The Crystal Ball

 

Well another week in the books and again double digits for the straight up picks (11) and slightly ahead against the spread (8-7-1).  That brings me to 24 of 36 straight up and 17 – 12 – 3 versus the spread.  Anytime that I find myself in front of the spread two weeks in row it is something of a miracle, expect that to change momentarily.

 

For anyone new to this feature the standard disclaimer is this. These picks are for a pick’em league I participate in.  These choices are preliminary for that league and I do make changes later in the week as more information becomes available (e.g. last week I switched my pick to San Francisco based on the Rams injury report on Friday).  Because of the deadline for this column those changes are not reflected in the weekly or the running totals.  (I have been know to come off of a winner also.) This is for amusement purposes only and reflects my opinion only, not the actual football judgment of the rest of the staff at the site who know better.

 

Week 3

 

Indianapolis at Houston – Houston has looked very good their first two games of the season but they do not match up well against the Colts especially with a hobbled Andre Johnson.  Manning and the Colts look like they always do, surgically precise, Colts win 27 – 21.

 

Buffalo at New England – The Bills get to travel to New England with a severely depleted defense, not a recipe for success in most years and certainly not this season.  New England seemed nonplussed by “Cameragate”; Buffalo will not frighten them either, Patriots win 28 – 17.

 

Miami at New York Jets – The Jets almost brought off a road upset last weekend with their backup quarterback who played well after a mediocre start.  The Miami offense is turnover plagued and their offensive line is a concern, Jets win 21 – 17.

 

Detroit at Philadelphia – Detroit is perfect so far but all good things must come to an end; their wins have come at the expense of two rather limited offensive teams.  The Eagles have a good defense and better offense than shown so far; expect a lot of scoring here, Eagles win 28 – 24.

 

San Francisco at Pittsburgh – San Francisco has won two close divisional games and play well at home.  The Pittsburgh team has two wins against less than stellar competition.  Someone gets their first loss here and the Steelers are better on both sides of the ball, Steelers win 24 – 20.

 

St Louis at Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay used a nice defensive game to win in their division last week.  The Rams have injuries on both sides of the ball but the problems with their offensive line are going to lead to serious match up issue in this game, Buccaneers win 28 – 24.

 

San Diego at Green Bay – San Diego faces another pretty good defense for the third straight week but this one is not quite at the same level and the Chargers are hungry.  Green Bay has been playing well but this challenge is more than they can handle, Chargers win 20 – 14.

 

Arizona at Baltimore – Baltimore won last week in a game of backup quarterbacks, McNair is expected back.  Arizona has won by establishing the run the past two weeks, which is going to be much tougher in this game, Ravens win 24 – 20.

 

Minnesota at Kansas City – Kansas City is a run-based offense with offensive line issues facing a very good run defense.  While the Vikings offense is not exactly intimidating, it should be good enough to generate a Viking win 17 – 14.

 

Cleveland at Oakland – The Browns engineered a huge upset last week and for the time being they have delayed the start of the Quinn era, to his advantage.  On the road they will find Oakland somewhat less generous defensively, Raiders win 21 – 17.

 

Cincinnati at Seattle – Seattle returns home where they always seem to play well.  Cincinnati showed little in the way of defense in their road loss to Cleveland so this has the look of a shoot out and the Bengals have more weapons, Bengals win 35 – 31.

 

Jacksonville at Denver – Denver dodged a bullet last weekend in overtime, their second narrow escape in as many weeks.  Their offense has been surprisingly ineffective in the red zone.  The Jaguars offense has been similarly stricken though, Broncos win 21 – 17.

 

Carolina at Atlanta – Steve Smith seems to be the beginning and end of the Carolina offense and they will have to find some other weapons.  They play this week at Atlanta who has substantial offensive limitations of their own, Panthers win 24 – 14.

 

New York Giants at Washington – Washington gets a short week that finds them in a second consecutive divisional game; these things can take a toll.  The Giants are a physically beat up team and their defense is suspect, Redskins win 24 – 21.

 

Dallas at Chicago – The Bears defense is really good, unfortunately their offense is not.  They have to do a better job protecting the ball just to give their defense a break.  Dallas has a very productive offense but if Chicago does not give them extra possessions the Bears win 24 – 20.

 

Tennessee at New Orleans – The Saints offensive line, a strength last season, has been ineffective and their defense still cannot cover anyone.  Tennessee is solid along both lines and has played well but New Orleans should get back on track offensively, Saints win 27 – 24.

 

 

Dale “at” footballforecasters.com