With hurricanes whipping up in the Atlantic and fall swallowing up the remains of summer in the Continental United States, wouldn’t it be nice to get away from all that? The Long Island Press will afford you that opportunity as part of the Grand Prize package that sends two to Hawaii along with weekly prizes as a part of The LI Press Picks Football Pool. For more details on prizes and free registration, visit LIPressPicks.com to enter, play and win!
Signing up is only half the fun, ladies and gentlemen. Picking the most correct NFL games on LI Press Picks Football Pool brings you that much closer from dipping the chips on Sunday to your toes in the sandy beaches of Maui.
We’ll be here every week providing you with picks to hang your hat on each week throughout the NFL Season. Just be sure to save that extra seat to Hawaii for me when you inch closer after you pick these teams for Week 2. Happy picking and good luck!
Percentages taken from fan voting on LI Press Picks Football Pool. Picks indicated in bold
Sleeper Pick of the Week
Miami (1-0) (9% picked) @ Minnesota (0-1) (91% picked)
Miami’s agile two-headed running attack will neutralize the Williams wall in Minny and run away with a close victory on the road against the Vikings. Brett Favre is lacking weapons, synchronization with the offense. The lackluster performance from Favre and the offense in Week 1 makes one wonder if all that missed time in camp may be showing its ill effects. With 91 percent of the population behind the Vikes, many a competitor may be further away from the Grand Prize after Miami steals this game in Minnesota.
Arizona (1-0) (20% picked) @ Atlanta (0-1) (80% picked)
Steve Breaston and Adrian Wilson’s strong play against the Rams help the Cardinals escape a Week 1 meltdown in St. Louis. Atlanta’s offense struggled to put points on the board against a tough Steelers defense with their rushing attack muffled for only 58 yards. Look for Atlanta to have more success against an Arizona defense that surrendered 325 yards of offense to rookie QB Sam Bradford and the limited St. Louis Rams.
Baltimore (1-0) (75% picked) @ Cincinnati (0-1) (25% picked)
The Bengals looked awful in week 1 against the Pats while the Ravens silenced the loudmouths of the Meadowlands with a throwback performance on defense. Expect the Ravens to have better success on offense against a Cincy team that was shredded for 341 passing yards in New England.
Kansas City (1-0) (56% picked) @ Cleveland (0-1) (44% picked)
The Chiefs looked like a completely different team on Monday night against the Chargers and a large part of that could be attributed to the work done by new defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. Look for the Chiefs to improve to 2-0 against a hapless Cleveland Browns squad.
Chicago (1-0) (12% picked) @ Dallas (0-1) (88% picked)
Despite a Sunday night embarrassment against the Redskins where the Cowboys played themselves out of a W, look for the Cowboys to expand on their 380 yards of offense at home against the Bears. The Bears should be 0-1 if not for a Megatron (DET WR Calvin Johnson) catch that was negated at the end of the Week 1 matchup against the Lions.
Philadelphia (0-1) (87% picked) @ Detroit (0-1) (13% picked)
This week 2 matchup will feature both back up QB’s getting the start as injuries to Philadelphia’s Kevin Kolb and Detriot’s Matthew Stafford will keep the starters out of action. Philly’s feared defense should bottle up rookie back Javid Best and limit Calvin Johnson on the outside after forcing two interceptions from QB Aaron Rodgers in Week 1.
Survivor pick of the week
Buffalo (0-1) (1% picked) @ Green Bay (1-0) (99% picked)
99 percent of you out there believe the Packers will defeat the Bills so who am I to buck the trend? The Packers are a Super Bowl ready team with championship ambitions while the Bills will be picking in the top ten in the 2011 NFL Draft.