NFL Week 7 Bye Report

So is there a petition I can sign to get Jay-Z back into retirement?

10 things we learned in Week 6:

1. So far, the MVP has to be Steve Smith. That guy just tears up the defense. Why the Ravens didn't just matchup Chris McAlister on him one-on-one is beyond me.

2. USC could play the Raiders' schedule and win more games than Art Shell's rag-tag loser patrol.

3. Speaking of USC, here's a prediction: Dennis Green goes back to the TV booth and is replaced by Trojan coach Pete Carroll, who pulls a Kelvin Sampson and gets out right before NCAA sanctions cripple the program.

4. The real story out of St. Louis wasn't the good offense, but the shaky defense by both teams.

5. Eric Mangini really is doing a good job with the Jets. They would have blown the Miami game for sure with Herman Edwards on the sideline.

6. You're nuts if you think the Bears are going 19-0. I'm not saying they're not good, but they're not undefeated-season good.

7. The Tennessee running game is for real. At Washington in Week 6: 41 rushes for 194 yards (4.7 avg) and an 11-minute advantage in time of possession. That's after rushing for 214 at Indianapolis the week before.

8. I can't decide which is more annoying, baseball Joe Buck or football Joe Buck. At least in football, he has Troy Aikman to keep him grounded. Then again, in a booth with Tim McCarver, Buck gets to look better by comparison. Tough call.

9. Anybody still on that Dolphins bandwagon? Anybody?

10. It's still early, but my Patriots/Panthers Super Bowl pick is looking pretty good. Of course it wasn't exactly an “out of the box” pick, but still, I'm taking credit whenever I can. That's just the kind of guy I am.

On to the Week 7 Bye Report. With six games down, Chicago, Tennessee, St. Louis, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Baltimore represent a good cross-section of the league at the almost-halfway-point. From the upper class (Bears, Saints) to the middle class (Ravens, Rams) to the lower class (Titans, 49ers), teams are starting to find out what they're really made of.

Chicago Bears

(6-0, 3-0 NFC North, first place)

Overview — Let's just leave this one to Dennis Green. After all, who are we to argue with a podium beater? Take that, inanimate object! "The Bears are who we thought they were! Now, if you want to crown them, then crown their ass! But they are who they thought they were! And we let them off the hook!"

Translation: the Bears were down 23-3 to the Arizona Cardinals with barely more than 15 minutes to play. Their defense came through when Arizona's offensive panties got all uncomfortable, and Devin Hester is the new Dante Hall, but that was still far, far away from being a great performance.

Impact of the Bye — With Mike Brown injured on Monday night, an extra week to regroup won't hurt. I'm sure it'll kill Rex Grossman to have to think about his performance for an extra week, but he deserves it after killing me in fantasy. With a close call fresh on their minds, this is good time for head coach Lovie Smith and the coaching staff to get back to some fundamentals on offense.

Outlook — If only one thing goes right for Arizona in the fourth quarter, the Bears are 5-1 instead of 6-0. Either way, they would still have a commanding lead in the division, and a near lock on a one- or two-seed in the playoffs. With home games against San Francisco and Miami after the bye, they'll most likely be 8-0 heading into their Week 10 visit to New York to face the Giants. I'm guessing they won't be 9-0. Still, they should finish no worse than 13-3, with a matchup against Carolina for the NFC crown at Soldier Field. Now that would be a great playoff game.

Tennessee Titans

(1-5, 0-1 AFC South, last place)

Overview — I'm still not sure what happened with the whole Billy Volek thing, but with two consecutive solid performances by VY and the defense, this is shaping up to be a giant killer come November and December. I'll tell you this — I'm not betting against the Titans in my survivor league.

Impact of the Bye — Either this is a great time for a bye because they just won their first game and this gives Young a chance to catch his breath and feel good for a week, or this is a horrible time for a bye because the last thing you want to do as a 1-5 team coming off a big win is break momentum. With a home game against Houston in Week 8, they should be able to get win No. 2 before a brutal stretch of @JAX, BAL, @Phi, NYG, IND. I guess it's a good thing they get to enjoy this one for a while.

Outlook — With home games remaining against the Ravens, Colts, Giants, Jaguars, and Patriots, chances are the Titans have another upset or two on the horizon. It's not like they're going to make the playoffs, but Vince Young is getting great experience. I can see them making serious noise in the division by 2008.

St. Louis Rams

(4-2, 1-2 NFC West, second place)

Overview — The Seahawks loss proved this isn't yet a top-caliber team. The offense is far more balanced than in years past, with Steven Jackson second in the league in rushing and Marc Bulger second in passing yardage. But the defense is still very susceptible to the big play, and ranks in the bottom half of the league in nearly every defensive category. The 1-2 mark through their first run through the division isn't terribly impressive, either.

Impact of the Bye — With a road trip to San Diego on tap in Week 8, they are going to need all the time they can get to heal up on the offensive line. They also have road trips to Seattle and Carolina coming up in the next few weeks, so I'm sure the coaching staff is happy to have a little extra time for advance scouting.

Outlook — I know everybody is all excited and all, but this is a mediocre team. I don't see them being able to beat the Chargers, Seahawks, or Panthers on the road, which means the best they'll be after Week 11 is 5-5 (and that's assuming they beat KC, which should have Trent Green back by then). Best case is a 9-7 record and first-round playoff booting by one of the legit NFC teams.

New Orleans Saints

(5-1, 2-1 NFC South, first place)

Overview — The run-away winner for the feel-good story of the year award, the Saints have now beaten Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia, three teams expected to make noise in the NFC this year. The Superdome looks to have a special magic to it this year, as though the tragedy of Katrina somehow transformed it from the craphole it always was to almost a Coliseum-type of place (the one in Rome, not Oakland). There's just something different about it.

Impact of the Bye — Coming off back-to-back home wins, and playing at home in Week 8, the Saints will have managed to go nearly a month without having to leave Louisiana. This bye falls into the perfect spot in their schedule, allowing early coach-of-the-year favorite Sean Payton time to reload for the rest of the season.

Outlook — It's entirely conceivable they could go 8-0 at home this year. And if they manage to get themselves a home playoff game, man ... that would just be awesome. I've never been a big Saints fan (and really, why would you be if you weren't from there?), but I love that town (even got engaged there). Just one question: if the Saints win the Super Bowl, does Charles Casserly get a ring?

San Francisco 49ers

(2-4, 1-1 NFC West, third place)

Overview — This just isn't a very good team. Alex Smith is in the middle of year two, and he's showing some signs of life, but not enough for a No. 1 pick. I didn't like the Vernon Davis pick in April, and I still don't like it. (It's like putting vinyl siding on a trailer. Sure, it looks nice, but it's still a trailer.) They would have been much better served taking Haloti Ngata or Michael Huff. As it is, they are allowing a horrendous 51 percent conversion rate on third downs, and are giving up a league-worse average of 32 points per game.

Impact of the Bye — I'm not sure it really matters at this point. They play at Chicago in Week 8 and are going to lose. They could have a month off before that game, and they would still lose.

Outlook — While the Saints may go 8-0 at home, the 49ers may very well go 0-8 on the road. In Mike Nolan's second season, progress has not been made. His team still stinks on defense (his supposed area of expertise), and, if Kevan Barlow is to be believed, Nolan's tyrannical personality isn't exactly inspiring the locker room. Here's betting Nolan is back to being a defensive coordinator someplace else in 2008.

Baltimore Ravens

(4-2, 1-0 AFC North, first place)

Overview — For a 4-2 team, there sure is a lot of consternation coming out of Baltimore these days. The offense has scored 16, 16, 3, and 21 points in the last four weeks, with Steve McNair looking worse and worse every game until finally getting hurt against Carolina. (Steve McNair hurt? Never saw that one coming, did you?) The pass defense just fell apart against Jake Delhomme, allowing an insane 365 yards through the air (of the total 423 yards given up).

Impact of the Bye — Early word is that McNair should be fine after the bye, and that's good news for everybody but Kyle Boller, who played well in relief. With a road trip to New Orleans after the week off, they better figure something out beyond just firing Jim Fassel.

Outlook — How often does a first-place team fire its offensive coordinator after six games? I'm not sure, but it doesn't portend great things for the future of the Ravens and Brian Billick. Right now, anybody in the AFC North can beat anybody else and it wouldn't be surprising. What once looked like a two or three playoff team division now looks like it may just eat itself up, with only the surviving winner making the show. The Ravens still have the inside edge, but not by much.

Playlist of the Week

(Available on iTunes)

1. Get Up – James Brown
2. Alive – Pearl Jam
3. About Her – Malcolm Mclaren (Kill Bill, Vol. II Soundtrack)
4. X&Y – Coldplay
5. Award Tour – A Tribe Called Quest
6. Beautiful – Pharrell, Snoop Dogg & Uncle Charlie Wilson
7. Fall Line – Jack Johnson
8. Heroin – Lou Reed
9. Killing in the Name – Rage Against the Machine
10. Walk – Pantera