Week 1 NFL Picks

Season Record: 1-0

DANNY'S LOCK OF THE WEEK-
San Francisco 49ers (-3) @ Seattle Seahawks - Pete Carroll has much to prove before I will even begin considering the Seahawks as a competive team. The entire Seahawks offensive line is on the injury report, and starting left tackle, sixth overall pick in this year's draft Russell Okung is out with a high ankle sprain. The 49ers looked strong on both sides of the ball during the preseason, and Vernon Davis just landed the most lucrative contract for a tight end in the national football league, $37 million with $23 million guarenteed, so expect him to have some extra "pep" in his step. Overall, this is a great matchup for the 49ers. The defense will shutdown Seattle's no-namers on the outside and Justin Forsett will have trouble running that ball with Patrick Willis barking in here ear all game long. Easy win for the road team. I like this game as my STONE COLD LEAD PIPE LOCK of the weekend. San Francisco 27 - Seattle 10

REST OF THE GAMES

Miami Dolphins (-3) @ Buffalo Bills - The Dolphins come into this game with high hopes due in large part to their major off season acquisition of WR Brandon Marshall. Marshall is the star receiver that the Dolphins desperately need to keep opposing defenses unable to stack the box against the Dolphins stellar rushing offense. Marshall may not be the difference maker in this game, but the Dolphins will demonstrate the offensive fluidity this week that many teams will hope to have by week five. Miami 24 - Buffalo 10.

Oakland Raiders @ Tennessee Titans (-6.5) - This line tells a lot about what Vegas thinks of a west coast team traveling to the east coast to face a team with a good defense. The Titans have a good defense, and tag that along with one of the best running backs in the NFL, Chris Johnson, this team will be hard to beat. The Titans will shutdown the Raiders offense, and Chris Johnson should go off against the Raiders run defense that was pathetic last season. Tennessee 20 - Oakland 10.

Cincinnati Bengals (+4.5) @ New England Patriots -The Bengals will put themselves on the radar once again this season with a huge opening game upset over the Patriots in Foxboro. The Bengals defense is severely underrated, Odom will be playing, and the secondary can sustain the Patriots passing attack. That being said, the Patriots downfall is there defense. And with Cedric Benson balancing out the Bengals offense, Carson Palmer should have the time to sit in the pocket and pass it to Ocho Cinco and TO. Cincinnati 34 - New England 27.

Detroit Lions (+6.5) @ Chicago Bears - The best way to describe the rise of the Detroit Lions this season is to say that they are a .500 team. What I mean is that I think they will lose 8 games but have a legitmate chance to win atleast 8 games. Now they will most likely finish in the 4-6 win category, but the Lions have something nice brewing in their pot. That being said, they'll keep it close in Chicago, but this is a MUST WIN GAME for Jay Cutler. A poor preseason has the Bear fans in a very low frame of mind, and after last season Cutler better be ready to impress the Chicago faithful. Chicago 27 - Detroit 24.

Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants (-6.5) - Eli had a career year passing the ball last season, but the Giants did not make the playoffs. In order for the G-Men to have success, they must run the football. Bradshaw and Jacobs can handle that dilemma, but can the Giants defense step up this season and take the NFC-East crown away from the Cowboys. Panthers still have some work to gel together on the offensive end of the ball, but they do have serious potential for a good season. Giants score early and never look back. New York 24 - Carolina 16.

Atlanta Falcons @ Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) - Do not sleep on the Steelers just because Big Ben is out for four games. The Steelers defense is back and better than ever, and Polumalu will cause fits for the Falcons and this game will be won in the trenches. Welcome back to hard-nosed, run the ball up the gut, Steelers football. Pittsburgh 17 - Atlanta 13.

Cleveland Browns (+3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Josh Freeman has been out and missed too much needed practice time. Jake Delhomme has looked very strong all pre-season and the Jerome Harrison show is ready to premier. Browns win in Tampa. Cleveland 20 - Tampa Bay 13.

Denver Broncos @ Jacksonville Jaguars (-3) - Taking the home team in this matchup. Always tough for the west coast team to make the trip east and play well. Orton versus Garrard, I will take Garrard at home. Jacksonville 21 - Denver 16

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans (+2.5) - 1-15 against Indy in eight seasons. They had them twice last season but blew it. Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson will start early, a few stops and hopefully a turnover and the Texans have this one. Look for Houston to use Arian Foster to keep the Colts offense off the field. Foster has looked strong during pre-season and camp, so I expect a somewhat balanced attack from Gary Kubiak and I like Houston outright. Houston 31 - Indianapolis 27

Green Bay Packers (-3) @ Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles will be a good team this season. Kolb will have his ups and downs, but overall this team is too explosive and very fast on defense to be a bad team. Green Bay, however, is a very good team and even though Aaron Rodgers has been considerably better in Green Bay (14 INT in 19 games), the Packers have too much for the home team. Green Bay 24 - Philadelphia 20

Arizona Cardinals (-4) @ St. Louis Rams - All signs are pointing to Sam Bradford getting an opening day win. Larry Fitzgerald is a little banged up, and Derek Anderson is the starting quarterback for Arizona. Anderson has no played well as of late, so this is a big time statement game for him. For this reason, I like Arizona to get the win and continue the Rams awful streak against them (Rams haven't won at home against Arizona since 2004). Arizona 17 - St. Louis 13

Dallas Cowboys (-3.5) @ Washington Redskins - Donovan McNabb begins his career with the Redskins and unfortunately it is against a team that beat him three times last season. Also, to add to the pessimism for McNabb, the Cowboys returned 20-22 starters from last season. The Cowboys will win a sloppy game here, I believe the Redskins offensive line will have serious issues against the Cowboys front seven. Dallas 20 - Washington 13.

Baltimore Ravens (+2) @ New York Jets - Do you need a preview for this game? It is going to be low scoring, a lot of physical play, and you can expect these guys to play as hard as they can for the enitre sixty minutes of this game. What a game to start MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL this season. Baltimore 13 - New York Jets 10

San Diego Chargers (-5) @ Kansas City Chiefs - Phillip Rivers is without some weapons, Vincent Jackson and LT, but Gates, Floyd, Crayton, and Matthews will make up for lost weapons. The Chargers are going to be good this season, and they start the season off with KC, Jacksonville, Seattle, Arizona, Oakland, and St. Louis...win streak anyone? Big Phil is a beast and he continues to get better each season. Matt Cassell will enjoy having Charlie Weis as his offensive coordinator, and I think it will go likewise for Ryan and Phillip. San Diego 24 - Kansas City 14