NFL Football picks for week 1 (9/7/06 - 9/11/06)

Welcome to the first week of my NFL picks. Normally, I will try to make my picks on Thursday or Friday, but since this is opening week and there is a game on Thursday, I've submitted all of my picks today. All of the lines are from Tuesday's edition of the New York Daily News. Now, never mind what you normally would do...

Miami at Pittsburgh

Even though Big Ben is out, I still think the Steelers win this home opener. The Steelers defense is just too good. It will be close though.

PICK: Pittsburgh - Pick em





Atlanta at Carolina -6

A tough game against a division opponent, but the Panthers D wins out containing Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn. Gotta go with the home team here.

PICK: Carolina -6





Baltimore at Tampa Bay -3

Chris Simms shows up and proves to the Ravens that he is ready to be a starting QB. Both teams have quality defenses, but the Bucs have a better offense, especially when the Cadillac starts to run.

PICK: Tampa Bay -3





Buffalo at New England -9

To be honest, I've been a New England Patriot fan since elementary school. I'm never going to root or pick against them. So, in my completely unbiased opinion, they are going to knock the crap out of the Bills this weekend. Losman isn't going to know what hit him, and Corey Dillon is going to be back in his old form.

PICK: New England -9





Cincinnati at Kansas City -3

Both teams have potentially explosive offenses, and this could turn out to be a high scoring game. Since both teams are evenly matched, I'll take the team getting some points.

PICK: Cincinnati +3





Denver at St. Louis + 3 1/2

Even though the Rams have a new coach, they are still a quality team, at home, and getting points. This one is easy.

PICK: St. Louis +3 1/2





New Orleans at Cleveland -3

Charlie Frye may turn out to be a good NFL QB, but not this game. However I think it will be the Saints offense that wins this one. Reggie Bush shows his stuff and the signing of Drew Brees starts to look smarter. Cleveland claims they improved their defense by signing two aging veterans, Ted Washington and Willie McGinest. Someone comes marching in...

PICK: New Orleans +3





New York Jets at Tennessee -3

The Jets are going to struggle this year and it's going to start in Tennessee. This is probably the worst game of the day and I have to watch it since I live in New York. Honestly, both teams suck, but I'll go with the home team.

PICK: Tennessee -3





Philadelphia at Houston + 4

One of these teams is on the way up and the other is on the way down. As Donovan goes, so go the Eagles, but he doesn't do much against the Texans, who are starting to show signs of life. Years of high draft picks do pay off.

PICK: Houston+4





Seattle at Detroit +6

The Seahawks are just too tough of a team for the Lions to handle, even though I think the Lions will be much improved this year with a new coaching regime in place. I'm not a big fan of taking an away team giving points, but I have to do it here.

PICK: Seattle -6





Chicago at Green Bay +3 1/2

The Pack just isn't going to be very good this year, but I guess they always have a chance with Favre. In this game, they make the Bears look better than they really are.

PICK: Chicago -3 1/2





Dallas at Jacksonville -2 1/2

The Cowboys are going to be much improved this year fighting for the NFC East title. A few costly mistakes will wind up costing them the game. Leftwich shows why he was a 1st rounder.

PICK: Jacksonville -2 1/2





San Francisco at Arizona -7 1/2

The Cardinals will compete for the division this year, but giving more than a touchdown is too much. If Warner can keep his head on straight, this could be one of the most explosive offenses in football this season. However, things will start slow in the first game and I'll take the slightly improved 49ers and the points.

PICK: San Francisco +7 1/2





Indianapolis at New York Giants +3

The Manning bowl kicks off Sunday night football on NBC. The Colts are the better team, but I'm going with the Giants to pull off the upset at the Meadowlands.

PICK: New York Giants +3





Minnesota at Washington -4 1/2

This isn't the way to kick off Monday Night Football on ESPN, and I'm glad they are broadcasting a second game this week. Although this might appear to be a defensive struggle, the fact of the matter is that both offenses stink. The Redskins will probably be without Portis for at least a few weeks. I'll go with the team getting a few points.

PICK: Minnesota +4 1/2





San Diego at Oakland +3

Both teams have new QB's, so there are plenty of unknowns here. LT takes over this game and runs all over the Raiders.

PICK: San Diego -3