I was going to write about my first time golfing in nearly two years, but that didn't happen. My friend Mark is fat and has a bad back, so we had to reschedule for next week. So until then, I'll give my week two football picks. I'm no gambling man so no spread, just straight picks. Is this going to be a weekly thing now? You know it. I went eight for sixteen last week, so let's see how I do this week.

Bills at Dolphins

Something worries me about Daunte Culpepper, and it may have been those two god-awful interceptions he threw late in the season opener. Then again it was against a dominant Steelers defense that was playing mind games with him the entire game, so one can only imagine he will do better against the Bills defense. The Bills did do a nice job against Brady and the make-shift Patriots receiving corp., but they did give up some big runs (183 rushing yards total) and didn't look too good in the red zone. The offense looked lost, and besides Willis McGahee didn't do too much (only 141 yards total). As for the Dolphins defense, if Charlie Batch throwing for 200+ yards and three touchdowns isn't a wakeup call, I don't know what is.

Pick: Dolphins by 10

Panthers at Vikings

The Vikings looked pretty good against the Redskins, with Brad Johnson throwing for 223 yards and a touchdown, and the defense only gave up 103 rushing yards. Then again, the Redskins aren't that good, and Clinton Portis only rushed for 39 yards. He was still hurting, so I don't think he had his "A" game. The Vikings won it by a field goal with a minute left. They'll need more against the Panthers. The Panthers didn't look good at all against the Falcons, but I'm going to say that was just a bad game. Steve Smith was out (now questionable for Sunday) and DeShawn Foster had trouble, only rushing for 54 yards. Jake Delhomme still threw for 186 yards, but he'll need a better performance out of Foster to back him up. Every good team has a bad game, but the better ones bounce back from them.

Pick: Panthers by 14

Browns at Bengals

The Bengals beat the Chiefs last week, but the fact Kansas City lost Trent Green played a part in that. Carson Palmer had a solid game (13 for 19, 127 yards) but the Chiefs secondary kept the Bengals receivers out of the end zone. I doubt the Browns will be able to do the same, and the two Johnson's (Rudi and Chad) should have big games. The Bengals D only gave up 68 rushing yards to Larry Johnson, and shouldn't have a problem with Rueben Droughns.

Pick: Bengals by a lot

Lions at Bears

How about those Bears. Rex Grossman looked good (19 for 26, 262 yards, TD, INT) and the defense posted a shutout. Granted it was against the Packers, who are awful, but a shutout in these NFL days is pretty tough to do. The lions didn't do much of anything last week, with just two field goals, and won't do much more against the stingy Bears defense. NFL schedule makers were cruel to the Lions, giving them the Seahawks and Bears in back to back weeks.

Pick: Bears by a few touchdowns

Texans at Colts

Bet the Texans wish they had another shot at Reggie Bush now. They only got 70 rushing yards from three different backs last week, and that probably won't get any better against the Colts rushing defense. They did allow 186 yards against the Giants, but  none of the Texan's three stooges are Tiki Barber. As for the Colts, no edge won't matter because Peyton Manning will have a field day against the Texans secondary that gave up 311 passing yards to the Eagles last week. Like I said last week though, if the Texans suck enough, they could get Adrian Peterson in next years draft (or pass on him, whatever they want)

Pick: Colts by a lot

Saints at Packers

Now to Reggie Bush, who had a solid debut last week against the Browns. He had 141 total yards (61 rushing, 58 receiver, 22 return) and now gets to go up against the Packers. It's tough to say what the Pack will do, because Brett Farve can't go out like this. If he ends his career with two straight terrible seasons, it will be as foul as the taste you get after eating garlic bread (so good throughout the whole thing, and then that awful taste afterwards). Let's hope Brett's has a decent year, so he can retire on a good note. His team isn't that good though, and won't get their first win this week.

Pick: Saints by at least 10

Raiders at Ravens

Aaron Brooks had his chance to throw to Randy Moss last week against the Chargers and their bad secondary, and now he has to do it against the best defense in the NFL (after one week of course). The Raiders looked terrible on offense, and only got 20 yards from Lamont Jordon. If the Ravens defense can keep up the solid play, and Steve McNair can keep his comeback on the right path, the Ravens should have no problem.

Pick: Ravens by a lot

Buccaneers at Falcons

This is a tough one. The Buccaneers have to be better than the 28-0 showing against the Ravens, but then again Chris Simms isn't that good at quarterback. He threw three picks last week, and the rest of the offense didn't do anything either. The Falcons looked good against the Panthers last week, especially Warrick Dunn who rushed for 132 yards against that powerful defensive line.

Pick: Falcons at least a touchdown

Cardinals at Seahawks

The Seahawks got a lot better with the addition of Deion Branch, but he isn't playing this weekend so we'll have to wait and see how he contributes. As for this week, they should be able to beat the Cards, but it may be closer than a lot thing. The Seahawks just squeaked out a 9-6 win in Detroit, and will have to find the end zone this week. Matt Hasselbeck is looking for his first touchdown, as is reigning MVP Shaun Alexander. I think they'll both have good games, but the young receivers from Arizona will give the secondary a headache. If those two can help Kurt Warner throw for 300 yards, there's isn't much they can't do. Yes, I realize they did it last week against the 49ers, but the threat of Edgerin James has helped the Cardinal's passing game a lot. They'll put up a fight, but the Seahawks will be too much.

Pick: Seahawks by 3

Rams at 49ers

Another lost season for the 49ers in underway , and Marc Bulger should have a field day against their secondary. Steve Jackson will also have another good game (he went for 121 yards last week), and the Rams defense, as bad as it is, should handle the 49ers weak offense. The only bright spot they had last week was Frank Gore. If he can stay healthy then he could be a decent back, but it wont be enough.

Pick: Rams by 17

Chiefs at Broncos

Jake Plummer is looking to bounce back from a vintage Jake Plummer performance against the Rams (13 for 26, 3 INTs, and a fumble). The Chiefs defense is a little iffy, but if Plummer is back to his old self they won't have to do too much. The Broncos do have the Bell boys, Tatum and Mike, who both had pretty good games. Tatum rushed for 103 yards, while Mike had 58 yards and a touchdown. The Chiefs have Damon Huard in place of the concussed Trent Green, so they could have a tough time scoring some points. Larry Johnson didn't live up to the hype last week (68 yards, no touchdowns) but don't look for his slump to last too long. However, the Chiefs haven't won in Denver since the turn of the century, and without their starting quarterback, that won't change.

Pick: Broncos by 7

Patriots at Jets

Tom Brady didn't have a Tom Brady game, and the best prescription for that is the shotty Jets secondary who surrendered 242 passing yards to Kerry Collins and the Titans last week. Does anyone really think Brady will make the mental mistakes he made two weeks in a row? The Corey Dillon-Laurence Maroney duo looked great last week, and should give the Jets a tough time with their two different running styles. Chad Pennington did look like the quarterback the Jets have been waiting for, but he'll need more support on the ground (only 86 rushing yards for the Jets last week) if he wants to have that same success against the Pats.

Pick: Patriots by 10

Titans at Chargers

Phillip Rivers only had to throw 11 passes against the Raiders, thanks to LaDainian Tomlinson and his 131 game controlling yards. He may have to throw more against the Titans, but LT should keep up the good work. As for the Titans, I have a rule not to trust any team that has Kerry Collins as their quarterback. I just can't drive myself to do it after the Giants lost the Super Bowl with him (I had to dye my hair purple for a day). So until Vince Young takes over I won't pick the Titans. May not be too long though...

Pick: Chargers by 10

Redskins at Cowboys

It's only a matter of time before the Dallas papers read: "TO Shoots Bledsoe, Three Others in Locker-room". Then again, he may not have a chance if Tony Romo gets plugged into the starting spot. It shouldn't happen this week, but if Bledsoe throws a couple picks, and misses another wide open Owens, it may happen. It could happen against the Redskins too, but then again they did let Brad Johnson pass all over them last week. This should be a close game, but not worthy of Sunday Night Football.

Pick: Cowboys by 7 (only because I have TO on both Fantasy Teams)

Steelers at Jaguars

Should be a great game on Monday Night Football. The Steelers looked good without Big Ben last week, and should be better with him back. The Jaguars are a very good team too though, and they showed it by coming back from a 10-0 deficit against the Cowboys. Both Defenses are tops in the league, so this should be a great battle and I'm only giving the Jags the edge because they are home.

Pick: Jaguars by less than 7.

• It looks like whenever I single out someone, they fall into a bit of bad luck. Last week I mentioned Tiger Woods and his winning streak, and today he loses in the World Match Play to Shaun MicHeel. Tiger usually dominates match play, and somehow he loses in the first match. I did a whole blog on Jon Lester, and now look at him. If all my picks lose this week, then we'll know something is up.
• There are a lot of people worried about the Patriots in New England. I'm not one of them. Just because they could only beat one of the worst teams in the NFL by two measly points doesn't worry me at all. Tom Brady had an un-Tom Brady-like game, they didn't had a receiving threat on the field (Troy Brown is still the man, but not a threat), and the only reason it was so close was because of that bizarre first play fumble returned for a touchdown. This week, the Patriots will have another wide out on the field in Doug Gabriel (who is a solid acquisition for them) and they don't have to think worry about Deion Branch anymore. The fact they only won by two points doesn't concern me either. When have the Patriots blown teams away, including the bad ones??? This team does what it has to do in order to win. Last week, they ran the ball well, and in the end it allowed them to control the clock. Don't worry Pats fans, the home town team will be fine (that is of course if I didn't just jinx them).
• Too bad about the Twins and Francisco Liriano. Losing him for the season puts a pretty big damper on their post-season run. Johan will still make them a threat to make it, but after him its all question marks. Liriano gave them the most fearful one-two punch, and would make them favorites in a three game series. Now they have to depend on the ailing Brad Radke and rookie Matt Garza for the rest of the way. They still have a chance, but without Liriano, it's not going to be easy.

That's all for now, stay tuned for next week's edition of my picks, as well as my first golfing experience in nearly two years. That is if fatty's back doesn't hurt...