2015 NFL Week 1: Dream House

It's back! Welcome to the world-famous NFL Themed picks by Eric! This year, we are going with a theme I've wanted to do for a long while.....favorite game shows of the 70s and 80s!

Yes, these shows may explain why I am a bit warped. I loved watching these in my youth. Nothing better than a day home from school for some random holiday (or the infamous "Energy Conversation Week!" - those of you who grew up in Baltimore County remember that) and watching bad game shows from 9-12. 

Well, unfortunately for you, these are seared into my mind and over the next 17 weeks we will link one of those classic game shows to the NFL season. Let's enjoy some nostalgia!

Leading off is "Dream House". This show ran for 2 seasons in the 80s with the grand prize being .... a house! No silly car or cash here...give them what the people want...a 3 bedroom ranch with wood paneling that is value at $89,900! I wonder if any of these houses are still around....

How do you win a house? The game was played by couples against each other; in the bonus game at the end, the winning couple had to guess a three-digit combination that would unlock the doors to their house. You had 4 choices for the first digit of the code, 4 for the second, etc. So to start you had a 1/4^3 = 1/64 chance of winning the house. 

Each win on the regular stage allowed you to knock a digit off, so after a few wins, you could get the odds down to 1/27 ot even 1/8 or so. Then you chose the digits, pressed the "time-release bar" (fancy 1984 technology), and waited. The code COULD NOT BE CHANGED by the computer once you put it in - don't mess it up! We can't re-program ENIAC back there to start over .....

The countdown would begin, and the lights would light up if you chose the correct code...which they usually did not. Bob Eubanks was always disappointed. 

Why are we choosing this show to lead off? Well, here we are at the start of another Browns season, and we still have no answers at quarterback. Recall those 1/64 odds of winning the house by choosing the code? I feel like we are staring at the board every September, hoping we choose the right code to give us an above-average quarterback. The Jones's down the street were able to do this and get their QB - how come our code never works? 

When will our luck turn around and we enter the right code in to win our dream QB?

Every September we press the time release button, and what pops up behind the doors? Weeden...Frye....Garcia....Campbell....Delhomme.....a bunch of run down 1-bedroom studio apartments where the heat doesn't work. At least last year we got into a 2-bedroom apartment without rats in Hoyer........ I'm sure the transition to the McCown neighborhood won't be a good one, and then we will be evicted for Manzielville.......

I don't feel good about today's game. A lot of distractions going on for us...the latest Gilbert thing...our OL coach being suspended.....no wide receivers.....yes, we could beat the Jets, but I'm starting to think this could be a blowout the other way.

On to the rest of the games for week 1!

Ind 23, Buf 13. It is hard for me to see how the Bills under Taylor score. And I'm sure Pagano knows that if the Colts are to be taken seriously as the leading AFC contender, they need to make a statement and win this game. 

GB 24, Chi 20. I'm banking on Fox to bring some stability to the Chicago D and I expect the Packers to be a little bit off kilter for a couple of games without Jordy. New coach, rivalry, at home....the Bears should keep it close. 

Hou 23, KC 20. I'm very interested to see how Brian Hoyer does in this game. If they put up 30 vs. the Chiefs, don't call me at 4:15 pm and rub it in. Please don't.

Car 16, Jax 13. Where in the world will Carolina get their offense now? No WRs at all - is it the Cam and Greg Olsen show? Bradley has to cook something up for the Jags, right? 

StL 20, Sea 17. I don't know....I worry about Seattle's offensive line and the Rams' defensive strength....but how are the Rams going to score? 

Mia 24, Was 23. There's GOT to be some sort of "circle the wagons" attitude around the Redskins right now. It's the world world vs. them! Cousins is decent. And do you really trust Philbin on the road?

Az 19, NO 17. Something seems off here.....I think the Saints will play better by devoting more to the run game, and I want to see Palmer in action before I jump on the Cards' bandwagon.

SD 30, Det 20. I like the Chargers' defense, and I'm not sure what much has changed for the Lions' offense that struggled a lot outdoors last season. Plus, the Lions' D defintely took a step back.

Den 28, Bal 24. Should be a good game and the line is exactly where it should be . A close, 3-7 point Denver win. 

Cin 24, Oak 17. The Bengals have close to an elite defense, and they have plenty of weapons on offense. If they can't win THIS game - healthy, on the road vs. a myseterious Raider team - then lets cut the crap and pencil them in for 7-9 this year. 

Ten 20, TB 17.  I think Mariota>>Winston in terms of football IQ; and now we have Dick LeBeau on the sidelines for the Titans. You don't think he has anything in store for a rookie QB prone to mistakes? 

Dal 31, NYG 17. It's hard to see the Giants staying with the Cowboys here. How do they stop Dallas? How do they score? Will be fascinating to see which RB for Dallas gets the bulk of the carries. 

Atl 30, Phi 27. Are we sure the Eagles - Bradford, new RB, some new WR - are all that good in 2015? Let's wait to see how all that new talent gels in a game situation vs. a defensive coach. 

Min 27, SF 24. How truly bad are the Niners? Are the Vikes overrated? What will Peterson look like? I'll stay away until we get some answers here. 

Best bets: 13 of them. Let's try to do better than last year....
Ind -2 1/2
Ind/Buf under 45
Chi +6 1/2
Hou -1
Car/Jax under 41 1/2
StL +4
NO/Az under 48 1/2
SD -3
Cin -3
Ten +3
Dal -6 1/2
AtL +3
Min/SF over 41 1/2

Supercontest picks:

Ind -2.5
Chi +7
SD -3
Ten +3
Atl +3