Week Two Picks

Jets at Patriots (-9)

Yup, this game already happened. (I made the pick in my chat Thursday with Andrew Mount, which you can listen to here.) It was a closely fought game between two division rivals. If you missed it, you really dropped the ball. And that makes certain people mad.

Pick: Jets

Rams at Falcons (-7.5)

Steven Jackson gets to play against his old team, the St. Louis Rams, where he spent nine years, mostly on pretty crappy teams. Now he is on a Super Bowl contender in the Falcons, who will be looking to revenge their week one loss to the Saints. They will likely do so, and by more than 7.5 points. Just too much offensive talent.

Pick: Falcons

Panthers at Bills (+2.5)

This should actually be a sneaky good game to watch, as we get to watch two young quarterbacks in Cam Newton going up against E.J. Manuel. Manuel had a decent debut in the Bills near-upset of the Pats in week one. The Panthers defense managed to contain Marshawn Lynch last week, but will they be able to contain another great running back this week in C.J. Spiller?

Pick: Bills (and to win)

Vikings at Bears (-6.5)

Adrian Peterson didn’t take long to justify his number one overall pick status in your fantasy league, by rushing for a 78-yard touchdown. However, he only had 93 yards the whole game. Meanwhile, Jay Cutler had maybe his best game as a Bear last week, especially making throws under pressure in their comeback win against the Bengals. The Bears should deliver the Vikings a second straight divisional loss, making repeating their fluky playoff appearance of last year doubtful.

Pick: Bears

Browns at Ravens (-6.5)

I was wondering which team the NFL would give to the Ravens in week two following their “Away from Home” opener, and sure enough it’s the Browns because #GodHatesCleveland.

Pick: Ravens

Cowboys at Chiefs (-2.5)

Andy Reid’s revenge tour against the NFC East begins against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys barely won in week one even though they had 6 takeaways, so expect game-manager Alex Smith to be extra game-manger-y and take care of the football.

Pick: Chiefs

Redskins at Packers (-7.5)

Both of these playoff teams took losses in week one. The Packers gave up 400+ yards in the air to Colin Kaepernick and the Niners. Meanwhile, the Redskins looked both terrible on offense and unable to figure out Chip Kelly’s “offense of the future” in the first half. We’ll see if Washington is more the team from the first half or the second one today, but I think the Redskins may be in trouble.

Pick: Packers

Titans at Texans (-9.5)

Week two is hard to pick since it’s difficult to know what you should take away from week one and what was just a fluke. Are the Titans good? Is Pittsburgh bad? Are the Texans not as good as we thought, or was that just a normal Chargers choke job? It’s tough to know for sure, but I think the Titans might be good enough to compete in this division. I’m picking the Titans here, which might be crazy, but I can assure you that crazier things have happened in week two. Seriously, crazier things.

Pick: Titans (and to win)

Dolphins at Colts (-3.5)

Mike Wallace was a non-factor in the Dolphins’ week one victory. He made a point that he was frustrated with his role. Keep in mind that they won that game. I’m sure this situation won’t worsen if they lose today…….

Pick: Dolphins

Chargers at Eagles (-7.5)

Man that game felt like a classic Norv Turner collapse…of course without the Norv. In regards to this game though, what if the Eagles’ new style of offense doesn’t work throughout the whole season – rather just a half of one game? Color me impressed, but not 100% sold.

Pick: Chargers

Lions at Cardinals (+1.5)

The Lions actually looked very good in their week one win against the Vikings. I think they roll here too. I also think I don’t watch one second of this game.

Pick: Lions

Saints at Bucs (+4.5)

Bucs lost in week one to the team that couldn’t beat the Patriots when they played their worst offensive game in the past 13 years. So, yeah, I’m taking the Saints.

Pick: Saints

Broncos at Giants (+5.5)

This seems like a standard Giants’ “Comeback after a head-scratching loss with a signature win over a good team” game, which obviously scares me. This could be first team to 50 wins, since the Broncos have relatively nothing of a pass rush and the receiving corps of Cruz, Nicks, and Randle, along with TE Brandon Myers all seem in sync with Eli Manning – and since the Broncos have Peyton Manning and a nice trio of wideouts of their own. This game could go either way, so I’ll take the points.

Pick: Giants

Jaguars at Raiders (-6.5)

I actually had the Oakland Raiders to win by 7 points in this game (that’s how bad I think the Jaguars are) before I was reminded that Chad Henne will start this game for the Jags, who is actually competent unlike Blaine Gabbert.

Pick: Jaguars

Niners at Seahawks (-2.5)

There’s a great chance whichever team wins this division is going to the Super Bowl. And winning this game would go a long way in accomplishing the first part of that. I don’t think CK throws for 400+, but I do think he leads his team to victory on the road in Seattle, despite a bounce-back great game from Marshawn Lynch.

Pick: Niners (and to win)

Steelers at Bengals (-6.5)

I know better than to count out the Steelers (well any team coached by Mike Tomlin for that matter), but needless to say they did not look good in week one. The Bengals did look good but didn’t get the job done against the Bears. This time I think they do.

Pick: Bengals

Last Week:

0-0

This week:

1-0  (straight up and vs. spread)

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