The Lebanon Express Blog

Last week: 10-4 (53-23 overall)

It’s the year of the throwback jerseys. I love them, even the striped socks the Denver Broncos wore, which got a lot of negative feedback.

Even the refs got into it!

To me, the oddest thing about last week’s Patriots-Broncos game was the outcome. It’s obvious New England isn’t the team everyone expected them to be. They still have time to get to that point, but right now, they should be considered average.

That being said, I have no idea how Denver has won its first five games.

The Broncos strange year started in the off-season, when new coach Josh McDaniel traded star quarterback Jay Cutler to the Bears for Kyle Orton.

Cutler’s 2008 stats: 25 touchdowns, 4,526 yards and 62.3 passing percentage.

Orton’s 2008 stats: 18 touchdowns, 2,972 yards and 58.5 passing percentage.

It’s easy to see why the Cutler-Orton trade wasn’t well-received by the Denver fans.

Throughout the entire preseason, receiver Brandon Marshall, who has the skills to be one of the best wideouts in the game, was unhappy with his contract situation and asked to be traded.

When he wasn’t offered a new contract and wasn’t traded, he was such a bad teammate in practice that McDaniel suspended him for the remaining preseason games.

Through the first four games, Eddie Royal, last year’s surprise star, had 8 receptions for 58 yards and no touchdowns.

But somehow, Orton and Marshall are playing well and the Broncos are 5-0. It goes against all convential logic.

This kind of thing is exactly what makes picking the winners of NFL games so difficult. There’s really no telling who is going to win. Anything can happen.

So I’ll take a 10-4 week like one I had last week.

Sunday

Texans at Bengals: Cincinnati is another one of those teams that I just don’t believe in. They’re 4-1 and somehow beat the Ravens last week. I have to go with the them at home against Houston, which doesn’t play well on the road.

Lions at Packers: This one should be pretty lopsided, although I don’t think Detroit is as bad as most people think. Green Bay is coming off a bye week, though, so they should handle the Lions with ease.

Ravens at Vikings: Great game. Minnesota, of course, is my pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. This should be a good test for them. I’ll take the undefeated Vikings because they’re at home.

Giants at Saints: This is the game of the week. The 5-0 Giants are coming off a thorough spanking of the lowly Oakland Raiders and the 4-0 Saints are coming off rest and relaxation (bye week). This one isn’t going to be on TV in this area, and that’s really disappointing. I’ll take New Orleans in a close one.

Browns at Steelers: Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson (Oregon State alum), was 2-of-17 passing for 23 yards and an interception last week against Buffalo. That could go down as one of the most pathetic performances of all-time. Pittsburgh is the pick, and it’s a pretty easy one.

Panthers at Buccaneers: This game sucks, there’s no other way to put it. Tampa Bay is embarrassing, as is Carolina. I’m going to go with the Panthers in this one because of their running game, but who knows. Both teams are equally crappy.

Chiefs at Redskins: This is another game that won’t matter to anybody but Kansas City fans and Washington fans. And even that’s a stretch. I’ll go with the Redskins because they’re at home.

Rams at Jaguars: St. Louis is now being considered the worst team in the NFL by many, many people. So why do I think the Rams will win? This is ridiculous. They’re 10-point underdogs. I’ll make this my upset pick of the week, maybe the season. I’ll go with St. Louis.

Cardinals at Seahawks: Seattle played better than they have in years last week. I guess quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is just that important to the Seahawks’ offense. I’ll go with Seattle because of that home-field advantage.

Eagles at Raiders: I’m going with Philadelphia. That’s it.

Titans at Patriots: I think New England will bounce back after falling to the surprising Broncos last week. (By the way, I still don’t think Denver is as good as its record shows.) Pats will win.

Bills at Jets: New York’s offense played really well against Miami on Monday Night, but it’s defense, which is supposed to be the heart and soul of its team, played poorly. I guess I’ll pick the Jets in this one. I guess.

Bears at Falcons: I like this game. Chicago is starting to turn it on, and the Falcons obviously have a rock-solid team. Give me the Falcons at home.

Monday

Broncos at Chargers: For some reason, I always have a hard time picking games involving San Diego. They’re just so inconsistent. I’ll take the Chargers at home to beat the overrated Broncos.

Take these picks to the bank! (Or Vegas)

On a side note, my fantasy football team is 5-0, which is awesome. I like football.

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