Week 2 Picks

8-8….well I might as well get the bad week out of the way first. C’mon no saw the Bucs tanking as bad as they did and no one expected the Broncos to play as underwhelming as they did. Ahhh enough with the excuses, I just plain missed too many of them. Week 2 has less tossups, there are 9 games this week with a 7 point or better spread and three of those are double digit…yikes

Panthers (0-1) @ Vikings (1-0)
HHH Metrodome, Minneapolis-1 (Fox)
Favorite- Carolina by 3
Coming off a fine nationally televised performance, The Vikes host a Panthers team coming off a poor performance against the Falcons. The variable here is Steve Smith, if healthy he will torment the Vikes secondary. If not, the Vikes can go hard at Jake Delhomme since DeShaun Foster has not shown signs of being a the gamebreaker he has been projected to be, it could pose problems in a perennially loud Metrodome
Pick-Minnesota

Bills (0-1) @ Dolphins (0-1)
Dolphin Stadium, Miami-1 (CBS)
Favorite-Miami by 7
The education of JP Losman continues, as he faces another hard charging veteran defense in the Dolphins. South Florida in September is not the best place to have to run for your life constantly Daunte Culpepper will find that the Bills defense while challenging won’t pose as many problems as the Steelers did
Pick-Miami

Giants (0-1) @ Eagles (1-0)
Lincoln Financial Field-1 (Fox)
Favorite-Philly by 3
The education of Eli Manning continues, though the younger Manning’s learning has been a lot better he should find that the Eagles defense to be as challenging as the Colts defense. This seems like a snarky upset pick but in reality the teams are a lot closer than one would think this is really a tossup. The Eagles have lost their last three at home, I can’t see it going to four.
Pick-Philly

Saints (1-0) @ Packers (0-1)
Lambeau Field Green Bay, WI-1 (Fox)
Favorite-New Orleans by 1
Last year the Pack were on the plus side of scoring for a deal of the season due to a 52-3 beatdown of the Saints. The Pack will be lucky to get 52 points total by Mid-October at this rate. The Saints while nowhere near a juggernaut, have enough offense to wear the Pack down and enough defense to make the Pack pay for last years thrashing. This might get ugly.
Pick-New Orleans

Texans (0-1) @ Colts (1-0)
RCA Dome, Indianapolis-1 (CBS)
Favorite-Indy by 14
Peyton gets his favorite whipping boy to blister in their home opener. The Texans while showing some improvement are nowhere close to staying with the Colts. David Carr will be running for his life (again) as the boisterous and rowdy Colt faithful will make it hard to think inside the RCA Dome. The Colts have yet to lose to the Texans and its hard to see that trend coming to an end anytime soon.
Pick- Indy (Lock of the Week)

Lions @ Bears
Soldier Field, Chicago-1 (Fox)
Favorite-Chicago by 8
The Bears are looking fearsome, their defense that is. Their offense is still working the kinks out. The Lions showed some heart against the Seahawks but that is not even close to being enough to keep up. The Bears will simply do like they did against the Pack last week, wait for Jon Kitna to force things and cash in.
Pick-Chicago
Browns @ Bengals
Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati-1 (CBS)
Favorite-Cincy by 10
Fresh off a solid win at a tough venue the Bengals deal with their interdivision upstate nemesis. The Bengals are already pinning their collective ears back to rush young Charlie Frye. The Browns o-line is nowhere near as good as the Chiefs patchwork line and that could be a problem dealing with a hard charging Rudi Johnson who has had 100+ yards in each of his last three games against the Browns
Pick-Cincy
Bucs @ Falcons
Georgia Dome, Atlanta-1 (Fox)
Favorite-Atlanta by 7
The Bucs are licking their wounds after getting their lunch handed to them last week. The Falcons rugged defense is not the squad you want to see. Worse still is the very real possibility of Michael Vick returning to his high-speed elusive form. Chucky is in deep trouble, 0-2 overall and in the division is a real possibility and in no joke NFC South that could be deadly.
Pick-Atlanta
Raiders @ Ravens
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore- 1 (CBS)
Favorite-Baltimore by 8
Do you think the Ravens are drooling? The Ravens dominated a decent Bucs team. They may do the same against a pathetic Raiders squad who are fast becoming the definition of clueless. Combine a short week for the Raiders and a cross-country trip to a tough venue in Baltimore and you have the makings of a train wreck. Art Shell is beginning to realize why so many coaching candidates turned this job down.
Pick-Baltimore
Cards @ Seahawks
Qwest Field, Seattle-4:05 (Fox)
Favorite-Seattle by 7
The resurgent Kurt Warner has the Cards flying high after a shootout win over the Niners, they’ll get no such quarter in Seattle . The ‘Hawks hardcore defense will make points harder to come by and the Cards will have a harder time slowing down Shawn Alexander
Pick-Seattle
Rams @ 49ers
Monster Park, San Francisco-4:05 (Fox)
Favorite-St. Louis by 3
Remember when this used to be a marquee matchup? The Niners scare no one and the Rams puny offense only scares themselves. The Rams might ruefully rememeber the shocking 28-25 loss the Niners handed them last year. Alex Smith is showing some improvement to keep the game interesting but not that interesting.
Pick-St. Louis
Patriots @ Jets
Giants Stadium; East Rutherford , NJ-4:15 (CBS)
Favorite-New England by 5.5
The Jets are feelin froggy after rallying to beat the Titans, but they are catching the Pats at a bad time. Annoyed that they struggled with the Bills last week, they are looking to take it out on the next opponent. The Jets are on the docket and Gang Green really should be worried. A resurgent Chad Pennington will find the sledding a lot tougher against a still capable Pats D.
Pick-New England
Titans @ Chargers
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego-4:15 (CBS)
Favorite-San Diego by 10.5
The Chargers looked crisp and efficient in their destruction of the Raiders. The Titans gave it good try against the Jets, but couldn’t seal the deal. If Vince Young gets some playing time, he’ll spend a good deal of it running from Shawne Merriman. Philip Rivers gets the benefit of not having to do too much other than making sure LaDainian Tomlinson gets the ball cleanly on handoffs
Pick-San Diego
Chiefs @ Broncos
Invesco Field @ Mile High, Denver-4:15 (CBS)
Favorite-Denver by 7
The Broncos laid a big fat egg against a beatable Rams squad, and while there is nothing wrong with their defense, their offense leaves much to be desired. The same can be said of the Chiefs who were one dimensional prior to Trent Green’s concussion from a frightening head bounce against Cincy and are even more so now. The Broncs rarely lose home openers often, haven’t lost to the Chiefs at home since 2000 and won’t this time.
Pick-Denver
Redskins @ Cowboys
Texas Stadium; Irving, TX-8:15 (NBC)
Favorite-Dallas by 5.5
I think it should be a law that on that these two teams meetings should be nationally televised. My hatred of the Tuna tempts me to pick the Skins, but the Pokes play good at night and they will take a page from the Vikings playbook and try to pound the ball late if its close. The Skins don’t have the wherewithal to stand up to a closely pitched trench war. Joe Gibbs deserves a better fate, but I think the Pokes don’t want to go into their bye 0-2.
Pick-Dallas
Monday September 18th
Steelers @ Jags
Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville-8:30 (ESPN)
Favorite-Jags by 3
I read on the Jags website that the heat wilted the Cowboys last week and that the elements might do the same for the Steelers…uh I doubt that. But it will be a close game, where is Tommy Maddox when the Jags need him? The Steelers get an added boost if the Robocop-like Big Ben can go. But Charlie Batch can do a great stand-in job if he can’t.
Pick-Pittsburgh
Last Week and Overall 8-8