NFL PICKS - Week 1

Week 1 NFL Picks (winners in parentheses):

Thursday
At New Orleans -5 Minnesota (Minnesota)

Sunday
At New York Giants -7 Carolina (Carolina)
Miami -3.5 At Buffalo (Miami)
Atlanta -2 At Pittsburgh (Atlanta)
At Chicago -6.5 Detroit (Detroit)
At New England -4.5 Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
At Tampa Bay -3 Cleveland (Cleveland)
At Jacksonville -2.5 Denver (Jacksonville)
Indianapolis -2 At Houston (Indianapolis)
At Tennessee -6 Oakland (Tennessee)
Green Bay -3 At Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
San Francisco -3 At Seattle (San Francisco)
Arizona -4 At St. Louis (Arizona)
Dallas -3.5 At Washington (Washington)

Monday
At New York Jets -2.5 Baltimore (Baltimore)
San Diego -4.5 At Kansas City (San Diego)

College Football's Top Five Games of the Week:

At Notre Dame -4 Michigan (Michigan):
At Alabama -11.5 Penn St. (Penn St.)
At Oklahoma -8 Florida State (Florida State)
Oregon -12.5 At Tennessee (Oregon)
At Ohio State -9.5 Miami Fla (Ohio State)

Mark My Words - Here are the pro and college lines that I would put money on, and why:

Detroit +6.5 over CHICAGO - Detroit has a fresh infusion of talent to go along with their best coaching staff in the past fifty years. They are playing against an aging Chicago team that has turned to former Lions coaches in Mike Martz and Rod Marinelli, who presided over some of the worst offenses and defenses in Lions history. Detroit wins this one outright.

Minnesota + 5 over NEW ORLEANS - This was a close match up in the NFC Championship Game, and I don't expect anything less in week 1. While Minnesota has lost play making receiver Sidney Rice, New Orleans is hoping that Michael Jenkins can step in and replace Darren Sharper at safety who is out due to injury. The key to this one comes down to how sharp Brett Favre is without a training camp.

Penn State +12.5 over ALABAMA - Evan Royster can match the talent in the Crimson Tide backfield, while true freshman QB Robert Bolden is going to surprise some people this year for the Nittany Lions. I'm not saying Penn State will win, but giving them 12.5 points is way too high.