Ray Rice is hard to stop as is Joe Flacco

Nothing is as much fun though as seeing your favorite team put together all the pieces of the puzzle, and play up to their full potential.The Cardinals stomped the Giants the other night, and their defense is really coming along. Without the fluke play and then Kurt Warner setting up NY with great field position with an INT, the score could have easily been 24-3.Ken Whisenhunt is building something special in Arizona, and firing Clancy Pendergast and hiring Bill Davis has shown to be another superb move. The thing that is most exciting is that a lot of their best players are young.They may be putting together more than a playoff team. This squad has the makings of a team that could own the division and be one of the best teams in the NFC for years to come. Just sayin'.That said, lets get back to another tough round of predictions. Denver at Baltimore. Two teams coming off a bye, and the Ravens defense not looking as effective without Rex Ryan this year.

I just have a hard time believing Baltimore is only 3-3 while Denver sits at 6-0.Ray Rice is hard to stop, as is Joe Flacco. Look, Cleveland's defense is the league's worst and they have scored four offensive touchdowns in 81 possessions .Pick: Bears St Louis at Detroit There isn't much to like about either team. I do like Matthew Stafford's progress, at least before he was hurt.I'll give the edge to the Lions at home after a bye week, since Stafford is expected to be back in the mix Pick: Lions Miami at N.Y Jets. Last time these teams met it was a great game from both teams and both quarterbacks.

The Dolphins really need this win, and I think they are a better team than their 2-4 record would suggest.Still, I have to believe Rex and company will have corrected their mistakes, and are so angry about how the wildcat ran them into the ground, they will answer with a win.Pick: Jets San Francisco at Indianapolis I am jumping off the Singletary bandwagon. I say promoting Alex Smith to take over as leader of the offense will turn out to be a season-killer.Smith has a bigger arm, but a lesser leader than Shaun Hill. In crunch time, opposing teams can blitz Smith into stupid mistakes, I haven't seen anything otherwise from him to believe he is a changed player now.Truth be told, they may need someone not named Hill or Smith. I don't even need to talk about the Colts, maybe the best team in football after a week of rest equals victory.Pick: Colts Seattle at Dallas. In fact, I can't imagine Seattle getting many more wins this year with they way their injured reserve is stacking up.Pick: Cowboys N.Y Giants at Philadelphia. The NFC East is weak this year for the first time in a long while.

The Redskins stink, the Cowboys are underachievers, and these two teams are inconsistent.The Giants' D-line has more talent than any, yet they look like they are missing Steve Spagnuolo and their secondary is ailing.I can't get a grip on Philly. DeSean Jackson is one of the game's most dangerous players, but their D is missing the late Jim Johnson. Philly at home gets the edge.Pick: Eagles Jacksonville at Tennessee. Has Jeff Fisher lost control of this Titans team If so, I am shocked. He has been one of the best coaches in the game for 15 years. I am beginning to wonder if the death of Steve McNair is effecting him more than we know.Jacksonville is playing surprisingly well sometimes ; then again they lost to Seattle 41-0.Pick: Titans Oakland at San Diego. I fell for the false hope of the Raiders building something once and I got burned.Pick: Chargers Minnesota at Green Bay.