Week One 9/7 - 9/11
Denver Broncos @ St Louis Rams - Clearly there will be some value with home dogs the first couple weeks of the NFL season, but were not so sure the Rams will be one of those value teams. In off a 6-10 season and with a new coaching staff in place, they take on a Bronco squad fresh off an embarrassing loss to the Steelers in the AFC championship game. Broncos were 6-2 ats on the road last year. Pick - Broncos -4 (CRIS)New York Jets @ Tennessee Titans Battle of two 4-10 teams from a year ago. Jets start the Mangini era after parting ways with Coach Herm Edwards. The lesser of two evils in this game would be the Jets. Pennington gets his last chance to prove he's an NFL QB and if he fails, the Jets have Patrick Ramsey just in case. Gotta take the points in a game the Jets can win straight up despite the fact that the Jets were just 1-7 against the spread last season on the road. Look for that to improve. Pick - Jets +3
Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots - Last year the Bills rolled into New England as a +9.5 dog and hung tight for a 21-16 loss and a cover. It was the 2nd half of the season that caused problems for the Bills as they dropped 6 out of their last 7 games. Head coach Mularkey lost his job and the Bills brought in Dick Jauron as well as Marv Levy to the front office. We think the Bills will continue to struggle this year however we still like them to squeak under the number in this one and keep it just close enough for us to cash. Pick - Bills +9
Baltimore Ravens @ Tampa Bay Bucs - The Ravens problem has been on the offensive side of the ball. This years addition of Steve Mcnair at QB figures to pay immediate dividends. Ravens just 2-6 ats on the road last year. The Bucs in off an 11-6 year but also struggled on offense last year which was eventually their downfall in the playoffs, losing to the Skins 17-10. The Bucs won 6 games by a TD or less last year. Pick - Ravens +3
Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs - All eyes on the Bengals to see if last year was a fluke. The Chiefs in off a 10-6 year say good bye to Dick Vermeil and hello to Herm Edwards. Chiefs team still intact from a year ago and have one of the best home field advantages in the NFL. Last year they were 7-1 ats at home and have historically been the best team in the NFL on opening day. We won't buck that trend. Pick - Chiefs -3
Seattle Seahawks @ Detroit Lions - Seahawks of course are in off a Super Bowl defeat and look to once again be a playoff team. On the other side of the ball we have the hapless Lions, in of another below .500 year at 5-11. So of course, we're taking the Lions in this one! Hey, the Lions brought in former Rams coach Mike Martz to do what he does best. Coordinate the offense. This game opened Seattle -3.5 and is now Seattle -6. We're going to go against this line move and take the added value with the home dog. Pick - Lions +6.5
Atlanta Falcons @ Caolina Panthers - Just about everyone has Carolina pegged for the Super Bowl. With that in mind, we'll go the other way and hope they fall flat in game one. Falcons looking to improve of an 8-8 year. What better place to start than against the whole worlds Super Bowl darlings. Look for Atlanta to obtain a little payback for last years two defeats, the last one being a 44-11 spanking. Pick Falcons +6
Philadelphia Eagles @ Houston Texans - We feel the TO situation was at the root of Phillys problems last year as they turned in a 6-10 year one year after playing in the Super Bowl. Look for the Eagles to be back on top this year without all the distractions. Kicking off the season against the Texans who were 2-14 last year might be just what the Doctor ordered. Pick - Eagles -4
New Orleans Saints @ Cleveland Browns - All eyes will be on New Orleans 2 weeks from now when they return to the Superdome for the first time since Katrina. Until then, no one cares. We look for the Browns to be a 9 win team this year. If they are gonna win 9, then they have to be the Saints of the World. Romeo Crennel will eventually be a winner in Cleveland. Better start this week. Pick - Browns -3 -105
Dallas Cowboys @ Jacksonville Jaguars - Bringing in T.0. will do one of two things for the Cowboys. Either they will be a playoff team and Super Bowl contender, or the team will implode as T.O works his magic and ruins another team. Let's take a chance and say T.O. actually helps out. In that case, the Cowboys will improve off their 9-7 mark from a year ago and what better way to start then by defeating a playoff team from last year, the 12-5 Jags Pick - Cowboys +3 (Mansion)
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers - The Bears had the most dominant defense in the NFL last year. So what did they do in the first round of the NFL draft? Drafted a defensive player of course! (safety). They did bring in Brian Griese to back up Rex Grossman though, and made a few off season moves to improve the offense. We gotta stick with the Bears in this one. Can't back the pack until they prove they are back. Pick - Bears -3.5
San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals - If you went strictly by last years records you'd question how a 5-11 team could be favored by -7.5 to kick off the 2006 NFL season. But a closer look and you'll see that the Cardinals actually were in the top half of the league statistically last year, and made some key additions in the off season which should pay dividends. Such as Running back Edgerin James. The 49ers on the other hand, were every bit as bad as their record indicated. Actually worse. They were at the bottom of the NFL statistically and while things can only improve, it will take time. Cards figure to score points in buckets this year. Perhaps the OVER is worth a peek here as well. Pick - Cardinals -7.5
Indianapolis Colts @ New York Giants - Eli vs Payton. Looking forward to this one. How will the Colts bounce back after last years disappointment? The Colts were a Super Bowl lock. They were never the same after the tragedy with coach Dungy's son. After knocking on the door the last couple of years, will they fall from grace or be right in the mix again? We think the Colts will be there in January once again, but in this spot were going to take baby brother Eli as a home dog in an emotional first game of the season. Pick - Giants +3.5
Minnesota Vikings @ Washington Redskins - Skins still waiting to see if Portis will play. Both these teams in off big improvements from 2004 last season, with the Skins making it to the playoffs and losing to Seattle. This game looks like a field goal game. In which case, we're taking the dog. Pick - Vikings +4.5
San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders - The Chargers dumped Drew Brees in favor of Phillip Rivers. Big mistake in our opinion. Rivers hasn't seen much NFL action and figures to take some time to gel. So no better time to take a close look at the home dog here on Monday night. We'll take a shot here and hope the Raiders kick off the Art Shell era 2nd time around with a win. Pick - Raiders +3 -120
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