NFL Week 3 Picks

Published by admin | Filed under Blogroll

It was a wild weekend of football this past weekend. The Bengals and Browns game will go down in history and is one we will be talking about years from now. Neither team’s defense could get to the quarterbacks and it resulted in 11 touchdown passes combined. I guess we haven’t heard the last from the Patriots and Jets feud with new accusations coming from both sides now and it leaves the NFL offices scrambling to try and get law and order between these two teams. Go ahead and get the popcorn now, because when they meet again December 16th; it’s going to be a Pay Per View like event. The Washington Redskins went out and did what no one in the country thought they could (judging by ESPN’s Red States Map) and that was beat the Eagles on Monday Night Football. If you would have checked my NFL Week 2 Picks, then you would have known the Redskins would win that game.  No need to fear though, because I am here to tell who the winners will be in Week 3.

Arizona @ Baltimore - Defense is king in Maryland and Arizona has some high profiled draft picks in their offensive arsenial. Matt Leniert may not ever become a pro quarterback and he certainly isn’t going to become one this Sunday against Ray Lewis and Company. Look for the Ravens to “field goal them to death” and win this one by 9! (Ravens)

St. Louis @ Tampa Bay - The Bucs showed that they still have a great defense intact after giving up two early scores to Carolina or should I say Steve Smith. However, the Rams are a little more explosive than Carolina on offense. I see this game being on the higher side of the scoreboard. You just have to figure that the Bucs will succeed in a few more stops on defense than St. Louis can, so I am picking a close game in the high twenties, but Tampa finds a way to win at home and move to 3-0 on the season. (Buccaneers)

San Francisco @ Pittsburgh - Well we get a battle of 2-0 teams and one team will remain unbeaten after this Sunday’s match up. I have no doubts that the Steelers are for real in their 2-0 start. I have no doubts that the 49ers is one of the best young teams in the NFL. So does the youth of San Franscisco have the ability to beat the Steelers? They just might! I think this game will be a lot closer then the so-called experts think it will be. Don’t be surprised if the 49ers are the team that moves on to a 3-0 record. I have to ride with Hines Ward showing up and giving the Steelers the extra edge in this one, and I think he’s the difference in the Steelers winning this game or not. If Hines Ward has a big day, then Steelers win and if he doesn’t, we might have one of the youngest teams in football at 3-0! (PUSH)

Detroit @ Philadelphia - Well the Lions have to lose a game somewhere and the Eagles have to win a game somewhere, right? I have the Lions as my Super Bowl team for this year; so don’t get mad at me Detroit fans. I got you guys in the Super Bowl, but we have a man fighting for his life here. The man is Donavan McNabb and he’s really struggling this year so far. You back a player like this in a corner, then you better watch out because you might just have a fight on your hands. McNabb has nothing against Detroit, but he needs this win really bad on Sunday and I’m gonna give it to him this week. Let’s give the Eagles a talley in the win column and beat the Lions by single digits. Just remember one thing Philly, Calvin Johnson is the most special player in the NFL and he’s not had his coming out party yet. Don’t let him do it this Sunday or the score could get ugly in a hurry! (Eagles)

Miami @ New York Jets - Two teams that have gotten off to bad starts, but one will be happy on Sunday while the other one will sink to the bottom of the NFL. This is going to be a tough game for the Jets and I think more pressure is on the men in green. I love the Dolphins defense and they create problems for any NFL team. They have allowed 50 points in 2 games and that’s a 25 point average. The Jets have only put up 27 points which averages out to be 13.5. So you figure the Jets will put up between 14 to 24 points. I don’t see the Dolphins offense scoring 24, so I will favor the Jets in this one, but Dolphins can win if they score more than 24 points. (Jets)

Buffalo @ New England - I’m not sure if the Belichick problems are over and more news will develop in the “Spygate” incident; that has been the only dark cloud for the Patriots this year. I do know they were under a lot of pressure to perform against the Chargers and they did it in blowout fashion like I predicted in my Week 2 picks. The Bills are catching these guys at the right time, with cheating allegations in the air and a big Monday Night game against the Bengals in Week 4, might just make the Patriots vulnerable in Week 3. I can’t see them losing at home, but I think the Patriots will over look them and see Carson Palmer ahead in next week’s matchup. So I give the Pats a close win here and the Bills have to still wait for their first win of the year. (Get well soon Kevin Everett) (Patriots)

Minnesota @ Kansas City - I was impressed with Minnesota on Sunday and this team might be a little better than I gave them credit for. I’m not quite sure what has went wrong in KC but this team is struggling. A home game and the Vikings is what the doctor has ordered, but I think the Purple Men are a little better than the Chiefs and I can see them winning this one. Tavaris Jackson is the difference in this one, as he emerges as one of the best young QB’s in the game. (Vikings)

Indianapolis @ Houston - Bad news I am hearing right now from the Houston side of things. The talented receiver out of Miami in Andre Johnson might not be able to go on Sunday. He’s a big target for Matt Schaub and a big reason why Schaub’s numbers are with the top quarterbacks in the league right now. The Texans have no shot in winning against the Colts without his services. I think the Colts lose focus in the late stages of a football game and can be beat with a 4th quarter ralley by an opposing team. You can’t have that ralley with someone like Johnson not playing. So I will look for the Colts to double whatever Houston manages to put on the scoreboard. (Colts)

San Diego @ Green Bay - If you look at these two teams like stocks, then you could easily say that the Packers value went up this past Sunday, while the Chargers went down. So where does the trend take us next? I say the trend continues the way it is headed and the Chargers fall to a losing record. LT has became too big for his britches and the fame of MVP and being drafted number 1 by just about every fantasy football owner this year, has led to poor performance. He seems more worried about the battle of words in the press that he has created all on his own and has forgot about the battle on the football field. Packers win this one going away and the Southern California boys get blown out 2 weeks straight! Keep in mind that Favre and company are 2-0 without the services of Greg Jennings and Verand Morency; who were projected to be the starters for the Packers offense this year. Just how good can Green Bay be when they get these two guys back? I think after they show up the Chargers this week, people will start to mention Favre and the Super Bowl in the same breath! (Packers)

Cincinnati @ Seattle - The Bengals can score! They might not be able to stop other teams from scoring, but they have no problems putting up points. You have to like your team’s chances when you can count on your offense getting 30 points for you each week. I’m not sure many quarterbacks could keep up with such a high scoring pace, but Hasselbeck has been known to get in the groove. If he finds his groove; we might see a replay of the Bengals game last week with the Browns. I say no matter how high the scoring gets, Carson Palmer finds a way to win this time. I really look forward to seeing what Chad Johnson has up his sleeve for this week, when he finds the endzone. This guy is like watching Michael Jordan dunking. Forget how talented he is and what he does to help his team win, just look at how entertaining he is off the field or in between plays. Chad Johnson is a priceless jewel for the NFL and they better not try to find any ways to hose down this bright flame they have. Johnson will manage to find the endzone one more time, Marcus Trufant will make life hard on Carson Palmer, but not hard enough for the Bengals to lose this game. (Bengals)

Cleveland @ Oakland - Could you imagine if Brady Quinn would have got the start this past Sunday for the Browns? What if he did and the Browns put up those same offensive totals? I think we would be talking about Brady Quinn as the next Joe Montana, John Elway, Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, etc… and he would be the top sports story on all the radio and tv shows covering sports. I mean the guy would be mentioned with LeBron James as the King of Ohio. Seriously! Now he didn’t, so we are now left to believe that his debut in the NFL might come later than expected. If I’m a Browns fan; I’m exited right now and can’t wait for my team to play again. The news even gets better as they get to play a Raider team that many feel is the worse team in the NFL. I’m gonna say the Browns was a fluke, not a permanent one, just a temporary one. I see them being good next year and Sunday’s performance was just a glimpse into the future. Braylon Edwards has all the tools to be a top notch receiver, but the Raiders aren’t as bad as everyone thinks they are. They have some young guys on their team that can play too and Kirk Morrison is already as good as any linebacker in the game and he still isn’t in his prime yet. He will be the Ray Lewis of this team real soon and I say the Black and Silver win at home against the youth of Cleveland. (Raiders)

Jacksonville @ Denver - David Garrard seems to be improving and looks like he will do ok this year as the Jags first string quarterback. On the other-side you have Jay Cutler who seems to be getting the hang of things slowly in Denver. So which team has the upper-hand on Sunday? Good question! I have my doubts that Denver can’t do what needs to be done in this one. The Jaguars have a top 10 defense in the NFL right now. I think they might present havoc for Cutler this Sunay and the running game of Denver. The Broncos have to pass in the first half and worry about running the rock in the 2nd half. If they try to establish a running game in the 1st half when these guys are fresh, I think they will be throwing scoring opportunities out the window. Maurice Jones-Drew will play a huge factor in this game and looks to have a promising stat line on Sunday. The team that scores the most in the 4th quarter wins this one. (PUSH)

Carolina @ Atlanta - The Falcons finally get to smell peaches and will play their first home game of the year. Only managing 10 points in their first two games, the Falcons seem more concerned about the 9 points they have missed out on, in the 3 missed field goals by Prater. They showed that by signing the very-old Morten Anderson. Hey, this is the town that Julio Franco played for last, so they like thier old/past their prime athletes in the ATL. Then they decided to throw Leftwich in the mix at quarterback and it was just recently announced that he is on board. The Falcons have more serious issues that should be dealt with and that’s the head coach. The head coach Bobby Petrino is taking no blame and not only showing frustrations during the game when a player does something wrong, but he has publicly scrutinized his quarterback Joey Harrington after only 2 games. Now it’s not clear what you expect from Harrington when the Falcons have limited weapons and Harrington had limited time in the preseason (for some reason) and didn’t even play in the final preseason game. The Falcons quick trigger on the the players is going to prove to be the wrong direction for this team. I have actually seen more flaws in Bobby Petrino than any Falcons player and his willingness to put the blame on his own players, just shows that Petrino doesn’t have the right character for the NFL. No homecoming celebrations in the dome and the Panthers DeShaun Foster will have his way with Atlanta, not just from the ground but look for Foster to near the 100 mark in receiving yards. (Carolina)

New York Giants @ Washington - Washington is emerging with Joe Gibbs at the helm and continue to take positive steps in the right direction. Campbell isn’t quite ready to get in a slinging duel with any of the top notch passing quartebacks in the NFL yet. That is exactly what Eli Manning is becomming and I don’t think the Skins have the firepower to match Eli’s arm. Plaxico is needed in the receiving game for the Giants to be a playoff team, but will probably force Campbell to take to the air in this game and he just doesn’t have the experience yet to keep up. I like a road win for the Giants here; after a disappointing home loss to Green Bay last week. (Giants)

Dallas @ Chicago - This might seem like a good match up, but don’t be fooled by the 3-1 record these teams have accumalated. I guess I will have to find something else to watch on Sunday Night and this isn’t a game I care about for a National Game. I see the Cowboys winning this one early and NBC losing viewers at halftime as the score will not be close. The Bears just don’t have a good team and too much hype is being built around this team. There is more problems with this team, then just the well-noted problems of Rex Grossman. Yes, the Bears defense is solid, but not as talented as the Cowboy defense they will have to face Sunday Night. Cowboys win big here! (Cowboys)

Tennessee @ New Orleans - Now here is a fun game for a National Audience! Well it could be if Drew Brees and his offensive weapons could find that speed they were at last year. I think running the ball with Deuce and throwing to Reggie Bush is the best way to use these running backs. I see the Saints showing signs of life and especially playing in front of their home fans. I’m just not sure if that life is brighter than Vince Young’s amazing talents; he posses at quarterback. He was the most exciting quarterback last year and that was with Michael Vick in the league. Now that Vick is gone, there isn’t another quarterback that comes close to the jaw-dropping talents of Young. I believe the Titans will be able to do enough on New Orleans to escape with a win here. If the Saints wasn’t a fluke last year, they better show their fans touchdowns or boo birds might surface in the Dome Monday Night.

So there you have the expert picks for Week 3 in the NFL. Do you think I missed one? Do you see a game that I’m totally wrong on? Be sure to leave a reply and let me know where I messed up. I will be sure to recheck my work and then tell you what part of your prediction is off…….lol. I’m always looking for a good challenge, so if you think you’re ready to step up and take me on, then show me your winners for Week 3 in the NFL. May all your favorite teams win on Sunday and now I must send Terry Bradshaw a sympathy card. Not for his fly being open, but that horrible story of his head injury against Cleveland years ago. He was tied down to a locker door, left in the hall way until the game was over, then they had to put him on top of the plane’s seats for him to ride back to Pittsburgh; where he would eventually get treated for his injury. He told that story this past Sunday and I just couldn’t imagine having to go through that. It truly was a sad story and now the bad service I have received at my local emergency room; I realize that it could be worse! Yikes!