NFL Picks: Week 2

Last Week: 7-9
Season Record: 7-9

Hey folks. Don't give up on me after one week! It was a rough one, to be sure, with lots of weird and lopsided upsets. But that's why they play the games, and we have to get our footing. So let's roll into Week 2.....

Oakland at Buffalo--Did anyone think these two teams would be 1-0 heading into this weekend? But they are, both on road wins. I guess I'm going to give this one to the Bills solely on the fact that they racked up 40 points on the Chiefs--and also because they have one extra day of rest. Bills 21, Raiders 14

Green Bay at Carolina--Speaking about rest, the Packers will have had ten days since their opener, while the Panthers had to fly home from Arizona after a tough but encouraging loss, in which Cam Newton threw for a ridiculous 422 yards. He is going to see some pressure Sunday, however--Mr. Newton, meet Mr. Matthews. Packers 27, Panthers 13

Kansas City at Detroit--Man, I wouldn't want to be a Chiefs fan right now. Lions 35, Chiefs 17

Cleveland at Indianapolis--The Colts' fans will get to see just how bad their team is up close. The Browns need to regroup, but I have a bad feeling for them here. Colts 24, Browns 20

Tampa Bay at Minnesota--Just when you thought it was safe to make a pick, you get this quandary. Do you take the young and talented Bucs on the road, or the Donny Mack led Vikings at home? Argh. Bucs 31, Vikings 24

Chicago at New Orleans--For as good as Jay Cutler looked last Sunday, he may struggle against a revamped Saints D, even though New Orleans gave up 42 to Green Bay. I mean, that was the Packers. The Bears' D, however, nearly shut the Falcons out. Saints 23, Bears 16

Jacksonville at NY Jets--How did the Jets get two home games to start the season? Anyway, they will fare a bit better against the Jags and a shutout wouldn't even make me flinch. Jets 17, Jaguars 6

Seattle at Pittsburgh--Poor Pete Carroll, poor Tarvaris Jackson, poor Seahawks' defense. The Steelers are going to take their Week 1 frustrations out and Seattle can't stop them. Steelers 38, Seahawks 10

Baltimore at Tennessee--I lived in Nashville for seven years and they have great fans there. But they will run into a buzz-saw in this one. Ravens 27, Titans 10

Arizona at Washington--Wow, Rex Grossman picked apart the Giants like it was his job, and it is. I'm not sure the Cards are a better team than my Giants, but they might be. Still, the Skins will be 2-0 after Sunday. Redskins 29, Cardinals 22

Dallas at San Francisco--Tony Romo choke alert! Okay, that was low. Or maybe not. Are the Niners improved or did they just face a weak opponent in the Seahawks last Sunday? Cowboys 24, Niners 13

Cincinnati at Denver--Man, another tough call. The young and hungry Bengals can't possibly be 2-0, can they? Nah. Broncos 30, Bengals 20

Houston at Miami--This one could be interesting as well. In fact, I'm picking an upset. Dolphins 24, Texans 20

San Diego at New England--Tom Brady won't throw for over 500 yards against a tough Chargers' pass D, but they will still win. Patriots 23, Chargers 20

Philadelphia at Atlanta--Probably the game of the week. The high flying Eagles bring Michael Vick back to Atlanta, and meanwhile the Falcons have their home opener, and they are always tough in the dome. Falcons 26, Eagles 24

St. Louis at NY Giants--The Giants have to play better in their home opener than they did against the Redskins in Week 1. And can gimpy Sam Bradford will face a heavy pass rush and a raucous New Jersey crowd. Giants 27, Rams 24

Week 1 NFL Picks

Last night: 1-0
Season record: 1-0

And here we go with the rest of the Week 1 games. Happy football season everyone!

Pittsburgh at Baltimore--Wow, the NFC North wastes no time pitting two vicious opponents against each other. Of course, the Ravens are still going to hold a grudge after the Steelers sent them home in the playoffs en route to the Super Bowl. Steelers 16, Ravens 13

Atlanta at Chicago--Another extremely interesting matchup. Will the Bears' D pick up where they left off when they reached the NFC title game, or will their offensive line crumble as they did too often last season? Will the Falcons re-emerge as a contender. With Julio Jones, Matt Ryan has yet another stud target. Falcons 24, Bears 17

Cincinnati at Cleveland--Not quite Ravens/Steelers, but this features a team that is on the rise (Browns) with a team in extreme rebuilding mode (Bengals). I think the new era of Browns' respectability has begun. Browns 20, Bengals 10

Indianapolis at Houston--I don't think Matt Schaub is used to being the better QB in this matchup, but he is now that Kerry Collins is leading the Colts with Peyton Manning on the shelf.
The bigger question, though, is whether or not Arian Foster will play. Texans 33, Colts 20

Tennessee at Jacksonville--Matt Hasselbeck vs. Luke McCown. Are you kidding me? Titans 27, Jaguars 24

Buffalo at Kansas City--The Bills actually played hard down the stretch last year, and the Chiefs won their division before getting smoked by the Ravens in the playoffs. Chiefs 30, Bills 17

Philadelphia at St. Louis--The Eagles are being touted as the "Dream Team," which, as a Giants fan, makes me want to vomit. And while I'd love to see Steve Spagnuolo's D rock the Eagles, they can't keep Michael Vick contained all day. Eagles 31, Rams 16

Detroit at Tampa Bay--These are two very improved teams and this could be one of the best games of the week. All in all though, I'm going to take the home team on opening day. Bucs 21, Lions 18

Carolina at Arizona--Cam Newton vs. Kevin Kolb. Definitely more interesting than Hasselbeck/McCown, but this game? Not very interesting at all. Panthers 28, Cards 24

Minnesota at San Diego--The Vikings are somewhat in transition but with Donovan McNabb bringing experience on offense, they might avoid the NFC North basement. The Chargers are hyped once again, but they have to prove it to me. Chargers 38, Vikings 21

Seattle at San Francisco--Yeah, I know the Seahawks were a pleasant surprise by going 7-9 and then shocking the Saints in the playoffs, but Tarvaris Jackson? Really? The Niners meanwhile counter with Alex Smith. Really? Niners 20, Seahawks 6

NY Giants at Washington--An emotional contest that marks the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. The Giants seem to have the Redskins' number the last few years, but I'll be honest--so do a lot of other teams. Giants 24, Redskins 20

Dallas at NY Jets--Part two of the emotional 9/11 tribute. This one features two teams with high hopes and lots of hard hitting defenders. And will Tony Romo be all the way back? I have to see that to believe it. Jets 17, Cowboys 13

New England at Miami--Part 1 of the Monday Night opener, and another fierce division rivalry. Tom Brady adds Ochocinco and the Pats' D adds big Albert (if you think I'm going to call him Fat Albert, you're crazy...oops!). The Dolphins have Reggie Bush, a still-disturbed Brandon Marshall and a kicker who can boom it 60 yards in Dan Carpenter. But they also have Chad Henne. Yeah. Patriots 30, Dolphins 19

Oakland at Denver--Yet another tough division rivalry and two teams that legitimately hate each other. But can someone tell me how the Raiders get this Monday night game in Week 1 every year? Broncos 23, Raiders 17

NFL Picks: Thursday Night Special

Hey everyone.....he we are, another NFL season! The training camp and preseason were pretty much a blur, and now we're focused on games that count. Please bookmark me and let's have some fun this year....

New Orleans at Green Bay--There will be no frozen tundra at this point of the season, and while both of these teams have explosive offenses, I can't help but think about last year's opener between the Vikings and Saints that ended up something like 14-9 or 14-10. Both of tonight's teams have good defenses too, but I will eat my hat if the Packers do not score more than 14 points. Packers 27, Saints 20