Nearing the half way point of the NFL season 613 continues to break down key match-ups from this weeks action. Find out who will win, who to watch, who will surprise and more here in our Week 7 Preview. Check here every Sunday morning before making your picks, or choosing your starters. (Bills @ Saints, Cowboys @ Lions, Jets @ Bengals)
Weekend warrior Fred Jackson gets better with age. BILLS @ SAINTS
- Facing another tough road test, versus another opponent coming fresh off their bye week, Buffalo heads to battle playing the role of David once again. Goliath, or the Saints rather, will surely test the Bills impressive defense, led by current #2 NFL sack master Mario Williams, however the Bills are becoming one of those teams others don't want to see on the schedule. Thad Lewis looked more capable of making plays for the offense last week but CJ Spiller's bum ankle has really turned this into Fred Jackson's show. Defying odds, age, and injury, Freddy keeps on fighting for extra yards, making clutch plays, and willing his team to victories. The Bills defense and special teams needs to continue their solid play and help win the turnover battle for Buffalo to pull off back to back road wins.
- And the Saints come marching in... to the Superdome well rested from their bye week and looking at a favourable match up vs. an inconsistent and dinged up Bills squad. Sean Payton and Drew Brees surely took full advantage of the extra time off to dissect the Bills defensive tendencies and patterns. Although Buffalo has a knack for forcing turnovers Drew Brees & co. have a knack for scoring lots of points. Jimmy Graham looks like a game-time decision which could hurt New Orleans red zone efficiency but look for Sean Payton to utilize all four of his capable RB's to accommodate. Saints defense should continue to excel this week vs. a young Thad Lewis and with the fresh legs after having a week off.
- Once again the Bills only shot in this one will come down to defense, special teams, and winning the turnover battle. Thad Lewis is not going to be able to match Drew Brees touchdown for touchdown so Buffalo will need strong efforts from other parts of the team in order to create more opportunities for the youthful offense. Saints likely will start off strong and control the tempo early forcing Buffalo to play from behind early - which is not what they want to do. Come on Freddy Jackson!!!!
- Players to watch: Thad Lewis, Mario Williams, Drew Brees
Excited, Reggie is playing like a wild Lion. COWBOYS @ LIONS
- Well would you look who sits atop of NFC North - the Detroit Lions. Matt Stafford and his gang have done pretty well for themselves this season despite Calvin Johnson still not quite playing at 100%. Reggie Bush likely will make a big impact in this one - and when he plays this offense becomes even more dynamic. The Lions also possess one of the leagues best, and youngest, D-lines in the league. With Suh, and Fairley on the inside Detroit can be a tough challenge for any protection scheme. Also a guy to watch in the Red Zone is rookie TE Joseph Fauria - if the 'Boys take Calvin away look for Stafford to toss a couple his way when they get in close.
- Don't look now but the Dallas Cowboys are kings of he NFC (L)East at the moment. With the Eagles, Giants, and Skins, all struggling out of the gates Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, and Americans team may actually make it to the playoffs this year. Before we get into that - and before we start talking about Romo's history of poor performances in the clutch lets just give the guy some credit. As of right now he's doing a damn good job in my opininon. He has the team in the lead of the division, has great statistical numbers, and seems to have some swagger back. Too bad one of the games most feared defenders, Ndamakong Suh will be breathing down his neck most of the game.
- The Battle of the boys in blue should be one of the key games to watch this week, as they aren't too many high profile matchups, but this one should go right to the wire with both QB's trying to silence more of their critics and bring their team one step closer to the playoffs. Look for Cowboy's cover 2 defense to limit Calvin Johnson once again while Reggie Bush, and other WRs will see lots of targets on short/underneath routes. Dez Bryant will need to take advantage of the Lions average secondary in order to back up the trash he apparently did not talk about MegaTron this week leading up to the game. In a game this evenly matched - we got to go with the home team. Lions prevail in a tough and fun to watch contest.
- Players to watch: Reggie Bush, Nick Fairley, Gavin Escobar
Bieber Fan Andy Asks: "Am I a playoff Quarterback?" JETS @ BENGALS
Thank's for reading, and happy Sunday!
- D.M.
Twitter - @DampMoney
- How bout Dem Bengals!? A complete team? Running, Passing, Defense, Special Teams, Coaching... Cincy seems to have it all. But wait. We know what you are thinking. They are still the Bengals right? Well Yes. And like most others we too at 613u.com have a tough time trusting the Bengals when December & January come around but right now - they are as good as anybody in the league. Andy Dalton had a career day last week versus the Lions and he looks to build off that this week as he and the Bengals host the Jets. Gio Bernard, Marvin Jones, and Tyler Eifert are just a few names of young players contributing to the success of Cincy's offense this season. Mix that in with a very solid defense - led by their HC Marvin Lewis - and you'll see that the Bengals may actually be for real. This is a great opportunity for Dalton and Co. to further distance themselves from others in the AFC North as well as earn them some respect among the NFL's elite.
- The New York Jets really must hate the media. When they are expecting big things from the franchise the Jets fall apart, when they are supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league - they make plays and win games. It almost like they are so infuriated by New York media they just play to spite them. Maybe not. Whatever the case the Jets are the surprise team of the NFL (to me at least). Geno Smith had a MNF performance for the ages, the defense has got their tough guy reputation and intimidating blitz scheme running well again this season - and Antonio Cromartie continues to frustrate top WR's each week. With Chris Ivory taking on the feature RB role this week the Jets may try and burn up a lot of clock and keep the ball away from Cincy as much as possible as Geno likely won't be able to match Andy's QB efficiency. Much like their in state neighbour Buffalo, the Jets will need their defense and special teams to create extra opportunities for the team to score points in order to have a chance to win this one.
- This should be another good test for Dalton and the Bengals. After getting a big win last week they can follow it up with another versus a pretty good opponent. On paper Cincinnati looks like the should cruise to victory but those tricky Jets are sure to have a few treats up their sleeve this Halloween! Jets defense will likely give Dalton a little more trouble than the Lions did last week but the Bengals defense should control this game - leading to a relatively easy victory for Bieber Boy, Andy!
- Players to watch: Andy Dalton, Tyleer Eifert, Jermaine Kerley
Thank's for reading, and happy Sunday!
- D.M.
Twitter - @DampMoney
