NFL Kickoff 2009

Week 1 Preview:

Welcome back, friends to our fourth annual weekly prognostications of the NFL season, as always for fun and amusement only. Betting cash money on football is an activity done at one’s peril and not recommended. As a reminder, we compete for fun against the “CBS Sportsline” NFL Experts on the spread and against the “USA Today” NFL Experts on win/loss and over the years we’ve been quite competitive.

For those of you who went with the Steelers and the points on Thursday night, you lost. It was rather surprising to see the Steelers’ vaunted rushing attack stymied all night though Big Ben had a pretty good night throwing the ball. It was also a tough night for Troy Polamalu, who was having an amazing night before having to leave with an awful knee sprain.

So, football fans, here we go…

At Atlanta -3.5 Miami 43

Both of these teams were big surprises last year and both are looking to make the next step as contenders. One thing that separates these teams is that Miami’s defense is slightly more experienced and has more continuity. While Matt Ryan will undoubtedly use all of his weapons with great success on Sunday, the Dolphins’ offense can employ a lot of looks that will confuse a young and inexperienced defense.

Projected Final Score: Miami 24, Atlanta 23.


At Ravens -9.5 Kansas City 37

The Pioli-Haley Era begins for the Chiefs with a tough test on the road at M&T. Cassel suffered a knee injury during preseason and his availability for the opener is in some doubt. With or without Cassel, the Chiefs come into this one at a decided disadvantage. The Ravens are solid on both sides of the ball and they’ll be looking to start off the year in dominating fashion.

Projected Final Score: Ravens 24, Kansas City 10.


Philadelphia -1.5 At Carolina 44

No one can truly expect what sort of game the Panthers will bring on Sunday. The Iggles are primed and ready for a run to the top of the NFC East. If the Panthers bring their “A” game then McNabb may be in for a long afternoon. Better to stick with the more predictable than the unknown.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 23, Carolina 20.


At Cincinnati -4.5 Denver 44

Maybe this is the year that they stop being Bungles. Carson Palmer’s back in top form and there’s no reason why they can’t make a little noise in the AFC North. Josh McDaniels makes his debut as an NFL head coach with a Denver team in transition. Moreno makes his debut as well and it’ll be interesting to see how well he performs. Orton may not be fully effective as he recovers from a broken finger on his throwing hand and that may affect how many looks Marshall and Royal get, Right now, the Bengals have fewer questions and fewer holes.

Projected Final Score: Cincinnati 27, Denver 21.

Minnesota -3.5 At Cleveland 39.5

Brett Favre makes his debut in purple as the Vikes travel to Cleveland where Sunday’s quarterback remained a closely-guarded secret until Wednesday when Mangini settled on Quinn. It really doesn’t make that much difference whether it’s Quinn or Anderson as there will be a nasty defense waiting out there for either one. Favre knows that the success of the offense depends more on AP’s legs than his arm so look for a more ball control approach than the Return of the Ol’ Gunslinger. So long as Favre sticks to the script the Vikes should have no trouble coming out on top.

Projected Final Score: Minnesota 23, Cleveland 17.


At Houston -4 NY Jets 43

Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans and the rest of the Texans’ defense will introduce Mark Sanchez to life in the NFL rather quickly on Sunday afternoon. The Jets have a good offensive line and running attack but have limited options through the air. Steve Slaton will look to exploit some holes in the Jets’ defense, but the Texans’ offensive effectiveness hinges on Matt Schaub and his ability to hook up with Andre Johnson. Schaub has better weapons with which to work and the Texans play well at home. It’ll be a long afternoon for the rookie quarterback.

Projected Final Score: Houston 27, NY Jets 20.

At Indianapolis -6.5 Jacksonville 44.5

The Jaguars open the season in Indy, seemingly going in as lambs to the slaughter. But they always find a way of giving Indy a tough game. Even though there has been a change in administration and a couple of personnel changes, pretty much everything’s the same in Indy. Manning has Wayne, Clark and Addai and the defense isn’t half bad. Coach Del Rio will bring the same old smashmouth approach that has been tried before with mixed degrees of success. Maurice Jones-Drew needs to have a big day for the Jags to succeed. The problem with the Jags is that their secondary is not too great. Look for Manning to light it up.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 27, Jacksonville 20

At New Orleans -11.5 Detroit 48.5

The new-look Lions travel to the Big Easy looking to reverse the utter disaster of 2008, but will have a tough time against the pass-happy Saints. Double-digit spreads are something we usually avoid like the plague, but outside of minor adjustments, the Lions didn’t do much to address their defensive liabilities during the off-season. The Saints’ Smith and Grant haven’t been suspended (yet), so it may have been a mistake to start Matthew Stafford. It may not be the most auspicious of maiden voyages for Coach Schwartz and the boys in Honolulu Blue.

Projected Final Score: New Orleans 35, Detroit 17.

Dallas -3 At Tampa Bay 40.5

The Cowboys travel to Raymond James to face the rebuilding Bucs, where everything’s new but the uniforms. Though Dallas are not world beaters, it’s hard to see how the Bucs will be able to compete with the Cowboys for 60 minutes, as Byron Leftwich doesn’t exactly strike fear in the hearts of NFL defenses. It’s simply going to be a long year for the Bucs, starting with this week’s drubbing.

Projected Final Score: Dallas 27, Tampa Bay 13.

At Arizona -6.5 San Francisco 47

The NFC Champs open at home to face Coach Singletary and his old school 49’ers. Talk about a contrast in styles: the ‘Niners are going to pound the ball with Gore and Coffee while Warner has the best fleet of wideouts in the NFL and the offense has also added Chris Wells at running back. It’s always hard for the Super Bowl loser to come back strong, so after last year’s magical run, the Cardinals may revert to their traditional form this year. The ‘Niners still have a long way to go but seem to be trending upward. The same can’t be said for the Cardinals.

Projected Final Score: San Francisco 24, Arizona 21.


At NY Giants -6 Washington 37.5

The G-Men open at home with a date against their ancient rivals from the DC. The Giants’ offense may not be as good as last year’s but the defense ought to make up for any deficiencies. It’s hard to see how Jason Campbell and the ‘Skins offense will be able to make much headway against one of the League’s premier defenses. Washington’s defensive front is undoubtedly stronger with Haynesworth and Orakpo’s debut should be worth watching but in the end Big Blue gets the job done.

Projected Final Score: NY Giants 23, Washington 20.

At Seattle -7.5 St. Louis 42.5

Coach Mora must be thrilled at the prospect of opening up against a team that’s basically rebuilding from the ground floor. So far, all of those injured Seahawks from last year appear to be ready to go and that spells bad news for Coach Spagnolo in his head coaching debut. The Rams have a few talented young players, but there are far too many holes for this team to be competitive this year.

Projected Final Score: Seattle 27, St, Louis 13.

At Green Bay -3.5 Chicago 44.5

It doesn’t get much better than a renewal of the NFL’s oldest rivalry at Lambeau on a Sunday night. The Pack ought to come out sky high for this one. Jay Cutler makes his debut against the new 3-4 base of the Pack. Even though the Pack had a rough season last year, there’s no doubt that Aaron Rodgers developed into a very good quarterback and he has a wealth of options at his disposal. He’ll need them as the Bears’ defense is going to be a tough nut to crack. The one key to this game will be the effectiveness of Matt Forte running the ball. If he’s successful that’ll open things up for Cutler, who’s still trying to establish some continuity with his receivers. This game just may be the best of the day, and in the end the emotion and support of the Lambeau Faithful propel the Pack to victory.

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 24, Chicago 20.