WEEK 2 - Rich's Pick

Week 1 was not a disaster, so that's always a moral victory. 7-7-2 overall, 4-2 in games actually bet. Last week's wagers: Jets +6.5 Pats (L), Philly -3 Green Bay (L), Houston -3 KC (W), Tennessee +7 Jacksonville (W), San Diego -6 Chicago (W), Seattle -5.5 Tampa Bay (W). Funny story....with most of the 10:00 games over with, the only early game left I had action on was Philly-Green Bay. I was quietly confident that I would win this bet. Unfortunately Green Bay drove down the field in the waning seconds and lined up to kick a field goal. The ball was snapped...and then....it was like the Sopranos finale ending all over again. BLACK! Nothingness. Finally an error message appeared saying my access card was invalid. Seriously, this was the worst timing imaginable. After a lengthy hold time, I was told it was a national problem and at least ended up with 3 free months of Showtime. If this happens again, my blood pressure may reach Madden levels. Blood may squirt out my ears. So...if my Week 3 picks are not made, may the record show DirecTV killed me. Anyways, on to my Week 2 selections.

Pittsuburgh -10 Buffalo
I certainly don't love this pick, but I think the Steelers are at least a TD better at home against Buffalo....and probably more. J-Loss on the road against a solid Steelers defense pushes me to take the Steelers even with a double digit spread.

Cincinnati -6.5 Cleveland
How can you possibly bet on Cleveland in this game? From Week 1, what makes anybody think the Browns can play with a potential playoff team like the Bengals. Although the spread is now 7 in most books here in Vegas, the Bengals are still the better play.

Tennessee +7 Indianapolis
It killed my competition to pick against the Titans last week....and we all saw what happened. On paper, the Colts are clearly the better team, but remember last year? The Titans split the season series playing them tough both games. The Titans are still HOT, so I'm taking them here to at least play the Colts tough. Either I'm going to look like a genius here or a complete idiot...unsure which.

Houston +6.5 Carolina
The Texans played a horrible Chiefs team in Week 1, so it's hard to tell how good they really are. I could be going out on a limb here but I think this is at least an 8-8 team. The Panthers, to me, are similar. Logically, since the AFC is a far better conference....an average AFC team is equal to or better than an average NFC team. http://www.richslogic.com

San Francisco +3.5 St. Louis
The Rams looked awful in their opener, the 49ers not much better. With an awful Rams run defense, Frank Gore should run all over the Rams. Lock of the week? I already have action on it!

NY Giants -1 Green Bay
UGH. The Giants w/o Manning and 68 year old Favre on the road. This will be a completely ugly game...taking the G-men only b/c the game is in NY.

Atlanta +10.5 Jacksonville
Although the score did not show it, the Falcons didn't play awful in Week 1. With Harrington having a week under his belt, the offense will put some decent numbers on the board. The Jaguars couldn't score more than 10 last week on the Titans defense? Seriously? Jags win the game, but not by double digits.

New Orleans -3.5 Tampa Bay
The Saints offense not showing up for Week 1 is an unsolved mysteries. Was this a fluke? The team just didn't seem in sync all game long. If, and only if, the offense decides to play like it did all last year, the Saints win going away. The Bucs looked pretty bad in their debut and are up against my NFC Super Bowl pick....no way I'm taking the Bucs here.

Detroit -3 Minnesota
The Lions looked good in Week 1?! Wait, they played the Raiders. But still, the team has hope in the awful NFC North. The Vikes have a QB that should end up in the arena football league in about 3 years...and Peterson isn't enough alone to win on the road. Detroit starts 2-0 and gets a few people "buzzing" about being a sleeper team this year.

Miami +3.5 Dallas
OK, the 1/2 point swayed me. I think this game should be close...especially with how bad the Dallas D looked last week. Fins may end up winning this game outright.

Seattle -3 Arizona
This is the week that Seattle shows it is still the class of the NFC West. The crowd in Arizona should be amped, but Alexander and Hasselbeck remind them, after all, they are cheering for the ARIZONA CARDINALS. Seattle by 2 TD.

NY Jets +10 Baltimore
Plain and simple, 10 points is way too many to give to the J-E-T-S. So what if they looked bad against the Pats, was it really that much of a shocker? Look for a low scoring (total at 33.5) game that the Ravens squeak out.

Oakland +10 Denver
I did it again. I picked the Raiders. Although they could not even beat the friggin' Lions at home, I'm convinced the Raiders D will hold Cutler in check for the most part. Denver coasts to a 7 point win.

Kansas City +12 Chicago
I can't believe I just picked the Chiefs after how bad they looked in Week 1. I'm just that completely not sold on the Bears. To recap my picks so far, I've decided to take the Chiefs, Raiders, Jets, and Falcons all as double digit dogs. If I go 0-4 here, I'm going to be the source of great ridicule (and rightfully so) in next week's column.

San Diego +3.5 New England
Easily the game of the week, I'm still convinced San Diego has the most talent in the league. Couple the talent with a desperate revenge for last year's playoff suckout, and the Chargers will be juiced (insert Shawne Merriman joke here). San Diego wins outright.

Philly -6.5 Washington
Philly seemed in control of last week's game up until the final drive by Green Bay. Their potential hasn't been seen yet this year. How about a coming out party on Monday Night Football? Eagles roll.

The Nicknameless Wonder