Last Week: 7-6

Overall: 55-22 (.714 percent)

First of all, where is my card, or my present, or well wishes? Seriously is that how you treat your friends on their birthday?

Everyone says that they feel old on their birthday. Me, not so much, it’s just weird to say the number. Part of me thinks that 38 seems really freakin’ old, and then another part of me thinks its pretty young.

Obviously it doesn’t matter. I know I was born, I know that I’ll die, the in between is mine. And the way that I’ll be spending, roughly, the 13, 535th day of my life will be doing one of my favorite things — watching the Patriots.

Last week I rallied to pull out a winning week. I went just 2-6 over the first 8 games and finished at 7-6. That’s 5 straight winning weeks to start the season and I’m still above .700 for the season. Let’s hope that this week’s slate of games plays out a little prettier than last.

Panthers at Falcons: Yes, I love the Cam Newton experience. He’s one of the greatest Red Zone Channel players ever, he makes things happen. I’d love to get on board with the Panthers this week, but the Falcons are really solid at home. During the Matt Ryan era the only road teams to win at the dome are New Orleans and Green Bay. Give me a Falcons victory.

Colts at Bengals: Give the Colts credit, for a winlesss team they give a solid effort every week and they’re not mailing it in. Cincy is sneaky good and wins another one.

49ers at Lions: Two years ago this game would have been the type you’d go to Bed, Bath and Beyond to rather than stay home and watch. Now, it’s one of the best games of the weekend. That’s how quickly things can change in the NFL. I’m all-in with the Lions and have them here.

Rams at Packers: Doesn’t it figure the dude that I’m playing in fantasy football has Aaron Rodgers, and I’m playing him this week. Green Bay was favored by 17 the last time I looked, so …. yeah … I like the Pack.

Bills at Giants: Buffalo is red hot, the Giants not so much. I’m going against the grain here. I think the Giants rebound at home and win a shootout.

Jaguars at Steelers: I cannot think of one quasi reason to even consider the Jags. Steelers in a rout.

Eagles at Redskins: Would the real Eagles please stand up. Last year Mike Vick had the game of his life in Washington. This could be the week that Philly gets it right, but the Skins have had an extra week to prep. Give me Washington in a game that scares me greatly.

Browns at Raiders: Cleveland is perhaps the most boring team in America. I love the Oakland running game, and I’m riding Darren McFadden to a win.

Texans at Ravens: Two premier defense battle it out, and I’m picking Baltimore. The Ravens are the better defensive team, and know how to win ugly. The Texans are without Andre Johnson and Arian Foster is banged up some. Ravens take it, 15-9.

Cowboys at Patriots: My birthday present is getting to chill and watch this one from start to finish with little interruption. Tom Brady wins a QB duel with Tony Romo.

Saints at Buccaneers: Tampa is without its top running back, Josh Freeman is struggling and the defense got lit up for 48 last week. New Orleans puts up points, and they will again. New Orleans makes Tampa hate life, and takes it by double-digits.

Vikings at Bears: Yikes, this is the Sunday Night game. D’oh. Minnesota lets AP haul the mail to a win.

Dolphins at Jets: Really, Monday night sucks too? The Jets win the Who Cares Bowl.

Last Week: 13-3

Overall: 48-16 (.750 percent)

And here come the bye weeks, which are great for the teams that have the time off, but not so great for those of us that have fantasy football teams and didn’t realize until about Tuesday that ‘oh no, one third of my team has the weekend off.’ It’s okay, though, we will find a way to get through it, and I’ll probably lose anyways. Last week my team was favored to score the most points in our league, so of course the Stumblin’ Irish laid an egg and got defeated, by Eagle One no less. Life is not fair.

On the bright side, I’ve done better than expected picking winners this season. The sample size is still pretty small, but to get at 75-percent after four weeks is strong. If only I had put $20 on the money line for all of those games. I’d be doing nicely.

And, on to this week’s games ….

Eagles at Bills: It seems inconceivable that the Eagles could fall to 1-4, but if they lose this weekend they will. I’m expecting a game similar to the one that saw the Bills beat the Patriots a few weeks back, but this time the Eagles will take it down. One of these days Andy Reid will realize that he has a pretty darned good running back in Shady McCoy, and that they don’t have to sling it all game long. Still, I’m going to go with the Eagles, even though they continue to bite me often.

Chiefs at Colts: I’m hoping to get back to my power poll next week, and I’ve had the Colts really low the last few weeks. The last two games they’ve shown me that they still have pride, and of course Curtis Painter has flowing blonde locks. The Chiefs picked up their first win of the year last week, and I think that the Colts will find a way this week.  Either way, this isn’t really a game that I’d want to invest much time watching. Colts win.

Cardinals at Vikings: It really is strange that Minnesota has yet to win a game. They’ve been very, very competitive, yet seem to suck in the second half and find ways to lose. I don’t believe that any team is going to go winless this year, and this seems like a game that Minny can find a way to win.

Seahawks at NY Giants: Finally a game for me that seems easy to pick. The Giants will enjoy beating up the Tavaris Jacksons and dominate.

Titans at Steelers: The hardest thing for most people to come to grips with is that teams that are historically good do not remain so indefinitely. I believe that this is the year that the Steelers regress, and a big reason is that the O-line is very beat up, which Ben Roethlisberger’s foot can attest to. Tennessee is better than you might think, and as long as Hasselbeck stays healthy they’re in good shape. Give me the Titans in a close one.

Saints at Panthers: Talk about a game that should be fun to watch. Cam Newton and company are competitive, and aren’t afraid to go for broke. They’re just not nearly good enough yet to upset the Saints, who are the NFC version of the Patriots (great on offense, pretty bad on defense). Saints win in a track meet.

Bengals at Jaguars: Andy Dalton against Blaine Gabbard might be a great match-up in about 5 years. Right now, it’s the type of game that reminds you that its okay to spend time with your family on Sunday afternoons. The Bengals are feisty, they’ll win.

Raiders at Texans: Don’t look now but the Houston Texans are becoming a legitimate force in the NFL and might earn their first playoff spot. Everyone knows about Team Hamstring, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster, but what Houston really has going for it is a rock solid defense. They’ll be challenged by the Raiders running game, but I still think that Houston wins.

Buccaneers at 49ers: Two up-and-coming teams with a lot to play for. The home field advantage is worth a little something here, but in the end I’m picking the team with the quarterback that I trust more. Give me the Bucs.

Chargers at Broncos: Bill Simmons raised a great point on his podcast this week. Why the heck don’t the Broncos break out special Tebow packages? He may not be the prototype NFL passer, but what a weapon he could be to bring in for a series here and there, and the occasional third down play. Denver stinks, and the Chargers are pretty good. Chargers.

Jets at Patriots: Would someone tell Rex Ryan to shut up already. The Patriots are great at home, and with the weather expected to be perfect I think that they are going to light it up. New York is reeling and it won’t stop Sunday. Pats win, and go over 30 again.

Packers at Falcons: Until Green Bay loses I will not pick against them. Green Bay.

Bears at Lions: Until Detroit loses I will not pick against them. Detroit.

Well, with the Sox imploding I didn’t get around to finishing the weekly power poll. I will certainly do a week 5 one, that’s for sure. By then I’ll be over the departure of the greatest Red Sox manager of all time, and maybe be sleeping better.

So far so good picking winners. I really feel like I have a good feeling for the league right now, which is a veyr top-heavy league if you ask me.

Last Week: 11-5
Overall: 35-13 (.729 percent)

This Week’s Games

Panthers at Bears: I like the way that the Panthers are playing, but this is a must-win game for the Bears, and they’re at home. I’m taking Chicago, but I don’t love it.

Bills at Bengals: Buffalo is rolling, and the Bengals are the Bengals. I’m taking the Bills, but I expect this game might be closer than you think.

Titans at Browns: This is one of the most interesting games on the schedule. The winner goes to 3-1 and gets a huge confidence boost. We all keep waiting for Chris Johnson to have his big game, I’m going to prognosticate that he has it this weekend and the Titans win.

Lions at Cowboys: America’s Team against America’s other team. Detroit showed me a lot with their comeback last week, and the Cowboys are on a short week after MNF. Give me Detroit.

Vikings at Chiefs: Man, both of these teams are in trouble and the loser will be 0-4. Since I’m not in the business of picking ties, I’m going with Minnesota, because they could have 2 or 3 wins if the Head Coach had a clue.

Redskins at Rams: The Skins are on a short week, but they’re just way better than St. Louis. Redskins win.

49ers at Eagles: Wow, San Fran comes in with a better record than Philly here. No way you would have guessed that in the preseason. Philly must win it, and Vick says he’s playing, so give me the Eagles.

Saints at Jaguars: Saints see how high the scoreboard in Jax can go. Saints.

Steelers at Texans: Houston is in better shape, and is playing better football than Pittsburgh. Houston in a good one.

NY Giants at Cardinals: If the Cards couldn’t be Seattle last weekend, I can’t take them to beat the Giants. New York.

Falcons at Seahawks: One team we knew would stink hosts another that we didn’t think would stink, but kinda does. Atlanta has the better personnel, so let’s figure that Matt Ryan figures it out.

Broncos at Packers: Green Bay is the best team in the league right now, and moves to 4-0 with another win.

Patriots at Raiders: I’m a homer, and can’t see Brady having two straight bad games. Somehow the Pats defense figures out a way to keep Oakland under 30 and the Pats win.

Dolphins at Chargers: Miami is just a bad football team. San Diego is pretty good, and September’s over, so they can start to play better now. Chargers in a blowout.

Jets at Ravens: Both of these teams make their living on defense. Ravens are at home, and I think they’ll protect their house. Ravens win it, 9-6.

Colts at Buccaneers: Tampa in a blowout. Indy is horrible.

I’ve been staring at a blank screen for the last 10 minutes trying to figure out how to start this entry. I’m still not quite sure, but here we go.

I’m ticked. You are too.

Was there any doubt that the Sox were going to find a way to blow this? As the lead got slimmer and slimmer, it seemed inevitable, and the Rays just kept coming and coming.

I almost exhaled when New York went up 7-0 and the Sox had a 3-2 lead going to the rain delay. Worst case they’d be playing a play-in game on Thursday.

At a little past midnight I got a text from Eagle One. “You up?”

I called him. He said “I turned it off when the Orioles tied it up, I just knew.”

I can’t remember exactly what he said next, but it was inferred that Tampa was still playing. “Wait, you don’t know?” I asked.

I then went on to describe how Evan Longoria hit a 317-foot line drive, that was five feet high down the 315-foot left field line with the four foot wall. One of my Little Leaguers hit a ball farther than that on Monday night.

And with that little line drive to left, the Rays pulled off a remarkable in-game comeback and a final month rally, both for the ages. If it weren’t at the Red Sox expense I’d probably be applauding.

In fact, good for the Rays. They deserved it. They played like they wanted it, and they went and took it. You have to respect that. They had heart bursting at the seams.

The Sox, not so much. I will never question the efforts of either Pedroia or Ellsbury in September. They got after it, and played like it mattered. We can throw Aceves into the mix there too, because that guy was awesome.

As for the rest of them, I’m not so sure. They blew it. They took the lead for granted when they had it, and rather than finish the job, they left the door open and the Rays busted it down.

If this had happened before 2004 I’d probably be catatonic right now. Instead I’m just angry and bitter.

I’m sure Dan Shaughnessy is licking his lips at his keyboard right now thanking his ginger god that this was served up for him to have months of columns write themselves. Bambino this, return of the curse that, blah blah blah. I wish someone would shave his ugly head.

There are no silver linings, except maybe that we won’t ever have to see JD Drew in a Red Sox uniform again. And hopefully John Lackey will be sent packing as well, and while we’re at it can someone please force Tim Wakefield to retire already. And, to be honest, I was done with the Varitek experience 3 years ago. Yes he’s he captain, and he helped the team win 2 titles, but he swings the bat like it weighs 76 ounces and has holes cut in it like a block of swiss cheese. Oh, and Daisuke can just stay put wherever the heck he is.

I’m not going to throw Tito or Theo under the bus just yet. I’m putting this on the players. They’re the ones that choked, and a lot of them need to be gone. It’s inexcusable.

I guess this is what we get for having to root for the Yankees. It pained me to say “Come on New York” the last few days, and leave up to them to truly get my ire running at a high.

That’s all for now. I’m sure I’ll have more vitriol in the near future for you.

I realized in the middle of the night that I hadn’t posted my picks, and I had to amend that. Now I’m running late for church, so I’ll skip a lot of the analysis and just get to it.

Last week: 14-2
Overall: 24-8

NE at BUF: New England, they’re too good

SF at CIN: I hate taking Cincy, but I am

MIA at CLE: Hate this game, I take Cleveland. They’re at home.

DEN at TEN: Titans could be okay, we’ll find out today if they can beat a bad team. Tennessee.

DET at MIN: Lions, America’s Team.

HOU at NO: Saints, too much firepower.

NYG at PHI: Iggles are better.

JAC at CAR: The first win for Cam Newton, Carolina.

NYJ at OAK: Oakland, but it’s tough. Kinda picking with the heart there.

BAL at STL: Ravens are too tough for banged up STL. Baltimore wins.

KC at SD: Chargers by a lot.

GB at CHI: Packers, but it’ll be close. These two always play ugly games.

ARI at SEA: Cardinals, because they can at least score points.

ATL at TB: Josh Freeman wins games, so I’m taking the Bucs in a huge game for both sides.

PIT at IND: lay-up, Steelers.

WSH at DAL: Washington is healthier, and a sleeper. Skins win in an upset.

Week 3 is here, and we’re starting to figure out a little bit about the league. No. 1, if you have a key player go down, it’s start to think about the 2012 season — hello KC, Indy. If you can’t score points, don’t bother showing up — yes you Minny. Our top 2 remain the same, but there is plenty of movement everywhere else, well except for the very bottom, I think Indy may not move out of that spot.

32. Indianapolis (32): I believe that the team that wins the Super Bowl will be the one that was lucky enough not to have any of its most important players miss significant time due to injuries. This seems to me to be shaping up as the year that the big boo boo makes all the difference. Is that because of the lockout? It very well could be. By the way, Peyton Manning apparently went to Europe to investigate stem cell therapy this week. I hope he gets healthy, I also hope he’s smart enough to target Sept. 2012 as his return date because this boat is sinking fast.

31. Kansas City (23): Was I just talking about injuries? The Chiefs have now been blown out by a combined score of 89-10 in two games, and have lost Jamal Charles for the season. Great googly-moogly indeed.

30. Seattle (30): If the Seahawks were the 90s grunge movement, they’d be Hovecraft. No one liked their music, they never had a hit and they were just a footnote because they had ties to Pearl Jam. Oregon is clearly the best football team in the great northwest, and might be favored against the Seahawks.

29. Minnesota Vikings (31): For 2 quarters on Sunday it looked like the Vikings may have found their mojo. Adrian Peterson was running roughshod over the Bucs and Donovan McNabb didn’t look like a castoff from a Division III JV team. What a difference another half can make. Tampa saved their season and ruined Minnesota’s in one fell swoop.

28. Miami Dolphins ( 26): At least in the opener against New England they were able to put some points on the board, but Henne and company turned it over and just did stupid things with the ball against Houston. Starting 0-2, after two home games, does not bode well for the future.

27. Jacksonville Jaguars (22): An on to quarterback No. 3, already. Blaine Gabbert could very well be the future of the NFL, and rookie QBs have done pretty well this season. But, the Jags’ offense has produced just 19 points in 2 games and throwing a rookie to the wolves hardly seems like a recipe for initial success. The Jaguars are in for a long season, but we knew that already.

26. Cincinnati Bengals (24): You have to hand it to the Bengals, they’ve been in both of their games to date. It’s nice to see that things aren’t really changing in The Queen City, though. This week 2 Bengals players were found to have had a big shipment of weed sent to their town home. Hey guys, you’re professional athletes, learn from your ilk. Just ask Robert Parrish about using the mail for drugs. If you’re going to lose, might as well go down with the munchies.

25. Cleveland Browns (29): There’s nothing like a game against the Colts to make you feel like a Super Bowl contender. The Browns teased Indy for 3 quarters before Peyton Hillis put the game away for them in the fourth. With games against Miami and Tennessee the next two weeks, both at home, the Brownies have a chance to move up the rankings pretty quickly (the Bengals are drooling after the Brownies reference, I meant the football team guys).

24. Denver Broncos (25): I don’t know how the Broncos defeated the Bengals last week, other than the fact that they were playing the Bengals. Denver is so beat up that they had Tim Tebow play wide out in the game. They have problems at WR and Knowshon Moreno is also hurt. I can’t help but wonder if having Tebow on the field is like having just 10 players, and here’s why. By now Kyle Orton has to just hate TT, with the fans chanting for his insertion behind center after every incomplete pass. Will Orton even throw the ball to the guy? He should, though. If Tebow shows that he can play that spot, maybe they’ll use him there full time, or make him an H back. This gives us all reason to at least pay attention to Denver, which I hear is also a city that the Bengals receivers would enjoy.

23. Carolina Panthers (28): The Panthers very well could finish with one of the worst records in the league this year, but they’re going to do it in an enjoyable manner. The Panthers are the most fun bad team to watch. Cam Newton has played like he should wear a cape so far, but it hasn’t resulted in any wins. Still, they’re competitive and fun, which is a lot more than you could say about any of the other recent entries from Carolina.

22. Tennessee Titans (27): My fantasy football league is a keeper league, and we’re allowed to keep one guy from the previous season, but not in successive seasons. I had to decide between Chris Johnson and LeSean McCoy, and I went back-and-forth and back-and-forth and finally decided on Shady McCoy over CJ2K. I’m pretty happy about that decision. Johnson has been nonexistent for the Titans so far, and until he starts doing his thing the Titans are going to be mediocre at best. Another fantasy note, Rob Bironas had a big week for TT last week, hitting 4-of-5 field goals. He missed a chippy in the first quarter. If he’d had made it, I would have gotten another 3 points. He missed, I got -1 for that kick. I lost by 2 points. That is all.

21. St. Louis Rams (15): We had such high hopes for the Rams. They play in a bad division, and they have up-and-coming talent. This looked like the leap year for St. Louis. But they’re one of the most beat up teams in the league, and they looked pretty horrible against the Giants on Monday Night Football. The next 5 games for STL are all tough. The team that ranks last in rushing defense gets Baltimore this weekend, then Washington. After that its games against Green Bay, Dallas and New Orleans. Ouch. The fans are going to start pulling out the paper bags.

20. San Francisco 49ers (20): When you allow a quarterback with broken ribs and a partially punctured lung to dice your defense in the second half you kind of deserve to lose.

19. Arizona Cardinals (19): If things go the way they should, and the Cards win at Seattle this weekend, Arizona will somehow be 2-1. Well, someone has to win that awful division.

18. New York Giants (21): The next time you think you’re having a bad day, just pause and think about Domenik Hixon. I know he’s made more money the last two years than you and I will probably make this decade, but I have a feeling that 20 years from now we’ll be walking with less of a limp. The Giants could also be without their No. 2 receiver, Mario Manningham, who is concussed, and Hakeem Nicks always seems to have some kind of nick that is keeping him on the injury report. Eli Manning is clearly not as good as he was in the recent past, but let’s keep in mind that his receivers look like they’ve played a real life version of Gears of War and he no longer has a good tight end to throw to.

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (14): Talk about saving your season. They were down 3 scores at halftime to Minny, and looked dead in the water, but Josh Freeman rallied the troops and the Bucs found a way to win. They’ve got a huge test this weekend against Atlanta, which has big time divisional implications.

16. Dallas Cowboys (13): Yes they pulled off a comeback despite having Romo and Felix Jones and Dez Bryant and Miles Austin banged up. They won the battle, but it’s not looking good for the war right now with all of those injuries.

15. Oakland Raiders (11): I still believe when it’s all said and done that the Raiders could win the west. They nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback, only to lose in catastrophic fashion. That grab that Denarius Moore made, with 2 DBs on his back, was one of the plays of the season. Coach Hue Jackson said that he intends on building a “bully of the west” team with Raiders. Unfortunately bullies tend to commit stupid penalties.

14. Chicago Bears (9): Da Bears have a tough road to hoe. They’re not necessarily a bad team, despite what happened against New Orleans last weekend. The problem is, even if they’re a top 14 team in the NFL, they by no means have a guaranteed spot in the playoffs because they have to play 2 games each with two of the best teams in the NFL, the Lions and Packers. After Week 1 I thought maybe that defense was pretty good, but now I wonder because the Saints made them look silly. Of course, the Saints make most defenses look silly. But, the Saints don’t play a lot of D themselves, and the Bears did nothing against them.

13. Buffalo Bills (17): So this week we really find out just how good the Bills might be. I have no doubts that they will score points against the Patriots, but can they stop the Pats enough to win (no one shuts NE down, but they can be slowed). When you look at the list of undefeated teams in the NFL, this is the one that jumps out at you. The Bills haven’t been good in a long, long time. This is their chance to show the world just how far they’ve come. It’s going to be a really fun game to watch. All I know is that locals are so fired up right now about this team that they have forgotten where they live, which is a good thing.

12. Washington Redskins (18): Just like Buffalo, we’re left wondering if the Redskins are for real. Monday night the Skins have a chance to make a real statement against the beat up Cowboys. Washington can run the ball, and with Tim Hightower and Roy Helu sharing the load, they can throw fresh legs at Dallas over and over. I think they’ll win, and somehow the world we live in will have an undefeated Washington team in it.

11. Houston Texans (16): Quick, which team has allowed the second fewest points in the NFL after 2 weeks. Yup, Houston. They’re climbing the rankings, and whupping up on teams that they should whup up on. I’m fired up for Houston, because I love the Ben Tate story. Last year Tate was set to be the Texans’ No. 1 running back and then he got hurt, and it looked like he would be Wally Pipp‘d by Arian Foster. Now Foster’s been slowed by an injury and Tate is doing the Wally Pipp-ing.

10. Atlanta Falcons (12): Something’s just not right about this team. Yes, they beat the Eagles at home last Sunday night and avoided an 0-2 start. Still, I didn’t feel like they played all that well. Do they win that game if Mike Vick doesn’t get hurt? Probably not. They’ve got a very big divisional game with Tampa Bay this weekend, which means that one way or another it will be close in the 4th quarter, because 12-percent of the games that Josh Freeman has ever been a part of has not been close. Last weekend the Falcons got the job done late, can the dirty  birds do it again?

9. San Diego Chargers (10): You know if Vincent Jackson hadn’t sat out most of last season with a contract dispute that Chargers team very well may have represented the AFC in the Super Bowl. Yes the Chargers are accident prone, like the two Phil Rivers picks, or Mike Tolbert’s oops I ran the wrong way and now I’m coughing it up fumble, but they have a ton of offensive talent and are better on defense than they looked against New England. This team is dangerous, and they wear my favorite uniform in the league. I actually own a Rivers’ powder blue jersey that I got on Ebay ridiculously cheap. I wore it to Wal-Mart last weekend and had 3 different people ask me why I was wearing an SD jersey. It was weird.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (8): When you’re down, and feeling like your football team might not be all that good, just invite the Seattle Seahawks to town and it’s sure to make you feel better about yourself. Just ask Pittsburgh, which tore through Seattle last weekend. All I know is it’s gotta be tough to host home games when Batman’s nemesis is wreaking terror on the field.

7. Baltimore Ravens (6): We’ll give the Ravens a bit of a mulligan. They dominated Pittsburgh in week 1, in a rivalry game, so they were likely to come out a bit flat in week 2. Baltimore’s biggest problem is they just don’t know which Joe Flacco is going to show up from week to week. In the end, that is going to be their Achilles Heel.

6. New York Jets (7): Defensively the wreak mayhem at every turn. Offensively, though, they’ve got issues. They are always in the game because the defense is just that good, and Sanchez does make plays, but the league right now centers on putting up the most points. I don’t know that they can.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (3): They’ve dropped from the top spot in the preseason, to 3 last week, to 5 now. Mike Vick is going to play despite his concussion, which will probably be helpful this weekend, but in the long run is kind of a dumb decision, very shortsighted. Head injuries aren’t to be messed with. Speaking of injuries, I think the team that wins it all in the end is the team that stays healthiest on the list from 12 down. Players are dropping like flies in 2011.

4. New Orleans Saints (4): It certainly was nice to see the Saints bounce back and destroy the Bears. Every game they play is like watching a track meet, and I really like the 3-headed monster at running back. Darren Sproles is a weapon that is being truly unleashed by Sean Payton, Mark Ingram is a punishing runner and Pierre Thomas is a solid all-around player.

3. Detroit Lions (6): Ahh, America’s Team. Holy moly did they put a hurting on Kansas City. I was expecting to see Matt Cassell wave the white flag on the sideline in the 3rd quarter. They’ve scored the most points in the league, and allowed the fewest. Say it with me ‘the Lions are for real.’ You feel better now, don’t you.

2. New England (2): Offensively this team is about as close to perfect as you’re going to find. They will cross the 1,000-yards passing mark in the first half against Buffalo, probably in the first quarter. When they have to run, they run. Tom Brady is not just a surgeon, he’s Dr. James Andrews with a football. New England needs to improve its passing defense, though. They’ve given up a ton of yards through the air, and Buffalo will probably move the ball well against them too. It’s just proof positive that there are no perfect football teams, but man the Pats sure look good.

1. Green Bay (1): There was a great video I saw over the weekend of the Packers lining up before the first game against New Orleans and Aaron Rodgers basically telling his team that they’re the defending champs and everyone’s gunning for them, but they’re the best, so they’re going to set the tone. Obviously that isn’t verbatim. What’s important is that they understand that every team is gonna give them their best shot, and that is exactly what the feisty Panthers did, and the Pack got the job done on the road. It was impressive, and even though the Pats are nipping at their heels, the champs stick at No. 1 until they prove otherwise.

Last Week: 10-6
Overall: 10-6 (.625)

After the early games last week I was worried I had no feel for the NFL and that I was on my way to a horrible season of picking games. I only got 1 of the 1 PM games correct. But, I rallied. I didn’t get anything wrong in the late games, the night game of the Monday Nighters. All in all, a decent Week 1. Let’s see if we can beat that this week. I’m barely able to keep my eyes open right now, so I’m going quick pick style.

Oakland at Buffalo: Bills 31-21

KC at Detroit: Lions, 28-14

Baltimore at Tennessee: Raves, 17-13

Cleveland at Indy: Browns 17-10

Tampa Bay at Minnesota: Bucs, 23-17

Chicago at New Orleans: Saints 32-24

Jacksonville at NY Jets: Jets 21-10

Seattle at Pittsburgh: Steelers 31-10

Arizona at Washington: Redksins 24-23

Green Bay at Carolina: Green Bay 31-13

Dallas at San Francisco: Dallas 21-17

Cincinatti at Denver: Broncos 17-12

Houston at Miami: Texans 28-16

San Diego at New England: Patriots 37-25

Philadephia at Atlanta: Philly 24-21

St Louis at NY Giants: Giants 22-14

Man it was fun having the NFL back. I don’t think I thought about the lockout once during the games. I just focused on how great it is to watch pro football.

Every Sunday my son and I sit down and watch the games together. We watch every play of the Patriots — although that was Monday Night on a slight tape delay because Dad was working on stories back at The Enterprise until around 8:30 — and then we blow out the late games on Red Zone Channel, well until I nod off for my Sunday afternoon nap. Hey, you have to rest up before the late game.

Here’s my second power poll of the season. I expect things will shake up a bit over the first few weeks, and then we’ll settle in. We had a couple of big movers, namely Indy — in the wrong direction — and Washington and Buffalo, in the right direction.

32. Indianapolis Colts (18): Wow, I wasn’t very high on the Colts to begin with, but had no idea that they’d look that atrocious in week 1. Kerry Collins won’t survive the entire season, and even if he does let’s not pretend he can run the Colts offense anywhere nearly as well as Manning. Peyton is basically the team’s offensive coordinator, on the field, and he puts players in position to make big plays. Without him making all of those annoying pre-snap adjustments at the line of scrimmage, the Colts are a bland and boring offense. Other than Reggie Wayne, who will see double coverage all season long, does this team have anyone that even kind of scares you on offense? It’s going to be a long, long year for the Colts.

31. Minnesota Vikings (28): Poor Adrian Peterson. If Donovan McNabb can’t throw for more yards than a Pop Warner QB he’s going to see stacked lines all year long and be running into walls. Take away the Percy Harvin return TD and what you’re left with is a pretty horrific opening week game, which is just the first of many such performances I’m afraid.

30. Seattle Seahawks (20): Perhaps this is an overreaction by me, but when you look that bad against a team like San Francisco, who I believe is pretty bad, you aren’t going to move up in the rankings. You may notice I write a lot about quarterback play in these here rankings, and there’s a reason for that, this is a QB-driven league. When you’ve got Tavaris Jackson as your starting QB, well, you’ve got Tavaris Jackson as your starting QB. Take away his best weapon, Sidney Rice, and it just gets uglier.

29. Cleveland Browns (26): These rankings are based on how I think Team A would do against Team B, and so on and so forth. The Brownies lost to Cincy in Week 1. Really, how much higher could I put them? At least they can boast to having ruined the most eliminator pools in the history of man before they even got interesting.

28. Carolina Panthers (32): Maybe I was a little too hard on Cam Newton last week. He gave a spirited, heck historic, effort in his debut. But, let’s not get too excited. He did it against the Cardinals, and they still lost. I loved his moxie, but let’s see how he does against legitimate teams that have a book on how to defend him. Side note: It was nice to see Steve Smith isn’t dead. I don’t even think he was drafted in our fantasy league (a 12 team league) and he was one of the top WR in the game last week.

27. Tennessee Titans (22): I think they’re better than this, but you are who your record says you are, for the most part. They lost to a team that started an inexperienced QB and a bland defense. Chris Jackson is very hit or miss. His big games are huge, but his bad games are like last Sunday’s. He needs time to round into form, and when he does Tennessee should climb.

26: Miami Dolphins (29): Defensively the Fish looked horrible, but Tom Brady can make you look that way. What happened to Miami having an advantage during the warm months at home? They looked gassed from the second quarter on, and the Pats looked like the team that had been working out in the hot, humid temps every day. Still, they move up a tad because I thought Chad Henne and his offense looked decent at times, but if they continue to feed the ball to Reggie Bush that much, especially on runs between the tackles, he won’t be around long.

25. Denver Broncos (27): Of all the teams that I saw lose in their opener on Sunday, I felt like the Broncos were the closest to winning. Some things stats can’t explain, like bad luck. Denver had a great chance until a wet ball slipped out of Orton’s hands, I mean it just fell out of his grip. Oakland picked it up, went down and punched in a TD against the stunned horses. That’s a 14-point swing right there, it was pretty brutal Speaking of brutal, how about those Denver fans. They were all over Orton, and have already brought out the “Teeee-bow” chants. It took all of 3 quarters.

24. Cincinnati (31): Make no mistake, I still believe that the Bengals are horrible. They won, though, so they move up a few spots.

23. Kansas City Chiefs (15): Our biggest drop in the poll has to go to the team that really opened up a lot of eyes, and not in a good way, last weekend. The Chiefs were thrashed – at home – by the Buffalo Bills. The talk during the offseason was how difficult the Chiefs schedule was going to be in comparison to last year’s. I don’t think the experts were referring to their opener against Buffalo.

22. Jacksonville Jaguars (25): Yes, they won. Still, do you really think that the Jags are good? Me neither. They survived against Tennessee, which looked awful. I’m skeptical about the teal being for real.

21. New York Giants (17): The Redskins are better than any of us thought they were, or at least they looked that way against the Giants. The talk out of NY during the preseason was that Eli looked bad, and his stats backed it up. He hit for about only 50-percent of his passes, and again looked horrendous against the Skins. Now there’s talk that Nicks could be hurt, too. It might be a tough, tough year for the Manning family. Archie better keep an eye on his 401k.

20. San Francisco 49ers (23): San Fran fans have to be stoked they won their first game, but how excited are they that Dallas is coming to town with a chip on its shoulder?

19. Arizona Cardinals (19): Yes they won their opener. They also beat the team that I thought was the weakest in the NFL, the Panthers, and it was a nail-biter. Someone should tell Kevin Kolb, that No. 11 is pretty good, maybe you should get him the ball more.

18. Washington Redskins (30): Our biggest mover and shaker this week is the Skins. I didn’t think they were going to be a big threat, but they laid the smack down like The Rock to a jabroni in Week 1. Tim Hightower and Santana Moss are two under the radar offensive threats that are going to sneak up on people. Just ask the Giants.

17. Buffalo Bills (24): I said last week that at least they’d be entertaining, and bless the Bills’ hearts, they went out and laid a beat down on the Chiefs on the road. You have to respect that. By the way, I put in for a bid on Ryan Fitzpatrick in my fantasy league. They’re going to put up some numbers, but they’ll give up a lot too.

16. Houston Texans (21): Beating up on Indy is no great accomplishment, but they got the job done in Week 1 the way they were supposed to. Houston has a lot of pressure to get the job done now. The division is wide-open and is theirs for the taking, they just need to grab the brass ring. They have a chance to go to 2-0 if they get past the Dolphins this week. It isn’t a must-win, but opening up some space in the division would be huge for them.

15. St. Louis Rams (12): Arch City is aching this week. The team’s best receiver, mini-Welker Danny Amendola separated his elbow (ouch). Quarterback Sam Bradford bruised his throwing hand, which isn’t a good thing. Oh, and can you believe that Steven Jackson got hurt (me neither). If they don’t get it together it could be a big-time plummet.

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11): Tampa is not a good play-from-behind team. When they don’t have a lead, or are even, their biggest offensive producer – LeGarrette Blount – comes of the field. You can’t put too much stock in their week 1 loss. It was to America’s Team, the Leos from Motor City. It’s how they rebound, and if they’re able to get more out of their Blount.

13. Dallas Cowboys (8): Dez Bryant catches 3 balls in the first quarter and looks like he’s about to have a monster game. He then disappears and has 0 the rest of the way and looked like he took a slug to the foot while running that final route that Revis Island pilfered. Pretty anti-clutch, just ask Tony Romo.

12. Atlanta Falcons (7): Atlanta won 13 games last year and now could very well be 0-2 after Sunday. Mike Vick comes to town and plans on leaving a conquering hero. Matty Ice had better have a plan.

11. Oakland Raiders (14): Apparently it doesn’t matter who is the Head Coach of the Raiders, when you put on the silver and black your IQ drops by at least 10-percent and you take bad penalties, repeatedly. But, I love their running game and they did win at Invesco on Monday Night Football. Side note: Has any world class athlete this side of Charles Barkley ever had a less imposing figure than Sebastian Janakowski? He looks like he leaves the bar to kickoff and line up field goals, yet he’s now the co-holder of the record for the longest made FG.

10. San Diego Chargers (6): San Diego needed to come back to beat a team whose quarterback threw for a whopping 39-yards last weekend. They head to the east coast for a game against Tom Brady and company Sunday.

9. Chicago Bears (16): A great man once said that when you’ve got Jay Cutler as your starting quarterback, you’ve got Jay Cutler as your starting quarterback. His teammates insist he’s a tough guy, and you believe them until he opens his mouth. However, the Bears defense is still pretty tough, and they made things happen against a team that many (raising my hand) thought would beat them at Soldier Field.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (5): I’m willing to give them a pass on that game against Baltimore. They got blown out, but sometimes it’s better to lose that way than to get beaten by a last second field goal. Pittsburgh had better open up a can like Captain Insane-o this weekend.

7. New York Jets (10): I had a real hard time figuring out which team fit in this slot. I can’t decide if the Jets performed an incredible rally, or if the Cowboys simply added to their impressive list of choke jobs of the last decade. It’s probably a little bit of both, and I’d still like to know what Tony Romo was thinking on that last pass. Still, let’s not forget that if Jason Witten isn’t tackled at the 2, it’s probably Dallas in this spot.

6. Detroit Lions (9): Yes I have a crush on the whole Detroit team. I think this is the year they break through and make the playoffs, and they opened up looking like that’s what they intend to do. Of course this ranking, and the whole season, carries an asterisk. It reads *if Matthew Stafford and Jahvid Best stay healthy.

5. Baltimore Ravens (13): I really don’t expect the Ravens to remain near the top of the rankings through the whole season, but you have to give some love to what the glorified crows did to the reigning AFC champs. Ray Rice had a huge day and Joe Flacco got the job done. But, as always, the story starts and ends for B’more with that defense, and the Ravens were stupendous on D.

4. New Orleans Saints (4): New Orleans might be in the top spot if they’d come through on the last play of the game. The Saints need to tighten up on defense, but that can be said about a lot of the top teams. I love what the addition of Darren Sproles to this offense, he brings a new dimension to a team that already had a ton of weapons.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (1): Mike Vick said he played lights out against the Rams, umm … no. He was okay, but he wasn’t great by any means. He made a couple of great throws, but there were quite a few off the mark. LeSean McCoy was great, though. It’s early, they could easily ascend back to the top spot, but for now I’ve got to move them down despite the win.

2. New England Patriots (3): Can you even wrap your head around 517 yards passing? Tom Brady had a game for the ages, and it didn’t really surprise anyone. We’re used to his greatness, just not that much. Offensively they were fantastic. Defensively, they put some pressure on Henne and got stronger as the game went along.

1. Green Bay Packers (2): Thanks to the Red Zone Channel, I saw parts of just about every game this week – although I did fall asleep around halftime of the Sunday late afternoon games. Of all the football teams I saw this week, the one that impressed me the most was the defending Super Bowl champs. It wasn’t just the amount of points that Aaron Rodgers and the boys put up, but it was the style they played against a very good football team.

Don’t panic just yet.

Yes the Red Sox have seen their lead slip a bit over the last few weeks, down to 3 games on Sunday, but this is baseball. The season is long, and teams have their ups and downs.

On Tuesday the Sox won, as Tim Wakefield finally picked up win 200, and the Rays lost. The lead in the wild card jumped back to 4 and everyone in New England breathed a sigh of relief.

Let us not forget that the Sox opened the year up by losing 6 straight and were 2-10. They are not infallible, and obviously not immune to going in the tank for stretches. It happens, and it’s better that it is happening in early September than say early October.

I’m not going to say the Sox are the favorites to win it all, because the team that wins it all is the one that’s playing its best baseball in October. That remains to be seen. If I had to venture a guess right now I’d put my money on Detroit, because they have the best pitching in the AL, and look great. But you never know. Philly’s got superb pitching too, and a good offense.

But before you make plans to trek up the Tobin and take a leap, just hold on. Give it another 10 days or so. Tampa has been riding a hot streak, but they lost a game yesterday. It takes a lot to make up that much ground this late in the year.

Just breathe, it will all be okay.

Got a phone call from Eagle One this afternoon and he channeled his inner-Hank Williams Jr. “Are you ready for some football.”

My answer: “Yes sir, I am quite prepared.”

God, I love the NFL. Tonight we have a marquee match-up to kickoff the 2011 slate. Of course I’m going to have a house full of 8-year old girls because it’s Jellybean’s birthday, but I’m DVRing the game and will catch up with it in progress.

Still, with Week 1 kicking off tonight. It’s time for my Week 1 picks. Last year we finished well above .500 for the season. Let’s see how it goes this time around.

New Orleans at Green Bay: Never pick against the defending Super Bowl champion, at home, on Opening Night. The Packers and Saints are two of my Top 5 teams in my power poll (I’ll update that probably on Tuesday after the Week 1 slate is through). I see Aaron Rodgers having a big night and it’s going to be a shootout.

Packers win it, 38-31.

Atlanta at Chicago: Normally I don’t like to pick against Chicago at home, but in week 1 I usually go with the team that I think is better. The Falcons can put up some points, and the Bears aren’t as good at doing that. Matt Ryan and Roddy White are going to have a great day and the Falcons soar.

Falcons, 27-17

Cincinnati at Cleveland: I think I’d rather chew on glass than have to sit through 4 quarters of this game. The Bengals are going to outright stink. The Browns are feisty, and unless the Madden Curse decides to rear its ugly head in Week 1, let’s take the Browns in a boring, boring game.

Browns, 17-9

Buffalo at Kansas City: On paper this doesn’t look like too much of a game, but I have a feeling its going to be entertaining. The Chiefs are certainly going to miss Tony Moeaki, but Cassell and Co. are good enough to defend home field here. I think points will be scored aplenty, but in the end KC holds on.

Chiefs, 27-23

Philly at St. Louis: Solely on the fact that I have the Eagles ranked No. 1 in my preseason poll, I’m taking the Iggles. Still, I don’t believe that Philly is a perfect team and they’re an upset contender here. Sam Bradford and his merry band of no-names will keep it interesting throughout.

Eagles: 31-24

Detroit at Tampa Bay: This is a game I can get into. Two teams that are both on the way up, with something to prove. The determining factor for me is the weather. It’s hot in Florida, and it’s going to be muggy. I think the big Detroit line will be slowed late in the game and Josh Freeman will find a way.

Buccaneers 21-20

Tennessee at Jacksonville: Really Jaguars? Really? One week before the opener you’re going to drop your starting quarterback when you have a team that isn’t that good to begin with. Jacksonville fans are in for a long, long season and the Titans will ride a healthy — for now at least — Matt Hasselbeck to a week 1 win.

Titans: 27-10

Pittsburgh at Baltimore: If you like hitting, this is the game for you. It’s a shame that they schedule such a big rivalry game this early in the season. I like to see the teams climb the standings and have more on the line when they go at it. Pittsburgh is one of the top teams in the league and Baltimore is regressing. Even on the road, I like Pitt in a close one.

Steelers, 20-14

Indianapolis at Houston: Man, watching ESPN last night you’d think that the Peyton Manning injury was equal to a presidential assassination. They covered that thing from all angles short of interviewing Manning’s nerve endings. Look at the bright side Indy fans, at least Peyton has a lot of extra time on his hands to do commercials, as long as they don’t require him to turn his head much. It’s going to get ugly in Colts-land. There’s blood in the water in that division and the sharks are circling. Houston takes the first bite out of the Colts.

Texans, 28-13

Carolina at Arizona: Man, the teams that stink really stink and the teams that are good are really good this year. Carolina is awful. The Cards are a mystery. At least we aren’t sure if they stink yet, that’s good enough for me.

Cardinals, 21-7

Minnesota at San Diego: I’m intrigued. I don’t believe that the Vikings will be good. They’ll be mediocre at best, but if Donovan McNabb recaptures his mojo and if Adrian Peterson has another good year and if Percy Harvin finds good migraine medicine, maybe — just maybe — they can contend. Probably not, though. San Diego is notorious for coming out of the gates slow, but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Chargers, 31-21

Seattle at San Francisco: Another game that I am glad I don’t have to watch all of it. It’s a divisional game, so it matters to these teams. It just doesn’t matter to any of us.

49ers, 24-20

NY Giants at Washington: You want an upset? Here’s your upset. Eli Manning has been throwing the ball all over the place during the preseason. The Giants defense is down and the Redskins might — just might — be better than any of us are giving them credit for. Tim Hightower will do some high-steppin’ and the Skins score a big home win.

Redskins, 27-24

Dallas at NY Jets: I just don’t know. Dallas has a ton of offensive weapons, but the Jets play great defense. This early in the year, especially after the lockout, I’m going with teams that have a lot of continuity and the Jets seem to have a little more than the Cowboys. Tony Romo missed half of last season, and I think he might be rusty early on.

Jets, 28-20

New England at Miami: When they played like they cared, and had their starters in, the Pats made the preseason look easy. This is going to get ugly early.

Patriots 38-13

Oakland at Denver: The biggest disappointment of my fantasy football drafts was not landing Darren McFadden again. I think Run DMC is going to establish himself as the best RB in the NFL this season and he’s going to demolish Denver on the big stage.

Raiders: 24-16