AJ's Week 3 NFL Primer
21 Sep'12, 10:07 AM
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Last week didn’t go to well for me as I regressed a bit and went 9-7 (19-13 on the year). Who really saw The Rams beating The ‘Skins or The Pats losing to The Cards? I sure didn’t. I was pretty spot on with my fantasy suggestions though so we’ll take the good with the bad. This will be an important week for a lot of teams. Falling to 0-3 pretty much guarantees you will be missing the playoffs. On to the picks:
Giants at Panthers
The Giants got the win last week, but it wasn’t pretty. After three first half interceptions, Eli finally dialed it in for the second half. He had three touchdowns and threw for over 500 yards. The Giants defense on the other hand hasn’t looked good at all. They aren’t getting a pass rush and their secondary is getting absolutely shredded by mediocre quarterbacking. The Panthers looked good in their win over The Saints last week. Add in the fact that Hackeem Nicks didn’t even make the trip for The Giants and I think we have a lopsided victory on our hands.
Panthers 31, Giants 17
Buccaneers at Cowboys
The Bucs have looked pretty good this season. They limited The Panthers high-powered offense and until a late defensive collapse were primed to beat The Giants. The Cowboys DID beat The Giants but followed it up with an awful showing against Seattle. This game could go either way, but I think The Cowboys are better than they showed against Seattle. Two early fumbles had them down ten points immediately and they had to change their game plan. The corners for Dallas will be giving Freeman headaches all day and I think Romo will have a big day.
Cowboys 24, Buccaneers 18
Jaguars at Colts
This game can be solved by math. The transitive relation property in mathematics states if A > B and B > C then A > C. The Vikings beat The Jaguars. The Colts beat The Vikings. Therefore, The Colts should beat The Jaguars. I know, I know, I shouldn’t use math properties to decide a pick for a football game. Yea well, The Jaguars shouldn’t use Blaine Gabbert as a starting quarterback.
Colts 24, Jaguars 16
Bills at Browns
This is another head scratcher of a game. I can easily see The Browns pressuring Fitzpatrick relentlessly and him throwing a bunch of interceptions. But on the other hand I can also see CJ Spiller running for 26 yards and 2 scored again. The Bills seem like a hot and cold streaky team. I think they continue to roll.
Bills 26, Browns 20
Jets at Dolphins
It seems like we know who The Dolphins are now: A very solid defense, with an inconsistent offense. The defense will keep them in the game but unless Reggie Bush and the offense get to play The Raiders defense every game they won’t win lots of them. They are playing a good Jets defense this week. Hell, maybe we will even get to see a little more Tebow this week.
Jets 20, Dolphins 13
Chiefs at Saints
Neither of these teams is really as bad as their record indicates. The Saints can’t seem to find a rhythm on offense…mostly because they are never on the field as their defense is terrible. The Chiefs defense looks to be worse than The Saints does though.
Saints 40, Chiefs 26
Bengals at Redskins
The Redskins took a shot when they lost two of their best defensive players for the years. Their offense still looks very good though and it is going to need to be. Garcon(RGIII’s favorite target) should be a go for this week. The Bengals got the win last week against The Browns but their secondary looked like garbage. If you make Brandon ‘I get stuck under the flag on opening week’ Weeden look good you know you need to make some changes,
Redskins 35, Bengals 27
Rams at Bears
That’s The Bears for you. One minute they look good, the next Cutler is throwing picks and bumping linemen for poor protection. The protection is poor, but Cutler needs to get the ball out faster. Luckily for them, Michael Bush actually looks pretty good in place of Forte. The Rams look legit (weird to type still). The offense is starting to mesh and the defense looks pretty solid. I like them for the upset win on the road.
Rams 24, Bears 17
49ers at Vikings
The 49ers have now handily taken down two high-powered passing offenses. You can’t run on them, it’s just impossible. Right now with AP coming back slowly, The Vikings don’t really run or pass well. This will likely turn into a blow out.
49ers 31, Vikings 12
Lions at Titans
The Titans have not looked good at all. If you let Phillip Rivers and The (Gates-less) Chargers throw like that on you, it is not a good sign. Couple that with the fact that I almost have as many rushing yards as Chris Johnson and the season’s outlook is rather bleak. I think that The Lions will finally show up this week after battling two tough defenses in their first two games.
Lions 28, Titans 17
Falcons at Chargers
I am fortunate enough to be going to watch this game live in beautiful San Diego. Both teams are 2-0, but the quality of their opponents is drastically different. The Chargers have beaten bottom feeders and had help doing so (see 3 fumbled punt snaps by the Raiders). The Falcons beat a good Bengals team and made Peyton Manning look terrible when they beat The Broncos. Matt Ryan and the Atlanta wide receivers are going to have a field day out there. Maybe Turner won’t get a DUI after a win this time. Maybe.
Falcons 34, Chargers 17
Eagles at Cardinals
The Cardinals stunned The Patriots last week, after a surprising victory over The Seahawks in week 1. Kevin Kolb isn’t making tons of mistakes and the defense is rock solid. The Eagles defense may be one of the best in the league. Their offense can’t stop turning the ball over. I like The Eagles to have a great turnover free game and blow out The Cardinals. *If you own The Eagles defense I would suggest playing them. Those corners against Kolb should be fun.
Eagles 31, Cardinals 17
Steelers at Raiders
I had high hopes for The Raiders this year. I really did. Now I dread even writing about them.
Steelers 28, Raiders 9
Texans at Broncos
This game will be very telling. The Texans have looked good but against very mediocre competition. This will be a gps game for them if you will. Manning will look to shake off the rough game against Atlanta by trying not to be killed by JJ Watt. Sounds fun. If you take that crazy first quarter away, The Broncos likely win that game. I think Manning will play better.
Broncos 27, Texans 20
Patriots at Ravens
AFC Championship rematch. Both teams are coming off of losses that should have been wins. Neither team wants to start the season 1-2, but The Patriots could still easily win the division if they did. That’s not true for The Ravens. They are going to want it just a tiny bit more.
Ravens 24, Patriots 21 *No Billy Cundiff here to miss the game winner this time*
Packers at Seahawks
The Packers got a 10 day rest after hammering the Bears. The Seahawks did look pretty good against The Cowboys, though early fumbles definitely helped the cause. Russell Wilson go ahead and meet Clay Matthews. He’ll be the one pounding you into the ground all game.
Packers 24, Seahawks 17
