I'm going to play pigskin prophet this year. Week one in the NFL. The league where they play for pay... I'm one for one so far. Only 522 to go.

*Picks of the week

Miami @ Atlanta Atlanta -4

Atlanta win and cover

*Kansas City @ Baltimore Baltimore -12.5

Baltimore is still one of the top defenses in the league despite losing a few players and their coordinator. Kansas City is a mess on both sides of the ball. Look for Flacco to have a big game against a very questionable defense. Ravens are giving a big number, but look for them to cover easily.

Denver @ Cincinnati Cincinatti -4

Denver wins outright on the road

*Minnesota @ Cleveland Minnesota -4

Welcome to being an opening day starter Mr. Quinn. You're in for a tough day. Cleveland will have major problems moving the chains. An easy opening day win for Favre and company.

*Philadelphia @ Carolina Philadelphia -2.5

I'm not sold on Philadelphia despite all the predictions of a Superbowl appearance. I suspect they'll miss Jimmy Johnson and some talent on the defensive side of the ball. On the other hand the offense looks to be good, but watch out for problems on the O-line. Carolina is a solid team and I tend to like good teams that are home underdogs. Take Carolina and the points. Do not be surprised if they win outright

NY Jets @ Houston Houston -4.5

Too much firepower on the offensive side for Houston (as long as the Schaub is healthy-he appears to be. Too much Mario Williams on the defensive side of the ball and a rookie QB for the Jets. Houston wins big.

Jacksonville @ Indianapolis Indianapolis -7

Indy wins and covers first home game.

*Detroit @ New Orleans New Orleans -13

You need a big defense to stop the Saints in their building. Detroit is not even close. The Lions will score some points but not nearly enough. Saints will run up the score and cover easily.

Dallas @ Tampa Bay Dallas -6

Dallas is ALWAYS a good September team. Tampa Bay is a mess. I figure them for a 3 or 4 win season. Look for the Cowboys to explode on the road. The 'boys win big and cover

San Francisco @ Arizona Arizona -6.5

Cardinals win at home and cover

Washington @ NY Giants NY Giants -6.5

Giants win comfortably. Take the Giants and lay the points.

St. Louis @ Seattle Seattle -8

Seattle will surprise a few people this year. The Rams are still dreadful. If I had to bet this game I'd take the Seahawks and lay the points.

Chicago @ Green Bay Green Bay -3.5

Great opening week game. Am still not sold on Cutler. I do not think he's a good fit for the city of Chicago. Rogers will have a huge year. Green Bay is playoff bound. Take the Pack and lay the points

Buffalo @ New England New England -11

I have to see the Pats defense before I start anointing them champs like so many are already doing. However, Brady is back and the offense is superb. I look for Buffalo to give a fight though. New England wins but fails to cover.

San Diego @ Oakland San Diego -9.5

The Raiders are a disaster despite having talent, they have no direction. It's going to be another long year. The Chargers will have a big season despite Norv Turner. The window is closing for San Diego. Look for them to get off to a quick start. Take the Chargers and give the points.

Chicago at lambeau field.Sunday night oh football at it's best.Two teams punching like heavy weights.the whole black and blue division will be tough this year.I'm just excited too have a qb in chicago no more orton hears a boo Should be a fun year

Football? Sport's?????????????

Damn. No love at all for my Browns. I'd take that bet......

I worry about Cutler's stability. He is immature and known to like the night life. Chicago has legendary night life. Not a good mix I'm thinking.

It will be a fun year!!

I'll be watching

It sounds to me as though the Mangini message is not going over all that well in Cleveland. I know the Jets players tired of him very quickly.

Will the Browns be able to run the ball at all against the Vikings? Doubtful. Sorry bro, I'd love to see Favre fall on his face. I just don't see it happening in week 1.

I predict a win for the Vikings and a big Favre love-fest all week on Sportcenter.

Wait until week 9 or 10. Favre's arm might fall off, by then.

We can certainly hope.

I just hope Shaun Rogers gets to drill Favre 1 time........

Rogers is as big as my fridge.He'd kill favre.But i wouldn't give a damn

10-6 verse the spread last week. Not great. I caught a break in the Denver game and got hosed by the Giants prevent defense at the end of their game.


I was 13-2 at picking winners. I'm not counting the Eagles-Panthers because I picked no clear cut winner.

I dropped the ball on my team, the Jets. I know it is only week one of year one, but it could be the Jets have their first franchise QB since Joe Willie...

Arizona looked like the Cardinals of two seasons ago and the end of the regular season last year. Lots of mental mistakes and penalties. They did not look ready to play.

Additional notes:

What the hell happened to Jake Delhomme over the past year? The guy went from being a gritty serviceable winning QB to a turnover machine. I only saw highlights but his ball looks to lack the zip of 2 or 3 years ago. I believe he is about ready for the scrap heap. Why did the Panthers give him a big contract?

im not sure about you? but watching orton in his game and cutler in his..i think orton looked much more poised and comfertable. cutler, looked just as he should and was known to be more of a gunslinger than favre. even though it wouldnt be possible that should of been three pics on that one drive alone, if only williams hands were better than the greenbay recievers the first 3 quarters. bears are lucky that game was a close as it was. if packers recievers were catching, and rodgers wasnt gettin messed up cause of his right tackle it would of been a bad *** blow out.


but hey..it made for much much more exciting football. although i wasnt as happy with my fantasy pick of jenings having a huge game. but peterson made up for that.:)) so did the greenbay defense

I've missed a couple of weeks, but I'm back to make the bold predictions in week 4 of the NFL. The league where they play for pay.

Oakland @ Houston Houston -9

Houston is better and will win, but they are inconsistent at best and Oakland's defense has playmakers. Take the Raiders and the points in a close Houston win.

Tennessee @ Jacksonville Tennessee -3

Tennessee is better than their record indicates and Jacksonville is not. The Jacksonville franchise is a disaster on many levels. Home field is clearly no advantage for them. Take the better team to win even though they are on the road. Tennessee wins.

*Baltimore @ New England New England -2

The Ravens are not yet an elite team, but they appear to be heading in that direction. They FINALLY have a balanced offense with big play capabilities and a ferocious physical attacking defense. The Patriots have a one dimensional offense and the defense is in transition. I do not believe they'll be able to run the ball on the Baltimore "D." If that is the case, look for Brady to continue to not find his groove. The Ravens win outright in New England. Possibly a blowout.

Cincinatti @ Cleveland Cincinatti -6

I'm not at all sold on the Bengals and I do not normally like taking a mediocre road favorite, but Cleveland flat out stinks. No need to chronicle all of the Browns problems here. Lets just say that win one will not come here but they might keep it close. Look for Cinci to win but not cover.

*NY Giants @ Kansas City Giants -8 1/2

Ten points is a big number on the road. Especially since the Giants are still hurting on the defensive side of the ball, but... I do not see KC matching up with the Giants in any phase of the game. Look for the Big Blue wrecking crew to go to 4-0. The Chiefs remain winless. Giants win big and cover.

Detroit @ Chicago Chicago -10

Look for Detroit to be jacked up enough after their first win in forever to make a game of this. Chicago wins, but the number is too high. Take the Lions and the points.

Tampa Bay @ Washington Washington -7 1/2

Ughhh. Don't think I'll be watching this one. One team flat out stinks and the other one is not very good. I'll take the Redskins and lay the points simply because I watched the Tampa Bay/NY Giants game last week and it stands as one of the poorest performances I've EVER seen by a NFL franchise.


*Seattle @ Indianapolis Indianapolis -10

Hasselback is "very doubtful." Unless he can play and make a substantial contribution look for this game to get very ugly. Peyton Manning is the best player in the sport and at the height of his game this year. The Colts win BIG.

NY Jets @ New Orleans New Orleans -7

Yes yes The Saints are great. They are all that and a bag of chips. Last time I could remember they were 6-10 in 2008. The've proved nothing yet. Meanwhile the Jets are a vastly improved team that went 9-7 narrowly missing the playoffs last year. I had my doubts about them and am still not completely sold either, but with their defense they can play with ANYONE. Still as a Jets fan I must be careful to use my head and not my heart. Look for this to be a close game well into the 4th quarter with the Jets possibly pulling the road upset. At the very least take the Jets and the points with the Saints winning a tough game.

**Buffalo @ Miami Buffalo -1

The rough year for the Dolphins continues. An untested QB on a team with nothing to play for and no big play capabilities against a team with playmakers on both sides of the ball and hope alive. Take the Bills and lay the point. I'm surprised the spread is so low. This is the best bet of the week.

St. Louis @ San Francisco San Francisco -9 1/2

Yes, I know the Niners best offensive player is hurt, but look for them to bounce back with a vengeance after last weeks heartbreaker. The Niners rough up the hapless Rams. Take the Niners and lay the points.

Dallas @ Denver Dallas -3

I'm not in love with either of these teams. The Broncos are easily the weakest of the 3-0 teams and are a product of their early season schedule. They've beaten the Browns, Raiders, (two of the worst teams in the league) and the Bengals with a lucky bounce. The Cowboys are once again an overrated team with good talent and little guts. However, it is still early and the Cowboys are a comfortable bet. If it was December I'd be taking the Broncos, but it is the first week of October. Take Dallas to win and cover at Mile High.

San Diego @ Pittsburgh Pittsburgh -6 1/2

I could speak volumes on this game, but I will not. The Steelers are missing key players and have obviously disappointed so far. The Chargers are unpredictable and I may have overrated their talent at the beginning of the year. The game is much more important for the Steelers and they are at home. Look for Pittsburgh to right the ship with a big win and cover at home as Big Ben has a big game.

*Green Bay @ Minnesota Minnesota -3 1/2

Frankly, the Packers have disappointed me to this point. Their offensive line is a mess and they have a weak pass rush. The Favres are better on the line on both sides of the ball. The only possible pitfall I can see for Minnesota is if number 4 makes any stupid decisions. Hard to see with the luxury of giving the ball to the best running back in the league though... I can only guess the emotion of the game is keeping the line so low. Take the Favres and lay the points.



*Best bets
**Play of the week

Lions and the points.Good pick

I sucked this week.

It happens I would have taken bills too And titans dont know bout them guess the bottom fell out

10-4 picking winners and 6-8 vs the spread last week.

That makes a total of 23-6 picking winners and 16-14 vs the spread.

I'll be back on Friday.