NFL Week 3 Predictions

September 19, 2006, 5:57 PM | 0 Comments

Note: Predictions for week 3 of the 2008 NFL season can be found here: NFL Week 3 Predictions.

Week 2 of the 2006-2007 NFL season was a lot more exciting than week 1 and a few of my questions have already been answered. The Ravens and the Jets look to be as good as they showed in week 1.

Some other teams have already given me reason to make up my mind about their chances for this season. One of those teams is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who (bold prediction ahead) will not make the playoffs this year. 3 points for their offense in 2 games is just terrible.

Green Bay should have won their game. There’s really no excuse for jumping out to a 13-0 lead in the 1^st quarter and then somehow (with the exception of Donald Driver) forgetting how to catch passes. Minus the injuries, the Packers are starting to look every bit as bad as last year’s 4-12 team.

I have to question Bill Cowher’s decision to allow Ben Roethlisberger to play against Jacksonville on Monday night. Normal recovery time after an appendectomy is 4-6 weeks and Roethlisberger played only 15 days after his. You add to that the fact that before the game ESPN’s Michelle Tafoya revealed that Big Ben had a temperature of 104 degrees, and I just don’t understand the decision to let him play. Do you want him playing hurt now and potentially getting even more hurt, or playing healthy later on in the season so they can make a run like last year? Coach Chin should’ve given him at least one more week to recover.

Update: According to this report from ESPN, Bill Cowher said that Roethlisberger had a fever of 100.4 degrees, not 104 degrees. Still, a fever none the less.

Anyways, here are this week’s ESPN Expert Picks and my predictions for week 3!

Away	Home	Comments	Pick	Result
Panthers (1-2)	Buccaneers (0-3)	As bad as the Panthers have looked so far this season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have looked far worse scoring only 3 points in their first 2 games.
Bears (3-0)	Vikings (2-1)	Ryan Longwell was a huge pick up for the Vikings in the off-season; it’s really too bad that the Packers didn’t re-sign him. He’s already had 2 game winning field goals and thrown for a TD. Hopefully for Longwell, he’ll finally make the Pro Bowl this year. The Bears offense has looked great this season, and I think we’re watching a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Bengals (3-0)	Steelers (1-2)	You have to wonder if those 3 off-season surgeries have caught up with Ben Roethlisberger, because he just doesn’t look right. Last year, the Bengals went into Pittsburgh and got the win, and I expect the same this year.
Packers (1-2)	Lions (0-3)	At least the Packers got their offense going last week, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t win. The Lions offense under “genius” Mike Martz has scored 1 touchdown and 2 field goals in 2 games. Bad news for the Lions.
Jaguars (2-1)	Colts (3-0)	Indianapolis rolled over Houston last week. Peyton Manning: 26/38, 400 Yards, 3 TD. Rhodes and Addai combined for 129 yards rushing and are filling Edgerrin James’s shoes fairly well so far. Jacksonville played a great game against the Steelers, but I don’t think they’ll have as great of a game against the Colts offense.
Jets (2-1)	Bills (1-2)	The Bills have been quite the surprise so far. I didn’t expect them to beat the Dolphins last week, nor did I expect them to make it even remotely close against New England in week one. The Jets have also been surprising and I think they have a slight edge in this game.
Titans (0-3)	Dolphins (1-2)	The Dolphins have looked terrible so far and I don’t think Nick Saban will allow them to go 0-3. If it does happen, there will be crying players in Miami for sure.
Redskins (1-2)	Texans (0-3)	The Redskins didn’t look very good in Dallas. Maybe going further south to Houston will be just the confidence boost they’ll need to get back in the NFC East race.
Ravens (3-0)	Browns (0-3)	Baltimore looks really good this year, but against 2 teams that haven’t looked good at all (Tampa Bay and Oakland). Expect more of the same this week against the Browns.
Giants (1-2)	Seahawks (3-0)	The Seahawks looked way better in week 2 against the Cardinals than they did against the Lions in week 1. Add to that the debut of Deion Branch and it should make for a great game. I think it’ll be close, but I’ll take the Seahawks at home.
Eagles (2-1)	49ers (1-2)	Donovan McNabb has looked really good this year and should have a pretty easy time picking apart the 49ers defense.
Rams (2-1)	Cardinals (1-2)	The Rams lost to the 49ers last week and haven’t looked good on offense yet. Arizona still has the same problem - their O-line can’t protect anyone. This could be a shootout, or it could be really boring.
Broncos (2-1)	Patriots (2-1)	Denver is another offense that has looked pretty anemic so far this season and if they have another week like the last 2, I’m sure the ‘start Jay Cutler’ cries will start. The Pats have had their struggles but (as usual) have found a way to win.
Falcons (2-1)	Saints (3-0)	In what will be a really emotional game for the Saints and everyone else in Louisiana, the game itself will be secondary to the stories surrounding it. This will be a real test for the 2-0 Saints and I think they’ll make it close. Note: Pre-game entertainment brought to you by The Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day and U2.
Note: the Cowboys, Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers have a bye week this week.

Line of the night on Monday Night Football goes to Tony Kornheiser who, when referring to the Monday Night Football song with Hank Williams Jr., Little Richie and others, said…

I saw a lot of big stars in that band.

I didn’t see Pink, I just wonder where she is.

Nice little jab at NBC’s Sunday Night Football intro music, and well deserved. Who’s idea was it to bring her in to do the opening anyways? Just terrible. I think that’s been NBC’s only mistake with their Sunday night package so far… well, that and that huge NBC Peacock logo sticking up from the score-bar at the bottom of the screen… and maybe Bob Costas’s horrible debut during the Thursday night kick-off show before the game in week 1; he looked like he was lost.

Anyways, last week I went 11-5 with my picks (bringing my running total to 20-12), but I’m hoping I do even better this week. As always, check back for updates after the games have been completed.

Update: Well, 11-3 this week isn’t too bad. After Sunday’s action I was hoping I’d make it to 12-2, but (and I’ll be very blunt) Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons played some horrible horrible football on Monday Night. Running total after 3 weeks: 31-15.

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