NFL Week 7: PhilliesNation turns its lonely eyes to big Andy and the Birds

FROM KEITH GROLLER

I left Citizens Bank Park around 1 on this Sunday morning and even the Schuylkill Expressway, Blue Route and turnpike seemed empty, a little lonely, on the way back home.

Probably lots of drowning of sorrows at the local pubs.

There is little joy in Billy Penn's town this Sunday.

Call after call on both of the Philadelphia sports-talk radio stations this morning revealed plenty of despair.

One host compared the bitter loss by the Phillies in the NLCS to the Eagles NFC Championship Game loss to Tampa, the one that closed out the Vet.

It was rip city.

Basically, the gist was that Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard stink and Charlie Manuel is a complete moron.

Minimal credit given to the Giants and their pitching.

It was all the Phillies fault that they're not playing in a third straight World Series.

Brutal.

Just in time to change the tone are the Philadelphia Eagles. They have been a pleasant surprise to this point at 4-2, even if they've been a soap opera with their quarterback situation.

Frankly, with the NFC being the land of mediocrity, the Eagles might be as good as anybody.

No one is talking Super Bowl yet, at least out loud, but now that the Phillies are done, the hopes of an entire region will be re-attached to the guys in green.

And with that extra interest comes extra scrutiny. That's why one of the saddest people on Saturday night had to be Andy Reid because now his blunders will be blown up even larger with no Phillies around to serve as a diversion.

By the way, I had the Giants winning that NLCS in six. What's that expression about every blind squirrel finding an acorn every now and then?

We won't talk about my ALCS prediction.

I hope I can build off the NLCS selection with my NFL picks.

I was 8-6 outright last week, 6-6-2 against the spread and 7-7 on the over/under totals.

It puts me at 46-43 outright, 42-42-5 against the spread and 45-43-1 on the o/u totals -- completely mediocre, just like most of the teams in the NFC.

MIAMI (+3) 20, Pittsburgh 17 -- Under (the over/under total of 41)

Cincinnati (+3.5) 24, ATLANTA 20 -- Over (43.5)

KC CHIEFS (-9) 27, Jacksonville 20 -- Over (38)

TENNESSEE (-3) 26, Philadelphia 21 -- Over (42)

CHICAGO (-3) 19, Washington 14 -- Under (40.5)

NEW ORLEANS (-12.5) 31, Cleveland 17 -- Under (44)

BALTIMORE (-12.5) 23, Buffalo 10 -- Under (40)

San Francisco (-2.5) 20, CAROLINA 17 -- Over (35.5)

TAMPA BAY (-3) 20, St. Louis 14 -- Under (39)

SEATTLE (-7) 28, Arizona 17 -- Over (40)

New England (+2.5) 23, SAN DIEGO 21 -- Under (49)

DENVER (-7) 31, Oakland 21 -- Over (42)

Sunday Night

GREEN BAY (-3) 24, Minnesota 23 -- Over (44)

Monday Night

DALLAS (-3) 28, New York Giants 14 --- Under (43).

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