NFL Picks, Week 1

Boy oh boy, talking about flying blind. That's what it feels like trying to pick these games.
In no particular order:

Buffalo 16, Houston 13. Each team seems to have no passing game - Carr is shaky and who knows what Losman will do. Both have strong running games; this should be a field-goal fest in Buffalo.

Kansas City 31, New York Jets 20 - Should be a good game with the Chiefs pulling away late. Just don't see the Jet's defense containing all the weapons of KC.

Minnesota 28, Tampa Bay 13. Can anyone see Tampa scoring more than, oh, 17 points? Minnesota will score at least 3 TDs. This probably won't be close at half.

Chicago 20, Washington 17. Some people rate the Browns as the worse team in football (like Yahoo!/TSN). I watches every second of that dreadful 17-13 Browns win over the Skins last year; the Skins can play as bad as anyone most of the time, and they are not getting better anytime soon. I watched Kyle play vs. the Browns in the last preseason game - and he seems to "get" it.

Denver 20, Miami 13. The Broncos will make enough mistakes to keep it interesting; however, I just don't think Miami's offense can do enough to win.

Pittsburgh 24, Tennessee 23. Too many questions for Pittsburgh for a returning 15-1 team. What will the loss of Burress do to Big Ben? How will the injuries at RB affect them? They are not good at stopping the deep threat, and Tennessee does have that in Bennett. I have this gut feeling that this will be MUCH cloer than people think.

Carolina 27, New Orleans 9. Count me as one of those who thinks the Katrina disaster will impact the Saints in a negative manner. I just can't see them hanging with one of the best teams in the NFC.

Jacksonville 31, Seattle 24. These are the type of games Mike Holmgren has not been able to win over the past 3-4 years in Seattle - a road game vs. a good (not great) opponent where Seattle on paper should have a chance. This will be a shootout - Seattle will score, and their defense will give up big plays and long drives - and in the end, Holmgren will find a way to lose it.

Detroit 28, Green Bay 17 - This is not to say that I think that Detroit will go 11-5 or something. I have a nagging feelign about Green Bay and their weaknesses on Defense and in certain areas on offense. Detroit will lead early and often, forcing Brett to throw many times - and when he does, he's bound to make mistakes.

San Diego 20, Dallas 10 - I'm not drinking the Dallas kool-aid, ESPECIALLY with Drew Bledsoe at the helm. It will be LT, LT and more LT for San Diego, adn they will control this game.

St Louis 34, San Francisco 7 - The 49ers remind me not of the 199 Browns, but of the 2000 Browns, a team trying to recover from a disastrous 2-14 season. The Browns' opener that year was at home vs. Jacksonville, and Jax won 31-10, I believe. It will be the same type of game. SF may hang around for a while , but in the end, the horses will win out.

NY Giants 17, Arizona 13 - I'll believe the Cards are for real when I see it. This is a game they traditionally lose, and they will again. This loss will haunt the Cards into December.

Baltimore 24, Indianapolis 20 - I could just write "Indianapolis 31, Baltimore 10" and be done with it - there probably won't be a lot of questions - but something just nags me here. Manning does not play well against good defenses. This is outdoors, and in prime time. Jamal will have a big game (the 4-month sentence will affect later in the year, not now). There will be defensive TD's (or returns deep into Colts territory). And in the opening game, the Ravens will want to answer all types of questions. I hate to say this, but the more I think about this, the more I am convinced that Bal will win - and most of you know how much that pains me.

Oh yes, there is:
Cleveland 23, Cincinnati 20.

16 Best bets (to-date: 0-0-1):
Buf/Hou under
KC
Min
Chi
Ten
Ten/Pit OVER
Car
Car/NO Under
Jax
Jax/Sea Over
Det
SD
SD/Dal Under
Stl
NYG/Az Under
Bal
(edited for readability)