NFL Week 7 Preview - Early Games

Week 7 delivers many great games...on paper. We can only hope that these great games can live up to the hype that accompanies them. Here's the six 1:00 PM games for this coming Sunday.

Indianapolis (5-0) @ St. Louis (0-6)

Colts: This matchup appears to be extrmely one-sided in the Colts favor. We said that last week about the Eagles-Raiders game and look what happened. That's what Indy has to be aware of this week, and I'm sure they will be. The #1 passing offense against the #27 passing defense. QB Peyton Manning (my MVP so far this year, left) shouldn't be too stressed, but he could use a boost from the ground game. This week may be a good week to get that going. S Bob Sanders is expected to play in his first game of the season after an offseason surgery on his knee. A good week to get Sanders some work as the Rams offer very little (except RB Steven Jackson) on offense.

Rams: Not a matchup any Rams fan will look at and think there's a chance for the first win of the 2009 season. But games are played for a reason because you just never know. Indy is a bit stingy against the pass, but we all know the offense rests in the hands of RB Steven Jackson. The problem is that Jackson has yet to visit the endzone. Jackson is also the Rams leading receiver with 20 catches. Got to find someone else to contribute. QB Marc Bulger may be the answer as he had a good game last week against the Jags in an OT loss. Still, the Rams are only averaging 9 points a game...and allowing 28.2. Can't win any games with those numbers.

Minnesota (6-0) @ Pittsburgh (4-2)

Vikings: The burning issue for Minnesota does not involve their QB. It's RB Adrian Peterson (right). Can he make headway against the Steelers and the #2 ranked run defense? If Favre has to be a factor, will Mr. All-Around Percy Harvin be able to play at 100%? Harvin has been nursing a shoulder injury and he contributed very little in the Vikes win against the Ravens. There's another potential problem. Can the Vikes D "contain" Steelers QB Ben Roethlsberger? Big Ben unloaded for over 400 yards against the Browns. The Vikes come into this game ranked only 24th against the pass. Can Peterson run? Can Big Ben be stopped? If the answer to both of these questions is "yes", the Vikes win.

Steelers: RB Rashard Mendenhall will maintain his starters status despite RB Willie Parker's return. We were starting to see a resurgance of the Steelers running game until a 400+ yard passing effort by QB Ben Roethlisberger last week. Might not se that this week as the Vikes can defend the run (9th rated). I'm wondering how K Jeff Reed will respond to all the pub he's got for his recent antics regarding a public intox. The NFL does not let anyone pass the police blotter without its scrutiny. It could get interesting if this game comes down to a field goal to win. Pittsburgh hasn't allowed a 100+ yard rusher in 24 games and here comes the NFL's leading rusher in RB Adrian Peterson. To make Minnesota one-dimensional might not be the best way to go with #4 at QB.

New England (4-2) and Tampa Bay (0-6) @ Wembley Stadium in London

New England: Could we see another 59-0? Possibly, but I sincerely doubt it. The one thing the Pats like to do is toss the ball around the lot, but the Bucs have shown the ability to stop the pass. Both RB Fred Taylor is out and RB Sammie Morris' may not play. That will leave the Pats with Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis as the only RB. They're a bit thin at WR with the release of Joey Galloway and the status of Julian Edelman up in the air. You may not se a lot of 3 and 4 WR sets this week. Are the Pats going to be threatened on defense? The Bucs can't really run (#21). They can't really pass (#22). They can't really score (#27).

Tampa Bay: If the Bucs are going to surprise the British crowd, they're going to have to run against the Pats and the 20th ranked run defense. That and no turnovers from QB Josh Johnson. Remember when heard coach Raheem Morris tell everyone of the switch at QB and that Johnson gives the Bucs the best chance to win? His QB rating (58.9) is lower than previous starter Byron Leftwich (71.2). Johnson has more INT (5), more sacks (10), and less TD (3). Leftwich has 4 INT, 2 sacks, and 4 TD. Hmm. The defense is good against the pass (11th) but absolutely terrible against the run (31st). Where's Monte Kiffin when you need him?

San Diego (2-3) @ Kansas City (1-5)

Chargers: We saw a positive from last Monday's loss...RB LaDainian Tomlinson looked good, but the Bolts running game is still dead last in the league. Nice time to get the running game on track against the Chiefs, who are ranked 25th defending the rush. What seems illogical is if San Diego is stopped on a couple of running plays, they want to abandon it all together. Easy to do with Philip Rivers at QB and the weapons at WR and TE. Even against Kansas City and the #29 ranked defense, the Chargers cannot have that mindset. While KC may not threaten a defense, they did pull out a win with their defense last week.

Chiefs: Finally, a win. It was the Redskins and the defense added to the final 8 point cushion with a safety. Doesn't matter who it was against, the Chiefs may now feel a bit of confidence and would like nothing more than to take down division rival San Diego. The Chiefs have yet to show any type of real offense or defense. They rank in the bottom fourth in total offense (30th), rushing (25th), passing (27th), and scoring (25th). The Chargers will give up points so if KC can get on a short field, things may look even brighter. Oh yeah, the defense hasn;t really helped being 29th in total defense, 25th against the pass and rush and 24th in scoring defense. One can hope.

Green Bay (3-2) @ Cleveland (1-5)

Packers: Even with bringing back T Mark Tauscher and the return of T Chad Clifton didn't keep the Lions away from QB Aaron Rodgers last week (5 sacks). The Lions, I said!! Rodgers has now been taken to the turf 25 times this year, yet Rodgers is 5th in QB rating (104.1). An old friend returns to Green Bay. RB Ahman Green is back in Green Bay after a stint in Houston in '07 and '08. When the Pack is on defense, their focus will be on RB Jamal Lewis. Stop Lewis and you've stopped the Browns.

Browns: Twelve different players are suffering from illness. And now head coach Eric Mangini must find a way to improve on the worst defense and next to worst offense. Losing LB D'Qwell Jackson for the season severely hurts the Browns D. Two good things. Special teams ace Joshua Cribbs (left) continues to shine, and he's even been taking snaps in Cleveland's version of the Wildcat. Rookie WR Mohamed Massaquoi's has clearly emerged as the Browns best WR. Massaquoi leads Cleveland in receptions (16) and receiving yards (278). 13 of his 16 receptions have come in only 2 games which could be a bit of a cause for concern, but Massaquoi has only recently become a primary target.

San Francisco (3-2) @ Houston (3-3)

49ers: Good news, and I don;t mean that WR Michael Crabtree is starting ahead of Josh Morgan this week. RB Frank Gore should be good to go. Having Gore in the backfield should take more pressure of QB Shaun Hill as defenses were daring Hill to make a play in Gore's absence. It worked as Hill could only muster a 45.7 QB rating in the Niners last game, a 45-10 lost to the Falcons. Hill did almost get the 49ers a win against the Vikes until Brett Favre showed up. Now, let's see what Crabtree has, right? Not really. He's missed so much time that he may not even make an impression until next season unless he's the stud he claims he is. Despite the Niners gettin pounded by Atlanta, I'm not too concerned about the defense, but they must stop the pass.

Texans: QB Matt Schaub ripped through a decent Bengals defense last week. He just needs more consistency, not throw that pick, and more importantly, a running game. Despite scoring 28 points last week, all the scores came via Schaub's arm. Here's a stat that may have yourhead spinning. RB Steve Slaton has more receiving yards (282) than rushing yards (274). That would explain Houston being ranked 30th in rushing. But why would you want to run the ball when WR Andre Johnson (right) and TE Owen Daniels are having Pro-Bowl seasons? Got to keep the D honest...that's the only reason. For the last two weeks, the Texans defense has vastly improved against the run. Two weeks ago, they faced Arizona, so that may not be a good barometer. So look at last week. They held Cincy's Cedric Benson in check. Now, they have to do the same against Frank Gore. A critical game for both teams.

I'll look at the late games and Sunday night game tomorrow and we'll screen Monday night's game during my Sunday Recap.