NFL Week 2 Picks

Salutations Good People,

Week 1 is always a week where I feel out and experiment — or it is when I go 9-7 on the first week of football…as I did last weekend.  In the interest of brevity and getting on with it, I’ll just jump right into my picks.  Here are my picks for Week 2:

Week 2 Picks

Steelers @ Ravens –

Good to see that we start off Week 2 with one of the match-ups that I can easily talk myself into and out of for hours.  To me, this game comes down to how the Ravens respond to the whole Ray Rice debacle.  I can see them either a) imploding from the distraction element, or b) playing with something to prove — but I have no idea what to expect.  I don’t think that the Steelers are very good; as I don’t think that the Browns are very good, yet they gave the Steelers a good run/scare IN PITTSBURGH in Week 1.  I mean, when people were clamoring for the entire preseason about Johnny Football and the reasons for him starting being largely centered on the greater opinion that Hoyer is not a good NFL QB….but then Hoyer can silence critics (and keep Johnny Football on the bench)… well, the Steelers must have had a hand in him looking that good.  I’ll go with the Ravens and hope that they play with something to prove.  These games always seem to be close and come down to a controversial call/moment, so we’ll see.  Ravens over Steelers.

Dolphins @ Bills –

Another game that I think the outcome will show us more.  The Dolphins took it to the Patriots at home last weekend…but the Patriots may not be very good this year.  And the Bills battled the Bears last weekend, in Chicago, for the OT win…. but the Bears’ D has been vulnerable for the past few seasons now.  So, the Dolphins appear to have had the better performance, but the Bills may have beaten a tougher opponent on the road.  Simply because picking against Buffalo hasn’t backfired on me too often, I’ll take Miami on the road in this game.  Dolphins over Bills.

Jags @ Redskins –

I’m taking the Jags.  The Redskins do not look like a very good team and I’m actually starting to get behind the Jags as being an okay team.  Especially with their division and the AFC being a wide-open conference.  I don’t think that the Jags will blow another lead in the second half like that they did against Philly in Week 1.  Jags over Redskins.

Cowboys @ Titans –

I saw nothing from the Cowboys against us last weekend that makes me think that their defense can get much stops, nor that their offense is firing on all cylinders.  Although, the Niners took over that stadium, so I guess playing on the road this week in Tennessee shouldn’t be too different for the Cowboys.  Titans over Cowboys.

Cardinals @ Giants –

Similarly, I saw nothing (in the recap) from the Giants that puts much of my faith in them.  The Cardinals, though, are hosting the Super Bowl this year — well, their stadium is, rather — and so the Football Gods will end up doing something to keep them from being relevant this year…. but I don’t know what and I don’t know when.  However, I still think that an irrelevant Cardinals team is still better than the Giants team right now.  Cardinals over Giants.

Patriots @ Vikings –

I think that I read/heard somewhere that the Patriots haven’t lost consecutive games in like 10yrs or maybe longer — but they have been getting grilled in the media reactions (questions about their O line, their defense’s ineffectiveness, and Tom Brady, apparently, is struggling to throw farther than 15yrds with success…also, per the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, the Patriots are 2-6 in their previous 8 road games. Yeesh).  So, a lot of my signs are pointing to the Vikings (especially since they’re not in a dome this year), but then they just lost AP for at least this week.  I think that I’ll still take the Vikings, and I’ll tempt history.  This is a call that I’m not sure about, but the Vikings looked really good against a Rams team that may be bad, so why wouldn’t they be good-to-decent against a Patriots team that may also be bad?  Makes sense.  Vikings over Patriots.

Saints @ Browns –

The Saints in New Orleans are much different than the Saints outside of New Orleans, however, since it is early in the year, I don’t think the elements of Ohio are anything that would screw with them too much.  Going off the belief that the Steelers may not be very good this year, I then must believe that the Saints are WAAAAAY better than the Browns.  So much so that I’d take them on the road, when I’m usually hesitant to take the Saints on the road….except for last week when I took them against Atlanta….and they still lost.  Whoops.  Saints over Browns.

Falcons @ Bengals –

Speaking of those Falcons, they (like the Saints) are also a different team when taken out of their dome, and they too are headed to the state of Ohio this weekend.  However, the Bengals – I think – are probably one of the Top 3 teams in the AFC….whereas the Saints are playing the Browns, who may not be Top 3 in their division, let alone the greater conference.  So, I’m going to take the Bengals in this game.  Bengals over Falcons.

Lions @ Panthers –

This game is a tough one, too, because the Giants look like they just have a bad team right now, so the Lions’ performance is kind of tainted.  Meanwhile, I thought that the Buccs were going to be a sneaky, good team this year…but Derek Anderson (who I actually work with his aunt – random trivia) was able to go into Tampa and come out with the win.  The Panthers get Newton back this weekend and so I think that I’ll stick with them at home (as the Lions have, historically, struggled outside of their dome, as well).  Panthers over Lions.

Rams @ Buccs –

The Rams looked awful in the recap from Week 1.  While the Buccs didn’t execute when they needed to against the Panthers, I do think that the Panthers are a better team than the Rams are, and so having them come to Tampa I think gives the edge to the Buccs this week.  Don’t let me down, Tampa.  Buccs over Rams.

Seahawks @ Chargers –

I really want the Seahawks to lose – mostly because some of my annoying Seahawk fans are predicting the Seahawks to go undefeated this season en route to a 19-0 perfect season, and some other media folks are thinking 15-1 because of how amazing they look.  So, I want them to lose and they might: the Chargers have a high ceiling in the AFC, I reckon, and they are getting the Seahawks on the road – where, prior to last year, they had struggled.  However, until they actual lose, I’ll stick with them for my picking purposes.  Also, because I don’t know much about the Chargers to talk me into picking them.  Seahawks over Chargers.

Texans @ Raiders –

The only thing that could have remotely interested me in this game was the potential of Matt Schaub vs. the Texans’ defense — but that won’t even happen.  This is one game that I don’t care about and that, likely, will not be televised in the bar that I’m going to for the games, because why would it be? Who cares about this game?  That said, I guess I’ll take the Raiders at home – but it’s only because they are the home team and the Texans don’t look very good.  This is by no means a vote of confidence in the Raiders.  Raiders over Texans.

Jets @ Packers –

The Packers do not match-up well with the NFC West – that appears to be true.  However, the Jets are not in the NFC West.  What possibly makes me think that the Jets could have success against Green Bay is because the Packers’ D struggles with mobile QBs and tackling in the open-field: and I believe that Geno Smith is considered a “mobile QB” and the Jets also have two running backs capable of making people miss and/or breaking poor tackling.  However, I don’t think that the Jets’ D is on par with Seattle’s (obviously) and so I think Rodgers will be able to take this game over, if necessary.  I don’t see the Packers dropping their first two games of the season, either, and especially the home-opener.  Packers over Jets.

Chiefs @ Broncos –

Even though I enjoy the Chiefs (and they are the team of my brother and the best man in his wedding), the way that they played in Week 1 does not make me think that they will be able to win this game.  ESPECIALLY on the road and against Peyton Manning when the weather is still nice.  I just hope that Peyton Manning doesn’t run up the score and pad stats, like he tends to do.  Broncos over Chiefs.

Bears @ My Beloved 49ers –

As all of our games for the first half of the season, this game will be tense for me.  Our defense played pretty well — much better than expected — against Dallas’ offense last week.  However, Romo didn’t look right, so he may be hurt or, at the least, is not playing at full-strength.  The Bears are also a little banged up, or so I have read.  I don’t know much about the Bears’ running game these days, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we did a similar bend-but-don’t-break defensive approach where we give up everything underneath, prevent the home run plays, and let the Bears prove they can beat us with the run.  That wouldn’t surprise me.  I’m not too worried about our offense – the way that the Bills were able to have success running makes me think that our O line and Gore/Hyde will be able to have some success as well.  Similarly, with our receivers still healthy, I think that this could be a big game for Vernon Davis — as the Bears LBs tend to be a weak point (in coverage) for their defense, especially, against a player like Davis.  49ers over Bears.

Eagles @ Colts –

From what I have gathered, both of these teams have suspect defenses, and strong offenses.  I can’t count Luck and the Colts out too early in games, as their comeback and near-victory last weekend in Denver was both unexpected and very surprising.  However, the thing that makes me question their success this week, at home, is the dome.  The Eagles are a fast team (both in terms of personnel and pace) and on the turf with ideal conditions, the Eagles could have a big game, offensively; especially, with the Colts’ D being a suspect defense.  This will be my wild pick of the week: I’m going to take the Eagles in this game.  Eagles over Colts.

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That will do it for my picks for this week.  We’ll see how I do and, hopefully, I’m able to improve upon my 9-7 record from Week 1.

 

-Ryan.

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