NFL 2006 Week 1: The Picks

It’s the opening weekend of the 2006 NFL season and I couldn’t be happier. Football is by far the best sport to watch on TV and is probably the most entertaining American sport period. I’ve decided to I am going to pick five games every week (using the lines from Bodog.com) and pick the winners. Let’s see how terrible I am gambling.

Denver Broncos at St. Louis Rams (+4)
The Broncos offense, lead by Jake the Snake, doesn’t scare me in the least. I know Shanahan is a rushing game genius, but Mike Bell is a bit of a stretch. The Rams on the other hand are getting four points at home, where they usually play fast and well. Steven Davis is a monster at running back and Torry Holt is a big play receiver. St. Louis will at least cover and I can see them winning outright.

Baltimore Ravens (+3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Steve McNair is far from his co-MVP form from a few seasons ago. But he is an upgrade from bust Kyle Boller. Baltimore’s defense is still very good, if getting older. Tampa Bay looks pretty good with Cadillac Williams eyeing 1500 yards and the defense is always in the top of the league. The reason I am picking the Ravens is this: Chris Simms. Simms is still growing and learning how to be a quarterback in the NFL. The Ravens secondary will capitalize on anything less than a perfect game from him.

Cincinnati Bengals (-1) at Kansas City Chiefs
This game is pretty much a dead heat in terms of the spread. Arrowhead is always a very tough place to go into and play and Palmers knee is still a big question mark. All things considered I think Cincinnati is still a very good team and extremely explosive on the offensive side of the ball. They have a top 5 receiver (C. Johnson) and a top 10 running back (R. Johnson) that will give the KC defense headaches all day. Larry Johnson is silly good and will probably have a huge game against the Cincy defense. This has all the makings of a shootout; I just think the Bengals have more firepower.

Philadelphia Eagles (-6 1/2) at Houston Texans
Bottom line here: Houston still stinks and will regret passing on Reggie Bush. I don’t see how the Eagles can’t win by double digits. McNabb will go crazy on this horrid defense, finding whatever receivers the Eagles have these days.

Chicago Bears (-4) at Green Bay Packers
Green Bay looks like a 2-3 win team to me. Brett Favre will have trouble in the pocket as well as finding open receivers. The Bears ground attack looks very good and their defense, stifling. Chicago seems to be the cream of the crop in this trashy division. As long as Grossman stays away from mistakes, I see a score in the neighborhood of 17-0.