Separation Anxiety

Here we are in Week 7 and it is becoming more and more clear which teams are legitimate Super Bowl contenders and which ones are out and out pretenders.

So, let's see who is going to make a statement this time around and who's going to take a step backwards in the wrong direction, with a quick reminder that the Guru is now 46-25 after going 9-5 last week:

Green Bay at Cleveland -- This one should be an easy one to pick as the Browns can't seem to get out of their own way. So why do I get a strange feeling that we could be looking at a repeat of last week's Eagles-Raiders upset? Nah. Aaron Rogers is coming into his own and with Ahman Green back in a Packers jersey to give Ryan Grant some help, Green Bay will keep pace in the NFC playoff race, although it will be closer than it should be.

Packers 23, Browns 21

San Diego at Kansas City -- The Chargers' shot at the division took a major hit with last week's loss to the unbeaten Broncos, but there is no way they're going to slip up against the Chiefs, as long as Norv Turner doesn't have another brain cramp and pull LT on a third-and-goal situation.

Chargers 41, Chiefs 14

Indianapolis at St. Louis -- There is no stopping Peyton Manning right now, especially a Rams team that should have pulled out its first win at Jacksonville last Sunday. The Colts are aching for a return trip to the Super Bowl, especially since it's in the same stadium where they won it all three years ago and this won't even be a speed bump in the road.

Colts 35, Rams 6

Minnesota at Pittsburgh -- The Vikings are going to be involved in one of the games of the week until they finally lose -- which could very well be today. No. 4 has to be running out of magic tricks at the end of the game, and Heinz Field is one of the toughest places to win in the NFL. Pittsburgh is a proud team looking to remind everybody that the title of defending Super Bowl champs still belongs to the Steel City.

Steelers 27, Vikings 24

New England at Tampa Bay -- Okay, so London, England is nowhere near Tampa Bay, and it is kind of funny that the Patriots are named after the band of revolutionaries that defeated the Brits in the American Revolution. Bottom line after watching Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and New England's defense absolutely destroy Tennessee last week in the snow is that the Bucs are playing worst than the Titans. Not really the type of game you want to showcase across the pond.

Patriots 42, Bucs 10

San Francisco at Houston -- The Niners are coming off a much-needed bye as running back Frank Gore had time to heal and he is ready to bust out again like he did earlier in the season when he broke the 200-yard barrier. Meanwhile, the Texans are hard to figure out as they knocked off an excellent Cincinnati team last week but lost to the Jaguars two weeks earlier. Andre Johnson is the best receiver in the game right now and could be the difference in this one.

Texans 28, 49ers 21

Buffalo at Carolina -- Jake Delhomme got lucky that his pick six against the Bucs didn't cost Carolina another loss. The Bills were spiraling downward before they somehow managed to shock the Jets in overtime, but Dick Jauron is on very thin ice and with Trent Edwards out with a concussion, his job will very much be in jeopardy after this game.

Panthers 17, Bills 14

New York Jets at Oakland -- And now we have come across one of those other hard-to-figure out games as the Raiders looked like anything but the Keystone Cops last week against the Eagles while the Jets have dropped three straight. I've got a feeling Mark Sanchez will make believers out of Jets fans again with lots of help from Braylon Edwards and Thomas Jones.

Jets 30, Raiders 14

Atlanta at Dallas -- If the Cowboys want anyone to take them seriously again this season they need to win this one at home against a top-flight team like Atlanta. Miles Austin more than earned his starting spot with his 250-yard effort two weeks ago against Kansas City, but the Falcons can't afford to pick up their second loss a week before meeting the New Orleans Saints in a showdown for superiority in the NFC South. Jerry Jones will be frowning again at the end of this game.

Falcons 24, Cowboys 20

Chicago at Cincinnati -- You don't think Bengals running back Cedric Benson won't be jacked up for his chance at revenge against his former employer? Add to it the fact that Cincinnati is trying to rid itself of the stink of last week's loss to Houston and this has big win written all over it. for the Bengals.

Bengals 21, Bears 10

New Orleans at Miami -- As much as I'd love to make this my upset special of the week, I have to go back to my policy of not picking Miami's games because of my affiliation with the team. But this one should be intriguing as the Dolphins' smash mouth, run-it-down-your-throat style of offense meets the Saints' high-scoring offense.

Saints at Dolphins -- No prediction

Arizona at New York Giants -- Eli Manning began his career as Kurt Warner's backup with the Giants and now student goes up against teacher in this pivotal game for both teams. New York was humiliated in New Orleans and Arizona can't afford to fall any further behind San Francisco in the NFC West. Home field is the difference for the Giants.

Giants 34, Cardinals 28

Philadelphia at Washington -- One team is coming off of an inexplicable loss to an inferior team and the other just saw its head coach stripped of his ability to call plays in favor of a guy who was calling bingo two weeks ago. It was only a matter of time before ESPN and Monday Night Football got saddled with a stinker and this one is it. But Donovan McNabb will prevail with relative ease and make life in D.C. even stranger than it already is.

Eagles 27, Redskins 6

Until next time, stay thirsty my friends.

AK