Chris Stout
Chris likes not having any free time. +Chris Stout Email: cstout76@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.manjr.com
Posts by Chris Stout
Week 6 NFL Picks
At Chicago -7.5 NY Giants
The Giants have been outscored by 100 points this season. Only the Jags have a larger point differential (-112). That’s bad. Real bad. The Bears have dropped their last two after starting 3-0, but the Bears are third in the league in takeaways (14). The Giants are the league leaders in giveaways (20). The winless streak will continue for the G-Men.
Pick: Da Bears -7.5
At Kansas City -9 Oakland
The spread seems kinda high. I mean the Chiefs are undefeated, playing good football, not turning the ball over and playing at home. But the Raiders under Pryor aren’t exactly pushovers either. Especially if McFadden can get back on the field. I say the Chiefs win but the gap is closer than 9.
Pick: Raiders+9
Philadelphia -1.5 At Tampa Bay
The Bucs seem like a team destined for a new coach and a high draft pick. The Eagles moved the ball well when Nick Foles took over for an injured Michael Vick, so if Vick can’t go, the offense shouldn’t suffer that much.
Pick: Eagles -1.5
Green Bay -3 At Baltimore
Tough call here. I like the Packers, but the Ravens are 2-0 at home and the Packers are 0-2 on the road. Edge goes to the team with the better passing attack.
Pick: Packers -3
Detroit -2.5 At Cleveland
It’s hard to not like the Browns. They’ve been so bad for so long. The Lions without Calvin Johnson appear a bit toothless. Defenses can just key in on Reggie. I’m going Browns as home dogs here, even with Weeden behind center.
Pick: Browns +2.5
At Minnesota -2.5 Carolina
Josh Freeman won’t get the call just yet, so the Freeman era will have to wait in Minny. The Panthers can’t seem to get things clicking on both sides of the ball. The D shows up and the offense stalls. Maybe Cam can put a complete game together in Week 6.
Pick: Panthers +2.5
At Houston -7.5 St. Louis
The Rams beat up on the Jags last week, but that’s not saying much. Schaub is under fire big time in Houston, and he’ll be without safety valve Owen Daniels and potentially without Andre Johnson as well this Sunday. I think Schaub will show up and keep Kubs off the hot seat, at least temporarily.
Pick: Texans -7.5
At NY Jets -2.5 Pittsburgh
It’s now or never for Pittsburgh. Coming off the bye week, the rest of the AFC North sits at 3-2. If the Steelers can’t force any turnovers, they will lose. They’re the second team in NFL history to have zero forced turnovers in the first four games. Ouch. The Jets are all swagger and sunshine after upsetting Atlanta. I say the Steelers D shows up, the ground game finds some space and the Steelers get win #1.
Pick: Steelers +2.5
Cincinnati -7.5 At Buffalo
Thad Lewis vs. a team that shut down Tom Brady? Let’s go with the Bengals.
Pick: Bengals -7.5
At Seattle -13.5 Tennessee
I’m not buying this Ryan Fitzpatrick does a great Jake Locker impression situation. Seahawks at home against a team that’s not as good as it’s 3-2 record suggests.
Pick: Seahawks -13.5
At Denver -27.5 Jacksonville
Do you really want to bet on this game? The highest spread in NFL history is bound to get plenty of action. The Jags have yet to cover a spread, but professional players on a shitty team can still find the motivation to not lose by four touchdowns.
Pick: Jags +27.5
At San Francisco -11 Arizona
The Niners win a game dominated by lots of Frank Gore touches.
Pick: Niners -11
At New England -2.5 New Orleans
Gronk is back as the Saints come marching into New England with a spotless record. Gronk can’t fix everything, though. The D-line is busted. The points aren’t flowing like they used to. People need to stop fumbling. On the flipside the Saints look strong in all phases. I think they escape New England with their undefeated streak intact.
Pick: Saints +2.5
At Dallas -5.5 Washington
Poor Romo. Even when you throw for 500+ yards, people still get bitter about the last mistake you made. After coming up short against the Broncos, the Cowboys should be able to do some damage against the league’s worst defense.
Pick: Cowboys -5.5
Indianapolis -1.5 At San Diego
I picked the Colts last week as home dogs, and I like ‘em on the road here as well.
Pick: Colts -1.5
Last Week: 8-6
Season: 36-39-2
Last Season: 136-121-5
Oct 10th
HYDRIVE Energy Water Review
I’m not a big energy drink guy. If I need a pick me up, I’ll usually reach for coffee. Typically it’s a cup of Joe to start the day. Espresso can do wonders for a sluggish afternoon. But you get the idea. I’m not really into the Red Bull, Monster and Rockstar-type beverages. If it looks neon and comes in a can, I’ll usually just stay tired or wait for an appropriate coffee opportunity. Don’t get me started on 5-Hour Energy, either. I fully expect some sort of medical backlash to kick in on that stuff. I mean it just seems like a bad situation all around.
So when I received samples of HYDRIVE Energy Water, I just figured I wouldn’t like ‘em too much. The flavors all seemed a bit too bright and the calorie count seemed a bit too low to be effective for my tastes. I’m more of a full calorie guy. I usually keep my distance from low-cal stuff or anything with artificial flavoring.
But one thing I do love is Gatorade. I’ll keep some fruit punch Gatorade stocked in the fridge at all times. Maybe it’s the taste or the consistency or the electrolytes. I don’t know the science behind it, but I love that stuff.
The thing I like the most about HYDRIVE Energy Water is that it’s like Gatorade with a head change. It doesn’t have that synthetic radiator fluid vibe of a Red Bull. It tastes more like a sport drink than an energy drink. And the different flavors provide different types of boosts to your system. Here’s the full list:
- Lemon Line Rush (Active Formula)
- Citrus Blast (Vitamin Formula)
- Black Cherry (Extra Power Formula)
- Blue Raspberry (Extra Power Formula)
- Triple Berry (Antioxidant Formula)
- Kiwi Strawberry (Focus Formula)
- Grape Fusion (Recovery Formula)
Some of the flavors are a bit too sweet for my tastes, but you definitely feel different after you drink one of these things. Maybe it’s because HYDRIVE has 38 percent more caffeine than the leading energy brand. Maybe it’s the lack of sugar spikes or a blend vitamins or all those amino acids and electrolytes, but whatever’s going on in that bottle, HYDRIVE will change your head, one 30 calorie dose at a time.
Oct 7th
Week 5 NFL Picks
At Cleveland -3.5 Buffalo
We may never see Brandon Weeden throw a pass for the Browns again. Mike Lombardi has been super high on Hoyer for some time now and he finally got a chance to hand the dude a team to lead. Hoyer has responded by winning two straight. The Bills took out the Super Bowl champs last week, but they’ll have their hands full against a much improved defense and a hot team that could take temporary ownership of first place in the AFC North after Thursday Night.
Pick: Browns -3.5
Kansas City -3 At Tennessee
At the beginning of the year, it would have been difficult to imagine that these two teams would have one loss between them entering Week 5. Hooray, parity! The loss of Jake Locker really hurts Tennessee. Fitzpatrick is a backup for a reason. He doesn’t have the arm or the semi-quick feet of Locker. If the QB sitch was different, maybe there’d be some debate here, but the Chiefs are likely to exit Tennessee with their undefeated record intact.
Pick: Chiefs -3
At Miami -3 Baltimore
Miami’s o-line can’t pass block and Baltimore’s o-line can’t run block. Ray Rice should be back and that should help matters some, especially with Harbaugh stating that he wanted to make Rice the focal point of the offense moving forward. But the Fins are allowing just under 100 yards per game, good for 10th in the league. Mike Wallace may not be getting the big plays he wants, but the Dolphins are still playing good football. The Saints loss last week was to be expected, but the Fins should rebound in Week 5.
Pick: Fins -3
At St. Louis -11.5 Jacksonville
The Rams aren’t that great but they are at least two TDs better than the worst team of all time.
Pick: Rams -11.5
At Cincinnati -3 New England
Everyone loves the Bengals, but the shine of their preseason hype is starting to fade a bit. AJ Green got all kinds of frustrated last week against the Browns, and he hasn’t really had a strong performance since his monster Week 1. The Pats are all banged up. Losing Vince Wilfork hurts, and whenever you go out and sign Austin Collie, you know your receiving options are hurting a bit. But I still like betting on Brady in general and if the Pats are going to be dogs for two weeks in a row, make the right decision.
Pick: Pats +3
Seattle -3 At Indianapolis
The Colts are so much more balanced this year. Luck is throwing the ball less and that trend should continue with a stronger running attack. Seattle can struggle on the road, but they haven’t lost away from home yet. Still, that Indy stadium can get pretty lively. The Colts had a cakewalk last week, but that 49ers drubbing from Week 3 is still fresh in my mind. As awesome as Seattle is, I think the Colts can take ‘em at home.
Pick: Colts +3
At Green Bay -7 Detroit
The Lions sit atop the NFC North, but it could be time for a correction. With two weeks to heal up and prep for Detroit, the Packers are primed for a bounce back game. There should be plenty of offense in this game, and despite Detroit’s big win over Chicago last week, I think the Packers are going to get the better of the Lions and normalize the NFC North standings a bit.
Pick: Packers -7
New Orleans -1 At Chicago
If Detroit can do the Bears like that, so can the Saints. With Brees firing on all cylinders, a defense that has 10 (!) takeaways and a tight end that can give you six scores and 458 yards in four games, New Orleans is looking ready for a run. The Bears are no pushovers (3rd in the league in scoring, league leader in takeaways, undefeated at home), but the Saints are a better team.
Pick: Saints -1
At NY Giants -2 Philadelphia
Both these teams look broken, but remember what the Eagles offense looked like in Week 1? It seems so long ago, before all the turnovers and the not scoring set in. But the Giants got problems, man. David Wilson might finally have a game worth noting this week, even behind a banged up offensive line, and Eli will find opportunities against the 31st ranked pass defense in the NFL, but I still thing the Eagles can right the ship and find some of that offensive magic that’s been missing for the past few weeks.
Pick: Eagles +2
Carolina -2 At Arizona
Panthers are better. Better D, better O. How cares if this game is in Glendale.
Pick: Panthers -2
San Diego -4.5 At Oakland
Rivers is on fire lately, but his defense is giving life to opposing team’s QBs. Pryor gets the start after Matt Flynn’s sorry showing last week and he should have a pretty good game. But every week Rivers manages to make someone a hero – Eddie Royal, Danny Woodhead, Antonio Gates. You get the idea. Despite strong performances from Terrelle Pryor and Rashard Jennings, I still like the Chargers in the late-late game.
Pick: Chargers -4.5
Denver -7.5 At Dallas
Both teams sit on top of their respective divisions, but the Broncos are unstoppable and the Cowboys are kinda stoppable.
Pick: Broncos -7.5
At San Francisco -6.5 Houston
Will the Schaub pick-six streak continue? Will the 49ers build off that crushing win against St. Louis? Can Arian find room to run? Both teams are 2-2 and this matchup should show us which team’s a legit playoff contender and which squad will be battling for wild card status. Houston’s D is number one in the league against the pass and number one in the league in yards allowed. That sounds dandy, right? Well the same unit ranks 23rd in the league against the run and 23rd in the league in points allowed. San Francisco learned last week that if you feed Frank Gore, good things happen. The Niners take the ball out of Kap’s hands and win this one the old fashioned way.
Pick: Niners -6.5
At Atlanta -10 NY Jets
I love Bilal. I love shouting his name when watching Jets games. “BI-LALLL!!” You should try it sometime. It’s really therapeutic. Bilal love aside, the Jets are overmatched here, as the spread indicates. Yea the Falcons are 1-3 and the Jets are 2-2, but let’s not fool ourselves here. Atlanta’s three losses have come against the Saints, Fins and Pats, three teams that are a combined 11-1 on the year. The Jets beat the winless Bucs by a point and the 2-2 Bills by a TD. Flacons are gonna roll.
Pick: Falcons -10
Last Week: 9-6
Season: 28-33-2
Last Season: 136-121-5
Oct 3rd
Valvoline Video Showcases 140 Years of Garage History in 60 Seconds
Valvoline invented motor oil in 1866, and they’ve been innovating on their original creation ever since. Two years ago, we told you all about the science behind Valvoline NextGen, the world’s first high performance recycled motor oil. The company has come a long way since it’s founder Dr. John Ellis stumbled upon motor oil when experimenting with crude to find medicinal applications. Valvoline was the first company to produce petroleum lubricant for steam engines running at high temperatures.
In the early 1900s, Valvoline was the only recommended motor oil for Ford’s Model T. Valvoline produced all-climate oil during the hot rod craze of the 1950s. In the 70s, Valvoline led the DIY charge and posted oil changing instructions on their bottles. In the 80s, as overhead cams and electronic fuel injection systems became all the rage, Valvoline responded with the first synthetic blend of motor oil that could withstand hotter engine temperatures. With more older cars on the road now than ever before, Valvoline developed MaxLife, which restores lost horsepower in cars with over 75,000 miles.
From 19th Century steam engine lubricants to 21st Century recycled motor oil, Valvoline has been an industry leader with an interesting history. Here’s what that 140 year history looks like in one minute:
Sep 27th
Paul McCartney Rocks Hollywood Blvd
Jimmy Kimmel hosted Sir Paul McCartney this past Monday and our friends at Guinness made sure we were on hand to witness it. Guinness sponsors the green room at Jimmy Kimmel Live and they also sponsored the show that Sir Paul put on. It was a pretty legit show, too.
Kimmel shut down Hollywood Blvd right in front of his studio and the El Capitan. People were lining up all day to get a chance to see McCartney’s set. Although only a handful of songs made the show, the dude actually played for quite a bit.
McCartney was promoting his new album, aptly titled NEW. He played some of that new material, sure, but the guy knew what would get the crowd going. He mixed in some old Beatles tunes, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and “Back in the U.S.S.R.” He also covered some Wings-era material like ”Band on the Run.”
There were two different pianos on stage, so you knew there had to be some “Let It Be” action. The big finish was saved for “Hey Jude,” a song that generated plenty of audience participation. Joining the huge crowd for some quality “na na na na-na-na-na” time was really pretty sweet. Check out the video:
The performance was sponsored by Guinness and included elements of their #MadeOfMore campaign. The campaign highlights that little bit extra that makes things distinguished and good, like this new basketball spot that they’re running:
Sep 27th
EJ Manuel Interview
Every year the NFL gets an influx of new talent. 254 names were called in the draft and countless other undrafted players have injected fresh blood into the league. Eleven QBs were drafted in 2013. The first QB to have his name called with the 16th overall pick was EJ Manuel out of Florida State.
The Bills have needed an answer at the QB spot for some time. They paid Ryan Fitzpatrick the big bucks, but he didn’t pan out. There was some question as to whether or not Manuel would start right away, or if he would even be healthy enough to play in the opener.
Well the Jeff Tuel era didn’t get rolling in Buffalo. Manuel started the season with a fiery showing that nearly resulted in an upset over New England. He followed that up with a come-from-behind victory against Carolina, a performance that earned him Pepsi Next NFL Rookie of the Week honors for week 2. It was an emotional victory for EJ to say the least, and the comeback win was that much sweeter for him because his father was in attendance to see it live.
We had a chat with EJ last week before he squared off against the Jets. That game didn’t go so well for him, but the Bills still had a chance to win it late. EJ talked about the Pepsi NEXT Rookie of the Week voting, where fans can visit NFL.com/rookies to vote for their favorite rookie performers on a weekly basis. We also discussed Bobby Bowden, the differences between college and the pros, EJ’s immediate success and Buffalo’s playoff prospects.
Check out the video:
Sep 27th
Homeland Is Back This Sunday!
The wait is over. Brody, Saul, Carrie and her crazy jazz freak outs are back for the start of season 3! Tune in this Sunday at 9pm EST/PST to catch the series that took home Emmys for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Best Actress.
Sep 27th
Week 4 NFL Picks
San Francisco -3.5 At St. Louis
These two teams played in some tight games last year. The first matchup ended in a tie and the second game was a win for the Rams at home. I don’t think the Rams are going to get blown out here, but the edge does go to the visiting team.
Pick: Niners -3.5
Pittsburgh -2.5 Minnesota in London
Someone has to win! Pittsburgh’s offense finally showed some life last week. Heath is back and the Steelers finally get to see what their prized rookie running back can do behind a dreadful line.
Pick: Steelers -2.5
Baltimore -3 At Buffalo
I really want to believe the Bills can hang here, but the Ravens just look like the more complete team.
Pick: Ravens -3
Cincinnati -4.5 At Cleveland
Man, Hoyer looked pretty good last week. Getting Josh Gordon back certainly helped, but this new look Browns squad could put up a fight. Still, you have to like what the Bengals are all about. They blew a two score lead and then overcame a two score deficit to beat a solid Packers squad. That’s not something the old Bengals could’ve achieved.
Pick: Bengals -4.5
Indianapolis -8.5 At Jacksonville
The Jags are -64 in point differential through three games. Ouch. It’s gonna be a long season in Jacksonville.
Pick: Colts -8.5
Seattle -2.5 At Houston
We all know that the Seahawks are a different team on the road. These two teams match up pretty well offensively, but the Texans allow 27.3 points per game and the Seahawks have allowed an average of 9 points per game. Seahwks get the edge, even on the road.
Pick: Seahawks -2.5
At Tampa Bay -2.5 Arizona
Josh Freeman has been yanked. The Mike Glennon era begins amid some cloudy conditions. Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams are both hobbled by injury. Schiano comes across as a guy who’s feeling the pressure. Hot seat talk continues after this week’s loss.
Pick: Cardinals +2.5
At Detroit -3 Chicago
The Lions have two wins against two winless teams (the Vikings and the Redskins), but when Reggie Bush is in there, this offense looks pretty scary. The Bears jumped out on top of the hapless Steelers on Monday, but they let Pittsburgh back in and almost let one get away. I the Lions can move the ball against this defense, but the Bears come out on top and move to 4-0.
Pick: Bears +3
At Kansas City -4.5 NY Giants
If this game was in New York, maybe the Giants could right the ship. With so many things broken for the G-Men and Kansas City focusing on a conservative, mistake-free game plan while playing in front of a rabid fan base that has something to be excited about for the first time in years, it’s hard to no go Chiefs here.
Pick: Chiefs -4.5
At Tennessee -3.5 NY Jets
Jake Locker had a bit of a breakout game last week, completing 23 of 37 passes for 299 yards a TD and adding 68 rushing yards and another TD on the ground in a comeback win over the Chargers. The Jets look like the most pedestrian 2-1 team in the league. Titans take this one.
Pick: Titans -3.5
Dallas -2 At San Diego
With these two teams matching up pretty well on the offensive side, the edge has to go to the team with the better D. Even though they’re on the road, the Cowobys have the advantage here.
Pick: Cowboys -2
Washington -3 At Oakland
Finally a game that the Skins can win. Matt Flynn will have every opportunity to distinguish himself against the league’s worst pass defense, but it won’t be enough.
Pick: Redskins -3
At Denver -10.5 Philadelphia
The Broncos are steamrolling the league. The best passing offense in the league squares off against the best rushing team in the league. If the Eagles can avoid momentum killing turnovers, maybe they can survive. I think Denver will win, but not by such a wide margin.
Pick: Eagles +10.5
At Atlanta -2 New England
Pats as dogs? I’ll take it.
Pick: Pats +2
At New Orleans -6.5 Miami
I’m really high on the Dolphins, but it’s hard not to like what the Saints are doing right now. Heck, even the defense is working. They’re only allowing 12.7 points per game. Saints hand the Fins their first loss of the season while staying undefeated.
Pick: Saints -6.5
Last Week: 7-8-1
Season: 19-27-2
Last Season: 136-121-5
Sep 26th
Week 3 NFL Picks
So entering Week 3 of the NFL season, 22 of 32 games have been decided by 7 points or less. That’s nutty. Like, historically nutty. That shit just doesn’t happen. It makes it difficult to be on point with the picks, man. But 8-8 is a big improvement from 4-11-1, so let’s keep that trend rolling…
At Philadelphia -3 Kansas City
Andy Reid returns to Philly with the undefeated Chiefs. Philly’s defense is not good. They’ve given up an average of 460.5 yards per game over the first two weeks. The Chargers and Redskins are the only two defenses that have allowed more yards. The Chiefs on the other hand have a pretty solid D, but I think the up-tempo attack of the Eagles will prevail here.
Pick: Eagles -3
At Tennessee -3 San Diego
Philip Rivers is looking sharp and the Titans are not. A league-worst 123 passing yards a game isn’t gonna cut it. Chris Johnson’s been dancing too much behind the line of scrimmage, Kenny Britt seems to realize his time in Tennessee is done, and Jake Locker’s only completing 56 percent of his passes. The Chargers have put up 61 points in two games. San Diego spoils Tennessee’s home opener.
Pick: Chargers +3
At Minnesota -6.5 Cleveland
Good news for the Browns – Josh Gordon is back. Bad news – they traded away their best offensive player. Trent Richardson will miss the start of the Hoyer era. Dude found out he was a Colt while listening to the radio. Stay classy, Cleveland! The Vikings don’t look all that threatening, but the Browns seem to be playing for next year just two weeks into the season.
Pick: Vikings -6.5
At New England -7 Tampa Bay
The Pats offense has looked a bit weak so far, but they’ll get it together.
Pick: Pats -7
Houston -2.5 At Baltimore
The Ravens may be without Ray Rice which is bad news for a team that’s only averaging 2.8 yards a carry. The Texans can outscore this bunch.
Pick: Texans -2.5
At Dallas -4 St. Louis
These two teams are pretty evenly matched, but I like the Rams here. They’ve looked pretty solid so far, and I think they can take one in Texas.
Pick: Rams +4
At New Orleans -7.5 Arizona
The Saints play different in the comfort of their own dome. They should take this one without too much trouble.
Pick: Saints -7.5
At Washington -2 Detroit
Shootout city. The Redskins have the worst defense in the NFL. They’ve allowed 511.5 yards per game so far. Yikes. The Lions can score in bunches. With or without Reggie. Take the over and watch the fireworks.
Pick: Lions +2
Green Bay -2 At Cincinnati
The Packers have one of the most explosive offenses in football. The Bengals beat up on the Steelers at home, but their defense is going to have a difficult time bottling up Green Bay’s multiple offensive weapons.
Pick: Packers -2
At Carolina -1 NY Giants
Two 0-2 teams try to turn things around, someone’s gotta win, right? I think the Giants are the better winless squad.
Pick: Giants +1
At Miami -2.5 Atlanta
Toughest game of the week to call. Are the Fins for real? Can they contain Atlanta’s passing attack? Can the Falcons get production out of their backup RBs with Jackson sidelined? I thought the Fins would be much improved this season, and I’m going to keep supporting their turnaround here.
Pick: Fins -2.5
At San Francisco -10 Indianapolis
Luck gets a new weapon and the Seahawks proved that the mighty Niners aren’t invincible. Trent Richardson was already an angry runner. Now he’s going to be even more motivated to destroy people. I think SF wins this one, but it’ll be closer than a two score margin.
Pick: Colts +10
At Seattle -19.5 Jacksonville
What the what? Three score deficit in Week 3? Harsh bro! But the worst team in football competing up against the most legit home field advantage in the NFL? The Jags are gonna get trounced.
Pick: Seahawks -19.5
At NY Jets -2.5 Buffalo
I interviewed EJ Manuel earlier this week and when we talked about that near win against the Pats in Week 1, EJ said, “we don’t want to become a shoulda, woulda, coulda type team.” I love this guy. He’s calm, collected, unnerved. EJ over Geno, Bills over Jets.
Pick: Bills +2.5
Chicago -2.5 At Pittsburgh
When the free agent lineman that you picked up off the street looks better than all four of your regular starters, your o-line is a mess. The Steelers need their high draft picks to show up and help. Miller and Bell won’t be factors this week, but DeCastro and Adams need to start living up to their pedigree. Jarvis Jones too. Pittsburgh’s offense is a mess: nowhere to run, Haley’s getting yelled at by the team’s best wide out, Ben needs more freedom to run the no huddle and call his own plays, etc. It’s tough times all around in Pittsburgh, and the offense shoulders the bulk of the blame. I want to believe they can turn it around, but I really do have my doubts. Steelers as home dogs shouldn’t happen though.
Pick: Steelers +2.5
At Denver -15 Oakland
The Broncos look scary good and the Raiders look borderline competent. This spread seems to fit just right. Denver can take away Oakland’s biggest strength. The Raiders lead the league in rushing and the Broncos are first in the league against the run (that’s what happens when you build large leads early). It all adds up to more time for Peyton to wreak havoc.
Pick: Broncos -15
Last Week: 8-8
Season: 12-19-1
Last Season: 136-121-5
Sep 19th
Week 2 NFL Picks
Okay so last week’s picks were a bit of a disaster. But hey, it happens. It’s a long season, so stick with us. Week 1 is hard to peg, but we know a lot more about the NFL with the first slate of meaningful games behind us. On to Week 2:
At New England -11.5 NY Jets
Geno Smith flashed some skills in that gift of a win last week. It took a boneheaded penalty (and a fine of nearly 8K) from Lavonte David to secure the win for the Jets. The Bills almost shocked the world in Week One, but the Pats edged ‘em out. Spread seems a bit high but the Pats are playing at home. I’m still calling for no blowout though.
Pick: Jets +11.5
At Philadelphia -7.5 San Diego
The total is set at 55 for this game, so the odds makers aren’t expecting a whole lot of defense in Philly. Chip Kelly’s offense looked tremendous, but the Chargers showed some spark against Houston last week in a game they should’ve one. If the Eagles can sustain their uptempo attack and not wither away late, they should be a force to reckon with in the NFC East.
Pick: Eagles -7.5
At Baltimore -6.5 Cleveland
Both these teams have problems in the passing game. Cleveland misses Josh Gordon and I’m sure Flacco wishes he had some more solid options to work with (like Anquan maybe?). The Pitta loss clearly hurts. Dallas Clark is no spring chicken. That Baltimore D looks kinda suspect, too. All that said, even if Richardson breaks off a monster game, Weeden looks like a liability. Batimore moves to the top of the division first with a win on Sunday.
Pick: Ravens -6.5
At Houston -9 Tennessee
Yea, yea, the Titans stomped on the Steelers after they lost multiple players for the year in that Week 1 matchup. Congrats. The Titans still couldn’t get the ground game going and Jake Locker wasn’t exactly lighting it up either (11 for 20 for 125 yards and no scores). I think a correction is in order here. The Texans are coming off an amazing come-from-behind victory and they’re going to stick it to the former Oilers.
Pick: Texans -9
At Indianapolis -2.5 Miami
Colts D looked suspect. Miami’s did not. Still there’s something about this young Indy team in that dome. You gotta go home team here.
Pick: Colts -2.5
Carolina -3 At Buffalo
I can’t remember the last time I saw the fans in Buffalo as fired up as they were last week. The Panthers are coming to town with a formidable d-line and an ability to hang with quality teams. I like Buffalo to build on their near-win last week, though.
Pick: Bills +3
At Atlanta -6.5 St. Louis
The Rams look different this year. Richardson looks ready to shoulder the load and the offense in general just looks like it had more spark. The Falcons can spark, too though. Especially at home coming off a big loss to a divisional foe. Atlanta takes this one.
Pick: Falcons -6.5
At Green Bay -7.5 Washington
No matter how slow the Skins start, they proved that they can hang around late. I still like the Packers to play a solid game throughout and cruise to victory at home.
Pick: Packers -7.5
At Kansas City -3 Dallas
The new-look Chiefs are looking to win as many games this year as they did through 13 weeks last year. That second win won’t be easy, though. Even with Romo hobbled by injury, the Chiefs are going to have their hands full. Arrowhead’s a tough place to play and Charles is a monster, sure, but I think Dallas can hang.
Pick: Cowboys +3
At Chicago -6 Minnesota
The Bears stole one from CIncy, but the Vikings looked pretty non-threatening last week. Outside of AP’s first carry, they couldn’t get much done.
Pick: Bears -6
New Orleans -3.5 At Tampa Bay
The storyline could’ve been different. The Bucs could be 1-0 looking to rally round Josh Freeman and make a push towards relevancy. Instead, they pissed away a win, having players-only meetings and you got Freeman being stripped of his captaincy and missing the team photo. On the flipside, you got Payton back at the helm of a Saints team looking ready to inflict some damage on the NFC South. No dome, no problem for the Saints.
Pick: Saints -3.5
Detroit -1.5 At Arizona
Double team Calvin? Not a problem, that just opens things up for Reggie. Bush had a monster game despite messing up his groin and dislocating a thumb. Dude was a few inches shy of two more TDs that got Joiqued away from him. Bush’s load won’t lighten up this week as Patrick Peterson tries to lock down Calvin.
Pick: Lions -1.5
At Oakland -5.5 Jacksonville
Man, Pryor looked good. Not just cause he led the league in rushing before McCoy went off on MNF, either. Kid was pretty poised. He kept plays alive, went through his progressions and just made plays, man. Raiders fans might not want to get too optimistic, but playing the worst team in football in Week 2 should help. I don’t expect
Pick: Raiders -5.5
Denver -4.5 At NY Giants
The Manning Bowl is in the Meadowlands, but you gotta love the chances of big bro’s team better here.
Pick: Broncos -4.5
At Seattle -3 San Francisco
Seattle is a different team at home, yes, but the Niners look poised to make a big Super Bowl push this season. It all starts with winning the division, and this is the toughest roadblock in the NFC West. The Niners are up for the challenge.
Pick: 49ers +3
At Cincinnati -7 Pittsburgh
No one had it worse than the Steelers in Week One. The offense mustered only one garbage TD. That’s atrocious. Losing your best lineman and not having a backup that’s dressed will do that do a team. So will non-Dwyer options at running back. This will be a true test for the Steelers. They’re a well-coached team with quality players on both sides of the ball. If they can bounce back here, they can make a season of it. If they can’t run the ball or protect Ben at all, then it’s going to be a very long year.
Pick: Steelers +7
Last Week: 4-11-1
Last Season: 136-121-5
Sep 12th
