Welcome Friends.
Someone remind me to never watch another preseason game again. Watching preseason previews on ESPN is also a bad idea. All I am saying is that I could have done better last week by just going on what I know about teams from last season with just a few exceptions. Still, it was good to get the cobwebs out and see some football.
Well, seeing how it's Friday, I guess it's too late to talk about last Sunday. One quick note, my pick of the week, the Texans gave the game away before it started. I still think J.P. Losman will struggle this season even though he had a decent game last Sunday. The Buccaneers defense will give him fits Sunday and the Bills schedule only gets tougher from there. On a more positive note, I think I have a little better feel for the up and down Texans. Looking back at their schedule from last season, I noticed they keep it close w/ teams they are familiar with and struggle on the road in non division games. Ok, enough, time to move on to Week 2.
Baltimore - 3 1/2 at Tenn The Ravens have playoff hopes so the prospect of a 0-2 start will have them ready to go. No letdown and no Kyle Boller. PICK Ravens.
Pittsburg -6 at Houston This looks like a sucker game. Pittsburgh plays the Patriots in week 3, so they might take it easy on the Texans who will be up for their home opener. Stay away.
Indy -9 vs Jacksonville The question mark in this game is Fred Taylor. The Jags must run the ball well to keep Indy off the filed. Hard not to take 9 points between two teams that split division games last season. PICK Jaguars +9.
Detroit -1 at Chicago This game is a coin flip. Could Detroit open its season 2-0 plus 2-0 in thier division? I don't like betting on fumbles and interceptions.
Cincinnati -3 vs Minnesota The Vikings have problems with their offensive line. Once their biggest strength will now be their achilles heel without Matt Birk. PICK Bengals -3.
Philly -13 1/2 vs San Fran The Eagles are mad, looks like they will take their frustrations out on the Niners. Beware of the Super Bowl loser. In a few weeks we'll know for sure if the Eagles are going to self destruct or not.
Tampa Bay -2 1/2 vs Buffalo Buffalo might have looked good last week, but it's time for a reality check. The Florida heat won't help them either. Buccaneers win big. PICK Tampa Bay -2 1/2.
Pats -3 at Carolina A hard game to figure. If I had to, I'd take the Panthers, but I'm just gonna watch this one for the fun of it.
Seattle -1 vs Atlanta Seattle plays well enough at home to scare me away from the Falcons.
Arizona -1 vs St. Louis Mike Martz is an idiot calling 65 pass plays last week. The Cardinals will have the desert heat helping them out and should be able to run the ball enough to keep Kurt Warner off his back. The game still looks like a coin flip, but I'll take Denny Green over Martz any day. PICK Cardinals.
N.Y. Jets -6 vs Miami Don't be surprised if the Jets run away with this one, still there are too many questions to be answered about these teams for a wager.
Green Bay -6 1/2 vs Cleveland This game will be a shootout. I like Cleveland +7, but the safer pick is the over. PICK over 40.
Denver -2 1/2 vs San Diego San Diego hasn't won in Denver since 1999. Denver may bounce back in a big way. Monitor the Champ Bailey injury situation, without him, Denver will be in trouble.
KC -1 vs Washington The Raiders still look like they are going to find ways to beat themselves. Too close to call.
Dallas -6 vs Washington Dallas should have their way with the Redskins at home. PICK Cowboys.
We're going to add a new segment to the Palace......one of my friends wants to get in on the action. He's a former Division 1 NCAA Football participant, so his specialty is College Football, he's the master of pulling up garbage games from Conferences you've never heard of. He wants to go by the internet handle of The Greek Hammer, don't ask me why, sounds like somebody is going to get ...... His lock for this week is Minnesota -30 vs Florida Atlantic.
GOOD LUCK DEGENERATES