Week 2 NFL Picks (with sporadic commentary)

On the eve of the second week of the 2008 NFL season, it's time for me to make my picks. Went 8-8 last week. I was disappointed, but that's not terrible considering Week 1 is often difficult to predict.

Chicago at Carolina: PANTHERS. Both teams had impressive and somewhat unexpected wins last week, but I'm going with Carolina because they're the home team and I think they're more likely than the Bears to be legitimate, rather than just having a fluky win in the first week. That being said, I could be completely wrong. Tough to tell about these teams right now.

Tennessee at Cincinnati: TITANS. Because the Bengals look pretty terrible right now, and I think the Titans might actually be better off with Kerry Collins at QB than Vince Young.

Green Bay at Detroit: PACKERS. The biggest surprise about this game is that the Packers are only favored by 3 or 4. If you watched both teams play last week, you would expect the Pack to be double-digit favorites, maybe two touchdown favorites. My guess is the spread is smaller because Detroit's playing at home-- although I don't think that's a big factor, it's not as if Detroit fans are wild about the Lions. They basically go to games to rip on Matt Millen at this point-- and because Green Bay is on the road after playing last Monday night, so they're working on a truncated week. That can be a significant factor for teams coming off MNF games, but I think there's such a vast divide between these teams in terms of talent, the Pack should still win easily.

Buffalo at Jacksonville: BILLS. And I'm not just being a homer here. They really should win this game. Last week they dismantled the Seahawks, while Jacksonville was losing to the Titans. And, not to belabor the point, but Vince Young apparently was undergoing a nervous breakdown during that game. And Jacksonville still lost. Plus the Jags are dealing with a ton of injuries right now, including several on their offensive line, and it's Marcus Stroud's return to Jacksonville, so you know he and the rest of the defense are going to be JACKED UP. As if that weren't enough, the Bills will be celebrating the return of Pro Bowl tackle Jason Peters. All signs point to a Bills win.

Oakland at Kansas City: CHIEFS. The Raiders are pretty terrible, and I think KC will be a better offense with Damon Huard at the helm. Still, both these teams are so bad it's hard to be really confident in either of them.

Indianapolis at Minnesota: VIKINGS. Not confident in this pick at all. Didn't know what to think about this game. Both teams fell on their faces in their openers. Conventional wisdom says the Colts should be better than the Vikings, but man... Indy looked bad last week. And the game is in Minnesota, which counts for something. Tough call.

New York Giants at St. Louis: GIANTS. The Giants are the defending champs, and the Rams looked as bad as anyone in the NFL last week when they got demolished by the Eagles. Enough said.

New Orleans at Washington: SAINTS. But it's another pick I don't have a great deal of confidence in. Basically went with the Saints because they have more upside. They have the potential to be a very good team, whereas I think the ceiling for Washington is "slightly above average." But just because New Orleans could be better than the Redskins doesn't mean they are right now. We'll see what happens. Saints note: Reggie Bush had a great game last week. Far too early to start predicting it will be a breakout season for the running back, but it was nice to see him start off on a positive note.

San Francisco at Seattle: SEAHAWKS. They looked bad in Buffalo, but they're a different team at home, and the 49ers were miserable against the Cardinals last week. Five turnovers, if I remember correctly.

Atlanta at Tampa Bay: BUCS. But I was very impressed with Atlanta last week. Matt Ryan and Michael Turner were sensational in their first games as Falcons. But it might be harder to repeat on the road, and they're not playing the Lions this time around. That being said, Tampa Bay has problems of its own-- the injury to Jeff Garcia being the most notable-- and a 2-0 start for the Falcons is not out of the question.

Miami at Arizona: CARDINALS. Miami is still bad. So is Arizona, but they're a little higher on the totem pole than the Fins.

San Diego at Denver: BRONCOS. We really shouldn't have been surprised by Carolina's victory over San Diego last week. Remember how they started 1-3 last year? Maybe these slow starts will be a recurring problem for Norv Turner. I was probably going to pick Denver anyway-- Mile High/Invesco is still one of the biggest home field advantages in the league-- but seeing that Tomlinson has missed practice this week and might miss the game is what pushed me over the edge. An 0-2 start for the Chargers? Tough to believe, but it could happen. Expect the calls for Turner's head to start coming as soon as the game ends, and many people will start pointing out that Eli Manning has a Super Bowl ring.

New England at New York Jets: PATRIOTS. Take it to the bank. I'm so sick of everyone going ga-ga over the Jets. They're improved, yes... but they're still the Jets. They went 4-12 last season. The Pats went 16-0. Even without Tom Brady, New England is a significantly better team. The only team to ever go 16-0 in the regular season is now an underdog to a team that won 25% of its games last year. Unbelievable.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland: STEELERS. You may remember that my Super Bowl prediction in the season preview was Dallas over Pittsburgh. And the teams who looked like the best in their respective conferences last week were... Dallas and Pittsburgh. And, yes, if you're wondering, I did put down future bets on both teams. And I got 20-1 on the Steelers to win the Super Bowl (only 7-1 on the Cowboys, but still not bad). This will be the first time in my life I have rooted for the Steelers for an entire season.

Philadelphia at Dallas: COWBOYS. Can't pick against my Super Bowl team, can I? Much as I would like to. And I could see Philly winning this game. They looked great against the Rams last week (but, remember, it was the Rams). But playing on the road against the NFL's best team is a different story. If I were picking against the spread, though, I would have to pick the Eagles on principle. Dallas is favored by 7. I don't care how good the Cowboys are-- if you win a game 38-3, you should not be a 7 point underdog against anyone the following week. But since I'm picking straight up, not against the spread, I'll say Dallas wins a close one.

Baltimore at Houston: It would be premature to pick this game now, since they just announced that the game is postponed due to Hurricane Ike, and won't be played until week 10. But, what the hell, I'll do it anyway. TEXANS. And I'll stand by this no matter what happens. See, this is why you love me. I am brash and hasty and make inadvisable decisions, just as any sports prognosticator should.

-Niztradamus