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Reputations shouldn’t precede teams anymore

Whaaaa! Oops! Jeepers! Oh, sorry, I’m just swatting at those pesky reputations that keeping buzzing like little fruit flies around my head when I’m trying to make picks in the Armchair Quarterback Barcalounger.

Oakland’s no good? Whap! There’s goes that fly.

Arizona is Super Bowl worthy? Zap! That little guy just flew into the bug zapper I brought inside now that summer’s over.

I keep tripping myself up on these reputations – you’d think a little fly couldn’t do that – and it’s about time to shed these shackles.

Of course, some of the early hot shots are going to come tumbling back to earth while other titans (no, not Titans) will pick themselves back up off the canvas.

Now it’s just a matter of seeing who does what.

On to this week’s picks:

Today, 8:30 p.m.

Arizona at San Francisco – Aha, example No. 1. A closer looks shows the Cardinals aren’t that bad, having blitzed Tampa Bay and losing by two points to the Patriots and four to L.A. On a flier, Cardinals, 33-28.

Sunday, 1 p.m.

Washington at Baltimore – Now onto example No. 2. I talked myself out of picking against the Ravens last week only because the Raiders have been so bad for so long. I see that Oakland has three road wins already. Now that Baltimore isn’t perfect, their wins can roll in again. Ravens, 21-19.

New England at Cleveland – If this wasn’t Week 1 of Tom Brady’s season, I’d be tempted to look for an out-of-sight score like I saw with the Golden State-L.A. Clippers game the other night – was it really 85-36 in the third quarter? Yes it was. Patriots, 39-27.

Philadelphia at Detroit – I’m at the point where you better be playing Cleveland if you want me to pick the Lions. Eagles, 28-18.

Chicago at Indianapolis – I was all ready to make easy picks by going against these teams at all times, then wham! they play each other. Hmm. Bears, 22-20.

Tennessee at Miami – I hear this game may be moved to Nashville due to Hurricane Matthew. Thank you, Matt, since I like the new home team more. Titans, 20-16.

Houston at Minnesota – Anything’s possible, but it seems simple to take the Vikings, 34-17.

N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh – I’m not counting on Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing 4 1/2 interceptions (his average the past two weeks), but any passes thrown Pittsburgh’s way that it manages to hold onto should turn into points. Steelers, 25-19.

Sunday, 4-4:30 p.m.

Atlanta at Denver – Despite the Falcons having far and away the best scoring offense in the league, you know how good Denver’s “D” is, particularly at home. Broncos, 23-17.

Cincinnati at Dallas – Going strictly by records, the best team either of these squads has beaten is 2-2 Washington. OK, I’ll take that team. Cowboys, 27-24.

Buffalo at Los Angeles – These teams think defense first and foremost, and eh, whatever offense we get is a bonus. Rams, 20-13.

San Diego at Oakland – Oakland’s played one game at home so far this season – and it’s their only loss. However, it was 35-28 to resurgent Atlanta. I don’t see San Diego as Atlanta of the West. Raiders, 35-27.

Sunday, 8:30 p.m.

N.Y. Giants at Green Bay – I’ll stick with last week’s analogy of the Giants being like a brittle piece of plastic. I don’t think the Packers will out-and-out break them, but a number of bends in every direction will eventually weaken New York into a long lengthwise crack. Packers, 33-24.

Monday, 8:30 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Carolina – The Bucs started so well, handing Atlanta its only loss in Week 1. But they’ve given up 104 points the past three weeks, all against teams known more for defense – the Broncos, Rams and Cardinals. Even if Carolina QB Cam Newton isn’t good to go, Panthers, 33-24.

Last week – 8-7, 53 percent. Season – 35-28, 56 percent.

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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