NFL 2012 Week 2 Predictions

I did okay last week considering it was week 1. And I like most of the games this week, probably a little too much. Clearly that means this is going to be bad, so let’s get it over with.

Patriots -13.5 over Cardinals, 40-13

-Kevin Kolb is involved. Also, as good as NE was last week, they still missed a couple of big plays and relatively easy third downs. I see an explosion coming here. Also, Kevin Kolb is involved.

Ravens -1 over Eagles, 27-14

-Yeah, I don’t get this. The Ravens were awesome. The Eagles barely beat a team that put up the following passing stats: 12-35, 116 yards, 4 INTs. Easy win. Ray Rice has a HUGE game.

Bengals -7 over Browns, 24-6

-The Bengals are a decent team, they just drew a tough week 1 assignment. Also, please see the stats of the game from above. BJGE is a great fantasy play this weekend (though I cannot imagine people are not playing him at this point).

-Best Eliminator Pick

Texans – 7 over Jacksonville, 23-10

-Calm down everyone, this isn’t the 85 Bears or 99 Ravens. But Houston is a good defense and Jacksonville is still a mediocre offense. Owen Daniels may continue a good start to his season, good matchup for him.

-Second Best Eliminator Pick

Chiefs +3.5 over Bills, 21-20

-I picked the Bills to make the playoffs, but with what we saw last week I am not sure I can continue to support that. And in any case I also think the Chiefs will win their division. They hung with a good Falcons team last week for a long while. Charles will be warmed up, and the Chiefs squeak one out on the road.

Vikings -1 over Colts, 20-10

-The defensive line will crush Luck. Vikings aren’t great but take care of the Colts. Peterson might only get some work before being pulled in a recurring theme. I would like to support the Vikings having a sneaky good year but the schedule does get tougher.

Saints -2.5 over Panthers, 31-24

-Yeah, the Saints aren’t starting 0-2. Brees will be better, and they will have gotten a lot of update messages from anonymous gmail accounts as Sean Payton is “sitting at home not contacting the team”. Cam has a good day statistically but most of it is from playing from behind.

Dolphins +1 over Raiders, 17-13

-As Bill Simmons said: “Take Carson Palmer on the road in a humid air while the Dolphins are forcing the Raiders to wear their home blacks? I don’t think so”. Does this mean I am backing Ryan Tannehill for a week? Maybe. Let’s just hoping I am backing Reggie Bush for a week. And as always, I am backing Carson Palmer interceptions.

Bucs +7 over Giants, 20-24

-Giants will win this but they just play so mediocre at home I am predicting the cover. Doug Martin is getting a lot of backing this week to perform well, but I think he could actually live up to the billing. Eli may have a shaky week, I’d be more comfortable playing Bradshaw (and am). David Wilson is trying to lose his job.

Cowboys -3 over Seahawks, 27-17

-I like Seattle a lot. Not quite Bill Simmons’ level of liking the Seahawks, but they have a solid team. But their skill position players could be a lot better, and they cannot produce consistent points. The Cowboys can. Thus, the Cowboys win. 2012 NFL everyone.

Rams +3.5 over Ethnic Slurs, 20-17

-RG3 gets a little more exposed this week. Washington cannot catch good bounces on all 8 turnover opportunities like they did last week (they caught all three Brees picks, the Saints dropped RG3’s pick, and Washington recovered both teams’ two fumbles). That’s just incredible luck. And Sam Bradford takes another few steps toward reminding us he is actually pretty decent. Too bad they haven’t given him anything at WR. Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney couldn’t go there? Really?

Jets +6.5 over Steelers, 17-16

-I have very little idea who wins this game, but take the points. It should be low scoring and close regardless. The fact that the Steelers have so many injury concerns suggests to me a Jets win, but I hate them too.

Chargers -6 over Titans, 26-13

-Did I miss something? Why are the Titans considered to be good? Bad QB, inconsistent receivers, running back clearly not the same guy as 3 years ago, and they have a banged up quarterback. Oh, they are strong in the front seven and have good line play? Who cares, its 2012. Those things are nice but if you don’t have an elite QB it doesn’t matter anymore. Chargers at least have that, and they will hit more big plays than last week.

Lions +7 over 49ers, 24-23

-Upset alert. Just still don’t see a team in the 49ers that can score with some of the big boys. They got Green Bay, sure, and deserve credit for that win. But I just don’t see how they can score enough with teams like the Lions. As Alex Smith is asked to do more, his career just suggests it will go badly. And if he goes back to doing less, the Lions will score too much. However, if Calvin doesn’t play don’t even think of taking the points.

Falcons -3 over Broncos, 30-24

-Hard to bet against the Manning factor, but I still don’t think you can bet against the Falcons at home. Matt Ryan might be doing a better 2005 Peyton Manning impression this year than 2012 Peyton Manning is. Turner also regains some productivity here.

Record last week:

Straight Up: 11-4

By Spread: 8-7

Record this year:

Straight Up: 11-4

By Spread: 8-7

Record last year:

Straight Up: 144-66

By Spread: 111-95

Lifetime record:
Straight Up: 400-201
By Spread: 328-280

MIKE