Picks For Kicks - Preseason Week 2

Football season if officially underway and the first week of preseason has been completed. So with the completion of the first week, comes the tally of my first week record and I can’t say that it was an impressive one at 9-7 (.563). I can only be thankful that we are still in the preseason. So we now advance on to Week 2 and the games that await us. Here is this weeks breakdown and hopefully we can look forward to a few better outcomes.

ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN

Thursday, Aug. 16^th

Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs (8:00 PM)

This week Trent Green and the Dolphins will travel to Kansas City for Greens first snaps against his former team. Miami managed to walk away with the win last week in spite of Green lackluster performance, where Kansas City lost as Damon Huard didn’t seem interested in the starting spot for Kansas City. This week?

Miami sneaks a win from the Chiefs

Friday, Aug. 17^th

Atlanta Falcons at Buffalo Bills (7:00 PM)

No Michael Vick equals Joey Harrington as the Falcons starter. Harrington couldn’t get it done in Detroit, failed in Miami, and has now been handed a gift wrapped starter position in Atlanta. Until they show different, it should be expected to see Atlanta struggle through this season.

Bills go 2-0 in their preseason

Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles (7:00 PM)

While Donovan McNabb didn’t even dress last week, it is unsure whether we will see him risk his surgically-repaired knee again this week. It’s the Panthers that were looking positive under their new offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson. Expect to see a continuation of offensive prowess from the Panthers.
Panthers win again in Philadelphia

Minnesota Vikings at New York Jets ( 8:00 PM)

The Jets wasted no time getting Thomas Jones into mix, not even letting Chad Pennington attempt a pass at the start of the game. However, it was Kellen Clemens that was most impressive, going 16-of-22 for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Even if Minnesota’s Dontarrious Thomas could repeat his interception return for a 82 yard touchdown it’s unlikely the Vikings can match the Jets.

J.E.T.S., Jets, Jets, Jets, do it again

Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots (8:00 PM)

No one knows if Vince Young has improved from last year. After breaking the team curfew, Jeff Fisher chose to bench the Titan starter. But then New England never saw Randy Moss, Laurence Maroney, or Dante Stallworth take the field last week. Chances are Young will take a few snaps this week. Will all the starting Patriots participate in at least a play or two? It is their first home game.

Patriots entertain their home crowd

Saturday, Aug. 18^th

Houston Texans at Arizona Cardinals (4:00 PM)

Don’t expect a big season from either of these teams this year. Houston may have almost pulled off a win against the defending NFC Champion Chicago Bears, but we are still talking about pre-season here.

Houston defeats the Cardinals

Detroit Lions at Cleveland Browns (7:00 PM)

Jon Kitna was talking the big talk this off season, but back-ups J.T. O’Sullivan and Dan Orlovsky walked the big walk as they combined for a whopping 445 passing yards and three touchdowns to defeat Cincinnati last week. Can those numbers be repeated this week against Cleveland?

Detroit chalks up number two in their win column

New Orleans Saints at Cincinnati Bengals (7:30 PM)

The Saints went 0-4 in their pre-season last year before shocking the league with an impressive 10-6 regular season record and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game. Now they look to be repeating that pre-season record. Can they continue that streak against a Cincinnati team that got schooled by Detroit’s back-up quarterbacks? Tough call.

Bengals bounce back with a win

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Jacksonville Jaguars (7:30 PM)

Tampa came out on top last week as they faced New England regardless of Jeff Garcia’s two 3-and-out series, while Jacksonville fell short in their match up with Miami. Byron Leftwich did well going 7-for-11 for 78 yards and a touchdown when he wasn’t pulling himself off the ground. Even without Miami’s Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, and Keith Traylor Jacksonvilles offensive line showed they had some holes.

Buccaneers slip away with another close win

Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys (8:00 PM)

Denver’s Jay Cutler made a quick in and out, driving his offense down the field for a Travis Henry touchdown on their opening drive. It was an impressive drive that showed promise for Denver’s young starter. However, the Cowboys showed their skills by defeating the defending Super Bowl Champions in their pre-season opener. Both teams will prove to be contenders this season, but only one will scratch in a win in this match up.

Denver marks up another win

Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington Redskins (8:00 PM)

Although Ben Roethlisberger came out strong against New Orleans in the HOF game, he was flat against Green Bay. That’s one game new head coach Mike Tomlin should be thankful was only preseason. In Washington, Clinton Portis seems to be healing well, but will continue to sit out and Jason Campbell was unimpressive.

Steelers steal away Skins hopes of a win

San Diego Chargers at St. Louis Rams (8:00 PM)

Don’t expect to see LaDainian Tomlinson on the field again this week. The Chargers don’t want any risk of injury to their star player during preseason. On the other side of the ball, Steven Jackson may not take the field either. With neither team running their starting running back and game makers, this game should probably go to the home team.

Rams take their second win

Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers (8:00 PM)

Shaun Alexander should touch the ball once or twice again in this game and whether or not it’s to Deion Branch, Matt Hasselbeck should lead a scoring opening drive again this week. Question here is, can Seattle’s back up defense stop Aaron Rodgers once the first teams have left the field? This could be another win for the home team.

Packers pack in another win

Oakland Raiders at San Francisco 49ers (10:00 PM)

It didn’t seem as if the Raiders could do anything right last year. Fast forward to the new season, and they still can’t get it right as they have continued to fail signing #1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell. They will their win against Arizona last week, any win is a good win for Oakland right now. This week will have a different outcome thought.

49ers win the battle of the bay

Sunday, Aug. 19^th

New York Giants at Baltimore Ravens (8:00 PM)

The problem for the Giants still lie in the fact that Tom Coughlin no longer has the respect of his players. Without that respect, he no longer has control. All the talent on this team will be wasted this season unless something changes this problem. Now they go to face a brutal Ravens team that just finished man handling Philadelphia last week.

Ravens grab hold of another preseason victory

Monday, Aug. 20^th

Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts (8:00 PM)

What a game this SHOULD be. A rematch of the Super Bowl! But it is still only preseason, so a lot of the hype will be lost as we can expect a less than monumental game. Colts won in the big game, but I think the Bears will win in the depths of the depth charts.

Bears win preseason rematch

And that concludes the Week 2 preseason picks. I will be looking to improve my numbers as we close in on the regular season, because once we’re there…all picks count!!! Let’s get ready for some football!!!