Week 1 NFL Predictions

I don't mess with the spread in the NFL games, because outside of the Buffalo/New England contest, every game has a spread of a touchdown or less. So, here are my picks. I'll be curious to see where I stack up against the ESPN Analysts/Experts by season's end.

Thursday
Miami at Pittsburgh: With Ben Roethlisberger out of the lineup, Randle El off to Washington, and the Bus retired, I give Miami a slight edge to the season's opener.
Miami 24 Pittsburgh 17

Sunday
Denver at St. Louis: Rams' tailback Steven Jackson is a name to look out for this year. He, along with the always dependable receivers Tori Holt and Isaac Bruce and the underrated Marc Bulger at quarterback should provide plenty of offense for the Rams. With it being at home, I give them the slight edge over Denver.
St. Louis 31 Denver 28

NY Jets at Tennessee: Who to pick in this one? Will Chad Pennington rebound nicely from his injury-prone season a year ago? How effective will NY's ground game be without Curtis Martin? On the other side, some "experts" claim that the Titans will be a tough team to beat this year. With the game being at home and the talented Billy Volek at quarterback, I'm going to go with the Titans.
Tennessee 21 NY Jets 17

Buffalo at New England: Even with receiver Deion Branch being a distraction and not suiting up, Tom Brady will find receivers to throw to, regardless of the name that reads on the back of the jersey. With Brady in the lineup, the team won't be out of any game. In this one, Buffalo could be out of it rather quickly.
New England 31 Buffalo 10

Baltimore at Tampa Bay: Steve McNair played brilliantly in pre-season and he may teach youngster Chris Simms a thing or two when this one is all said and done.
Baltimore 24 Tampa Bay 17

Cincinnati at Kansas City: Arrowhead is one of the toughest stadiums for road teams to play in. I've been there. I know this from first-hand experience. Carson Palmer and company will discover that this week.
Kansas City 31 Cincinnati 24

Seattle at Detroit: The Lions have lost 5 of their last 6 home games. Might as well chalk that up as 6 of their last 7 after this one.
Seattle 31 Detroit 10

Atlanta at Carolina: Panther wideout Steve Smith is questionable for the game. Most every analyst and expert believes Carolina to be the team to beat this year. Atlanta went to the NFC Title Game two years ago and are kind of flying (no pun intended) under the radar a bit. Carolina lost their opener last year to the Saints. Expect the same to happen this time around when the motivated Falcons come to town.
Atlanta 24 Carolina 17

Philadelphia at Houston: It'll be very difficult for me to pick Houston in any game this year until their offensive line proves to me they can protect David Carr and their defense proves to me they can stop the opposition. Until then, I'm going to stick to their opponents.
Philadelphia 28 Houston 10

New Orleans at Cleveland: This is a big game for both teams, as they made a lot of acquisitions in the off-season to improve clubs that were very disappointing last season. Although their defense is nothing to smile about, I'm going with Drew Brees, Joe Horn, Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush and the Saints to win this one by putting more points up on the board than the Browns.
New Orleans 24 Cleveland 14

Dallas at Jacksonville: This game may be reminiscent of the Miami/Florida State game from Monday night. Both teams have ferocious, aggressive, tenacious defenses that'll make scoring a difficult task. With the game being at home, I give the edge to the Jags.
Jacksonville 21 Dallas 17

Chicago at Green Bay: With the Packers not getting any younger and the Bears ever-improving, I'll have to go with "Da Bearz."
Chicago 21 Green Bay 14

San Francisco at Arizona: Arizona seems to be most "experts'" sleeper this year. We'll see how true that is in this game. If they fall to the 49ers in week one, then the "experts" may have spoken too soon.
Arizona 28 San Francisco 10

Indianapolis at NY Giants: With the uncertainty at running back and the game being in New York, I'm going to go with the upset in this one and take the Giants.
NY Giants 28 Indianapolis 24

Monday
Minnesota at Washington: Washington played dreadful in the pre-season. I know it was just pre-season, but the first-team offense never scored. That's, well, that's not good. Even though, on paper, Washington has more talent than Minnesota, I'm going to go with the Vikings.
Minnesota 21 Washington 14

San Diego at Oakland: Can the Chargers win this one by just handing the ball off to LaDanian Tomlinson? LT can only do so much. Phillip Rivers will have to complete a ball or two in order to give LT some space in which to run. I don't see that happening and see the Raiders pulling off the upset.
Oakland 28 San Diego 21