NFL Picks: Week 1

It’s a great day! Today is the first day of the National Football League season, as the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers host the Miami Dolphins.

Below are my picks for Week 1. All picks are straight up, with no point spreads.

Thursday:
Miami at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh, though the Dolphins should be much improved.

Sunday:
Philadelphia at Houston: Yuck. Even with a new coach, I don’t trust the Texans. Philly in this one.
Seattle at Detroit: The Seahawks return to the site of their Super Bowl debacle. Detroit has a new coaching staff, a new QB, and maybe a new attitude. I’ll go with the known quantity here, and take Seattle.
Atlanta at Carolina: The Panthers are the pick of many to go to the Super Bowl. They look pretty good to me for one week, at least. Carolina.
Baltimore at Tampa Bay: Steve McNair is the new QB in Baltimore. The Bucs are pretty good again. I’ll take the home field and the Bucs.
Buffalo at New England. The Pats may not be back in the Super Bowl this year, but the Bills are going to be awful. This is my pick in Survival Football for this week, and I’ll pick the Pats here, also.
Cincinnati at Kansas City: This will be a good game. I don’t know the over/under, but the over would would be a good bet here for a betting person. As for a winner, I’ll take the Bengals.
Denver at St. Louis: This would have been a great game in 1999. In 2006, I’ll take Denver.
New Orleans at Cleveland: Yuck, Part 2. It’s a good thing it is really hard for an NFL game to end in a scoreless tie. The Saints added some talent this year, and Cleveland’s not very good. I’ll pick the Saints.
New York Jets at Tennessee: Yuck, Part 3. I’ll draw straws on this one. Titans.
Chicago at Green Bay. Will the Pack be back? Not this week. The Bears win on the road.
Dallas at Jacksonville: The Jags are still pretty decent. The Cowboys will be improved. I won’t pick the Cowboys every week, but I’ll pick them this week. It’s Super Bowl or Bust for Big Bill.
San Francisco at Arizona: The new stadium officially opens in Glendale, and the Cardinals have the perfect opponent: the sorry 49ers. Pick-Arizona.
Indianapolis at NY Giants: The Manning Bowl. Indy lost Edgerrin James in the off-season, which will be bigger than anyone realizes. This game is outdoors in the Jersey swamps, and for one night, Eli will have his brother’s number. Actually, Tiki Barber will carry the Giants. Pick: Giants.

Monday:
Minnesota at Washington: The first game of the first scheduled Monday night doubleheader. The Redskins had a good year last year, and should be decent again. Pick: Washington.
San Diego at Oakland: I’m not staying up for all of this one. Not for the Raiders. The Chargers will be decent, and the Raiders will not. L.T. will run all over Oakland. Pick: San Diego.