My NFL Week One Results: Not as Bad As I Thought

Here are the results of my week one picks for the NFL season. Some crazy things happened: Brett Fave, pushing 39, threw a 56 yard bomb to Jerricho Cotchery, The Panthers upset the Panthers with no time left. Some disheartening things happened: Tom Brady's season ended in 7 and a half minutes, the Lions showed us they still have that "Same old Lions" mantra embedded into their heads. Either way, it is all attributed to one realization: It must be football season.

Today, on Michael Kay's afternoon show on 1050 AM, ESPN Radio, I made it on the air to prove to Mr. Kay that he's out of his mind not only for picking the Dolphins to beat the Jets last weekend, but his emphatic and matter-of-fact picking of the Pats over the Jets this Sunday. He thinks people are writing Matt Cassell off too early, but is forgetful of Cassell being with the team for five years, and displaying a losing preseason showing in place of Brady. He also was quick to show disdain for the Jets performance against the Dolphins, when both teams had quarterbacks starting who have been with each team for less than a month. The Pats O-line is going to face similar pressure (maybe not as skillful and intense) that they did in the Super Bowl, and this time with a quarterback far less skilled, poised, and seasoned as Tom Brady. With that will be less accurate throws to Randy Moss and Wes Welker, and more running behind the previously mentioned O-line. Mike took notice of my good point on Randy Moss historically giving up in the face of lost seasons in the past, which seems like it would especially effect a young QB desperately needing everything from the players around him.

Washington @ NY Giants: I started off the season with an accurate and nicely explained pick. The Giants beat the horrendous looking Redskins on Thursday night in a game that should have done us all a favor and just ended at halftime. I quote my prediction, "The defending champions have a lot to prove in their own eyes. They just gave Plaxico Burress a hefty new deal and have a chip on their shoulder for being labeled a fluke champion last season. Jason Taylor will be worried more about getting his tango moves right on the nationally televised game instead of going after the quarterback. Eli Manning has gotten a bad rap the last couple seasons, but I think Brett Favre going to the Jets took some media attention away from him, and will ultimately help him continue to get better. After all, he is a Super Bowl MVP and his last name is Manning. His interceptions still wouldn't tempt me to draft him to my fantasy team though. The Giants should win this game, and I think will win 9 or 10 total this year and get another Wild Card Playoff spot."

Jason "I left my football shoes in my tap dancing shoes bag, and my tap dancing shoes in my football bag" Taylor was non-existent, Jason Campbell looked so lost he belonged on the side of a milk carton, and if this is a sign of things to come from coach Jim Zorn, I predict he will be the first coaching casualty of the '08 season. Eli came out with an impressive first drive, but the Giants put it into cruise control for the most part after that, as it became the Brandon "I leave footprints on Laron Landry's face and turf in his mouth" Jacobs show.

Detroit @ Atlanta: Here's one that left me scratching my head: "Atlanta has a rookie quarterback, and not enough weapons on either side of the ball to beat an exciting passing offense in the Lions." Yup, I'm an idiot. Matt Ryan's first NFL pass was a 60+ yard TD pass, and new starting running back Michael Turner ran for over 200 yards and a couple scores. Yes, the Lions have an M.I.A. defense, and they're said to be going to the run game more this year (something they haven't done since the days of Barry Sanders), but this was still an impressive win for the other laughing stock of the league last season next to the one win Dolphins.

Seattle @ Buffalo: I'm leaving my entire entry for this prediction right here: "Buffalo is a much better team than everyone thinks, and has one of the best up and coming backs in Marshawn Lynch. I think the Bills will upset the Seahawks who are used to playing division 2 college level teams like the 49ers and Rams. A 7-9 team has a shot at the playoffs in the NFC West; that makes me want to spew." I couldn't have nailed this one more on the head as the Bills opened up the season by embarrassing the Seahawks who were without any decent receivers. They still play in the miserable NFC West, and I'm not using this game as a prediction on the Bills season. They should have won this game, and they did, by a lot. Now, we'll see if they can keep it going with a seemingly light schedule they share with the other AFC East'ers The Pats, Jets, and Dolphins.

Jacksonville @ Tennessee: I quote my own stupidity: "The Jags are too good to go into Tennessee and let a mediocre team upset them in the opening game." Even with Vince Young hurt, the Titans, who I thought were an inferior team showed that within your division anything can happen. Tennessee won at home and added questions to a team that is supposed to be a front runner in the AFC this year.

NY Jets @ Miami: I said this one might be close, with the Jets getting the win, and I was spot on. Chad "My 2 minute drill always ends with a beach ball in the wind throw that gets intercepted" Pennington threw up a pick in the end zone with less than 20 seconds left in the game. Brett Favre threw 2 spectacular touchdown passes, and we're sure to see some more of those as the season goes on. It looks like he's enjoying throwing the ball Jerricho Cotchery's way, and with more practice and an improved game plan against the Patriots, the season's first big test comes this weekend.

Kansas City @ New England: The biggest story of the weekend, and I'll open it with this quote from my predictions last week: "Tom Brady has been M.I.A. this preseason, but Shirley Temple could be at quarterback for the Patriots and they'd still win this game." Well, I guess you can call Matt Cassell "Shirley Temple," because when Tom Brady went down early with a season ending knee injury, he came in and got the win. Barely; and against a horrible Chiefs team. I equate Cassell's situation right now to that of Ferris, Cameron, and Sloan taking out Cameron's dad's vintage Ferrari in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." You could call Cameron's Dad Tom Brady, or perhaps Bill Belichick (bear with me here) and the car is the Patriots dynasty of the past decade. Will the car end up dismantled at the bottom of a pile of trees in the woods behind Cameron's house (in this case, I hope so), or will they turn the odometer back and get the car back like they never even drove it. Tom Brady and especially Bill Belichick are hoping for the latter, but that's not how it went down in the movie, and I don't think it will happen that way here either.

The AFC East race will certainly be interesting now, as the Jets and a very impressive Buffalo Bills team should be in a heated battle for the top spot throughout this season. I don't think the Patriots will have a horrendous season, but I do think they will be a vulnerable team, especially without 40+ points to support their aged and limited defense. This along with the offensive line that provided no protection for Tom Brady in the Super Bowl loss, will create challenges for a quarterback who hasn't started a game since high school in 1999. I like the Bills of the Jets to take the division, because once the Pats lose one or two in a row, Randy Moss won't play 100% like he always has in the past, and Wes Welker is good, but he's not a #1 receiver. Lawrence Maroney is sure to get more carries, but again, this goes back to the exposed Pats O-line.

Tampa Bay @ New Orleans: The Saints got the win at home, as I suspected, and Drew Brees put up Madden-like numbers throwing for nearly 350 yards. Reggie Bush had a good game as well, and Jeff Garcia threw a pick late in the game when they had a chance to stay in it.

St. Louis @ Philadelphia: I guess it could have been worse for me, I originally contemplated going with the Rams as my upset of the week. The Eagles, as I predicted, put the lopsided shellacking of the weekend down on Nelly's hometown team this weekend, and made me actually feel bad for the fellas. It really made me feel bad for the fact that Mark Bulger is on my bench in fantasy again this year (I never learn).

**Upset of the Week**
Houston @ Pittsburgh: My upset pick of the week couldn't have been more wrong. The Steelers made everyone who passed on Willie "Don't call me Spiderman because my first name isn't Peter" Parker in fantasy football look foolish. Big Ben also put up some good numbers, and with the Brady Bunch in New England now up in the air without their QB, as well as the shaky play from the Chargers and Colts, the Steelers have moved up a lot of lists in power rankings. With their division's next best holdover from last season getting embarrassed at home by the Cowboys, it looks like the Steelers are the favorites to win the AFC North and possibly go deep into the playoffs.

Cincinnati @ Baltimore: I predicted the Ravens to squeak this one out and they got the W. However, I didn't expect the Bengals to be this bad. If they don't shape up, it's going to be a long season for the Ocho Cinco elite.

Carolina @ San Diego: This might have been the game of the week, and I had it all wrong, picking the obviously better San Diego team, who proved the saying that on any given Sunday any team can win. Even without Steve Smith, the Panthers pulled off probably the biggest upset of the week. Smith was suspended for sucker punching a teammate during training camp, and good guy coach John Fox proved that good prevails and no one is above the team as his Panthers squeaked out a victory with a Jake Delhomme TD pass with no time left on the clock. To add insult to injury, it only took this game for Shawn "I'm above the team, got caught with 'roids, and played on a shotty knee that is now mush" Merriman to further injure himself. He's now on injured reserve, will have his surgery, and miss the rest of the season. Way to go Shawn; if the Chargers don't make a playoff run, I'm sure you'll be sitting on your couch with a brace on your leg and screws in your knee, laughing that they couldn't do it without you. Jackass.

Arizona @ San Fransisco: No surprisingly, the 49ers lost at home, as I suspected against a 99 year old Kurt Warner, and an overall superior Cardinals team. I'm sure that's a sentence that will be repeated several times this season.

Dallas @ Cleveland: This game wasn't even close, as my prediction of a Cowboys victory on the road came true. Cleveland looked like they'll have a rocky road ahead of them, though the Cowboys offense can do that to you.

Chicago @ Indianapolis: With Joseph Addai going out early with a head injury (which also injured one of my fantasy teams) the Colts were upset by Chicago in the opening game at their new stadium, named Lucas Oil Field, or something like that. I think the Colts lost the game based on this horrendous name for their new home.

Minnesota @ Green Bay: I picked Green Bay, and Mr. Rodgers did not make me look like a fool. I still think Adrian Peterson isn't going to have the same year he did last season, and with how the Bears upset the Colts, this division could go back and forth all season long.

Denver @ Oakland: On Monday night I was 2 for 2; I picked the Broncos, and they prevailed, going into Oakland to lay an old fashioned beatdown on the Raiders. The Raiders and their quasi-rotund number one draft pick QB of last year are not showin much signs of improvement. Their defense should do better as the season goes on, so hopefully JaMarcus Russell and rookie sensation Darren McFadden can give the crazy Raider fans something to cheer about other than Al Davis's liver spots and latest set of false teeth.

Record for picks this week: 11-5.

In seeing all the crazy things that happened this past weekend, my picks, when looking at my overall numbers, really weren't that bad. I guess, it was my emphatic picking of the games I got wrong that created a false illusion that my picks were train wrecked. Therefore, picking 11 out of 16 games correctly, I will keep bringing it for the 2008 season.