NFL WEEK 1 2008 PICKS

Greetings folks. Disappointing start with Thursday’s game. We learned a lot from that game though and we will exploit it later in the season. Runny is 0-1 on the NFL so far, but we like a lot of games on the first Sunday. Again, we will have RPJ picks and our individual takes. Here it goes:

RPJ PICKS (0-0 on the Season)

Cowboys -5.5 @ Browns: The Cowboys covered every weekend in September last year. They are stacked again this year on both sides of the ball. However, the Browns are, too. They made huge improvements on their D in the offseason, and although they looked terrible in the pre-season, they should be a legit contender this season. This is a lot of points to give a team like the Browns at home, which is begging you to take them. Herein lies the Vegas trap. This line has gone up all week. Don’t fall for it. Take the Boys-5.5.

Texans @ Steelers -7: The Steelers are stacked this year and the Texans are banged-up. They are just not as good as the Steelers right now. We like Matt Schaub and Mario Williams. Just not enough. We love the Steelers at home to open their season. Take the Steelers -7.

Bears @ Colts-9.5: We’ve watched the Bears pretty closely this pre-season, more so than most other teams. Take our word for it, they are a MESS on the offensive side of the ball. With the exception of Hester, they have absolutely no playmakers on offense. That does not bode well for them going into Indy. They need to score points to beat them, and the Bears just don’t have the personnel. Plus, the Bears D is severely overrated-maybe the most overrated unit is the NFL. Indy wins this game by at least 17. We don’t care about Manning’s knee. Take the Colts -9.5.

Jets @ Fins+3: Finally the Fins have some stability in the front office and at QB. This will be a great game. So many side stories: Favre’s debut in a uniform other than Green Bays; Pennington gets a revenge chance against the team that gave him a Cleveland Steamer; the Tuna’s 2008 debut. All great stuff. We like the Fins in this one because of the points, and we believe they are the better team. They will surprise everyone with how well they will run the ball this year. We think Ted Ginn finally starts showing why he was a first round pick. For the Jets, we think their D is good, but Favre is way overrated. This will be a close game. We like the points. Take the Fins at home +3.

Jags -3 @ Titans: This is our favorite game of the week. Load-up on this one if you can. We think the Jags will make it to the AFC Championship game this year. They are loaded on both sides of the field. The Titans are terrible. Vince Young has mentally checked-out and he has no playmakers to help him. Jags may shut them out. It will be ugly. We don’t care that the Titans usually play the Jags tough and cover. Take the Jags -3.

RUNNY PICKS (0-1 on the Season)

Lions -3 @ Falcons: The Falcons made some good moves in the offseason drafting Ryan and signing Michael Turner. They are going in the right direction, but it will take another year to get out of Vick’s debacle shadow. The Lions are just much better than they are this year right now. I think this line is low because Vegas is judging the Lions on the end of the year meltdown last year. The Lions have playmakers and will score some points. I don’t think Ryan is ready to keep up. Take the Lions -3.

Chiefs @ Pats -15.5: This is a ton of points and the Pats have been extremely cold when it comes to covering. However, the Chiefs are terrible and will not score points. Their D is good, but they will play mostly nickle against the Pats due to the passing attempts. When they do, 3 of their DB’s will be rookies. Brady will crush this. They may not run the ball more than 10 times in this game. Pats win in a blowout. Take the Pats-15.5.

Flash Flash Picks (0-0)
Nothing today but one game for sure on tap Monday night.

Check back with us for Monday Night’s games. We have picks for both games.

As always, good luck with your picks.

Runny and Flash