Week 7 NFL Picks

KNOCKOUT POOL/ESPN.com ELIMINATOR CHALLENGE

We are still alive in the Knockout Pool through six weeks.  According to ESPN.com, there are 13,821 left heading into the Sunday of Week 7.

This week’s pick: Minnesota defeating Arizona

Arizona is in free-fall mode after a great 4-0 start.  Their running game is in shambles, with Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams both on IR.  Their quarterback that helped them to their hot start, Kevin Kolb, is out and the backup who was the incumbent in camp, John Skelton takes the reins.  While Arizona was one of the early surprises in the NFC, Minnesota has been one of the enduring surprises in the NFC this season.  Adrian Peterson has had a great comeback season and had three rushing scores last year against Arizona.  Christian Ponder is coming into his own and Percy Harvin is suddenly among the elite receivers in the league.  Go for Minnesota at home in this one.

PAST PICKS

Week 1: Houston (W vs. MIA)

Week 2: N.Y. Giants (W vs. TBY)

Week 3: Chicago (W vs. STL)

Week 4: Baltimore (W vs. CLE)

Week 5: San Francisco (W vs. BUF)

Week 6: N.Y. Jets (W vs. IND)

GAME PICKS/ESPN.com PIGSKIN PICK ‘EM

Here are the game picks for this week.  We also have a “Sports With the StatMan” entry in the ESPN.com Pigskin Pick ‘Em for games against the spread.  We talk about the local games and the three of the other most important games, our “Big Games”, on our weekly This Week in Fantasy Sports segment on Saturdays, but we pick every game, every week here on the blog.  Here they are:

LOCAL GAMES

Last Week: 2-2 straight up, 3-1 against the spread

Season: 15-8 straight up, 14-8-1 against the spread

Week 7 Picks:

N.Y. Jets at New England – Straight Up: NE, Against the Spread: NYJ (+10.5)

Washington at N.Y. Giants – Straight Up: NYG, Against the Spread: NYG (-6)

Philadelphia: BYE

BIG GAMES

Last Week: 2-1 straight up, 1-2 against the spread

Season: 15-4 straight up, 12-7 against the spread

Week 7 Picks:

Baltimore at Houston – Straight Up: HOU, Against the Spread: BAL (+7)

Green Bay at St. Louis – Straight Up: GBY, Against the Spread: GBY (-5)

Detroit at Chicago – Straight Up: CHI, Against the Spread: CHI (-6.5)

OTHER GAMES

Last Week: 3-4 straight up, 3-4 against the spread

Season: 25-24 straight up, 20-29 against the spread

Week 7 Picks:

Seattle at San Francisco – Straight Up: SFO, Against the Spread: SFO (-8)

Arizona at Minnesota – Straight Up: MIN (Knockout), Against the Spread: MIN (-7)

Dallas at Carolina – Straight Up: DAL, Against the Spread: DAL (-2.5)

New Orleans at Tampa Bay – Straight Up: NO, Against the Spread: NO (-2)

Tennessee at Buffalo – Straight Up: BUF, Against the Spread: BUF (-3.5)

Cleveland at Indianapolis – Straight Up: IND, Against the Spread: IND (-2.5)

Jacksonville at Oakland – Straight Up: OAK, Against the Spread: OAK (-6.5)

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati – Straight Up: PIT, Against the Spread: PIT (-1.5)

START ‘EM/ANTI-START ‘EM/ESPN.com GRIDIRON CHALLENGE

We are participating in the ESPN Gridiron Challenge on ESPN.com.  The object is to pick the best team possible with a $50 million salary cap.  However, we are adding another wrinkle.  The object of the ESPN.com is to buy low and sell high and the more you accomplish that, the more money you get in your salary cap.  My goal is to put together a nine-man unit (2 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF) that is better than another nine-man unit at a similar price.

So far this season, my nine-man squad is 1-5 against a comparable squad:

Week 1: Head-to-Head – L, 107-124; By Position – 2-6-1

Week 2: Head-to-Head – L, 73-98; By Position – 3-6

Week 3: Head-to-Head – L, 103-139; By Position – 3-6

Week 4: Head-to-Head – L, 105-118; By Position – 4-5

Week 5: Head-to-Head – W, 110-56; By Position – 7-2

Week 6: Head-to-Head – L, 98-127; By Position – 2-6-1

TOTALS: W-L: 1-5, PF: 597, PA: 652, By Position: 21-31-2

Here is the Week 7 entry in the Gridrion Challenge, our “Start ‘Em” team, along with our comparable “Anti-Start ‘Em” team, which is our opponent for the week:

(all dollar figures in millions)

Start ‘Em Team	POS	Anti-Start ‘Em Team
Aaron Rodgers GBY ($7.3)	QB	Tom Brady NE ($7.3)
Jay Cutler CHI ($5.7)	QB	Andrew Luck IND ($6.1)
C.J. Spiller BUF ($6.6)	RB	Alfred Morris WSH ($6.8)
Chris Johnson TEN ($6.3)	RB	DeAngelo Williams CAR ($6.2)
Andre Johnson HOU ($6.0)	WR	Reggie Wayne IND ($6.3)
Brandon Gibson STL ($4.5)	WR	Nate Burleson DET ($5.4)
Jason Witten DAL ($5.4)	TE	Tom Crabtree GBY ($4.1)
Mason Crosby GBY ($3.5)	K	Dan Bailey DAL ($4.2)
Green Bay Packers GBY ($4.6)	DEF	Indianapolis Colts IND ($3.4)
$49.9 million	TOTAL	$49.8 million

Catch me on "Sports With The StatMan" on Wednesdays at 11pm ET and Saturdays at 11am ET. We'll break down these picks and look ahead to next week on our This Week in Fantasy Sports segment, Saturday morning at 11am ET.