By Danny Cox

The time has come for the seventh week of the 2012 NFL season, and once again, picks are likely to be not even close to correct. My week has started off decently though as the San Francisco 49ers took down the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, and it has started me off ahead instead of in the hole.

Some big games are this weekend as we approach the midway point of the season, and it is getting to the point where a number of teams could already be eliminated from playoff contention. Well, in the NFC that is. The AFC is a jumbled mess of mediocrity and no-one is pulling ahead.

Bye Weeks: Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Diego

Thursday Night Football: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers

This was expected to be a hard-nosed battled with a couple high-scoring offenses, but it turned into a defensive fight instead. It stayed close throughout the game, but Frank Gore and the 49ers ran away at the end and took the win.

Pick: 49ers
Winner: 49ers

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Saints are coming off their first win of the season and a bye week which allowed some injuries to heal. Jonathan Vilma will also be seeing the field for the first time this year, and chances are that New Orleans is going to be hyped up and ready for win number two.

Pick: Saints

Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills

Who on earth knows what team will show up for either of these clubs? Buffalo came out last week and took down the Cardinals while the Titans shot down the Steelers. It’s a mixed bag here and it all depends on who feels like playing each week.

Pick: Bills

Washington Redskins at New York Giants

RG3 and the Redskins played valiantly against the Falcons last week, but he should fear the warning of JPP.

Pick: Giants

Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers

Carolina just doesn’t have the cohesiveness as a team or the will to win it seems. Dallas is another one of those teams that plays differently every single week depending on if it is in them or not. With the season progressing, the Cowboys have got to win games like this if they want to contend.

Pick: Cowboys

Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans

The game that could have easily been the “must watch” of the week quickly turned into a possible easier win for the Texans. The losses of Ray Lewis and a few others to injury will really hurt the defense of the Ravens and it is going to be hard rebounding from them. Houston got embarrassed last week, and they’re out for redemption.

Pick: Texans

Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts

If Andrew Luck wants practice and to prove himself, than he needs to step out onto that field and win the games that the Colts “should” win.

Pick: Colts

Green Bay Packers at St. Louis Rams

Just don’t see this one going the Rams’ way.

Pick: Packers

Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings.

The Arizona Cardinals were the surprise team of 2012 so far, but then the last two weeks have brought them back to reality. Minnesota has had more ups than downs this season, and Adrian Peterson should run all over this Cardinals’ defense.

Pick: Vikings

New York Jets at New England Patriots

A quarterback at running back? Tim Tebow experiment number 576 will soon be put into operation.

Pick: Pats

Jacksonville Jaguars at Oakland Raiders

A bit of a toss-up here, but my thoughts are that the Raiders really are the more talented team. If they can only hold it together for a full 60 minutes, then they should be able to take this game with no problem.

Pick: Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

The Steelers continue to mount up the injuries every single week, and there is only so long before that catches up with them. One problem is that it already has caught up with them and it is making them suffer. Let’s not forget that Pittsburgh can hardly ever win on the road so Cincy should take this one.

Pick: Bengals

Monday Night Football: Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears

Call it a hunch, but the Lions appear to be backtracking and the Bears seem to be streaking. That will continue this Monday.

Pick: Bears

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Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. His work can be found on Examiner.com.