Finally, the NFL has returned! Unfortunately, living in Australia makes it very difficult to grasp the true form of teams and what exactly is going on over in the good ol' US of A. There is already one game done and dusted for the week and as expected, the Denver Broncos delivered a very strong performance to beat the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Baltimore Ravens. Below is a list of the remaining games and the my selections for them. Be careful though, the NFL generally does take a couple of games to take shape and there can be a few surprises on the opening Sunday of competition.
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills - The Bills are hoping to venture into a new era with QB EJ Emanuel. They selected him with their first draft pick and believe that he has the skill and talent to lead them out of the doldrums. However he has been under an injury cloud since knee surgery midway through August and he will come up against one of the best in the game in Tom Brady. The Patriots are weakened though, they have lost Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd and Danny Woodhead, along with the much publicised issues around Aaron Hernandez. Brady's options are limited but he will be able to find his receivers, albeit a little differently to what he did before those players left. The Bills are weaker at defence though, missing their two starting cornerbacks and all signs point towards an easy Pat's win over their division rivals.
Tip: Patriots by 10
Cincinnati Bengals @ Chicago Bears - The Bears have a new coach and will look to establish winning form early against an improved Bengals team. They made the playoffs last season but their 23-year winless streak at this level is yet to end. The Bengals has also improved their defensive unit that allowed 20 or fewer points in their last 9 games of 2012. There is also a lot of uncertainty at the QB position for the Bears and we are yet to see the best of Jay Cutler. He can be erratic and failing to secure a major deal in the off season could mean that the Bears could be looking elsewhere. They started 2012 7-1 but faded to miss the playoffs, leading to the sacking of long time coach Lovie Smith. If you are looking for an upset this weekend, this could be it. In saying that, the Bears have a very good record in the first game of the season and this game is going to be a very close contest.
Tip: Bengals +3.5
Miami Dolphins @ Cleveland Browns - Both teams have similar aspirations heading into this season as they aim to end a long drought of playoff football. The Dolphins are pinning their hopes on 2nd year QB Ryan Tanehill, who demonstrated last year that he is capable of running an offence. The Browns have Brandon Weedon who himself is a 2nd year player but had a lot less hype around him compared to Tanehill. The Browns have a shocking record in opening season games and despite playing at home, the Dolphins look good for a win. They lost 5 games by a touchdown or less last season and will be hard to hold out.
Tip: Dolphins by less than a TD
Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints - A lot has been made about the return of Saints coach Sean Payton following his NFL imposed suspension last year. They struggled without him last season and his return will only enhance the play of QB Drew Brees. Don't forget though, the Falcons were the NFC South Champions last year and looked very solid in their games. Their QB Matt Ryan was on fire in certain games and he is a dangerous attacking threat. His completion percentage was 68% last season and Brees dropped to 63%. The Saints are a different team though and will hope that playing this game at home will lift them to victory. Scoring is not an issue for the Saints though, its the defensive uni that let them down last year. If they are not on song, they could drop a game to their division rivals. This is another one of the very close games this weekend but it is hard to go past the Falcons, despite the hard task that this game presents.
Tip: Falcons +3.5
Other tips include:
Steelers by 7
Bucaneers by 3
Lions by 3
Colts by 7
Seahawks by 3
Chiefs +3.5
Cardinals +4.5
49ers by 1
Giants +6.5
Redskins by 4
Houston +3.5
Good luck!
Scooby
@scoobystips
