Week Four

Owning Up


This section is dedicated to owning up to my mistakes last week.

As much as I hate to say it, the Dallas Cowboys proved me wrong. After ranting about how terrible the Cowboys were, they went out and handed the Houston Texans a crushing defeat, 27-13. Tony Romo threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns. So much for my prediction. Does that change my opinion on the Cowboys? Absolutely not. As cliche as this is, even a blind squirrel finds a nut.

Predictions

My record for last week was 9-7. I am proud to say that I picked the Seattle Seahawks to defeat the San Diego Chargers and they came through for me. O happy day. Here's what I have this week:

Falcons over 49ers The Niners are not living up to the high expectations this year as they find themselves at 0-3. Look for their struggles to continue this week. 24-13


Jets over Bills Although the Bills had quite an impressive performance on the scoreboard against the Patriots last week, their quarterback issues are worrisome (the team released Trent Edwards). We shall see how Ryan Fitzpatrick can handle the team, however, they will lose this week to a hot Jets team. 28-14


Bengals over Browns Quarterback Carson Palmer has not been very impressive in the Bengals' victories (nor in the loss for that matter), so this is his chance to prove himself against a weak Browns squad. I still expect Peyton Hillis to have a stellar game against the Bengals, but Cincinnati will eek out a victory against their in-state foes. 20-17


Packers over Lions After a heartbreaker last week, the Packers are looking to get back on track this week against division rivals, the Detroit Lions. Aaron Rodgers will have his best performance to date. 42-10


Broncos over Titans This could be the most interesting matchup of the day. Both the Broncos and Titans will fly under the radar this year, but still impress. This is a close one...very close. 21-20


Seahawks over Rams After the Rams shocked the Redskins and the Seahawks shocked the Chargers last week, this game will probably lack the same shock value. I see the Seahawks advancing to 3-1 after this one. 24-17


Saints over Panthers Bad luck plagued the Saints last week as kicker Garrett Hartley missed a short field goal that would have won the game in overtime. However, even bad luck could not keep the Saints from handling the Panthers. 31-7


Ravens over Steelers Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch proved me wrong last week as he hooked up big-time with Mike Wallace for a pair of scores (as he sat on my fantasy bench). However, I feel this game will be a battle of great defenses. Only field goals for this one. 9-6


Texans over Raiders Look for the Matt Schaub and the Texans to get back on track this week. 32-14


Colts over Jaguars Peyton Manning is having one of his best seasons in a while. He is simply playing lights out. Look for it to continue this week. 42-7


Eagles over Redskins Donovan McNabb returns to Philly this week to see the man who unexpectedly took his job, Michael Vick. I give the advantage to the Eagles with Vick playing like the Vick of old. 20-14


Chargers over Cardinals Don't look for another upset of the Chargers this week. Leon Washington made big special teams plays for the Seahawks to defeat the Bolts last week. The Cardinals don't have that same kind of playmaker. 28-14


Bears over Giants Who would have guessed that after a dismal season from Jay Cutler and Matt Forte that the Bears would be 3-0 to start 2010? "Not I," said the fly. Still, Cutler looks to have his game back and Forte has a new dynamic as a receiver out of the backfield. Bears take it. 24-14


Dolphins over Patriots UPSET ALERT! Chad Henne had the Dolphins offense rolling last week against the Jets, hooking up frequently with Brandon Marshall and Brian Hartline. Watch for the Dolphins to shock the Patriots this week. 27-24

Cowboys Bucked

Did anyone else notice the predictions for the Dallas Cowboys this year? "Experts" predicted the Cowboys would be simply amazing this year. Rodney Harrison (Football Night In America) said on the Dan Patrick Show that the Cowboys would be the team to beat in the NFC this year...what?

Since when did the Cowboys become an elite team? The Cowboys have won one playoff game since 1996 and Tony Romo has yet to prove, at least to me, that he is an elite quarterback (especially in the playoffs; we all remember him falling short of the endzone after dropping the hold) as many have tagged him. Has he had good numbers? Yes. Over his career as a starter, Romo has amassed 15405 yards and tossed 107 touchdowns, and two of those years he passed for over 4000 yards. But, still, the stat that is most hindering to Romo's name is his one measly playoff win.

Numbers alone, however, cannot win games. And apparently neither can Tony Romo. Romo lacks the qualities of a good leader. That is what every team needs at the quarterback position: a good leader. Romo is not that guy. Coach Wade Phillips, isn't that guy either. He's too soft at the head coach position.

The Dallas Cowboys do not possess much talent outside of DeMarcus Ware. It is undeniable that Ware is one of the best defenders in the NFL and has been for the past few years. However, they just do not have enough around him on defense. I have already addressed the offensive woes with Romo and a deflated running game. What happened to the three-headed monster they had last year with Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice? It seems that that dimension of their offense has disappeared.

The 'Boys will go up a formidable opponent this week in Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans in Houston. The road does not get any easier after that as they travel back home to face Chris "CJ2K" Johnson and the Tennessee Titans, followed by Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. We will see how many "experts" jump off the Cowboys' bandwagon if they continue to lose in these next few weeks.

Predictions for Week 3:

Chiefs over 49ers - The Chiefs are playing extremely well right now and the Niners have not lived up to expectations so far this year. However, they had a good showing against New Orleans. This will be a close one. 17-14


Patriots over Bills - This is an easy pick. Patriots trounce the Bills like many others have done and will do this season. 35-7


Saints over Falcons - After demolishing the Cardinals last week, the Falcons are issued a wake-up call against Drew Brees and the Saints. 21-10


Buccaneers over Steelers - With Charlie Batch at quarterback, the Steelers just will not have the offense. Bucs squeeze out their third consecutive win by a few field goals. 13-7


Giants over Titans The Titans struggled last week against a tough Steelers defense. No team with quarterback questions can ever be expected to do great things. Giants take this one. 27-17


Vikings over Lions - Brett Favre will finally get it going this weekend. Also expect a big week from Adrian Peterson. 20-10


Ravens over Browns - The Ravens bounce back against a likely Seneca Wallace-led Browns team. Look for Ray Rice to settle in. 21-7


Bengals over Panthers - The Bengals coming off a big win at the foot of Mike Nugent will get the offense going this weekend against the Panthers defense. Plus, Jimmy Clausen making his first career start doesn't bode well for Carolina. 28-13


Texans over Cowboys - The Texans will take advantage of playmaker Kevin Walter if Andre Johnson is forced to sit. If Johnson plays, he is still Andre Johnson. Cowboys fall...again. 17-10


Redskins over Rams - The Rams are still the Rams and Donovan McNabb should light the scoreboard up. 27-7


Eagles over Jaguars - Michael Vick will show exactly why he won the starting job with another big win. 20-10


Seahawks over Chargers - This is a stretch, but I couldn't go without picking at least one upset. With Ryan Mathews likely out this Sunday, the Seahawks may be able to shut down at least part of the Chargers offense. If they can win, it will be close. 13-10


Raiders over Cardinals - The Cardinals just will not be able to win with Derek Anderson. The Raiders will surprise and take this one to the bank. 14-7


Colts over Broncos - Peyton Manning is playing lights out so far this season. Joseph Addai should also be good to go this week and the Colts will get back on a streak after that Week 1 loss to the Texans. 35-10


Jets over Dolphins - If the Jets' offense is able to execute as well as they did last week against the Pats, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Imagine what they could do when Santonio Holmes gets back from suspension in Week 5. 24-14


Packers over Bears - Although Jay Cutler and da Bears were impressive against the Vikings, it won't be enough this week against a much better Packers team. Look for Aaron Rodgers and the Packer offense to put points on the board and lots of them. 42-28

Sanuk Mystery Box

The contents of the Sanuk Mystery Box are revealed!

Song: "Pop Rocks" - Fight Fair