The Week 2 Picks

Week 1 was full of surprises, to say the least. Who could have figured that Miami would stomp Denver like that? I mean, did they bring Dan Marino, Mark Duper, Mark Clayton and Mercury Morris out of retirement or something? ESPN Magazine picked the Vikings to win the Super Bowl this year, yet they get embarrassed at home by Tampa Bay? St. Louis and Carolina also fell in Week 1, meaning all three players in my suicide pool have already, well, died.

In the immortal words of former Packers coach Vince Lombardi: "What the hell's going on out here?"

When the dust all settled, all I had to show for it was an 8-8 record both ways. Not great, but with all those land mines out there, not all that bad either. Here's hoping Week 2 is much more predictable.

The Match-up: New England (-3.0) @ Carolina
The Skinny: There's always one game a week that you can go back and forth on. I really like Carolina this year, but the Patriots are consistently among the league's elite. The game is in Charlotte, but the Panthers are already down a man, with DT Kris Jenkins out for the season. Even if Carolina was 100% healthy, I'd still probably take the Pats.
Straight Up: New England
Against the Spread: New England

The Match-up: Pittsburgh (-6.0) @ Houston
The Skinny: I know Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is questionable with a bum knee, and the prospect of Tommy Maddox starting does scare me a little bit. Not enough to make me bet against Pittsburgh and that defense, but still its not a slam dunk. So is Pittsburgh RB Willie Parker the next Jerome Bettis, or the next Amos Zereoue? To be determined, I guess.
Straight up: Pittsburgh
Against the Spread: Pittsburgh

The Match-up: Baltimore (-3.5) @ Tennessee
The Skinny: Kyle Boller's injury may end up being a blessing in disguise. Anthony Wright will start at QB for Baltimore this week, and the Ravens offense seemed to flow a little bit better with Wright and the helm. Tennessee got thumped by a Steelers team that was without Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley last week, with Willie Parker running for 160 yards and Ben Roethlisberger scoring a perfect QB rating. The Titans' reward? A fired up Ravens defense that can ill-afford to fall to 0-2. I love Baltimore this week.
Straight Up: Baltimore
Against the Spread: Baltimore

The Match-up: Jacksonville (+9.0) @ Indianapolis
The Skinny: Interesting divisional match-up with the underrated Jaguars defense forced to contend with a Colts offense that hung 24 on Baltimore last week. The game could be decided by the ability of the Jags' offense to move the ball against a very good Indy D. The game will be close, but the Colts will pull away late.
Straight Up: Indianapolis
Against the Spread: Indianapolis

The Match-up: San Francisco (off) @ Philadelphia
The Skinny: No need to push the panic button in Philly. Yes, they lost on Monday, but they escaped without major injury (Donovan McNabb will start this week despite the bruised sternum). And even without Jeremiah Trotter and with David "Automatic" Akers missing two field goals, the Eagles were driving at the end with a chance to win the game. The Eagles are at home against San Francisco and Oakland in the next two weeks, so they'll be 2-1 on Sept. 19th.
Straight Up: Philadelphia
Against the Spread: Philadelphia

The Match-up: Detroit (-1.5) @ Chicago
The Skinny: I told you at the beginning of this thing that I would only pick an upset where I felt it was warranted. Well, it's time. Yes, Detroit won at home last week (albeit against Green Bay, who looked absolutely awful), and the Bears lost a tight one at Washington. But I like Chicago to win at home this week.
Straight Up: Chicago
Against the Spread: Chicago

The Match-up: Minnesota (+3.0) @ Cincinnati
The Skinny: No way the Vikings go to 0-2, right? No way Daunte Culpepper has another game like that, right? If it sounds like I'm trying to convince myself, you may be right. I've got it in my head that the Vikings are the better team here, so I'm going with Minnesota.
Straight Up: Minnesota
Against the Spread: Minnesota

The Match-up: Buffalo (+2.5) @ Tampa Bay
The Skinny: The Bucs pulled off one of the Week 1 shockers, knocking off the Vikings in the Homerdome. Brian Griese continues to play well, and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams made an early statement as the rookie of the year. A good early test for Tampa's revamped offense comes on Sunday against the Bills. Tight game, but I'll go with Tampa at home.
Straight Up: Tampa Bay
Against the Spread: Tampa Bay

The Match-up: St. Louis (+1.0) @ Arizona
The Skinny: One of these NFC West powers (no, seriously) will be 0-2 after this week. St. Louis was embarrassed in San Francisco, falling behind 28-9 before rallying to only lose by three. Arizona, on the other hand, flew across the country and gave up 42 to the Giants. St. Louis has been dreadful on the road lately, but I can't bring myself to take the Cards.
Straight Up: St. Louis
Against the Spread: St. Louis

The Match-up: Atlanta (+1.0) @ Seattle
The Skinny: This line should tell me something, but I'm having a hard time getting it. The Falcons are 1-0 having just survived their Monday night battle with the Eagles, and the Seahawks lost in Jacksonville. But Seattle is favored by a point? All signs tell me to pick the 'Hawks, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
Straight Up: Atlanta
Against the Spread: Atlanta

The Match-up: Cleveland (+6.5) @ Green Bay
The Skinny: Sad to say, but this may be the battle for the top pick in the 2006 draft. Let's start with the Packers, who not only lost a game last week but lost their best WR Javon Walker for the season as well. As for the Browns, they also fell last week, and were never really in the game with Cincinnati. I won't believe the Packers really are this bad unless they do something like, I don't know, lose at home to Cleveland. No way that happens, right?
Straight Up: Green Bay
Against the Spread: Green Bay

The Match-up: Miami (+6.0) @ New York Jets
The Skinny: Dan Marino, uh, I mean Gus Frerotte led the Fish to a 34-10 stomping of the Broncos in Week 1, and now they take the air show on the road to New York, where Chad Fumble-ton and the Jets await. The Jets played hot potato with the football in Kansas City a week ago, coughing it up 6 times. They'll be better this week (because they can't really be worse), but Miami's defense keeps them in it. This could be a field goal battle, thus six points is about 4 too many for me to take the Jets.
Straight Up: New York Jets
Against the Spread: Miami

The Match-up: San Diego (+3.0) @ Denver
The Skinny: Another battle between 0-1 division foes. The Chargers hope to get a boost from the return of Antonio Gates (think he would have helped their goal line offense against Dallas last week?), and they still have LaDanian Tomlinson to hand the ball to. Denver needs a better game from Jake Plummer, who personally turned the ball over three times in the second half against Miami. This time, the line does tell me something. Denver must be favored for a reason. I like the Broncos the get into the win column as the '04 AFC West champs fall to 0-2.
Straight Up: Denver
Against the Spread: Denver

The Match-up: Kansas City (-1.5) @ Oakland
The Skinny: How many points will it take to win this game? 35? 38? 42? Who knows? The bottom line is that both of these offenses can move the ball up and down the field. The defense that can step up and make plays will determine who wins this game. Personally, I like the Chiefs for two reasons. One, they have the better defense. Two, the Raiders haven't played in a week and a half, so they may be rusty. Kansas City is the pick.
Straight Up: Kansas City
Against the Spread: Kansas City

The Match-up: New York Giants (-3.0) @ New Orleans
The Skinny: Monday Night Football, Part I kicks off at 7:30 Monday night, with the 1-0 Saints hosting the 1-0 Giants. Except that the game will be played in New York. New Orleans pulled off a big upset last week, winning in Carolina. The Giants scored two TD's on kick returns in their win over Arizona. No doubt special teams will be a focus this week. I got burned by New Orleans last week, so I hope they don't burn me again, because I'm taking the Giants on the road (sort of) over New Orleans.
Straight Up: New York Giants
Against the Spread: New York Giants

The Match-up: Washington (+6.0) @ Dallas
The Skinny: Monday Night Football, Part II goes off at 9:00, with the Cowboys hosting the Redskins. Dallas will induct Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin in their ring of honor prior to kick off, and here's hoping that's the highlight of the evening for Cowboys fans. Mark Brunell will start for Washington, and their defense will put pressure Drew Bledsoe. Surprise, surprise, I'm taking the 'Skins in an upset.
Straight Up: Washington
Against the Spread: Washington