Worst week in recent memory. As some anonymous reader suggested, you’re better off making your picks based off of Vegas odds. Maybe he or she is right.
But they’re probably not.
Giants @ Panthers
So Eli Manning has this habit of bringing his team back from horrendous holes afforded by the Giants’ awful defense. He’s pretty amazing, have you heard? One of my favorite QBs in the league. He has big talented receivers and an incredible sense for the dramatic all while being as stoically unreadable as a lamppost. He has a couple things going against him this week though. Injuries to both Bradshaw and Nicks take away a quasi reliable run game and his biggest, baddest receiver. I love Victor Cruz but Cruz is a function of Nicks’ size and possession ability. The Panthers are not the best team defensively but have the ability to shut down the NY running attack, making them one dimensional and we saw what happened to the Saints last weekend when that happens. If the Giants fall behind early, they might not make it back the same way they stormed on Tampa last weekend. I like Cam to again terrorize the second level with the threat of his legs and the power of his arm. Panthers at home, baby.
Panthers
NOT AGAIN lol
17-16.
YUCK.
Bills at Browns
I’ve
spent the early part of this season fixated on up and coming teams turning the
corner and while some have, some have been a mix bag. One of those teams is the
Bills who looked like shit against the Jets in week 1 but then devastated a
Chiefs team I thought coming into the season was going to surprise. I still
think last week is the aberration and as good as Spiller is, KC wasn’t any good
in week 1 against the run either. The Browns on the other hand are an
underrated defense, apparently have found a QB in Weeden and have a stud RB in
Richardson. And I don’t trust the Bills on the road.
Browns
Niners at
Vikings
I
wish there was a way I could predict the Vikings win and sound like a genius
but as improved as Christian Ponder has appeared to be and as quickly and
strongly as AP has returned, I cannot bet against the best team in the game,
right now. Niners trump the Vikes in every aspect of the game with *maybe* the
exception of running back although the Niners don’t have too shabby a backfield
committee themselves. This one’s a lock.
Niners
Lions at Titans
The
Titans might have the worst defense in all of football and that’s saying a lot
cuz there’s some really craptastic ones. Mix that with an explosive offense
like the one the Lions sport and that spells doom. Chris Johnson is having an
even more disastrous season than even, say, McFadden and that’s pretty bad.
Jake Locker is even more inaccurate than I last remember him. That can’t be
good.
Lions
Bengals at
Redskins
The
issue with my pick here is that the Washington defense is decimated at key
positions. It simply leaves room for an ambiguously middling team like the
Bengals who aren’t great at anything (but not awful at anything either) to come
in and grind one out. Which could still happen. Except for RG3 bouncing back
from a tough loss against a surprisingly good Rams team. Yeah, they’ll bounce
back.
Redskins
Chiefs at Saints
The
Chiefs are starting to look a lot like how the Raiders look to me;
could-have-beens. They can’t hope to catch the Saints tripping for a third
straight week and certainly not at home. Of course the Saints are a disaster
themselves, showing that Sean Payton was a lot more important to this team’s
leadership, playcalling and discipline than was previously figured. Still, they
have enough talent (and Drew Brees) to beat the Chiefs and get their first win
of the season.
Saints
Jets at Dolphins
I
don’t say this as a jilted Raider fan but the Dolphins got very lucky last week
and played (and consequently demolished) a really, disjointed, awful team in
the Raiders. They play a better Jets team who should do just barely enough to
win the game. Let’s just say guys like Hartline aren’t going to light up the
Jets D… with or without Revis.
Jets
Jags at Colts
I
generally like what I’m seeing out of the Colts. I think they’ve got a ways to
go in terms of team sync but the offense has its potential even in spite of a
questionable offensive line. The Jags are not quite a bad as they seem but they’re
also not good enough to win on the road in Indy especially after Andrew Luck
notched his first career win and is now hungry for one against a beatable
divisional rival. I like the Colts at home with a rookie quarterback.
Colts
Bucs at Cowboys
Two
things can happen here: either the Bucs come out and bounce back from a tough 2nd
half controversial meltdown of a loss and take it to the Cowboys with basically
the same nice balance of strong defense and effective offense… or the Cowboys
explode offensively (as they certainly are capable of doing) after being
suffocated by the Seahawks and run away with it early. At which point a heavy
dose of DeMarco Murray won’t help. I’m betting on scenario B.
Cowboys
Rams at Bears
My
initial pick was the Bears. I had picked them against the Pack because I thought
they were balanced and potent… much like a poor man’s Niners. Instead, their
defense looked Swiss, their running game worthless even with Forte out there
and Cutler melted down. What they run into this week is one of the best stories
so far this season, a Rams team that finally has enough healthy pieces to show
off what most people around the NFL thought they were getting in Sam Bradford
and a defense loaded with talented, young studs. The Bears running game will
still be pressed to move the rock and Cutler is going to be throwing into
coverages all day. I’m not so thrilled about the Bears in this one but I do
think the team will find a way to overcome all the drama surrounding the team
right now, Forte’s injury and somehow eke out a win at home. My head tells me
Rams…but my gut says
Da Bears
Eagles at
Cardinals
I’m
taking the Cards. I don’t like bandwagons but I’d be an even bigger chump if I
ignored a real trend like the Cards and their killer defense. They have all
sorts of questions on offense, primarily in the passing game but they’ve been
getting it done defensively and I expect that to continue to put them in
excellent field position to continue to just smother opponents into the turf
especially with Michael Vick playing mistake prone football. The Bird bowl is
between two undefeated’s but I am less impressed by the Eagles than I am by the
Cards even though they snuck by the Ravens. And they’re at home. Call it a
trendy pick but I’m going with the
Cards
Falcons at
Chargers
The
Chargers are home favorites here. Understandably so; they’re a talented squad
with an uncharacteristic 2-0 start and are starting to get healthy again. That
would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that the team coming in is probably
the second best team in the NFC right now with an excellent balance of strong
defense both against the pass and the run, a good run game and an elite passing
attack. The Chargers have taken advantage of two really awful teams en route to
2-0. The Falcons showed they were for real with how thoroughly they dominated a
fairly strong squad in Denver. This is a big test for both teams as we gotta see
the Falcons string these kinds of wins on the road and we need to see the
Chargers beat somebody good before we start talking about their hottest start
maybe ever. My monies are on Matty ICEEEE
Falcons
Steelers at Raiders
I
could write an entire blog on the Raiders and how this one will go down but I’m
going to keep it simple. Unless Coach Allen and co. ditch the now infamous ZBS
(zone blocking scheme) for the power game that unlocked McFadden last season,
this is going to be another 10-15 yards on the ground performance and a loss.
Which is pretty much what’s going to happen. FML.
Steelers
Texans at
Broncos
Boy,
the Broncos sure did get a tough opening schedule. After looking great against
the Steelers on Opening Night, they were handled (despite the customary late Peyton
surge) by the Falcons and now draw the Texans who might have the best defense
in the AFC lol YAY! The Texans can run the ball better than the Falcons and
wear that defense down the same way that Turner and co. did allowing them to
buoy themselves for when Peyton starts to toss self-targetting heatseekers all
over the field. Three extremely tough defenses to start the season for Peyton.
Who said he’d break? Lol Still…
Texans
Patriots at
Ravens
One
of the games of the week. Some pundits say that the Patriots lost last week
because Coach Belichick refused to roll out the whole playbook in anticipation
of this game. Pfft. Coach Belichick does whatever is necessary (even videotape
OMG lulz) to win. The Pats have other issues to worry about than hiding plays
from the next team on the schedule and those issues might be exploited this
week when now free-throwing Joe Flacco lines up under center. The Ravens defense
is going to be raring to go after losing a tough one to the Eagles and they’ll
be at home. I like the Ravens in this one.
Ravens
Packers at
Seahawks
Call
me stupid but I’m picking against the Pack for the third straight week. I love
Aaron Rodgers and his receiving corps but I just don’t know how much longer we
can keep forgiving this team for being OK at everything else. Not bad, granted,
and the number their D put on Chicago was pretty funny as an unbias bystander
but that defense won’t scare many week in and week out. Now the Seahawks don’t
have a particularly good passing offense but Marshawn Lynch is going to
stampede through that soft defense all day in Seattle. The Packers as explosive
offensively as they are will find playing against the top notch Seahawk defense
very hard to manage in Seattle where it will always seem like there are 12 guys
on the field. It might be low scoring and with Benson and Lynch grinding it out
but this is going to the home team in what will be a shocking upset (for some).
Seahawks
There.
I’ll continue to be bold with my picks.
DIG
IT.
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