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