Not a bad week last week, but I am still searching for an undefeated week with my picks. I stand at
71-45 for the year. Let me relax, light a candle, and see if I can't predict a little better this week.
New York Jets @ Buffalo - Well, Favre had a terrible last game and so did the entire Bills team. The Jets will need to work more on the ground while the Bills will need to make sure their receivers still work, well actually their quarterback. Trent Edwards has got to make something positive happen this week. The Bills are at home and this game is important if they want to show the league that they are for real. Both teams should run the ball well but this will come down to quarterback play and I think that Favre is either showing his age or he's hurting.
Winner - Bills
Detroit @ Chicago - Just when the Bears thought it was safe to come out and play they get the Lions. No I don't think that the Lions have the team to beat the Bears, but this is the trap game for the Bears. They are coming off their bye and they are at home. Calvin Johnson could wreak havoc on the Chicago secondary and make this game a lot closer than it needs to be. In the end, I doubt the Lions defense has enough to stop a potent Bears offense (when's the last time you could say that about the Bears?).
Winner - Bears
Jacksonville @ Cincinnati - TJ Houshmandzadeh has come out and said that the Bengals won't go winless this year. He didn't promise a win against a certain team, but he said there's no way they go 0-16. Is this the week? I'd have to say 'NO'. The Jaguars are on a roll and their quarterback is playing good ball. The Bengals really don't have any offense and Ryan Fitzpatrick can be good in spurts, but that's it. I imagine that the boo birds come out, against the home team, right before halftime.
Winner - Jaguars
Baltimore @ Cleveland - With all of the craziness that's been going on in Cleveland, they luck up and get the Ravens at home (tongue in cheek). It's about time for a Brady Quinn sighting in my mind. Jamal Lewis doesn't look like a good pick this week in Fantasy Football because he's going against this Ravens defense. The Ravens are showing that they trust Flacco a little more and opening the offense for him. The worst case if he doesn't succeed is that they have a good player in Troy Smith right behind him. Maybe, just maybe the Browns head coaches will find a way to text the Ravens defense saying 'I'm going to have a big game against you guys - signed Kellen Winslow' and then all of their problems will be solved.
Winner - Ravens
Green Bay @ Tennessee - After beating the Colts on Monday night, the Titans get to host the Packers. The blueprint will be the same. Run the ball, make timely passes, and win. The Packers come in a little beat up at quarterback and running back. After having some success early in the season, Aaron Rodgers is looking to bounce back. This is going to be a tough game for the Packers and I don't think they have the moxy to pull it off.
Winner - Titans
Arizona @ St. Louis - This is a hard game to pick. Early word is that Stephen Jackson is out, but I'm not buying that one, not yet. The Cardinals get back to full strength with Boldin back in the lineup and Kurt Warner wants a new contract. Nothing like stating your case by beating the Rams, soundly. The Rams are playing better, and if they can finally break out (Torry Holt, I mean you), they can actually make some things happen. I just don't think this is the week for the Rams.
Winner - Cardinals
Houston @ Minnesota - What happens in the course of a week? I think the Vikings got healthier during their bye week and the fact that they aren't losing their big beef on defense (
at least for this game) makes this game that much more interesting. The Vikings will continue to run the ball and try to manage the game. I'll say it again, we haven't seen an AP breakout game yet. Houston has quietly played well this year and it looks like they are turning the corner. Matt Schaub has provided some direction on offense while Mario Williams is finally making people think that maybe the Saints got it wrong for picking Reggie Bush instead of him. Going with the home team here coming off the bye.
Winner - Vikings
Tampa Bay @ Kansas City - I can sum this game up in about 2 sentences. The Chiefs are without Larry Johnson for an extended period of time and the Bucs are coming off a close loss to the Cowboys. Nothing like giving the Bucs a reason to play better. I feel sorry for Tyler Thigpen this week as he is sure to get hit and hit hard sometime (probably often) during this game.
Winner - Bucs
Miami @ Denver - This will be an interesting game. More interesting is my pick. Denver had been a high flying point producing team on offense, but that has slowed down as of late. The debacle at New England being the ultimate loss. They welcome the Dolphins into town this weekend. The funny thing is that I think the Dolphins are talented enough to win this game. They may not shock and awe you, but they will be prepared and they will play it tough. Dolphins don't do well in the cold, but I'll take them.
Winner - Dolphins
Atlanta @ Oakland - The Raiders are still having all types of problems and I doubt they get any better anytime soon. I am however pulling for JaMarcus Russell who is having a decent year. Atlanta comes in with a good all around offense led by rookie Matt Ryan. The Falcons defense will get a chance to come after the Raiders after they get behind. I expect this one to be a blowout. What is former Falcon DeAngelo Hall going to do when he has to go against his former team?
Winner - Falcons
Dallas @ New York Giants - This will be the game I watch. I'm not sure why though. All signs point to this being a blowout in the Giants favor because Brad Johnson can't stretch the field and all of the offensive play calls seem to forget that they have a beast in the Dallas backfield. But, isn't this the type of game where the Cowboys could come out and dominate. No one is giving them a chance and they are playing in NY. I can just see it now, Brad Johnson dropping back and throwing a deep ball to TO for a 50 yard TD,........then I wake up.
Winner - Giants
Philadelphia @ Seattle - Matt Hasselbeck might as well hit the campaign trail with his wife since he won't be playing anytime soon. The Eagles defense won't allow Seneca Wallace to play like he did last week, although, he may be able to give them problems with his legs. I look for Donovan to play well and send his Eagles home with a win. Just call it the residual effect of the Phillies winning the World Series.
Winner - Eagles
New England @ Indianapolis - At the beginning of the season this looked like the game of the week. 8 weeks later it's two struggling teams trying to right their ships, although the Patriots seem to have a head start on that. The Colts can't pass, run, or do anything right during game time, but you still can't count them out at home. Joseph Addai may play which will help, but for some reason these Patriots are giving me heartburn. Maybe they have found a way to make Matt Cassell a household name or maybe he is good? We'll see during this game. I still have faith in Peyton to get it done. They were thisclose last week to beating the Titans, so let's see if they can't finally make it happen.
Winner - Colts
Pittsburgh @ Washington - This is going to be a better game than most think. The Steelers are playing off of fumes after a few close ones and the pounding that Big Ben has been taking. They do get 'Fast' Willie Parker back this week which will help their running game. Washington is sporting an equally good running game with Clinton Portis leading the way. This game is going to come down to Jason Campbell and whether he's made that step or he was just faking. Mike Tomlin has never lost on Monday night. There's a first time for everything.
Winner - Redskins**According to ESPN,
the Presidential candidates are going to be interviewed during Monday Night Football.
Detroit Pistons - Finally!!! Jason Maxiell and the Pistons agree to a 4 year $20M deal to keep the young stud in Detroit. Had to happen, period.
Los Angeles Lakers - This is what height is worth. Andrew Bynum and the Lakers agree to a 4 year $58M deal. This is for a guy that took the majority of last season off (yeah it was an injury, but I'm saying). For all of you single people out there, if you're tall, get with a tall woman and make a baby, you can get paid some day. All joking aside, Bynum will be the reason the Lakers win the title this year, mark my words.
New York Knicks - What are they going to do with Starbury? Everyone knows the Knicks want to get rid of him, but at what cost? Marbury would only be bought out for what he's owed this year from the Knicks (and do the Knicks want to do another buyout), and the trade market is looking terrible right now since the Knicks are trying to unload Eddy Curry, Malik Rose, Starbury, James Dolan's mother, and anyone else on the roster so that they can try to lure LBJ to NYC. This isn't looking good right now for Marbury, but he and Jamal Tinsley are the two big name point guards on the market right, although the biggest difference is the money they make.
Toronto @ Philadelphia - While the 
Atlanta @ Orlando - One of these teams was supposed to step up and show the rest of the world that they are for real, that last season's success wasn't just a blip on the radar. The team that stepped up wasn't the one that many had picked as the Hawks came out screaming. Joe Johnson got it going in the first quarter and finished with 25 points. The Hawks also got a monster game from Josh Smith (17 pts, 10 rebs, 4 stls, 5 blks) and a very unexpected 14 pts from Ronald Murray. The Magic were led by Dwight Howard with his own monster game (22pts, 15 rebs, 5 stls, 5 blks) but the Magic bench played a dissapearing act with only 11 points. Atlanta starts the season at 1-0 and they look like they are for real. Hopefully Bibby didn't hurt his hip too badly.
New Jersey @ Washington - Jarvis Hayes got a chance to play against his former team and was able to drop 14 points on them off the bench. Vince Carter chipped in 21 and Yi Jianlian helped with 17 points. The Wizards didn't look too interested and they also experienced a rough shooting night with Butler (3-11), Jamison (6-18), and Stevenson (5-13).
Miami @ New York - Is this the statement that D'Antoni wanted to make? All I have to say is Starbury got a DNP. Not one minute. Other than that, this was a decent game for the Knicks. They were led by Crawford (29 pts) and Zach Randolph (20 pts, 9 rebs), while they got all around production from the rest of the team. The Heat got their first look at Michael Beasley and he didn't impress going 4-14 for 9 points and 4 rebs. Wade had 26 pts and 9 rebs, while Udonis Haslem had an impressive 23 pts and 10 rebs. If both of these teams were actually good, I'd have a lot of positives to say, but this game proved very few things: 1) Neither of these teams can play defense 2) Niether team has a lot of size (that will play in the Knicks case) 3. This is what the bottom of the East is going to look like.
Milwaukee @ Oklahoma City - Maybe I was wrong about Charlie Vilanueva. After a lackluster game against the Bulls, he showed up and dropped 20 pts (along with Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson) to lead the Bucks to a win. This was a terrible home opener for the Thunder as none of them impressed. The Thunder were led by Chris Wilcox (15pts and 7 rebs).
