Week 2 NFL Office Pool Picks

Presented by Dale Sims

NFL Office Pool Picks

This is a brief look at the games form the week ahead and my best guess as to the results; these are not the official view of anybody, even myself.  These come out before the final injury reports, and I do participate in a pick‘em league where I adjust my selections through Saturday.  (To give you a hint the Carolina-Minnesota game assumes that Smith is available, if he is not I will likely switch that game in my pick’em league.)

Well week one was certainly ugly I was 9-7 straight up and a miserable 6-8 against the spread.  A certain amount of chaos is expected in week one games.  The number of home teams losing was a stunner as were the teams who beat the line.  It is a good thing I do not bet football.

The Crystal Ball:

Buffalo at Miami - Look for Miami to be anxious to get back on the right track and for Culpepper to be much more at ease against the defense this week.  There are some disturbing signs for the Miami defensive secondary and offensive line but Buffalo, the Dolphins get the win 28-20.

Carolina at Minnesota – Carolina is an injured team and they are missing key pieces on both offense (Smith) and defense (Morgan).  This should be an interesting game but Carolina is playing for survival, if a week two game can be pivotal this one is for Panthers win 24-21.

Cleveland at Cincinnati – The good news for Cleveland is that they made it through the week without having to find a replacement center.  The Bengals offense did not look overwhelming last week, this week they will strive to get it in gear; Bengals win 30-21

Detroit at Chicago – This should not be a very exciting game from any stand point Detroit is still working things out on both sides of the ball and going against the Chicago defense is pretty much a live ammunition exercise for them, Bears win 21-10.

Houston at Indianapolis – If the previous game looks to be uninteresting what will this one be?  Well there will be some scoring done here but this game could get out of hand very early for Houston, Indianapolis will look to work on their running game, Colts win 28-17.

New Orleans at Green Bay – New Orleans faces their eighteenth road game in a row.  The Packers were embarrassed last week but the New Orleans defense ought to be less of a test.  As this looks to be a close game give the edge to the home team, the Packers 24-20.

N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia – The Giants lost a game they should have won through a series of mistakes.  They do not seem to be on the page whereas Philadelphia had a solid tune up.  The Giants will need to be mistake free and they will not be, Eagles win 24-20.

Oakland at Baltimore – Oakland has a short week and a long flight to face a defense that dominated last week with an offensive line that did not.  This looks like a very bad situation, Brooks will be looking at more pressure than last week, Ravens win 24 – 6.

Tampa Bay at Atlanta – Tampa Bay had multiple problems with pass rushers and Atlanta has developed a solid pass rush, we have a theme.  The Tampa offensive line is having problems and the quarterback play suffers as a result, Falcons win 21-14.

Arizona at Seattle – Seattle plays better at home, their offense would almost have to play better than they did in Detroit, they will be scoring touchdowns this week.  Arizona has plenty of offense but very little defense and that projects into a win for the Seahawks 35-21

St. Louis at San Francisco – St Louis played defense last week, who knew they even had one.  San Francisco showed that they have some offense this season but could be missing the left side of the offensive line; the Rams win 24-20.

Kansas City at Denver – The offensive line in Kansas City is officially a problem.  Trent Green is out; Denver has quarterback issues also.  Denver needs to recover from a poor outing last week against the depleted Chiefs; Broncos win 28-14.

New England at N.Y. Jets – The Jets won on the road to break a ten-game losing streak on the road. New England eases into the season with their second divisional opponent, after last weeks narrow win expect that the Patriots will be looking to make a point here, Pats win 28-14.

Tennessee at San Diego – Tennessee seems intent on playing quarterback roulette; Collins should have a better handle on the player names given another week in the offense but the San Diego defense will get more pressure this week and the Chargers win 28-14.

Washington at Dallas – This is always a big game on each team’s respective schedule.  With the strength of the division these teams have to win at home, the first one that does not is likely out of the playoff race.  The Cowboys should win this one 24-17.

Pittsburgh at Jacksonville – Ben expects to return for this one and they might need him though the defense is certainly capable of stepping it up.  Expect the running games of both teams to have problems in this one, as these are two of the better defensive lines in the NFL, the Steelers win 21-17.