THE NFL DOUBLE TAKE
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There are lots of intriguing lines in Week 2 and we asked two of our writers to send their thoughts on some of Sunday’s games.
The guys had a fairly good opening week. For those keeping track, Mike went 3-1 with his predictions while Cras was 2-2.
Here’s a look at their Week 2 predictions:
New Orleans Saints @ Washington Redskins
Mike: New Orleans showed off their array of offensive weapons last week at home against a very good Tampa Bay defense. Now, they have lost their best receiver in Marques Colston, but Drew Brees still has a lot of options left.
Washington looked very bad in their opener at the NY Giants and they’ve had 10 days to get things straightened out. They will get more physical with the Saints and the home crowd will be voracious behind them, but the Saints have enough talent to hold them off.
Prediction: New Orleans -1
Cras: Bettors love the Saints so much in this game that they’ve turned them into a road favorite. While I have high expectations for the Saints in the NFC South and like their chances in the playoffs, I am concerned about how the offense will react without Colston, quarterback Drew Brees’ favorite redzone target.
New Orleans still has Brees, running back Reggie Bush and tight end Jeremy Shockey but they are playing a tough defense without one of their best playmakers. Bettors may be scared by how Washington’s offense looked in Week 1 but they’ve had an extra few days to fix it for this Sunday.
Pick: Washington +1
Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Mike: Buffalo again proved they are a great home team last week by throttling Seattle, but how will they fare on the road where they’ve historically struggled. One thing for sure, the Bills’ mantra of good defense and a conservative offense should serve them well on the road.
Jacksonville lost last week at Tennessee and are now decimated along the offensive line. That means they will also be conservative and rely on the running game. I think that Jacksonville ends up winning this game, but it will be close enough to take the five points.
Prediction: Buffalo +5
Cras: Don’t paint me impressed by the Bills just yet. Sure, they dominated in a Week 1 win but have people forgotten that the Seattle Seahawks team they played is not the same one that went to the Super Bowl a few years ago, or even the same one that made the playoffs last season.
Buffalo took advantage of a team ravaged with injuries and won its home opener. Congratulations to the Bills and their backers, but for only 24% of bettors to buy into Jacksonville this weekend is ridiculous. The Jags a huge disappointment last week but return home and take out their frustration on a young Buffalo team.
Pick: Jacksonville -5
San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos
Mike: It was a demoralizing week for San Diego and Coach Norv Turner as they lost a shocking home opener to Carolina and then lost linebacker Shawne Merriman for the year when he decided to have knee surgery.
Denver and quarterback Jay Cutler looked great at Oakland last week, and this week they get back their best receiver, Brandon Marshall. While it would be surprising to see the Chargers fall to 0-2, they did start out 1-3 last year before turning things around.
Prediction: Denver +1
Cras: Two weeks ago, if you told me the San Diego Chargers would start the season 0-2, I would have called you crazy. But after last week’s last-second loss, the Chargers head to Denver with that reality staring them in the face.
The Chargers defense gave up 247 passing yards and another 142 on the ground in their home opener and now they are without Merriman while LaDainian Tomlinson has a turf toe injury. I would never have picked the Broncos to win this game last week but after Jay Cutler’s impressive Monday night game, I expect him to hook up with receivers Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal for big numbers.
Pick: Denver +1
San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
Mike: Seattle is coming off that loss at Buffalo, but they return home where they were 7-1 last season. The bad news is they are playing backups at wide receiver and running back Maurice Morris is out as well.
San Francisco also lost last week, at home to Arizona, fumbling away the ball four times in an amazing show of ineptitude. Seattle opened up as nine-point chalk in this game but it’s back down to a reasonable 6.5 points. That spread is just begging for bettors to take Seattle, but I’m not getting scared off.
Prediction: Seattle -6.5
Cras: The Seattle Seahawks have been nearly impossible to beat at home. The 12th man comes into effect and wreaks havoc on opposing offenses that can’t communicate or execute with the noise generated by Seattle fans.
Whether the Seattle fans get a chance to make noise on Sunday remains to be seen. The team was blown out last week in Buffalo and has the longest injury report in football. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will have a tough time moving the chains with the lack of experienced talent surrounding him and San Francisco, one of only four teams to win in Seattle over the last three seasons, gets another victory there.
Pick: San Francisco +6.5
