September 30, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) hands off to Rams running back Daryl Richardson (26) during the second half against the Seattle Seahawks at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Seahawks 19-13. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

The NFC West will kick off week 7 on Thursday Night Football with a showdown between the San Fransisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks.  The Seahawks travel to San Fransisco fresh off their upset of the New England Patriots to face a 49ers team that was embarrassed by the defending Super Bowl champion Giants last weekend.  In spite of the media hype generated by the Seahawks win the odds makers still have the 49ers as a 7 point favorite according to ESPN.com’s game preview.  Week 6 was a rough week for quite a few NFL prognosticators, I went 5-9 with my picks last weekend and am looking for a big bounce back in week 7.  So here are my NFL Week 7 picks followed up by my record tracking table.

Seattle @ San Fransisco.  For the second Thursday night in three weeks a national audience will witness just how physical the NFC West has become.  Russell Wilson will come back down to his 150 yards passing average as the Seahawks offense finds life very difficult against the best defense in the division.  While this game wont be as lopsided as last Thursday Night don’t expect to see any late game drama like the last time Seattle was in primetime.  49ers win 24-16.

Arizona @ Minnesota.  The Cardinals shaky offensive line travels to face one of the premiere pass rushers in Jared Allen.  If Arizona wants to win this game they need to stop Adrian Peterson and force Ponder to beat them.  Unfortunately for Arizona even if they do shut down the run their offense has suffered a string of injuries leaving them relatively punch-less.  Vikings win 28 – 10.

Dallas @ Carolina.  Dallas travels to Carolina following a game that they dominated statistically and still lost (sound familiar?).  The Panthers are coming off the bye looking to improve their offensive production after being manhandled by the Seattle Seahawks in their last game.  The Cowboys will be without DeMarco Murray after he suffered an ankle injury against the Ravens.  These two teams have been pretty hard to figure out this season but I will go with the Cowboys based on talent level alone.  Cowboys win 20-10.

New Orleans @ Tampa Bay.  The New Orleans Saints are coming off their bye week which followed their first victory of the season.  Tampa Bay just clobbered the Chiefs in Raymond James Stadium and will be hoping for similar success against the Saints.  The Saints have been pretty terrible this year but perhaps the good vibrations from their first victory against the Chargers carries them through, that and they have Drew Brees.  Saints win 31 – 21.

Green Bay @ St. Louis.  I was feeling pretty good about picking the Rams over the Packers until Aaron Rodgers dismantled the Houston Texans defense.  The Packers are dealing with injuries on the offensive and defensive side of the ball which should provide the Rams with opportunities.   The Rams defense should have success against the Packers and a defensive/special teams touchdown is the spark that gets the homecrowd back into the game late and helps the Rams pull off the upset.  Rams win 24 – 21.

Washington @ New York Giants.  How impressive was that 76 yard touchdown run by RGII last weekend?  That kid sure is fun to watch, but after watching the Giants absolutely manhandle what I would consider to be the most physical team in the NFL I can’t pick against them.  That and they have Eli Manning, who I have heard is pretty OK at quarterback.  Giants win 35 – 24.

Baltimore @ Houston.  The only two teams in the AFC that are above .500 will go at it in Houston this weekend.  Each of these teams lost star players on the defensive side of the ball last weekend, and Baltimore happens to have lost two of them including the emotional leader of the team Ray Lewis.  I expect the Texans offense to bounce back and take advantage of a Ravens team that wont be able to adjust to the loss of their leader in one week.  Texans win 30 – 17.

Tennessee @ Buffalo.  The Titans are a better team with Matt Hasselback right now.  Also I really don’t have many reasons to go with the Bills in this game.  Going to go against the oddsmakers and take the Titans here.  Expect Chris Johnson to have a big day against a defense that is allowing 174 yards rushing per game.  Titans win 17 – 10.

Cleveland @ Indianapolis.  This game features rookie quarterbacks with high expectations for future success.  You have to go with the #1 overall pick Andrew Luck to get the Colts to .500.  Brandon Weeden does have Trent Richardson to lean on, but he suffered a rib injury in last weeks game against the Bengals so its hard to say if he will be as dynamic as usual this weekend.  Statistically the Colts have the better offense and defense, and Luck also has Reggie Wayne to lean on.  Colts win 20 – 10.

New York Jets @ New England.  The Patriots have to be very upset at the way they collapsed against the Seahawks last weekend.  Tom Brady’s intentional grounding penalty at the end of the first half that cost them a field goal was the beginning of the end for New England in what was a string of uncharacteristic mistakes.  Look for Brady and Co. to get back on track and take their frustrations out on Jets team that has had troubles stopping the run and pass without their star cornerback.  Patriots win 31 – 13.

Jacksonville @ Oakland.  This is a game the Raiders have to win following their gut wrenching loss to the Falcons last weekend.  Darren McFadden and Carson Palmer should find success against a defense that is giving up over 400 yards per game.  On the other side of the ball the Jaguars have had trouble getting anything going, if the Raiders can limit Maurice Jones-Drew and force Gabbert to beat them they will pick up win #2 on the season. Raiders win 23 – 17.

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati.  This is a tough game to call, I am just going to go with the gut feeling and the hometeam with this one.  It should be a close game but injuries could keep Polamalu and Mendenhall from playing which would be a huge blow to the Steelers.  Big Ben will probably hit a deep pass to Mike Wallace to keep the game interesting but Andy Dalton plays another smart and efficient game to pick up the win.  Bengals win 20 – 14.

Detroit @ Chicago.  I really want to pick the Lions to win this game but you just can’t trust them to play to their potential.  You also can’t trust Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears offense to protect the football.  I can easily see the Bears jumping out to a big lead before Stafford and the explosive Lions offense claw their way back into it only to be denied the victory by the saavy Bears defense.  Bears win 27 – 24.

There were some potentially serious injuries suffered in the game as well, as Jason Smith and Darell Scott both got carted off the field. Smith’s looked really bad when it happened, and there was serious concern for his health and safety while he was down. I haven’t gotten an official update on either player yet from the team, but I heard earlier today that Smith had full motion in all of his extremities. I’ll have the full report tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Also, let me acknowledge one of the few bright spots from today’s game. Brandon Lloyd looks like he could be a great fit here in St. Louis. He led the team with 74 yards receiving, and I thought he looked like a significant upgrade in talent over most of the guys on this roster. You have to think he will only get better as he gets more comfortable here and he develops a relationship and familiarity with Sam Bradford, so there could be at least one light at the end of what’s starting to look like an increasingly dark, never-ending tunnel.

1. Give us an injury update for Sunday. I believe Felix Jones has been ruled out, so who else might not suit up?

G Derrick Dockery, DE Jason Hatcher, and RB Felix Jones have all been ruled out officially. K David Buehler, G Kyle Kosier, LB DeMarcus Ware have all been listed as questionable. But all three were limited in practice this week but are expected to play. Keep in mind, Ware hasn’t missed a game in seven years, and played through this back injury last week.

 
2. DeMarco Murray was a guy I really liked coming out of college, and I actually lobbied for the Rams to draft him. It sounds like he will be seeing plenty of time on Sunday, so what are his strengths and weaknesses as a running back?

It would have made sense for the Rams to draft Murray, being a former 4 year teammate and close friend of Sam Bradford. But the Cowboys believe they got quite a steal in this year’s draft. The third round pick is a big back who is a great north-south runner. He’s got excellent hands and is a receiving threat out of the backfield. Pass blocking and durability are his biggest question marks.

 
3. Give us a rundown on Tony Romo. I’m personally a big fan with him being an Eastern Illinois alum, but he takes a ton of criticism in the national media. What are some things he does really well, and where does he struggle?

 Romo is a play-maker and a risk-taker. He grew up idolizing Brett Favre and his playing style emulates that. Romo is growing stronger as a leader but still makes the mistakes you’d expect a gunslinger to make. He has handled the media pressure well and continues to be highly respected within the locker room. The only cure for Romo’s problems is winning. If we can go deep into the playoffs in the next couple years, he’ll be put up on the same pedestal as Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, despite his infamous mistakes.

 
4. It sounds like the Cowboys have been struggling a bit on the offensive side of the ball, so what are the problems and how are they going to be fixed?

The Cowboys biggest struggle is running the ball. This problem feeds into all the other problems and is the main reason we are 2-3. There are three reasons for this: (1) A young offensive line. (2) A starting running back who is better at being a complementary back. (3) The lack of a “true” fullback. Problem #1 just takes time. But the offensive line gets better from week to week. the recent loss of G Bill Nagy enhances the problem a bit, but former Cowboy Montrae Holland has been brought back to fill his role and brings a bit more experience within the system. Problem #2 has solved itself. Felix Jones is injured…again. His absence opens the door for Rookie DeMarcus Murray. If Murray can do well, he could replace Jones and fill that need immediately. And Problem #3 will be solved this week with the return of FB Tony Fiammetta. Fiammetta, whose has been out for two weeks with a hamstring injury, was signed right after the season started and contributed to the Cowboys’ two best running games so far this year. His return means bigger holes for Murray to run through.

 
5. What’s your take on the Dallas defense? They seem like a pretty solid group to me, but they don’t seem to get much recognition.

This is the best defense Dallas has had in a long time. The Cowboys have been a threat in every game this year mainly because of Rob Ryan’s defense. And since the NFL Lockout delayed the implementation of Ryan’s new defense schemes, the players are still learning the new system. It’s very much like on-the-job training out there. And here’s the scary thing: They are getting better every week.

 
6. Give us a prediction for the game on Sunday and for the Cowboys season as a whole. I had them in the NFC title game before the season started, but I might have to rethink it after their slow start.

Dallas should win this one big, but they also have the tendency to shoot themselves in the foot and keep the games way too close. And don’t forget about RB Steven Jackson. The last time we played him, back in 2008, he ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns in a Ram victory. But this ain’t the same defense. Here’s the score: Dallas 34, St. Louis 24.

The NFC East is unexpectedly weak this year. Dallas has every chance to win the division and get into the playoffs. I think they will. Now, what they do in the playoffs is up in the air. It just depends on how their playing at the time.