This Week's Picks

For the second year in a row, the guys in my office are doing a little football picks pool. No money, just pride--and maybe a few beers--at stake at the end of the season. 

Still, we're all competitive bastards, so the thing was a riot last season. 

My Week One Picks:

1. Baltimore (+7.5) at Denver. First off, the Super Bowl champs are getting points?  More than a touchdown?!  That's crazy. I mean, I don't think they're gonna repeat or anything, but they'll certainly play better than that in the first game of the season. 

Also: I'm picking this as the year that Peyton Manning's game really starts to degrade. He's not a young guy, and no one really talks about him being the best in the game anymore. That trend rarely reverses. 

2.  Titans (+7.5) at Pittsburgh. Ross Tucker picked the Titans as the second worst team in the NFL this year in his first Power Rankings this week, but all the actual Titans fans I know seem to think the team is better than anyone has realized. Here's hoping that's true, and they can surprise the Steelers in the first game of the season. Guess we'll see. 

This pick at least gives me an excuse to go to one of the local bars and actually watch the game. 

3.  Washington (-3) at Philadelphia. Philly's getting points at home, but their defense is supposed to be terrible, and I'm not a believer in Mike Vick. Meanwhile, Washington is a good team, and if I don't necessarily think RG3 can make it through the whole season healthy, I do think he'll survive at least one game. 

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So those are my picks. Your thoughts?