Week 2 Predictions by Rick

Mardi won Week 1 with a score of 12-4 vs 11-5 for me. One game screwed me over. But since Week 1 is officially in the books, let's push ahead to Week 2:

Carolina at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Minnesota at Detroit (Minnesota)
Cincinnati at Green Bay (Green Bay)
Arizona at Jacksonville (Arizona)
Oakland at Kansas City (Oakland)
New England at New York Jets (New England)
New Orleans at Philadelphia (New Orleans)
Houston at Tennessee (Houston)
St. Louis at Washington (Washington)
Tampa Bay at Buffalo (Buffalo)
Seattle at San Francisco (Seattle)
Pittsburgh at Chicago (Pittsburgh)
Cleveland at Denver (Denver)
Baltimore at San Diego (San Diego)
New York Giants at Dallas (New York Giants)

Monday Night:
Indianapolis at Miami (Miami 24-21)

There are a lot of closely matched games going on this week, which is why I am expecting more road wins this week that I did last. Also, some of the play from what appeared to be bad teams last week really surprised me. Oakland and Buffalo are 2 of the standouts who played very well against what could be considered elite teams in the NFL. What amazed me about Oakland was that they were playing sound fundamental football - it looks like there may be yet a method to their coach's madness. I'm hoping this good play carries over to Sunday.

After a very poor home opener this past Sunday, the Houston Texans are taking the fight to the team formerly known as the Houston Oilers. Both teams had tough-to-swallow losses in the first week, so both teams will be hungry. For Houston I expect an amped-up offense. If Houston's defense plays as well as it did last week, especially against the run, they definitely have a shot. It was reported also that Matt Shaub was feeling some lingering effects on Sunday from the ankle injury suffered in the preseason. While I'm not making excuses, it defintely had something to do with his inability to throw effectively. The keys for Tennessee will be to not miss opportunities, which is what cost them against Pittsburgh. I feel that Houston has a real shot at redeeming themselves from Week 1, which is why I'm picking them here for Week 2.

Minnesota is also taking it on the road against division rival Detroit. As lopsided as this may seem, I don't think the Vikings are going to have a very easy time at it this week. Detroit scored 27 points in Week 1 in spite of rookie QB Matt Stafford's poor NFL debut. I look for Stafford to have gotten over the butterflies of Game 1 and have a better game this Sunday. The key for Minnesota will be Brett Favre. His lackluster performance against Cleveland was enough to win the game because Adrian Peterson carried the team on his shoulders. I pick Minnesota to win this game, but if Detroit can carry some of that fire from Week 1 into Week 2, then it should be competitive.

The loss of Brian Urlacher is going to hurt Chicago when Pittsburgh comes to town. While San Francisco pulled off the surprise win against Arizona, I don't think they will be quite ready for Matt Hasselback and company when Seattle rolls into town. New England and New York were a little tough to call, but I think the New England offense should be able to carry it against the Jets (it's the young defense that causes some concern). Arizona is out to prove why they're the favorite in the NFC West again this year when they will bounce back from the tough loss at home in Week 1. Without Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia's offense won't be quite as effective as it was against Carolina. Kevin Kolb is a capable substitute, but look for New Orleans to let it fly again this week. As for Oakland and Kansas City, it won't matter if Matt Cassel plays or not. The Kansas City defense is not up to par. If Oakland's Week 1 performance was not a fluke, then Oakland should be able to handle Kansas City.

Let's see what Mardi has to say.