NFL: Week 3
The only good thing about starting back to school is knowing that their is football to watch on the weekend. After starting school this week all I can say is, Thank God for football, or starting back to school would be an even bigger pain between the back pockets. There are some very interesting games this weekend and like I said in my Week 2 Review, some teams, aka Dallas and Minnesota, are already playing must win games in only the third week of the season. Several teams have already made changes at quarterback, which is never good after two games, and we will find out soon enough who the real contenders and pretenders are in the NFL.
Last week, like the Bengals, I bounced back with picks going a solid 11-5. It has only been two weeks, but the trend has been when the Bengals play well, I pick well. Overall, I'm 19-13 and let's see if the hot streak can continue for both me and the Bengals in Week 3.
Week 3 Picks:
Tennessee over NY Giants: This should be one of the better games this weekend and is a real toss up. If the Titans can stop from turning the ball over 7 times, like they did last week, they can win. The Giant defense was torched last Sunday night by Peyton and the Colts, so expect RB Chris Johnson to have a good game. Vince Young is no Peyton Manning, but I'm not sold on the Giants defense. Titans win a close one in the Big Apple.
Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay: I don't know how, but the Steelers are 2-0. Thanks mainly to their defense, who forced 7 Tennessee turnovers last week and got Titan QB Vince Young benched, the Steelers have won without Big Ben. The offense though has not looked pretty the past two weeks. Since Big Ben is still suspended, Dennis Dixon has been the quarterback, but he suffered a knee injury and is out indefinitely. The Steelers had QB Bryon Leftwich on the team in preseason, but decided to cut him, then sign him again once Dixon went down. Leftwich also suffered a knee injury in the preseason and his overall health is not 100%. So, will it be Charlie Batch for the Steelers on Sunday. Charlie Batch??? Most of you have no idea who he is and those of you who do probably didn't even know he was still in the league. He probably is better at making a batch of cookies, than he is at playing football at this point in his career, but with the Steelers defense they can just about win any game. Tampa is also, 2-0, but not for long. Steelers win a defensive struggle.
Baltimore over Cleveland: Even though Baltimore did not play well last week against the Bengals, they still should have no problem with the Browns. Cleveland couldn't beat Tampa Bay or Kansas City at home, so don't expect an upset this week. The only way Cleveland wins, is if return man Josh Cribbs returns three kicks for touchdowns, because the offense will probably not score on the Ravens defense.
Dallas over Houston: The game of the week in my opinion, as The Battle for the Lone Star State will not disappoint. Houston comes in with a 2-0 record after winning in overtime last week and Dallas is a surprising 0-2. All Hell will break loose in Big D if the Cowboys fall to 0-3. Dallas is the better team on paper, but they haven't played like it on the field. It should be a high scoring game as the Texans defense has struggled against the Colts and Redskins, even though they are undefeated. The Cowboys will be ready to play and I just can't see them going 0-3. It will be a shootout down in Texas.
San Francisco over Kansas City: The 49ers are 0-2 and the Chiefs are 2-0, but I like the 49ers in this one. Frisco looked great Monday night against the Saints and the Chiefs barely got by the woeful Browns. San Francisco can still win the division after an 0-2 start and they right the ship this week in K.C.
Minnesota over Detroit: I figured the Lions would be 0-2 at this point, but not the Vikings too. A goal line stand for the Dolphins denied Minnesota of their first win last week and Brett Favre has taken most of the heat for the Vikings poor start. He still looks like he is not all the way their yet, but I think the Vikings finally put one in the win column Sunday. The Lions have played well and RB Jahvid Best is an early Rookie of the Year candidate, but QB Matthew Stafford is still out with a shoulder injury. Another loss for the Lions.
New England over Buffalo: The Bills are 0-2 and QB Trent Edwards will take a seat on the bench this week as, former Bengal QB and Harvard product, Ryan Fitzpatrick will get the start. Fitzpatrick is good, but no good enough to knock off the Pats. QB Tom Brady and the Pats struggled against Jets in the second half last week, but they will return to form this Sunday. Patriots win big.
New Orleans over Atlanta: The Saints have started the defense of their Super Bowl crown with a 2-0 record, but they lost RB Reggie Bush to a leg injury Monday in San Francisco. In Atlanta, the Falcons crushed the Cardinals and have looked good in their two games. But the game is in New Orleans and the Saints are pretty tough to beat at home. Saints win a close one without Reggie Bush.
Washington over St. Louis: The Redskins were a timeout away from going 2-0 last week, but a timeout by the Houston Texans to ice kicker Graham Gano lost them the game. Gano made a game winning field goal in overtime, but Houston had called timeout right before the snap. After the timeout, Gano missed on his second try and the Texans ended up winning the game. The Rams on the other hand, have played well enough to win their first two games, but are still 0-2. QB Sam Bradford will play well, but doesn't have enough talent around him to beat the Skins.
Philadelphia over Jacksonville: QB Michael Vick has been named the starter for Sunday's game in Jacksonville and everyone has an opinion on the quarterback situation in Philly. Vick has played well filling in for the injured Kevin Kolb and the Eagles are playing well. So, as the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I would go with Vick because he gives the Eagles the best chance to win, because as Herm Edwards said, "You play to win the game." Jacksonville got smoked last week in San Diego and they lose this weekend in front of a half empty stadium.
Arizona over Oakland: A tough one to pick let me tell ya. It has been keeping me up at night trying to decide who will win this game. Okay, not really, but this is a tough one to pick. Arizona has not looked good this year and got blown out last week versus Atlanta. As for Oakland, they beat St. Louis at home, oh boy. In fact both teams are 1-1, with each winning games against the St. Louis Rams. I will have to take Arizona in this one since they are at home. Bruce Gradkowski will get the start for the Raiders and he brought a spark when he came in last week, so watch out for Oakland.
San Diego over Seattle: The Seahawks looked good in Week 1 and not so great in Week 2. The opposite can be said for the Chargers, bad Week 1, good Week 2. The Chargers have a lot more talent than Seattle and they will win. 50% chance of showers Sunday, according to the Weather Channel, in Seattle, shocker. So, I guess the Chargers will win in the rain.
Indianapolis over Denver: QB Peyton Manning picked apart the G-Men last Sunday night in the Manning Bowl and the Colts bounced back after losing in Week 1. Peyton Manning the greatest player I have ever seen play the game, the guy is flat out amazing, played almost perfect football. What makes him so great is that he's just not the quarterback, but the offensive coordinator for the Colts. Watching him run the Colts offense is a thing of beauty and I was really impressed last Sunday. As for Denver, CB Champ Bailey was seen leaving Sunday's game with his foot in a boot, which is not good for the Broncos. He is one of the best cover corners in the league, but even with him the Broncos don't stand much of a chance. They will have however, be playing with heavy hearts, as they grieve the lose of WR Kenny McKinley, who was found dead in his home earlier this week. It's always hard to lose a teammate, just ask the Bengals, they went through the same thing last year after the death of Chris Henry. One thing is for sure though, the Broncos will put up one hell of an effort, but I think they fall short.
Miami over NY Jets: I really like the Dolphins and the Jets haven't impressed me yet. Yeah, the Jets beat the Patriots and they put up some points on their defense, but big deal. The Bengals put points up on New England also, it was just in the second half. Miami needed a goal line stand to win last week in Minnesota and although they've yet to won in convincing style, they are still 2-0. I like the Dolphins to show that they are a legitimate AFC threat with a win on Sunday night.
Green Bay over Chicago: Both the Bears and Packers come into Week 3 with a spotless record and have already gained a two game lead on the Lions and Vikings in the division. The Bears have played very well and QB Jay Cutler has played much better football under new offensive coordinator Mike Martz. The Packers have also looked good in their two games and continue to look like Super Bowl contenders. Another good one on Monday night and I like the Packers to pull one out in the Windy City.
And...
Bengals over Carolina: Panthers QB Jimmy Clausen will get his first taste of the NFL against the Bengals and let's hope it will be a game he will want to forget. He will be going up against a Bengals defense that picked off Joe Flacco four times last week and shut down the Baltimore Ravens offense. Look for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to dial up a lot of blitzes and put a lot of pressure on the rookie Clausen. The Panthers will probably run the ball quite a bit with RB's DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to help Clausen. So, the Bengals must stop the run and force Clausen to beat him with his arm, which might cause him to make some mistakes.
On offense the Bengals were unable to get the ball into the endzone last week against the Ravens and they look to fix that this week. The Panthers rank 19th in the NFL against the pass and 14th against the run, but quarterbacks Eli Manning and Josh Freeman have both looked good against the Panthers so far this season. Carson Palmer is due for a breakout day and the offense, Chad, T.O., Benson and everyone else can and will put up a lot of yards and points on the Panthers. If the Bengals come out with the same intensity on defense like they did last week and score touchdowns, instead of field goals, the Bengals win. Prediction, Bengals win by at least a touchdown. Enjoy the games this weekend and WHO-DEY!
Last week, like the Bengals, I bounced back with picks going a solid 11-5. It has only been two weeks, but the trend has been when the Bengals play well, I pick well. Overall, I'm 19-13 and let's see if the hot streak can continue for both me and the Bengals in Week 3.
Week 3 Picks:
Tennessee over NY Giants: This should be one of the better games this weekend and is a real toss up. If the Titans can stop from turning the ball over 7 times, like they did last week, they can win. The Giant defense was torched last Sunday night by Peyton and the Colts, so expect RB Chris Johnson to have a good game. Vince Young is no Peyton Manning, but I'm not sold on the Giants defense. Titans win a close one in the Big Apple.
Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay: I don't know how, but the Steelers are 2-0. Thanks mainly to their defense, who forced 7 Tennessee turnovers last week and got Titan QB Vince Young benched, the Steelers have won without Big Ben. The offense though has not looked pretty the past two weeks. Since Big Ben is still suspended, Dennis Dixon has been the quarterback, but he suffered a knee injury and is out indefinitely. The Steelers had QB Bryon Leftwich on the team in preseason, but decided to cut him, then sign him again once Dixon went down. Leftwich also suffered a knee injury in the preseason and his overall health is not 100%. So, will it be Charlie Batch for the Steelers on Sunday. Charlie Batch??? Most of you have no idea who he is and those of you who do probably didn't even know he was still in the league. He probably is better at making a batch of cookies, than he is at playing football at this point in his career, but with the Steelers defense they can just about win any game. Tampa is also, 2-0, but not for long. Steelers win a defensive struggle.
Baltimore over Cleveland: Even though Baltimore did not play well last week against the Bengals, they still should have no problem with the Browns. Cleveland couldn't beat Tampa Bay or Kansas City at home, so don't expect an upset this week. The only way Cleveland wins, is if return man Josh Cribbs returns three kicks for touchdowns, because the offense will probably not score on the Ravens defense.
Dallas over Houston: The game of the week in my opinion, as The Battle for the Lone Star State will not disappoint. Houston comes in with a 2-0 record after winning in overtime last week and Dallas is a surprising 0-2. All Hell will break loose in Big D if the Cowboys fall to 0-3. Dallas is the better team on paper, but they haven't played like it on the field. It should be a high scoring game as the Texans defense has struggled against the Colts and Redskins, even though they are undefeated. The Cowboys will be ready to play and I just can't see them going 0-3. It will be a shootout down in Texas.
San Francisco over Kansas City: The 49ers are 0-2 and the Chiefs are 2-0, but I like the 49ers in this one. Frisco looked great Monday night against the Saints and the Chiefs barely got by the woeful Browns. San Francisco can still win the division after an 0-2 start and they right the ship this week in K.C.
Minnesota over Detroit: I figured the Lions would be 0-2 at this point, but not the Vikings too. A goal line stand for the Dolphins denied Minnesota of their first win last week and Brett Favre has taken most of the heat for the Vikings poor start. He still looks like he is not all the way their yet, but I think the Vikings finally put one in the win column Sunday. The Lions have played well and RB Jahvid Best is an early Rookie of the Year candidate, but QB Matthew Stafford is still out with a shoulder injury. Another loss for the Lions.
New England over Buffalo: The Bills are 0-2 and QB Trent Edwards will take a seat on the bench this week as, former Bengal QB and Harvard product, Ryan Fitzpatrick will get the start. Fitzpatrick is good, but no good enough to knock off the Pats. QB Tom Brady and the Pats struggled against Jets in the second half last week, but they will return to form this Sunday. Patriots win big.
New Orleans over Atlanta: The Saints have started the defense of their Super Bowl crown with a 2-0 record, but they lost RB Reggie Bush to a leg injury Monday in San Francisco. In Atlanta, the Falcons crushed the Cardinals and have looked good in their two games. But the game is in New Orleans and the Saints are pretty tough to beat at home. Saints win a close one without Reggie Bush.
Washington over St. Louis: The Redskins were a timeout away from going 2-0 last week, but a timeout by the Houston Texans to ice kicker Graham Gano lost them the game. Gano made a game winning field goal in overtime, but Houston had called timeout right before the snap. After the timeout, Gano missed on his second try and the Texans ended up winning the game. The Rams on the other hand, have played well enough to win their first two games, but are still 0-2. QB Sam Bradford will play well, but doesn't have enough talent around him to beat the Skins.
Philadelphia over Jacksonville: QB Michael Vick has been named the starter for Sunday's game in Jacksonville and everyone has an opinion on the quarterback situation in Philly. Vick has played well filling in for the injured Kevin Kolb and the Eagles are playing well. So, as the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I would go with Vick because he gives the Eagles the best chance to win, because as Herm Edwards said, "You play to win the game." Jacksonville got smoked last week in San Diego and they lose this weekend in front of a half empty stadium.
Arizona over Oakland: A tough one to pick let me tell ya. It has been keeping me up at night trying to decide who will win this game. Okay, not really, but this is a tough one to pick. Arizona has not looked good this year and got blown out last week versus Atlanta. As for Oakland, they beat St. Louis at home, oh boy. In fact both teams are 1-1, with each winning games against the St. Louis Rams. I will have to take Arizona in this one since they are at home. Bruce Gradkowski will get the start for the Raiders and he brought a spark when he came in last week, so watch out for Oakland.
San Diego over Seattle: The Seahawks looked good in Week 1 and not so great in Week 2. The opposite can be said for the Chargers, bad Week 1, good Week 2. The Chargers have a lot more talent than Seattle and they will win. 50% chance of showers Sunday, according to the Weather Channel, in Seattle, shocker. So, I guess the Chargers will win in the rain.
Indianapolis over Denver: QB Peyton Manning picked apart the G-Men last Sunday night in the Manning Bowl and the Colts bounced back after losing in Week 1. Peyton Manning the greatest player I have ever seen play the game, the guy is flat out amazing, played almost perfect football. What makes him so great is that he's just not the quarterback, but the offensive coordinator for the Colts. Watching him run the Colts offense is a thing of beauty and I was really impressed last Sunday. As for Denver, CB Champ Bailey was seen leaving Sunday's game with his foot in a boot, which is not good for the Broncos. He is one of the best cover corners in the league, but even with him the Broncos don't stand much of a chance. They will have however, be playing with heavy hearts, as they grieve the lose of WR Kenny McKinley, who was found dead in his home earlier this week. It's always hard to lose a teammate, just ask the Bengals, they went through the same thing last year after the death of Chris Henry. One thing is for sure though, the Broncos will put up one hell of an effort, but I think they fall short.
Miami over NY Jets: I really like the Dolphins and the Jets haven't impressed me yet. Yeah, the Jets beat the Patriots and they put up some points on their defense, but big deal. The Bengals put points up on New England also, it was just in the second half. Miami needed a goal line stand to win last week in Minnesota and although they've yet to won in convincing style, they are still 2-0. I like the Dolphins to show that they are a legitimate AFC threat with a win on Sunday night.
Green Bay over Chicago: Both the Bears and Packers come into Week 3 with a spotless record and have already gained a two game lead on the Lions and Vikings in the division. The Bears have played very well and QB Jay Cutler has played much better football under new offensive coordinator Mike Martz. The Packers have also looked good in their two games and continue to look like Super Bowl contenders. Another good one on Monday night and I like the Packers to pull one out in the Windy City.
And...
Bengals over Carolina: Panthers QB Jimmy Clausen will get his first taste of the NFL against the Bengals and let's hope it will be a game he will want to forget. He will be going up against a Bengals defense that picked off Joe Flacco four times last week and shut down the Baltimore Ravens offense. Look for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to dial up a lot of blitzes and put a lot of pressure on the rookie Clausen. The Panthers will probably run the ball quite a bit with RB's DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to help Clausen. So, the Bengals must stop the run and force Clausen to beat him with his arm, which might cause him to make some mistakes.
On offense the Bengals were unable to get the ball into the endzone last week against the Ravens and they look to fix that this week. The Panthers rank 19th in the NFL against the pass and 14th against the run, but quarterbacks Eli Manning and Josh Freeman have both looked good against the Panthers so far this season. Carson Palmer is due for a breakout day and the offense, Chad, T.O., Benson and everyone else can and will put up a lot of yards and points on the Panthers. If the Bengals come out with the same intensity on defense like they did last week and score touchdowns, instead of field goals, the Bengals win. Prediction, Bengals win by at least a touchdown. Enjoy the games this weekend and WHO-DEY!
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