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Professor Summer vs Zeus! ~ NFL Pick Em Showdown ~ Week 2
5 years ago
So, last week I came stumbling out of the gates. All three of my confident picks whiffed. Who knew the so called "garbage" teams would rise up and take down overrated squads? But now that I have a better idea of what to expect this week, let's shift our attention forward getting back on track this week, evening up the score!
CURRENT SCORE
Summer: 1
Zeus: 0
PICK 1
~Green Bay Packers beat and cover against Detroit Lions (-6.5)
Yes, this is another high spread I'm going with this week, but I am more confident about it than I was with Colts and Eagles last week. The Lions gave up 20+ points to a mediocre Bears offense last week. Aaron Rodgers dropped 40+ on a decent Vikings defense last week. The Packers are playing at home, with the buzz and consistency of having their team together from last year's deep playoff run. I think the Packers are clearly the better team here, and will not let the Lions build up points in garbage time to ruin the spread.
RESULT: Packers 42 Lions 21 Thank goodness the Lions did not capitalize on a hot start to this game. The better teams always manage to find way to overcome adversity. The Packers are definitely the real deal so far. They should be able to win the NFC North again this year.
PICK 2 (LOCK OF THE WEEK)
~Los Angeles Rams outright beat the Philadelphia Eagles (+1)
I am shocked the Eagles are favored after that week 1 disaster to the Washington Football Team. The Rams should be feeling really good to make an example of the Eagles in their home stadium. While it is true the trip across the country is usually hell for west coast teams, I just think the Rams will pull out the win late and really start turning some heads for Philly fans. The Cowboys should be singing their praises that their division continues to be hot garbage this year.
RESULT: Rams 37 Eagles 19. This game was over by halftime. The Eagles are a complete mess of a team right now. They will be lucky to win the division this year at this rate, let alone finish above .500. The Rams are definitely looking more like the Super Bowl team of a couple years ago. NFC West truly looks unstoppable.
PICK 3 (PONE'S GAME OF THE WEEK)
~Seattle Seahawks beat and cover the spread against the New England Patriots (-3.5)
Again, this is probably dumb of me, but I'm calling out Bellicheat yet again this week. This is a game I circled on the Patriots calendar to lose. The Seattle defense can contain Cam Newton and force him to throw. Once he does, Newton will struggle for sure. I don't think the depleted New England defense will hang with the high caliber offense of the Seahawks. Everyone still gets up to deliver their best against the fading dynasty. And I fully expect the Seahawks to punish the Patriots for visiting their home stadium, even without the 12th man. It may get close late, but I don't see this coming down to a field goal. It'll likely be a last minute Patriots drive to cut the lead down to like 27-21, before they won't score again.
RESULT: Pats 30 Hawks 35. THIS GAME WAS WAY TOO CLOSE DAMMIT! So glad the Pats lose in this fashion. Hopefully it rattles them to start more losing throughout the year. Probably the last game I'll pick them unless it's to win against the hapless Jets.
Unofficial gut reaction picks below. NO SPREAD CONSIDERED! (Current Record 8-5). Bolded picks are ones that came true. Italicized is wrong picks.
Titans over Jaguars (Closer than what people think and spread suggests, but the Titans will pull away late with their experience and team chemistry)
Bills over Dolphins (I refuse to believe in the Dolphins offense until Tua is ready to start. Should be a close game regardless)
Cowboys over Falcons (Easy bounceback game for the Cowboys. They looked bad last week, they'll turn it up this week against a putrid defense)
Vikings over Colts (You cannot trust Rivers to win games late)
49ners over Jets (Full convinced the Jets will be competing for the number 1 pick this year)
Steelers over Broncos (Big Ben is back and will continue to lead the Steelers back to relevance)
Bucs over Panthers (Tom Brady took a lot of heat and will not disappoint in front of his home fans. They'll bounce back)
Cardinals over Washington (Two young teams. One is further along than the other. Cardinals will squeak this out)
Chiefs over Chargers (Chargers barely survived a rookie QB debut. They'll get rolled by the number 1 squad in the league)
Ravens over Texans (AFC's number two team should be too much for a team lacking enough power on either side of the ball to dominate)
Saints over Raiders (High scoring game for sure, but I trust the Saints more even on the road.)
UPSET OF THE WEEK
Giants over Bears (Sorry Bears. Your organization is in a bad place right now. You should have lost last week. This will be a bad loss at home for you guys)
CURRENT SCORE
Summer: 1
Zeus: 0
PICK 1
~Green Bay Packers beat and cover against Detroit Lions (-6.5)
Yes, this is another high spread I'm going with this week, but I am more confident about it than I was with Colts and Eagles last week. The Lions gave up 20+ points to a mediocre Bears offense last week. Aaron Rodgers dropped 40+ on a decent Vikings defense last week. The Packers are playing at home, with the buzz and consistency of having their team together from last year's deep playoff run. I think the Packers are clearly the better team here, and will not let the Lions build up points in garbage time to ruin the spread.
RESULT: Packers 42 Lions 21 Thank goodness the Lions did not capitalize on a hot start to this game. The better teams always manage to find way to overcome adversity. The Packers are definitely the real deal so far. They should be able to win the NFC North again this year.
PICK 2 (LOCK OF THE WEEK)
~Los Angeles Rams outright beat the Philadelphia Eagles (+1)
I am shocked the Eagles are favored after that week 1 disaster to the Washington Football Team. The Rams should be feeling really good to make an example of the Eagles in their home stadium. While it is true the trip across the country is usually hell for west coast teams, I just think the Rams will pull out the win late and really start turning some heads for Philly fans. The Cowboys should be singing their praises that their division continues to be hot garbage this year.
RESULT: Rams 37 Eagles 19. This game was over by halftime. The Eagles are a complete mess of a team right now. They will be lucky to win the division this year at this rate, let alone finish above .500. The Rams are definitely looking more like the Super Bowl team of a couple years ago. NFC West truly looks unstoppable.
PICK 3 (PONE'S GAME OF THE WEEK)
~Seattle Seahawks beat and cover the spread against the New England Patriots (-3.5)
Again, this is probably dumb of me, but I'm calling out Bellicheat yet again this week. This is a game I circled on the Patriots calendar to lose. The Seattle defense can contain Cam Newton and force him to throw. Once he does, Newton will struggle for sure. I don't think the depleted New England defense will hang with the high caliber offense of the Seahawks. Everyone still gets up to deliver their best against the fading dynasty. And I fully expect the Seahawks to punish the Patriots for visiting their home stadium, even without the 12th man. It may get close late, but I don't see this coming down to a field goal. It'll likely be a last minute Patriots drive to cut the lead down to like 27-21, before they won't score again.
RESULT: Pats 30 Hawks 35. THIS GAME WAS WAY TOO CLOSE DAMMIT! So glad the Pats lose in this fashion. Hopefully it rattles them to start more losing throughout the year. Probably the last game I'll pick them unless it's to win against the hapless Jets.
Unofficial gut reaction picks below. NO SPREAD CONSIDERED! (Current Record 8-5). Bolded picks are ones that came true. Italicized is wrong picks.
Titans over Jaguars (Closer than what people think and spread suggests, but the Titans will pull away late with their experience and team chemistry)
Bills over Dolphins (I refuse to believe in the Dolphins offense until Tua is ready to start. Should be a close game regardless)
Cowboys over Falcons (Easy bounceback game for the Cowboys. They looked bad last week, they'll turn it up this week against a putrid defense)
Vikings over Colts (You cannot trust Rivers to win games late)
49ners over Jets (Full convinced the Jets will be competing for the number 1 pick this year)
Steelers over Broncos (Big Ben is back and will continue to lead the Steelers back to relevance)
Bucs over Panthers (Tom Brady took a lot of heat and will not disappoint in front of his home fans. They'll bounce back)
Cardinals over Washington (Two young teams. One is further along than the other. Cardinals will squeak this out)
Chiefs over Chargers (Chargers barely survived a rookie QB debut. They'll get rolled by the number 1 squad in the league)
Ravens over Texans (AFC's number two team should be too much for a team lacking enough power on either side of the ball to dominate)
Saints over Raiders (High scoring game for sure, but I trust the Saints more even on the road.)
UPSET OF THE WEEK
Giants over Bears (Sorry Bears. Your organization is in a bad place right now. You should have lost last week. This will be a bad loss at home for you guys)
Quick view
49ers -7 > Jets
Rams +1.5 > Eagles (the line moved, add that .5 to the one you took earlier)
Bills -5.5 > Dolphins
With the overlap, looks like its best of 2 picks this week. Good luck!