Week 3 Preview

This is probably the first year in a long time where there are no surprisingly disappointing and desperate 0-2 teams. We also haven’t had a top team lose to a bad team. There are a lot of great games to pay attention to this week.

Key Matchups:
1. Eagles vs. Giants, early game on FOX: This is the first meeting since that heartbreaking game last year when the Giants blew the big league and punter Matt Dodge kicked it right to DeSean Jackson on the last play. Had he kicked it out of bounds instead then the Giants would have been in the playoffs and the Eagles would have had an early vacation. The Giants are banged up but might be getting some guys back. Michael Vick is coming off a concussion but it’s looking likely that he he’ll play. This is the toughest game of the week to pick a winner.
2. Saints vs. Texans, early game on CBS: This looks like potentially the most entertaining game of the weekend. 2-0 Texans looking to make a statement at one of the league’s toughest road spots.
3. Bears vs. Packers, 4pm game on FOX: a rematch of the NFC Championship game where Cutler was knocked out of the game and the Packers pulled away.
4. Bills vs. Patriots early game on CBS (for some reason this matchup of local teams is being replaced on TV with bull riding and paid programming. I hope that gets fixed). A divisional game of two 2-0 teams.
5. Cowboys vs. Redskins, Monday Night Football: One of the league’s biggest and longest rivalries. The Cowboys are really banged up while the Redskins are pretty healthy.

Upset Alert:
Raiders over Jets
Bears over Packers

Stone Cold Picks:
(last week 3-1, to date 4-4)
- Panthers over Jaguars. Cam Newton looking for his first win against another rookie quarterback making his first NFL start.
- Raiders over Jets. Raiders look like a solid team that can run the ball very well. For the Jets, Mark Sanchez is sore, their Pro Bowl center is out, and they are going cross country after a blowout win (trap game).
- Redskins over Cowboys: If Romo plays he will probably not be very effective. The Cowboys starting running back and both starting receivers are hurt. The Redskins have a pretty good passing attack right now with Rex Grossman and the Cowboys secondary is weak.
- Dolphins over Browns: Chad Henne and Miami get their first win of the year on the road, and I expect a blowout.

The Rest of the Games:
(last week 9-3, to date 16-8)
- 49ers over Bengals
- Lions over Vikings
- Titans over Broncos
- Eagles over Giants
- Saints over Texans
- Patriots over Bills
- Ravens over Rams
- Chargers over Chiefs (Eliminator Lock)
- Bears over Packers
- Cardinals over Seahawks
- Buccaneers over Falcons
- Steelers over Colts