Wellness

[gardenman]

And after this week every team will be over the halfway mark. It's all downhill from here.

Our first game this week is Cincinnati at Miami. I've got to go with the Bengals here though it could be one of the better Thursday night games. Miami's becoming a pretty good team.

Kansas City goes to Buffalo. I expect KC to run into a bit of trouble in the second half and I think the Bills will give them a run for the money, but I expect the Chiefs to pull this one out. It may be a lot closer than many think though.

Atlanta goes to Carolina. Pretty much everyone's picking Carolina in this one, but I still think the Falcons are the better team and sooner or later that pride will kick in and they'll start showing it. I'm thinking Tony Gonzalez will rally the team now that he wasn't traded. I'm going for the upset here and picking the Falcons.

Minnesota goes to Dallas. This should be a pretty easy win for Dallas assuming the team really is as solid as they claim to be and Dez Bryant isn't tearing the team apart internally. They're all saying the right things, but we'll get our first real look at how much of what they're saying is real in this game. I expect the Cowboys to win, but I'm thinking it won't be easy.

New Orleans goes to play the Jets. I've got to go with the Saints. You can make a pretty good argument they're playing the best football in the NFC right now. The Jets are better than they were, but I don't think they're as good as the Saints.

Tennessee goes to Saint Louis. This is kind of a toss-up to me, but I'm going with the Rams due to dome field advantage.

San Diego goes to Washington. I'm bucking the odds here again and picking the Redskins. The Chargers should win, but the Redskins are playing better and those west coast teams flying east almost always have issues. The Redskins desperately need the win and I think they'll get it.

Philadelphia goes to Oakland. Nick Foles will be back under center for the Eagles and Nick desperately wants to atone for his performance against the Cowboys. I think he will. Teams are trying very hard to make the Eagles one dimensional by taking away the running game and doubling DeSean Jackson. That should leave the tight ends and other wide out(s) available in single coverage. I expect to see Riley Cooper step up his game this week and Brent Celek/Zach Ertz to have big games. I've got the Eagles winning this one and I'm pretty confident in it. (We'll know pretty early on. If Foles is accurate early, the Eagles should win.)

Tampa Bay goes to Seattle. This could get ugly. Seattle should crush Tampa.

Baltimore goes to Cleveland. I'm picking Baltimore, but who knows which team will show up on either side. Both teams are kind of hot and cold and depending on which one shows up it could be a very close good game, or a blowout either way.

Pittsburgh goes to New England. In the preseason this looked like it would be a huge game. With the Steelers floundering and the Patriots playing well, it's not as impressive looking now. I still expect to see the Steelers put on a good effort and probably make it a reasonably close game, but the Patriots will win.

Indy goes to Houston in what was another marquee matchup in the preseason. Unfortunately Houston has imploded. Indy should win pretty easily. Houston's got some pretty big issues to address this offseason.

And finally we have Chicago at Green Bay on Monday night. If Jay Cutler were playing this would be a very close game. I think the Pack will win pretty easily though with Cutler out. The Bears need the win, but unless their defense can really contain Aaron Rodgers and maybe steal a score or two themselves, the Pack should win pretty easily. (Though NFC North games are seldom easy.)