So, every year, right before football season, I run through the actual schedule and try and determine who I think will win every week.\u00a0 I obviously take into account my own personal feelings about a team and whether they are home or away each week.\u00a0 But, I also look at things like who they just played (letdown factor), who they have next week (the look-ahead factor), how many days they have had to prepare (coming off a bye or a Monday night game), and their coach and how much “preparation” or dealing with adversity will help\/hurt them at particularly difficult junctures of the season.\u00a0 I also look at the time (particularly West Coast teams at 1:00 and so on) and expected conditions (warm-weather teams in cold-weather cities late in the year).\u00a0 I also try and keep track of the games that could “go either way,” just to see what kind of spread an individual team’s record would be.\u00a0 Usually, I just do all this for myself when I’m bored (or I email Stri with my Giants prediction, so we can argue about it), but I figure now that there is a platform, why not just post it.\u00a0 Stri will still probably be the only person to read it, but whatever.\u00a0 There are 18 days from now until the first Sunday in the season, so if I do one week per day (I’ll try and get them out by noon each day), then we can hit the playoffs by that first Sunday in the season.\u00a0 You can check all of them by hitting the tag “nfl week-by-week preview.”\u00a0 So, here we go with Week One.\u00a0 The team in CAPS is my pick to win, and an asterisk will represent a game that I think could “go either way.”<\/p>\n
Thursday, September 10:<\/strong> Sunday, September 13:<\/strong> 1:00 – Detroit (0-0) at NEW ORLEANS (0-0) 1:00 – Philadelphia (0-0) at CAROLINA (0-0) 1:00 – DALLAS (0-0) at Tampa Bay (0-0) * 1:00 – New York Jets (0-0) at HOUSTON (0-0) 1:00 – Kansas City (0-0) at BALTIMORE (0-0) 1:00 – DENVER (0-0) at Cincinnati (0-0) * 1:00 – MINNESOTA (0-0) at Cleveland (0-0) * 1:00 – Miami (0-0) at ATLANTA (0-0) 4:15 – Washington (0-0) at NEW YORK GIANTS (0-0) 4:15 – SAN FRANCISCO (0-0) at Arizona (0-0) 4:15 – St. Louis (0-0) at SEATTLE (0-0) 8:20 – Chicago (0-0) at GREEN BAY (0-0) Monday, September 14: 10:00 – San Diego (0-0) at OAKLAND (0-0) To go to Week Two, click here<\/a><\/p>\n STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 1:<\/strong> NFC NORTH:<\/strong> NFC\u00a0SOUTH<\/strong>: NFC WEST: AFC EAST:<\/strong> AFC NORTH:<\/strong> AFC SOUTH:<\/strong> AFC WEST:<\/strong> So, every year, right before football season, I run through the actual schedule and try and determine who I think will win every week.\u00a0 I obviously take into account my own personal feelings about a team and whether they are … Continue reading
\n8:30 – Tennessee (0-0) at PITTSBURGH (0-0)
\nThe defending champs are well-coached and will be prepared on opening day.\u00a0 They should win this game at home to start the season.<\/p>\n
\n1:00 – Jacksonville (0-0) at INDIANAPOLIS (0-0)
\nThe Colts are not done, right?\u00a0 And the Jags are not very good, right?<\/p>\n
\nI don’t think the Lions will go winless again, but I definitely don’t think they go into New Orleans and win in Week One.<\/p>\n
\nSorry, guys, but I think Carolina beats the Birds in Week One.\u00a0 The Panthers are once AGAIN underappreciated when the season starts, and I have future bets on them again this year.<\/p>\n
\nEveryone thinks that the Bucs are really bad this year.\u00a0 I don’t think they’re that <\/em>bad, but I don’t think they beat Dallas in Week One, though this one is pretty tough.<\/p>\n
\nI kind of really like the Texans this year.\u00a0 And, I think the Jets are going to be atrocious–at least in the early going.<\/p>\n
\nThere is no reason to think that Baltimore won’t defend its home field in Week One against a rebuilding Chefs team…wait, who are the Chefs?<\/p>\n
\nI don’t understand why everyone despises Kyle Orton.\u00a0 He’s not a superstar, but he’s a bonafied NFL quarterback.\u00a0 I don’t think Denver is going to be that terrible this year, but I do think the Bengals will be.\u00a0 I like Denver to go into Cincy at get a win in Week One.\u00a0 However, a western team at 1:00 is questionable.<\/p>\n
\nI really wanted to take the Browns here, but I really just can’t see their offense doing anything <\/em>against Minnesota.\u00a0 I think it’s close, but I have to take the Vikes.<\/p>\n
\nI think Atlanta might take\u00a0a step backwards this year, but I think Miami is going to take an even larger step backwards.\u00a0 I like the Falcons at home.<\/p>\n
\nAnyone who argues that the NFC Beast isn’t the best division in football just needs to take a look at the Redskins and try and reason who this team could be the worst team in a division.\u00a0 They’re very talented and probably capable of beating anyone on any given day.\u00a0 But, the other three teams are better, including the Giants, who should take care of business at home in Week One.<\/p>\n
\nThere are always surprises every week, so expect them from me.\u00a0 I am not sold on the Cardinals, who were a 9-7 team last year before a nice playoff run, and they lost both coordinators.\u00a0 I really liked what I saw from San Fran at the end of the season, and I think Singletary will have them fired up for Week One, so I like them to go into the dessert and beat the Cardinals.<\/p>\n
\nI don’t think, like many people, that the Seahawks are back to their prowess of a couple of years ago, but I do think they will be better than last year.\u00a0 And, they don’t have to be that much better to beat the Rams at home (with probably the second-best homefield advantage in the league).<\/p>\n
\nI am sold on Aaron Rodgers, and I think he’s going to have a great year.\u00a0 I believe that the Packers will upstage the dawn of the Cutler Era and get a big divisional win right off the bat.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>7:00 – Buffalo (0-0) at NEW ENGLAND (0-0)
\nThere is nothing to make me believe that the Bills can go into Foxborough on Monday night and win this game.<\/p>\n
\nCall me crazy, but I am picking the Raiders in this one.\u00a0 The Chargers never seem to care enough about games like this, and I really think the Raiders have a chance to surprise people this year.<\/p>\n
\nNFC EAST:
\n<\/strong>1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Dallas
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 N.Y. Giants
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Philadelphia
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Washington<\/p>\n
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Green Bay
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Minnesota
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Chicago
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Detroit<\/p>\n
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Atlanta
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolina
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 New Orleans
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Tampa Bay<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>1-0\u00a0\u00a0 San Francisco
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Seattle
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Arizona
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 St. Louis<\/p>\n
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 New England
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Buffalo
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Miami
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 N.Y. Jets<\/p>\n
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Baltimore
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Pittsburgh
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Cincinnati
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Cleveland<\/p>\n
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Indianapolis
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Houston
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Jacksonville
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Tennessee<\/p>\n
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Denver
\n1-0\u00a0\u00a0 Oakland
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 Kansas City
\n0-1\u00a0\u00a0 San Diego<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"