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The first week of the NFL regular season is in the books, and if there's one common theme heading into Week 2 its overreaction. For example, if you took everything we learned from Week 1 you would think the following things: The New York Jets are going to the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning is going to collect his fifth MVP Award, Robert Griffin III is going to win more Super Bowl titles than Andrew Luck and the Arizona Cardinals may put in a phone call for Brett Favre.
In reality, the odds of all those things happening are extremely slim -- but lets be real, if I gave you odds on Favre returning to Arizona you'd take them. Week 1 means nothing as its just another mark in the win or loss column.
And admit it, there was nothing really special about Week 1. There was an upset -- Washington Redskins over New Orleans Saints (something I called) -- but other than that nothing really stood out. And because of that I finished Week 1 with a 8-8 record with my NFL picks and predictions.
So, my advice to every picker out there entering Week 2 is: Don't overreact to Week 1, stick to your guns, learn from what very little that you could of learned and apply it to Week 2. Like I did below...
(All point spreads are opening lines provided by Oddshark.com.)
Chicago Bears (1-0) at Green Bay Packers (0-1) - Thurs., 8:20 p.m. on NFL Network
Point spread: Packers 4-point favorite
Pick: Packers 30, Bears 28
Prediction: In back-to-back weeks, 2011's regular season champions get tested at home. And to continue with the theme of overreaction, what happens when Green Bay goes 0-2 after two straight home games? Yeesh. I don't see it happening, but I do have Chicago covering the spread after it looked very good against the rebuilding Indianapolis Colts.
Oakland Raiders (0-1) at Miami Dolphins (0-1) - 1 p.m. on CBS
Point spread: Miami 3-point favorite
Pick: Raiders 24, Dolphins 10
Prediction: One of the biggest overreactions to Week 1 could be this line, as the Raiders did look awful in their loss to the Chargers but do we all really believe they're just 3-points better than the Dolphins, who got shelled by the Texans? Didn't think so.
Houston Texans (1-0) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) - 1 p.m. on CBS
Point spread: Texans 7-point favorite
Pick: Texans 30, Jaguars 17
Prediction: As mentioned above, the Texans looked dominant against an opponent that they should beat with ease. The same will be the case this week against the Jaguars.
Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) at Buffalo Bills (0-1) - 1 p.m. on CBS
Point spread: Bills 9-point favorite
Pick: Bills 40, Chiefs 21
Prediction: Another overreaction will be people's perception of Buffalo, which is much better than it showed last Sunday against the Jets. Its tough to go with a team that came out flat in Week 1, but this team has a lot of character and will respond with a big victory at home.
Cleveland Browns (0-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) - 1 p.m. on CBS
Point spread: Bengals 7-point favorite
Pick: Bengals 24, Browns 10
Prediction: Like the Bills, the Bengals should respond well in its home opener against a Browns team that gave the Eagles a run for their money. However, that was just Week 1 and we all really know how bad Cleveland really is.
Minnesota Vikings (1-0) at Indianapolis Colts (0-1) - 1 p.m. on CBS
Point spread: Vikings 5-point favorite
Pick: Vikings 21, Colts 13
Prediction: I was stunned how easily the Bears downed the Colts in Week 1, and I'd like to think Indy will respond against Minnesota. But I believe its going to take longer than I thought to recover from the Peyton Manning hangover.
Baltimore Ravens (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) - 1 p.m. on CBS
Point spread: Eagles 1-point favorite
Pick: Ravens 23, Eagles 21
Prediction: Philadelphia isn't physical enough to hang with Baltimore for four quarters. In the end, the Eagles take a beating and Ravens earn their second straight solid win.
New Orleans Saints (0-1) at Carolina Panthers (0-1) - 1 p.m. on FOX
Point spread: Saints 6-point favorite
Pick: Saints 35, Panthers 23
Prediction: For the second consecutive week New Orleans needs to play an up-and-coming star at quarterback. However, the results will not be the same as last week.
Arizona Cardinals (1-0) at New England Patriots (1-0) - 1 p.m. on FOX
Point spread: Patriots 13-point favorite
Pick: Patriots 35, Cardinals 10
Prediction: The Cardinals don't have a quarterback and the Patriots have a really, really good one.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) at New York Giants (0-1) - 1 p.m. on FOX
Point spread: Giants 9-point favorite
Pick: Giants 27, Buccaneers 17
Prediction: Tampa Bay and first-year head coach Greg Schiano pulled off one of the impressive upset in Week 1. Its going to be very tough to do that two weeks in a row.
Washington Redskins (1-0) at St. Louis Rams (0-1) - 4:05 p.m. on FOX
Point spread: Redskins 3-point favorite.
Pick: Redskins 20, Rams 19
Prediction: Robert Griffin III faces a tougher defense than the Saints, but in the end the Heisman Trophy winner makes enough plays for Washington to improve to 2-0. However, they don't cover the spread.
Dallas Cowboys (1-0) at Seattle Seahawks (0-1) - 4:05 p.m. on FOX
Point spread: Cowboys 5-point favorite.
Pick: Cowboys 24, Seahawks 17
Prediction: If there's one team that is capable of a Week 2 letdown its Dallas. But with a few extra days to prepare for a rookie starting quarterback, I think the Cowboys can pull this one off and cover.
Tennessee Titans (0-1) at San Diego Chargers (1-0) - 4:25 p.m. on CBS
Point spread: Chargers 7-point favorite
Pick: Chargers 30, Titans 24
Prediction: I am a Jake Locker fan, but he struggled against a rebuilding Patriots defense. Why will that change in Week 2?
New York Jets (1-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1) - 4:25 p.m. on CBS
Point spread: Steelers 6 1/2-point favorite
Pick: Steelers 17, Jets 16
Prediction: The Jets offense come back to reality, but they will be good enough to cover the spread.
Detroit Lions (1-0) at San Francisco 49ers (1-0) - 8:20 p.m. on NBC
Point spread: 49ers 7-point favorite
Pick: 49ers 27, Lions 19
Prediction: A perfect Week 2 match up that pits a good offense against a good defense. And, usually in these battles the defense wins.
Denver Broncos (1-0) at Atlanta Falcons (1-0) - Mon., 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
Point spread: Falcons 3 1/2-point favorite
Pick: Broncos 24, Falcons 21
Prediction: This is going to be a very good Monday Night Football game. However, Manning continues to roll and shows the young Matt Ryan that he's not ready to pass any torch just yet.
Last week's record: 8-8. Season record: 8-8.