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NFL WEEK ONE PICKS
2007
Thursday, September 6th
Saints at Colts – Here we go! NFL 2007-2008 and what better way to kick off week one in the NFL than with a Thursday Night affair between the Super Bowl Champion Colts and playoff contender Saints. It’s tough for any Super Bowl Champ the following year. Every team gives 110% when the face you. Lots of questions will be answered tonight. Have player losses hurt the Colts? Can the Saints defense improve enough to contend? We think the Saints have a shot in this one. Both offenses are potent and the Saints defense is improved. Upset not out of the question. Saints +6
Sunday. September 9th
Chiefs at Texans – Perhaps a little too much respect is being given to the Texans here. Sure they won 6 Games last year. But throw away the two meaningless end of season wins. That leaves 4 wins, and one of those was against the Raiders. The Texans ranked near the bottom on offense and defense while the Chiefs were playoff bound with wins over San Diego, Denver and Seattle. We’re simply asking the better, more experienced team to win here. Chiefs +1
Broncos at Bills – The Bills face the toughest Schedule in the entire NFL. That doesn’t bode well for their long term outcome this year, but like everyone else, they’ll have to take one Game at a time. Denver is loaded and figures to be one of the top teams in the AFC but you also like to look at teams that have some building blocks from the previous year as potential plays. Those building blocks for the Bills are a two point loss to the Pats, a one point loss to the Colts, a field goal loss to the Chargers and whipping the Jets. This team played with the best the NFL had to offer last year and for the most part, held their own. They are worth a look here to start the year. Bills +3.5
Steelers at Browns – The Browns are another team that at least has some building blocks. They held their own against some of the better teams in the NFL last year and can only get better. But this Game has too many uncertainties to have any kind of serious opinion. Will the Browns throw Brady Quinn to the dogs and have him start opening day? As of this writing mid August, it’s doubtful. How about the Steelers without honcho Bill Cowher? Losing someone who has been a constant for 15 years will have an affect. But the Steelers have the talent. We’ll make a very weak call on the home doggie here. Browns +4.5
Titans at Jaguars – The Jags beat the good teams and lost to the lousy ones a year ago. If they are looking for answers as to what ruined their year last season, they need to look no further than Washington, Houston, Buffalo and Tennessee. They beat the Colts 44-17 and then dropped the next Game to the Titans last December. That Game and a couple of losses to the Texans and there’s your playoffs down the drain. The Jags are the more talented team, a team ready to win now, not 3 years from now and you’d have to imagine they would be determined not to drop the Games they are supposed to win. Like Opening day against the Titans. Jaguars -6.5
Panthers at Rams – In a battle of what figures to be two middle of the road teams, we’ll side with the homer. Rams +1
Eagles at Packers – We’re not sold on the Eagles but until they show clears signs of a demise, we can’t buck them in a Game where they figure to be the more talented of the two teams. Many point to the Packers improvement down the stretch last year but let’s not lose site of who they played in those Games. Detroit, Minny, San Fran and Chicago in a meaningless Game. We know Favre didn’t come back this year for mediocrity, so hopes are high in Green Bay. An upset not out of the question but until we have more of a reason, we’re on the Eagles in a very weak call. Eagles -3
Falcons at Vikings – We’ll have an idea right off the bat perhaps, just how much this Michael Vick circus will affect this team, not to mention a new head coach. Both of these teams are rebuilding. We’ll side with the home team here. The one with the better defense and no major distractions. Vikings -2.5
Dolphins at Redskins – Joe Gibbs in off a season in which he had the worst record of his career. Think he wants to turn things around? Miami tries once again to find a coach and brings in Cam Cameron. Miami is headed in the right direction. They have the defense. If they can find an offense, this team will be good. That’s why they brought in the offensive minded Cameron. But for the opener, we’ll side with the veteran coach Gibb to have his team more prepared and to have the better Game plan. Redskins -3
Patriots at Jets – Huge Game for both teams. The Pats and Brady have had the Jets number for for several years. But the Jets closed the gap some last year. They won at New England and dropped a home Game 24-17. They then played at New England in the Wild Card Game last year and hung tough right through the 3rd quarter before the Pats took over. We think the Pats will be just as good this year while what the Jets can do remains to be seen. But there’s something about opening day in the NFL. It brings with it added motivation generally reserved for big regular season Games and the playoffs. While we think the Pats are the better team, we’d be very surprised if this one wasn’t decided in the final 5 minutes. In which case, we have to take the points. Jets +6.5
Tampa Bay at Seattle – With Gruden on the hot seat and the addition of Jeff Garcia at QB expect an improved Buc team. But expect the Seahawks to once again contend in the NFC as well. Hey, they did it last year, and were playing with key injuries at different times during the season. A healthy Seahawk team has to get the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Seahawks -6
Bears at Chargers – Still like this Bears defense. But also, still don’t care for this Bears offense and don’t feel the off season moves addressed this properly. On the other side, we already have said that we were high on the Chargers this year, so not about to back off in Game one. We just feel the Chargers have some unfinished business to attend to and will start with the Super Bowl runner up. We expect the Chargers to win this one by two touchdowns or more. Chargers -5
Lions at Raiders – This is a Game the late Pete Axthelm used to call a smashed windshield Game. Which meant, if you left two tickets on your dashboard, someone would smash your windshield but leave the tickets! Hey, the advantage a sports bettor has over the books is that he doesn’t have to play every Game. You can pick your spots. Perhaps this is one best left alone. However, we think the Lions are the better team. QB Jon Kitna predicted 10 wins for the Lions. Well, if you’re gonna win 10, you better get this one. Lions +1.5
Giants at Dallas – While many have the Cowboys pegged for greatness this year, let’s not forget these Giants. Strahan figures to be back and Eli has another year under his belt. The Giants will miss Tiki but the bottom line here is that the number is too high in this one. When these two tangle you generally get a close one. We’ll take the generous +4.5 in this big NFC East clash. Giants +4.5
Monday Sept 10th
See the Monday Night Pick Page for both Monday Games
Ravens at Bengals –
Cardinals at 49ers