NFL Week 2 Preview

Patriots @ Jets, Sunday 1pm
Mike: The Pats need to prove they aren’t terrible. Simple enough? They need to pressure Sanchez. If the Pats can’t take care of a rookie QB then it could be a long year for them. Brady should improve each week coming back. Pick: Patriots
Evan: Belichick is stil angry with the Jets even though Mangini is gone, he’s that kind of person. Brady is not happy with his team’s performance, and his ego needs this game to be big so everyone can see he is back to true form. Pick: Patriots
Ahad: The Pats should have lost on Monday night. This team will come out angry and the fact they are going against a rookie qb should help the defense. Pick: Pats
Matt: The Jets were very impressive on the road last week, especially Mark Sanchez. The Patriots should have lost on Monday Night. I like the Jets defense to fare better than the Pats defense against the opposing offense, and thus I give them the edge in this game. Pick: Jets

Saints @ Eagles, Sunday 1pm
Mike: This is not the week to have McNabb under 100%. For the season as a whole, not a huge deal. For an early season look at how we stack up, big deal. Divisional games are good indicators, but those games are close even when teams are terrible. Whether it’s injured McNabb or Kolb, I don’t think it makes a huge difference. If the Eagles have a shot, Westbrook needs to make an appearance. I’m having trouble counting either of these teams first games. The Saints took care of the Lions, good for them. The Eagles didn’t look spectacular until Dellhomme decided he had enough success for the day and gave the game away. For the Eagles defense, we’ll get a good look. Can the safeties support our corners? Are the LBs any good at all? It should be a tremendous game, but will miss the needed healthy McNabb. Pick: Saints
Evan: If the Eagles are going to win, its going to be because Brees has an off day, the defense plays great, and the special teams puts up some points. What are the chances of all of that happening on the same Sunday? I say excellent! Pick: Eagles
Ahad: The Eagles could be in trouble for this game. The defense is going to have to win this one because the offense will struggle with Kolb at the helm. The only thing going for the Eagles is that the Saints defense is bad. Look for Reid to actually run the ball and try and control the clock. He can’t have Kolb looking bad in this game because it will only have the entire city calling for Vick next week. The defense and special teams will dominate this game. Pick: Eagles
Matt: I haven’t seen much of Kolb when he has played to think that he can consistently run their offense and put up points. I expect a heavy dose of Westbrook and McCoy on the ground. The real question is can the defense stop the Saints offense? They don’t have Jake “The Turnover Machine” Delhomme pitching the rock to them every other possession this week. If the Eagles can keep Brees and the O off the field by controlling the clock with the run game, I like them here. However, I am not 100 percent confident they can stop the Saints on offense. I think they put up just enough points. Pick: Saints

Seahawks @ 49ers, Sunday 4:05pm
Mike: Don’t jump on that 9ers bandwagon too quickly. The Hawks did take out the Rams 28-0. Too bad the Rams don’t play the Raiders this year to find out who is worse. The 9ers need to do a little more to prove themselves, but these two teams could be the battle for the NFC West. For now, Pick: Seahawks
Evan: This is like Michigan v. Notre Dame. In that instance the home team won. In this instance they won’t. Pick: Seahawks
Ahad: I am a big fan of Mike Singletary and the way he does things. Pick: 49ers
Matt: This ought to be a really good game. The Seahawks haven’t played well on the road the past few seasons, and San Fran was solid on both sides of the ball last week. It seems like they might be turning things around. Now, if they can just get Crabtree in uniform. Pick: 49ers

Ravens @ Chargers, Sunday 4:15pm
Mike: The Ravens may be slowly evolving to an offensive team. The Chargers are still learning how to play defense. The Ravens D should focus on the Chargers RBs and have the players to take care of Gates. What’s left? Vincent Jackson? Pick: Ravens
Evan: I like the Chargers as an AFC champ contender. I also like that it is in San Diego. Unfortunately defenses start out the year stronger than offense. If it were week 12 I’d go with the bolts. Pick: Ravens
Ahad: The Chargers are looking to prove they are legit AFC contenders. The Ravens struggled with a bad KC team last week. Chargers at home sound good to me. Pick: Chargers
Matt: Looks like LT is out for this game, which I actually think doesn’t matter all that much because of the presense of Sproles. The Ravens showed last week that they are better offensively and can put up some points, even if it was against the Chiefs. The Chargers struggled to get past the lowly Raiders. The Chargers typically start slow, and I think they go down here. Pick: Ravens

Giants @ Cowboys, Sunday 8:20pm
Mike: The Cowboys had some early trouble with Cadillac last week. Then everyone realized the Bucs aren’t very good and things went as expected. The Giants should be able to run the ball. The Giants should be able to stop the Cowboys passing game. Should. The Giants don’t have all the backs that they used to. I’m curious about a TO-less passing attack actually being better than TO-with. Still, they played the Bucs last week. Pick: Giants
Evan: What happened the last time the Cowboys played a huge game in Dallas? Oh yeah, they got thumped by the Eagles. Part of me feels like they have to start winning at some point, I just don’t think they have it all clicking yet. Pick: Giants
Ahad: This is the 10 official opening of the Cowboys new stadium. Enough already with the new stadium. The HD scoreboard is a nice touch, but the fact that is too low turns the entire thing into a joke. The Cowboys run defense was brutal last week and if that doesn’t change quickly this game won’t be close. Pick: Giants
Matt: Evan, if you are referring to last years season ending game, that was in Philadelphia, not Dallas. They gave up those two long touchdown runs against Baltimore to close out Texas Stadium, but they did dominate the Giants the week before that at home. I am excited for this game, mostly because it will be the first time I get to see the Cowboys play this year. Tony Romo is 4-0 against the Giants in the regular season and has put up some good numbers against them. The O-line just needs to give him time against a strong front seven. I think Felix Jones will be an X-factor in the game. He needs to get more touches for the offense to be successful against the aggressive Giants D. I am pretty concerned about the run defense, but hopefully they can get things shored up. If they don’t, it will be a long night. I think the Cowboys will play well enough to win though. Pick: Cowboys

Standings
Ahad 5-1
Evan 4-2
Matt 4-2
Mike 3-3