Last Week: 7-9
Season: 19-13
This is one of those weeks where real life interferes with writing time. I spent most of the day Friday helping my daughter move, so I had no time to work on an extended intro for this week. Lots of pickers, me included, took it on the chin last week due to a slew of upsets. I nailed my Giants pick yesterday, so I’m off to a good start for this week already.
Enjoy the picks, and enjoy your football this weekend.
Sunday
Falcons at Cowboys
Just like last season, Dallas Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli has his charges performing much better than expected (Having Sean Lee back sure helps). I have serious doubts about the Cowboys ability to score much, with Dez Bryant out, a thus-far lacklustre running game, and (Holy Crap!) Brandon Weeden at QB. Atlanta is looking much better than last season, and Julio Jones looks unstoppable. This Falcons team is going places. Winner: Falcons
Colts at Titans
With a poor defence, and a mediocre offensive line, the game plan against the Colts has been simple; get after Andrew Luck. To those who predicted great things for Indy this season (not me), think again. Still, they should be able to handle the Titans, right? Winner: Colts
Raiders at Browns
I don’t want to get too excited about the Raiders’ win against the Ravens, last week, but it’s tough. It’s no secret that I’m pretty high on Derek Carr. Let’s see how they fare on the road this week against a Cleveland defence that can be stingy. I love a scrappy underdog. Winner: Raiders
Bengals at Ravens
As usual, and as befits a team of their reputation and stature, Baltimore is favoured at home. I’m all in on Cincy for this one, though. Put aside the Ravens’ loss in Oakland last week, in which the Raiders put up 37 points; Baltimore’s coaching staff will work on correcting what went wrong there. Home or not, the Ravens just don’t match up well against the Bengals. The Ravens defence is sans its best player, Terrell Suggs, and is facing a Bengals offence that has found a potent balance in both the running and passing game. As well, Baltimore’s lack of receiver depth will doom them against a defence that will be in Joe Flacco’s face all afternoon now that Geno Atkins appears to be back to pre-injury form. Remember, a not-quite-as-good Bengals team swept a better Ravens team last season. Winner: Bengals
Jaguars at Patriots
The Jags surprised the Dolphins last week. I mean, maybe they surprised them. I honestly don’t know if Miami is any good. At any rate, you don’t really surprise the Pats, especially not in Foxborough. And I do know that New England is good. Winner: Patriots
Saints at Panthers
I don’t care if Drew Brees is day-to-day or not. There’s no way I’m picking this terrible Saints team against the Panthers at home. Winner: Panthers
Eagles at Jets
Yes, I’ll admit that I’m a bit guilty of having drunk the Philly Kool-Aid. However, after watching them absolutely stink up the Linc last week, I’m off the Eagles against any decent team until the offence shows that it can actually do something, anything right. And the Jets are, at the very least, a decent team. Winner: Jets
Buccaneers at Texans
Great job by Houston’s genius coach Bill O’Brien pulling the plug on Brian Hoyer after less than one game. So, how did that work out? Ryan Mallett had 31 incompletions out of 58 attempts last week. The Texans had better hope that Arian Foster gets healthy soon, before they have to face tougher opponents than the Bucs, and definitely before the Colts get their shit together. Winner: Texans
Chargers at Vikings
This is a tricky one. They’re both 1-1, but they both beat the Lions, which is not much of an accomplishment. The Vikes got stymied by the 49ers in their other game. I’m leaning towards San Diego, based on the effort they put forth in losing last week to a very good Bengals squad. Winner: Chargers
Steelers at Rams
Another really tricky one. Roethlisberger to Brown is fast becoming one of the most unstoppable combos in the league. Also, Pittsburgh’s running game, solid in their first two games with DeAngelo Williams carrying the load, gets LeVeon Bell back this week. That Rams defensive front sure can be impressive, but they didn’t get the job done last week against much lesser competition. Add to that my misgivings about the St. Louis offence, and it looks like I’m going with another road dog. Winner: Steelers
49ers at Cardinals
I expected the Cards’ offence to be resurgent with the return of Carson Palmer, but not even I expected them to be this good. At the rate they’re going, they could run away with this division. Winner: Cardinals
Bills at Dolphins
The Bills were way too hyped for their matchup with the Pats last week; they played undisciplined football and got their heads methodically handed to them. I expect them to bounce back this week against an underwhelming Miami team. Winner: Bills
Bears at Seahawks
Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffrey are iffy for this Sunday. That’s ok, since there was no chance I’d have picked the Bears to win in Seattle anyway. Winner: Seahawks
Broncos at Lions
The Peyton Manning Retirement Tour continues; no, really, he could retire at any moment, trust me. In the meantime, Manning will do just enough to win games, and the Broncos’ defence will ensure that he doesn’t have to do that much. Winner: Broncos
Monday Night
Chiefs at Packers
This is a tough KC team, which no doubt will want to put their embarrassing collapse against Denver last week behind them. Unfortunately for them, Aaron Rodgers and co. in Lambeau is one of the toughest tests of all. Winner: Packers
Season: 19-13
This is one of those weeks where real life interferes with writing time. I spent most of the day Friday helping my daughter move, so I had no time to work on an extended intro for this week. Lots of pickers, me included, took it on the chin last week due to a slew of upsets. I nailed my Giants pick yesterday, so I’m off to a good start for this week already.
Enjoy the picks, and enjoy your football this weekend.
Sunday
Falcons at Cowboys
Just like last season, Dallas Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli has his charges performing much better than expected (Having Sean Lee back sure helps). I have serious doubts about the Cowboys ability to score much, with Dez Bryant out, a thus-far lacklustre running game, and (Holy Crap!) Brandon Weeden at QB. Atlanta is looking much better than last season, and Julio Jones looks unstoppable. This Falcons team is going places. Winner: Falcons
Colts at Titans
With a poor defence, and a mediocre offensive line, the game plan against the Colts has been simple; get after Andrew Luck. To those who predicted great things for Indy this season (not me), think again. Still, they should be able to handle the Titans, right? Winner: Colts
Raiders at Browns
I don’t want to get too excited about the Raiders’ win against the Ravens, last week, but it’s tough. It’s no secret that I’m pretty high on Derek Carr. Let’s see how they fare on the road this week against a Cleveland defence that can be stingy. I love a scrappy underdog. Winner: Raiders
Bengals at Ravens
As usual, and as befits a team of their reputation and stature, Baltimore is favoured at home. I’m all in on Cincy for this one, though. Put aside the Ravens’ loss in Oakland last week, in which the Raiders put up 37 points; Baltimore’s coaching staff will work on correcting what went wrong there. Home or not, the Ravens just don’t match up well against the Bengals. The Ravens defence is sans its best player, Terrell Suggs, and is facing a Bengals offence that has found a potent balance in both the running and passing game. As well, Baltimore’s lack of receiver depth will doom them against a defence that will be in Joe Flacco’s face all afternoon now that Geno Atkins appears to be back to pre-injury form. Remember, a not-quite-as-good Bengals team swept a better Ravens team last season. Winner: Bengals
Jaguars at Patriots
The Jags surprised the Dolphins last week. I mean, maybe they surprised them. I honestly don’t know if Miami is any good. At any rate, you don’t really surprise the Pats, especially not in Foxborough. And I do know that New England is good. Winner: Patriots
Saints at Panthers
I don’t care if Drew Brees is day-to-day or not. There’s no way I’m picking this terrible Saints team against the Panthers at home. Winner: Panthers
Eagles at Jets
Yes, I’ll admit that I’m a bit guilty of having drunk the Philly Kool-Aid. However, after watching them absolutely stink up the Linc last week, I’m off the Eagles against any decent team until the offence shows that it can actually do something, anything right. And the Jets are, at the very least, a decent team. Winner: Jets
Buccaneers at Texans
Great job by Houston’s genius coach Bill O’Brien pulling the plug on Brian Hoyer after less than one game. So, how did that work out? Ryan Mallett had 31 incompletions out of 58 attempts last week. The Texans had better hope that Arian Foster gets healthy soon, before they have to face tougher opponents than the Bucs, and definitely before the Colts get their shit together. Winner: Texans
Chargers at Vikings
This is a tricky one. They’re both 1-1, but they both beat the Lions, which is not much of an accomplishment. The Vikes got stymied by the 49ers in their other game. I’m leaning towards San Diego, based on the effort they put forth in losing last week to a very good Bengals squad. Winner: Chargers
Steelers at Rams
Another really tricky one. Roethlisberger to Brown is fast becoming one of the most unstoppable combos in the league. Also, Pittsburgh’s running game, solid in their first two games with DeAngelo Williams carrying the load, gets LeVeon Bell back this week. That Rams defensive front sure can be impressive, but they didn’t get the job done last week against much lesser competition. Add to that my misgivings about the St. Louis offence, and it looks like I’m going with another road dog. Winner: Steelers
49ers at Cardinals
I expected the Cards’ offence to be resurgent with the return of Carson Palmer, but not even I expected them to be this good. At the rate they’re going, they could run away with this division. Winner: Cardinals
Bills at Dolphins
The Bills were way too hyped for their matchup with the Pats last week; they played undisciplined football and got their heads methodically handed to them. I expect them to bounce back this week against an underwhelming Miami team. Winner: Bills
Bears at Seahawks
Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffrey are iffy for this Sunday. That’s ok, since there was no chance I’d have picked the Bears to win in Seattle anyway. Winner: Seahawks
Broncos at Lions
The Peyton Manning Retirement Tour continues; no, really, he could retire at any moment, trust me. In the meantime, Manning will do just enough to win games, and the Broncos’ defence will ensure that he doesn’t have to do that much. Winner: Broncos
Monday Night
Chiefs at Packers
This is a tough KC team, which no doubt will want to put their embarrassing collapse against Denver last week behind them. Unfortunately for them, Aaron Rodgers and co. in Lambeau is one of the toughest tests of all. Winner: Packers