BUFFALO, NY – I’ll cave to the pressure of making NFL Picks (gambling suggestion)s until I can talk hockey. But instead of picking all games, it’ll be pared down to one favorite, one dog, one over, and one under… With a gratuitous Kate Upton photo. Here goes nuttin’:
BUFFALO (-3) over Kansas City
Both of these teams came up way short in defensive efforts last week yielding 40+ points to the J-E-T-S and “Dirty Birds”. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three picks and special teams made matters worse covering kicks for the Bills. It’s easy to change these things on discipline alone provided Fitz puts his Harvard education to work and by coverage units staying in the proper lanes. The loss of running back Fred Jackson can and will be cushioned by C.J. Spiller on the outside and Tashard Choice for those tougher yards. Mario Williams and his defensive buddies turn things around versus another mediocre offense. Romeo Crennel is a fantastic coach who you have to expect got inside his defense’s ear about last week. The adjustments won’t go unnoticed as this game will be a tight one but we’re only talking laying a field goal. Memory says the Bills don’t lose to the Chiefs going back to the Lou Saban years, okay; maybe Kay Stephenson as a four-point victory is on tap at the very least.
Arizona (+14 ½) over NEW ENGLAND
I can’t tell you why the Cardinals will cover this spread so the analysis is based on why the Pats won’t cover the 14 or 14 ½ in some places. Laying better than two scores this early in the season is never advisable—you want to wait until week three before committing to a hefty favorite. For this be the reason why so many people get cut from ‘knockout pools’ in weeks 1 and 2. A back-door cover reams another arse for those on the favorite here. Arizona is a physical club and debunks the West Coast-team-travelling-East-for-a-1:00 game-theory. The Patriots can sleepwalk to victory yes but not the cover with a rematch of last year’s AFC up next Sunday night against the Ravens. Classic look-ahead trap. NE 28 Ariz 19.
NY Jets/PITTSBURGH OVER 42
There are three very prominent defensive names on the injury list for both teams: Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, and Darrelle Revis. It’s fair to say the absence of the trio translates into points for two offenses that don’t particularly run the ball very well. The only way the over is put in peril is a field goal contest between two shaky legs in Shaun Suisham and Nick Folk.
Washington/ST. LOUIS UNDER 44
Don’t think for a minute that RGIII has the same success against a Jeff Fisher coached team as he did against the skipper-less Saints. Back-to-back dome road victories are hard to pull off for the most veteran of QB’s let alone a rookie in his second career game. Fisher is as good as coaches get as the Lions and Matthew Stafford found the going tough last week at home. This might be the best pick of the four.
A sure thing, The Public Professor followed by West Coast Craig, tomorrow
