NFL Week Two Games

John Morgan

Sep 16, 2012 at 12:05am ET

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Arizona Cardinals at New England Patriots, 1:00
Read more on this game here.
Patriots -13½; under 48½

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants, 1:00
The Giants are not going to go 0-2 at home. The NYG secondary struggled last week but the Bucs' receivers are not as good as the Cowboys'.
Giants -6½ (2 units), under 44

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Minnesota Vikings at Indianapolis Colts, 1:00
Completing only 50% of your passes and a 1:3 TD to INT ratio is not going to win any games, which is what Luck had for the Colts last week. Dwight Freeney is out with a high ankle sprain while surprisingly Adrian Peterson is indeed fully recovered and 100%. Vikings fans would love to be able to claim they are the best team in the NFL with their 2-0 record; enjoy it while it lasts.
Vikings +2½ (1 unit), under 45½ (1 unit)

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New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers, 1:00
A lot of people are down on the saints but after rewatching that game, I noticed about ten drops by New Orleans' receivers, including one that would have gone for a touchdown by the usually reliable Marques Colston. I don't expect that to happen again, and I still think people are overlooking how bad the Panthers defense is in their rush to gush over Cam Newton.
Saints -2½, over 51½ (1 unit)

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Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills, 1:00
The Chiefs' pass rush gets a boost with the return of Tamba Hali, which should lead to another pick or two thrown by Ryan Fitzpatrick. I would have a lot more confidence in the Chiefs if they were playing at home, but I still think they will win - leaving the off-season champs at 0-2.
Chiefs +3, over 44½

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Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles, 1:00
Even though both DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are banged up, i like the eagles. Andy Reid will remember he has LeSean McCoy, the offense will be revved up after hearing about how bad they were against the Browns last week, and Baltimore might get caught looking ahead to next week's game against the Patriots after reading all the praise heaped upon them for their week one victory over the Bengals.
Eagles -2½, under 46½ (1 unit)

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Oakland Raiders at Miami Dolphins, 1:00
I would like Oakland - they should have beaten the Chargers last week, if not for the long snapper - except for the fact this is a west coast team traveling across three time zones to play an early game.
Dolphins +1½, over 41 (3 units)

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Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals, 1:00
I don't believe the Browns are as good as the final score of their week one game would lead you to believe they are, nor are the Bengals as bad as their week one score would indicate.
Bengals -6½ (3 units), under 41½

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Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1:00
So am I supposed to believe that the Jags are actually a pretty good team because they almost beat Minnesota? Their best chance is to hope the Texans have a letdown and look past them.
Texans -7 (2 units), under 42½ (2 units)

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Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05
Seattle has a very good defense, plays well at home, and tends to play up to its competition. Dallas had five false starts last week, including three by LT Tyron Smith; what's going to happen when they play in the loudest stadium in the NFL?
Seahawks +3½ (2 units), over 42

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Washington Redskins at St. Louis Rams, 4:05
The Rams played pretty well last week and I wouldn't be surprised if washington has a bit of a letdown after their big win last week against the Saints.
Rams +3½, over 44

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New Jersey Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers, 4:25
I don't see the Jets as being a team that handles success very well. The Steelers on the other hand will have a fired up crowd supporting them for their hope opener, Ryan Clark returning, and a chip on their shoulder with the prospect of their critics being right should they start out 0-2. The Jets are without Darrelle Revis, making the prospect of covering both Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace much more difficult.
Steelers -5 (1 unit), under 43

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Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers, 4:25
The Chargers escpaed with a win they didn't really deserve last week, and Tennessee probably can't play much worse than they did in week one. On the other hand the Chargers get good news on Ryan Mathews while the Titans have to make a long trip to the west coast. I think Tennessee will at least keep it close.
Titans +7 (1 unit), under 44½

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Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday Night
The 49ers are on a 8-1-1 streak ATS; I believe more in their offense than the Lions defense, especially with Detroit playing on the road.
49ers -6½ (3 units), under 46½

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Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons, Monday Night
While everybody is expecting a shootout between Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan, look for both teams to try to rest their defenses and control the tempo with their running games.
Falcons -3, under 52½ (2 units)

2-Team Teaser:
Bengals (even) over Browns and Texans (even) over Jaguars
5 Units

3-Team Teaser:
Bengals (even) over Browns, Texans (even) over Jaguars and 49ers (+½) over Lions
2 Units

Last week was a tough one for prognosticating, as I was brutaly reminded how difficult it is to predict games early in an NFL season. 3-13 against the spread? A blind man flipping a coin should be expected to go 8-8! Fortunately I was bailed out by the game that I had the most confidence in (Texans at home against Miami), covering an 11½ spread with ease. Other than that I was off in a big way with the Raiders, Saints, Bills and Lions. As bad as I was straight up (never mind against the spread) I was at least okay on total points scored. Here are the week one results.

Straight Up: 8-8
Against The Spread: 3-13
Over/Under: 10-6
1 Unit Plays: 2-2
2 Unit Plays: 2-2
3 Unit Plays: 3-2
4 Unit Plays: 0-1
5 Unit Plays: 1-0
Total: 8-7 in Confidence Picks
+ 240