NFL Pregame Sunday Pep Talk

What’s up everyone.  We kick off the first Sunday of the NFL this season.  I tend to advise people to not wager too much on the first 3 weeks of football since you never know what’s going to happen.  There will definitely be a few surprises.

It was already crazy week in college football.  I capitalized on Brandon’s picks of Wake Forest and Auburn, but took what I would consider a bad beat on the Michigan game, and ended up short with USC.  ND should have not only won that game, but should have covered, and did cover with 2 minutes left.  Bad penalties, giving up a kickoff return, and a missed FG cost them that one.  In the OSU game, the OSU front 7 stepped up for them and shut down USC’s run.  OSU’s front 7 was their Achilles heel in the Navy game.  USC didn’t really use Joe McKnight until the 2nd half either.  USC also was struggling with starting field position the entire game since they had to start several drives within their own 10 yard line.  That forced them into a lot of punting situations.  If they got to start more drives between the 20-40, I have a feeling they would have put a lot more points on the board.

Today in the NFL, there aren’t really any games that I love.  I do like the Minnesota Vikings over the Browns, but this has trap game written all over it.  It’s like the sports books are begging you to take the Vikings and that’s who the public is riding hard.  A lot of people think the Browns will be returning to their 2007 form when they were 10-6.  I am not one of those people.  They may have made some improvements on defense, but I’m not a believer until I see otherwise.  I still think their run defense is vulnerable and Peterson is poised for a huge day.

All the games this week are tough.  There aren’t any easy wins.  I also like Atlanta, but expect a tight game.  I’m also putting a little something on my Eagles.

If you’re trying to debate which games you pick, check out this page.  CBS sports analysts pick all the games against the spread.  Most of the games are split 50/50 — there’s really no 1 game that stands out as a lock against the spread.  The strongest game based on their picks is the Colts -7 over the Jaguars — 5/6 of their staff members like the Colts against the spread.

You could read my full analysis of every game on tap here.

Good luck everyone!