It's finally here, the NFL season, is finally here and I as one of the masses is very excited about the up-coming slate. So, without further ado, my picks for the season...
Thursday, September 8th, 2011:
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers,7:30 pm NBC, A match-up of the past two Super Bowl champs at Lambeau Field seems like the best way to kick-off the season. These two teams return a lot of talent to the field from last years teams. Although I'm not scared of the Saints rushing attack I have reservations about the front 3 of the Packers defense. The loss of Cullen Jenkins means that they must rely on the oft-injured Mike Neal at one end, although, the Raji and Pickett should be stalwarts once again. I like Green Bay in this game by a score of 24-21.
Sunday, September 11th, 2011:
Atlanta Falcons at Chicago Bears, 12:00 pm FOX, the Bears are the least thought of 2 seed in history and the doubters have come out in full force to bash what life there was left in the hopes of the Bears' fan base. But lest we forget this is a Chicago home game on shitty turf that will slow down the White-Jones combo and this just feels like a Chicago win to me, with a score of 21-16.
Cincinnati at Cleveland, 12:00 pm CBS, these contests are usually close and I think the result of this game will surprise some people, with an infusion of young blood in the forms of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green in Cincinnati that offense could surprise some people. Cleveland on the other hand has seen an emergence of Colt McCoy as a gifted west coast passer in Pat Shurmur's new offense and I think that the difference we see in Cleveland's 31-17 victory.
Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs, 12:00 pm CBS, if this game doesn't peak your interest you're probably alive and not a fan of the Bills or Chiefs. The one bright spot will be watching Jamaal Charles run roughshod over a very poor Bills defense. I think the Chiefs win this one going away, 38-20.
Philadelphia Eagles at St. Louis Rams, 12:00 pm FOX, this game is tougher than many think it looks, but a road dome game to open the season with inexperience all over a revamped offensive line scares me even if you have weapons like Maclin, Jackson, McCoy and Vick. I think the Rams are a year or two away but hey should scare some teams this year. I see an Eagles 31-27 victory.
Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 12:00 pm FOX, this involves a team that got good earlier than expected (Tampa) and a team expected to get good earlier than expected (Detroit). Most assume that TB will regress this season after winning 10 last year and they think that regression will start in week one against Detroit, I think we see Tampa Bay win easier than expected, 31-20.
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars, 12:00 pm CBS, an intriguing divisional match-up involving teams who employ QBs with major question marks. I trust Hasselbeck more than Cade McNown ergo I like the Titans to win this one 24-14.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens, 12:00 pm CBS, this one will be a barn burner as it has been for the past four or five years and I think home-field wins this game for the Ravens but not by much 24-21.
Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, 12:00 pm CBS, this game would have been great had Manning made his return this week, but with Collins this offense seems destined to be listless. Houston has made the effort towards improving on defense and I think they will but not without some trifles this week, which will make this Houston win closer than if they had had a full off-season, 38-27.
New York Giants at Washington Redskins, 3:15 pm FOX, another week 1 divisional game, this one from the NFC East shall give us insight into the coming season's for both teams, especially the Redskins D and Giants O which are both big question marks. I believe we see a pretty handy Giants victory 31-13.
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, 3:15 pm FOX, another one of those great divisional barn burners we so often see out of the NFC West, when in doubt go with the better quarterback, which oddly enough is Alex Smith... 49ers victory 21-17.
Minnesota Vikings at San Diego Chargers, 3:15 pm FOX, this is pretty lopsided on paper, the Chargers are better on both sides of the ball and the two teams are weak on special teams. However, Norv Turner's Chargers have had issues with early season games making this one more intriguing. I do think however we see a Chargers victory 35-31.
Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals, 3:15 pm FOX, I don't think this match-up deserves much more than Newton-Kolb we shall see who show more early season promise, Cardinals 17-13.
Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets, 7:20 pm NBC, the Cowboys are set up for a bit of a fall this season due to a horrid O-line and a defensive back field that's suspect at best, I think the Jets win 24-14.
Monday, September 12th, 2011:
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins, 6:00 pm ESPN, a lopsided divisional match-up between teams that have been polar opposite when it comes to consistency over the past decade. The Patriots are much better and will show it on the scoreboard, 38-17.
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos, 9:15 pm ESPN, this game excites no part of my imagination two mediocre teams starting two hours after sundown, Oakland 21-13.
Please let me know what you think of my picks and what you expect and are excited to see this weekend in the NFL.
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