BLOOMINGBURG, NY – The Mets’ Edwin Diaz (Friday night) and current free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown (all summer long) were at it again… and so am I. Friends, it’s time to dust off the wad of cash you’ve been saving and hiding from your wife since you blew it all betting on last year’s Pro Bowl. The return of Pigskin Point-spread Prognosticator Cheesy Bruin (using 3rd Person is chic) on MTM starts with these opening Week #1 selections. As you may recall, I roll with the best Favorite, Underdog, Over, and Under plays in my FREE NFL Picks.
FAVORITE There’s one game I’m really looking forward to watching today as it shapes up to be one of the more intriguing matchups. Angry Ward will have a stake in it as well as his Minnesota Vikings entertain the Atlanta Falcons in that indoor oasis amid the winter wonderland of 10,000 Lakes. Minny no longer enjoys that winter home-field advantage but it’s September and that’s a moot point now anyway. The Vikes are not long removed from that disappointing NFC championship game in 2018 and suffered a subsequent hangover in finishing 9-7 last year. Healthy is RB Dalvin Cook and the team is said to be featuring a ground and pound offense this year to go along with a still stout Mike Zimmer defense. Strolling into Minny are the Falcons who also were a 2018 disappointment due in large part to injuries. Julio Jones just got paid yesterday, Matty Ice had ridiculous numbers last year and Devonta Freeman is 100% healthy. Great game to watch as the Purple People Eaters gobble up a late win. The Pick? MINNESOTA -4 over Atlanta
UNDERDOG I want to throw up in my mouth on this one. I’m smart enough to realize laying more than a touchdown on a Week #1 division game can be detrimental to the bottom line and that is money. 
In separating heart from wallet there’s no justifying betting the Dallas Cowboys today against the Giants. Can’t do it. Consider the Ezekiel Elliott holdout, Amari Cooper’s foot ailment, and the psyche of Dak Prescott looking for a new contract during a preseason where the offense hasn’t been on the field together. At all. Big Blew will get their yards with Saquon Barkley and keep this one a nail biter until the very end and that scares the sh!t out of me as a Cowboys fan. The Pick? New York Giants +7 over DALLAS
OVER This was a difficult one to find with the preponderance of NFL teams opting to be cautious with their skilled offensive personnel during the exhibition season. If Thursday night’s game is a foreshadowing of what is to come in the early juncture of this football season, there should be few shootouts and many low scoring affairs, as offenses around the league work on their timing. There are certain coaches a gambler has to believe in and one of those is Andy Reid of the Chefs Chiefs. It helps to have the players for such an offensive mind and he has that. The Jaguars have a Super Bowl winning quarterback instead of the mistake-prone Blake Bortles. Yes. Nick Foles won a Super Bowl in 2018 and can sling the ball around the yard if Jacksonville lets him. And he’ll have to do so to stay in this game. The Pick? Kansas City/JACKSONVILLE OVER 50.5
UNDER As much faith you have in Philip Rivers at quarterback, there’s no denying the absence of Melvin Gordon toting the rock. The Chargers fared well when Gordon missed three games late last year as Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson stepped up and performed adequately in winning all three games and averaged 27 ppg in the process. It’s the Andrew Luck-less Colts with an improved O-line that will slow the game’s pace that keeps the point total under wraps enough to cash a ticket on this one. The Pick? Indianapolis/LOS ANGELES CHARGERS UNDER 45
Enjoy the games folks!
