In week 1 our football picks were hot garbage. Some would call them a flaming heap. We did have a winning record in the 16 game docket which we will not hang our hat on.

LAST WEEK’S RECORD: (9-7)

SEASON RECORD: (9-7)

Our upset specials were not very special. I think we picked as a fan not an expert. We may change that philosophy going into week two where we want to get 12 or more wins every week which is a nice goal. We obviously want to see improvement each week. If we win 10 games, I may do cartwheels in my back yard. The first week is always very challenging as many picks can go sideways with some teams starting out the gates very poorly. Here’s to a week two rally and flipping the script as we will claim we have knocked off the rust.

Some call it oil to loosen up the bolts. We use the oil that’s in the beer cans to loosen our thought process. Cheers!!! Enjoy week two.

WEEK TWO STRAIGHT PICK-EM

THE THURSDAY NIGHT GAME

DETROIT LIONS(0-1) AT BUFFALO BILLS(1-0)

This is a Thursday clash of the Titans match up with two high powered offenses going head to head with the visiting Lions vs the Buffalo Bills.

Where’s the beef. We’re referring to which defense will stop the bleeding and make one more stop than the other team to win this game.The Lions blew a second half lead last week playing the Saints who forced overtime. The Bills new scheme on defense helped along with Josh Allen slaying the Houston Texans demons. Allen has gone 0-4 vs Houston in his career. This was the first victory in Houston for the Bills since 2006. The Bills defense gave up over 30 points, but they had two strip sacks that caused two fumbles which one sealed the win for the Bills. The Lions defense looked gassed in the second half on the Saints explosion of points on their comeback. The Bills are at home. Along with christening the first ever regular season game in their new home, Highmark Stadium. Bills Mafia and the nation will be in for a treat. It will be a high scoring game. I like the Bills defense over the Lions in this one. Josh Allen looked unstoppable in week one against the best defense in the NFL, the Texans, which they hung 36 points on. Bills are tough at home and this new stadium will be even louder than the old Highmark stadium. Bills Mafia will celebrate.

OUR PICK: BILLS

THE SUNDAY SLATE

CAROLINA PANTHERS (0-1) AT ATLANTA FALCONS (0-1)

How do you dissect this match up? Two teams that opened the season with losses. The Falcons once again will march out veteran back up Quarterback Cooper Rush. The Panthers allowed 59 points to the Bears who ran all over them in their home opener. The Falcons made things interesting on the Steelers. I can see Bijan Robinson having a big day running the ball like the two Bears running backs did. The Panthers offense did put 31 points on the scoreboard. I expect this to be a close game as both teams know each other. I think the Panthers will make the Falcons one dimensional and just slow their roll on their rushing attack just enough to win this game. I think Bryce Young will have another nice game as he threw over 300 yards of passing in week 1 with three touchdown passes.

OUR PICK: PANTHERS

CINCINNATI BENGALS (1-0) AT HOUSTON TEXANS (0-1)

This may be one of the better games on the docket. Does the Houston defense rebound from the Bills putting 36 points on the board? The Bengals won their opener versus the Buccaneers and survived a comeback attempt by Baker Mayfield. Joe Burrow is expected to play as he has been dealing with some back issues. CJ Stroud played well last week versus the Bills but also doomed his team coughing up the ball twice. The Texans adding David Montgomery paid off, giving the Texans a balanced attack on offense. I think the Texans can generate points on a Bengals defense that has improved but are not anything to write home to mom about. The Texans will be dealing another top quarterback in the conference and his stud receivers the Bengals have. Both teams are notorious for slow starts to start the season off the last few years. Look for the Texans defense to rebound and bring this Bengals offense to a grinding halt while getting just enough points to secure their first victory of the season. It will be a close one.

OUR PICK: TEXANS

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (1-0) AT CHICAGO BEARS (1-0)

If you are the Bears, does Carson Wentz put any fear into your defense? Last week Kyler Murray suffered a concussion earlier in the game and in relief, Wentz slayed the Packers. Last year Wentz went 2-3 in 5 starts for the Vikings before suffering an injury himself. Meanwhile the Bears exploded the scoreboard in Carolina putting up 59 points in week 1 vs the Panthers. The Vikings defense is not the Panthers turnstile they have on their D-Line. Brian Flores, the Vikings D coordinator, will have his work cut out for him here with the Bears’ high octane offense. I think Wentz will be able to engineer some scoring drives. I don’t think he will stay hot from that relief performance. The Bears defense will do better and they need to. They can force Wentz into some bad throws. It’s a home opener for the Bears. The conditions will be wet and soggy at Soldier Field. Which will benefit the Bears. These NFC North battles are always close. Bears stay perfect for the season.

OUR PICK: DA BEARS

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (1-0) AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (0-1)

The Steelers won a game at home with the visiting Falcons, which was too close for comfort last week. The Patriots went up 10-0 on Seattle in the first game of the year, knocked out their starting quarterback, and had a meltdown in the second half. The back up QB for Seattle led a come back with the Seahawks defense intercepting three Drake Maye passes. The Patriots have had plenty of time to mull over the embarrassment. The Patriots weapons on offense is a concern. AJ Brown is out with a high ankle sprain. The Steelers offense only mustered up 20 points. Aaron Rodgers looked comfortable running the Steelers offense so that tells me they will get more points as the season goes along. I like the Steelers pass rush in this one and setting the tone to stop the Patriots by pressuring Maye and forcing him to make multiple mistakes. This will be a close game overall. In the end the Steelers pull off like a 21-17 win, that is where I’m going with this.

OUR PICK: STEELERS

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-1) AT BALTIMORE RAVENS (1-0)

In his second season as quarterback, Tyler Slough is being compared to Josh Allen. The Saints were down 21-0 and Slough turned over the ball twice to start the second half. However the Saints and Slough came back in that game on the road in Detroit to force overtime with the Lions. Lions prevailed in OT. Slough had three touchdown passes for 410 passing yards versus Detroit. Meanwhile the Ravens had over 500 yards of offense versus the Colts last week. They hung 41 points on the score board. Derrick Henry ran wild for 144 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. Lamar Jackson and that Ravens offense looked like they were in mid-season form. The Ravens defense looks like an improved unit forcing two turnover while limiting the Colts to 21 points. It’s a tall task for the Saints to start their season on the road for the first two games. I would love to see the Saints prevail in this one. The Ravens will prevail. I think the Saints will give them a good game. They will lose by about 10 points as the Ravens defense will continue to get better each game.

OUR PICK: RAVENS

CLEVELAND BROWNS (0-1) AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (0-1)

Do the Cleveland Browns have a similar sign to what they have at factories about injuries? Instead of injuries, it’s how many days Cleveland has been without a quarterback. Watching Deshaun Watson play, is that not inflicting pain on your fan base? Pains can cause injuries. Cleveland will face their old quarterback who they should have kept, in Baker Mayfield. This will be the second time Mayfield will get a crack at the team that drafted him. The first go around was a loss when he wore the Panthers uniform facing the Browns. Mayfield and the Buccaneers tried to rally late versus the Bengals in week 1 but came up short losing by six points. Cleveland had an ugly loss in week 1 to the Jaguars. I think Watson’s days are numbered career-wise. Mayfield will get his revenge in this one. He has a different animal than he had when he ran with the Panthers. I predict the Buccaneers will not be far behind in this one.

OUR PICK: BUCCANEERS

GREEN BAY PACKERS (0-1) AT NEW YORK JETS (1-0)

Are we buying into the Jets so soon? The Jets have a nice W on the road against a Titans team that is not very good. You can say Geno Smith for the Jets at the quarterback position played well. I think he was better in this one game than he was in any of the games last year suiting up for the Raiders. The Packers choked against the Vikings in the second half against Minnesota’s second string quarterback. Jordan Love did play well. The Packers seem to be missing Josh Jacobs at the running back position who is suspended by the NFL for his delightful off-the-field actions. The Jets defense looked solid. I feel like the Packers will find a way on the road, get things turned around, and crack the win column. The Packers have some guys MIA right now, but their roster is much more talented than the Jets. I can see Love turning things around quickly while Smith rides the struggle bus once again.

OUR PICK: PACKERS

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (1-0) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (0-1)

I thought the Titans would have won their home opener last week against a bad Jets team flying into town. The Eagles won a very close one against one of their divisional rivals the Commanders, a team with who you don’t know what to expect. How do you recover losing to the Jets? Are the Eagles going to be a playoff team this year? The Jets running back, Breece Hall, ran wild on the Titans defense last week. I expect Eagles running back Saquon Barkley to have the same kind of success. The Eagles defense should be able to penetrate the Titans offensive line that is suspect at best. The Eagles have a new offensive coordinator. While the Titans have a entire new coaching staff in place. It took Cam Ward, last year, to late in the season to really find his groove as a rookie. He is learning a brand new system so it may take some time to get him back to where he was closing out the season. Vic Fangio is one of the sharpest defensive coordinators in the NFL. I think the Eagles defense will be the decider in this one. I can’t pick the Titans until I really see some success in a stretch of a season. Not just some flashes. Eagles fly high in this one.

OUR PICK: EAGLES

MIAMI DOLPHINS (0-1) AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (0-1)

In the middle of the 1980’s, this match up between the 49ers and the Dolphins was a Superbowl game. Dan Marino for the fins versus Joe Montana of the 9ers looked like it was going to be an epic Superbowl. The 49ers blew up the Dolphins in that one. Things have changed. These two teams to start the season have racked up some frequent flyer miles. The 49ers flew out to Australia to beat the Rams. While the Dolphins visited Vegas, lost last week, and now travel in the second week across the country again to San Francisco. The 49ers, when healthy, can beat up on everyone. They held the Rams, which have one of the best offenses in the NFL, to only 7 points. The Dolphins have all kinds of holes in their roster. The 49ers defense really only have to key on the Dolphins running back, De’Von Achane, who is their only weapon they have right now. This is varsity versus junior varsity in this match up. Pick the 49ers as your survivor pick. Dolphins should just tank this entire season to get a franchise quarterback. The fish have no chance in San Francisco this week.

OUR PICK: 49ERS

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (1-0) AT ARIZONA CARDINALS (1-0)

The Seahawks got lucky in week 1 after losing their starting quarterback Sam Darnold early in the game vs the New England Patriots. Meanwhile the Cardinals had the shocker of the week and showed on Any Given Sunday, anybody can win as they knocked off a talented Chargers team. Can Drew Lock take over for Darnold and guide them to a winning season? Lock has played in 42 NFL games and started 28 of them. He is 10-18 all-time as a starter in the NFL. Originally drafted by the Broncos, he only has one winning season which was his rookie year when he went 4-1. He completed 16-22 passes for 187 yards and threw a touchdown pass to help the Seahawks come back from a 10-0 deficit. It was the defense of Seattle who picked off the Patriots quarterback Drake Maye three times, that turned the tide of the league’s opening night. The Cardinals veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett played well vs the Chargers and is a guy that will not make that many mistakes like Maye did. I feel like the Cardinals defense could stop Lock and keep Seattle to a low scoring game. We know the Seahawks will keep the Cardinals’ numbers down in this one as well. I feel like Jacoby could put up just a tad more points and offense than Drew. Yes, another upset on the horizon. I did not get the first one with the Cards from last week. I feel like they can win this game because of Darnold being out. The Cardinals offense have assembled some talented play makers. I think Jacoby will use them wisely.

OUR PICK: CARDINALS

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-0) AT DENVER BRONCOS (0-1)

The Jacksonville Jaguars beat up on a bad Cleveland team in week 1. The Broncos only mustered up 10 points against their division enemy, the Chiefs. The Chiefs ran all over the Broncos defense. The Broncos did not look anything like their last year’s team. In December of last year, the Jaguars did come into Denver and left with a win. That was the only loss the Broncos had in regular season in Denver. The world is thinking the Jags will go into Denver and leave with another win. First the Jags beat a crappy Browns team. I will not crown them champions just yet. My gut feeling is telling me the Broncos will be ready to play in this one.

The Broncos will flip the script and get back to business as usual. The defense will force a few takeaways from the Surf Nazi, Trevor Lawrence. Look for Bo Nix to shed the rust and have a solid performance. The Broncos running game will be productive in this home opener for the Broncos.

OUR PICK: BRONCOS

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (1-0) AT LA CHARGERS (0-1)

I’m surprised people did not gather with torches and pitchforks in front of the Chargers headquarters looking for justice.

Justice for the stick people who selected the Chargers as their survivor pick. Imagine if the survivor league was a cut throat one and done. Imagine the people breaking down the doors at Chargers HQ and dragging their offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniels, to the town square to stone him to death. The Chargers were embarrassed by the Cardinals. The Raiders beat the Dolphins last week which would have been a nice survivor pick. Captain Kirk Cousins is now 89-77-2 as a starting QB in the NFL. At 38 years of age, can he find a way to end his career with 100 wins? This is a must win for the Chargers because the stakes will get higher after week 2. You can’t lose to the Cardinals and the Raiders and expect to make the post-season. The Raiders beat a crappy team. It will be interesting to see what they can do against a better opponent. I like the Chargers rebounding quickly using the Raiders as that neighborhood girl you go to after a break up and she sets you right again.

OUR PICK: CHARGERS

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (0-1) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (0-1)

I was shocked with both of these teams last week. Both came away with losses. The Commanders hung in there with the Eagles in a tight game. The Cowboys owned New York.

The Giants defended their home turf and put down the Cowboys on Sunday night. How do you sort out this match up in week two? I feel home-cooking for the Cowboys is what they need right here, right now. Look for the Cowboys offense to have a big day at the office with Dak Prescott having a huge day. The Cowboys were one of the top offenses last year. I think the Boys defense will be light years better than last year. I don’t trust Jayden Daniels. He had that great rookie season. I think injuries will follow his career like dark clouds. The Commanders defense will have a let down as they played solidly versus the Eagles.

OUR PICK: COWBOYS

THE SUNDAY NIGHT GAME

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (0-1) AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1-0)

I just threw up in my mouth seeing the Chiefs just whack their divisional rival, the Broncos, last week. I hate to see the Chiefs so soon back to their old ways. Who did the Colts piss off in the NFL giving them first Baltimore & now Kansas City to start the season off? The Colts got off to a strong start last year with a weaker schedule is my guess. Their collapse in the second half of the season is still noticeable. The Chiefs meanwhile added the Superbowl MVP from last year’s game, Kenneth Walker III, and he did not disappoint as he ran all over the Broncos. He’s now added to the list of Chief players I dislike. A solid running back will help Patrick Mahomes recover from that injury that ended his season last year. The Chiefs defense played well. I don’t like the Colts chances at Arrowhead Stadium They need Jonathan Taylor to have the biggest game of his career to beat these she devils at their place. The Colts defense gives me no confidence after the Ravens put 41 points on that unit.

OUR PICK: CHIEFS

THE MONDAY NIGHT GAME

NEW YORK GIANTS (1-0) AT LA RAMS (0-1)

He’s back!! Aaron Donald is expected to make his return to the field in this Monday night match up versus the Giants. The Giants will only have to worry about one defensive player of the year as the other, Myles Garrett, is sidelined and ruled out with a knee injury he suffered in the game in Australia versus the 49ers. Donald coming out of retirement may have to knock off some rust. The Giants visit LA after knocking off the Cowboys at home. The Rams offense only scored 7 points in Australia. I expect the Rams offense to turn things around which is not good news for the Giants. How good are the Giants? They play in a division that is winnable. John Harbaugh has quickly turn things around. I think the G-Men will give the Rams a game. At the end, Rams prevail in this one. Look for Donald to have some sort of impact in this one. I think Stafford will have a huge game as well.

OUR PICK: RAMS