Football Friday

Just two weeks into the NFL season, my beloved San Francisco 49ers already have more wins than my equally beloved Hamilton Tiger-Cats have-- in 11 tries. Moreover, the 49ers have shown some pretty impressive stones, winning both games by a combined four points. Alex Smith still looks fairly Alex Smith-ian, but this team is getting the job done so far, and I couldn’t be happier. Somewhat incredibly, there are nine other team in the NFL that have opened the season at 2-0. While the unbeaten starts from Indianapolis and New England, and to a lesser degree Denver and Pittsburgh are no surprise, the 2-0 starts from Houston, Green Bay, and Detroit are from as far out of left field as possible. And outside of Washington and Dallas, it’s hard to imagine many folks thought the Cowboys and Redskins would be out of the gat so hot. A tip of the hat to all of these teams.

Some picks:

In CFL action this week, Calgary visits Hamilton Friday night to start the week. Lord knows the Tiger-Cats are the worst team in organized football this year, and one player does not make a team. But with another week to absorb the playbook, and another week to get used to his receivers (and having to avoid the rush his offensive line will allow every time he drops back to pass), Casey Printers will lead the Cats to victory.

On Saturday, the Roughriders, having dropped their last two games, find themselves suddenly behind BC in the standings. No excuses for the Roughriders in this one. They win, or they concede the division (also, with a loss and a Calgary win, the Riders will fall to third in the West). After some growing pains, the defending champion Lions have regained their rightful spot atop the league’s standings, and aren’t likely to give it back any time soon.

Edmonton is in Montreal to kick off the Sunday double-header. Though Eskimos fans are ready for heads to roll, the Esks are still sitting in a playoff spot right now, and haven’t been playing all that poorly this season. Montreal is keeping mum about their starting quarterback for this week’s game, but it’s not really going to matter. Edmonton is getting close to locking up the crossover spot.

Lastly, Winnipeg is in Toronto to dismantle the Argos. Can’t really see much of any way this game goes well for Toronto.

In NFL action:

In Baltimore, a pair of 1-1 teams that dropped their opener, but won their home opener in week two, and have both scored and given up exactly 40 points will do battle. It’s an interesting and hope-filled kind of season for both Baltimore and Arizona, but hope is about all the Cards have. Ravens win.

San Diego travels to Green Bay to put an end to the Packers’ perfect start.

Tampa Bay hosts St. Louis, and remain my sleeper pick to be way better than any of the magazines thought they’d be. The Bucs won convincingly against New Orleans last week, and should be able to beat a Rams team that can’t seem to decide if they’re coming or going.

Pittsburgh hosts San Francisco, with two dominant wins in their pocket, and a stingy defense that’s only allowed 10 points through two games. This number is important because the 49ers rank last in total offense. This one could get ugly for the 49ers, but as always, blind faith says they’ll win.

Detroit is in Philadelphia, where the Eagles are not only a shocking 0-2, but also they’re coming off a week in which their quarterback said some pretty stupid things to the press. Can’t say for certain if we’ll see a galvanized and unbeatable Eagles club, or an Eagles side that’s already beaten itself. But I wouldn’t bet against the latter.

The Jets host Miami, and the Dolphins look every bit the train wreck they’ve been lately, and more. And while both teams are winless, the Jets got spanked by New England and lost by a major in Baltimore, while the Dolphins are the reason the Redskins and Cowboys are 2-0. Jets by a wide margin.

New England doesn’t need to cheat to beat Buffalo. In fact, the defending high school city champions here in Calgary might even cover the spread against Buffalo.

Kansas City hosts Minnesota in battle between chic pre-season sleepers. Both teams have been wildly disappointing so far, and while the Chiefs will probably come away with a win, both teams will remain very disappointing.

Indianapolis will beat Houston. As an aside, talking heads all over the place are pumping this game up, but I refuse to. When they meet again in week 16, if they’re both 14-0, then we can hype this matchup. As is, I see no way the Texans enter that game better than 8-6, while it’s hard to imagine the Colts worse than 12-2. But hey, if the Texans still have a shot at the division title in week 16, I will write a blog entry every single day about that game, during the five weekdays leading up to it.

Unlike the above game, Cincinnati at Seattle could actually have a big impact on these teams’ seasons. Neither team can afford to fall too far behind in their divisions, and with the leaders of their respective divisions playing each other, this is a good week to gain some ground. Also, both teams fancy themselves contenders, and contenders don’t start 1-2.

The Browns will beat Oakland.

Another big game in Denver. The Broncos are a little bit surprising at 2-0, and the Jaguars want to prove they’re the real deal. No better way to show you’re for real than to beat Denver in Denver. I see it happening.

Don’t be alarmed, but the Washington Redskins are about to open the season 3-0.

Carolina will beat Atlanta.

Chicago has to turn this thing around, don’t they? We’ll see. This is a very cautious Chicago pick.

And the Saints aren’t going to lose their home opener, on a Monday night, after an 0-2 start. Not if they’re actually anything more than paper tigers.