STONE COLD LEAD PIPE DOCKS - WEEK 7

Vik aka Docksquad's Pix:
(Last week 4-1)
(Overall 11-3-1)

Panthers -7
These Panthers give me a heart attack every week, but I will have to ride with them again this week. The Panthers have an amazing running back combo, and the Bills are DEAD LAST vs the run. So this matchup plays perfectly into the Panthers hands. On top of that, two good Bills players who are decent vs the run, NT Kyle Williams and Donte Whitner, are injured. And after the Bills start putting 8 or 9 in the box, Jake D should hit the TE or Steve Smith on a couple of deep passes to blow this game open. With Ryan Fitz at QB, I just don't see how the Bills come back in this game once they get down early. The Panthers will just stack the box to stop Lynch and Jackson, and try to see if Fitz can beat them deep. But his also plays perfectly into the Panthers game plan, because Fitz has a weak arm, and can't throw deep. All these factors combined has me loving the Panthers today...

Falcons +5
I know a lot of people will be on the Boys today, but I just can't do it. I've watched both of these teams play a bunch of times this year, and the Falcons are just a flat out better football team to me, so I will take the points in this one. The Cowboys have one of the worst pass D's in the game, 26th to be exact, and they are supposed to stop the Falcons indoors? I see Ryan, White, and TGO matching the Cowboys in this one, strike for strike. As it is, Matt Ryan doesn't get sacked, and now they play the Boys who don't get pressure on anyone. Ryan is going to stand back there untouched, and light up this Cowboys defense. I see the Falcons then using the pass to setup the run, so look for Turner to pound the Cowboys in the second half of this game. I see the Falcons having a chance to win this game straight up. Anyways, I'm not sold on the Cowboys yet, so I will take this solid Falcons team, and the points.

Dolphins +7
This is a tough game here, but I think it ends up being a close one that comes down to a last minute drive, so I will take the 7pts. I see the Fins game plan just being to pound the ball with their number 1 rushing attack. And without Fujita, I see the Saints struggling to stop it. He is their best run stopper, and makes that defense go. The Fins know they must dominate t.o.p if they want to stop Brees and co., and have a chance to win this game. As long as they don't get down early, they will keep this one close...

Chiefs +6
I'll continue to ride this Chiefs squad and fade the Chargers, until the Chargers prove me wrong. As long as they got Turner as their coach, the underdogs always have a chance. The Chargers, even with all their on the offensive side of the ball, struggle on defense. And even though this is a must win, and they got embarrased last week, isn't going to change the D. I see this game actually being a shootout, so that is why I like the 6 pts better. LJ finally showed some burst last week, and I look for that to continue vs this Chargers run D. They are ranked 27th vs the run, and they won't do any better this weekend. This Chargers D is hurting, and I see Bowe and Cass having big games in this one. I know this KC team struggles, but they always do play hard, especially at home. I will take the pts...

Steelers -4
I think this is the week Minnesota finally loses. They have been escaping every single week, and now they need to go into Pitt in a tough road game. Pitt always gets up for big games, and I see them dominating this one. A dangerous weapon for the Vikings in Harvin is injured, and the Vikings are missing their best CB in Winfield. The Winfield injury is huge, because this isn't your old Pitts Steelers. This new Steelers squad is throwing the ball all over the field, and I see Big Ben and this Steelers O having a huge game passing the ball. Minn's pass D was ranked 24th vs the pass, and that was with Winfield. Without means bad news for the Vikes. This Pitt D is already tough to throw against, and they should play the run well today at home as well. With Troy P back in the game, look for the Steelers to win this one by at least a TD.

Also, I don't know why but these Colts and Pats line scare me. Tease them if you want another winner too. Go BEARS!!!

Suman's Pix:
(Last week 3-2)
(Overall 20-12)

Colts -13

Why mess with a good thing? The Colts have been winning and winning big. They are coming off a bye week. Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are in a MVP showdown, so I expect Peyton to come out swinging against a bad Rams defense. Gotta get those stats. On defense, Bob Sanders is expected to make his return this week. Meanwhile, the Rams did show some life last week against the Jaguars, but still ended up choking the game away. If David Garrard was able to throw the ball around against the Rams, I think Peyton can do the same thing. Colts in a romp.

Steelers -4

I believe the Steelers are finally rounding into shape. Its true that even the Browns were able to move the ball at times against the Steelers, and that in his return to game action Troy Polamalu didn't look like he did before. He seemed a bit off. But Ray Rice had a huge day against the Vikings, and that game was in Minnesota. I think the Steelers play the same kind of ball. The Ravens are a pass first team now, as are the Steelers. With Rashard Mendenhall in the Ray Rice roll, I think they will crush the Vikings this week. Ben Roethlisberger is having a career year throwing the ball. Those guys will be amped playing the undefeated Vikings at Heinz. They always seem to show up for huge non-divisional games like this at home.

Patriots -14.5

This Josh Johnson looks pretty decent from the times I've seen him. The Bucs might have a decision to make in the future of whether to keep giving him the ball or to hand the reins over to 1st round pick Josh "Soul Glo" Freeman. But for now, I don't see how they can keep up with Tom Brady and these Patriots. The Bucs will need to execute a flawless gameplan of ball possession offense to keep the Pats off the field, and I don't see their rookie coach or qb being able to pull off the feat. Especially since this game is being played in London which will cost both teams some practice team for travel purposes. I think that hurts the Bucs more so look for another 4+ TD game from Brady, and another Patriots romp.

Dolphins +6.5

Miami is abuzz about the revitalized Dolphins. They looked great in their Monday Night win over the Jets, and have had a bye week to prepare for this game. The best way to beat the Saints? Keep Drew Brees on the sidelines. The Dolphins are proving that their Wildcat is no fluke this year. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Ted Ginn, Pat White, etc... you get the point...there are a lot of different looks they can give you. And Chad Henne is slowly being allowed to let 'er rip. Meanwhile, the Saints played about as well as human beings can play football last week and made the G-Men look dumb. But I feel a little bit of a let down this week, as they've been getting jacked up in the media all week as THE team to beat. Remember, the Giants were playing without more than half their starting secondary. I feel the Dolphins keep it close, so I'll take the points.

Jets -6

Its pretty simple for me. No way Jamarcus plays as well. And no way Mark Sanchez plays as bad. It'll be interesting to see how The Sanchise responds to his first truly bad game, and how Jamavcus responds to success. What are the odds Jamarcus got just tore up this week at the club? Like 1:5? Read the article on espn.com about his progress as a QB. Good stuff. Yea, I don't see this ending well for him this week. And after that hot start the Jets have cooled off. I look for them to try to confuse Jamarcus with various blitz packages and to use Thomas Jones early and often. He had 200 yards last week! I'll take the Jets here.


Ip's Pix:
(Last week 3-2)
(Overall 10-13-1)

Colts (-14)

Peyton Manning on turf coming off a bye week? Forget about it. Look for the Colts to move the ball at will against a broken Rams defense and pancake whatever QB the rams put out there. The line is huge, but take the Colts to cover.

Giants (-7)

Coming off a loss in Louisiana, the Giants need this win to keep their strangle hold on the NFC East. The running game should fare well against the Cardinals and Eli with protection is lethal. This game will be a high scoring one as Warner and Co. can put up some points, but I think the Giants pass rush and offensive attack will be too much. Giants by 13.

Vikings (+5.5)

Im not a big fan of he Minnesota Purples, but I like them in this game. The Steelers do not have a rushing attack and are relying on Big Ben’s arm to get them to victory. Jared Allen is a tyrant on defense and the Steelers will have fits with him. Even though Troy Polamalu is back, I don’t think that will be enough to stop this balanced Viking attack. Look for the Vikes to come in to Steel country and steal a victory from the AFC. Vikings by 4

Saints (-7)

This game is a little tricky. The Fins control the clock very well with the mythical Wildcat offense. The key to this game is will the Saints defense be able to get the Dolphins offense off the field fast enough. If they do, this one is a wrap. If they do not it will be a dog fight. I think the Saints have been good on that side of the ball and will be able to get the Dolphins off the field just enough to let Drew Brees put up some points. Saints by 10.

Texans (-3)

One of the enigmatic teams in the NFL. You just don’t know what you are going to get from the Texans and frankly that scares me. But I think a healthy Matt Schaub is proving that he is a special talent in the league and presuming he stays in the game I think the Texans score enough to win the debut of Michael Crabtree. Frank Gore will be back this game but I think it will take him a few games to get back to his old self. Texans by 9