2011 NFL Season Week 2 Outcomes

Well folks, it was a banner week for my predictions. I went 14-2 this weekend. I should have put some money on it in Vegas. Of course, I would have preferred to go 13-3. Unfortunately, my Rams didn't put a dent on my record.

I want to know if any of the pros did better than me! I bet they didn't.

The spoiler was that my team did what I expected them to do in New York. We just don't have good skill position players on offense. The defense is more than good enough. Our lack of play makers on offense forms a hard cap on our achievements in 2011.

The Bronocs over the Bengals was a very mild surprise. These are two football teams ass-deep in the quagmire of rebuilding. Both are poor football teams. When one poor football team defeats another, the outcome cannot be described as a shocker. You might not even be able to use the term upset.

On the other hand, shocking upset is the only term you can use to describe the Titans' victory over the Ravens. What do you call it when a rebuilding squad takes out the odds-on favorite for the AFC Championship?

It's pretty straightforward folks: The Ravens shot their wad against the Steelers and they came out flat as hell for the Titans. They were expected a free walk-over victory I guess. It was a gimme. Nope, the Titans took down a listless Raven team that just couldn't get it up.

I still think the Ravens are the prohibitive favorite in the AFC. Hopefully, this is a great lesson for them.

I am having a very good day (9-1)

It's a rare thing when I stop to boast in the middle of game day, but I had such a rare morning, I thought I just had to say something.

Check my week 2 picks from earlier in this week.

If the Ravens had not lost in the most shocking upset of the day, I would have been totally undefeated this morning. Right now I am 9-1. I am off to a flying start, and already guaranteed a winning record for the week.

I should have placed some action in Las Vegas. I just found a 1986 Pisces woman who is a party pit manager in Las Vegas through POF.COM (plenty of fish dot com). Maybe I will ask her to put some action on it next week.

2011 NFL Season Week 2 Predictions

Here they are folks, my week 2 predictions.

There are only a couple of tough choices on the board this week. The Cardinals vs. Redskins is the first of these. These are two pretty good and evenly matched football teams. I am taking the Redskins based on home field advantage, but this could easily go the other way,

One of the most dangerous matches on the board is the Bears vs. Saints in the Super Dome. The Saints should power-slam the Bears. All the Bears do is upset the shit out of erstwhile superior opponents. Saints beware! This is one of the two most interesting matches on the board.

The most difficult game to assess is the Chargers vs. Patriots. The Patriot defense got lit by none other than hot-seat QB Chad Henning. What are they going to do when the face Phillip Rivers and the Chargers? Rivers didn't exactly light it up against a weak Viking secondary though. As we all know Tom Brady threw for 517 yards against the Dolphins (1 Int), but what will he do when he faces a secondary that canned Donovan McNabb, holding him to 39 yards?

Ultimately, I am going to take the Patriots based on home field advantage, but this game could easily go the other way.

The Falcons vs. Eagles is somewhat intriguing, but I expect the Falcons to be wildly pissed off after their humiliation at the hands of the Bears. The Eagles defeated my Rams based on a limited number of big plays, but their lines are absolutely vulnerable. My Rams gashed their defensive line on run after run. If the Falcons will just run a little with Turner the Burner, everything aught to be all right.

This brings me to the most regrettable choice on the board. As you know, my Rams got banged up against the Eagles. We now have to go on the road to New York to face the Giants without Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola. I don't like 'dem odds. Also, I don't want to use the term sophomore jinx, but... If the Redskins can beat the Giants, so can we, but it isn't super likely. I am forced to take the Giants.

My picks for week 2 of the 2010 NFL Season

I haven't usually been interested in calling the winners and loosers before games. We know how injury prone that sport is. The man assigned to pick these games has a fool's errand. I have been more interested in watch how these things play out in real time.

However, I have grown board with this routine. To try to luster my 2010 season up a bit, I have decided to lay down my predictions regarding winners and loosers. It could be fun. I am interested in testing my perceptions formally. I want to see how accurate I am, and if my accuracy can be improved.

Explanation

This is a pretty easy week. I don't see a lot of nail-biters here. Dolphins and Vikings produced a bit of sweat. Rams v Raiders also produced a little sweat. Patriots v Jets produced a lot of sweat, and is probably the most difficult pick on the board. Right beside that is the Giants v Colts matchup, which is also sweat provoking. I think the rest is pretty much straightforward.

We'll see how big the upsets are this weekend, and there are always a few upsets.

Dolphins v Vikings a is a bit of a tough call. I believe the Dolphins are much improved. I believe the Vikings are down from last season. I think they are meeting in the middle, which makes this a tough call, but I am going with my AFC East favorite: The Dolphins.

Rams v Raiders is a tough one to hadicap. Understand my position: These are two cellar dwellers, non-play off teams, teams that will not factor, organizations that don't have much going for them. With that said, of these two teams with little going for them, I think the Rams have the better Quarterback and I know they have the better Runningback. The Raiders just got royaled with cheese by the Titans, giving the Rams a defensive blueprint of how to deal with the Raiders. Against these factors is the Black Hole. This is almost a pick'em game, but I give the Rams a 0.5 point advantage.

One quick side-note on the Rams: I had to chuckle over the drama raised by one St. Louis sports rag. The writer dramatized the Rams' season as being "on the brink of another disaster" if the Rams lose to the Raiders. Certainly, no one wants to lose to the Raiders, but I must quibble with the drama-queen presentation. What were you expecting in 2010? Were you expecting a 'great leap forward'? Were you expected a 'big turnaround'? If so, you might need drug testing as a prelude to formal therapy. How can you expect that when we did not make any of the real moves necessary to produce such a turnaround?

I wanted to call pick'em on the Patriots v Jets. I believe both of those teams are down a step from where they were last season. I do not think either is a contender for Super Bowl 45. Either or both may make the playoffs, but neither will be a playoff factor. With that said, the Patriots are coming off a solid win, and the Jets are coming away from a 1-point arse-whoooooping. Make no mistake, they got whoooooped by the Ravens. Ergo, I make the Patriots the 0.25 point favor in this game.

Giants v Colts is extremely difficult to handicap. Ultimately I am going with the Giants because I believe the Super Bowl looser's Jinx is on the Colts.