Drew Brees will light it up this week.
I hate to brag. I’m just not the type. But for almost two years I’ve been embarrassed by the man who calls himself Dr. Football. Every week, for nearly two complete NFL seasons, the guy has either been an outright genius or simply a blind squirrel that found a lot more acorns than he deserved to find.
But not last week. Nosireee, not last week. Last week, Dr. Football went 8-8 straight up and 7-9 against the spread.
That’s right naysayers. The Good Doctor is no longer in the lead. That’s because the The Old Coach went 11-5 straight up and 9-7 against the line. Ta!Da! Victory.
Sure it might only last a week. Heck, I’ve won the occasional week over the last couple of seasons, I’ve just never been ahead. But now, for at least seven days, I’ve been able to say I am in the lead. No, 1. The Coach is three wins ahead of a man who has a doctorate in professional football from a distinguished insitution of higher learning.
It just doesn’t get any better than that.
So here we go, Week 2. It’s the Doc against the Coach in a little ol’ game of head-to-head cranium combat. After last week’s victory, I’m ready to take on the Doc once again. I see he’s already ruin as far away as possible from his dear Vikings, fallen in love with my Lions and given up completely on the Cleveland Browns.
It’s going to be a great week. Doctor Football writes the synopsis:
Line: Saints by 6.5.
Dr. Football: Saints to win but not cover.
The Coach: Saints to win and cover
Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) at Detroit Lions (1-0)
Line: Lions by 8.
Detroit has the confidence now that they have a win in the books — on the road against the Bucs nonetheless. Last week the Chiefs couldn’t get their run game going against the Bills, and it won’t be easy this week against the Lions solid defensive line. Look for Stafford and the Lions to pick on the Chiefs secondary without Eric Berry in the lineup.
Dr. Football: Lions to win and cover.
The Coach: Lions to win and cover.
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) at New York Jets (1-0)
Line: Jets by 9.
The Jets and Rex Ryan sent a nice thank you card to Tony Romo for that awful pass in helping them get a big come from behind win at home over the Cowboys last Sunday. The Jaguars played a solid game in topping the Titans, as Luke McCown pulled off their game plan to perfection. This week they will need a huge game from Maurice Jones-Drew to get a win in on the road, but look for the Jets defense to build on last week’s momentum and force mistakes as the Jets win their second home game in a row.
Dr. Football: Jets to win and cover.
The Coach: Jets to win and cover
Oakland Raiders (1-0) at Buffalo Bills (1-0)
Line: Bills by 3.
Oakland held Denver to only 38 rushing yards last week. By comparison, the Raiders ran the ball for 190 yards. Last week, the Bills allowed 108 rushing yards to the Chiefs, one of the most successful running teams last season. The Bills have to do a much better job at stopping the run, especially with Darren McFadden coming to town. (I completely disagree. Signed, The Coach).
Dr. Football: Raiders to win.
The Coach: Bills to win and cover.
Arizona Cardinals (1-0) at Washington Redskins (1-0)
Line: Redskins by 3.5.
Last week Arizona survived a great debut from Cam Newton, but got big plays down the stretch to get the win. Kevin Kolb was solid in his debut for the Cardinals, and this week he will go against a Redskins defense that contained Eli Manning to get the win over the Giants. Rex Grossman will need to be careful against the Cards secondary, and if they want to go 2-0, they need to be smart and run the ball well. Look for this one to be close.
Dr. Football: Redskins to win but not cover.
The Coach: Redskins to win and cover
Chris Johnson
Baltimore Ravens (1-0) at Tennessee Titans (0-1)
Line: Ravens by 5.5.
The only worry I have in this one is the Ravens ability to stop Chris Johnson. The Ravens allowed only 66 yards to the Steelers last week, but it was on only 16 attempts, translating to a not-horrible 4.1 yards per carry. I don’t mean to take away from the Ravens impressive Week 1 victory over the AFC champs, but they certainly got lucky with three interceptions off of Big Ben, one that was returned for a touchdown and four recovered fumbles. Still, this week the Ravens are the better team. Unless, of course, Chris Johnson can find away to escape that frightening Ravens D.
Dr. Football: Ravens to win and cover.
The Coach: Ravens to win and cover
Seattle Seahawks (0-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1)
Line: Steelers by 14.
Do you think that the Steelers were pissed off after watching film of the game against the Ravens? The Steelers committed seven turnovers and were just awful, and I’d hate to be Tarvaris Jackson and the ‘Hawks when they take the field at Heinz Field this Sunday. Seattle was in their game against the Niners until Ted Ginn ran back a kickoff and punt to put the game away, but this one will be a much tougher test on the road. Look for the Steelers to play a much more mistake-free game, and force a couple of mistakes from the terrible Seahawks.
Dr. Football: Steelers to win and cover.
The Coach: Steelers to win and cover.
Cam Newton
Green Bay Packers (1-0) at Carolina Panthers (0-1)
Line: Packers by 9.5.
Forgetting for a moment that Cam Newton played like his Number 1 draft pick status last week against a terrible defense, the Panthers suffered a big loss on defense as linebacker Jon Beason tore his Achilles tendon and will be out for the year. That’s a tough break for a defense that now has to contend with one of the highest calibre offenses in the NFL. If you’re the defending Super Bowl champs looking to get to Indianapolis, you go out on the road and you clobber bad teams. I’m thinking Newton’s performance last week was the exception, not the norm. Meanwhile, the Packers are still the best team in the NFC until somebody beats them. We both like Newton and his story, but the factors simply have too many weapons and too solid a defensive unit to lose to the Panthers.
Dr. Football: Packers to win and cover.
The Coach: Packers to win and cover.
Adrian Peterson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) at Minnesota Vikings (0-1)
Line: Vikings by 3.
Last week the Vikings took a big step closer to having Christian Ponder make his debut sooner than expected as Donovan McNabb was horrible in San Diego. Where was the McNabb that showed such poise in the preseason? The Bucs won’t be much nicer either to McNabb, and the Vikes needs to run Adrian Peterson 20-25 times. The Bucs will have to be more physical on offense, as they looked lost against the Lions. Look for the Bucs to make more plays in the passing game, and for the run game to have a better week as well (Doc and I disagree on this one. Vikes coach Leslie Frazier will fix last week’s offensive problems and Minnesota will win at home).
Dr. Football: Buccaneers to win.
The Coach: Vikings to win and cover.
Cleveland Browns (0-1) at Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
Line: Browns by 2.5.
Huh? The Colts are ranked as underdogs in their own building? The Colts, without Peyton Manning, stunk in Houston last week, and now will come home against a Browns team that lost at home late to the Bengals. The Colts will need to better protect Kerry Collins, and run the ball more as Cleveland showed against the Bengals they still can’t stop the run. Colt McCoy won’t have a ton of time to throw, and the Browns need to run Peyton Hillis more than they did a week ago. Look for the Colts to rebound (Again, The Coach disagrees).
Dr. Football: Colts to win.
The Coach: Browns to win and cover.
Tony Romo
Dallas Cowboys (0-1) at San Francisco 49ers (1-0)
Line: Cowboys by 3.
Why was anyone shocked to see Tony Romo throw a pick with the game on the line in New York? That’s been his career bio, and you could smell that fourth quarter let down all the way to Dallas. Now they head west to San Francisco, and have to play a 49ers team that has a little swagger after a big home win over the Seahawks. The 49ers did it with special teams (Ted Ginn), but also will need to get more from Alex Smith and Frank Gore to beat the Cowboys. Dallas needs to pressure Smith, and if they can get a big game from Romo and Dez Bryant, they won’t need a big fourth quarter to beat the Niners (Coach sez: “Romo will get some pressure, panic and go fetal, as he always does.”).
Dr. Football: Cowboys to win and cover.
The Coach: 49ers to win
Houston Texans (1-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-1)
Line: Texans by 3.
The Texans see the writing on the wall, and they know that the AFC South without Peyton Manning can be theirs. They can’t lay an egg in Miami, and with Matt Schaub and the return of Arian Foster, they won’t. In fact, they’ll score more than enough points to win. I don’t think the Dolphins can get that kind of a performance out of Chad Henne two weeks in a row.
Dr. Football: Texans to win and cover.
The Coach: Texans to win and cover
San Diego Chargers (1-0) at New England Patriots (1-0)
Line: Patriots by 7.
While one may think that there is no way Tom Brady and company can be as good against the Chargers as they were in Miami last week, they will still be able to put up points against a Chargers team that had to rally in the second half to beat the Vikings. San Diego got a lot from Mike Tolbert on the ground, and they will need that again to win in New England. The Chargers always crank it up a notch against the best in the AFC, and the Pats are certainly out to prove that they are.
Dr. Football: Patriots to win and cover.
The Coach: Patriots to win and cover.
Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) at Denver Broncos (0-1)
Line: Broncos by 3.5.
The Bengals shocked the world last week as most experts picked them to get hammered by the Browns. The Broncos are licking their wounds after an awful Monday night game. Can Kyle Orton and the Broncos get their run-game get on track? Orton is just happy he won’t have to hear “Tebow” being chanted all game. The Bengals defense did a nice job against Petyon Hillis and the Browns, and if they can force Orton to beat them, it could play into the Bengals hands. I think the Broncos will have a brutal year even with John Elway making the big decisions (Coach sez: “If the Broncos don’t win this week, they’ll have to look seriously at Tim Tebow.”).
Dr. Football: Bengals to win.
The Coach: Broncos to win and cover.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Michael Vick Returns to Atlanta.
Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-1)
Line: Eagles by 1.5.
You have to think that Atlanta is the solid pick in this one based on the Falcons success at home. Then again, this is pretty much the same Atlanta team that got clobbered 31-17 to essentially the same Eagles team in Week 6 last season in Philadelphia. The Eagles won that game with Kevin Kolb at quarterback, so while the Falcons will trot out the same team this week, they will face a new-look Philly team with Michael Vick on offense and newcomers Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha on defense.
Dr. Football: Eagles to win and cover.
The Coach: Eagles to win and cover.
MONDAY NIGHT
St. Louis Rams (0-1) at New York Giants (0-1)
Line: Giants by 6.
The Rams need Steven Jackson, but without him the focus will be on Sam Bradford, and it won’t be easy for them to get it done on MNF. The Giants were surprised by the Redskins, and they made way too many mistakes to win. Tom Coughlin will right the ship, and under the prime-time lights, the Giants defense will stuff Bradford and the Rams run game.
Dr. Football: Giants to win and cover
The Coach: Giants to win and cover
The Doc went 8-8 last week and was 7-9 vs. the spread. The Coach went 11-5 straight up and 9-7 against the spread. And we think this is the first time since 2009 that The Coach has had the lead.