Silver and Black Blog: Week 7 picks

Is this the week I finally go back to the Raiders?

Afterall, they had a nice win over Philadelphia, their coach, Tom Cable, won't be locked up for allegedly assaulting his assistant coach and their new defensive lineman, Richard Seymour, actually predicted they'd make the playoffs.

The Jets, meanwhile, have lost three straight after winning three straight. Their rookie quarterback looks more like JaMarcus Russell than Matt Ryan. And in maybe the biggest blow, they lost nose tackle Kris Jenkins for the year with a knee injury.

Curiously, the teams have met 10 times since 1999 thanks to playoff games early in the decades and mirror finishes within their divisions. Amazingly, eight of those games have been in Oakland, where the Jets are 2-6. Their latest loss, last year in Oakland, was a crushing defeat that ended on a Sebastian Janikowski 57-yard field goal in overtime.

I hate to get on the Raiders' bandwagon over just a win against a Philadelphia that really hasn't had a victory this year against a quality opponent.

But give the Jets' problems in Oakland, I'm taking the Raiders. Just barely. Pick: Raiders.

In other games ...

New England vs. Tampa Bay (in England): Patriots are hitting their stride. Bucs have no stride, or anything else for that matter. Pick: New England

Green Bay at Cleveland: The Browns are in worse a predicament than the Raiders. Pick: Green Bay

San Franciso at Houston: Michael Crabtree makes his debut for the 49ers. I predict he'll surpass Darrius Heyward-Bey for catches this season by the third quarter. Won't be enough, though. Pick: Houston

Minnesota at Pittsburgh: Steelers will find a way to pull through. The Vikings have to lose sometime. Pick: Pittsburgh

Indianapolis at St. Louis: If I'm the Colts, after they go up 35-0 in the third quarter, sit Peyton Manning. Pick: Indianapolis

San Diego at Kansas City: Chiefs coming off a win over Washington ... and that's just it. It was Washington. Pick: San Diego

Buffalo at Carolina: Bills' quarterback Trent Edwards is out. So are the Bills. Pick: Carolina

Atlanta at Dallas: Cowboys are itching for a win over a quality team. It won't be this week. Pick: Atlanta

Chicago at Cincinnati: Bears played fairly decently on the road last week at Atlanta. I like them in Cincy more. Pick: Chicago

New Orleans at Miami: No way the Dolphins can keep up against the best team in the NFL. Pick: New Orleans

Arizona at New York Giants: Giants got exposed last week against Saints. I like the Cardinals in an upset. Pick: Arizona

Philadelphia at Washington: The Redskins are really awful. Philly ticked off. Pick: Philadelphia.

Last week: 9-5 Season: 57-33