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Chicago Bears (+3) at Atlanta Falcons
It's amazing what a difference one game can make. Until the Falcons great performance last week against Green Bay, this looked like a easy Bears victory. Now, Atlanta's the favorite. Chicago will miss the services of Phillip Daniels and RW McQuarters while Ray Buchanan roided his way to a four game suspension for the Falcons. Obviously, this game hinges on Michael Vick as Atlanta's fortunes are in his hands. The pick: Atlanta 23-20. Tennessee Titans (-3) at Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys were absolutely embarrassed last week by the new Houston franchise, and (in a scheduling quirk) they now play host to a determined old Houston franchise. Dallas will surely put up a great effort at home, but the Titans just have too much offense while the Cowboys have Quincy Carter. This game is missing a pair of defensive keys in Jevon Kearse and Dat Nguyen. However, with the way rookie Carlos Hall (from Arkansas) filled in for the Titans, the loss of Kearse may not be too great. Hard to believe that just got typed. The pick: Tennessee 28-14. Cincinnati Bengals (+4.5) at Cleveland Browns
Simple math lesson here: The Bengals simply must fully commit to Corey Dillon. They say they know this, but the nine carries were a head-scratcher. He's obviously their best player and should be used as such. After what Cleveland allowed Priest Holmes to do in week one, Dillon is a sure starter this week. As a team, the Browns must be in the Ruddest mood in all of the NFL. You know there were some sleepless nights in Cleveland, and this squad will be fired up. The pick: Cleveland 27-14. Arizona Cardinals (+3.5) at Seattle Seahawks
What an excellent match we have here. Seattle will lean on Alexander while the Cardinals will fire back with Boston. These two players will take turns punching back and forth all day. Both teams look to even their record, but one will finish the game winless. The pick: Seattle 26-21. Detroit Lions (+3) at Carolina Panthers
Vomitorium time here folks. Actually, besides our FBG doing the game recap, is there anyone else that is actually going to watch every snap here? If so, I feel for you. Side note: Carolina could start the season 2-0. Unreal! The pick: Carolina 21-17. New York Giants (+12.5) at St. Louis Rams
Well, this week the lesson will be titled Grass, Artificial Turf, and their differences. Sure, the Giants came up huge last week against Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens, but the Rams at home are simply too much. The pick: St. Louis 35-20. Green Bay Packers (-2) at New Orleans Saints
In week one, New Orleans surprised the Buccaneers with an overtime win, and Green Bay surprised everyone by making Michael Vick look like a very good NFL quarterback. Well, Vick is a very talented athlete, but he looked like a seasoned veteran against a supposedly top notch Packers defense. Aaron Brooks is a similar QB and should also see good results this week. All-in-all, this should be an extremely exciting contest. The pick: New Orleans 24-20. Buffalo Bills (+5) at Minnesota Vikings
No offense to these defenses, but these offenses will see little defense this week. This will be like a PAC-10 conference tilt. Take a hard look at Bledsoe as your starter this week. He's probably a #2 QB on a lot of fantasy teams out there, but he'll shine bright this Sunday. The pick: Buffalo 32-27. Jacksonville Jaguars (+4.5) at Kansas City Chiefs
Tab this the All-Holdout contest as last week Smith and Gonzalez each showed the enormous importance that preseason NFL football has. Sheesh! Let's all hold out shall we? Miss the sweat of camp and still come in and star week one. Works for me! Anyway, can you believe Taylor is still alive? Pretty neat, huh? Overall, this game is flying under the radar a bit, but there are some extremely talented players on both squads. The pick: Kansas City 21-14. Denver Broncos (+3.5) at San Francisco 49ers
Well the Broncos pulled off a great upset last week, but this week their kind of 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'. You have to know the 49ers were less than pleased with their week one performance and will display a new resolve in this game (especially at home). As was written here last week, if you are facing the Garcia/Owens tandem, best of luck. Also, check out the RBs in the Possible Starters column. Oh how great any of those four would be if given the sole #1 RB job with their respective team. The pick: San Francisco 27-20. Miami Dolphins (+2.5) at Indianapolis Colts
Boy, the Dolphins really laid it on Detroit last week, but they better have saved a few points for the Colts as the scoreboard will lit up early and often. For the Colts, Manning looked like his old self while James looked a tad rusty. The revamped Dungy defense allowed Jacksonville too many yards and points, but they also scored on their own last week. It was surprising to see a difference so quickly. This contest could be decided by whoever has the ball last. The pick: Indianapolis 31-27. Houston Texans (+13) at San Diego Chargers
Here's a pat on the back for Houston (as I eat a heaping plate of crow). They simply overwhelmed Quincy Carter. Lightning won't strike twice however. The Chargers defense will beat and batter the rookie David Carr and give him the welcome that should have been administered last week. Tomlinson looks like a super-stud. The pick: San Diego 28-0. New England Patriots (+1.5) at New York Jets
Count me as a believer in New England. I admit that I discounted their potential this season, but they obviously still have their mojo going. Of course, going on the road in the AFC East is no picnic so the Jets can't be discounted easily. Then again, Travis Henry looked All-Pro last week so Smith should do some damage on Sunday in New York. The pick: New England 17-14. Oakland Raiders (+4) at Pittsburgh Steelers
So this is what the 2001 AFC Championship was supposed to be? After last week's Monday nighter, it is apparent that both Raiders and Steelers are looking up at the Patriots. Still, this will be quite a contest as both teams are in the upper echelon of the NFL. For some reason, this game smacks of a defensive struggle that will be decided by field position and mistakes. The Raiders will likely be without punter Shane Lechler which hurts them with field position. Of course, Stewart will counter that by hurting the Steelers with mistakes. The pick: Oakland 10-9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3.5) at Baltimore Ravens
Coming off a poor week one result against the Saints, look for Tampa Bay to bounce back in a huge way versus the vastly undermanned Ravens. As mentioned last week, if Redman and Taylor couldn't get it done against the Panthers, they may never get it done. They surely won't suddenly get well against the Buccaneers. The pick: Tampa Bay 28-13. Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at Washington Redskins
This is the week we find out if Steve Spurrier's offense is for real as the Eagles are actually the first quality defense on the schedule. Look for them to struggle a bit as they aren't in Arizona any more Toto. That said, there should be running room for Davis as the Eagles (while strong overall) are vulnerable on the ground. With regards to the Redskins defense, their week one effort was a little lacking. McNabb should give them some trouble. The pick: Philadelphia 17-10. Last week we found out that I don't need to quit my day job. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||