Eric's Week 1 Locks

Eric's Record ATS (0-1)

Eric's Locks ATS (0--0)


LOCK

Washington (-7.5) @ New Orleans

There’s a lot to like about this Redskins team.  They finally have their quarterback, they boast a stable of running backs (a Shanahan trademark), and found a few new receivers via free agency.  Ryan Kerrigan and Bryan Orakpo bookend a stout defensive front that’s sure to give any opposing team all they can handle.  The secondary is Washington’s Achilles’heel.  Injuries, drug suspensions, and DeAngelo Washington have taken their toll.  In a similar vein to the Giants, Washington will work to generate a pass rush to help cover deficiencies in the secondary.  Seemingly, their weakness plays right into New Orleans’ strength.  However, I’m not sold on New Orleans quite yet.    I have no doubt in Drew Brees but when you lose so much continuity in your human capital you will experience some regression.  In time, the Saints will adjust but week 1 with no film on a dynamic player like RGIII spells trouble.  New Orleans pulls out the win, but it will not come easy.

Washington 24  New Orleans 30


LOCK

Buffalo -3 @  New York Jets

I know the preseason is a joke.  I know Tim Tebow is a winner.  I know Buffalo over paid for Mario Williams.  I know there’s alot of reason to believe the Bills are overrated and the Jets were playing possum throughout the preseason.  Despite this knowledge, I think this games goes south quickly for New York followed by an ensuing panic.  It feels as though the Jets are grasping for straws.  New York pinned their offensive hopes to a gimmicky passé fad. Regardless of what people think of Tebow as a quarterback, his signing undermines Mark Sanchez’s role as the team leader and certainly did nothing to aid his confidence.  Defensively, New York remains about the same only a year older.  Perhaps desperate times call for desperate measures and if things do go south, this team’s only value will be its train-wreck-esque viewing appeal.

Buffalo made a big flashy move to sign Mario Williams. Buffalo found itself on the better end of a number of turnovers in 2011.  Once that luck dried up, so did the team’s winning ways.  The Bills hope that Williams will bring his all pro level potential and turn it into all pro level results.  It’s a great matchup for Williams.  The Jets line remains in disarray and unless Curtis Martin comes running out of the tunnel, the running game will play a minimal role in the final score.  Buffalo’s offense gets Fred Jackson back but I think we’ll see more of CJ Spiller than we did an the onset of last season.  Nelson, Johnson, and Chandler might struggle to find their way against the Jets’ secondary, but without a reliable pass rush, they will find spots and move the chains.  I dislike the Jets more than I like the Bills in this one.  Perhaps I should know better than to bet against Tebow, but until he finds his way to the field for more than a few snaps, I’ll take my chances.

Buffalo 23   New York 6


LOCK

Seattle -3 @ Arizona

Matt Flynn is like that new girl you start to date only to end up marrying her roommate.  Seattle never meant for this to happen, it just did.  Seattle signed the top free agent quarterback available only to bench him in favor of a rookie obtained in the supplemental draft.  Wilson, the Collegiate High School product, clearly beat out Flynn in the open competition.  There’s a great deal of buzz surrounding Wilson and an apparently resurgent Braylon Edwards.  Pete Carroll makes more moves than your average fantasy team owner,but Seattle is only a year removed from a playoff push and boasts a nice mix of veterans and youth.  Arizona is experiencing the exact opposite feeling for their quarterbacks.  High priced mistake and now backup Kevin Kolb will find a way to get sacked without taking a snap while John Skelton fires bullets 10 feet off Larry Fitzgerald’s head.  Dark Days for Bill Cower impersonator Ken Wisenhunt and Russ Grim.  The silver lining in Arizona is a return for Ryan Williams who missed his rookie campaign due to injury.  Even if Williams’ceiling is somewhere around Adrian Peterson, today’s NFL requires more than a fantastic running game.

Seattle 17  Arizona  9