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Villarial a vim victor vis-à-vis Green veterans
The Green Side of Life
Gridiron Guru
What kind of numinous substances are they putting in school meals these days? And do they sell them retail?
For the second consecutive week, youth was served in the Gridiron Green, as 12-year-old Donovan Villarial of Ignacio nabbed first place with a perfect 136.
In Donovan's first year vying for the Green, he already has the upper hand on his mother, brother, grandmother and local prognosticator.
The Guru, not getting any younger despite a shelf full of ointments, endured another disastrous week at 6-7 overall, 4-9 against the spread.
To any prescient juveniles reading this: For a lunch pass or five minutes of your counsel, I'll swap you an 1804 silver dollar ...
Sunday Broncos at Ravens - Each of Baltimore's three losses has come by less than a touchdown against an apparent Super Bowl contender, and two of those were on the road. Denver has acknowledged the Ravens as an unusually menacing 3-3 team, but are they better than an undefeated team?
Guru: Baltimore 24-20; Vegas: Ravens by 3.
Texans at Bills - Two teams on the heels of a surprising two-game winning streak meet in Buffalo, where beleaguered tailback Steve Slaton will hope to get on track against a defense that allows 172.4 rushing yards per game. Wideout Andre Johnson is probable, as is a Houston victory. Guru: Houston 34-23; Vegas: Texans by 4.
Browns at Bears - Chicago made the Guru eat his words in last week's 45-10 loss to "pretender" Cincinnati. Surely the hapless Browns are the tonic Matt Forte needs to break into the opposing secondary and relieve building pressure on Jay Cutler. Guru: Chicago 42-9; Vegas: Bears by 3.
Seahawks at Cowboys - Miles Austin has 421 receiving yards in his last two games since compiling just 81 through his first four, proving the axiom: Give somebody an inch, and he'll (eventually) take a mile. Seattle, meanwhile, proved the chaos theory by following a 41-0 win against visiting Jacksonville with a 27-3 loss against visiting Arizona. Guru: Dallas 35-17; Vegas: Cowboys by 10.
Rams at Lions - St. Louis has lost its last 17 games while scoring the least points in the NFL and conceding the most. Detroit has won just once in its last 23 games. Both teams were annihilated last week, neither has any discernable strength, and the Lions' supposed advantage - home field - is nullified by the potential absence of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. This game is off the books, to nobody's dismay.
Guru: Detroit 10-3; Vegas: Off.
49ers at Colts - Good news for San Francisco: Former overall top pick Alex Smith reclaimed the No. 1 job after nearly rallying the 49ers back from a three-score deficit against Houston. Bad news for San Francisco: The Colts are 7-0 for the fourth time in five years, boast the league's longest winning streak at 16 games and are winning by an average of 24 points. Guru: Indianapolis 50-14; Vegas: Colts by 13.
Dolphins at Jets - New York will look slightly different when it tries to avenge a 31-27 Week 5 loss to Miami in the Big Apple. Iowa rookie Shonn Greene rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries last week, forming - in theory - a fearsome tandem with Thomas Jones. Guru: New York 23-17; Vegas: Jets by 4.
Giants at Eagles - While Major League Baseball players preen about all lotioned up at the "World Series," real men will be on the gridiron Sunday trading blood and sweat in an NFC East showdown. Donovan McNabb will have his work cut out for him staring down an amped-up New York pass rush that has lost twice in a row. Guru: New York 24-12; Vegas: Eagles by 1.
Jaguars at Titans - If owner Bud Adams has his way, Vince Young will start for Tennessee. Unfortunately for Bud, it wasn't Kerry Collins who allowed the Patriots to score 59 points in Week 6. Similarly embarrassing: Jacksonville only beat the Rams 23-20 in overtime last week at home. Guru: Tennesee 17-6; Vegas: Titans by 3.
Raiders at Chargers - San Diego has won 12 in a row against Oakland, which comes in averaging less than half the passing yards per game as the Chargers (128 to 281.3). They showed a glimpse of greatness in derailing the Eagles in Week 5, but the Raiders re-railed the reeling Jets in a 38-0 loss in Week 6. Guru: San Diego 42-18; Vegas: Chargers by 17.
Panthers at Cardinals - Arizona finally looks like the defending NFC champion after winning its last three games. The Panthers not only are bad, they're worse than people expect them to be, going 1-5 against the spread this season. And it's still unclear whether Carolina has a backup quarterback on its roster. Guru: Arizona 37-24; Vegas: Cardinals by 11.
Vikings at Packers - Obviously, Brett Favre's return to Lambeau Field will overshadow all other storylines, but the major difference between these two teams is that the Packers are much better defending the pass than the Vikings. Expect Aaron Rodgers to win some Cheesehead love with a big day, while No. 4 struggles to match his young counterpart's gaudy stats. Guru: Green Bay 38-34; Vegas: Packers by 3.
Monday Falcons at Saints - At 12 points, the Dolphins came closer to beating New Orleans than anybody in 2007, and the clear key to their "success" was shutdown pass coverage (despite losing cornerback Will Allen). Shutdown pass coverage is hardly a staple of Atlanta's game. Guru: New Orleans 45-21; Vegas: Saints by 10.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
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