My impressive prognosticating continued in Week Two, where I tabbed 13 games correctly, while missing out on only three. Other weekly accolades: I correctly picked Denver's 24 points scored, picked the 4 pt margin of victory for the TB/MIN game and I picked the shutout for Pittsburgh, I picked 28-0 while the actual score was 24-0.
Last Week 13-3 Season 24-8
The games I missed this past week:
Atlanta beating Philadelphia. It's hard to predict when a player will go down with an injury. Vick and the Eagles were soaring before he got hurt. it was a completely different game after he went out.
Cleveland beating Indianapolis. While many correctly picked this game, I thought Kerry Collins, having an extra week in, would have led the Colts past the Browns. I was wrong and the Colts may be worse off than I originally thought.
Tennessee beating Baltimore. Talk about a let down. The Ravens destroyed their nemesis in Week one to get torched by Hasselback and Britt in week two. A Blindside for sure.
Week 3 Predictions.
New England @ Buffalo
NE owns Buffalo, at least for the past 15 games they have. That's how long it's been since Buffalo last beat the Patriots, the score that day was 31-0. This is the best looking Bills squad Brady and Co. have had to face in that span though. Both offenses are flying at full throttle and this game may come down to which defense steps up first. While I think it should be fairly close, despite the current 8 point spread would suggest, I can't see Buffalo's defense stopping Brady. NE 49 Buffalo 42
San Francisco @ Cincinnati
This game may be very ugly. I like both defenses in this contest. I really have no idea who to pick here. I don't trust the 49'er offense and I actually am very impressed with Andy Dalton and AJ Green. Bengals 21 49'ers 17
Miami @ Cleveland
Maybe the Dolphins will do better now that they go on the road. I don't like Miami but I'll give them credit, they've been feeding Brandon Marshall and it's pretty fun to watch. The Reggie Bush-as-featured back experiment seems to be giving ways. I expect to see a heavier dose of Daniel Thomas in this game, a stinker by most accounts. I also look for Evan Moore, yes Evan Moore to be the difference here. Cleveland 13 Miami 7
Denver @ Tennessee
Denver's kind of banged up on offense and Tennessee's at home with an offense that's red hot. Tennessee 24 Denver 14
Detroit @ Minnesota
While it's easy to see how poorly the Vikings offense has been, it's also important to note that their secondary, albeit two weeks old, this season has pretty much taken the elite receivers out of the games. That said, the Lions offense is ridiculous right now and I can't see anyone in the Minnesota secondary being able to handle Megatron. Detroit 31 Minnesota 10
Houston @ New Orleans
Houston's been impressive so far. They have the leagues first placed defense. Star RB Arian Foster hasn't really played yet, and despite that fact the Texans are still pounding the rock with impressive 2nd year back Ben Tate. Oh yeah they still have a guy by the name of Andre Johnson. That all said the Saints made a major rebound last week and they're at home, where they're virtually unbeatable. I see a close game with the Saints winning it late. New Orleans 27 Houston 24
New York Giants @ Philadelphia
NY has looked bad in both games and perhaps worse in their win against the Rams. The Giants will have to fake a dozen injuries to slow down the Eagles at home. Philadelphia 34 NYG 20
Jacksonville @ Carolina
Cam Newton is one, if not the, most impressive surprises to the season so far. I was going to take the Jags, despite their offensive woes and even with Blaine Gabbert making his first start, but after what Newton's done in only two weeks, there is no way I can do that. Newton rolls on the ground and through the air for his, and his teams, first win in 2011. Carolina 23 Jacksonville 13
New York Jets @ Oakland
Common sense would be to take the Jets. They have a strong defense, an incredibly smart Head Coach and an excellent running game on paper. Oakland's been pretty impressive so far and have shown they can air it out if DMC is taken out of the equation, which I must note he hasn't been in either game so far. I'm going to pick the Home Dog here on the basis of Sanchez's inconsistent play and a beat up O-line. Campbell throws for 3 in this one, regardless of what WR's line up for him this week. Oakland 28 NYJ 20
Baltimore @ St. Louis
This, to me, is another one of those angry team getting right match-ups. Baltimore has to be infuriated with the way they played last week and eager to seek redemption. St. Louis has been playing well but they are in disarray on offense and they'll need to score to keep pace. I look for a good game out of Flacco, Boldin and Rice here. Baltimore 27 St. Louis 14
Kansas City @ San Diego
The bleeding has to end sometime, Doesn't it? Unfortunately for Chiefs fans it isn't going to happen this week. This game has a chance for some second half reps for Billy Volek. San Diego 44 KC 10. At least, if you're a KC fan, you can take solace in the fact that they have a chance to double their offensive seasonal output, that is, if this score holds up.
Green Bay @ Chicago
Green Bay has a bit of trouble going on in their back end, as Cam Newton brought to light last week. However, if Jay Cutler has to drop back 50 times in this one, he'll be out and Caleb Haney will be the QB going due to injury. If Chicago runs the ball I see a competitive game, if they don't GB will own this one, irritating all in attendance. Green Bay 17 Chicago 7
Arizona @ Seattle
If it wasn't for KC, a strong case could be made that Seattle is the worst team right now. Arizona's not much better but at least they have an offense. Kolb is spreading the ball around, making Jeff King a household name. Fitzgerald is helping as he's often seeing two and three DB's. Beanie Wells is looking like the back they took a few years ago in the first round. If it wasn't for defensive issues they'd have a stranglehold on the NFC West right now. Seattle hasn't shown anything, except an adequate performance by their Run Defense. Doesn't matter here, as Arizona will toss the ball all over the field. Arizona 28 Seattle 17
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay
The Falcons seem to be having an identity crisis on the offensive side of the ball. They've always been a strong running game with an elite WR who'll catch them 100 balls in White. This year, QB Matt Ryan, with the addition of stud rookie WR Julio Jones, doesn't seem to know where to throw the ball. Luckily he's got a great safety valve in Tony Gonzalez, still extremely productive at this stage of his career. Tampa's been having more trouble on offense though. Freeman's been pretty bad so far, and Mike Williams was taken out of the game last week. Luckily Blount came back to life last week. I assume Tampa spent a fair amount of time watching how Vick and the Eagles were able to move the ball around and expect to see a better outing this week. That said I don't think it'll be enough to stop Ryan and company. Atlanta 23 Tampa Bay 19
Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis
Unless the Steelers take this game for granted I can't see a loss here. It actually strains the mind trying to think of how that scenario would possibly play out. One thing though, is that if Indy can't hold up the pass rush of the Steelers, there is a strong likelihood Kerry Collins is sent into an earlier than expected retirement. Pittsburgh 28 Indianapolis 6
Washington @ Dallas
This is a great match-up for Monday Night football. On the one side you have the surprising Washington team, who nobody projected to be 2-0 right now. On the other side you have Tony Romo, maligned for his errors in week one, only to be seen playing through cracked ribs and a punctured lung in week two. Dallas is in trouble here. They are confident in Jon Kitna should Romo not be able to go, but there's also a strong possibility that they'll be without 3 other stars, WR's Bryant and Austin and RB Felix Jones. If none of those players are able to go, you'll see Kevin Ogletree, Jesse Holley and DeMarco Murray get a ton of action. Not saying they'll do well, but at least Washington won't have much film, if any, on these guys. With all the injuries and the positive vibes in the nation's capital I can't possibly pick Dallas this week, even though they're at home. Washington 34 Dallas 23
Here's to another great week of NFL action.
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