Week 3 Picks

Will Ryan Kerrigan be able 

to pressure Eli Manning?

Washington (+3.5) @ New York Giants -  While the Giants have begun the season 0-2 off of consecutive 4th quarter collapses,  Matt Ryan and Tony Romo are pretty good quarterbacks who can make defenses look silly in crunch time.  Still, Washington's defense is playing at a high level, who currently boast the NFL's best defense in terms of yards allowed.  They will have their hands full trying to contain Beckham, who had 1 touchdown and 143 yards receiving in his last matchup against Washington.  Washington will attempt to rev up their running game with Alfred Morris and Matt Jones, which is currently the best in total yardage and in the top 5 in yards per attempt.  A big key for the Thursday night matchup will be if Cousins can continue to limit his turnovers as he did in Washington's last win against the St. Louis Rams.

Pittsburgh (-1) @ St. Louis - The Steelers' offense got it going against the 49ersas they put 43 points, 28 points coming in the 1st half and could be even more explosive as they add Leveon Bell to the mix.  In the meantime, St. Louis's offense struggled greatly against Washington's defense; look for Pittsburgh to try to replicate it since they also run a 3-4 scheme.   Nick Foles was inconsistent last week, it will be interesting to see if he can bounce back at home.

San Diego @ Minnesota (-2.5) -  Minnesota seems to be a better team at home.  Adrian Peterson was much better last week as well as the Viking's defense who may have gotten a boost from the crowd noise.  The Chargers could pose problems if Phillip Rivers can get going, although he did struggle against the Bengals.

Tampa Bay @ Houston (-6.5) - Jameis Winston was impressive against the New Orleans Saints, but that may say more about the Saints' current affairs than Winston's progress.  Look for Houston and JJ Watt to slow down Winston as they try to avoid an 0-3 start.  

Philadelphia @ NY Jets (-2.5) - The Jets defense did a great job against the Colts.  Last season, the Jets forced a total of 13 turnovers, and this season, through 2 games, they have already forced 10.  The Eagles have had trouble getting their offense going so far this season, and may be without DeMarco Murray who is dealing with a hamstring injury. I expect the Eagles offense to get it going eventually this season but as of right now Sam Bradford has been too inconsistent.  The Eagles secondary has also been sub-par and they will have a tough time covering Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.    

New Orleans (+6.5) @ Carolina  - The Panthers are clearly the better team but I like the Saints to at least put together a game which could be close.  The Saints and Panthers did split their last season's as each team won on the opposing team's field.  Of course, I would be nervous if I am New Orleans given that the Panthers' defense is playing at a high level.

Jacksonville @ New England (-13.5) -  Even coming off a win against, Jacksonville comes in as a huge underdog.  The Jaguars did a great job shutting out the Dolphins' offense in the 2nd half but Tom Brady passing attack of Gronkowki and Edelman may be too much of a challenge.  

Cincinnati (+2.5) @ Baltimore - This is a must win game for Baltimore.  Still, one has to have questions about the Ravens defense who could not contain the Raiders passing game.  

Oakland (+3.5) @ Cleveland - I would consider this game a tossup game.  Derek Carr seems to be the better of the two starting quarterback and Amari Cooper showed that he has elite speed.  The Browns go back to Josh McNown at quarterback, who is coming off a concussion.  The Browns defense did look much better in containing Marcus Mariotta.  

Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis (+3.5) - Look for Andrew Luck to have a bounce back game and Indianapolis should also get a boost from Vontae Davis returning back to their secondary after suffering a concussion.  

Atlanta (-2) @ Dallas Cowboys - Look for the Falcons defense to take advantage of Brandon Weeden, who has a history of being a turnover machine.   While Weeden completed all of his throws against the Eagles, the Cowboys are already hedging their bets by acquiring Matt Cassel.  

San Francisco @ Arizona (-6.5) - The Cardinals are quietly becoming one of the better teams in the NFL.  The key for them long term will be if preserving Carson Palmer's health.  The 49ers' offense had a bit of down week.  While this is a division game, Arizona's defense should be able to contain Colin Kaepernick.

Chicago @ Seattle (-15) - Seattle gets back Kam Chancellor and are looking for their first win after losing to the Green Bay Packers.  Jimmy Clausen comes into replace Jay Cutler at quarterback and this game could get ugly for the Bears rather quickly.

Buffalo @ Miami (-3) -  Look for Miami to bounce back from a loss to Jacksonville.  Miami historically has been a much better team at home.  Buffalo did play well in the 2nd half against New England but look for Miami's defense could present problems to the inexperienced Tyrod Taylor.  

Denver (-3.5) @ Detroit - After winning in unusual circumstances against the Kansas City Chiefs off of 4th quarter fumble to Jamal Charles, the Broncos appear to just find ways to win.  The Lions have gotten off to a pretty bad start although they could get a boost by finally getting to play at home.  Still, I like what I have seen from the Broncos defense, and Peyton Manning did seem to find his rhythm in the 2nd half against Kansas City.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Green Bay Packers (-6.5) - Aaron Rodgers may look to get revenge against Alex Smith, who was taken #1.  I bet San Francisco is regretting that pick especially the way Colin Kaepernick is playing.  

Last week: 8-8

Season: 17-14-1

Week 2 Picks

Tom Brady recently came out and 

stated his support for Trump

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs (-3) - Peyton Manning could not get it going against the Baltimore and like the Ravens, Kansas City  has a good defense.  Kansas City's offense showed that they can put up points last week against solid defensive team in the Texans.

Houston Texans @ Carolina Panthers (-3) - The Panthers hope to keep this a low scoring affair as they limited the Jaguars to only 9 points last week.  Houston did have trouble containing Kelce last week, so look for the Panthers to try to utilize tight end Greg Olsen in a similar fashion.  

Tampa Bay @ New Orleans (-10) - New Orleans is a different team at home.  Jameis Winston may bounce back but he would need to play at a high level if the Saints' high octane offense gets going.

Detroit (+2.5) @ Minnesota- Both teams suffered losses in Week 1 on the road.  There are a lot of question marks including whether Adrian Peterson has lost a step.   The Lions will face a hostile environment, but I did like what I saw from their offense at times when they put up 28 point against the Chargers in Week.  Stafford does need to limit his turnovers.

Buffalo (-1) @ New England -  New England does have extra time to prepare for the Bills as their game was last Thursday.  Still, the Bills defense showed a lot by limiting the Indianapolis Colts.  The Patriots should be able to put up more points but I am a little bit worried about how the Patriots defense will slow down the Buffalo.  

Arizona (-1.5) @ Chicago- I am not anticipating a let down by the Cardinals.  The Bears played much better than I expected against the Packers but I think the Cardinals defense should be able to contain the Bear's offense.  

Tennessee (-1) @ Cleveland - Marcus Mariota looks to continue his momentum.  The Browns on paper appear to be at a disadvantage at the QB position with Manziell starting.  The Titans defense is hoping to fluster Johnny football much like they were able to contain Jameis Winston last week.  

San Diego @ Cincinnati (-3) - I like the Bengals to continue their momentum at home here.  Phillip Rivers did pick up where he did last year with a good performance against a solid Lions defense.  Still, I think the Bengals have the better weapons on the offensive end including AJ Green and TJ Yeldon.  

Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants-  Eli Manning looks to bounce back after some questionable decisions of telling his running back not to run it in on first and second down late in the 4th quarter against the Dallas Cowboys.  Still, it may be tough for Atlanta to continue their momentum on the road.  

St. Louis @ Washington (+3.5) - Washington should be playing with a sense of desperation as two home losses could begin the countdown of some big changes in the coaching department.  Washington is familiar going against Nick Foles when he was on the Eagles.  You have to wonder if Jeff Fisher will rub it in again reminding Washington how many players they gave up to get RG3 even though he is on the bench.  

Miami (-6) @ Jacksonville - While Suh did not have a great game, Miami's defense last week was very good, as they managed to shut out Washington in the second half.  I do not think the Jaguars have the running game to keep the ball away from Miami's offense like Washington did, so Ryan Tannehill should have more opportunities to get it going offensively.  

Baltimore (-6) @ Oakland - Both teams do not want to fall into a 0-2 hole. Baltimore defense looked really good against the Broncos and I look for them to create problems for the Raiders.

Dallas Cowboys (+5) @ Philadelphia Eagles-  While Dez Bryant is out and DeMarco Murray is looking for revenge against his former team, I still think the Cowboys should be able to keep it close to cover the spread.   

Seattle @ Green Bay (-3.5) - Seattle's defense looks like a mess without safety Kam Chancellor.  The Packers look to avenge last season's postseason loss to the Seahawks.  

New York Jets (+7) @ Indianapolis - New York offense seem pretty solid with a steady running game of Chris Ivory and decent wideouts in Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.  The Colts will play with a sense of urgency but I still expect this game to be close given that the Colts running game has been anemic.  

Last week: 9-6-1

Week 1 Picks

Tom Brady won his case 

and is back for week 1

Pittsburgh @ New England (-7) - The Patriots may be disliked because of Deflategate, Spygate, and perhaps others are envious of their good fortune with their four Super Bowls.  Still, New England will play with a chip on its shoulder because of the accusation.  Also factor in that the Steelers are missing a few players including Leveon Bell with a suspension, so it may tough for Big Ben to get it going.  

Green Bay (-7) @ Chicago - This is a rivalry game as the Bears look to revamp their defense under head coach John Fox.  However, the Packers are likely to up a lot of points and Jay Cutler cannot be counted on.  We will have to see if Chicago managed to plug up the holes on the offensive line to allow Cutler enough time to throw the ball.  

Kansas City (+1) @ Houston - This is a toss up game.  I have more faith in Alex Smith running a simple offense than Brian Hoyer.  

Cleveland @ New York Jets - Michael Vick gets to start again due to Geno Smith getting punched out.  The Jets offense should get a boost from Brandon Marshall, who is older, but should be a significant upgrade.  Revis returns to New York.  Cleveland comes in with a new quarterback in Josh McNown; you have to wonder if Johnny Manziel is already a bust.  We will see if Isiah Crowell can help Cleveland's running game; at least it will be interesting to watch from a fantasy standpoint.  

Indianapolis (-2.5) @ Buffalo - This could be a trap game for the Colts.  Still, I'm not sure how effective Tyrod Taylor can be- he certainly has strengths as a mobile quarterback but he is still unproven.  The Bills introduce some new weapons in LeSean McCoy and Percy Harvin while the Colts have some new weapons for Andrew Luck including Andre Johnson and Frank Gore.  

Miami (-3.5) @ Washington - The Miami Dolphins seemed to pretty hyped this year with the acquisition of Suh.  While I did like what I saw from Kirk Cousins and Washington in preseason, you have to remember it was just preseason.  Washington's front seven looks much better but their secondary still looks shaky especially with DeAnagelo Hall returning from an Achilles injury.  

Carolina (-3) @ Jacksonville - Carolina did finish last season strong although they will be without rookie standout Kelvin Benjamin for the whole season.  Jacksonville is supposed to be better but I have to see it to believe it.

Seattle (-4) @ St. Louis -  St. Louis did manged to upset the Seahawks last season 28-26.  You can't imagine that Seattle will looks past the Rams at this point.   Russell Wilson and Jimmy Graham will look to connect in the red zone.  

New Orleans @ Arizona (-2.5) - The Saints will try to makeup for the loss of Jimmy Graham with a running game of Mark Ingram and newly acquired CJ Spiller.  Still, the Saints have struggled on the road and the Cardinals look to play at a high level like they did last season.

Detroit Lions (+3) @ San Diego Chargers - Phillip Rivers had a great season last year but I expect Matthew Stafford to have a much better season especially if Megatron is healthy.

Tennessee @ Tampa Bay Bucs (-3) - I will go with Jameis Winston to win this battle of rookie quarterbacks mostly because of the deep threats he has in his disposal including Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. 

Oakland @ Cincinati (-3.5) - The Bengals are the more established team with the likes of Andy Dalton and AJ Green and an interesting running back combination of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard.  Oakland has some interesting young talent including running back Latavius Murray and wideout Amari Cooper, the number 4 overall pick from Alabama.  Still, the Bengals defense has been solid under head coach Marvin Lewis.  

Baltimore Ravens @ Denver Broncos (-4.5) -  While Manning has struggled against the Ravens, most notably in the postseason, Manning should be closer to 100% and not worn down to start the season.  Joe Flacco could show flashes of brilliance but the decks could be stacked in the Broncos favor given all the offensive weapons that they have including wideouts Demaryus Thomas and Emmanuel Sander as well the feature back CJ Anderson. 

New York Giants (+6) @ Dallas Cowboys -  Given that this is a rivalry game and every NFC East game seems up for grabs, I expect this one to be a close game.  This game features two of the best wide receivers in the game- Dez Bryant and Odell Beckham.  I will be looking to see if the Giants did enough this offseason to fix their offensive line.  

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) @ Atlanta Falcons - Chip Kelly's offense should be enough to get the Eagles going against a poor Falcons defense.  Matt Ryan gets a healthy Julio Jones back but it remains to be seen if the Falcons can find a consistent running game.  

Minnesota Vikings @ San Francisco 49ers - Many of the 49ers left or retired with the departure of Jim Harbaugh and the Vikings are adding back probably the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson.   It will be interesting to see if Colin Kaepernick career will fare with a new coach Jim Tomsula and a new set of teammates.