NFL Week 2 Picks 2012

Week 1 Quick Hits

• The NFC is absolutely wide open this season if Week 1 is anything to go by as teams like the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and the reigning SuperBowl Winners the New York Giants were all beaten... At home no less. You can't read too much into the first game of the season, but there has to be some concern with how these teams played, particularly on Defense going forward
• What is going through Michael Vick's head? He made some of the worst decisions during the game against Cleveland and can consider himself fortunate that he only threw 4 Interceptions as there were at least 3 other passes that could have been picked off. He has to improve if Philadelphia are going to anywhere this season.
• Joe Flacco did an 'Eli Manning impression' this off-season as he made it clear he feels he is an 'elite' Quarter Back and his performance against Cincinnati on Monday night was very impressive to say the least. However, take a quick look at the schedule and the number of 'elite' QB's Flacco will be going against this season and we will see where he stands when he competes against them.
• It is going to be a long season for Cleveland and Miami as their rookie Quarter Backs struggled in the opener and there really isn't a lot of positives to take going forward.
• I was really concerned with how the replacement referees would do to be honest, but they have a pretty clean week barring a couple of horrible calls in the Green Bay-San Francisco game and the Arizona-Seattle game... Doesn't mean I am over the moon that the real referees have been locked out through to Week 5 at the earliest by the sound of things.
• So who has RG3 over Andrew Luck right now? You can't make a snap judgement on one game, and I do think both are the real deal... Still think both Indianapolis and Washington are happy with the choices they made last April.
• All these people that put a lot of importance on the pre-season need to look at what the New York Jets did in Week 1- they scored just 31 points in 4 pre-season games, yet managed 48 against the much vaunted Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The picks didn't go well at all in Week 1 as my two most popular choices decided to kill themselves by turning the ball over 8 times between them, the Detroit Lions doing it twice while deep in Rams territory. Both Detroit and Philadelphia combined to have over double the total Offense their opponents did, but the mistakes hindered them all day.

My Top Ten

1) New England Patriots (1-0): They looked like an improved unit on Defense in their dominating win over Tennessee and the Offense continues rolling.

2) San Francisco 49ers (1-0): Any team that goes into Lambeau Field and dominates almost all facets of play deserves to be this high up the list. They have the best balance in the NFL if Alex Smith can bring that level every week.

3) Houston Texans (1-0): They will definitely have tougher tests down the road, but they were impressive in their win over Miami.

4) Baltimore Ravens (1-0): The no-huddle worked and Joe Flacco picked up from where he left off last season in the AFC Championship Game. If he finds consistency, the Ravens will be very tough to beat this season.

5) Dallas Cowboys (1-0): To go into the SuperBowl Champions backyard and win comfortably is impressive... Dallas can't afford a letdown in a tough road game in Seattle this weekend.

6) Atlanta Falcons (1-0): Beating up a Kansas City team missing a number of key members of the Defense is one thing, doing the same to Peyton Manning and Denver on Monday Night Football will be completely another.

7) Denver Broncos (1-0): That game showed that Peyton Manning is back and Denver could be the real deal this season despite all my doubts.

8) Chicago Bears (1-0): I had a feeling they could challenge the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North and they will get a chance to prove that on Thursday night when they go into Lambeau.

9) Detroit Lions (1-0): It was a tough day in the office, but they came out with the W... They will need to be a lot better to knock off San Francisco on Sunday night as they travel West.

10) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0): That was a horrible Offensive performance from the Eagles but they won when last season they may not have. The game against Baltimore will tell us a lot more about what this team is capable of.

My Bottom Five

32) Cleveland Browns (0-1): Cleveland almost pulled the win thanks to their Defense and a horrible Michael Vick performance, but they stunk Offensively and I think they struggle for wins for much of this season.

31) Miami Dolphins (0-1): Ryan Tannehill's numbers look OK, but the 'eye test' says this is going to be a horrific season for a team with so few playmakers on Offense.

30) Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1): They didn't play badly in Minnesota to be honest, but they blew the chance for a win in a season when I don't see too many winnable games in the schedule.

29) St Louis Rams (0-1): St Louis could have got the win in Detroit with a little more luck, but it could easily have been a blow-out too, but they do look like a team that won't occupy one of these positions for long.

28) Oakland Raiders (0-1): Another team that won't be here for too long if they get healthy on the Offensive side, but the Defense has to cut the bone-head penalties from their game that extends drives.

Week 2 Picks

The NFL has expanded the week to include Thursday night games through to Monday so the picks will come out in staggered periods over the next few days.

Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers Preview (http://goonersguide.com/football-pick-15016-Chicago-Bears-at-Green-Bay-Packers.htm)- I have not giving up on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers and expect them fired up after all the talk over the last three days following their loss.

Arizona Cardinals @ New England Patriots Preview (http://goonersguide.com/football-pick-15111-Arizona-Cardinals-at-New-England-Patriots.htm)

Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars Preview (http://goonersguide.com/football-pick-15112-Houston-Texans-at-Jacksonville-Jaguars.htm)

New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers Preview (http://goonersguide.com/football-pick-15113-New-Orleans-Saints-at-Carolina-Panthers.htm)

Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers Preview (http://goonersguide.com/football-pick-15115-Tennessee-Titans-at-San-Diego-Chargers.htm)

Washington Redskins @ St Louis Rams Preview (http://goonersguide.com/football-pick-15114-Washington-Redskins-at-St-Louis-Rams.htm)

Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers Preview (http://goonersguide.com/football-pick-15117-Detroit-Lions-at-San-Francisco-49ers.htm)

Oakland Raiders @ Miami Dolphins Pick: Might be crazy, but will have a small interest in the Miami Dolphins to win this game against Oakland who are on a short week and playing the early Eastern Time game.

Baltimore Ravens @ Philadelphia Eagles Pick: Another small interest play on the Ravens to befuddle Michael Vick and earn a big road win ahead of the big clash with New England next week.

Minnesota Vikings @ Indianapolis Cols Pick: I am going to take the Indianapolis Colts with the points to perhaps win their first game of the season and the first of Andrew Luck's professional career with the benefit of protection if they do lose by a field goal.

MY PICKS: Green Bay Packers - 6 Points @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
New England Patriots - 13.5 Points @ 1.95 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Houston Texans - 7 Points @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Carolina Panthers-New Orleans Saints Over 51.5 Points @ 1.95 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Tennessee Titans + 6.5 Points @ 2.00 Pinnacle (2 Units)
Washington Redskins - 3.5 Points @ 2.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)
San Francisco 49ers - 6.5 Points and Under 46.5 Points @ 3.60 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Miami Dolphins @ 2.10 Pinnacle (1 Unit)
Baltimore Ravens @ 2.45 Pinnacle (1 Unit)
Indianapolis Colts + 3 Points @ 1.92 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)

Week 1: 3-6, - 6.76 Units