Seattle -7 vs Arizona
If you go by last week's performance, Arizona would be the pick. Not so fast. Detroits defense is very tough at home and we shouldn't be surprised the Seahawks struggled in the season opener on the road. Hell, last year they lost at Jacksonville in Week 1. Seattle beat the Cards at home last year 37-12. I don't see this weeks game being much different. The Cards are still going to struggle in the red zone, especially on the road vs a good defense. Good running teams make for good favorites b/c they still score points while grinding out the clock. The Cards should be forced to pass, pass, and pass some more. Can you say sacks, int, and three and out?
Seattle **
San Diego vs Tennessee
Going against one of the leagues best defenses does not bode well for the Titans. I would start Tomlinson's backup in fantasy leagues this week. San Diego will put on a good show for the fans in their home opener. The Chargers have a bye next week will no doubt get an extra day off if they crush the Titans.
Chargers -11.5 **
New Orleans -2 vs Green Bay
The Saints will be out for blood after last year's 52-3 thrashing at Lambeau. I don't care who wins. Both teams look like they have plenty of motivation to score points. The total of 38 is way off. One of these teams wil score thirty something by themselves.
Over 38 **
The Saints have been road favs twice in 3 seasons rior to this year. They have won 1 game in 9 tries in Wisconsin. The Packers are the epitome of my No Fucking Logic (NFL) theory.
Packers *
Baltimore -12 vs Oakland
West coast teams have a harder time going East than East coast teams going West. The time change is a killer on their minds as well as physical time clocks. Da Raiders have a "Monday Night" hangover as well. I've seen so much bad officiating that I'm afraid to call anything close to a lock. Remember this, the Ravens will be a very popular bet Sunday. Never a good thing. The hapless Raiders look like they'll put up another pitiful effort.
Ravens -12 **
They are worthy of a wager but not the farm.
Pittsburgh at Jacksonville
Anyone who says they can figure this one is full of cacca. Anyone who follows the league closely knows the Steelers struggle in Jacksonville. Jags are 3-0 in Sept vs Pittsburgh. Throw that stat out b/c it should be at least a little cooler being a Monday Night Game. The Jags won last year, Joey Porter and Co. take that personal. The Steelers surprisingly have plenty of fire. The Steelers are good "Monday Night Gamers" while the Jaguars seem to be uptight under the spotlight. Dating back to 12/11/05 vs Chicago, the Steelers have covered 8 games w/ a push somewhere in the middle.
Steelers * Never bet against a streak.
Colts -14 vs Houston
The question is: Will the Colts put this team away or fuck around playing ball control. Remember the game vs the Browns early last season? My guess is they will run up the score to protect their suspect running game. There are better games to wager on.
Colts -14 *
Broncos -10.5 vs Chiefs
The Broncos are coming off a loss besides playing their home opener. They have plenty of players on Offense who would like to forget last week. The Chiefs are turning to chumps in a hurry. 7 sacks given up to the "Who Dey" Bengals. Broncos will have no pity.
Broncos *
Buffalo vs Miami
Both teams played very respectable games vs quality opponents last week. So you think. The Pats looked soft vs the Bills while Miami hung w/ a very pumped up Steeler team. At least for 3 quarters of so. The Fish look like a bargain as favs of less than a TD. Culpepper is having a homecoming of sorts. The Fish are extremely tough to beat at home in September. J.P. Losman is no Charlie Batch (that was a joke). Bills get a reality check
Dolphins *
Jets +6 vs Pats
The Pats looked far from dominant in Week 1. Pennington had a good game vs a pedestrian secondary. I'm sure Bellichek is going to get a better effort from his squad this week. The Jets coach knows the Pats defense so well, it's hard to imagine the Jets not breaking off a few big plays. The Jets looked like a real NFL team vs Tennessee. The Patroits are not ready to just start stomping the guts out of people.
Jets *
This matchup has gone "under" a lot lately.
Atlanta vs Tampa Bay
This is a game best left alone. Sure, the Buccs looked bad while the Falcons were impressive vs Carolina. The Buccs have won 9 of the past 11. It might be time for a changing of the guard but let's wait and see if Atlanta is truly for real. Gruden will call a better game vs a team he's familiar with.
Buccs *
Dallas -6 vs Washington
The boys looked good until the Florida heat wilted them. These teams look like they will split the division series. In all likelihood, the home team should prevail in Dallas as well as the rematch at Washington. If you look at your wagers like investments, neither team looks like good stock here.
Dallas -6 *
Eagles -3 vs Giants
The Eagles got a tune up in last week whlie the G men were bent over by the officials on national TV. The Giants will be either riproaring mad or still in some state of disbelief. The Giants were sloppy. They can't be trusted and the true Eagles have yet to be seen . The Giants make the most sense. They swept the series in 2005. They had the Colts in 3rd and long a few times only to get their back broken by one of the best QB-WR tandems in league history, besides quite a few questionable calls. There are no Marvin Harrisons to worry about this week.
Giants +3 *
Chicago -8 vs Detroit
Punt, punt and more commercials. Detroit's new coach looks like he's going to try to make teams beat his defense. Chicago will have to get at least a 10 pt lead before the Lions open up their playbook and take chances. If the Bears can't score we won't see as many Jon Kitna floaters go over the heads of his receivers and into the hands of Chicago's safeties. Kit can throw to the sidelines OK, its the throws over the middle that he struggles with. I've been sitting here struggling to make a decision thinking the Lions are +6.5. At +9 they look good to me. The Bears won 26-0 last week. Last year while looking dominant on defense the final scores were always closer than the game appeared. Bears in a close game.
Lions *
Minn -1.5 vs Carolina
The Vikings were very impressive on the road last week. They appear to have a solid defense and rushing attack (my kind of team). Brad Johnson has done nothing but win since he was plugged into the lineup. The Panthers might have rolled on the Vikings last year but that was vs Culpepper early in the season before these guys were able to start forgetting about the "Love Boat". Only the officials can stop the Vikings. Without Steve Smith the Panthers are mud.
Minn -1.5 **
Cincy -10 vs Cleveland
The "Battle of Ohio" Part 1. Looks like it won't be close. Before we jump on the Bengals, I'm going to try to find a few reasons to take the Browns. After the Bengals beat the Steelers in a "big game" last year, the Bengals appeared to have gone "Hollywood". The next few weeks after that game they came out flat as pancakes vs Cleveland and Buffalo. This is a sign of a mentally immature team. The Bengals already have the Steelers on their minds. In case you don't know, the Bengals are at Pitt next week, they might look at this game like a preseason game. Vegas has this game right on the number. Anthony Wright might play the whole 2nd Half. Who knows?
Bengals -10 * Buyer beware.
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