Week 2 Picks; Color Rush is back; NFL live on Twitter Thursday
My eyes!
The NFL released Color Rush jerseys for each team on Tuesday and some of the uniforms are quite, well, colorful. Click here to see all 32 teams.
My personal favorites are the Bengals, Chargers, Rams and Giants. With that being said, I hate the Ravens and Vikings (way too much purple for these eyes) and Jaguars. Jacksonville had those vomit yellow jerseys last year. They were ugly then and are still ugly now.
Also, the Packers have white jerseys, which is a missed opportunity. I mean, they're the GREEN Bay Packers. Could've been a bit more creative, but all white always looks good in my opinion.
Moving on to the games, the biggest winner of Week 1 had to be the New England Patriots. Surprise, I know, but here's why.
The Patriots beat one of best teams in the NFC, on the road, without Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. On top of that, Buffalo, Miami and the New York Jets all lost. Miami had the toughest loss of Week 1, a 12-10 defeat on the road in Seattle. Had the Dolphins held on that would've been the biggest win of the opening weekend.
Now, if the Patriots win on Sunday, my pick is still to come, they'll have a two game lead on the Dolphins and the loser of the Jets-Bills game on Thursday night. No Brady and already the Patriots have a two game lead on two teams in the division. Not good news for the Bills, Jets and Dolphins. And not good news for the rest of the AFC.
Up next, my picks for this week's slate of NFL games.
Week 2 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
NY Jets over BUFFALO (Thursday, 8:25 p.m. ET, CBS, Twitter): I know the Jets lost last weekend, but it was impressive watching that defense destroy the Bengals offensive line. New York had seven sacks and 10 hits on QB Andy Dalton with DE Leonard Williams leading the way with 2.5 sacks and five QB hits of his own. Problem was, surprisingly, CB Darrelle Revis couldn't cover WR A.J. Green. Green was targeted 10 times while up against Revis. The results, 10 receptions for 150-yards and a TD. Buffalo managed to have only 95-yards passing against the Ravens and the Bills don't have A.J. Green. Jets defense rebounds and avoids the 0-2 start Thursday night up in Buffalo.
Also, don't forget that you can watch this game live streaming on Twitter. The NFL and Twitter reached an agreement eariler this year to stream 10 Thursday night games live on Twitter this season. If you remember the Bills and Jaguars game in London last season was streamed live on Yahoo and according to Yahoo, it had 33.6 million total views and was watched by users in 185 countries. It's no secret the NFL is trying to expand the game globally and allowing everyone around the world to watch the game on Twitter is a fantastic idea. It very well could be the future of watching live sporting events and I can't wait to watch the game via Twitter. #NYJvsBUF
Cincinnati over PITTSBURGH (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Best rivalry in the NFL? I think so. I mean every time these two teams play the games are tough, physical, chippy and usually close. We all remember what happened back in January in the playoffs between these too. Bengals had the lead and just needed to run the clock out. RB Jeremy Hill fumbled and the Steelers took over. Aided by two consecutive personal foul penalties by LB Vontaze Burfict and CB Adam Jones helped the Steelers get into field goal range to win the game. It was an ugly game for the Bengals and the worst playoff loss in team history.
These two teams can't stand one another and if that playoff game didn't cement this rivalry as the best in the NFL today, then Sunday will. It will be physical, it will tough, it will be hard hitting and I expect it to get chippy. It's the Bengals and Steelers, so yeah, there will probably be some personal foul penalties. The team that wins this game is the one who can move past what happened in January. The Steelers will try to get under the Bengals skin and try an instigate a retaliation -- the refs always catch the guy who retaliates. If the Bengals (Adam Jones in particular will be getting a lot of attention from the Steelers players) can tune the Steelers out they'll win this game. Cincinnati has a better defense than Pittsburgh and they'll make just enough plays to get a crucial road win against their bitter rival.
DETROIT over Tennessee (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET CBS): Maybe the Lions can move on without Calvin Johnson. Matthew Stafford threw for 340-yards and 3 TD against the Colts last week as the Lions were able to mount a comeback in the final seconds to defeat Indianapolis. The Colts defense is terrible and they'll face a tougher defense on Sunday in the Titans who limited RB Adrian Peterson to just 31-yards on 19 carries last week. The Lions have more weapons and a better quarterback than the Titans and they'll get the win.
Baltimore over CLEVELAND (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET CBS): Baltimore's defense held Buffalo to just 160-yards of offense last week and that isn't good news for Cleveland who had their own struggles on offense in Philadelphia. The Browns aren't expected to win many games, if any, this season, and I don't see Sunday's home opener as one of those games. Ravens win by two scores. Also, Robert Griffin III was placed on IR this week with a shoulder injury. So much for him making a comeback. The Browns will go back to last year's starter, Josh McCown, this week and expect rookie QB Cody Kessler to get a start at some point this season. Another quarterback to add to that infamous Browns jersey.
Dallas over WASHINGTON (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET FOX): I wasn't impressed at all by what I saw from the Redskins on Monday night and if the Cowboys can just find the end zone -- they settled for four Dan Bailey field goals last week -- they'll get a significant road win in the division.
NY GIANTS over New Orleans (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): The Saints scored 34 points and put up 507-yards of total offense last week at home against the Raiders and lost! New Orleans had the worst defense in the league last season and after one-game it doesn't look like they got much better. I thought the Giants played very well on defense last week in Dallas, albeit against rookie QB Dak Prescott, but they showed signs of improvement. QB Drew Brees and the Saints will put up points in this one, but so will the Giants. The G-Men win a shootout.
CAROLINA over San Francisco (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Not a chance the Panthers lose their first two games of the season. Carolina will have had a few extra days off to rest and regroup from a close loss in Denver and I expect them to blowout San Francisco.
NEW ENGLAND over Miami (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): I liked what I saw from QB Jimmy Garoppolo last week and he'll carry that momentum from Sunday to the home-opener against the Dolphins. Bad news for the Dolphins as they start the season 0-2, that loss in Seattle will hurt all season.
HOUSTON over Kansas City (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Almost took the Chiefs here, but Kansas City played so badly in the first half against the Chargers that I'm not very confident in picking them on the road. Houston is a much different team than the one the Chiefs beat 30-0 in the playoffs last year and if the Kansas City defense plays a poorly as they did last week, the Texans will win this game.
Seattle over LOS ANGELES (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): Both of these offenses need to figure it out. Seattle was at least able to put up 12 points last week, Los Angeles (still weird typing that) didn't put up any on Monday night. If the Rams offense is that bad, why not start rookie QB Jared Goff and let him get some reps? He's better than Case Keenum and they're not going to be good anyway, so why not start Goff and see what he can do. That's what I'd do, but even if Goff plays I like the Seahawks to win the first NFL game in Los Angeles since Christmas Eve 1994.
ARIZONA over Tampa Bay (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): As good as the Buccaneers played last week, four TD passes for QB Jameis Winston, I just can't see the Cardinals losing back-to-back home games to start the season. Arizona in a close one.
Jacksonville over SAN DIEGO (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): I said that the first week would be telling as to whether the Jaguars fixed their defense or not and for the most part, I liked what they did against the Packers. Green Bay only had 294-yards of total offense and Aaron Rodgers threw for just 199-yards. And Jacksonville held them to just six second half points. San Diego on the other hand blew a 21-3 lead and gave up 26 unanswered points to lose to the Chiefs in overtime. Also, the Chargers lost their best receiver Keenan Allen for the season with a torn ACL. With no Allen and a defense that was gashed in the second half last week, I like the Jaguars to rebound.
OAKLAND over Atlanta (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): Love what we saw from the Raiders offense last week, 35 points and 486-yards of total offense. Also, how gutsy was the call by head coach Jack Del Rio to go for two in the fourth quarter to take the lead? I love the call. As Herm Edwards so famously said, "You play to win the game!" Del Rio played to win and it paid off. Now, if the defense can just play a bit better, they gave up 34 points and 507-yards of offense to Drew Brees and the Saints last week, the Raiders could have a great season. They'll win their home opener on Sunday.
DENVER over Indianapolis (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): If you saw the end of the Colts-Lions game last week then you know why I'm taking the Broncos here. The Colts defense was awful and the Lions went through them like a hot knife through butter. Indy gave up 448-yards, 28 first downs, forced zero turnovers, and blew a one-point lead with just 37 seconds left. Denver had the best defense in the league last season and they showed us they still have the best defense in the league after what they did to the Panthers on opening night. The Denver defense carries the Broncos to another win and QB Trevor Siemian plays well for a second straight week.
Green Bay over MINNESOTA (Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC): Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is keeping his lips sealed when it comes to who will start under center for Minnesota on Sunday night against the Packers, but I think it'll be Sam Bradford. Shaun Hill started last week, but with Bradford having another week to learn the offense, I think he'll be ready to play. Plus, how hard is it to learn the plays when over half of them are to turn around and hand the football to Adrian Peterson? The Vikings defense won them the game last week in Tennessee, but the Packers offense is a whole different animal than the Titans. Aaron Rodgers will make some big plays and lead the Packers to a win on Sunday night in the Vikings first regular season game at their new home, U.S. Bank Stadium.
Philadelphia over CHICAGO (Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Rookie QB Carson Wentz looked great last week albeit against the Browns, but it was still a solid first game of his NFL career. The Bears will be a tougher matchup this week and Wentz will be in the spotlight on Monday Night Football. I'm not sold on the Bears yet and let's see if the rookie can keep the momentum going on the road in Chicago.
Last Week: 9-7
Overall: 9-7 (.563)
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| You'll be able to see the Seahawks from space when they wear their color rush jerseys on Dec. 15th against the Rams. (Photo Courtesy of NFL.com) |
The NFL released Color Rush jerseys for each team on Tuesday and some of the uniforms are quite, well, colorful. Click here to see all 32 teams.
My personal favorites are the Bengals, Chargers, Rams and Giants. With that being said, I hate the Ravens and Vikings (way too much purple for these eyes) and Jaguars. Jacksonville had those vomit yellow jerseys last year. They were ugly then and are still ugly now.
Also, the Packers have white jerseys, which is a missed opportunity. I mean, they're the GREEN Bay Packers. Could've been a bit more creative, but all white always looks good in my opinion.
Moving on to the games, the biggest winner of Week 1 had to be the New England Patriots. Surprise, I know, but here's why.
The Patriots beat one of best teams in the NFC, on the road, without Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. On top of that, Buffalo, Miami and the New York Jets all lost. Miami had the toughest loss of Week 1, a 12-10 defeat on the road in Seattle. Had the Dolphins held on that would've been the biggest win of the opening weekend.
Now, if the Patriots win on Sunday, my pick is still to come, they'll have a two game lead on the Dolphins and the loser of the Jets-Bills game on Thursday night. No Brady and already the Patriots have a two game lead on two teams in the division. Not good news for the Bills, Jets and Dolphins. And not good news for the rest of the AFC.
Up next, my picks for this week's slate of NFL games.
Week 2 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
NY Jets over BUFFALO (Thursday, 8:25 p.m. ET, CBS, Twitter): I know the Jets lost last weekend, but it was impressive watching that defense destroy the Bengals offensive line. New York had seven sacks and 10 hits on QB Andy Dalton with DE Leonard Williams leading the way with 2.5 sacks and five QB hits of his own. Problem was, surprisingly, CB Darrelle Revis couldn't cover WR A.J. Green. Green was targeted 10 times while up against Revis. The results, 10 receptions for 150-yards and a TD. Buffalo managed to have only 95-yards passing against the Ravens and the Bills don't have A.J. Green. Jets defense rebounds and avoids the 0-2 start Thursday night up in Buffalo.
Also, don't forget that you can watch this game live streaming on Twitter. The NFL and Twitter reached an agreement eariler this year to stream 10 Thursday night games live on Twitter this season. If you remember the Bills and Jaguars game in London last season was streamed live on Yahoo and according to Yahoo, it had 33.6 million total views and was watched by users in 185 countries. It's no secret the NFL is trying to expand the game globally and allowing everyone around the world to watch the game on Twitter is a fantastic idea. It very well could be the future of watching live sporting events and I can't wait to watch the game via Twitter. #NYJvsBUF
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| It's no secret that the Bengals and Steelers don't care for one another. (John Grieshop/Getty Images) |
These two teams can't stand one another and if that playoff game didn't cement this rivalry as the best in the NFL today, then Sunday will. It will be physical, it will tough, it will be hard hitting and I expect it to get chippy. It's the Bengals and Steelers, so yeah, there will probably be some personal foul penalties. The team that wins this game is the one who can move past what happened in January. The Steelers will try to get under the Bengals skin and try an instigate a retaliation -- the refs always catch the guy who retaliates. If the Bengals (Adam Jones in particular will be getting a lot of attention from the Steelers players) can tune the Steelers out they'll win this game. Cincinnati has a better defense than Pittsburgh and they'll make just enough plays to get a crucial road win against their bitter rival.
DETROIT over Tennessee (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET CBS): Maybe the Lions can move on without Calvin Johnson. Matthew Stafford threw for 340-yards and 3 TD against the Colts last week as the Lions were able to mount a comeback in the final seconds to defeat Indianapolis. The Colts defense is terrible and they'll face a tougher defense on Sunday in the Titans who limited RB Adrian Peterson to just 31-yards on 19 carries last week. The Lions have more weapons and a better quarterback than the Titans and they'll get the win.
Baltimore over CLEVELAND (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET CBS): Baltimore's defense held Buffalo to just 160-yards of offense last week and that isn't good news for Cleveland who had their own struggles on offense in Philadelphia. The Browns aren't expected to win many games, if any, this season, and I don't see Sunday's home opener as one of those games. Ravens win by two scores. Also, Robert Griffin III was placed on IR this week with a shoulder injury. So much for him making a comeback. The Browns will go back to last year's starter, Josh McCown, this week and expect rookie QB Cody Kessler to get a start at some point this season. Another quarterback to add to that infamous Browns jersey.
Dallas over WASHINGTON (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET FOX): I wasn't impressed at all by what I saw from the Redskins on Monday night and if the Cowboys can just find the end zone -- they settled for four Dan Bailey field goals last week -- they'll get a significant road win in the division.
NY GIANTS over New Orleans (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): The Saints scored 34 points and put up 507-yards of total offense last week at home against the Raiders and lost! New Orleans had the worst defense in the league last season and after one-game it doesn't look like they got much better. I thought the Giants played very well on defense last week in Dallas, albeit against rookie QB Dak Prescott, but they showed signs of improvement. QB Drew Brees and the Saints will put up points in this one, but so will the Giants. The G-Men win a shootout.
CAROLINA over San Francisco (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Not a chance the Panthers lose their first two games of the season. Carolina will have had a few extra days off to rest and regroup from a close loss in Denver and I expect them to blowout San Francisco.
NEW ENGLAND over Miami (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): I liked what I saw from QB Jimmy Garoppolo last week and he'll carry that momentum from Sunday to the home-opener against the Dolphins. Bad news for the Dolphins as they start the season 0-2, that loss in Seattle will hurt all season.
HOUSTON over Kansas City (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Almost took the Chiefs here, but Kansas City played so badly in the first half against the Chargers that I'm not very confident in picking them on the road. Houston is a much different team than the one the Chiefs beat 30-0 in the playoffs last year and if the Kansas City defense plays a poorly as they did last week, the Texans will win this game.
Seattle over LOS ANGELES (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): Both of these offenses need to figure it out. Seattle was at least able to put up 12 points last week, Los Angeles (still weird typing that) didn't put up any on Monday night. If the Rams offense is that bad, why not start rookie QB Jared Goff and let him get some reps? He's better than Case Keenum and they're not going to be good anyway, so why not start Goff and see what he can do. That's what I'd do, but even if Goff plays I like the Seahawks to win the first NFL game in Los Angeles since Christmas Eve 1994.
ARIZONA over Tampa Bay (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): As good as the Buccaneers played last week, four TD passes for QB Jameis Winston, I just can't see the Cardinals losing back-to-back home games to start the season. Arizona in a close one.
Jacksonville over SAN DIEGO (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): I said that the first week would be telling as to whether the Jaguars fixed their defense or not and for the most part, I liked what they did against the Packers. Green Bay only had 294-yards of total offense and Aaron Rodgers threw for just 199-yards. And Jacksonville held them to just six second half points. San Diego on the other hand blew a 21-3 lead and gave up 26 unanswered points to lose to the Chiefs in overtime. Also, the Chargers lost their best receiver Keenan Allen for the season with a torn ACL. With no Allen and a defense that was gashed in the second half last week, I like the Jaguars to rebound.
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| Jack Del Rio's gamble paid off thanks to a great catch by WR Michael Crabtree. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images) |
DENVER over Indianapolis (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): If you saw the end of the Colts-Lions game last week then you know why I'm taking the Broncos here. The Colts defense was awful and the Lions went through them like a hot knife through butter. Indy gave up 448-yards, 28 first downs, forced zero turnovers, and blew a one-point lead with just 37 seconds left. Denver had the best defense in the league last season and they showed us they still have the best defense in the league after what they did to the Panthers on opening night. The Denver defense carries the Broncos to another win and QB Trevor Siemian plays well for a second straight week.
Green Bay over MINNESOTA (Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC): Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is keeping his lips sealed when it comes to who will start under center for Minnesota on Sunday night against the Packers, but I think it'll be Sam Bradford. Shaun Hill started last week, but with Bradford having another week to learn the offense, I think he'll be ready to play. Plus, how hard is it to learn the plays when over half of them are to turn around and hand the football to Adrian Peterson? The Vikings defense won them the game last week in Tennessee, but the Packers offense is a whole different animal than the Titans. Aaron Rodgers will make some big plays and lead the Packers to a win on Sunday night in the Vikings first regular season game at their new home, U.S. Bank Stadium.
Philadelphia over CHICAGO (Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Rookie QB Carson Wentz looked great last week albeit against the Browns, but it was still a solid first game of his NFL career. The Bears will be a tougher matchup this week and Wentz will be in the spotlight on Monday Night Football. I'm not sold on the Bears yet and let's see if the rookie can keep the momentum going on the road in Chicago.
Last Week: 9-7
Overall: 9-7 (.563)
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