Is it just me, or has this been a slow week for the NFL in terms of hate-worthy stories? Either it’s been really quiet, or I’ve been too preoccupied by all the crazy political upheaval to notice.
 
Since it’s been such a quiet week, and since they’re not playing this week, I thought I’d begin this week’s column with a couple of items loosely related to one of my least-favourite teams, the New York J**s.
 
I saw a story on TV earlier this week about a guy on a plane protesting because there was a big line-up to use the bathrooms in Economy, while the flight crew refused to allow the aggrieved to use the vacant First-Class facilities. At first, I thought, “Good for you, buddy. Fight the power.” That is, until they got to the part of the story where the would-be hero lost his grip on reality and started threatening to kill people. You have to respect the dedication and commitment to assholery of Gang Green fans.

​

Also, in case you’ve been wondering what Brett Favre has been up to lately, I spotted this item in my local drug store. It’s the perfect item if you need to do some quick grooming before sending an unsolicited dick-pic to that special someone:

​

​All right, enough foolishness. Let’s get to the picks.
 
(I was 12-4 last week, BTW)
 
As always, winners in Bold:
 
 
Sunday
 
Tennessee at Atlanta
 
Sometimes it seems like if Atlanta didn’t have bad luck, it wouldn’t have any luck at all. Last week, in a close game against a tough opponent, they lost S Keanu Neal to a torn Achilles. They ended up losing a close one to Indy, but I think they’ll bounce back this week. The loss of Neal will hurt in the long run, but Atlanta should be able to outscore Tennessee’s middling offence.
 
 
Washington at NYG
 
So how do you like THAT for a debut, Big Blue fans? Even though New York fell behind, even though they lost Saquon Barkley, and even when they struggled, Daniel Jones kept battling, kept competing, kept fighting. It was thrilling, and it gave this team’s fan base renewed hope for the future. Though they aren’t nearly ready yet, and although the defence needs some serious work, it looks like New York might have found its QB. Whatever happens, Jones showed real cojones against Tampa, in the face of a lot of pressure and scrutiny. And you can’t spell “cojones” without J-O-N-E-S. This week brings another winnable game, and though Barkley is on the shelf for the time being, Jones should have a full complement of receivers at his disposal. Let’s see how the kid responds in front of the home crowd.
 
 
LAC at Miami
 
Melvin Gordon might play for the Bolts this weekend, but that won’t solve their injury problems. Fortunately, they’re playing Miami, so they should still be ok.
 
 
Oakland at Indianapolis
 
Last week, Jacoby Brissett, was instrumental in lifting Indy to a tough victory over Atlanta. Brissett is looking more and more like the guy that can keep this young, talented team in contention.
 
 
Carolina at Houston
 
Kyle Allen played admirably in Cam Newton’s stead last week in Arizona. Newton is still out, and this week’s matchup is much tougher. Houston is coming off a big road win, and looks ready to seize control of the AFC South. Deshaun Watson continues to dazzle.
 
 
KC at Detroit
 
Who would have thought that Detroit would be the last undefeated team in the NFC North? But for a late fade in their opener against Arizona, Detroit would be 3-0. It will be curious to see what Detroit’s defence can do against Patrick Mahomes. Word that Matt Stafford is hurting hurts Detroit’s chances in this one.
 
 
Cleveland at Baltimore
 
I’m very curious about this game. Baltimore’s offence has looked really impressive, but they haven’t really been challenged by a good defence. Cleveland’s defence will be the best that Lamar Jackson has faced this season. Cleveland’s offence has struggled so far, but Baltimore’s defence hasn’t been all that great either, and will be without CB Jimmy Smith again. Call me crazy, but I think that Jackson will be made to look mortal this week, and Baker Mayfield will bring his game up a notch.
 
 
New England at Buffalo
 
AFC East battle of undefeated teams! Exciting. Buffalo has looked as good as I predicted they’d be, but they’ve made hay thus far against poor competition. New England, especially their defence, will be a serious step up in competition for Buffalo. I’ll be very curious to see how Buffalo’s offence performs in this one, and I also look forward to seeing how the Pats’ offence holds up against Buffalo’s tough defensive front.
 
 
Tampa at LAR
 
With the exception of a few flashes, LA’s offence doesn’t look quite as potent as it did last season. Fortunately, their defence has held up its end so far. LA is more than talented enough on both sides of the ball to win this one easily.
 
 
Seattle at Arizona
 
Seattle’s defence got torched last week at home, which surprised me. What surprised me even more is how poorly Russell Wilson played. They’ll look to bounce back against an Arizona team that has shown some promise on offence, but still has a long way to go on defence.
 
 
Minnesota at Chicago
 
Minnesota thumped Oakland last week. That’s been Kirk Cousins’s MO since he came to Minnesota, beating up on bad teams and coming up short in big games. Chicago’s defence is tough, but their offence is pathetic, so Cousins shouldn’t have to do too much. If Cousins can keep from turning the ball over, Minnesota’s defence should be able to shut down Mitch Trubisky.
 
 
Jacksonville at Denver
 
It might soon be time to add Vic Fangio’s name to the list of co-ordinators who make lousy Head Coaches (aka the “Wade Phillips List”). Since Denver has decided to play like ass, and since Joe Flacco has decided to still suck, and because Jacksonville has the incomparably chill Gardner Minshew at QB…
 
 
Sunday Night
 
Dallas at New Orleans
 
When these two teams met last season, it turned out to be one of my favourite games of the year. New Orleans’s offence was on fire, but Drew Brees looked a little off to me, and Dallas turned in a superlative defensive effort to pull out a close victory. This season, I’d say that Dallas’s defence is just as good, and its offence is much better, while New Orleans seems to have lost a bit of punch on offence. Teddy Bridgewater looked really good last week in Seattle, but he’ll have to be much better this week.
 
 
Monday Night
 
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
 
It seems that no matter what the circumstances, Pittsburgh always gets the better of Cincinnati. Both of these teams are bad. Pittsburgh’s offence is punchless, and their defence is so-so. Cincy’s defence hasn’t been all that great either, but their offence has shown flashes. Based on what Cincy’s offence brings to this game, even without AJ Green, they should be able to outpoint Pittsburgh. I’ve been burned before, but I guess there’s nothing wrong with a bit of wishful thinking.

Continuing with the fine string of Thursday Night games we’ve had thus far this season, tonight’s contest features a Philly team that played its most recent game without two of its best WRs, and which had a bunch of other players get hurt and leave the game at various points. No time for rest or healing, though; there’s football that has to be played, and TV revenue to be made. It’s too bad, really. These are two extremely talented teams, so this has the makings of a very good game. The players deserve to be treated better, and the fans deserve to see them perform at their best.
 
 
Thursday Night
 
Philadelphia at Green Bay
 
Green Bay’s defence is off to a better start than the team has had in quite some time. The offence has been inconsistent, but has shown flashes of explosiveness. With Aaron Rodgers under Center, the potential for big things is always there. Philadelphia has been much more consistent on offence than on defence, but they’ve struggled with injuries on both sides of the ball. For tonight’s contest, they should have Alshon Jeffrey back, but DeSean Jackson will still be a no-go. With fatigue being a factor, I expect to see a fair bit of scoring in this one. Despite the sluggishness of Green Bay’s offence to this point, I think that Rodgers will have a big game tonight, and Philly’s defence will have a difficult time keeping up.
 
Winner: Green Bay
​

A woman on the radio talked about revolution,
when it's already passed her by.
Bob Dylan didn't have this to sing about;
you know it feels good to be alive.
 

​April 25th, 2019. Nashville, Tennessee.
 
“With the sixth pick, in the 2019 NFL draft, the New York G****s select…”
 
Big Blue fans were apoplectic.
 
“JESUS!!! JONES?!?
 
The pick was decried, by fans and pundits alike. Jones’s every bad practice pass was covered exhaustively by local media, and fans groaned with every report.
 
“Jesus, Jones!”
 
Then Jones took the field for preseason games. He looked good. In four games, he completed over 85% of his passes, throwing no picks.
 
Fans noticed.
 
“Jesus! Jones!!!”
 
Eli started the first two regular season games. In Week Two, in a blowout loss to Dallas, Jones came in for some mop-up duty.
 
Tuesday, September 17, 2019.
 
I was alive and I waited, waited;
I was alive and I waited for this.


​

​Right here, right now;
there is no other place I want to be.
Right here, right now;
watching the world wake up from history.
 
New York has Saquon Barkley, already one of the best RBs in the league. They have some good young talent at WR. The OL is improved over last year. The defence needs a lot of work. Now it’s time to get a good look at what they have in Daniel Jones.
 
Right here. Right now.
 
 
In Week One, nobody knows anything.
 
In Week Two, everyone overreacts to Week One.
 
In Week Three, we try to reconcile what happened in Week One and Week Two. Or in other words, we admit that we still don’t know anything.
 
There are a couple of mismatches on the schedule this week. Those are pretty obvious. There are a few really good matchups as well. Just to make things even more interesting, we get to see how a couple of would-be contenders handle losing their long-time starting QBs, as well as another team moving on from a vested veteran.
 
Away we go.

 
Week Three Picks
 
Winners in Bold:
 
 
Sunday
 

Cincinnati at Buffalo
 
Cincy’s defence was not ready for San Fran last week. This week, they come up against a tough Buffalo defence, and a Buffalo offence that looks to be finding its footing. Rookie RB Devin Singletary is a no-go for Buffalo this Sunday.
 
 
Detroit at Philadelphia
 
I still think Philly has everyone fooled. They got outplayed by Atlanta last week, and you’d swear it never happened. Well, it did. Now Detroit is coming to town. Detroit’s defence has been mostly good over two weeks, and Philly’s roster is currently ravaged by injuries.
 
 
NYJ at New England
 
Dissatisfied with the competition that other teams in the league have been providing, New England seems to be trying to increase its level of difficulty by creating turmoil from within. Apparently, the Kraft/Chung “Hookers and Blow” scandals weren’t enough, so the Pats had to involve themselves with human dumpster fire Antonio Brown. Well, it looks like that’s over. I don’t think we need to worry about New England this week, or for the foreseeable future. As it stands, the only thing that should stop New England from winning mismatches like this one is a lack of preparation and/or effort. Does that sound like a Bill Belichick team to you?
 
 
Oakland at Minnesota
 
After a slow start, Minnesota’s defence shut down Aaron Rodgers last week, paving the way for a Minny comeback after falling behind early. Unfortunately, Kirk Cousins completely fucked it up, throwing an idiotic pass in the 4th quarter, on first-and-goal, that was intercepted in the end zone. This is a Minnesota team that has all of the pieces in place to be a serious contender, yet Cousins can’t seem to win the big ones. Any chance of getting Case Keenum back?
 
 
Baltimore at KC
 
CB Jimmy Smith is out for Baltimore, and that’s bad news for a defence that will be trying to stop the force of nature that is Patrick Mahomes. Lamar Jackson and co. will put some points up too, but not enough to hang with KC.
 
 
Atlanta at Indianapolis
 
I watched every snap of Philly/Atlanta last week, and what I saw was an Atlanta defence that dominated. The only reason the game was even close is because Matt Ryan played really poorly, which is uncharacteristic. It seems to me that everyone is sleeping on Atlanta, whereas I picked them to make the playoffs as a Wild Card, and I now see them as potential NFC West champs, depending on how long Drew Brees is on the shelf. Indy is coming off a hard-fought victory over Tennessee, but enters this contest without LB Darius Leonard and DE Jabaal Sheard, and with TY Hilton and Marlon Mack hurting.
 
 
Denver at Green Bay
 
Denver’s defence has been a disappointment thus far, with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb failing to register a Sack in two games. Add a punchless offence, and what you have is a rough trip to Lambeau. Green Bay’s offence has yet to show that it can be consistently good, but in this contest, it likely won’t have to do too much.
 
 
Miami at Dallas
 
After two games, Miami is looking historically bad. Dallas is among the best teams in the league right now. What else do I need to say?
 
 
NYG at Tampa
 
Tampa’s defence gave Carolina fits last week, but I think they were able to key on Christian McCaffrey, and banged-up Cam Newton couldn’t take advantage. If New York can get off to a good start, and Daniel Jones can find his rhythm, I think New York has a real shot in this one.
 
 
Carolina at Arizona
 
With Cam Newton and Bruce Irvin out, and coming off a listless loss to Tampa, Carolina makes the trip to Arizona to take on Kyler Murray’s spread offence. Murray and co. had a bit of trouble scoring against a tough Baltimore defence last week, so it will be interesting to see how he fares against Carolina. Kyle Allen starts at QB for Carolina.
 
 
Pittsburgh at San Francisco
 
I thought that Pittsburgh’s offence showed a little spark after Mason Rudolph took over, but that might just have been the effect of not having opposing defenders drawn in by the gravitational pull of Ben Roethlisberger’s massive noggin. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, their defence is not playing well either, and San Fran’s offence under currently not-injured Jimmy Garoppolo seems to be finding its footing. It should come as no surprise to anyone who reads my column that I’m absolutely giddy at the thought of Pittsburgh being 0-3.
 
 
New Orleans at Seattle
 
As backup QB situations go, you could do a whole lot worse than having Teddy Bridgewater take over the offence, and New Orleans still has Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and a talented defence. Having said that, Seattle is looking pretty good, and Bridgewater has to face a fierce pass rush in one of the noisiest stadiums in the league, and that’s a really tall order.
 
 
Houston at LAC
 
Hey, I love the Bolts, but their injury woes and failure to execute in the kicking game is giving me a serious case of déjà vu. TE/porcelain figurine Hunter Henry is Out yet again for LA. Deshaun Watson gives Houston a chance to win every game, and this team has really competed this year. Should be a close one.
 
 
Sunday Night
 
LAR at Cleveland
 
Cleveland laid an egg in Week One, and now they’re facing being 1-2 and two games behind Baltimore in the AFC North. If their pass rush comes through and puts enough pressure on Jared Goff, Cleveland might have a chance. If this game is still close at the half, do not change the channel.
 
 
 
Monday Night
 
Chicago at Washington
 
It’s time to face facts: Mitch Trubisky stinks. Chicago’s defence will have to win games. That will probably be enough this week, but it’s not really a sustainable model for success.

Last Thursday was the quintessential Thursday Night matchup. Carolina, after taking the defending NFC champs to the brink in a 30-27 thriller, played Tampa, which had just gotten spanked by San Fran. Perpetually banged-up Cam Newton, coming off recent shoulder surgery, completed less than 50% of his passes, and the Carolina offence fizzled. Now, despite having the so-called “mini bye” that teams enjoy after a Thursday Night game, there’s strong speculation that Newton might not be able to play this Sunday due to a foot injury.
 
Tonight, the league will trot out two more banged-up teams, each having played a brutal game just a few days ago. Jacksonville is already on its second starting QB, Gardner Minshew, after losing high-priced offseason acquisition Nick Foles in Week One, while Marcus Mariota, he of the history of injury woes, goes for Tennessee. If I decide to watch these two, and all the other players put their bodies on the line tonight, I’ll be hard not to think about the top-level QBs who’ve already been shelved thus far this season, some for the entire season. I’ll be thinking about Andrew Luck, playing for a great team, making tons of money, who just couldn’t do it any more. And I’ll be thinking about Cam Newton.
 
 

​Thursday Night
 
Tennessee at Jacksonville
 
This game epitomizes everything that I can’t stand about Thursday football. Both teams are banged up at key positions, yet the players are expected, after just playing on Sunday, to practice and prepare to play again on only a few days’ rest. Jax CB AJ Bouye, who missed Sunday’s game, might miss yet another contest, while Tennessee QB Marcus Mariota is hobbling around yet again, but has practiced this week. In these sorts of games, playing on such short rest, a power running game helps, so expect to see lots of Derrick Henry and Leonard Fournette. Ordinarily, I might lean towards Jacksonville here, especially after a strong defensive effort against Houston. However, Tennessee has been very stout on defence as well, and I’m not entirely sure that anyone can trust Jalen Ramsey at this point, after Sunday’s tirade and subsequent trade demand.
 
Winner: Tennessee

True story:
 
After last weekend’s surprising Antonio Brown/Oakland/New England freakshow, I thought I’d do an intro to one of my columns about the slanted way the media has been covering the whole thing. Then came the news of the sexual assault allegations against Brown, followed by a whole new slew of media takes. So, I revised my plan slightly, based on some pretty outlandish stuff that I’ve heard and read about the whole thing. Then I got busy with other things, and every time I tried to come back to the subject, I just found the whole thing completely overwhelming. At that point, I decided that the only way I was going to get anything done is to just do my best not to think about it for now, until I’m absolutely clear about what I want to say. I’m not one of those sorts of people who just says things for attention or to be controversial or whatever. With regards to the sexual assault allegations, I hope that the league (and law enforcement, should it choose to involve itself), does its due diligence, and, if warranted, metes out a severe punishment. Accusations of this nature should never be taken lightly.
 
Now it’s time for Week Two, the week when everyone overreacts to everything that happened in Week One. If you listened to all of the crowing/howling this week, then I’m sure you heard that Pittsburgh is done, Cleveland is a fraud, Atlanta is a dud, San Fran is a contender, Lamar Jackson is a superstar, Dallas is a juggernaut, and they’ve already started engraving “New England” on the Lombardi Trophy, not to mention a bunch of other stuff.
 
Calm down.
 
Let’s see how things go this week. We’ve got some pretty good matchups, plus a few more that look like mismatches, or just plain misses. But that’s why they play the games; you never know.

 
Now here’s the picks. As you'll see, I'm not shy about picking road teams.

 
Winners in Bold:
 

Sunday
 

Arizona at Baltimore
 
Either Arizona forgot who they were, or Detroit remembered who they were, but Arizona showed some life last week after some early troubles. If they play well, they might give Baltimore some trouble, especially since Baltimore might still be suffering from the “bad team hangover” after playing Miami. I know Lamar Jackson threw for five TDs last week, but don’t start fitting him for a gold jacket just yet.
 
 
Dallas at Washington
 
Dallas looked about as impressive as I expected them to be last week, while Washington got off to a fast start, but faded against Philly. Even on the road, Dallas should outclass Washington.
 
 
Indianapolis at Tennessee
 
Cleveland might have laid an egg a bit last week, but they got drubbed because Tennessee is a good team. Indy played a spirited contest against the Bolts, showing that they’re not laying down this season. This should be a pretty good game.
 
 
Seattle at Pittsburgh
 
Pittsburgh got dominated in every facet of the game against New England last week. Seattle is no New England, but their defence is pretty good, and Pittsburgh’s offence is all-of-a-sudden looking like it’s short on skill players.
 
 
Buffalo at NYG
 
I thought that Big Blue got off to a decent start last week, but they got steamrolled by a top-tier Dallas team. I didn’t like the criticism of Saquon Barkley getting too few touches; no sense running him into the ground in a lost cause. The absence of Sterling Shephard this week ups the difficulty factor for NY. I’m pretty high on Buffalo; after a rough start, they came back and took care of business. Buffalo’s defence is stifling, and the offence overcame some early jitters.
 
 
San Francisco at Cincinnati
 
I still think that San Fran is overrated, and beating a lousy Tampa team isn’t going to convince me otherwise. Cincy, on the other hand, looked really good last week in a tough road contest in Seattle, especially Andy Dalton. Keep it up, Andy.
 
 
LAC at Detroit
 
It’s year two of the Matt Patricia regime, and Detroit still hasn’t grasped that they have to play a full 60 minutes in order to win a game. Detroit had last week’s game against Arizona well in hand, but ended up with a tie. It only gets more difficult from here, as the Bolts come to town this Sunday. LA is dealing with more injuries, as Hunter Henry is out, so they have their work cut out for them on the road.
 
 
Minnesota at Green Bay
 
I’m hearing a lot of hype about Green Bay’s defence after one week. I watched the Chicago game, and a lot of what was wrong with Mitch Trubisky had little to do with Green Bay’s defence. I also saw Aaron Rodgers get sacked five times. Minnesota’s defence might be as good as Chicago’s; Minnesota’s offence is definitely better than Chicago’s.
 
 
Jacksonville at Houston
 
For the second year in a row, Jacksonville’s defence came up small against KC, even after Tyreek Hill got knocked out of the game. Houston’s offence looked pretty good against New Orleans last week; Deshaun Watson was sharp, and the running game was effective. Looks like Gardner Minshew gets the start at QB in Nick Foles’s absence. CB AJ Bouye is a key scratch for Jacksonville.
 
 
New England at Miami
 
New England might be the best team in the league right now. Miami is definitely the worst. There’s nothing else to say.
 
 
KC at Oakland
 
Oakland looked sharp and spirited against a sluggish Denver squad last week. KC is a bit more of a tall order.
 
 
New Orleans at LAR
 
Two evenly-matched teams, looking for an early edge in the race for top seed in the NFC. Lots of talent on both teams, on both sides of the ball. On offence, I’d say that LA has a slight edge in terms of players at the skill positions (other than QB), while on defence, New Orleans might have a slight edge in terms of pass rush. I’m leaning towards New Orleans here, because I’ve seen what happens to Jared Goff when he’s under pressure, and it’s not pretty.
 
 
Chicago at Denver
 
Judging by quality of the defences (particularly the pass rushes) relative to the offences, this has the potential to be a really low-scoring affair. I know they’re on the road, but I’m counting on Chicago to bounce back after a rough first outing. The key here is that I think Chicago’s defence is a bit stouter against the run, and with offence being sparse in this contest, any advantage is a huge one.
 
 

Sunday Night
 
Philadelphia at Atlanta
 
Atlanta’s retooled OL got pushed around by Minnesota last week. I don’t think Philly’s D is quite in the same class as Minnesota’s. I’m not ready to give up on Atlanta just yet, like a lot of others already are.
 
 

Monday Night
 
Cleveland at NYJ
 
So, Sam Darnold has mono. Next on the QB depth chart is Trevor Siemian, and no one in NY wants that, believe me. CJ Mosely is out for NY as well. Cleveland apparently believed their own hype and got thumped by a really good Tennessee team. That should serve as a wake-up call. It had better.

I’m still processing everything I saw in Week One. I had a 12-3 week with my picks, which is great for me for a Week One, when there’s still so much uncertainty.
 
Before I get to tonight’s game, I wanted to highlight some great plays from Week One. Too often, when the highlight reels come out, special efforts are overlooked. So, here are my plays of the week from Week One:

 
3) Bobby Wagner tackles Joe Mixon: Mixon, the notorious girl-puncher, sustained a sprained ankle on this play, and had to leave the game. Fortunately, Mixon, who has shown contrition for the assault, was not seriously injured.
 
2) (Tie) Richard Sherman, Ahkello Witherspoon, both with Pick-6s off Jameis Winston: Winston, former number one overall pick, and notorious sexual predator, threw a total of three picks in the game, and fumbled twice. Great investment there, Tampa. And great game, Richard and Ahkello!
 
1) Jalen Ramsey tackles Tyreek Hill: With this tackle, Ramsey accomplished what KC, the league, and law enforcement has failed to do: get Hill off the field.
 
Wow! Some big names doing big things in Week One.
 
 
So, last week’s Thursday Night opener was kind of a dud. Will tonight’s game be any better? It couldn’t be much worse.
 
 

Thursday Night
 
Tampa at Carolina
 
Carolina showed a lot coming back against LA last week and making it a really close game. Christian McCaffrey had an amazing game. McCaffrey has become the focal point of this offence, and he looks poised for some big numbers this season. Tampa’s defence looked overmatched against an underwhelming San Fran offence, and Jameis Winston looked typically horrible (see above). Carolina should be able to handily dispatch Tampa in this one. There’s not much else to say, really.
 
Winner: Carolina


(Or maybe just skip the game and watch the Democratic Debate.)

​So, not much to say about that Green Bay/Chicago tilt to open the season. Chicago’s defensive front looked formidable. Green Bay’s defence looked good too, but it was helped out by some a very basic offensive gameplan by Chicago.
 
What really stood out for me, and what Chicago fans must be worried about, was a really horrible outing by Mitch Trubisky. I found it odd when, after Trubisky threw his 4th quarter interception, Cris Collinsworth opined, “A big mistake here by Trubisky, his first major one of the night.” First?!? You mean, after the dropped interception, the at least two other near-picks, the numerous missed open receivers, and the multiple bad throws? Don’t ever change, Cris. You used to be a decent analyst, but now you’re basically just a glorified cheerleader for the league.
 
In other news, I caught just a tiny bit of the pre-game festivities. Jay-Zed was mentioned. One of his label’s artists was featured during the pre-game, in front of an adoring crowd who were watching the mini-concert through their phones. Fill your pockets, Jay-Zed. Congratulations.
 
Meanwhile, this happened:

​

It’s good to know that someone is actually doing something to help keep Kaep’s name out there. Way to go, OBJ.
 
So, enough with the preambles; let’s get to the picks:
 


Week One Picks

 
Winners in Bold:
 

Sunday
 

LAR at Carolina
 
Anyone know how Cam Newton is feeling these days? Truthfully, even if I knew that Newton was 100%, I’d still have a hard time picking against LA in this one. I’ll be watching to see how Todd Gurley looks in this one, too.
 
 
Washington at Philadelphia
 
Philadelphia should be one of the better teams in the NFC, while Washington would do well just to stay out of last place in its division.
 
 
Buffalo at NYJ
 
These two teams are closely-matched. New York will probably be favoured to win at home, but I’ve got a good feeling about this Buffalo team, particularly their running game and defensive front.
 
 
Atlanta at Minnesota
 
This has the potential to be one of the best games on week one’s slate, and with a lot at stake. The NFC playoff race will be tight this year, with a bunch of quality teams vying for a few spots. Minnesota doesn’t want to fall behind Green Bay already, while Atlanta needs to prove that it can compete with the top teams after last season’s disappointment. Atlanta’s offence should be a good early test for Minnesota’s defence. The key will be how well Minnesota’s game plan is in protecting Kirk Cousins. Should be a great matchup.
 
 
Baltimore at Miami
 
Miami looked like a last place team to me BEFORE they dumped most of the few good players they had. I’m not sure how good Baltimore will be this year, but they’d better hope that they’re good enough to beat Miami.
 
 
KC at Jacksonville
 
When these two teams played last year, I was excited by the possibility of a great game. Then Doug Marrone’s inexplicable game plan turned the contest into a real one-sided stinker. The teams are basically the same. The game’s in Jacksonville this time. Marrone is still Jacksonville’s coach. I’m going to have to see some proof that things have changed for the better before I trust Jacksonville to beat a team as good a KC.
 
 
Tennessee at Cleveland
 
OK Cleveland, the time for talking is over. This should be a good first game for the new-and-improved Clevelanders, against a Tennessee team that’s good, but not too good.
 
 
Indianapolis at LAC
 
When I saw this game on the schedule for Week One, I was pretty excited. The luster has kind of faded in the interim, with LA’s injuries and Melvin Gordon’s holdout, and with Andrew Luck’s retirement. Indianapolis is still a really talented team, so it will be interesting to see how well the team rallies around Jacoby Brissett, and how well Brissett plays.
 
 
Cincinnati at Seattle
 
Tough test for Cincinnati right out of the gate, facing a tough defence in noisy Seattle.
 
 
San Francisco at Tampa
 
I honestly don’t think that this San Francisco team is as good as some people think they are, but they’d better hope that they’re at least good enough to beat Tampa, or it’s going to be another long season.
 
 
NYG at Dallas
 
With Ezekiel Elliot back in the fold, Dallas looks poised for big things. If Eli struggles, how long until the New York faithful start calling for Daniel Jones?
 
 
Detroit at Arizona
 
Arizona still looks like one of the worst teams in the league. Could Kyler Murray be good enough in his regular season debut, to pull of a big upset? I think it’s too much to ask this soon, but you never know.
 
 
Sunday Night
 
Pittsburgh at New England
 
Another marquee matchup for the NBC crew this week. Maybe is this one they’ll score more than one TD. The key for Pittsburgh is to be able to protect Roethlisberger long enough for him to hit some big plays. New England will have to rely on their running attack to open things up for the passing game. Brady will have his challenges; I wouldn’t expect too much from Julian Edelman, who re-aggravated his thumb injury in the preseason, and New England’s TE group will be a serious drop-off from Rob Gronkowski in terms of both pass-catching and blocking. New England’s defence should be the difference-maker in this close contest.
 
 
 
 
Monday Night
 

Houston at New Orleans
 
I don’t expect Houston to be able to win this one, but it will be interesting to see how well they compete against one of the elite teams in the league.
 
 
Denver at Oakland
 
Word is that Antonio Brown might not even play in this one. That’s an awful lot of money for nothing, Oakland. With or without Brown, I’d have picked Denver anyway.

Before I get to this week’s Quick Pick column, I need to take this opportunity to rectify an oversight from my NFC Preview. It seems I neglected to include my picks for the Wild Card Playoff Teams. My first choice would be Philadelphia. For my second choice, I’m torn between Chicago and Atlanta. After considering the relative strength of each team’s divisional opponents, and reviewing each team’s schedule, I decided to go with Atlanta.
 
So, for the record:
 
NFC Wild Cards: Philadelphia, Atlanta
 

As those of you who’ve read my columns in the past will know, I’m not a fan of Thursday football, for a number of reasons. Football is a dangerous, incredibly physically demanding sport. These players, for their own reasons, choose to partake in this. I believe that it’s patently unfair to require these athletes to play a game on Sunday, and then have to play again on Thursday. It’s absolutely brutal. It increases the risk of injury. Also, as a fan of the game, forcing the players to play when they are beaten-up and fatigued with only a few days’ rest diminishes the quality of the game. And why? So that billionaire owners can squeeze a bit more money out of their product, money that they certainly don’t need.
 
Fortunately, in the case of the Thursday night opener, the players are well-rested. I like the idea of the Thursday night opener; it’s usually a marquee matchup, and it’s a nice preview to what I call the official opening day, which is Sunday. If I had my way, though, the first Thursday night game of the season would also be the last.
 
 

​Thursday Night
 
Green Bay at Chicago
 
Well, they certainly picked a doozy to start the season. These division rivals played each other in Week One of last season. To refresh your memory, Chicago led 20-0 in the third quarter, but then Aaron Rodgers, after having left the game with an injury, came back and did his magic, leading Green Bay to a 24-23 victory. That would prove to be a valuable lesson to Chicago; the team went on to win its division. Green Bay faded, and finished out of the playoffs.
 
It’s hard to tell just how good this year’s version of Green Bay can be. With Rodgers at QB, there’s an expectation of big things. It will be interesting to see how the offence performs under new Head Coach Matt LaFleur. I have serious reservations that Rodgers can sublimate his controlling nature to any coach for long. Of further concern is the fact that Green Bay’s defence has underperformed for years.
 
With Chicago, you pretty much know what to expect from the defence, which is loaded with talent, especially up front. Chuck Pagano looks like a huge downgrade at DC from Vic Fangio. I’m especially curious to see what Chicago’s offence looks like without Jordan Howard. The team needs consistency from Mitch Trubisky.
 
The winner of this contest draws first blood in what could very well be a tight NFC North race.
 
Winner: Chicago