Week 2 Mistakes

9-7

That's not a bad week. I'm not thrilled with my pick record but I'll take it for a week that saw half of its games end in an upset. But it looks like that is to be expected from the NFL this year. After only 2 weeks, there are only 9 teams who don't have a loss, and only 4 of them really deserve it. These 4 are the Jets, Ravens, Falcons, and Giants. These teams have looked great and have played at least one challenging opponent.

The other 5 are the Broncos, Colts, Vikings, Saints, and 49ers. The Broncos have played the Bengals and Browns (and barely beat the former, by the way). The Colts barely squeaked past the Jaguars and controlled the ball for less than 15 minutes against the Dolphins. They could very, VERY easily be 0-2. The Vikings have played the Browns and Lions (and even though they have looked fantastic, I need to see them play a real team before I let them into the "deserved" club). The Saints offense is the best in football yes, but they played Detroit and a McNabb-less Eagles. Again, I need to see how their D responds to a real offense. And the 49ers... well they have played two NFC West games... so yeah...

Anyways, here are the games I got right this week:

Oakland (+3) over Kansas City 13-10
New York Jets (+4) over New England 16-9 (Ballsy Pick of the Week SUCCESSFUL)
Minnesota (-10) over Detroit 27-13
Atlanta (-6.5) over Carolina 28-20
Arizona (+3) over Jacksonville 31-17
Buffalo (-4.5) over Tampa Bay 33-20
Denver (-3) over Cleveland 27-6
Baltimore (+3) over San Diego 31-26
Indianapolis (-3) over Miami 27-23

And here are the games I picked incorrectly (including explanations as to why):

Titans (-6.5) over Houston
Score: HOU 34, TEN 31
Last week, the Texans offense was no where to be found (I would know, I have RB Steve Slaton in one of my fantasy leagues and WR Andre Johnson and TE Owen Daniels in the other). Also, if it weren't for two critical misses by Tennessee kicker Rob Bironas, the Titans would have beaten the Steelers. So yeah, I expected the Titans to win by a TD. I did not expect an offensive explosion. The Titans do not want to play that type of game. The Texans DO want to play that type of game. They were simply better suited to the game style.

Green Bay (-9.5) over Cincinnati
Score: CIN 31, GB 24
I didn't watch this game so I really don't know what happened. The Packers were coming off an emotional comeback win over Chicago. As for the Bengals, well I was convinced they were doomed to lose every game. Seriously, have you ever seen anything more unlucky happen on a football field? I care about the Bengals less than almost every other team, and I felt horrible about that play, like I wanted to give Marvin Lewis a big hug. But give them credit, they won. That's all I can say.

Philadelphia (Even) over New Orleans
Score: NO 48, PHI 22
Ok, so I should have taken the McNabb injury into account. I really thought he was gonna tough it out and play. But still, I thought the Eagles D would put up more of a fight against Brees and his air-it-out offense. I guess the Saints O is the real deal, but how will their D hold up against teams like Atlanta, Dallas, and New York (both of them)?

Washington (-10) over St. Louis
Score: WAS 9, STL 7
So even though I got the winner right, the Redskins did not cover the spread like I said they would. I am completely shocked that the Rams defense held an NFL team to 9 points. The Redskins don't possess the most powerful offense ever, but come on, it's the Rams. The Rams offense performed just as I though they would, but unfortunately for me, the defense actually looked halfway decent.

Seattle (+1.5) over San Francisco
Score: SF 23, SEA 10
Even though the NFC West is weaker than Tila Tequila's neck muscles (never gonna let you live this one down Merriman... even though the charges were dropped), the 49ers defense has looked real good. Almost as good as Megan Fox on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine... but not quite. However, I'm not buying San Fran just yet. Hasselbeck went out with an injury for Seattle but like I said, they need to play someone from another division (ANY other division) before I make my decision concerning them.

Pittsburgh (-3) over Chicago
Score: CHI 17, PIT 14
Wow, wow, wow. I did not see this one coming. Not at all. Even without Brian Urlacher, the Bears defense was large and in charge. The Steelers even had to resort to giving Big Ben the ball on a play action bootleg to get into the endzone. Cutler played much better this week, against a great D by the way, throwing for 238 yards and 2 TDs. BUT, despite all that, the Steelers should have won the game. Old reliable Jeff Reed completely whiffed on two, count 'em two, makable field goals in the 4th quarter. I feel that if the Bears had been down 6, the Steelers pressure would have been much more substanstial as they drove down the field at the end of the game. But that's football. You cannot leave points on the field against anyone.

Dallas (-3) over New York Giants
Score: NYG 33, DAL 31
I knew this game was going to be close, and I'm not surprised at all that the Giants pulled out the win. I gave Dallas the edge because 1) it was the grand opening premiere of Jerryland Stadium 2) they have a scary good combo of RBs in the backfield and 3) the Giants don't have any established talent at the WR position, unless you count Steve "The Other Steve Smith" Smith. However, Mario Manningham stepped up and had a big game (150 yards and 1 TD). And Eli Manning looked very Peyton-esque as he drove the Giants down the field, down by 1 with less than 4 minutes left. Both defenses looked shaky at times, but Dallas could not get a single finger on Manning when it mattered most.

Overall Record: 9-7
Ballsy Pick of the Week Record: 1-0

Fantasy Update
League: WeLikeSportz
Lost to Team Bill Simmons 154.52-134.02
Tom Brady killed me this week, only scoring 9 points. I need 20-25 from him every week or I am not going to win very much. Both Steven and Vincent Jackson pulled their weight, and Steve Slaton was my only other player in single digits (6.07). He has been a huge disappointment so far. But what really screwed me was the 82.55 combined points for Team Bill Simmons' QB Matt Schaub and RB Frank Gore. RIDICULOUS.
Current Record: 0-2

League: League of Imported Spirits
Won against Team Pearly Gates 129.27-72.38
Peyton Manning and Andre Johnson both scored in the 20s. Michael Turner, Owen Daniels, and Fred Jackson all made double digit contributions. I was very happy with this team in week 2 and with Pierre Thomas coming back from an injury, things are looking up.
Current Record: 1-1

Check in again on Saturday for week 3 predictions.