The Lebanon Express Blog

Last week: 12-4 (12-4 overall)

I really need to invest in cable television. Right now I have four channels – ABC, NBC, FOX and a Portland channel (PDX?) – and only two of those have football games.

I don’t have CBS, which has one or two games each Sunday and I don’t have ESPN, which has the Monday night game.

And in order to get the picture just right (or as good as it will get), I have to mess with the antenna for a couple of minutes. In the age of high-definition, 50-inch flat screen TV’s, my means of watching football is ancient.

Whatever. I went 12-4 with my picks last week, so I’ll deal with it for now.

Here’s my can’t-miss picks for week two.

Sunday

Panthers at Falcons: The addition of Tony Gonzalez makes an already-good Atlanta team even better. But even though Jake Delhomme is playing really, really poorly, Carolina has a solid defense and they can run the ball. I’ll take Atlanta, but I’m not really confident about it.

Vikings at Lions: Detroit is going to win this year, aren’t they? They can’t go winless two years in a row, right? The way they looked last week against New Orleans, it might just be a possibility. Minnesota will win easily.

Bengals at Packers: Green Bay’s offense is ridiculous even if it didn’t show it Sunday against Chicago. The Packers were this close from making about five huge plays. I think they’ll convert on at least a couple of those against Cincinnati. I’ll take the Packers.

Texans at Titans: My heart wants me to take Houston but the right pick here is Tennessee. The Texans couldn’t do much of anything against the Jets last week and they struggle playing away from home. Plus the Titans have had a couple of extra days to prepare, so they’re my pick.

Raiders at Chiefs: Oakland played well against San Diego on Monday. I think Darren McFadden is on his way to becoming a star. I’ll take the Raiders in this one.

Patriots at Jets: Expect me to take New England in just about every game they play. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is close. Pats will win.

Saints at Eagles: This one, along with the Cowboys-Giants, are the games of the week, . The Eagles, even without Donavon McNabb, are a really, really good team. Will they be able to contain the Saints offense? I’ll say no, and go with New Orleans in this one.

Rams at Redskins: St. Louis looked bad against Seattle. I think a lot of it had to do with the Seahawks’ great home-field advantage. Either way, I can’t pick the Rams on the road. I’ll go with Washington.

Cardinals at Jaguars: Arizona doesn’t seem to have the same magic they had last year. There’s a little bit of uncertainty on the offensive side of the ball. I have to think they’ll rebound. I’ll take Arizona on the road against Jacksonville.

Seahawks at 49ers: This one should be close. Seattle looked good at home against the Rams, but San Francisco also looked good against Arizona. I’ll be rooting for Seattle, so they’re my pick.

Buccaneers at Bills: Buffalo played really well against New England and they really should have won that game. I think they’ll use whatever momentum they gained and beat Tampa Bay.

Steelers at Bears: Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler has promised he’ll play better than he did against Green Bay on Sunday night. That shouldn’t be hard. Cutler played as poor a game a quarterback could play. Pittsburgh will be without Troy Polamalu on defense, which is a huge loss. That being said, I still like the Steelers, but it really could go either way.

Ravens at Chargers: This is another good game. Baltimore is solid all the way around, but I’ll take San Diego. It should be close, though.

Browns at Broncos: Wow, this is a terrible game. The Browns are pathetic on offense as are the Broncos. I’ll take Denver, just because they’re home.

Giants at Cowboys: I’m excited for this one. It’s the Sunday night game, so I’ll be guaranteed a chance to watch this. I have to go with Dallas again, just because it’s the Cowboys’ home-opener in their brand-new stadium. It should be a loud, exciting game to watch.

(On a side note, this game has a TON of fantasy football implications for me. Romo, Barber, Witten, Jacobs and the Giants kicker will all have an impact on whether I win or lose. Should be exciting.)

Monday

Colts at Dolphins: Indianapolis just isn’t the same team they were a couple of years ago. They’re still pretty dang good though. I’ll take Indy against Miami.

So there it is people. I sure do love football!

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