Games of WEEK 01

You got to love a game that starts after 9pm cst, that's 10pm on the east coast. Heck, if it goes into overtime it could go on past 2am. What a time for NFL football! They should do this every week. We wonder if new head coach Dennis Allen and his young staff will have the Raiders ready to begin the season this year. At least they get the opener at home against a team they have beaten in the recent past, although they lost their last game there against these Chargers at the end of last season. The Raiders have had a full offseason now with Carson Palmer at QB so he won't have to carry the playbook into the huddle. The Chargers still have some great names on offense but they were hardly consistent last year. We can't help but feel the home field is a good thing to have with two inconsistent teams. It's a good thing we're still betting our minimum but a little luck wouldn't hurt.

Raiders -1 N/A Computer Projection MISS: Chargers 22 Raiders 14

Again, there's nothing scientific to go on here. Unscientifically, we can say you shouldn't bet against Peyton Manning. We can also say that Pittsburgh had the best pass defense in the league last year, and Denver had real troubles protecting the passer. It's weird to say that Tebow had something that Manning (perhaps the most offensive player ever) didn't, but mobility is IT. In any event, this Total is a couple of points higher than last year's average game Total. We don't really expect that much scoring with the Steelers historically strong D and Denver's better than average defense at home. We're really just expecting one or both teams to be a little out of sync for the first game of the year - as New York was Wednesday. It will be a nice night up in that thin air in Denver. Last season, Pittsburgh's starting Safety Ryan Clark sat out the game because of his sickle cell trait. This year he'll do the same, but we expect the Steelers to actually replace him this time. Let's call it another minimum play on the UNDER as we wait for the system to kick in.

UNDER 46 N/A Computer Projection MISS: Broncos 31 Steelers 19

We don't like to rely too much on the series history - even recent series history - but that no-show in the last game of the season by Dallas, with a playoff spot on the line was impressive. All the familiar faces are returning, including the coaches and QBs and including the Dallas Cowboys travel staff. That alone would tilt us toward the Giants, but it's not all we have to go on. The Cowboy's have a very good running game and in the past the Giants have been vulnerable to the run, but the Giants didn't show that weakness in last season's playoffs. It looks like Coughlin and co. decided to shut down the run going into the postseason and they did it. With a whole offseason to address the run D, you have to figure Coughlin will have the Giants ready to go. Pass D is a little different. We don't think either team will be markedly different. It could be a battle of the airways between Romo and Manning. Make no mistake, we like both of these QBs. Romo can take advantage of a slow reacting secondary. He can nail those curls and down-and-outs with the best of them. Eli Manning is a little different. He gets the defenders leaning one way and throws it the other way. In the first game against Dallas last year, it seemed like time and again he'd hit a crossing pattern with all 11 Cowboys chasing the receiver. We checked the weather and it does look like rain but there doesn't appear to be the strong winds that ground a football team. If there were 20+ mph winds we might change our pick, but with a forecast of 5-8 mph winds we think we're good to go. Now for our general disclaimer: It's the start of the season, we don't have any data for these teams, this isn't a scientific opinion. We'll go full science after WEEK 03. For these first few weeks, we fly by the seat of our pants.

Giants -4 N/A Computer Projection MISS: Cowboys 24 Giants 17

Good Luck Everyone!