Week one in the NFL has come and gone, and it was a great week of football, showcasing some great games, crazy plays, and classic competitiveness. Week 1's Predictions and Picks were not too spectacular, but it is routinely difficult to judge team's competency coming in to the first game of the season, simply based on the fact that it's the first time you get to see the team in action. All excuses aside, lets take a look into the match ups and predictions for week 2 in the NFL.
Houston Texans Vs Tennessee Titans
In the season opener the Tennessee Titans lost a close Over Time game to the reigning Super Bowl Champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Look for them to rebound against the Houston Texans in this week 2 match up. Tennessee's defense played well in their first game and kept it close throughout the game. Houston on the other hand, in their week one loss to the New York Jets, looked stagnant on offense. They let the Jets rush for over a hundred yards so look for Tennessee to produce similar if not better rushing totals with speedster Chris Johnson.
Players to watch in this game:
Tennessee's WR Kenny Britt - Houston's QB Matt Schuab
Proposed Score: Tennessee 21 - Houston 13
New Orleans Saints Vs Philadelphia Eagles
The New Orleans Saint routed the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles routed the Carolina Panthers in their respected week one games. The Eagles forced a meltdown on Jake Delhomme, forcing four interceptions, while the Saints offense took apart Detroit, led by Drew Brees 6 touchdown passes. But how will these two fare against each other? Donovan Mcnabb has a fractured rib but is trying to play in this game, though its possible that even if he does play, his performance could be affected. This could go back and forth but I like New Orleans based on sheer offensive potential.
Players to watch in this game:
Philadelphia's QB Donovan Mcnabb - New Orleans TE Jeremy Shockey
Proposed Score : New Orleans 28 - Philadelphia 24
Arizona Cardinals Vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Both Arizona and Jacksonville are coming off week one losses, and in their up coming game, the match up could be close. Indianapolis was not able to run well on Jacksonville in week 1, and neither will Arizona in week 2. Jacksonville allowed 301 passing yards to Indy, which could be bad news since their up coming match up welcomes another predominantly passing team in Arizona. San Fransisco put a lot pf pressure on Kurt Warner which threw him off and led to two interceptions, this leads to bad news in turn for Arizona since Jacksonville's defense shows potential, stopping indy on both 4th down attempts, sacking manning once, and forcing Addai to fumble. This could go either way but I'm going to give it to Jacksonville because of their ability to protect the football and run the ball.
Players to watch in this game:
Jacksonville's WR Torry Holt - Arizona's RB Tim Hightower
Proposed Score : Jacksonville 23 - Arizona 14
Oakland Raiders Vs Kansas City Chiefs
As surprising as it sounds, Oakland looked like they are started emerging from bottom trawler of the league in their close loss to San Diego. Kansas City put some what of a fight up against Baltimore but but it was too little to help. I think Oakland emerges even more this week against Kansas City, the running game does better (as Baltimore rushed for a combined 198 yards) and Russell gains even more confidence in the passing game.
Players to watch in this game:
Oakland's TE Zach Miller - Kansas City's WR Mark Bradley
Proposed Score : Oakland 21 - Kansas City 17
Cincinnati Bengal's Vs Green Bay Packers
Last week Cincinnati lost a close game to the Broncos on a miracle tipped touchdown catch in the closing section of the 4th quarter (though the Bengals did not even put their own points on the board till the last minute of the 4th). Green Bay came back to reclaim the lead and the in win in the 4th quarter of their game as well. Look for Green Bay to have an easier time with Cincinnati then they did with Chicago. Chicago's pass rush pressured Rodgers constantly, sacking him 4 times and hitting him 9. After Greg Jennings big game, look for Rodgers to keep him as the go to guy in this game, and Ryan Grant should produce a little better on the ground.
Players to watch in this game:
Green Bay's WR Greg Jennings - Cincinatti's WR Chad Ochocinco
Proposed Score: Green Bay 17- Cincinatti 7
Minnesota Vikings Vs Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions do not look to be starting off the season well as they fell to 0-1 last week as Drew Brees threw 6 touchdowns and turned the Lions inside out. Rookie Matthew Stafford's had none and instead had 3 interceptions (though he did manage to run a TD in). The Minnesota Vikings defeated Cleveland last week as Adrian Peterson rushed for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns. Look for him to post similar numbers this game against Detroit (they let New Orleans rush for over a 100 yards) as they rise to 2-0.
Players to watch in this game:
Minnesota's QB Brett Favre - Detroit's CB Anthony Henry
Proposed Score: Minnesota 28 - Detroit 13
St. Louis Rams Vs Washington Redskins
The Rams had a terrible season opener as they were shutdown by the Seattle Seahawks in a 28-0 loss. The Redskins in week one, lost a competitive game to the New York Giants in a failed comeback attempt. Washington should have far less trouble with the Rams this week as St. Louis attempts to find some rhythm on all sides of the ball. It might not be as embarrassing as week one for the Rams but look for them to get beat soundly by Washington this week.
Players to watch in this game:
St. Louis RB Steven Jackson - Washington's TE Chris Cooley
Proposed Score: Washington 23 - St. Louis 10
New England Patriots Vs New York JetsThe New England Patriots looked unready in their first game against Buffalo, but they managed to reclaim the lead and win the game in the 4th. The New York Jets looked solid as rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez led them to victory against the Houston Texans. I expect this to be another close game, but for the Patriots to look a little more like their on even footing and take his game home for the W.
Players to watch in this game:
New England's WR Wes Welker - New York's TE Dustin Keller
Proposed Score : New England 24 - New York 20
Carolina Panthers Vs Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons once again showed promise last week as they beat the Miami Dolphins with little opposition. Matt Ryan looked solid with 2 touch downs and a 98 quarterback rating. Carolina on the other hand, was dismantled by Philadelphia last week as Jake Delhomme self destructed, throwing 4 interceptions and keeping any chance of winning the game away from the hapless Panthers. Look for Michael Turner do better on the ground then in the Miami game as the Falcons take down the Panthers.
Players to watch in this game:
Atlanta's QB Matt Ryan - Carolina's RB DeAngelo Williams
Proposed Score:
Atlanta 17 -
Carolina 7Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vs Buffalo BillsTampa Bay lost to a very potent looking Dallas offense, and Buffalo lost a game they should have won to the New England Patriots. One of my main interests in this match up, is that in Buffalo's previous game they allowed the Pats to throw for 378 yards, which should make things easier for Byron Leftwich and the Buccaneers, but then Tampa also let Tony Romo throw for 353 yards so the passing defenses on both teams could be lax. Cadillac Williams looked good in their first game and look for them to run on Buffalo with at least good success.
Players to watch in this game:
Tampa Bay's RB Cadillac Williams - Buffalo's RB Fred Jackson
Proposed Score :
Tampa Bay 17 -
Buffalo 10Seattle Sea-hawks Vs San Fransisco 49ers
In week 1, Seattle shut out rival St. Louis and San Fransisco beat NFC champion Arizona. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 3 touchdowns in his NFL return but also threw two interceptions. San Fransisco's defense did well against the Cards but their offense failed to muster anything to write home about, though in the end they won the game. Seattle showed a balanced run and pass game in their opener, so if they can manage to retain this potency then look for them to win a competitive game.
Players to watch in this game:
San Fran's Frank Gore - Seattle's RB Julius Jones
Proposed Score : Seattle 23 - San Fran 17
Baltimore Ravens Vs San Diego Chargers
The Charger and Ravens won their respected games in the first week of the season, but in my eyes, the Ravens look to take this upcoming contest. Joe Flacco looks poise in the pocket, getting his team a lot of yards through the air as newcomer Ray Rice looks to run the ball effectively. The Ravens defense will most likely stop any potency in San Diego's rushing attack and limit their overall productivity. it will be a tough challenge to limit Philip Rivers efficiency, so the contest will be close.
Players to watch in this game:
Baltimore's RB Ray Rice - San Diego's TE Antonio Gates
Proposed Score :
Baltimore 21 -
San Diego 19 
The Steelers and Bears meet up in this week 2 match up, that should leave the Steelers edging out the win. Pittsburgh got off slow against Tennessee in the season opener, but Big Ben played well as the game went on and they ended up winning in overtime. While Chicago dropped a close game to Green Bay on Sunday night. Among the pitfalls in Chicago's opener were Culters' 4 interceptions, the lack of running game, and losing Brian Urlacher for the season. Pittsburgh's defense should play well against Chicago and look for Big Ben to again open it up through the air.
Players to watch in this game:
Pittsburgh's TE Heath Miller - Chicago's RB Matt Forte
Proposed Score : Pittsburgh 23 - Chicago 10
Cleveland Browns Vs Denver Broncos
Denver stole the game from Cincinatti last week on one of the luckiest tipped passes Ive seen in a while and Cleveland was routed by Minnesota as Adrian Peterson used them as a track meet. I think Denver shows a little more promise this week and defeats the Browns. The've got some good wide receivers, Kyle Orton just needs to be comfortable learning how to utilize them.
Players to watch in this game:
Denver's QB Kyle Orton - Cleveland's TE Robert Royal
Proposed Score :
Denver 14 -
Cleveland 10
New York Giants Vs Dallas Cowboys
Two 1-0 teams match up this week when Dallas meets New York in what could one of the most competitive games of the week. New York just beat Washington, and Dallas flew past Tampa Bay. The Cowboys offense looked very potent in week one so I will give the close edge to them, though this game could be a complete toss up and I wouldn't be surprised if the Giants and their defense won the game, either way its gonna be close.
:
Dallas QB Tony Romo - Giants WR Steve Smith
Proposed Score :
Dallas 23 -
Giants 20 Indianapolis Colts Vs Miami Dolphins
Miami dropped to 0-1 this season after being routed by the Atlanta Falcons in their week one game. Indianapolis got off to a sloppy start but finished well as they won a close game with division rival Jacksonville. Look for the Colts to extend their win record to two as they meet the Dolphins on Monday night. The Dolphins will not likely be able to slow down the Colts aerial attack, Reggie Wayne is coming off a 160+ yard game and should be Mannings go to guy in this one as well, along with veteran tight end Dallas Clark.
Players to watch in this game:
Indianapolis WR Reggie Wayne - Miami QB Chad Pennington
Proposed Score : Indianapolis 21 - Miami 10
The Miami Dolphins have been up and down the past few seasons, but their level of talent remains very real. What will surprise people most is their ability to clash with and possibly win the division over a very good Jets team. The running back corp (when healthy) is one of the best in the league, made up of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams (they were 4th in the league rushing last year). They have the ability to be a run heavy offense and have great sucess this way. The biggest questions come from their passing game and defense. If Chad Henne can step up, continue to improve, and manage the game as well as Chad Pennington did recently, then this team can do great things. Luckily for Henne, Miami managed to snag one of the best wide receivers in the league in Brandon Marshall. This signing is HUGE for Miami's offense as it presents a go to guy and #1 big play WR for Henne right away. The defense is going to have to support them though (they were 22nd overall last year), and the rookie selection Jared Odrick and signing of Karlos Dansby should help their cause immensely.
