Week 2 Picks!

It's that time of year again. The time of year where many fans find out that, yes, last week was an abberation or that their team will in fact, not go undefeated. Week 2 is usually just as good for over-reacting as week one. Remember, these are picking against the spread, not the outright winner. So without further ado, here are my picks for this week.

Green Bay over Chicago(+5)-I knowI'm not breaking any ground here; obviously this game ended a couple days ago. I just thought it would be fun to over-react to one game and seriously question Chicago's chances going forward. So does Chicago have a chance to make the playoffs with such a shaky o-line, below average receiving corps and an erratic QB?! By the way, congrats on your eventual playoff berth Chicago.

Buffalo over Kansas City (+3)- How do we evaluate two teams that were beaten so handily last week? I guess this would be the game to do it. I'll give Buffalo the slight edge because of home field advantage and non- Romeo Crennel advantage (that's a thing right?). Since I imagine both QB's will have below average days (just a hunch), each teams fate could be decided by the performance of their speedster back; either Spiller or Charles. So tune in to CBS at one everybody to find out which "bubble playoff team" is actually terrible!

Cincinnati over Cleveland (+7)-Yes it's a seven point line and yes Cincinnati is overrated. But did you see Weeden play last week? It was borderline torture. Plus, in true Cleveland fashion, there's really no silver lining. Weeden won't have as much time to develop as he's already older than many of the league's QB's(including reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers). Cincinnati wins this one easily as they attempt to recover from getting embarassed in a real AFC North game for the 20th time in a row. I do like the Law Firm (Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis) at running back though; he's a step up from Benson.

Minnesota over Indy (+1.5)- If the Bears game was any indication, the Colts are still in the middle of their rebuilding stage. It's tough to blame them though; cleaning up after the mess Polian left is no easy task (yes, he left a mess, a bad one). The Vikings will have Peterson and his "deal with the devil' knees plus Jared Allen rushing the young Luck all game. It's just too close of a spread, I don't see Minnesota losing this especially if we get to see glimpses of the great and mighty Joe Webb.

Oakland over Miami (+2.5)- Yeah Oakland's special teams looked rather.....special Monday night but 2 and a half freakin points?!?! Did these guys watch Miami last week? This is not a good team. They have absolutely no firepower on an offense led by a rookie who played receiver until he was a sophomore in college. This has 2-14 season written all over it. Take Oakland, their defense didn't look bad at all against San Diego and they have Darren McFadden for at least one more week.

New England over Arizona (13.5)- Normally I wouldn't expect a team to cover such a spread, no matter how much better they are than their opponent. But this is a unique case. Arizona isn't terrible as prioven in week one. But with Jon-Kevin Kolbton at quarterback, opportuinites for a back door cover are quite limited. Also, we can't forget about the Patriot's steadfast refusal to lay down, no matter how big their lead is. Do you really to have to rely on Belichick to not try to score more while New England's holding a 13 point lead with two minutes left? Didn't think so.

Tampa over New York (-7)- If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that the Giants are not to be trusted to do what's expected, especially at home. Tampa held the wild-runnin Panthers to 10 rush yards last week in a win. This team could be a sleeping giant. Much like the actual Giants whom I expect to sleep through this one. I'm not saying Tampa's going to win, but expect them to cover.

Baltimore over Philly (-2.5)- Is this real life? Did these people watch football last week? The Ravens thrashed a decent Bengals team on national tv while Joe Flacco finally shined. Meanwhile Philly played about the worst game I've ever seen a team play and win. Vick looked like a rookie version of Akili Smith while Andy Reid reminded us why he's the longest tenured coach without a Super Bowl ring. Enjoy your pick-sixes Mr. Reed.

New Orleans over Carolina (+2.5)- I don't think we'll see the Saints that we know and love for most of this season. Losing a head coach for a season and then your interim coach for six games is tougher than people realize right now. But I also have no reason to think Carolina will be anything special this year. They struggled to get anything going last week against Tampa Bay and may be headed for another 6-10 season. Take New Orleans here, Brees rarely has two bad games in a row.

Houston over Jacksonville (+7)- Well would you look at that? Blaine Gabbert played like a real quarterback last week against Minnesota! Now all he has to do is repeat that against one of the league's best defenses. Meanwhile, the fearsome rushing attack of Foster and Tate must be stopped so the rejuvinated Matt Schaub can't get comfortable and throw to one of the league's top receivers in Andre Johnson. Sounds like a tall order for Jacksonville. Houston wins this game by two touchdowns minimum.

Washington over St. Louis (+3)- A college quarterback is considered a consensus number one pick for years before he's drafted. He's got the size, speed, skill, arms, smarts, but most importatnly: the look. The second half of his final college season, another QB comes out of nowhere from a smaller school with a more exciting style. People become infatuated with him as he crawls up draft boards. Some even suggest he should go ahead of the afforementioned consensus pick. The Colts have the first pick and are in desperate need of quarterback. They take the traditional guy as the raw/exciting guy goes two. The latter has a great first couple games before.....Okay I'll shut up Washington fans, only because you asked so nicely.
In all seriousnees RG3 looked incredible in that first game, just as Newton did last year. 15 of the 32 quarterbacks that started last week are in year four or younger. The NFL is moving into a new era of quarterbacks right now. Who will be the Manning and Brady of this era? Could it be Bradford and RG3? Your guess is as good as mine right now. But for this week, I'll go with RG3 and the Skins.

Seattle over Dallas (-3)- I'll save you a Bill Simmons-esche speech about how Russell Wilson is the second coming of Larry Bird. Instead i'll remind you of a fact. Dallas blows games they shouldn't. All the time. Every season. In ways you would never expect. This will be one of those games.

New York Jets over Pittsburgh (-5.5)- The Jets are to be considered a dangerous team until they prove otherwise. I don't know what made the linesmakers so confident in Pittsburgh. Big Ben has had trouble with Rex Ryan defenses his whole career and the Steelers are 0-1 after all. It's hard to blame anyone for losing to Peyton Manning at night (or anytime in any sport for that matter), but the Jets deserve more respect than this line....for now at least.

San Diego over Tennessee (+6)- I'm not going to sit here and pretend I stayed up til 3 am to watch the Chargers take advantage of fumbled Oakland snaps. But they seem to be at least a competent team and that should be enough to beat these Titans. They have very little at receiver, nothing with Chris Johson right now and a quarterback starting his second game. Either it's an easy win for San Diego or they're not as good as I've given them credit for.

San Francisco over Detroit (+6.5)- Ah, what a rematch. Even if Jim Schwartz didn't chase Harbaugh up the sidelines with all the self-control of a twelve year therapy patient; this would still be a great match-up. The two teams played a great game last year and both are hungry to advance further into the playoffs this year. However, San Francisco looked much more impressive week one leading me to believe that they're to be considered Super Bowl favorites. Damn Right I said it. Alex Smith and the boys should take care of business in Detroit or i'll look like I usually do after making a prediction.

Denver over Atlanta (-3)- There are two big factors people are forgetting in picking Atlanta for this game. 1. The Falcons haven't proven to great yet. As far as we know they're still that above average team that beats up on bad teams and folds whenever they have a real opponent. 2. Peyton Manning doesn't lose at night......EVER. You do not, under any circumstances, bet against Peyton Manning. It will come back to haunt you. Peyton and his boys will take care of things for the second straight week in prime time.

Enjoy all the week 2 action, Stay Hungry My Friends.