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.