...and again, I'm gonna ride on Adam's coat-tails
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These predictions are made with the caveat that I only saw one game last week, Denver at Oakland, so I really don't know what I'm talking about.
I was able to watch a LOT of football last weekend, but it is early and things are still shaking out...however, I do have my insights which are somewhat different than our esteemed friend here...
Chicago at Carolina - I'm really not too sure what to expect in this game. I wonder if it comes down to Carolina stopping Chicago's running game? This will be a much better game than I had previously thought. But, on simply a hunch, I'm going with Carolina, as I just think that they can get it done.
Chicago is just too much for Carolina, even in Charlotte. The Bears D is considerably stronger right now than what I saw from Sandy Eggo. Bears by 6
Tennessee at Cincinnati - Kerry Collins will run a more disciplined offense than Young was. The Titans will also further rely upon Chris Johnson and the running game in general. Cincy doesn't quite know what it's doing. Tennessee wins this one.
Pretty much on the money. Cincy is a sinking ship, unless Marvin is given the helm without any conditions. Don't look for that to happen. Sad, lots of talent, all wasted.
Green Bay at Detroit - Seriously, I didn't expect Detroit to be a good team this year, but I also didn't expect them to look as bad as they did. A 2-0 start will give Rodgers all the confidence he needs. Green Bay won't have much trouble from Detroit.
Blowout Special - Detroit should have it's NFL Franchise revoked. They would be a losing program in at least 3/4 of the BCS college conferences. More about this observation later...
Buffalo at Jacksonville - It's the problems along the Jacksonville offensive line that bother me. Tennessee always plays Jax tough, but the way that Jax looked totally dominated in that game, (in the highlights), w/ no evidence of a running game. Buffalo opens the season 2-0.
Buffalo as well. Strong beginning of the season for the Bills, and as noted, Jax has some serious issues on the interior of their offensive line. Lots of talent at the "skill" positions for Jax, but if they can't run block and pass protect, it won't matter.
Oakland at Kansas City - Oakland has some real problems. A very undisciplined team that looked awful. Bowe should have a good game against Oakland. The way they played in that first game, Kansas City could win 4-5, and the way they played in their first game, Oakland may win 1-2. Kansas City gets the win, playing strong at home against Oakland as they usually do.
KC by default, they just suck less than Oakland will.
Indianapolis at Minnesota - Who really knows what to expect in this game? With Indianapolis still a little hurt, Minnesota may be able to do it, but I don't think so. I think that Indy will come out angry and determined. They have more experience, and Minnesota is going to need some time to get their act together. It should be a good game, but Indianapolis gets the win.
Indy as well. Minnesota will slow the Colts down, but not stop them like the Bears did (combination of the Vike D not being that strong and the Colts offense not being really as bad as it looked last week), and the Minnesota offense won't be able to keep up.
NY Giants at St. Louis - Yeah. Um, Giants.
Is this a game? Are you sure it isn't a scrimmage between the Giants and an average high school team?
New Orleans at Washington - Colston is out for a bit. New Orleans' offense still has enough tools to do the trick against Washington, a team that still is adjusting to their new offense and coach. It's going to take some time in Washington. It looks right now like they might regress from last year, especially if the Eagles stay healthy. New Orleans gets the win, but this still isn't the team from two years ago. It still feels like last year's team that could win or lose any game.
If you based that on the score of last week's game, you are going to learn something in this week's game. Saints, big. They actually HAVE a defense this year, and the offense won't even lose a step with Colston out.
San Francisco at Seattle - SF actually has a shot here. I wonder if this division's winner could be 7-9. Pathetic. Seattle is hurting in the WR department and their RBs don't impress. Their special teams looked awful last week. Now, can SF run on Seattle, because that's what they'll need to do. I'm going to give the win to Seattle because they're overall a better team, but not by much, and SF sucks.
Er....who cares? OK, if you insist, by default (i.e. SF really sucks. No, I mean REALLY.), Seattle. Won't matter much, the NFC West will be awful this year.
Atlanta at Tampa Bay - I wish I had seen these two teams play last week, cause I'd feel much better talking about the game then. It seems that TB's defense is so-so, but that Atlanta can really run the ball. I liked Ryan's game last week, and I have a bit of confidence in the Falcons right now.
You're smarter than this. I'm quite disappointed.
You're giving Atlanta credit for winning a game that the Lions gave them.
Blowout special #2.
Miami at Arizona - This is a crap game. Arizona played a fairly sound game last week, but I'm not too up on them right now. I think that Miami will get it done with some confidence that 7-8 wins in their division is a little more possible today than it was last week. Also, I believe in Sparano, and think they'll do well with him. Anthony Fasano surprised last week.
Miami. AZ is OK, but not OK enough.
San Diego at Denver - Eddie Royal was amazing, eh? How will Marshall's return effect him I wonder? Will Royal still be the go-to guy. I think that Royal and Marshall together can be very effective. Is Shanahan no longer the guy that finds RBs in the rough, but now the guy that has the eye for WRs? Here's the thing though, San Diego just plays well against Denver. SD's loss last week doesn't overly concern me. I think that the Chargers win this one.
Denver. Close, tough game, but homefield advantage will be the difference.
New England at NY Jets - Well, I gotta say, I think theJets will win this one. Keep in mind that when an opposing team has practically no game film on a QB, (Cassell), that QB can usually play pretty well against them. Brady will eventually help get Cassell ready, but Favre may make believers out of these Jets just yet.
Agreed. Big let down for the Patsies here, FaRve shows up and does his thing.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland - Pittsburgh owns Cleveland, and that won't change this week.
No way Pittsburgh loses.
Baltimore at Houston - I have no idea. Let's flip a coin. Houston. Okay, there we go then.
I got bit by Houston last week, won't be this week. Baltimore.
Philadelphia at Dallas - Brian Westbrook is an exceptional player. Philadelphia played extremely well last week. Let's also remember that Dallas is not St. Louis. Dallas' pass rush is far better than St. Louis', and Dallas has a far superior secondary. Philly is still out their top 2 receivers, but their other guys do pretty well. For Dallas, it seems that Newman and Barber should play well, and that's huge. I can see Dallas countering the Philly blitz with lots of between-the-tackles running. I think Dallas will do well on Monday night, and I'm going to give this one 34-20.
Philly. Why?
1. They can win this.
2. Dallas is over-rated.
3. I HATE DALLAS.
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