2011 NFL Picks Week 7: If I were to suggest by this time next week everyone’s going to be talking about how great Tony Romo is, would you believe me? Well, that’s exactly what I expect this week after the (2-3) Dallas Cowboys [-13] dismantle the visiting NFL Odds underdog St. Louis Rams [+13]. This game gets underway on Sunday afternoon at 4:15 PM ET and the OVER/UNDER is set at a combined total of 43½ points.
Deciding to punt the ball back to Tom Brady and the Patriots, despite barely holding on with the three-point lead, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has taken a lot of heat this week. In what appeared to be very hesitant play-calling, electing to run the ball three times rather than give Romo an opportunity to mess up, Garrett thought it was best to put the game on his defense’s hands.
As you would expect with 2 minutes left and Brady running the show, the Pats marched down the field. Scoring the go-ahead TD on an 8-yard pass from Brady to Aaron Hernandez with just seconds remaining, New England went into its bye feeling good, while the Cowboys’ head coach was left to be second-guessed.
Never shying away from a microphone, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones went public with his coach’s decision to run out the clock. Jones believed that wasn’t the time to be passive, but rather aggressive. The outspoken owner contradicted himself from the prior week, as he wanted Romo to run free and decide the team’s fate.
"I think everyone is well intended," Garrett said after a meeting with Jones. "Everybody is passionate about it, and when you lose a ballgame like that, sometimes things are said, and you've just got to kind of understand what the environment is, process it and move on. We all went up there, and we swung the bat hard against New England. … We came out on the short end of it. We've got to somehow process that and go forward. We have a great challenge this week against St. Louis."
My 2011 NFL Picks Week 7 for Rams vs Cowboys: As bad as the Cowboys are, the Rams are that much more worse! This means that this game will be one of those one-sided butt-kickings you see every once in a while. I expect the Cowboys defense to shut down any offensive attacks from the Rams, especially if Sam Bradford isn’t able to play because of his ankle sprain.
Also, after getting the OK from the owner, Garrett should allow Romo a little freedom. Given how bad the Rams’ defense has been, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Romo put on astronomical numbers on Sunday… and like I said, everyone will be talking about how great he is this time next week… Get $50 in Free NFL Picks here!
