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TampaBay Buccaneers(0-3) @ Washington Redskins(1-2) Sunday 1 ET
-Things can not get much worse right now for Head coach Jim Zorn and the Redskins. After sneaking out a 9-7 narrow victory the week before over the Rams, the Redskins lost to the Lions 19-14 to snap their 19-game losing streak. Redskins Owner Daniel Snider must be chomping at the bit right now looking forward to the end of the year to hire another head coach(Holmgren, Gruden, Shanahan, Cowher, Dungy). This game really could go either way, but I am going to pick the Redskins. TampaBay has a lot of problems of their own as well. QB Josh Johnson will make his first career NFL start in this game after QB Byron Leftwich’s benching. Who?
Baltimore Ravens(3-0) @ New England Patriots(2-1) Sunday 1 ET
-What an early season matchup this game provides. I believe the Baltimore Ravens are the best team in football right now early in the season. QB Joe Flacco has really thrown the ball well this year and along with the duo of RB Ray Rice and RB Willis McGahee really gives the Ravens a balanced offensive attack that is tough to stop. Need I say anything about their Defense? No. The Patriots meanwhile just continue to find ways to win. I really thought the Patriots would lose last week to the rising Falcons. Silly of me, they have not lost back-to-back games since 2001. Ravens win a close game and make a statement as the team to beat in the AFC, for now.
Detroit Lions(1-2) @ Chicago Bears(2-1) Sunday 1 ET
Lions win! Lions win! 19-game losing skid no more! Unfortunately, the Lions are not going to start a winning streak either this week. QB Jay Cutler’s play has improved the last two weeks after a night to remember in Green Bay to open the season and the team has won. Injuries are seemingly to pile up for the Bears though. Healthy or not, Bears still manage to beat the Lions who may still be caught up in the hype of last week’s victory. Hell, can you really blame them?
Tennessee Titans(0-3) @ Jacksonville Jaguars(1-2) Sunday 1 ET
-I have picked the Titans to win the last two weeks. The Titans are the best 0-3 team in football. The Titans who were a playoff team last year and also recorded the best regular season record at 13-3 have already equaled their loss total from last year find themselves in trouble. However, they have had three tough games to open the season. I have to pick the Titans as Head coach Jeff Fisher, the longest tenured head coach in the NFL will stop the bleeding. The problem has been the Offense and not the Defense. Titans win as their Defense puts the clamps on Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew.
Oakland Raiders(1-2) @ Houston Texans(1-2) Sunday 1 ET
-The Texans who have the NFL’s worst ranked Defense giving up an average of 436.3 yards per game may have just found a temporary solution to their problems this week. The solution you ask? The Oakland Raiders. The Raiders Offensive attack is not much better than the Texans Defense. QB JaMarcus Russell(39.8 rating, 378 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT). Need I say more? QB Matt Schaub and the Texans Offense has put up some big numbers this season, they just seem to slightly yield a little more on Defense. Texans win big.
Cincinnati Bengals(2-1) @ Cleveland Browns(0-3) Sunday 1 ET
-The Battle of Ohio. Early into the season the Cincinnati Bengals are one of the surprises in the NFL thus far. QB Carson Palmer and the Bengals overcame a 20-9 deficit to comeback and beat the Steelers at home for the first time since 2001 after WR Andre Caldwell’s TD catch with just 14 seconds remaining. Meanwhile, the Browns are awful. We do know that QB Derek Anderson has now been named the starter after the benching of QB Brady Quinn last week. However, this should not make much of a difference because after QB Derek Anderson came into the game last week he threw 3 INT. Quarterback change or not, the Browns are still bad. The Bengals should win this game and need to put the Browns away early. They can not afford to lose this game if they want to contend in the AFC North as a week 5 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens is on tap for next week. Bengals win easily.
Seattle Seahawks(1-2) @ Indianapolis Colts(3-0) Sunday 1 ET
-QB Seneca Wallace did not look all that bad last week standing in for the injured QB Matt Hasselbeck. Wish I could say the same for the Seahawk’s aqua green jerseys they wore for the game. Wow, how ugly did those look. It is hard for me to believe that even a diehard Seahawks fan liked the way those looked. Meanwhile, I have picked against QB Peyton Manning and the Colts the last two weeks and gotten burned. No player has been more valuable to the success of his team than QB Peyton Manning. He has simply carried this team. The Colts Defense has surprisingly played well though as well. Even with starters SS Bob Sanders, LB Gary Brackett, and CB Kelvin Hayden they have performed well. However, DE Dwight Freeney is now lost for a few weeks after suffering a quad injury last week. QB Peyton Manning leads the Colts to victory once again.
New York Giants(3-0) @ Kansas City Chiefs(0-3) Sunday 1 ET
-So far the QB Matt Cassel experiment in Kansas City has been a failure. They Chiefs got blow out by an Eagles team last week who was without QB Donovan McNabb. The New York Giants meanwhile are off to a quiet 3-0 start. Much of the publicity and hype in the “Big Apple” has gone to the Jets. QB Eli Manning and the Giants will win to move to 4-0 even if they are on the second page of the sport’s section to the Jets.
Buffalo Bills(1-2) @ Miami Dolphins(0-3) Sunday 4:05 ET
-You have to feel for QB Chad Pennington whose season is over after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last week. He has battled injuries his entire career. The Dolphins who were a playoff team last year will find it even tougher to get back this year after a slow start as QB Chad Henne will make his first career NFL start. I watched Henne play at Michigan and thought he was no good. However, he has looked good in preseason the past two years and the Fins see him as their future QB. On the other end, T.O. may start to begin getting frustrated after having his 185-game with at least one catch streak snapped last week, but he did handle himself well in front of the media during a press conference where some reporters were obviously trying to get him to blow up. Bills are also a decent team. Two hard fought losses to very good teams in the Patriots and Saints. Buffalo bounces back as they need to find more ways to get T.O. the ball. Diva or not, he is a playmaker.
New York Jets(3-0) @ New Orleans Saints(3-0) Sunday 4:05 ET
-Another great week 4 matchup. Hopefully I will get to watch this game as it starts at 4 ET. This game pairs two teams that are undefeated at 3-0 each. Something’s got to give. Jets Head coach Rex Ryan has his team playing with a lot of confidence. QB Mark Sanchez is already the frontrunner for Offensive ROY. Some Jets fans are even comparing this team to the days of legendary QB Joe Namath and the improbable victory in Super Bowl III. Maybe a little premature yet. However, QB Drew Brees and the Saints Offense is on fire. QB Drew Brees did not even put up big numbers that he did in the previous two weeks, but they still won comfortably. Their running game is nearly as good as their passing game. This will be a close and competitive game, but the Saints win at home.
St. Louis Rams(0-3) @ San Francisco 49ers(2-1) Sunday 4:15 ET
-Despite an injury to RB Frank Gore the 49ers outplayed the Vikings last week and deserved to win the game. However, they gave up a big play at the end as Favre found the back of the end zone to win. This team definitely is a mirror image of the attitude of their Head coach Mike Singletary. After the loss to the Vikings, 49ers Head coach Mike Singletary addressed these words to his team, “You have nothing to be looking at the floor for for! You did not steal anything! You did not do anything wrong! Ok? We are going to get better! We are going to get there! We will see them again in the playoffs, all right? You hold your head up!” Wow. Who would not want to play for him? 49ers bounce back and romp the Rams, who now hold the NFL’s longest current losing streak at 13 games.
Dallas Cowboys(2-1) @ Denver Broncos(3-0) Sunday 4:15 ET
-This is a hard game to pick. I am still not a believer in the 3-0 Broncos. It took a miracle play at the end to beat the Bengals and then they had a pair of wins over the lowly Raiders and Chiefs. The schedule gets tougher down the road and their record will show, but if they can hang around and finish 9-7 they may find themselves sneak into the playoffs. On the other end, the Cowboys are looking far from impressive. Their Defense finally recorded a sack and forced a turnover in last week’s game. However, that was against the struggling Panthers. RB Marion Barber was already sidelined and now RB Felix Jones will also be after suffering an injury on MNF. QB Tony Romo and the Cowboys Defense did improve. The Cowboys have been under immense pressure these last two weeks to win after the grand opening of the new $115 billion Cowboys Stadium. Now, the Cowboys can take their game on the road away from all the Jerry Jone’s hoopla and distractions and just play. Cowboys win.
San Diego Chargers(2-1) @ Pittsburgh Steelers(1-2) Sunday 8:20 ET
-How bad do the Steelers miss the presence of Troy Polomalu on the field? The Defending Champs can not afford to lose this game and drop to 1-3 after a quick start by Baltimore and surprise start by Cincinnati. The Steelers have lost two weeks straight after not accomplishing something that they have done so well over the years: finish games. The Steelers have been outscored 24-0 in the fourth quarter the last two weeks to surrender the lead and the games as well. The Chargers are a good football team and will win the terrible AFC West, but the Steelers are desperate for this win and need it more. Steelers win.
Green Bay Packers(2-1) @ Minnesota Vikings(3-0) Monday 8:30 ET
This game does not need any introductions or added storylines. ESPN could not have asked for a better game for MNF. This game may just end up as ESPN’s most viewed MNF broadcast of all-time. Vikings QB Brett Favre will suit up and play against his former team where he became a Packer’s Legend. The Packers need to be able to stop RB Adrian Peterson in this game if they want to have a chance to win. The addition of 1st round pick DT B.J. Raji after sitting out the first two weeks of the regular season and getting limited playing time last week should bolster the Packers run defense. The Packers 3-4 Defense also needs to get pressure on Favre, who nearing his 40th birthday is not as agile in the pocket. Hopefully, the added pressure will force Favre into making mistakes as the Packers secondary has the edge on the Vikings WRs. Also, the Packers need to protect QB Aaron Rodgers to allow him to make big plays as was evident last week. I believe if the Packers can accomplish in containing RB Adrian Peterson, pressure Favre, and give QB Aaron Rodgers time in the pocket they will win a huge divisional game. We all know that I can not pick against them, especially in this game. Packers win.
Byes: Cardinals, Falcons, Panthers, Eagles
Overall: 30-18
Last Week: 10-6
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