Week 4 Power Rankings

My sincerest apologies for the late rankings this week. I blame a handful of items: Civ V, the ardent search for gainful employment, CIV V, a couple of deadlines for music on the horizon, CIVILIZATION V and a lack of sleep (due to Civ).

So seeing as how it’s already Thursday night and I have to make my picks sometime soon, as well (and oh man, was I awful last week), I will keep this short and sweet.

1.       Indianapolis Colts – Peyton may have achieved a new level of badass for himself. He can do it no matter who is out there playing with him.

2.      Pittsburgh Steelers – It’s impressive how well Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon have held it down for Big Ben. The Steel Curtain is looking more and more convincing each week.

3.      Atlanta Falcons – They got a bit lucky there near the end but, as was excessively pointed out by the commentators that day, they survived a “slugfest” by going “blow for blow” with the champs.

4.      New Orleans Saints – The Saints look awfully human right now. But that’s because even I can run through that defense.

5.      Chicago Bears – I met a dude on the greyhound last weekend that was positive the Bears would beat the Packers on primetime. We debated. I feel like an ass now.

6.      Green Bay Packers – They have the potential to be in the top 5 all year but the lack of discipline and a run game is hurting them.

7.      New York Jets – As long as they keep winning, it won’t even matter how they’re doing it. But boy does LT look good.

8.      New England Patriots – They can’t play much defense it would seem but what if I told you that they can still outscore most teams on any given Sunday?

9.      Baltimore Ravens – Finally, Joe Cool has a strong game. Now what?

10.   Houston Texans – Arguably, the loss to the Cowboys says more about the Cowboys than it does of the Texans but losing at home in such a statement game is cause for alarm.

11.    Philadelphia Eagles – Welcome back to the NFL elite, Michael. The Eagles look like an entirely different team for the first time in a decade.

12.   Tennessee Titans – Was it the Titans getting together or the Giants falling apart?

13.   Kansas City Chiefs – Ok, they’re for real. They still haven’t really met any scary football teams but with the way the AFC West is playing right now, they might need to.

14.   Cincinnati Bengals – It’s hard to tell whether the Bengals gain a spot or lose a spot for a meh beating of the Panthers.

15.   Miami Dolphins – Miami hung tough but could not win at home against a rival. Hmm… not good.

16.   Dallas Cowboys – Redemption. Roy Williams goes off and Dez Bryant pays for it. Literally.

17.   Minnesota Vikings – I’m still not convinced. We’ll know against the Jets.

18.   Seattle Seahawks – They’re certainly pretty good on special teams and at home. And in the bumbling, stumbling NFC West… that might just be enough.

19.   Denver Broncos – Having no run game and no number one receiver is going to keep this team from scoring as many points as they could.

20.  San Diego Chargers – That wasn’t very nice.

21.   Detroit Lions – I chalk that loss up to the Vikings feeling every point of pressure in the world. The Lions will be much, much better when Stafford returns.

22.  Washington Redskins – There are no excuses for losing to the Rams 30-16 with as many offensive weapons as they have. It won’t get easier against the Eagles.

23.  New York Giants – Giants keep on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’… into obscurity. Ok that was bad… buuuttt not as bad as the Giants.

24.  Arizona Cardinals – Winning despite looking awful in almost every facet of the game is kinda what happens when a team this bad plays against the Raiders at home.

25.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Ok now this team should be ranked lower than 20^th. Then again, that was Pitts.

26.  Oakland Raiders – How does a team lose and gain a rank? Because the Niners are winless, Seabass would probably make that kick most days and BECAUSE I SAID SO.

27.  St. Louis Rams – Excellent work. Bradford looked good, the defense kept McNabb off balance the whole time. Now how about stringing together some games like this one?

28.  San Francisco 49ers – The potential is there an getting rid of Raye was a step in the right direction. But now you just gotta get rid of Singletary and Alex Smith.

29.  Jacksonville Jaguars – I’m not sure why I picked them to beat the Eagles but I must have been on something.

30.  Cleveland Browns – They hung tough with the Ravens but when all was said and done, c’est la vie.

31.   Carolina Panthers – They hung tough with the Bengals but when all was said and done, they have turned to Clausen and Steve Smith is on the verge of madness.

32.  Buffalo Bills – They hung really tough with the Patriots but when all was said and done… oh bah BOO ugh.

NFL Week 3 Predictions

21-11 straight up

Quick word for the noobs; when I say that somebody’s going to win by a TD, I mean by at least a TD. I’m into analyzing sports, not soothsaying ;)

Anyway,  just like that, it’s Week 3! We’ve got some surprise undefeated teams and winless teams and, for some, their fortune will change by Monday. But who?

READ ON.

Niners at Chiefs

Alex Smith finally looked good. He was mobile, smart and tough. His only mistake was leaving Drew Brees too much time to operate. So which Alex Smith shows up this week? It better be that scrambling, smart one if the Niners and their stifling defense hope to win their first game of the season. The Chiefs’ defense has also been effective through two weeks and the Chiefs could be lookin’ at their first 3-0 start in 7 years if they can wrestle this one at home. The 2 ½ point spread is right; this is going to be decided by field goals. Except I have the Chiefs winning at home.

Chiefs

Lions at Vikings

I think the bigs in Vegas want to make us all rich. And I mean it, too, because the 11 point favorite Vikings are just as likely to lose this game as they are to win it as far as I’m concerned. The Lions are going to get gauged by Adrian Peterson but if they’re able to keep Favre and that passing offense scrambled and out of whack, they’ll have a chance to win as Jahvid Best has emerged as the talent everyone expected him to be. And they can do it! The Lions have a considerably upgraded pass rush now with Suh and VandenBosch and that Viking offensive line is weak. The Lions saw what the Dolphins did last week and will look to repeat it with swarming defense and a heavy dose of the run. Even if the Vikings win the game, the Lions will cover.

Lions

Bills at Patriots

This is a big spread that will, in fact, hold. The Pats are coming off a icy, painful loss to the rival Jets and will be welcoming the hapless Bills into Foxborough where I’m guessing a 3 or 4 TD cushion should do the trick. The Bills aren’t even utilizing their running game, which is their strength, up to maximal capacity. And even if they were to run it well… ok, what are we talking about here?

Patriots

Falcons at Saints

This will be fun to watch. The Saints have dominated the Falcons in the past, 7-1 since Brees came to Nawlins, but are coming off of a tough win over San Francisco and have yet to look like the offensive juggernaut from prior seasons. Instead, it’s the Falcons who exploded all over the Cardinals after being bottled up by Pitts the week before. This matchup could prove troublesome for the Saints who might be dealt their first loss when Michael Turner returns and combines with Jason Snelling to run all over New Orleans who struggled with Frank Gore this past Monday. That could then open up the game for Matt Ryan. Atlanta’s defense is the key matchup here. The Falcons will be able to score points on offense but will they be able to slow the Saints? My guess, actually, is yes. I think by week’s end, we’ll have a 3 way tie in the NFC South.

Falcons

Cowboys at Texans

This is do or die for Dallas, you better believe it. It’s nice of Jerry to come out and announce that Wade Philips’ job is safe and all that but if you think Jerry will be alright falling to 0-3 at the hands of the Texans, you’re a damned fool (as Jerry would likely say). Dallas is in trouble. They can’t run the ball as well as they used to and relying on Romo to carry the whole offense is scary. That said, they’re only really a couple of plays away from being undefeated so it’s a little more confusing with them than it is with a team like, say, Minnesota that has outright sucked. Dallas will certainly play a spirited game this weekend against the Texans but remember that the Texans dramatically beat the Cowboys in their first ever game and right now have some nice momentum going on with opening wins against Indy and Washington. This is a huge game and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Texans show up for the lights. They’re favored by a field goal but I’m taking them by a TD.

Texans

Titans at Giants

The Titans were so awful last week, they’re almost certainly going to be pretty good on Sunday. Vince Young will come out with something to prove, Chris Johnson is going to run all over the G men and the 3 point dogs Tennessee will walk away with what Vegas is considering an upset. In reality, it would be an upset if the Giants won. The Giants did not look very good last week, neither but they looked pretty meh in week 1 too. In fact, it just seems like the Giants can’t run the ball like they used to, can’t stop it either and can’t protect Eli Manning who has come back down to Earth again and is just average. Don’t know what they’re doing in Vegas, this one’s a near lock in my book.

Titans

Steelers at Bucs

It was nice, Tampa. But 2-1 you will be. They’ve looked surprisingly good in two games against a bottom feeder and a team heading there. The Steelers are one of the top 5 teams so far this season for sure and they don’t even have Big Ben Roethlisberger back yet. And it isn’t as though they have great options behind him… they’ve been getting it done with Batch and Dixon and that nutty Steel Curtain of theirs (does that thing ever fade or rust or get old? Ever?).  The Bucs are not going to be able to run the ball any and that will force young Josh Freeman to force some passes against the wrong secondary to be doing that sort of thing.

Steelers by more than a field goal

Bengals at Panthers

What would compel you or I to think that the Panthers are suddenly going to clean up one of the messiest teams I’ve seen all season (I mean Bills and Browns messy) and beat the Bengals who just went smash mouth mode with the Ravens and won. Sorry but no dice. The Bengals will put up monster offensive numbers on the other cats the same way everybody else has so far and the Bengals will win easy.

Bengals beat spread

Browns at Ravens

The perfect remedy for an ailing QB, like Joe Flacco, is being visited by an ailing franchise in disarray, like the Cleveland Browns, and this weekend that is exactly what is happening. Flacco will finally have a strong day hooking up with new acquisitions Boldin and Housh and Ray Rice will reward all his fantasy owners with some of that good ol’ love from last year. The Browns? It’s hard enough to move the ball on the Ravens D with a well-oiled, experienced offensive machine… they will have the exciting task of trotting out a radio flyer.

Ravens

Redskins at Rams

My favorite characterization of this match up is Michael Silver calling for “the angry Redskins” to beat up on the Rams. That’s really great; they are probably still hot over their loss against the Texans in OT and will probably smash the Rams (who couldn’t beat the Raiders last week) into the turf. McNabb will finally deliver a TD pass to Santana Moss and the Skins will likely roll to a two score victory.

Redskins

Eagles at Jags

What’s certain is that the Jags are not likely to defend Michael Vick particularly well. He’ll slash n dash and roll it out and do all sorts of quick maneuvers that the Jags will simply have no clue what to do with as they looked completely lost against San Diego last week. What will work to their benefit is that the Eagles defense isn’t what it used to be, at all and you can count on JAX fixing up some of the holes and miscues in the offense that turned the ball over five times last week. With less turnovers, the Jags are poised to ‘pop’ Maurice Jones Drew (his words) and remember that Jacksonville is really awful on the West coast… they’re actually a surprisingly good home team so don’t be surprised if this is close. Philly is favored by a field goal. But I’m taking the

Jags

Colts at Broncos

The Colts are one Arian Foster away from being 2-0 and entrenched at the top of power rankings. The Broncos are 1-1 and looking like more of a .500 team than the Colts do. Orton has found some life in the passing game but the rush is not there and that is a bad omen against the Colts. It’s also very likely that Peyton will shred the banged up, questionable secondary of the Broncos so lock this one down even in Denver.

Colts by a TD

Raiders at Cardinals

Ah yes, a matchup of similarly matched teams. Both teams have had little success moving the ball through the air, therefore relying on the run instead where they’ve found pleasant surprises from the guys who came in to replace the injured top guys. McFadden has impressed more than Hightower but one must make note that running shod on St. Louis is not too challenging and Hightower is effectively rushing to a 6 yards per carry clip. Who gets the edge? Honestly, the edge is with either Beanie Wells or Michael Bush both coming back from injury this weekend. My guess is the Raiders run the ball better than the Cards and win the game. I’ll be watching this snoozer fa sho!

Raiders

Chargers at Seahawks

The Chargers got a lot of their demons sorted out with an offensive explosion and some hardcore ball hawking on defense last weekend against the Jags. They’ll need to continue that here against a Seahawks team that couldn’t muster much offense against Denver. The Hawks play much better at home and this will surely be a tough game early on but the Chargers should still be able to move the ball through the air if the run isn’t there (which it might not be with Mathews possibly out). The Chargers should come away with a victory here.

Chargers by a TD

Jets at Dolphins

The Phins have looked solid through two but will they have enough offense to beat New York? I’m not sure. The Jets and the Dolphins are practically in the same boat; their defenses have been doing most of the heavy lifting while their offenses look bland. The Jets sorta broke out in a very little way against New England but largely has been ineffective. The Dolphins didn’t even need offense to beat Minnesota, they beat themselves. Who does the edge go to here? I’m going to have to say Miami. This is one of the tougher calls of the week as they’re actually evenly matched and, as rivals, are not going down without a fight especially in a primetime game on Sunday Night. Dolphins get the edge mostly because they’re at home and their defense can keep them in it while the potentially explosive Miami offense tries to put up enough points to win

Dolphins beat spread

Packers at Bears

This will be a close one. The Bears can suddenly move the ball pretty well as Cutler is starting to get accustomed to his offensive line and is getting rid of the ball a lot quicker and with some good accuracy. He’ll need to continue doing that if the Bears are to have a chance against the Packer D which will be coming headhunting. The Bears are tough on D and might bottle up Jackson/Kuhn/whoever but I don’t think that will have any bearing on Aaron Rodgers. He may be impeded slightly from putting up blazing points but I don’t think the Bears team can even suffocate him as much as San Francisco suffocated Drew Brees last week. Rodgers should do enough to edge the Bears in the windy city on Monday night.

Packers by a FG

That’s it, folks!

DIG IT.

Week 3 Power Rankings

Another week of football is in the books and, as you’d expect by now, we certainly have some surprises in the standings and therefore in the rankings, as well. There’s usually no point in ranking teams early in the season as team quality fluctuates quite a bit early on and a couple of games is usually not a good barometer for evaluating where a team is. I will say this, though: most power rankings around the web are grossly misleading. The 0-2 Cowboys are not half a league better than the 2-0 Buccaneers. That’s just asinine. See what I mean about early season rankings being a mindbender to make sense out of?

Then again, we just want to talk about football.

ONWARD.

1.      New Orleans Saints. Somehow, Brees was able to weather the wind, Patrick Willis and a suddenly formidable Niners team playing inspired Monday Night football under the lights. Did I really say “somehow?” FAIL.

2.      Green Bay Packers. They’ve done it on both sides of the ball and have scored the 2^nd highest total of points through 2 games and all this without Rodgers’ A game or a running back. OK, they’re really going to need the latter moving forward. Willie Parker, anyone?

3.      Pittsburgh Steelers. I hate to put them up this high but that defense alone deserves it. Can you imagine how good they’ll be when Big Ben comes back with something to prove?

4.      Indianapolis Colts. The only reason they’re not higher is because of Arian Foster.

5.      Chicago Bears. I know this is really high and still really early to be saying it but the Packers are going to get a run for their money from the Bears. Urlacher is healthy, that defense is back to its ways and Cutler is starting to get something going on with his offense. And the Lions are not as bad as you’re used to them being so…

6.      New York Jets. Like the Steelers, I’m generally uneasy with this placement but must acquiesce. They had to beat the Pats and they did. For now, they’re in my good graces. But that offense needs to get it going.

7.      Houston Texans. Everybody knows their offense is explosive but their success this year will hinge on whether their defense can avoid a shootout every week. Otherwise, these guys are primed to make some major noise in the AFC.

8.      Miami Dolphins. They’re being shortchanged just about everywhere. They’re as legitimate an undefeated team as any other. Their defense is swarming and their offense hasn’t even kicked in yet. Watch out.

9.      New England Patriots. Despite attending the Jets’ defensive clinic last weekend, the Pats have their offense healthy and ready to roll. The Jets have made a statement and the Fins are for real. However, hold on … New England isn’t going anywhere just yet.

10.  Atlanta Falcons. That was a tough loss against Pitts to begin the season but blowing up the house with the Cards in town, while nice to see the offense awaken, is not as impressive as you’d think. Tentatively in the top 10.

11.  Baltimore Ravens. The defense is awesome. The offense is confused and without a semblance of identity. If Cam Cameron is all he is talked up to be, he’ll find a way to run this offense without forcing the ball to his new toys.

12.  Washington Redskins. They can’t run the ball worth a lick but they’re going to be pretty spry through the air and their defense has looked pretty good through two games. And really, if the worst thing going for a Mike Shanahan team is its running game, don’t you think they’ll be alright?

13.  Cincinnati Bengals. It was ugly and full of Nugent but they got it done over a division rival. The Week 1 loss to New England is disappointing but you could chalk it up to rust. They have a string of favorable matchups leading into their bye week so it might be a while before we know if they’re for real.

14.  Kansas City Chiefs. The win over the Chargers was impressive. The win against the Browns a little less so but they earned both in the same manner; gritty, get-er-done offense and a surprisingly effective defense.

15.  Philadelphia Eagles. The Michael Vick era has officially begun. Why did anyone even think Kolb was the answer? Vick even makes LeSean McCoy look like a normal back.

16.  Tennessee Titans. They looked great one week and then downright noobish the next. Granted, that’s because they played the Raiders one week and then the Steelers. But because of that, they’re #16 on the list.

17.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No way that this team should be ranked below 20. Sure, Cleveland sucks and Carolina is getting there but the Bucs have done it with stifling defense and a surprisingly effective passing attack.

18.  San Diego Chargers. Must be gut-wrenching for Charger fans to see their team below the Chiefs on the list. But that’s what happens when you lose to the Chiefs to start the season and then beat up on a lame Jags team as your encore. The next four games are all favorable. Anything worse than a steady, dominating 3-1 is gonna drop ‘em even further.

19.  Denver Broncos. They beat Seattle at home but losing to Jacksonville is hard to swallow. They haven’t really been tested so it’s hard to tell if they are better or worse than the other two 1-1 AFC West teams but I’m putting them here anyways.

20.  Detroit Lions. Don’t lose your head when the Lions beat the Vikings this weekend.

21.  New York Giants. I’m not sure what to make of them right now. Granted they got smacked by a ticked off Colts team in the Manning Bowl during primetime TV but it isn’t like that win over the Panthers was anything to write home (or anywhere else for that matter) about.

22.  Seattle Seahawks. The verdict is really still out on them, to be sure. Even this placement is too high as you can’t take their beat down of the Niners too seriously as the Niners were too busy having communication breakdowns.

23.  San Francisco 49ers. Alex Smith looked great Monday night. The Niners were beat by maybe the best QB in the league and the defending champs in the final minute. So yeah. Look, if Smith keeps playing like he did on Monday and with that defense of theirs, the Niners win the West.

24.  Dallas Cowboys. Awful.

25.  Minnesota Vikings. Even more awful than the Cowboys. 19 points? Better than only the Bills (yuck). A lot of the blame will understandably land on Brett but really, is anyone in this offense paying any attention?

26.  Arizona Cardinals. Something tells me they’re heading down this list and not up it. If they don’t beat Oakland, I’m not going to be very merciful next week.

27.  Oakland Raiders. Hey, higher than most are puttin’ em. Really, though, the ground game looks poised to have a big year, the receivers respond to BRUUUUUCE well enough and the defense looks good… ish. They’re down this far because of their horrendous offensive line and the beat down they took from the Titans.

28.  Jacksonville Jaguars. They beat up on the Broncos which might have said more about the Broncos than it did of the Jags because whatever that was they were doin’ against the Chargers won’t win you very many games.

29.  Carolina Panthers. Determined to lose as many games as possible, the Panthers have been very good at not running the ball well with two beastly running backs, not utilizing Steve Smith in any semblance of a passing game and letting anyone and everyone move the ball on them.

30.  Cleveland Browns. I never thought I’d say it but I really can’t wait for Delhomme to come back for the Brownies because UGH.

31.  St. Louis Rams. My worst fear for the Rams is that Sam Bradford wakes up one morning and finds himself transformed into David Carr. Or worse. Joey Harrington.

32.  Buffalo Bills. We’ve reached the bottom already? Durr…

NFL Week 2 Predictions

Heads up! NFL football is back and that means so am I and my self-proclaimed Nostradamus con act. Even stranger is that this is my first official blog post on Power Moves in TWO YEARS!! I blogged predictions and a bunch of other random stuff on Facebook, sure, but this platform was meant to be a permanent home for my sports musings.  

And who are we kidding? I’ve been performing pretty poorly for the past couple of years with my picks so I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that my coming out party is just that and not a flash in the pan!

So…

I started the season off 10-6 with the notable incorrect picks being Kansas City’s upset of San Diego and the HULK SMASH that Seattle put on San Francisco. Oh and I picked the Raiders, again. Here’s to a bounce-back Week 2 and a glorious blogging adventure!

Let’s get to it.

Cards @ Falcons

We can safely say that the Cards feel the absence of Kurt Warner. They squeaked by the Rams with a handful of turnovers and an ineffective offense that was so awful on the ground that it forced Derek Anderson to throw and that was ugly. The Falcons didn’t fare much better against the Steelers, honestly and one has to start wondering if maybe Matt Ryan’s sophomore slump isn’t actually a coming-back-down dance. Personally, I’m betting on a return to his rookie form (at least this weekend) connecting with Roddy White whom he targeted a whopping 23 times last week to cruise by the Cards by two scores, beating the 6 ½ point spread. There are countless issues in Arizona’s running game with a banged up Beanie Wells and an ineffective Tim Hightower. Beanie may help ease the pressure off DA but I just don’t know how much.

Falcons by two scores

Ravens @ Bengals

The Ravens outsmash-mouth’d the defense that had been running its mouth all offseason and their offense did just enough to get the W. The Jets, for their part, were vicious on the blitz and did a number on Baltimore’s new and improved offense (don’t you hate it when you got a new car and the only action you get is driving down the street to the grocery store?) but we should see more of it this weekend against the Bengals who aren’t as stout defensively as they were last year getting blown up for 24 quick points and nearly 250 yards in the first half alone by New England and had to play from behind. We all know the Bengals have an explosive passing game with the addition of TO but they’ll be pressed to play from behind week in and week out… especially against a defense like Baltimore’s although the Ravens' secondary is uncharacteristically human this year. This doesn’t mean that Cincy will come away with a third consecutive victory against their AFC North rivals. In fact, the Ravens will more than clear the 2 point spread they have on the Bengals and win by a touchdown.

Ravens

Chiefs @ Browns

The most impressive thing about Monday night’s thrilling upset over rival San Diego is that Kansas City did it with stifling defense. True, San Diego’s offense is hampered with the absences of Jackson and McNeill but the Chiefs were particularly tough on the run when it counted and showed lots of energy in the secondary creating turnovers and stops throughout the night. The Browns blew it Sunday with turnovers late in the game and could be asking for trouble against Romeo Crennel’s defense. Crennel is familiar with some of the personnel that’ll be on the other sideline. This is especially going to be the case with Delhomme out and Seneca Wallace trying to spark something. Matt Cassel will have an easier time playing his game than he did last week and should do just enough to pull a second straight upset out of his hat (helmet).

Chiefs

Bears @ Cowboys

The Bears very fortunately hung on against the Lions who lost Stafford early and practically threw the game away near the end. Forte ran all over the Lions but will find less room to work with against the Cowboys whose D is coming off of a decent performance in which they held the Redskins offense in check most of the night. Look for Tony Romo and company to get it together at home and win their first contest of the year. Can’t expect much from the Cowboys run game again as the Bears are pretty tough on the run (shut Best down last week) but they’ll get enough done to win the game though the Bears may cover the 8 ½ spread and lose by a mere score.

Cowboys win (Bears cover)

Eagles @ Lions

What a mucky muck. Kolb got knocked out and now we get Michael Vick… Stafford got blown up and now we get Shaun Hill… advantage… Eagles. The real determining factor here is that Hill is just blah and releases the ball like he’s fixed in J-ello. That won’t fly for long with the Eagles’ pass rush. On the flipside, I’m not so sure that a mobile QB like Vick won’t give the Lions fits and I expect him to have a monster game finding Maclin and Jackson for all sorts of nifty roll-out dump-and-runs. The Eagles are favored by a modest 4 ½ but I’m thinking more like two scores in the neighborhood of a couple TDs. The Eagles really want to rebound from a disappointing Week 1 loss that saw them claw back into a game against the powerful Packers but still fall short. The Lions are better than they were a year ago but this is still going to be tough.

Eagles beat spread

Bills @ Packers

The Bills are going to be the unfortunate recipient of Aaron Rodgers’ focused and concentrated baddassery. After having a frustratingly mediocre opener against the Eagles, A-Rod will be determined to get it on even against Buffalo’s decent secondary. Brandon Jackson, replacing Ryan Grant gone for the season, has a great match up to get it going and should have a strong game. The Packers defense was uncharacteristically average last week but should return to form this week, as well as they are likely to win by the two TDs they’re tabbed to win by in Vegas.

Packers beat spread

Steelers @ Titans

The Steelers got by last week on awesome defense and a great late run by Rashard Mendenhall but the offense’s otherwise average performance dampens hopes of another win this weekend in Nashville against a Titans defense that, while not as tough as in past years, can still smother you. It’s hard to tell just how good they are, obviously, as it is both early and their strong performance last week came against my, sadly once again, punchless Raiders. Chris Johnson, however, could run shod on just about anybody (although he’s not done particularly well against the Steelers in the past). It’ll be close and low scoring (anyone else get the feeling most of Pitts’ games are going to be this way for a while … at least until Big Ben returns?). That said, I give the Titans the advantage here on account of home field advantage (the Steelers are 1-6 all time in Nashville) and, of course, Chris Johnson.

Titans by a field goal (Steelers cover)

Dolphins @ Vikings

Hey Brett; miss Sidney much? Yeah, I know, everybody and their stepmother is making a big deal about it and while I don’t normally beat horses (dead or alive), I’ll beat this one into borderline sadism: Minnesota’s passing game has Swiss Cheese inscribed all over it. Rice is out, Harvin is no longer reliable, Berrian is a ghost, Camarillo is a noob and Shiancoe is pretty good but isn’t Antonio Gates and can’t do it all by himself. Adrian Peterson is going to have to run All Day ™ or else the Phins sneak into the dome and steal one. That, though, isn’t likely. Chad Henne hasn’t shown any signs of chemistry with newly acquired sportscar, Brandon Marshall, not in the preseason and not in the season opener. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, so far, appear to still possess the bulk of the offensive strength for the Dolphins but will find a lot less room to work with against Minnesota than they did against Buffalo. Look for Brett to get a smidgy smidge more chemistry going with his receivers and the Vikes to do enough at home to get by the Phins with at least 6 points.

Vikings win by a TD

Bucs @ Panthers

Well, one thing is for sure: the Panthers really don’t want anything easy. The Giants must have given them the ball half a dozen times and the Panthers simply returned it to them every time en route to giving up 376 juicy yards. Not to mention that they couldn’t run the ball a lick with either De’Angelo Williams or Jonathan Stewart something they should be able to get done this week against Tampa who gave up a hefty 340 yards last week against the Browns (!!). These two NFC South rivals are gonna run up a basketball score Sunday. And Vegas has them at even. I’m giving the edge to the Panthers at home who will get it together just enough to get their first win. I'm betting on a train wreck crossed with a barn burner doused in a push.

Panthers

Seahawks @ Broncos

The Seahawks smashed on the Niners so hard, it made Matt Hasselbeck look 4 years younger. Pete Carroll is getting all sorts of hype right now but even he knows it’s too early to get excited about a win and without Seattle’s famed 12^th man, the Seahawks will have to contend with Denver’s own version of a raucous home field advantage. The passing game should take a slight step back for Seattle and they’ll be forced to rely on Forsett and Washington to move the ball. The Broncos didn’t look too good against Jacksonville, though, and could be in for their first 0-2 start in a decade. I don’t see the Seahawks playing as well on the road as they did last week and will find it hard to stop the Broncos from moving the ball on them (they just added Laurence Maroney to the mix, as well).

Broncos by a TD

Rams @ Raiders

Yay. Another 0-1 start for the Raiders. After a promising and exciting offseason, the Raiders showed up in Nashville nervous and overwhelmed with Chris Johnson. Truthfully, though, they were decent against the run outside of a couple of bad runs (including that big homerun they gave up early) and otherwise were simply ineffective offensively behind, yet again, a horrendously porous offensive line. They should find matters much easier this weekend against the Rams at home. Steven Jackson isn’t as fast as Johnson but he can bruise you in colors you didn’t know you could form but the rest of the offense is still weak and fledgling. Look for the Raider defense to look pretty good. Jason Campbell should get it together and bounce back hooking up with Zach Miller for a score or two. With Michael Bush coming back, the silver n black should be able to run all over St. Louis at home and win by a couple scores. And even if he doesn't, D Mac looks prime for a consecutive strong performance.

Raiders beat the spread

Patriots @ Jets

The Jets have gone to “grade school” while Brady and co. look poised to make like 6th grader bullies throwing Jets players into trash cans and kickin' em down bungalow ramps. While there’s always a chance that Randy gets stuck out on Revis Island, I don’t think Brady is concerned about it at all as Wes Welker was a monster last week and the rest of New York’s secondary (see: Cromartie and Wilson) looked down right noobish against Baltimore. The Jets’ offense didn’t do much to impress as Sanchez looked like a deer in headlights out there, Shonn Greene fumblin’, stumblin’ and bumblin’ about. That won’t hack it against the Pats. That said, I have a feeling the Jets get it together this weekend for their division rivals (you know Rex laid into them a good one). Patriots are 1 ½ point favorites but it don’t matta much, yo.

J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS! (that has to be the lamest chant of any kind ever)

Jags @ Chargers

Oh poor JAX, this is what you would call the WRONG time to run into San Diego. Favored by a TD, the Chargers are hot (not in the good way) coming off that crushing loss (Charger fans will deny it on account of it being early and typical but you’ve gotta admit, that STUNG) to the Chiefs in KC. The passing game was all the Bolts had goin for them but even super stud Philip Rivers couldn’t win the game all by himself as the motley crew of Floyd, Naanee, Davis, Alworth, Chandler... whomever... dropped a few balls and ran a few questionable routes in their debut without VJ. The Jags looked pretty good last week dispatching Denver by a touchdown but don’t count on Garrard throwing for another 3 TDs in a single game anytime soon. This will be much tougher in San Diego against a hungry Chargers team. Look for Mathews to get over that meh rookie debut and make some big plays with the crowd behind him giving him confidence.

Chargers beat the spread, win by two scores

Texans @ Redskins

Oooooweee. Two of the surprises from last week together in the nation’s capital! One team goes home 1-1… but WHO!? Well, it’ll be the Redskins, unfortunately. They barely squeaked by a Cowboys team that made more mistakes than a pop warner team and the Texans, or I should say Arian Foster, ran through the Colts like diarrhea through a tourist in Southeast Asia. I am proud to say that I own (and started Week 1) Foster in just about every one of my fantasy leagues. I’m banking that he’s the real deal. He’ll come back down to Earth this weekend against the skins to the tune of 100+ and a score (maybe 2) but the Texans will look to involve Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones more in the passing game and take a road win to jump out to a quick 2-0 start to the season.

Texans beat spread, win by a TD

Giants @ Colts

Hold EVERYTHING. BRO V. BRO. The Giants better hope they hold onto the ball better this week as they turned the ball over and generally played sloppier than Joe in a school cafeteria (where do I get this stuff? Yugh). No matter. The key matchup here will be to see whether Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs will run a muck like Foster did last week and burn the Colts for big yards or the Colts defense tightens up and shows that last week was the aberration that I think it was. That’ll need to happen to free up Hakeem Nicks for another big game. Either way, Eli is going to have to do some big league slingin’ to keep up with big brother Peyton who actually set a personal record last week (he still has personal records to break???) with 40 completions. I just don’t think Los Gigantes will be able to keep up with the Colts.

Colts by a TD

Saints @ Niners

Monday Night Football! I’ll be watching this… ON MY COMPUTER! YAY for poverty! Anyway, the Niners looked awful last weekend. Downright awful. Communication issues between Alex Smith and Mike Singletary? REALLY? Whodathunkit and whaddyaknow. And here I was pretty sure Alex Smith had communication problems with his arm already as it is. Well, he’ll have to get untracked and quick because the Saints made the Vikings (who, even without Sidney Rice, should have been able to score more than 9 points) flop about aimlessly every time they got the ball. If the Niners pull another performance like that dismal lack of PUNCH that they pulled against Seattle, you can chalk that 0-2 start up in a hurry. That said, I don’t think it’ll matter. As awesome as the Niner defense is (who in the world DOESN’T love 52???), if there’s a team that can still put up a decent 14-20 points on ‘em, it’s these Saints. They’re favored by 5 points and I don’t think that’s a stretch. This will likely be decided by a TD, maybe 10 points depending on how funky fresh Brees gets.

Saints beat spread

That’s it, kids! Happy Picking/Betting and I'll see ya next week!

Dig it.