Saturday, September 13, 2008
NFL Week 2 Picks
I opened with a strong 4-1 performance in the first week. Now we must determine which lines are overreactions to Week One, while avoiding the same mistakes ourselves. It's harder than it sounds....
Tennessee +1.5 at Cincinnati: Losing Vince Young really doesn't hurt the Titans that much. Being the Bengals does hurt, however. The wrong team is favored here, so I am happy to take the better team and the points, even on the road.
Buffalo +5.5 at Jacksonville: This line would have been ludicrous last year. This is not last year. The Bills are for real, and the Jags are decimated by injury. They'll be better down the road, and they might even figure out a way to win this game, but not by much.
New York Jets vs. New England over 37 points total: I know that Pats QB Matt Cassell is starting his first game since high school. I also know that he isn't on an NFL roster because he's a nice guy. I don't know who will win this game, but I only need a 21-17 score to win, and that sounds very reasonable to me.
New Orleans (even) at Washington: The Saints looked pretty good last week, so this must be a reaction to the injury to Saints stud WR Marques Colston. I think that's a mistake; Head Coach Sean Payton has possibly the most fertile imagination in the game, he added TE Jeremy Shockey in the offseason, and oh yeah, Reggie Bush catches well. I am fading the Skins until they show me something.
Philadelphia +7 at Dallas: The spread is inflated by the love the Cowboys get nationwide. The Cowboys are loaded, it's true. But the Eagles don't stink; in my mind, they are almost a 50-50 proposition to win this game outright. So I will take the points, and my chances.
Tennessee +1.5 at Cincinnati: Losing Vince Young really doesn't hurt the Titans that much. Being the Bengals does hurt, however. The wrong team is favored here, so I am happy to take the better team and the points, even on the road.
Buffalo +5.5 at Jacksonville: This line would have been ludicrous last year. This is not last year. The Bills are for real, and the Jags are decimated by injury. They'll be better down the road, and they might even figure out a way to win this game, but not by much.
New York Jets vs. New England over 37 points total: I know that Pats QB Matt Cassell is starting his first game since high school. I also know that he isn't on an NFL roster because he's a nice guy. I don't know who will win this game, but I only need a 21-17 score to win, and that sounds very reasonable to me.
New Orleans (even) at Washington: The Saints looked pretty good last week, so this must be a reaction to the injury to Saints stud WR Marques Colston. I think that's a mistake; Head Coach Sean Payton has possibly the most fertile imagination in the game, he added TE Jeremy Shockey in the offseason, and oh yeah, Reggie Bush catches well. I am fading the Skins until they show me something.
Philadelphia +7 at Dallas: The spread is inflated by the love the Cowboys get nationwide. The Cowboys are loaded, it's true. But the Eagles don't stink; in my mind, they are almost a 50-50 proposition to win this game outright. So I will take the points, and my chances.
