing better of late, and I think they get an upset win in NJ today.
PANTHERS AND BENGALS IN GAME OF THE DAY
Cincinnati hasn’t come close to meeting expectations this year. They haven’t been the unstoppable passing machine they were last year, and the defense has been easy to run on, and not perceivably better than it was in 05 (when they were bad). Carolina’s won 4 in a row after an 0-2 start, and they showed last week they can win against a tough team on the road when they beat the Ravens in Baltimore. I like Carolina in this one.
So that’s the early games. I’ll preview the late games a little later. For now, stay tuned I’ll be here every half hour with updates!
