Let's kick it off. I will throw an upset special or two into the mix
here, and I look forward to any thoughts an opinions anyone might be
willing to share.
Crack open a cold one, 'coz it's football season, baby.
WAS 14 @ NYG 31: Giants by seventeen here, as the offense will
roll and the defense will look good. The Redskins haven't looked too
solid. If Jason Taylor does not play, the 'Skins D will have a
difficult task ahead of them.
DET 27 @ ATL 13: Detroit will win and Jon Kitna may feel good
enough about it to promise a Super Bowl. But everyone else will know
that the Atlanta Falcons are the Atlanta Falcons, Jon Kitna is Jon
Kitna, and the Lions are still a .500 team at best.
CIN 14 @ BAL 10: Cincy has a receiver to cover for a hurt Chad
Ocho Cinco, but may struggle in the running game. Still, the Ravens have no quarterback. Joe Flacco, did it really come to you already?
SEA 24 @ BUF 20: Seattle is not as tough as they are thought to
be, and the impression of a team that barely edged the Redskins in the
playoffs last year before getting walloped by the Packers remains. They
will still edge the Bills in this one.
NYJ 14@ MIA 17: Everybody will be looking to see Favre light it
up, and while that may happen, I have a feeling Pennington will be the
story of the week after upsetting his former team. He's about as tough
as they come and has more talent (but lacked blocking) than most would
care to realize.
KC 13 @ NE 28: Just because the entire New England team as a
whole looks as though they don't even want to be out there on the
field, my gut tells me to pick against them purely on principle.
Against any halfway decent team, I would. But NE is lucky to have KC as
a get-it-together game. That could still go both ways heading into week
two though, as getting back into the habit of going for it on fourth
downs will hurt them.
TB 28 @ NO 20: Tampa Bay, the more well-rounded team will win
this one. Looking at players who want it bad, one might be inclined to
focus on Shockey. But the moment things don't go Shockey's way, he
forgets how to be a teammate and how to just shut up and play his role.
On the other hand, we have Jeff Garcia, who just a few weeks ago was
more or less told by his organization that he would be Favre's backup.
Garcia is an average quarterback, but he can get fired up and playing
well. With something to prove, Garcia will have a big game.
STL 10 @ PHI 17: Philly has looked good lately, and they will
start the season on a good note against the Rams. The game will be a
lot more one-sided than the final score will suggest.
HOU 14 @ PIT 20: Pittsburgh at home. Pittsburgh at home. The Steelers have tough schedule, but this is a game they will win.
JAC 28 @ TEN 17: Jacksonville is a tough team and can move the
ball on offense, and I don't think Vince Young will be able to exploit
their secondary.
DAL 31 @ CLE 35: Upset special. The Cowboys will be brought down
to earth in week one, losing an offensive shootout with the Browns. The
Browns didn't look great in the preseason, but they are more liable to
show up determined to pull the upset, and they have the guns on offense
to do it.
CAR 17 @ SD 24: San Diego, and it will be their playmakers on
defense that make the difference. Phillip Rivers may struggle a bit,
especially with the impending comeback of Julius Peppers, but he has an
MVP in the backfield to bail him out.
ARI 20 @ SF 10: 'Zona, with Kurt Warner at the helm.
CHI 6 @ IND 24: Not even a question, as the Bears are a team
that have no upset potential in them. They are a mess, two years
removed from the Super Bowl, playing the very team that beat them up
pretty good.
MIN 14 @ GB 20: Minnesota are similar to the Saints of '07:
overhyped and overrated. Green Bay, a very talented team before even
considering the quarterback position, is underrated. Rodgers is the
right guy for them to have, as he is young enough to withstand the
temperatures at Lambeau in January, something Favre apparently could
not do.
DEN 21 @ OAK 7: The Raiders still aren't close yet. Another year of growing pains for Oakland fans.
