Kickoff

I have a couple of "contributors" to this site who swore they were going to start writing articles once the NFL season started. Well the season has started and still no articles. One was supposed to be a preview of the upcoming season (Sorry, Natan. I didn't see your article until I was done with this one). I'm not really that big a fan of the NFL, so I'm not really in a position to do that. Another was supposed to be the picks every week. While I'm no expert, I've decided to do a weekly picks article. I'm going to pick every game against the spread and I'll report my results on Tuesday. Once again, I'm not an expert, so for the five people who actually do come to the site, do not, I repeat do not use these picks for anything else but for your own amusement.

Home team in Bold
Denver -4 St. Louis
Denver doesn't play nearly as well away from home. Take the points. I like Denver by a field goal

Tennessee -2.5 Jets
Tennessee is at home, but they have a mess at QB right now. The Jets don't have a running back and have Pennington coming off his 200th injury. I'll take Tennessee to cover, but I don't have much confidence in the pick.

New England -9.5 Buffalo
Buffalo doesn't have a NFL QB or great receivers, that means their entire offensive load has to be carried by McGahee. 9.5 is a lot of points, but NE at home should have enough to win this game by a couple of touchdowns.

Tampa Bay -3 Baltimore
Even though I've been hearing a lot about how improved Chris Simms is, I have absolutely no faith in him. Baltimore brings in the always battered and bruised Steve McNair at QB. It may be the only start this year where he is actually healthy. This game really comes down to the running game. Is Jamal Lewis back to his 2,000 yard form of a couple of seasons ago? Probably not. I'm going with Carnell Williams and the Bucs to win by a touchdown

Kansas City -2.5 Cincinnati
Is Carson Palmer fully healed from his off season surgery? He certainly looked good in the pre-season. Larry Johnson will run for 150 yards, but the KC defense has been very generous in giving up yards themselves. I think that Palmer will lead the Bengals to an upset victory in this one.

Seattle -6 Detroit
Let's face it, Detroit hasn't been any good for a while. They have finally given up on Joey Harrington and brought in Jon Kitna, which is definitely an upgrade. Roy Williams is due to have a breakout season, but even with home field advantage, I don't see them holding up against the defending NFC champions. This one might be ugly. Seattle in a blowout.

Carolina -5.5 Atlanta
Carolina is a trendy Superbowl pick this year. However, their best player (Steve Smith) is nursing a couple of sore hamstrings at this point and his status for the game is up in the air. Atlanta is always a mystery. Their success in any game starts and ends with Michael Vick. He's promised to run more this year and with Carolina's d-line and linebackers, he's going to have to. Even without Smith, I see Carolina winning by a touchdown.

Philadelphia -5 Houston
Donovan McNabb is going to be out to prove that last year is just a memory. He will come out strong and if the D-line can pressure David Carr, this game will be an easy win for Philly.

Cleveland -3.5 New Orleans
Week 1 of the Reggie Bush show. New Orleans has a new QB, A new RB and a new coach. Not exactly a recipe for success. Good thing for them that they are playing Cleveland. I'll take the points in this one.

Jacksonville -2 Dallas
Can T.O. make a big difference in Dallas? We are about to find out. This one should be close, but I'm going to take the Cowboys by field goal.

Chicago -3.5 Green Bay
This may be Brett Favre last home opener. And based on his performance last year, it certainly should be. Chicago's defense was the best in the league last year. Unfortunately their offense isn't very good. They won a lot of low scoring games last year because of their defense. Look for more of the same. Chicago will win and cover on a late turnover by Favre.

Arizona -8 San Francisco
This is a big spread, but San Francisco was truly awful last year and they didn't make any moves in the offseason that would lead you to believe that they have gotten any better. Arizona has a couple of good receivers and they've added Edgerrin James to bolster the running attack. This should be a cake walk for the birds. The should win by 2 touchdowns.

Indianapolis -3.5 NY Giants
The Manning bowl is on. The Colts come in to Giants stadium with their usual passing attack, but they have lost Edgerrin James. The biggest question mark for the Giants is whether or not Eli Manning is ready to the next step in his development. I say that for one night he steps up his game in front of his big brother. I'll take the points in this one.

Washington -4.5 Minnesota
I think both teams will problems scoring in this one. The Washington attack will be grounded by the absence of Clinton Portis. Minnesota? I don't know who's starting at RB or WR. They are a mess offensively as well. This game should be decided either way by a field goal. I'll take the points.

San Diego -3 Oakland
Bitter rivals get together in game one. Is Phillip Rivers ready to be an NFL QB? We'll find out in this game. Fortunately he's got the best TE and the best all purpose back to lean on. It should make his transition easier. He may not complete many long passes, but given his weapons, it should be enough to win by a touchdown. Look for Aaron Brooks to throw at least a couple of ill-advised passes in key moments.

Well, that's it for week one. I'll be back on Tuesday to give you all my excuses for why I had so many incorrect picks. Enjoy the weekend!