The Week 3 Picks

What, no Week 2 wrap up, you say? Fine, here it is in a nutshell - it sucked.

After the high of Week 1 featuring 12 winners (10 against the spread), a fantasy football win, and hitting the trifecta - Notre Dame wins, Eagles win, Cowboys lose - Week 2 was filled with nothing but lows.

The Week 2 records? 9-7 straight up, 6-10 against the spread.

"Bonzi’s Pecans" fell to Peyton Manning and the "Tarheels"

Notre Dame? Embarrassed by Michigan. The Eagles? Choked away a sure win against the Giants. Dallas? Man-handled the Redskins.

Call it the crap-fecta.

Anyway, what’s done is done. And Week 3 is a chance to bounce back, for the Irish, the Birds, and The Kid.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

The Match-up: Chicago (-3.0) @ Minnesota
The Skinny: Scary thought # 1 - Rex Grossman gives the Bears a legitimate offense, the kind that can move the ball and score points. Couple that with a defense that doesn’t surrender a whole lot, and you’re looking at the NFC’s best team (after two weeks).
Straight Up: Chicago
Against the Spread: Chicago

The Match-up: Cincinnati (+1.5) @ Pittsburgh
The Skinny: Carson Palmer says he hates the Steelers even more than he hates UCLA. I thought he wasn’t bitter about that hit in last year’s playoffs. Anyway, Palmer may hate the Steelers even more after Sunday. And thanks, NFL, for abolishing the excessive celebrations. Now instead of laughing at Chad Johnson’s creative end zone antics, I’m watching him do the chicken dance like some schmuck at a wedding in a fire house.
Straight Up: Pittsburgh
Against the Spread: Pittsburgh

The Match-up: New York Jets (+5.5) @ Buffalo
The Skinny: After falling behind 24-0 to New England, Chad Pennington, Laveranues Coles and the Jets showed much heart, rallying to cut the score to 24-17. They did lose the game, but if the Jets play the way they did in that second half against the Pats, they might just be alright.
Straight Up: New York Jets
Against the Spread: New York Jets

The Match-up: Carolina (-3.0) @ Tampa Bay
The Skinny: Scary thought # 2 - one of these two teams that was predicted to contend for a Super Bowl will be 0-3 after Sunday. And 0-3 is a lot worse than 0-2. By the way, Tampa’s back up quarterback is Bruce Gradkowski, if you need him.
Straight Up: Carolina
Against the Spread: Carolina

The Match-up: Green Bay (+7.0) @ Detroit
The Skinny: The struggling Lions inquired about the status of disgruntled Oakland wide receiver Jerry Porter. What, was Koren "DUI" Robinson off the market? Oh yeah, he signed with the Packers. Two pretty bad football teams on display in this one.
Straight Up: Detroit
Against the Spread: Green Bay

The Match-up: Washington (-4.0) @ Houston
The Skinny: You could argue that no offense suffers more from the absence of one player than Washington and Clinton Portis. The good news for the ‘Skins is that Portis is expected to play. The better news? So are the Texans.
Straight Up: Washington
Against the Spread: Washington

The Match-up: Jacksonville (+7.0) @ Indianapolis
The Skinny: Are the Jags for real? They’ve beaten Dallas and Pittsburgh, two quality opponents, behind a defense that looks as good as ever. But this week in Indianapolis will be the real litmus test. Me? I’m drinking the teal and black Kool-Aid (in small doses).
Straight Up: Indianapolis
Against the Spread: Jacksonville

The Match-up: Tennessee (+11.0) @ Miami
The Skinny: The Dolphins have to be the most disappointing 0-2 team thus far. Losing to Pittsburgh at Heinz Field is acceptable. Losing at home to Buffalo is not. A setback to 0-2 Tennessee could land Daunte Culpepper in Nick Saban’s dog house.
Straight Up: Miami
Against the Spread: Tennessee

The Match-up: Baltimore (-6.5) @ Cleveland
The Skinny: Please don’t confuse the message with the messenger. If a prominent member of the Browns (oxymoron) came out and said "we’ve got nothing to lose, so let’s open it up on offense," it would carry some weight. When it’s Private Kellen Winslow II, it falls on deaf ears.
Straight Up: Baltimore
Against the Spread: Baltimore

The Match-up: St. Louis (+4.5) @ Arizona
The Skinny: I’ve got a funny feeling that this game could turn into a shootout. Think about the weapons on offense - Bulger, Jackson, Holt, Bruce, Warner, James, Fitzgerald, Boldin. Now think about the big names on defense. There’s...um, you’ve got...um...well, anyway. You get the idea.
Straight Up: Arizona
Against the Spread: Arizona

The Match-up: Philadelphia (-6.0) @ San Francisco
The Skinny: Alright, I’m always quick to defend Andy Reid when people criticize. But I can’t do it after last week’s gag job. You’ve got an all-pro quarterback and one of the most versatile running backs in the league and you go run-run-pass-punt for the last 18 minutes of the game? Teams that have a killer instinct don’t give up 17-point leads in the second half. The Eagles better develop that mentality, and fast.
Straight Up: Philadelphia
Against the Spread: Philadelphia

The Match-up: New York Giants (+3.5) @ Seattle
The Skinny: The talk around Giants Nation is that Sunday’s comeback represented the coming of age of Eli Manning. We’ll see how he plays in Seattle on Sunday. Alexander vs. Tiki is always an intriguing match-up.
Straight Up: Seattle
Against the Spread: Seattle

The Match-up: Denver (+7.0) @ New England
The Skinny: I can only assume that Tom Brady’s slow start has been partially due to the fact that he’s been looking ahead to this game - a chance for redemption after the Broncos handed Brady his first ever playoff loss in January. Well, that and the fact that he’s got nobody to throw to anymore.
Straight Up: New England
Against the Spread: New England

Monday, September 25, 2006

The Match-up: Atlanta (-3.5) @ New Orleans
The Skinny: The Saints are back home in New Orleans, and 46-year old Morten Andersen will be kicking for the Falcons. Just like old times in the Big Easy. If Ron Mexico keeps playing like this, I might have to stop calling him Ron Mexico.
Straight Up: Atlanta
Against the Spread: Atlanta

Bye Week: Dallas, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego