NFL Week 1 Picks September 11th 2005

Welcome to the 2005-2006 Weekly NFL Picks. We have three new experts joining us this year: Teri Berg, Ryan McGowan, and Trevor Freeman, all regular columnists on the site.

In addition, we have a podcast to go along with the picks below. You can listen/download the mp3 file directly here or you can subscribe to the podcast using this feed. If you have iTunes, go to your Advanced Menu, click on Subscribe to Podcast and enter this url: http://feeds.feedburner.com/nflpickspodcast

Here’s to a great season and hoping we do better than that idiot Merrill Hoge.

Week 1 Picks

Locks of the Week

Vegas Vinny: This seems like a homer pick but it’s not. There are only 2 things going against Philly in this game. 1) Losers of previous super bowls have done very poorly during opening day of the following season. 2) TO decided to act like a 6 year old in the offseason. As for 1, any gambler knows that trends are meant to be broken and Philly is a stronger team than any of the previous five Super Bowl losers. Regarding TO, well, the only thing he likes more than the spotlight is himself and MNF opening weekend is a pretty damn big spotlight. Owens will have a monster game. Any thoughts of McNabb freezing him out were laid to rest during the preseason.

Of course, everyone is high on the Falcons this year but remember the deer in the headlights look that Vick had during the NFCCG? You think he’ll look any better against Jim Johnson on Monday? Doubtful. Take the Eagles and give the 2 points.

Teri Berg: The Jags have a solid D, but Matt Hasselbeck and Co. have more experience and a variety of tools on offense — especially with Shaun Alexander, who’s returning from last season with a better attitude and a need to prove he can outdo Curtis Martin or anyone else this season. Add to this that Mike Holmgren’s and the Seahawks’ backs are against the wall this year (especially on the road) to win their division more decisively and go deeper in the playoffs. Also, Byron Leftwich hasn’t got the chops yet to take charge, particularly against Seattle’s tough secondary. Take the Seahawks +3.

BostonMac:
It pains me to pick the Jets (+3) anytime, but I don’t see any way Kansas City beats them in Week One. Even with some upgrades on their defense, the Chiefs won’t be able to stop the Jets offense enough to win the game. Curtis Martin just keeps plugging along, and this might be the year that Chad Pennington finally becomes what every reality-challenged New York fan believes him to be anyway: the top QB in the AFC East. (Whether the Jets can knock off the Pats, however, is another story.)

Trevor F: This line is absolutely outrageous. This means that the people in Las
Vegas think that the Rams are 8 1/2 points better than the 49ers. The 49ers were not nearly as bad as their 2-14 record would indicate. They were probably the most injury riddled team in all of football last year. Pro Bowlers Jeremy Newberry, Julian Peterson and Ahmed Plummer played a
combined total of 11 games. Top pass-rusher DE Andre Carter missed eight games, all of which were at the beginning of the season. If the 49ers were
completely healthy they win 5-6 games (The Rams won 7 last year). In the offseason the 49ers lost nobody of any consequence and added OT Jonas Jennings who was the best tackle on the market, drafted Frank Gore who will produce immediately and hired a real coach in Mike Nolan. The 49ers
win this game outright.

If you really want to do yourself a favor, tease this game with the Nebraska-Wake Forest game (Nebraska is giving 7, tease it and take Nebraska….Wake Forest just lost to Vanderbilt…nuff said).