I Left You a Voicemail and Your Week 2 NFL Picks

Hey dude.

I've missed you, buddy.

You good? Your family?

I'm trying to be good, do good. Probably under-performing...you know, the usual.

Sorry I haven't called in so long. I just figured calling you and talking about sports wasn't what you needed or wanted considering how crazy things have been and, shoot, there were no sports to talk about for so long anyway.

I am starting to feel more hopeful about our future and can't describe how happy I am that sports are back...NBA Conference Finals, Army is 2-0, and good golly, the NFL!

Anywho, I am gonna start calling you more regularly.

All the best. Talk again soon.

*That was the voicemail I left you (one of my dozen or so loyal readers) when I called recently. Did you get it? 

Sometimes I make phone calls to old friends while "working" at the HOTPO headquarters.

Let's do some picks.

Week 2 NFL Picks

Week 2 is a tough week for amateur prognosticators due to the tendency to overreact off of the Week 1 results. I was close to picking the Cincinnati Bengals over the Cleveland Browns in the Thursday night game because the Bengals were competitive last week versus the Los Angeles Chargers and the Browns got throttled by the Baltimore Ravens. I tempered the desire to overreact to the small sample size and took the Browns - correct pick.

Be careful this week.

San Francisco 49ers (-7) at New York Jets: San Francisco, a favorite to return to the playoffs this year, blew a fourth quarter lead in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week and will be missing TE George Kittle and CB Richard Sherman this week. New York, a preseason favorite to make coach Adam Gase the first coach fired on the year, looked awful in a 10-point loss to the Buffalo Bills and will be without RB LeVeon Bell and WR Jamison Crowder. Gilbert Brink of 49erswebzone.com says he would bet anyone of his four daughters on a 49ers landslide victory. - 49ERS

Buffalo Bills (-5.5) at Miami Dolphins: Since Sean McDermott became the Bills coach in 2017, he is 5-1 against the Dolphins. Buffalo QB Josh Allen has thrown eight TDs and only one INT in three games versus Miami. As Armando Velez of DolphinsTalk.com says, Buffalo "is a few years ahead of Miami in their building to becoming a contender." - BILLS 

Atlanta Falcons @ Dallas Cowboys (-4.5): Both of these 0-1 teams have high-powered offenses with multiple receiving options. Dallas receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup totaled 1000+ yards last year, and are now accompanied by first round draft pick WR CeeDee Lamb (out of Oklahoma). Atlanta QB Matt Ryan compiled 450 passing yards last week in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks with Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage all gaining more than 100 yards. The difference is Dallas has a strong running game spearheaded by Ezekiel Elliott while Atlanta's running game is a weakness, as described by Terence Watson of BloggingtheBoys.com. - COWBOYS

Minnesota Vikings @ Indianapolis Colts (-3): I am kind of surprised the Colts are favorites in this game. Indianapolis played like dog poop last week: (1) the defense made Jacksonville Jaguar QB Gardner Minshew look elite and (2) the offense looked terrible with QB Philip Rivers throwing two picks and WR T.Y. Hilton dropping two key passes late. The Colts lost #1 RB Marlon Mack to injury, as well. - VIKINGS

Denver Broncos @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-7): Many experts predicted the Broncos to miss the playoffs this year and the Steelers to challenge the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North title. No one is changing those predictions after last week's games: a Steelers win and a Broncos loss on Monday night. Jason Logan of Covers.com thinks Pittsburgh's strong rushing offense and rushing defense will help them cover the large spread. - STEELERS

New York Giants @ Chicago Bears (-5.5): Both of these teams have young, unproven quarterbacks. The Bears back their young protege with a solid defense. The Giants support their young signal caller with a talented running back in Saquon Barkley. The trouble is Barkley gained only six yards on 15 carries in a loss last week to Pittsburgh, as reported by Sam Householder of WindyCityGridiron.com. Oh, and New York played Monday night and is on a short week. - BEARS

Los Angeles Rams @ Philadelphia Eagles (-1): This is a tough game for me to call so I looked at the Philadelphia Inquirer staff predictions - two picked Philly and two picked LA. The Eagles fell a part last week against the Washington Football Club and some of the blame was put on offensive line injuries. Well, RT Lane Johnson returns this week (along with #1 RB Miles Sanders). Big deal, one dude? Jeff McLane of the Inquirer says the Philadelphia is 6-12 without Johnson, but 36-17 with him. These teams are pretty even and the Eagles probably aren't as bad as they looked last week. -EAGLES

Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers (-6.5): This is not a tough one to call. Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers came out firing last week (32/44, 364 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT) in a 43-34 victory over a highly-regarded Minnesota team. Detroit blew a lead to a middling Chicago club in a 27-23 loss giving us more proof that coach Matt Patricia is another failure from the Bill Belichick coaching tree. - PACKERS

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-8.5): I don't think many of you expect much out of the Panthers this year, while I believe we all assume QB Tom Brady is going to make the Buccaneers a playoff team. Don Vasko of WSPA (Charolotte, N.C.) lays it out pretty well in his summary: Panthers on the road, tough Buccaneers defense, and, well, you know, Tom Terrific. Brady wants to play until he is 45. Even if he plays until he is 55, I can't imagine him ever being 0-2. - BUCCANEERS

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans (-7.5): Don't let that Week 1 hype train take you all the way to Gardiner Minshew Town. I like the dude - moxie, spunk, grit - but he ain't doing to Tennessee what he did to Indy. The Titans added linebackers Jadeveon Clowney and Vic Beasley Jr. in the offseason and they are going to put a ton of pressure on Minshew. - TITANS

   

Washington Football Team @ Arizona Cardinals (-7): The preseason consensus was that Washington would be awful. I do not concur with that line of thought. I think they can be mediocre, which would be a substantial improvement. Let's say 6-10 or 7-9. Most folks see Arizona as a team on the rise and I do agree with that, particularly following their quality victory over San Francisco last week. The Washington defense is super legit (five first round draft picks on their offensive line, and the latest pick, DE Chase Young, is going to be a star). Pick them up for your fantasy team, but pick the Cardinals to win this weekend. - CARDINALS

Kansas City Chiefs (-8.5) @ Los Angeles Chargers: The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs looked spectacular on offense in their opening week 34-20 victory over a good Houston Texans team. The Chargers offense is going to have to keep the pace. Craig Stout of ArrowheadPride.com thinks the San Diego offensive line will struggle protecting QB Tyrod Taylor who most likely will be throwing a lot in an attempt to catch up. - CHIEFS

Baltimore Ravens (-7) @ Houston Texans: This game is FIRE, must watch, appointment viewing with two of the most exciting quarterbacks in the NFL. Houston is a projected playoff team in a weak AFC South. Baltimore is a projected playoff team playing a tougher AFC North schedule. The Ravens are a better team, but not by a super-wide margin. The Texans coach Bill O'Brien is a complete boob, however, and that is the difference. Please tell me I am not alone in thinking O'Brien is a donk. My goodness, read Matt Weston's preview on BattleRedBlog.com game preview, especially the fourth paragraph. That guy is writing as a Texans fan and is NOT a believer in O'Brien. - RAVENS  

New England Patriots @ Seattle Seahawks (-4): In a 38-25 victory over Atlanta, Seattle QB Russell Wilson threw the ball 35 times (31/35, 322 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT). He also ran for 29 of the team's 84 rushing yards. New England QB Cam Newton threw the ball 19 times (15/19, 155 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT) in a win over Miami, and he had 15 of their 42 rushing attempts for 75 of the team's 142 rushing yards. Both of these teams have to recalibrate a bit - too much reliance on one guy. The edge in this game will end up being Seahawks safety Jamal Adams. Samuel Gold of FieldGulls.com put together an excellent film study of Adams from Week 1. He is a the one guy that will most effect Newton and the Patriots don't have one guy like him on their side to effect Wilson. - SEAHAWKS 

New Orleans Saints (-5.5) @ Las Vegas Raiders: We all know about New Orleans QB Drew Brees and their high-powered offense under coach Sean Payton. Bob Rose of Sports Illustrated explains how the Saints have an aggressive and stingy defense this year too. The Raiders have offensive weapons in QB Derek Carr and RB Josh Jacobs, but probably don't have the defense to counter. Should be a great game to watch. Don't forget, Coach Payton is still a complete douche canoe. - SAINTS

Enjoy the games. Talk again soon.