NFL 2014 Week 1 picks

Welcome to the first year of full-time Thursday night NFL football, as the NFL goes head-to-head against the NCAA on college football perennial premier night.  Does this foreshadow more Wednesday and Friday night NCAA games?  Since the NCAA creates their schedules years in advance, we may have to wait a couple of years to see, but I suspect that will happen.

Thursday night:
Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks:  The current Super Bowl champs face off against the team that many national analysts favor as the next Super Bowl champ.  The key to this game may be which team is better prepared.  Green Bay has certainly seemed better during the preseason, but Seattle's starters have not slacked off in preseason, either.  Green Bay may take an early lead, but I like Seattle's defense to buckle down.  This is a home game, after all, and Seattle has been brutal at home the past two seasons.  SEAHAWKS, 24-20

Sunday early games:
Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears:  The Bears are healthy, and healthy bears are hungry bears!  They will feast on the challenged Bills and start the season with a strong victory.  BEARS, 27-13

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens:  This is a hard game to pick.  The Ravens are still building teamwork integrating their new additions into the old guard, while Cincy is still struggling to find their focus.  This will not be a smooth game, that's for sure.  In previous years I'd pick the Ravens defense to take over, but that defense has not been so strong.  I'll pick the arm of Andy Dalton, as he is still fresh and confident this early in the season.  BENGALS, 17-13

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers:  The Steelers get to keep their offensive backfield, but they'd better check their brownies!  Neither Cleveland quarterback looks ready to take on a forceful team like the Steelers defense.  The Browns will struggle to move the ball.  STEELERS, 20-6

Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles:  Chip Kelly's offense gets an easy opponent to get the season started!  The Jags defense is already considered one of the slower in the league, and they have to open against one of the fastest offenses in the league.  If the Eagles don't mess themselves up, this game will be decided in the second quarter.  EAGLES, 41-9

Minnesota Vikings at St Louis Rams:  Neither team seems to have an offense.  The Rams are in worse shape, as starting QB Sam Bradford will be sitting for at least two weeks with an injury.  That gives the Vikings a chance to squeeze out a win.  With some questions about the defensive front of the Rams, much of the work may be done by RB Adrian Peterson.  VIKINGS, 13-10

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins:  The Patriots come to town ready to battle, but missing tight end Rob Gronkowski.  That's okay, QB Tom Brady found a bunch of other targets when Gronk has been out with injury.  Brady always finds a way to win.  PATRIOTS, 27-16

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons:  Both teams have strong offenses and questionable defenses.  If it comes down to a scoring fest, I give the nod to the Saints.  The Saints are also playing with something to prove, as some recent incidents have again made some people question their discipline and integrity.  SAINTS, 34-28

Oakland Raiders at New York Jets:  Neither team have offenses that seem ready to play.  The Jets are having a bit of a quarterback issue, while the Raiders are missing decent receivers to help their quarterback.  On the defensive side, I like the Raider's ferocity just a bit more.  RAIDERS, 16-13

Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs:  The Titans can have a tricky defense, so this game may be closer than people would expect, but the Chiefs should still pull this one out; there's just too much talent there for the Titans to overcome.  CHIEFS, 20-13

Washington Redskins at Houston Texans:  This is the closest to a "pick-em" game we have this week.  Either team is capable of winning.  It all depends on which develops faster:  the new additions of the Texans or the new offense of the Redskins.  Since Robert Griffin III is healthy, I like the Redskins' chances.  REDSKINS, 23-20

Sunday late games:
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Bucs:  Practically another "pick-em" game, but I like the Bucs defense just a bit more.  New coach Lovie Smith loves the Tampa-Two defense, and he knows how to make it work.  A turnover deep in Panthers territory might make the difference in the game.  BUCS, 16-13

San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys:  The 49ers often start a little slowly out of the gate to start the season, and I predict that could happen again this year.  That simply means the game will be closer than it should, not that the Cowboys will win.  49ERS, 20-17

Monday Night Football:
We get a late night again to start the season.  Thankfully I don't have to be at the lab too early on Tues morning.
New York Giants at Detroit Lions:  QB Eli Manning has really struggled during preseason learning this new offensive scheme.  The Giants went unbeaten, but they were helped by strong backups and decent special teams play.  They can't count on that as much in this game, which lets Matthew Stafford and the Lions roll.  LIONS, 24-13

San Diego Chargers at Arizona Cardinals:  Amazingly, the National UPickEm Challenge run by CBS affiliates around the county have nearly 75% of fans picking Arizona.  I can't see it.  San Diego has a good offense, and their defense is not bad, either.  Yes, they fell apart and frequently lose due to their own miscues, but I don't foresee that so much this year, and especially not against Arizona.  CHARGERS, 27-17