NFL Picks Week 1 Review

OK, a rough Week 1 may have left some doubters. We'll go over these picks, explain what went wrong, and then I will post my Week 2 picks for free, showing that everybody has one off week, and that we're back on track for a successful season!


Review of Week One:


Baltimore @ Denver (Again, I was too late to pick Denver, but I would have gotten a win on this one.) We'll call it a push.)


New England @ Buffalo - New England - CORRECT

Cincinnati @ Chicago - Chicago - CORRECT

Miami @ Cleveland - Miami - CORRECT

Minnesota @ Detroit - Detroit - CORRECT

Oakland @ Indianapolis - Indianapolis #,§ - CORRECT


Atlanta @ New Orleans - Atlanta - (Here, we hit the first snag. Atlanta made a game of it, but two excellent defensive plays in their own end zone, preserved the win in the final minute for the Saints.)


Tampa @ New York Jets - Tampa - (I forgot that Mark Sanchez was out. Now that he's gone (likely for good) the Jets should do much better LOL)


Tennessee @ Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh - (I am a diehard Steeler's fan, and would rather not discuss the fact that after being gifted 2 points by Tennessee on the opening :03, the Steelers offense failed to produce anything for the next 58:34, thanks largely to TWO Isaac Redman fumbles (ONE INTO THE ENDZONE, GOD HELP ME). The loss of Maurkice Pouncey and Larry Foote for the year will mean I need to pick with my head rather than my heart.)


Seattle @ Carolina - Seattle - CORRECT

Kansas City @ Jacksonville - Kansas City - CORRECT


Arizona @ St. Louis - Arizona † - (St. Louis was favored, but I didn't think they deserved to be, so this would have been an upset only according to the odds-makers. But this truly was an upset, as the St. Louis Rams won it late despite trailing and, in general, looking like the lesser football team.)


Green Bay @ San Francisco - Green Bay - (Kaepernick is here to stay, folks. This is a wake up call to those who doubted the Niners as the heavy favorites in the NFC.)


New York Giants @ Dallas - New York (Six turnovers. SIX. Oy vey.)


Philadelphia @ Washington - Washington (So Philly will be running the hurry-up offense for the entire season? Yeah, THAT'LL work.)


Houston @ San Diego - Houston - CORRECT


† = Smart Centipede's Upset of the Week! (Upset.)

§ = Smart Centipede's Survival Pick of the Week! (Survived!)


# = Smart Centipede's Iron Lock of the Week! (Locked!)


Okay, so let's right this ship with some Week 2 picks, this time in time for the Thursday tilt!


Week 2:


New York Jets @ New England - New England (Geno Smith is doing the work, and doing the homework. But this would be too early in the Cinderella story for such an upset. Tom takes care of it this week).


St. Louis @ Atlanta - Atlanta (Matt Ryan and company will win their home opener against an overconfident St. Louis squad.)


Carolina @ Buffalo - Buffalo (Carolina is favored by a slim 2.5 pts., but Buffalo brought it against the Pats last week. The ONLY professional football team that plays in NY wins in a squeaker.)


Minnesota @ Chicago - Chicago (Bears are already in mid-season form, defensively, and Minny looked weak against Detroit.)


Washington @ Green Bay - Green Bay (The Redskins got beat by the hurry up offense. In the first half. Yes, they adjusted, but Rodgers needs no shenanigans.)


Miami @ Indianapolis - Indianapolis (Miami isn't Oakland, but Indianapolis is NOT Cleveland. That makes perfect sense, if you think about it.)


Dallas @ Kansas City - Dallas (They won't get six turnovers again, but KC isn't so far removed from their 2-14 campaign of last season.)


San Diego @ Philadelphia - San Diego † (The hurry-up didn't work for very long against the Redskins. Meanwhile, the Chargers offense got off to an equally hot start, but couldn't keep it up against the Texans. The Eagles should show far less resilience against Rivers.)


Cleveland @ Baltimore - Baltimore § (Cleveland IS Cleveland, and Baltimore are the defending champs. Don't let last week's torching at the hands of Peyton Manning fool ya; this Ravens team is not going to fall too far.)


Tennessee @ Houston - Houston (The Titans return team scored more for Pittsburgh than Pittsburgh did for all but 2 minutes of last week's match-up. Houston showed they can score, and score late. Tennessee is the one with the problem here.)


Detroit @ Arizona - Detroit (Detroit might have a running game again? Bush won't make anyone forget Barry Sanders, but the Lions have more tools at their disposal than the St. Louis team that dumped Arizona in Week 1.)


New Orleans @ Tampa Bay - New Orleans # (Brees gets #55 against a "revamped" Tampa secondary that allowed a win by a rookie QB who was originally behind Mark "Butt-Fumble" Sanchez on the depth chart.)


Jacksonville @ Oakland - Oakland (Because you have to pick someone to win. The only safe bet is this will be the most boring game in the NFL this week.)


Denver @ New York Giants - Denver (Battle of the Mannings! I'm honestly torn on this one. But I think big-brother wins out this time.)


San Francisco @ Seattle - San Francisco (This is the QB match-up of the week here. Both QBs are coming off career-best performances, but while Kaepernick's resulted in a 34-28 win against NFC North perennial powerhouse Green Bay, Wilson's was a 12-7 win against... Carolina? There's a drop off, there.)


Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati - Cincinnati (This is the earliest in the season that I've ever picked against my Steelers. With the loss of Pouncey and Foote, the struggles of the Pittsburgh running game, and Cincinnati keeping it close against Chicago... sorry, boys. I have to go with my head, not my heart.)

§ = Smart Centipede's Survival Pick of the Week! (Baltimore over Cleveland)


† = Smart Centipede's Upset of the Week! (San Diego over Philadelphia)

# = Smart Centipede's Iron Lock of the Week! (New Orleans over Tampa Bay)