The first two weeks of the 2009 NFL season has come and gone and that smell in the air isn’t autumn crispness it’s desperation. 0-2 isn’t a death sentence but 0-3 is going to be a step in that direction. But outside that, Division fights are beginning to take form. Those teams who are doing well have to build on that and those who are not have to take those at the top down if they can. There is some drama this week. To wit:
The 2-0 San Francisco Forty-niners are playing damn good football in the NFC. So are the Minnesota Brett Farves, who are also 2-0. Yet the Niners play the Lambs the week after while the Farves go to Farve’s hometown of Green Bay. The Niners are looking to pull the upset, and next week’s distraction might be enough.
Yeah, Niners win.
Meanwhile, back in the AFC, the winless Miami Dolphins are in a funk. They won big last season but have suffered a truly weird loss on Monday night. They held on to the ball except when the Colts were scoring, but that was enough. The San Diego Chargers, on the other hand, played the Ravens close until the last play of the game and then they were stuffed on a 4th and two call. The Chargers can afford to lose this one, but Miami cannot.
Miami wins.
Back to the NFC where we find a Saints team at 2-0 for the first time since they quit using pieces of granite for footballs. The Bills, (1-1) even with TO, seem to have a very solid team. Will the Bills expose the Saints for a flash in the pan team who got off light the first two games? I wonder about this one, but…
Bills win.
It’s odd to see the Texans at 1-1 while the Jaguars are winless. If the Jaguars want to salvage their season, now is the time to do it. Indy is 2-0 and facing a Cardinal team who shows signs of multiple personality disorder. The Texans, on the other hand, and put a bullet in their old friends in Florida and claim the rights to second place in the division outright. This is going to be a good game, people.
Jaguars win.
Again in the AFC the 0-2 Titans play the 2-0 Jets and I’m betting last week’s win over the Patriots is going to bring somewhat of a hangover to the Jets. The Titans are not an 0-3 team, and they are going to have to start winning if they want to stay in the hunt for the division. If they go 0-3 and Indy goes 3-0, man, that is one black hole.
Titans win.
Wanna see a coach get fired? Wanna see some whiney ass millionaires pointing fingers and twit-ing to their fans about how bad it is? Wanna see a game where the outcome at this stage of the season is going to totally destroy a team? Watch the 1-1 Cowboys play the 0-2 Panthers. If Dallas goes down for the second time in as many weeks there will be bloodshed. It will get ugly, early, and often in the Lone Star State. If the Panthers lose, they can start thinking about a wild card hunt, even this early. Three down in the NASCAR division is a death sentence. Bury the cats.
Cowboys win.
NFL football is supposed to be a cut and dried sort of thing where the best team always wins and most of the experts hate the sort of weirdness that happens on “any given Sunday”. Denver is 2-0 in the worst division ever. They play the Raiders who are the worst team ever in the worst division ever. Couple of seasons ago when Denver was a good team, they got beat twice in that season by who…? The Raiders. Just because both teams are bad, I’ll go with the weird.
Raiders win.
Baltimore is atop of the AFC North and that’s where they will remain. Cleveland doesn’t have what it takes to take what the Raven’s Defense can do to them,
Ravens win.
The Washington Redskin are near the bottom of a very tough NFC division, but so is everyone else but the Giants. They cannot afford to let an easy win slip away.
Redskins win.
The winless Chiefs go into Philly to face the most hated man in football history, Michael Vick. Win, lose, or tie, and yes, McNabb, games can end in a tie, this is going to be a weird game. Vick hasn’t faced a real team in over two years, and I’m guessing he’ll be no better than he was when he was a less than average quarterback. He’ll lose the ball, lose the game, and the nightmare that is Michael Vick will begin.
Chiefs win.
The Packers, who are not a bad team, play the Rams who are a bad team.
Packers win.
The Giants go back to Tampa Bay, where the dream began for them, and they face an 0-2 Bucs team looking to get their feet under them. Manning and Co are not what you want when you want a win.
Giants win.
The Bears aren’t as good as they looked against the Steelers but they are still better than the Seahawks.
Bears win.
The Bengals are playing decent ball but they have historically been inconsistent. The Steelers are a better team that just got beat by a lesser team. It will not happen twice.
Steelers win.
Indy looked bad against the fins on Monday but they played well enough to finally win. They cannot keep that up or they’re going to get some losses hung on them. The Cards looked bad in week one, but decent enough against the Jags last week. This is a hard one here, but I’ll go with the Cards because Indy’s defense took one hell of a beating Monday.
Cardinals win.
It’s hard to predict what game each season will define who a team is for the rest of the year, but here we have the unexpected Atlanta Falcons heading into the most hostile environment they’ve faced in quite some time, and that would be the New England Patriots in Foxboro. The Falcons have never had back to back winning seasons while the Patriots have won back to back Super bowls. The Falcons have got a second year coach, a second year quarterback, while Brady and Belichick stare them down from the other side of the field. The Falcons have a history of dismal failure. The Patriots have a history of winning Super bowls. This is a mismatch. This ought to be easy.
Rarely do I pick on sheer emotion because it’s stupid. How you feel about a team does not affect how the player play, how the coaches coach, or what happens during a game. Honestly, there are compelling reasons to pick the Falcons; they’ve got a good solid team, a good solid QB, a good defense, and they do not give up a lot of points. But the truth is, I like this team. I like them because they are from Atlanta. I like them because I’ve watched the Falcons year after year after year and each year seems worse than the next. Maybe, this is next year. Maybe this is the game that defines a team going from good to better. Maybe, just maybe, after over four decades, the Gods of Football will look down upon me, and they will release me from the hell being a Falcons fan has always been.
The Atlanta Falcons win over the Patriots in Foxboro.
Week One I went 11-5, week two I was 9-7. Overall I’m 20-12.
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Comments: 14
But I am taking my lumps early in the saeason. 8-8 week one and then 9-7 last week but more desperate than my picking ability is that my Patriots had better start stepping up.
But it did even out. I had some 12 win weeks, and went the last month doing okay.
Stay with it. It's not like you're out any money.,
On my way to post my wek three-ers now.
I think