ESPN Expert Picks for Week Two Updated

Last week I was a very respectable 10-6 and I was happy to see my underdog pick, the Cardinals, come through for me. However, The Giants’ loss and the Saints’ loss really surprised me. The Giants just didn’t have their act together and there isn’t much else to say about that. Would you ever believe that a rookie QB would beat the Saints in his first NFL game? As a Giants fan I have to tell you that I am really worried about Washington now. They swept the Giants last year and now they have a real QB threat. Gulp.

Let’s take a look at my picks for this week:

Bears @ Packers Packers are coming off two losses in a row at home. The first loss was against the Giants in the NFC Championship last season and the second was against the Niners last week. The Bears offense looked good against the Colts last week and their defense, of course, is very strong. I believe the Packer’s loss last week was a “Come to Jesus” moment for them and they will return this week like hell fire and brimstone. Packers will win at home.

Cheifs @ Bills Tough pick here. Both teams have porous defenses and offenses that are not firing on all cylinders. I think the home fans will get the Bills’ engine revved up.

Browns @ Bengals I’ll take the Bengals at home. The Brown’s rookies, Weeden and Richardson, showed last week they have much to improve upon. After playing the super tough Ravens defense last week, the Browns defense will seem very weak to the Bengals and they’ll put up respectable numbers this week.

Colts @ Vikings I like Vikes. Adrian Peterson is back and they’re at home. Andrew Luck may become an excellent NFL QB but it won’t happen this week. The Colts defense gave up 41 points last week to Chicago. I believe Chicago is a good team and I don’t believe the Colts should have gained so many points. Look for Ponder, Peterson, and Harvin to have a good week.

Raiders @ Miami The Raiders will regroup this week and come out Sunday as a much more disciplined team.

Cardinals @ Patriots It is very difficult to beat the Patriots at home and the Cardinals are not the team to do it.

Buccaneers @ Giants I like the defending Super Bowl champs to return to good form and win at home.

Ravens @ Eagles The Ravens destroyed the Bengals last week and this momentum will carry through Philadelphia. I’ve been telling people Flacco is a good QB since 2010. It looks like he’s stepping up his game this year. Also, the Ravens defense is as strong as ever and the Eagles are still not a cohesive unit on offense. The Eagles have far too many weapons to only score 17 points against the Browns last week.

Saints @ Panthers The Saints gave up 40 points against a rookie QB last week but the Panthers only scored 10 against the Buccaneers. The Saints scored 32 points last week which tells me that their offense is just fine for now without Sean Payton and is probably only going to improve from here on out. The Saints will win.

Texans @ Jaguars The Texans are very powerful. They scored 24 points in the second quarter against the Dolphins last week. They just might be able to score-at-will against the Jaguars too. Texans will win.

Redskins @ Rams Redskins scored 40 points against the Saints last week in New Orleans. The Redskins defense gave up 32 points so it wasn’t a blow out but it was very impressive. This momentum will carry them through their match-up with the Rams.

Cowboys @ Seahawks  In their win against the Giants last week, the Cowboys showed that they have a lot of weapons. I am not convinced that their defense is strong enough to be a playoff contender. The Giants WR Victor Cruz dropped 3 passes that he should have caught and got mugged in the endzone. The scab refs missed the call. The game would have been very different without those events. The Cowboys committed 13 penalties and will need to be more disciplined to compete against the elite NFL teams. The Seahawks are not an elite NFL team and the Cowboys will beat them soundly with a variety of weapons.

Jets @ Steelers The Jets had a dominating win last week in Buffalo. I think the Steelers defense will have their hands full Sunday afternoon and I think they will hold back the Jets in front of the home fans in Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger threw for a respectable 245 yds and 2 tds last week. There were several missed passing opportunities and I expect Big Ben to be more in sync with his receivers this week. I like the Steelers.

Titans @ Chargers The Chargers looked good against the Raiders and I expect them to get better each week. The Titans took a beating against the Patriots last week and I don’t believe they can muster the morale needed to beat the Chargers at home.

Lions @ Niners The Niners had a great game against the Packers last week. Their confidence will be sky-high going into this Sunday night game under the lights at home. The Lions will put up a real good fight but they won’t overcome the Niners.

Broncos @ Falcons This is going to be a great game and I will miss it because my girlfriend is dragging me to a stupid Bon Iver concert. The Broncos had a nice home win against the Steelers last week but the Falcons offense is much more powerful than the Steelers. This will be a shootout and the Falcons will win at home.