Off to a slow start, but like the Vikings, 49ers and Cowboys, looking to turn it around starting with week 3

JIM RUBERA
Special Contributor

(Rubera writes for The Spop, a great web site that delves into sports and pop culture. He is an avid football fan and a terrific writer).

Last Week Overall: 7-7-2 / Best Bets: 1-2-1 / Monday Night: 0-1

Season Overall: 12-17-3 / Best Bets: 4-2-1 / Monday Night: 2-1

Week 3 Picks

Pittsburgh –3 @ Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay has been impressive going 2-0, but so has Pittsburgh without their star quarterback.  No defense is playing better than the Steelers right now.  They take away the run completely and Josh Freeman isn’t ready to beat them through the air.  Not with Troy Polamalu picking off a pass a game.  Steelers third string QB Charlie Batch won’t try to do too much and will be able to rely on the running game and defense.  Three points should be no problem.

Buffalo @ New England –14

I went back and forth on this one three times.  Here’s the final argument.  The Patriots blew out the Bengals at home by two touchdowns.  Cincinnati is a far better team than the Bills.  Try not to count out New England after getting shut out in one half against one of the top three defenses in the league.  Buffalo is starting a quarterback from Harvard.  We’ll see how smart he is.  If he’s a real Ivy Leaguer, he’ll be smart enough to fake sick.  Howdya like those apples?

Cleveland @ Baltimore –10.5

Tempting to pick against Baltimore who is scoring just 10 points per game, but Cleveland is a team that can’t decide between Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme.  Can’t stand behind a team like that.  It’s like Sophie’s Choice except instead of having kids Sophie had a piece of dog crap and a cup of fingernail clippings.  It’s about time that the Ravens realize their potential in their new offense and start using their new toys.  The Harrison/Hill RB combo will try to set a slow pace for the Browns, but Baltimore will force too many three and outs and finally put some points of their own on the board.

Cincinnati @ Carolina +3

The Bengals have no tape with which to study Jimmy Clausen, so at the very least you have to give the first half edge to Carolina.  The Panthers can still play defense when not stabbed in the back by their offense and forced to deal with poor field position.  And they have a great RB tandem with D’Angelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.  Cincinnati has looked awful (game one) and lucky (game 2, roughing the passer call).  You need a real good reason or a complete mismatch to not take points at home.  Neither exist in this game.

Tennessee +3 @ New York Giants

To win my fantasy game last week I needed the Giants to hold Joseph Addai to under 80 yards.  Addai destroyed them.  Enter Chris Johnson this week.  I realize that a lot of Addai’s success was due to the Giants putting more effort into Peyton Manning, but still.  It’s Chris Johnson.  Kerry Collins with either struggle early and get replaced by the better Vince Young or he will be stable enough to manage the game and the Titans will come out with an upset.

Atlanta @ New Orleans –4.5

The Saints haven’t covered a spread yet, but they’re still 2-0.  They’re winning games and this is a small margin for a defending Superbowl champ at home.  The short week turnaround should be negated by the fact that Atlanta will be playing without or with a limited Michael Turner.  You need all your guns firing to hang with a division rival on the road and Atlanta’s best will be left in the holster this week.

San Francisco @ Kansas City +2.5

All signs point to the Chiefs in this one.  At Home.  Undefeated.  Still flying under the  radar.  San Fran coming off Monday night game.  The public is very high on San Francisco and still very low on KC because of preseason expectations.  KC is 2-0 ATS, both as underdogs.  Until further notice keep riding the Chiefs money train.

Detroit +11.5 @ Minnesota

Much like the SF/KC game, gotta stick with what your eyes see not with what you think should be.  Detroit is 2-0 ATS and Minnesota is 0-1-1.  The Lions have played admirably in their first two games.  They should have won in week one and put up a heck of a fight last week losing to the Eagles by just three.  Meanwhile Brett Favre is showing his age and robbing the Vikings of a year of Adrian Peterson’s dwindling prime.  Calvin Johnson and Jahvid Best will make enough plays to be there in the fourth quarter.

Dallas @ Houston -3

ANOTHER matchup of two teams headed in opposite directions.  Houston:  2-0 straight up and ATS.  Dallas: 0-2 straight up and ATS.  I do think Dallas will right the ship and sneak into the playoffs as a wild card, but it will take another loss this week to hit rock bottom.  Houston has shown that they can light up the scoreboard on the ground (vs Indy) and through the air (vs Washington).  This should be a fun game to watch.

Washington –3.5 @ St. Louis

Something tells me that St. Louis is due to rise up and stun somebody soon, but after the offensive display that McNabb and Co. put on last week I can’t pick against them.  Rookie QB Sam Bradford just can’t match points with veteran teams right now.  It’s a simple as that.

Philadelphia –3 @ Jacksonville

Two defenses playing horribly.  The Eagles are putting up big points and have more explosive players than the Jaguars.  Vick, McCoy, Jackson, Maclin, and Celek should all have nice fantasy days.  Jacksonville can’t keep up with that talent.

Indianapolis –5.5 @ Denver

The Colts seemed to have solved their defensive problems last week and their offense looks as good as ever.  Denver beat down Seattle, but lost Knowshon Moreno during the week.  We’ll see if Laurence Maroney is up for a challenge.  The Broncos have a nice passing rhythm going with Orton, Royal, and Thomas, but will be hard pressed to trade touchdowns with Manning, Wayne, Garcon, Collie, and Clark.

San Diego –5.5 @ Seattle

The Chargers wiped off the opening night cobwebs and played like they were supposed to last week, winning by 18.  The Seahawks wiped off the opening day glory and played like they were supposed to last week, losing by 17.  Home field should lessen the damage, but we’re talking about at least a touchdown win for San Diego and their potent offense.

Oakland @ Arizona –4.5

The Cardinals will be up for their home opener against the Bruce Gradkowski-led Raiders.  Arizona hasn’t looked too good so far, but they’re 1-1 and still better than the Raiders.  Oakland is changing up their QB situation after a game and a half.  They snuck by the Rams by TWO POINTS last week at home.  They’re due for a disappointment in the desert as the Cardinals welcome back Beanie Wells from injury.  That should take some heat off Derek Anderson and Tim Hightower.

New York Jets @ Miami –2.5

Something tells me that Braylon Edwards’ team “punishment” will be that he sits out the first two offensive snaps, which will be be running plays.  So let’s just say that he’ll be playing the whole game and put to rest the notion that the Jets will be shorthanded on offense.  That being said, Miami is undefeated and they haven’t played a home game yet.  They will be fired up to maintain their division lead on both the Jets and the Patriots.  The Dolphins swept the series last season and New York will be without Revis.  That means that Brandon Marshall will have more opportunities to make big plays and lesser defenders will be covering Miami’s speedier slot receivers.  The Jets might be a bit too high on themselves coming off a good second half against the Patriots last week.

Green Bay @ Chicago +3

The Bears are playing their best football since 2006 on both sides of the ball.  At home they should be able to hold the Packers to around 20 points.  Rodgers is good, but he’s not unbeatable.  This should be a rough frustrating night for him.  He won’t be chucking the ball all over the place in the Windy City.  Give the advantage to the home team with the better running game.

Best Bets:  Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Houston

AP: Photo

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