NFL

Strong Plays

Cardinals +1 @ NY Jets

The Jets showed on Monday night that Favre isn't capable of just dropping back and slinging the rock to victory. They also showed that teams can move the ball through the air on them. Factor in that they have one less day to prepare than the Cardinals, and this looks like a good spot to take the Cardinals for me. We know the Cards have a good passing attack. The forecast is for scattered thunderstorms, but little if any wind. Wind is my main concern for the Cards. No wind means I like them in this spot.

New Orleans -4.5 over San Francisco

I love the fact that this line has been dropping due to injuries for the Saints. Now down to 4.5 I like it even better. Don't be fooled by the records here, SF has played against weak competition, while it can be argued that the Saints have played the toughest 3 game schedule to open the season. The 49ers offensive line is a mess and even though they put up a bunch of points against Seattle, last week against the Lions was the first time in a long time they looked reasonable. It was the Lions at home though, not the Saints in on the road. Last time the 49ers played the Saints on the road it was Reggie Bush's coming out party his rookie season with 4 TDs. The Saints also need this win badly if they want to stay close in the division.

Tampa Bay -1 over Green Bay

Green Bay gave us a preview against Dallas. Aaron Rodgers gets a pretty good Cowboys defense at home and he didn't perform well enough to win. Now Rodgers goes against a stronger defense on the road. Also this is GB's first game without Al Harris. Forecast is for isolated thunderstorms which I feel favors Tampa. I know offensively Tampa looks like a much worse team than the Packers, but I think defense and special teams wins this for the Bucs.

Weak Leans

Broncos @ Chiefs: Tough one here. I know the Chiefs are bad, but laying 10 points in Arrowhead seems unheard of.

Browns @ Bengals: Gosh, flip a coin. Well not really. Both of these teams have looked terrible so far early. I would lean toward the Bengals at home, but there is no way I play it at -3.5. If I had to, I would buy the hook.

Atlanta @ Carolina: No way I take Atlanta on the road here against a reasonable defense. I don't think Turner will have the same success he did last week and in week 1. I think Carolina is going to dare Ryan to beat them. Delhomme and Smith should also be getting back into rhythm.

Vikings @ Titans: I need to see one more week from both of these QBs to get a feel for them. 2 pretty stinking good defenses though, under 36 maybe?

Bills @ Rams: Call me crazy, but if forced to play this game, I would take the 8 points. I don't have a real good reason for it, I just would.

Chargers @ Raiders: Tomlinson eats the Raiders up. But the Chargers go on the road off a serious beat down of the Jets. Is this a letdown game? Plus, teams with good running backs seem to get to the Chargers, are McFadden and Bush good enough to do that? I would take the points.

Washington @ Dallas: 11 points? Really, 11 points? How many times do you think coach Zorn has brought that up to Washington? It seems like a bit disrespectful to the Skins to have them as 11 point dogs. This could possibly be a repeat of the Philly game on Monday night. I can't believe the Skins are getting 11 points. Having made such a big deal about it, I am sure that the Cowboys will go out an win by 24, but the is no way I do anything but take the 11 points.