2012 Week 6 Picks

Well, it finally happened. Thursday Night Football beat me to the punch. Ah well. On to the picks.

This week, the Eagles host the Lions.

Lots of people - myself included - expected good things from the Lions in 2012. So far, that's not really panning out. A 1-3 start was not what any of us expected.

On the other hand, they did beat a Rams team that's outperforming expectations so far. And, although one of their losses was to the Titans, the other two were the 49ers and the surprisingly good Vikings.

And they still have Megatron, and, as a result, are #2 in passing yards in the NFL. And Calvin hasn't even been having a great year so far.

The Lions are coming off their bye, and you know they don't want to drop to 1-4, particularly with the Bears and Vikings both coming out hot this year.

In the meantime, they are playing at the Linc. And I have to ask: are the Eagles becoming a team where playing at home matters? For a long time, it really didn't seem to. So far this year, they've played 1 bad team (the Browns) on the road, 2 good teams (the Cardinals and the Steelers) on the road, and 2 good teams (the Ravens and the Giants) at home. They beat the bad team on the road, won the two home games, and lost the two other road games.

To me, it all comes down to this: the Lions can put up points. And they have a top 10 defense. If the Eagles can manage to find another gear for the offense (try "second," guys) and figure out a way to contain Calvin Johnson, they should win this one. Those are both big "ifs." But I'm counting on homefield to help the Eagles get a narrow win (what else is new?) over the visitors.

In the other matchups...

Steelers at Titans: I don't care how banged up the Steelers are, there's no way they lose this game. The Titans have Chris Johnson and... [crickets]. See?

Raiders at Falcons: The next time I predict that the Raiders are "going to be good this year" because they're "really turning the corner," could someone please remind me of this year? And 2003-2009? Also, Falcons.

Cowboys at Ravens: The Cowboys have had two weeks to stew over getting stomped at home by the Bears on Monday Night Football. Which has got to be bad for your mental outlook. And even if they aren't already f-ed right now, they will be by 4 pm Sunday. Have you seen Ray Lewis's pre-game speeches? Tony Romo's going to be get killed. For real. Not metaphorical. Ravens.

Bengals at Browns: Poor Browns - another week, another loss. Bengals.

Rams at Dolphins: Both of these teams are outperforming expectations so far this year, but the Rams aren't going to be at home in the dome, so I've got Ryan Tannehill and Fins.

Colts at Jets: Have I mentioned lately that the Jets are f-ed? The Jets are so f-ed TO has been tweeting to try to get them to pick him up, and it's not a completely insane idea. Yes, it's that bad. And it's going to be worse after the Colts beat them at home this week.

Chiefs at Buccaneers: Call me crazy, but I'm picking the Chiefs again. Third time's the charm? Don't let me down, fellas.

Bills at Cardinals: It's the Cards turn to whip up on the Bills.

Patriots at Seahawks: Now this is an interesting matchup. East Coast teams traditionally have trouble going west, and the Seahawks are pretty damn good at home even in years when they aren't that good overall. And this year, they're pretty good overall. We have the top-ranked D taking on the top-ranked O. Which should make for an interesting game. I'm really tempted to call the Seahawks, but I don't think they're going to be able to shut down the Pats completely, and I'm not sure they can keep up. Pats.

Giants at 49ers: 49ers. They're pretty much the Terminator this year.

Vikings at Redskins: The Redskins, unlike the Seahawks and Steelers (and maybe now the Eagles?) have NO homefield mojo. And this week's not going to improve that. Vikings.

Did I just pick all the NFC East teams other than the Eagles to lose? Yes, I did. Which would be awesome, both from a standings perspective and from a picks perspective. Crossing my fingers that I'm right.

Packers at Texans: Texans all day, baby. The Packers are banged up, and it's getting worse, and the Texans defense is outstanding.

Broncos at Chargers: Broncos. Also, SECOND MNF game? Already? Could y'all stop kissing Peyton's ass for one damn second?

On bye: Bears, Jaguars, Panthers, Saints

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2012 Week 5 Recap

Eagles at Steelers, Sunday, October 7, 2012

Stud of the week: Of course, it's LeSean McCoy. Not only did he make Larry Foote look foolish on his TD catch and run (I quote the ONE true thing Joe Buck has ever said announcing football: "One on one against McCoy, you have no shot. I don't care who you are."), the Eagles went for it on 4th down TWICE during the drive that led to the second touchdown. Who did they give it to? Shady. Did he pick both up? Indeed he did. And he smoked Lawrence Timmons in the process. As I posted to Facebook during the game: "Shady = Superman."

People! Let's not panic!

Yes, the Eagles lost. In Pittsburgh. To a team coming off their bye week. And a QB who has lost precisely ONE home game to ANY NFC team in his ENTIRE career (and thanks to Tommy Lawlor for the stat). 

And yes, Michael Vick turned the ball over twice. But don't assume that an additional 3 or 7 points from the Eagles in the first quarter automatically means a win. It doesn't. Not that early in the game. And remember the Steelers got no points off either turnover.

The defense got no sacks on a QB who's the most sacked guy in football. And no turnovers. Mike Tomlin clearly had his guys ready for the Eagles pass rush.

Here are a few good things:

Michael Vick, after fumbling twice, led yet another clutch fourth-quarter drive to give the Eagles the lead late. Yes, I know, the defense couldn't hold, but it's not like this is the Titans we're talking about.

Andy Reid went for it on fourth down TWICE in that drive, including once when the Eagles were on THEIR OWN 30. Do they convert both at this time last year? No. Honestly, I think the fact that Big Red had the confidence in the team to do that and that they picked up both is maybe the most positive thing to take from the entire day.

And special teams wasn't a disaster. Glad to see you back Colt Anderson!

Is the team perfect? No way, man. Where are the defensive takeaways? Where are the sacks? Why aren't we seeing more big plays from DeSean Jackson (I don't fault Jeremy Maclin, as he's struggling with injury)? And speaking of injury, can I just say: offensive line? Yikes,

But Andy's teams always finish stronger than they start. Does that equal a Super Bowl? Not necessarily, although there's always the "get hot at the right time" hope. But a loss to the Steelers at Heinz Field is not a reason to jump off the Ben Franklin bridge. This was a very tough schedule to start the season. But the Eagles are 3-2 and leading the division. Hella better than last year's 1-4, am I right? And, aside from the Browns, these are not patsy teams they've been facing. The combined record of the teams they've lost to is 6-3, and they handed the Ravens their only loss so far.

In the rest of the matchups:

Rams over Cardinals: Told you so. I can't figure out the Cardinals and Kevin Kolb yet. I do, however, note that the NFC West is the only division where EVERY team has a winning record so far.  That's different. So are the Rams under Jeff Fisher. Sorry Spags.

Dolphins over Bengals: Andy Dalton did not have a good day, and that was pretty much all she wrote for the Bengals.

Colts over Packers: OK, why didn't anyone tell me the Colts were dedicating this game to Chuck Pagano? I might've picked differently. Also, the Packers just aren't the same Pack this year. Also, that was one hell of a comeback rookie Andrew Luck led.

Ravens over Chiefs: The Ravens are not the classiest group of guys in the world, and when even they're telling the Chiefs' fans that they're being a bunch of dicks for cheering when their own QB went down...well, that's saying something. Keep it classy, KC.

Giants over Browns: You know, for about 10 minutes it looked like the Browns might pull off an upset win. And then there was the rest of the game. Poor Browns. Maybe drafting a rookie who can almost collect Social Security wasn't your best choice ever.

Falcons over Redskins: OK, not that I'm happy that RGIII has a "minor" concussion (whatever that is), but you should hear the weeping and wailing about him taking hits here in the DC! NFL Game Day Morning actually did a retrospective on Mike Vick taking hits where they're late, or he's getting driven into the ground intentionally, or hit in illegal ways (and not when he's a runner). What was the common theme? NONE of them were called. Does this feel like the Donovan McNabb or Randall Cunningham years all over again? Hellz yeah. And no matter how much you scream for your QB to "protect himself," as long as their are different rules for guys named Manning, Brady, Rodgers, and Brees than everyone else, it's not going to do any good. Short version: Skins fans, stop your whining and get used to it.

Seahawks over Panthers: OK, the theory was that the Seahawks allowed that safety intentionally. If so, that was too clever by half. Cam did not have a good day. Sophomore slump? Yep, looks like.

Bears over Jaguars: Ouch.

Vikings over Titans: Also ouch.

Patriots over Broncos: The final score actually makes the game look closer than it was. It was really never in question for the Pats. Everybody makes a big deal about the Manning-Brady quarterback rivalry. Considering the fact that Tom is 9-4 over Peyton, maybe people are thinking of the wrong Manning?

49ers over Bills: Another game that was painful to watch. Everybody gets to whip up on the Bills this year, it seems.

Saints over Chargers: Apparently, I underestimated how the rest of the Saints would respond to Drew Brees's record-breaking night. Oops. 

The Texans are currently leading the Jets 23-14, and I'm 10-3 so far in my picks. Gonna be another good week!
 

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2012 Week 5 Picks

This week, the Eagles travel to Heinz Field to take on the Steelers. One order of Keystone Bowl, coming up.
The Eagles are 3-1.
The Steelers are 1-2.
And the Steelers, while still a top 5 defense (at least so far) are aging. And the Eagles FINALLY had a turnover free outing, against a team that's not too bad at causing turnovers. 
That should give us a solid indication of what might happen Sunday.
But....
The Steelers are REALLY good at home. REALLY good. And the Eagles, after an emotional night last Sunday, are due for a let down. And Troy Polamalu and James Harrison are both back. And the Steelers are coming off their bye week.
In sum: Steelers.
In the rest of the matchups...
Did you notice I went 13-2 last week? That's some good pickin'. I even had the RAMS, yo. Makes up for the previous week, when I went 5-11. Ouch.
Cardinals at Rams: Speaking of the Rams, I think they're going to have another good week and take down the Cardinals. I'm guessing it will be a close game, but it's hard to play on the road in a dome.
Packers at Colts: The Colts are also coming off a bye. And play inside. And the Packers have been struggling so far. But come on! Gotta go Pack.
Browns at Giants: The Giants are pissed and likely to take it out on the poor Browns, who will go winless at least one more week. Giants.
Falcons at Redskins: The Falcons will get by the Skins, but it's gonna be a shoot-out.
Dolphins at Bengals: Call me crazy, but I've got the Dolphins here.
Ravens at Chiefs: I'm picking the Chiefs, even though they did me wrong against the Chargers last week. But they can put up points, and they're at home.
Seahawks at Panthers: Again, the Seahawks are mortal away from home, but I think their stifling defense will be able to shut down the Panthers.
Bears at Jaguars: Da Bears. Who are probably feeling pretty frisky after Monday night.
Broncos at Patriots: Tom Brady and Peyton Manning renew their rivalry on Tom's turf. I want to call Broncos, but I just can't. Patriots.
Bills at 49ers: Speaking of stifling defenses, the Bills are dead meat. 49ers.
Titans at Vikings: The Vikings are shocking the hell out of everyone so far this year. Can they do it again? I think they can. Vikings.
Chargers at Saints: I think this will be a bittersweet week for the Saints, as Drew Brees breaks Johnny Unitas's streak of games with a TD, and the Saints lose anyway. Hey, they had to replace large chunks of the team with holograms in order to pay Drew, so there you have it.
Texans at Jets: Did I mention that the Jets have now lost their two best players for the season? And are in serious trouble? Like, SERIOUS? Texans.
On bye: Buccaneers, Cowboys, Lions, Raiders

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2012 Week 4 Recap

Eagles v. Giants, Sunday, September 30, 2012

Stud of the week: Brian Dawkins. Duh. He came out of the tunnel Full Wolverine, and we were all yelling, "Put him in!" "Get him some pads!" "No, he doesn't even need pads! Just get him a helmet!" 13 seasons with the Eagles, 16 seasons total. 26 career sacks. 28 career forced fumbles. 37 career interceptions. Next stop: Canton. THAT was the way to honor a legend.

Also, LeSean McCoy had a really good game. Well, he had a good second half. But see, when you keep TRYING to run it throughout the game, it starts to work in the second half.  Andy, take notes.

Actually, everyone had a really good game. Including the coaching staff, who did an excellent job of game planning, and an even better job of in-game adjustments. And I have to assume that someone gave the team one hell of a halftime speech. BDawk perhaps? There was one bad series by the defense - you know the one, that horrible series mid-way through the 4th quarter where Cris Collinsworth basically commented that he'd NEVER seen the Eagles play such bad D - but other than that, really solid game all around. Well, other than the special teams who were short-bus special this week. Colt Anderson and Akeem Jordan, we miss you!

Of course, that final series about gave us all heart attacks. Pass interference on DRC: maybe. Maybe. Pass interference on Nnamdi. Whole lotta BS. Which even Al and Cris admitted. Thank you, Ramses Barden, for evening the score with that complete gangsta-level mugging of Nnamdi, putting your kicker out of his range. Of course, Big Red nearly blew it by trying to ice the kicker, but since Lawrence Tynes missed TWICE, I guess he was successfully iced. Still not a fan of the practice, though.

And did you notice? The Eagles committed not ONE SINGLE turnover. NOT ONE. Here's the crazy thing. On the NFL Network's Game Day Morning show, the commentators were all making their "Bold Predictions." Not only did Michael Irvin pick the Eagles to win (alone of the entire team), but he also predicted that they'd have...no turnovers.

Spooky.

You know what's even more spooky? The woman who runs Chicks in the Huddle, where this blog is syndicated, did an interview with me for HLN TV last week. Not only did I predict that the Eagles would pull out the win, I also predicted that they'd win....19-17. I am not shitting you.
 

Spooooooky.

Then again, it is October.

So now what for the Eagles? Well, they're facing the Steelers next week, and I guess we'll take it one week at a time. Still 3-1 is a lot better than last year's 1-4.

Around the rest of the NFL:

Ravens over Browns: Well, sure. Also Chef Spouse seems to have a mancrush on Ray Lewis. Also, the Browns have been in every game they've played so far. They'll get a win sooner or later (hopefully sooner, against the Giants next week).

Falcons over Panthers: Much closer game than I expected. The whole thing really turned on the Cam Newton fumble and that amazing final drive by the Falcons.

Patriots over Bills: I hope the Pats enjoyed their biannual stomping of the Bills. Sigh. If you recall, I predicted that it would be "closer than most people expect." Well, at least it wasn't 52-0.

Vikings over Lions: Hm, did I not give the Vikes enough credit pre-season? Then again, I don't know that anyone saw them playing this well at this point.

Texans over Titans: SportsCenter this evening was debating: are the Texans the best team in football? Yes. Next question.

Chargers over Chiefs: I just cannot get excited about the AFC West this year. Which is so incredibly unusual, I know.

49ers over Jets: The Jets, without Darrelle Revis and now possibly Santonio Holmes, may be utterly screwed. Wait. Scratch the "may be." Replace with "are."

Rams over Seahawks: Ha! I was right!

Cardinals over Dolphins: I'm amazed it took the Cards OT to take care of the Fins, but they're now 4-0. With Philly reject Kevin Kolb at QB. Of course, the fact that he gets to throw to Fitz doesn't hurt, but still, putting things in perspective, it does seem a little...unusual.

Broncos over Raiders: Peyton bounced back after a bad week last week. Maybe he will get his old magic back. You know, up until the playoffs.

Bengals over Jaguars: Yep. One of these days, the Jags might be good. But not today.

Packers over Saints: Stick a fork in the Saints, man. I think they're done.

Redskins over Buccaneers: Easy to be calm when it's not your team, but I knew the Skins would pull this one out. Did I mention that RGIII is the real thing? Did I mention that the Shanahans are doing a better job adjusting to play to his strengths than I expected?

(Also, on the topic of DC, congrats to the Nats on their first NL East win. And I have to giggle a little that the Phils STILL beat them and they took the NL East due to a Braves loss.)

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2012 Week 4 Picks

First of all, welcome back to the regular refs. Never thought I'd be glad to see them back, but there you have it. All it took was one really high profile HUGE mistake to make the owners see reason. Yeah.

This week, the Giants are coming to the Linc to take on the Eagles in prime time on Sunday Night Football. 

Now, if you look at what happened last week, it seems fairly clear how this is going to end, and it's not pretty for the Eagles. Just in case you were blackout drunk and missed it, the Eagles got stomped out in Phoenix by a team nobody really expected to be any good. And the Giants stomped the Panthers, a team many (including myself) expected to be pretty decent this year, even worse.

But....

This isn't just ANY Sunday Night Football game. This is the game where the Eagles retire Brian Dawkins's number 20. Wolverine is one of the most beloved players in Philadelphia history. Not just Eagles history, Philadelphia history. The Eagles have so far retired only seven numbers in nearly 80 years. The fans are going to be pumped for the game. The team better be, too.

Think Ray Lewis would hire out to do the pre-game pep talk?

I expect it to be another nail-biter. But I cannot - CANNOT - see the Eagles letting this one get away. Not after the gutsy performance I witnessed less than two weeks ago against the Ravens.

Eagles. Do Wolverine proud, boys.

In the other matchups:

Browns at Ravens: The Browns look better this year, but they ain't that much better. Ravens. And have I mentioned how much I dislike Thursday Night Football.

Patriots at Bills: I think the Pats will probably take this one, but I think it's going to be a lot closer than most people expect.

49ers at Jets: I'm picking the 49ers to bounce back from their surprising loss to the Vikings last week. Their D is just too strong, and Mark Sanchez can be pressured into making mistakes.

Seahawks at Rams: The Seahawks are mortal away from CenturyLink Field, and the Rams aren't quite as bad as they looked against the Bears last week. And their at home. And domes provide a pretty major advantage to the home team. Rams.

Panthers at Falcons: Falcons. Oh Cam, I still love you.

Vikings at Lions: Lions. Last week as an aberration for both teams. Trust.

Chargers at Chiefs: I've got the Chiefs. I know, I know. But I don't think the Chargers can slow down their offense - at least not after what I saw last week.

Titans at Texans: Texans. The Titans are no match for them, even if Matt Schaub does only have part of an ear now.

Bengals at Jaguars: The Bengals can score a LOT of points. The Jaguars can't stop, well, anybody. Bengals.

Raiders at Broncos: The Raiders surprised me last week, but I can't see them pulling off another upset. Broncos.

Dolphins at Cardinals: I'm in. Cardinals.

Redskins at Buccaneers: Gotta keep the faith with RGIII even if the Redskins do have pretty much the worst D in the entire league. Redskins.

Saints at Packers: Stick a fork in the Saints. Packers.

Bears at Cowboys: You never know which Jay Cutler is going to show up, but when it's close I HAVE to go against the Cowboys. Bears.

On bye: Steelers and Colts

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2012 Week 3 Recap

Eagles at Cardinals, Sunday, September 23, 2012

Yikes.

Stud of the week: Uh...Alex Henery? Hey, at least he made both field goals and provided all the points the Eagles were able to muster. So yeah, I guess Henery wins by default. Chaz Henry had a pretty good day of punting, too. On the other hand, he was getting plenty of practice.

Given the problematic wins of the past two weeks, we all had to figure that things were going to go awry sooner or later. But I don't know that anyone expected them to go so spectacularly awry, and against the Cardinals.

Where to start? There's plenty of blame to go around.

Michael Vick. Yes, there were O-line problems with two new guys out there. And I'm guessing his receivers weren't getting open downfield. But he is holding the ball WAY too long. No one doubts his toughness, but he's not going to make it to the bye week at this point. And he constantly seems to run into the pressure rather than staying calm and, I don't know, maybe stepping up in the pocket. Is there going to be a QB controversy? After some of Andy Reid's remarks today, one might think so, but since I don't see any way Vick holds up with the pounding he's taking, it very well might end up as a forced option.

The O-line. See above. Y'all have 5 days to get better, because if you play like that during the game where the Eagles retire Wolverine's number, you're going to need to hire police protection to leave The Linc.

DeSean Jackson. Here's a tip: DO NOT get stopped on the two when your team is down by 17. NO MATTER WHAT. Also, here's another tip: it's a lot easier to make the argument that you were interfered with when you don't quit on the route and start waving your arms at the refs while the ball is still in the air, donkey.

The defense did OK - other than having no answer to Larry Fitzgerald, boneheading some penalties (what else is new?), and, of course, giving up 27 points. Then again, they played about 58 of the 60 minutes and were in some very tough field position situations, so I'm guessing they were mentally and physically tired.

And Andy Reid. 

How do you not have a better game plan to cover Larry Fitzgerald? I mean, he's only one of the best receivers in the entire league. It's not like you didn't know what was coming.

How do you, once again, run the ball pretty much not at all when your QB is struggling and no one is getting open downfield? Shouldn't that, by process of elimination, mean there's some room to run? And then they get to the 4th quarter, down by 21 points and decide to...start running the ball. Seriously. Little late, yo.

How do you burn a timeout at the beginning of the second quarter? How? Just how? If you recall, the Birds really needed that timeout at the end of the half...right before Vick was stripped of the ball and the Cardinals went ahead 24-0, instead of going into the locker room at 17-7.

It was actually at that point that I suggested to Chef Spouse that we might want to start watching a game that was actually, you know, good.

(Of course, some of the head-scratching moves weren't entirely Andy's fault).

(Also, Kevin Kolb is a game manager as a QB. The Cardinals, given what I've seen the past two weeks, may be a strong enough team outside the QB position that that's all they need.)

Jeff Lurie has basically put it out there that the Eagles make a deep playoff run this year or it's curtains for Big Red. I've been a huge supporter over the years, and if the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year, I'll gladly eat crow (I hear it will go well with the celebratory champagne), but maybe it's time for Andy to go.

Around the rest of the NFL:

If they don't get the real refs back soon, the 2012 season won't finish in time for the 2013 season to start. I'm not saying the games took too long, I'm just saying Chef Spouse had an 8 am meeting today in the Philly area (2 1/2 hour drive), and he drove there straight from the end of SNF and barely made it. Look, if you have to have a 10 minute conference after every single play in order to figure out where to spot the ball and what down it is, that's not good.

Giants over Panthers: OK, so I was a little wrong about my upset pick. The Giants dominated the Panthers as thoroughly as the Cardinals dominated the Birds, if not more so. That's saying something.

Bears over Rams: Even with Jay Cutler's emotional problems, the Rams weren't up to the challenge. Sam Bradford was brought back down to earth.

Bills over Browns: Did you notice that the Bills are tied with the Jets for first place in the division? OK, OK, it's only week 3, but still.

Cowboys over Buccaneers: The Cowboys won their home opener, but they did not exactly look dominant against the team that many of expected to be the dregs of the NFC South this year. Well, at least until the Saints fell apart.

Jaguars over Colts: What?!? Well, I'm sure that's what the Colts must've been saying after they went ahead with under a minute left, and lost anyway. Big day from MJD, too.

Jets over Dolphins: Who would've expected this game to go to OT? Of course, losing Revis Island didn't help the Jets. Also, could we please stop with the dumb timeouts trying to ice the kicker? All it does is give him a do-over. Thanks.

Vikings over 49ers: This is totally what I meant to make my upset pick! Can *I* get a do-over? Sorry, but this one is just shocking.

Chiefs over Saints: Hey Eagles fans, it could be worse. I'm having to talk my Saints friends down off the ledge at this point. This is shaping up to be one heavy-drinking season for members of the Who Dat Nation. Fortunately, New Orleanians' livers are up the challenge. Unlike their team.

Titans over Lions: Another shocking outcome. Did I mention that week 3 was also disastrous for my picks?

Bengals over Redskins: The Skins lose RGIII's home opener. And it wasn't his fault - he had a good game. Who manages to climb back from leading 24-7 and then giving it up? Right - Andy Dalton. And did you see Shanny get all up in the ref's face? And then he thinks he shouldn't be fined? Right. Hey, at least DC has the Nats. 

Falcons over Chargers: I had called the Chargers, but admitted I could see this one going either way. In actuality, the Falcons kicked the crap out of the Chargers, which I didn't expect.

Texans over Broncos: As I expected.  Now that Peyton doesn't enjoy a rock solid O-line anymore, funny how he looks mortal.

Raiders over Steelers: No wait! THIS is what I meant to make my upset pick! Really! On a serious note, how does Steeler Ryan Mundy get away with hitting Darrius Heyward-Bey so hard he knocks him out and sends him to the hospital with a neck injury and no penalty is even called?

Ravens over Patriots: There were some egregiously bad calls in this game, too, as Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels kept reminding us, maybe even some that would've turned the game, but I can't complain about the Ravens getting a win against the Pats, who knocked them out in the AFC Championship game last year, and on a night when Torrey Smith was playing in memory of his brother, Tevin, who'd been killed in a motorcycle accident only that morning. Also, maybe now the Ravens will quit whining about how they didn't like the playcalling against the Birds last week.

The Seahawks are currently beating the Packers. What is going on with the NFC West these days? All these guys started eating their Wheaties or something?

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2012 Week 3 Picks

This week the Eagles travel to Arizona to take on former teammate Kevin Kolb and the Cardinals. The Cardinals, like the Eagles, stand at 2-0, having just shocked the Patriots and most of the football punditry with a two point loss at home. The Eagles, meanwhile, were busy shocking the Ravens with a win after turning the ball over 9 million times (actual figure: 4).

In other words, both of these teams could be in for a let down game.

And the Eagles are struggling to field five offensive linemen.

In the end, I think this will come down to two things: one, the Eagles D is going to make K2 miserable all day, and two, Michael Vick is getting the team to win by sheer force of will. It will be another close game, guaranteed, but I think the Eagles will escape with another narrow win. And I'll have yet another coronary watching it.

Giants at Panthers: Panthers, in my upset pick. They're at home, it was a short week and Eli's gotta still be tired from throwing for 5,634,736 yards Sunday (actual figure: 510 yards, which is still a lot).

Buccaneers at Cowboys: I'm soooo tempted to call the Bucs, but I just can't see the Cowboys dropping their home opener, particularly after laying an egg against the Seahawks last week.

Jaguars at Colts: Colts. I don't necessarily think the Colts are that much better than the Jags, but they are at home.

Bills at Browns: Browns, again at home, and coming off a "most improved" type effort against the Bengals, getting their first win of the season.

Jets at Dolphins: Jets. Who are think are going to be up and down all season, but it's the Dolphins, for chrissakes.

Chiefs at Saints: No way the Saints drop two in a row at the Dome. They'll get their first win this week.

Bengals at Redskins: Look for the Redskins to bounce back from their surprising loss in St. Louis, even without Brian Orakpo. The Bengals, after last year, are looking pretty disappointing so far.

Rams at Bears: Jay Cutler pouted and whined last week, while Sam Bradford led a furious comeback over the Redskins. I think Cutler will pull his head out of his ass and do enough to let Brian Urlacher lead the Bears to victory, thus holding off their pending circular firing squad for one more week.

49er at Vikings: 49ers all the way. Is it too early? Juggernaut.

Lions at Titans: Lions.

Falcons at Chargers: This one could go either way, but I think I'm going to Chargers because a lot of teams have trouble traveling west and because they're at home. But I could easily be wrong.

Steelers at Raiders: Steelers. Man, Raiders, y'all are making me look foolish already. Pull it together! Play some AFC South teams or something!

Texans at Broncos: Texans. Peyton is going to have another bad day, because the Texans' D is for real.

Patriots at Ravens: Some NFL commentators who shall remain nameless (*cough*Rodney Harrison*cough*) were calling the Pats the best team in the league after week 1. It was so fun to watch him eat crow after they lost to the Cards last week. And he'll be getting another big helping this week, because the Ravens are pissed (ha!) and look to take it out on a conference rival that, really, all right thinking teams love to hate.

Packers at Seahawks: I know the Seahawks are tough at home and looked great against the Cowboys last week, but I just can't see them beating the Packers who, while not as dominant as last year, are still a damn good team.

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