NFL Week Two Picks

[Edskin]

www.edkleese.blogspot.com

Last Week: 13-3
Season: 13-3
Record Picking Redskins Games: 1-0
Against the Spread: 2-1-1
Lock of the Week: 1-0


Last Week's Pats: Very good with, both with my straight up picks and my four against the spread. Highlights were calling a few upsets, headlined by Green Bay over Philly and Detroit over Oakland.

Last Week's Apologies: I misread the Rams/Panthers game. I am very surprised that the Carolina defense put the clamps on Steven Jackson and the Rams offense the way they did. Losing Orlando Pace for the year could devestate St. Louis

This Week's Picks:

Houston at Carolina: Very quietly the Texans have built a respectable defense. Expect them to keep the Panthers in check. However, after what Carolina's defense did to the Rams, I can't see the Texans putting up very many points.

Panthers 17, Texans 13

Cincinnati at Cleveland: Wow, the Browns are worse than I thought. And I thought they'd really stink. Coach Romeo has a real mess on his hands-- I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't last the year.

Bengals 27, Browns 17

Indianapolis at Tennessee: The Colts CAN'T be as good as they looked last Thursday night. If they are, the rest of this NFL season is just window dressing for another Colts championship. I'm betting the Colts come back down to earth a bit this week, but still find a way to win.

Colts 23, Titans 20

New Orleans at Tampa Bay: The Saints CAN'T be as bad as they looked last Thursday night. If they are, the NFC is even more wide open than I thought. Look for the Saints offense to bounce back-- but they defense has major issues.

Saints 31, Bucs 24

San Francisco at St. Louis: The 49ers played poorly last Monday night and won. That is a good sign for a young team. If they take this one, not only will they be 2-0, but they will be 2-0 in their division. Look for St. Louis to squeek one out.

Rams 26, 49ers 24

Buffalo at Pittsburgh: Last Sunday was heartbreaking for the Bills in a variety of ways. Hopefully, the relatively good news regarding Kevin Everett's injury will inspire the Bills, but winning in Pittsburgh is a tall order, especially considering the week they've had.

Steelers 20, Bills 16

Green Bay at New York Giants: Tough pick considering the uncertain status of Eli Manning. But I am going out on a limb, riding my upset special from week one, and banking that the Packers pull off another upset this week. Don't sleep on Green Bay's defense-- they are the real deal.

Packers 21, Giants 17

Atlanta at Jacksonville: Easiest straight-up winner of the week. Atlanta is awful. Jacksonville is desperate after a disappointing home opener.

Jaguars 19, Falcons 12

Seattle at Arizona: Last week I said that every year, one team burns me week after week. This year, I'm betting that team is Arizona.

Cardinals 28, Seahawks 23

Dallas at Miami: Another easy pick. Dallas needs to work on their pass defense, but Miami won't be able to exploit that weakness this week. The Cowboys offense appears to be in full gear.

Cowboys 27, Dolphins 13

Minnesota at Detroit: Toughest call of the week. The Vikings looked good in week one, but they were playing a JV squad (Falcons) at home. We know Detroit is going to stuggle to keep teams from scoring on them. What we don't know, is exactly how good that offense is going to be. They did light up a pretty good defense last week. Look for another close Lions victory.

Lions 20, Vikings 17

Oakland at Denver: In week one, the Raiders snatched defeat from the hands of victory. It may have been their best opportunity all year.

Broncos 27, Raiders 10

Kansas City at Chicago: The Chiefs scored three points against the Texans last week. This week, they play the Bears--in Chicago. Be afraid Chiefs fans, be very afraid.

Bears 31, Chiefs 9

New York Jets at Baltimore: I'm betting that the Jets were an abberation last year. Did it with smoke and mirrors. Baltimore played horribly in Cincinnati last week and still had a chance at the end of that game. This one will get ugly.

Ravens 20, Jets 10

San Diego at New England: As good as it gets. The Patriots offensive display last week was astounding. I'm just not sure how anyone is going to stop them this year. Look for a shootout, with Tom Brady getting the last laugh.

Patriots 30, Chargers 27

Washington at Philadelphia: I have a funny feeling that things are just "off" in Philly right now. McNabb is still working his way back from injury, and Andy Reid can't help but be distracted by the legal troubles of his children. Having said that, the Redskins did not show enough offensively in week one for me to pick an upset.

Eagles 23, Redskins 16


4 To Score


1. Dallas (-3) against the Dolphins: As a Redskins fan, I hope I'm wrong, but Dallas is simply a far superior football team.
2. Green Bay (+2) against the Giants: Could be a great play if Eli can't go.
3. Houston (+7) against the Panthers: Don't think the Texans can win this one outright, but I do think their defense will keep them close.
4. New Orleans (-3) against the Bucs: Look for the Saints offense to put up big numbers.

[TeamSelig]

Houston at Carolina: Home field advantage prevails.

Panthers 17, Texans 14

Cincinnati at Cleveland: Probably an ugly game on both sides.

Bengals 31, Browns 14

Indianapolis at Tennessee: Peyton is Peyton.

Colts 31, Titans 21

New Orleans at Tampa Bay: Saints make a nice comeback from last week.

Saints 34, Bucs 14

San Francisco at St. Louis: Hard call.

49ers 24, Rams 17

Buffalo at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh continues to look good.

Steelers 24, Bills 10

Green Bay at New York Giants: Eli or no Eli?

Packers 21, Giants 14

Atlanta at Jacksonville: Atlanta is horrible

Jaguars 21, Falcons 10

Seattle at Arizona: No comment really...

Seahawks 24, Cardinals 21

Dallas at Miami: Dallas still plays good.

Cowboys 34, Dolphins 14

Minnesota at Detroit: Impressed w/ Peterson.

Vikings 21, Lions 17

Oakland at Denver: Raiders still suck.

Broncos 17, Raiders 7

Kansas City at Chicago: Chiefs pretty much suck so far too.

Bears 24, Chiefs 7

New York Jets at Baltimore: Good game.

Ravens 24, Jets 17

San Diego at New England: GREAT game. Chargers offense still a little shaky.

Patriots 24, Chargers 21

Washington at Philadelphia: Philly wins.

Eagles 27, Redskins 14

[oneupper]

Hey ED.

I didn't get to see the Dolphin-Skin game (my mom's birthday). Congrats on the OT win.

FWIW, the Fish are AWFULLY hard to beat in South Florida in September.
I don't know how good Dallas is, but that might not be such an "easy" pick.
(hey...we can dream)

And...can the PATs beat the Chargers w/o the "camera" edge?

[Caveat Emperor]

Until further notice, your "Lock of the Week" is any team playing Tampa Bay. With no Carnell Williams and Jeff Garcia busy looking around for his cell phone all day, I have a tough time seeing them beat anyone (other than the Falcons).

[AmarilloRed]

I am a Bears fan, but I am wondering how they are going to score 31 points. They usually struggle to get 17.

[Edskin]

Amarillo-- Last year, the Bears put up some big point totals against bad teams in Chicago, mainly because the defense was just so domiant. I see that happening again this week.

oneupper-- Interstingly, last Sunday was my Mother-in-law's Bday, but I watched the game anyway-- what does that say about me? :)

But I must say that Trent Green was impressive-- he kept them in the game. The Redskins moved the ball rather easily, but stalled or made mistakes in the redzone. But at the end of the game and in OT, the Redskins offensive line took over.

I just don't think Miami has the weapons to keep pace with Dallas.

[TeamSelig]

I wondered that too about the Bears. I put the total up to 24 cause I assume they will score about 14 off of defense/special teams.

[NJReds]

FWIW, the Fish are AWFULLY hard to beat in South Florida in September.


Since ‘94, the Dolphins are 22-5 at home in games 1-4 at home.

However, since 2003, the Dolphins are 4-4 in their early home games.

[AmarilloRed]

I hope you are right. Last year Thomas Jones carried a lot of the load at RB, and that really helped out Rex Grossman. Devin Hester is splitting the time between specials teams and the offense, and it will remain to be seen if he can be successful in both those respects. The defense remains good, but Cedric Benson will need to show he can be the RB he was drafted to be if the Bears are to make the playoffs and return to the Super Bowl.