Week 1 Record: 8-7
Lattanzi's Week 1 record (11-5)
Editor's note: Caputo's Corner will NOT predict the Redskins' game each week
For the first time in NFL history, we have a week where there are zero...count 'em, zero...divisional games. Every games is either interdivisional or interconference. This is a result of the scheduling formula used this year in preparation for a potential work stoppage. Some of the other interesting quirks this year include:
-The entire schedule could have been delayed by as as many as two weeks, as Indianapolis has the Super Bowl booked for 2 weeks (as well as eliminating the bye week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl)
-All games played in week 3 are between teams that share bye weeks. This allows the league to delay the start of the season by 3 weeks if necessary, thus eliminating everybody's bye week.
-All games in weeks 2 and 4 are either interdivisional or interconference. This allowed for the league to cancel up to two weeks of the season and still preserve the entire slate of 6 divisional games per team.
Fortunately, none of these contingencies were needed, but the league was very serious about how the labor proceedings went, based on these contingencies. At the end of the day, everybody got what they wanted (they think) and we will have labor peace until at least 2021.
Onto the picks for week 2 (again, omitting the Redskins vs. Cardinals game)
Seattle @ Pittsburgh-Seattle isn't very good, and Pittsburgh is gonna be hoppin' mad after the thump-job they took last week at Baltimore. Pittsburgh will not start the season 0-2. Pittsburgh 38 Seattle 10
Oakland @ Buffalo-Two surprise winners from week 1, somebody is going to come out of this 2-0. Will they make noise in their respective divisions down the road? We'll wait and see. As far as this game, Oakland looks to have the edge. They catch Buffalo in September before it gets too cold, and as long as Run DMC stays upright and Ryan Fitzpatrick comes back to Earth, DA RAI-DUZ should escape. Oakland 24 Buffalo 23
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota-Both of these teams lost tough ones last week against opponents who played a lot better than they should have played on paper. Then again, games are never played on paper. Then again, Minnesota has Adrian Peterson in the dome...as long as it stays inflated. Minnesota 31 Tampa Bay 24
Jacksonville @ New York Jets-The Jags won a game last week over a Tennessee team not at 100% as they limited CJ2K's carries. The Jets have no such running back issues, but what makes their clock tick is their defense and special teams, as a punt block and 2 key turnovers in the 4th quarter doomed Dallas. Expect more of the same, but no Tony Romo means no 4th quarter choke. This ought to be over before the 4th quarter. New York Jets 28 Jacksonville 3
Chicago @ New Orleans-New Orleans put up a lot of stats in Green Bay only to come up a yard and 2-point play short. Perhaps if they had not just given the ball the Mark Ingram...nevermind. Chicago stifled a supposedly potent Atlanta offense in Week 1. Drew Brees is tougher competition than Matt Ryan, granted, but I smell upset here...and not just because I have Chicago's fantasy defense. New Orleans at 0-2 might mean the paper bags start to return at the Superdome. Chicago 34 New Orleans 31
Green Bay @ Carolina-Cam Newton put 422 on the Cardinals in Week 1. He will not put up half that much on the Pack. Kevin Kolb put up over 300 yards on Carolina. Aaron Rodgers might have that by halftime. Green Bay 42 Carolina 17
Baltimore @ Tennessee-Even if CJ2K was at full strength with a full camp this is a tall order, but they are at home. Haloti Ngata is an early candidate for defensive player of the year with the way he disrupted Pittsburgh in Week 1. Don't expect a repeat performance of Baltimore's offensive output, but don't expect the D to let up either. Baltimore 20 Tennessee 13
Kansas City @ Detroit-Dare I say that Detroit is a favorite here. Consider that Detroit won on the road against a solid Tampa team and KC got blitzed by an inferior Buffalo team. I didn't think I'd ever pick Detroit to win again...and I'm picking them in week 2. It's gonna be a sleeper though. Detroit 17 Kansas City 14
Cleveland @ Indianapolis-The one saving grace for Indianapolis this week is their opponent. Cleveland is dreadful and while Indy without Peyton is not much more than mediocre, their offense this week doesn't need to do much. Indianpolis 19 Cleveland 7
Dallas @ San Francisco-Classic Tony Romo in week 1. Dallas is the better team here, but Romo's inability to finish games really makes this one a toss up. Dallas will either blow them out or San Fran will come all the way back just like the Jets did. San Francisco 26 Dallas 24
Cincinnati @ Denver-I picked Denver last week because I said Denver was hard to pick against in the Mile High air. All Oakland did was come in and use the atmosphere to their advantage thank to Janikowski's 63-yarder. Cinci does not have a kicker like Janikowski, but they are similar to Oakland in many ways. Comparable competition is coming to Denver this week, so expect a comperable result. Cincinnati 23 Denver 20
San Diego @ New England-This matchup would be a good one to save for later in the season. This year, we get it in week 2. Brady went for 520 last week, but didn't get Ochocinco involved. Ochocinco tweets his appreciation, and gets slammed by Tedy Bruschi. Something is going on in the New England locker room that they are not telling us about perhaps. If they play like they did in Miami though, they can handle the distraction, and they won't even need vidotape! New England 45 San Diego 28
Houston @ Miami-Houston handled a depleted Indy team last week, but if they want to really win the division, these are the games they have to win. Miami fell apart in the 4th quarter last week, so they should be ready to play. However, Houston needs this one a lot more than Miami does. Houston 23 Miami 17
Philadelphia @ Atlanta-VICK IS BACK!!!! The unhappiest guy in the building will probably be Arthur Blank, but he won't have time to really think about it because this one will be a shootout. Vick will score at will, and Matty Ice will have to throw it 55 times just to keep up. Philly's secondary will get a test against an Atlanta team that was stymied last week in Chicago. Last team with the ball wins. Philadelphia 42 Atlanta 35
St. Louis @ New York Giants-The Rams fell apart in the Philly game last week, and the Giants are still injured in just about every way on defense. This is a great chance for the Rams to make amends for last week, but injuries to big offensive stars Steven Jackson, Sam Bradford, and Danny Amendola will give the Giants a chance to feel good about themselves. New York Giants 21 St. Louis 17
Alright, Nick, start keeping track of my picks, too. It's time to own you.
ReplyDeleteSeattle @ Pittsburgh (-14): Seattle is running into a buzzsaw. The Stillers had a hard week of practice after that egg they laid in Charm City, and the Seahawks are gonna play Washington Generals to their Globetrotters. Pittsburgh to win and cover.
***My Survivor Pool Pick of the Week***
Oakland @ Buffalo (-3.5): You may be selling Buffalo a little short. Fitzpatrick is probably the smartest QB in the league, and he's got himself an underrated deep threat in Stevie Johnson and a big red-zone target in Scott Chandler. Oakland may be on the up and up too, but I like Buffalo to win and cover.
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota (-2.5): I don't know how you can characterize the Vikings opponent last week as one they should have beaten on paper - they played the Chargers, who on paper last year had the #1 offense and defense (admittedly in the inferior *yards* categories, not scoring). Also, Detroit is everybody's sleeper playoff team, and they've been getting better by leaps and bounds on paper. That was a tough loss for the Bucs, and the Vikes did well to not get blown out, which they should have. Anyhow, all Minny did this offseason was lose their #1 receiving threat and trade one beat-up, old QB for another. Advantage Bucs. Take the points and the moneyline - Tampa evens out to 1-1.
Jacksonville @ New York Jets (-8.5): This is a tough one to call against the spread. You can't take too much from Jax's victory over the Titans in their home opener, but it also took the Jets a Romo meltdown (a Romeltdown?) to get primetime win at Giants Stadium. The Jets will probably improve this week, but I'd still take the points and the Jets to win.
Chicago @ New Orleans (-6.5): A lot of emotion in this one. New Orleans needs to bounce back after coming up just short at Green Bay, and have had 10 days to think about it. The Bears mauled Atlanta, and that defense will be fired up to rally around Brian Urlacher after losing his mother this week. Also, that Saints secondary looks like lambs to the slaughter for Mike Martz and his gunslinger, Jay Cutler. I like New Orleans to win, but six and the hook is way too much to lay - it's gonna be a close one.
Green Bay (-10) @ Carolina: A 10-point road favorite? What is this, the 2004 Indianapolis Colts? The 2007 New England Cheaters? The 1999 St. Louis Rams? I'll make this short and simple: take the Pack and lay the points. Their amps go to 11.
Baltimore (-6) @ Tennessee: Just about the only thing that matters to me in this game is that Kenny Britt torches the overrated Ravens secondary the way they usually get torched against elite pass-catchers. Otherwise, take the Crows and lay the points.
Kansas City @ Detroit (-8): Detroit beat a good Bucs squad on the road last week, and they have a potent passing offense when Matthew Glassford can stay healthy (and unshattered). KC is putrid - let's face it, the entirety of their success last year was due to the weakness of their schedule. They're firmly in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, and get blown out in the Motor City. Take Detroit and lay the 8.
Cleveland (-2) @ Indianapolis: Before Peyton had the second surgery, we were looking at him being out for two, three, maybe four weeks. This is one of the games (if not the only game early on, given our tough schedule) that I thought was winnable with Curtis Painter/Dan Orlovsky/Kerry Collins/Martha Stewart at QB. After Collins shit the bed last week, not so much. Gary Brackett is out with a bum shoulder, so the stoutness in our defense is gone, just in time for the Albino Rhino to come into town. I think this is a shitty game, and I'd be incline to take the two, but I still think the Brownies win it.
ReplyDeleteDallas (-3) @ San Francisco: Dallas needs to bounce back from another Romo catastrophe. Ted Ginn, Jr. is not gonna return two kicks to the house every week, and has been previously said, the Seahawks aren't terribly good. Take Dallas and go ahead and spot the Niners three.
Cincinnati @ Denver (-3.5): The unlikely winner of last week Stinksburg, Ohio matchup, Cincy brings it's rookie QB a mile high to try and beat Kyle Orton and the Tim Tebow chants. Knowshon (yeah, I know Sean) Moreno is out, making "Whatchu Talkin' 'Bout?" Willis McGahee my flex fantasy play. Still, Cedric Benson comes to town after Run DMC gashed the Broncos for one fitty, so I'll take the improbable young gun, the three and the hook, and Cincy moving to 2-0.
San Diego @ New England (-6.5): Boy, if there were every a game I would want a terrorist attack on, this would be it. You hear me Al Qaeda, Al Jazeera, Al Jefferson? Blow this shit up! Think of all the douches that would be wiped out in one fell swoop! As for the game, take the points, but the Cheaters-turned-paper tigers (2-3 in the playoffs after being forced to stop cheating) win it.
Houston (-3) @ Miami: We can't really tell much about the Texans from last week. The Fins, though, look like they finally have the successor to Dan Marino (only some 12 years later!). Miami was in that game last week, and will come out firing. This is a test for both teams, actually. I like the home dog - to cover and to win one of the undercard games of the week.
Philadelphia (-2.5) @ Atlanta: The Prodigal Son Returns. Yadda yadda yadda. Is this the week Vick gets sidelined? You'd have to think sixty thousand Georgians want it to be. Atlanta got smoked - and totally taken by surprise - up at Soldier Field last week, and will come out firing. And this is the first good offense we get to see that rehashed Iggles defensive backfield play. I like home dogs, but 2.5 just isn't enough. I like the birds from Filthadelphia to best the dirty birds in the dirty south by the required 3 points.
St. Louis @ New York Giants (-6): Attrition Bowl I. Boy did the G-Men get hit hard in the preseason and the Rams get hit hard in the season opener. Steven Jackson is out, Danny Amendola is out, and Boomer Sooner Bradford is playing with a numb throwing hand. I think the Giants bounce back and get a win in their home-opener, though I wouldn't give the points.
Arizona @ Washington (-3.5): Overrated Bowl I. Neither of these teams is as good as they looked last week. Kolb is and unknown at QB, and unfortunately for the 'Skins, Rex Grossman is altogether too known. It's only a matter of time before Bad Rex shows up, but this time he doesn't have that Bears defense to back him up. In a low-scoring sleeper, Arizona wins outright.