NFL Picks: Week 1

We’re two days from another NFL season, and I’m about to lose it. That’s what you get when you’re
A) a huge football fan, and
B) a baseball fan, but your two favorite teams (the Pirates and Rangers) are both in last place.
Each week, I will provide my picks for the upcoming NFL slate of games, and this year, my wife Jennifer wants to join the party. I’m providing score predictions, which will go against the line, as well as straight up, but Jennifer is picking just straight up.
She hates the line.
So without further delay, here’s what will happen in Week 1:

New Orleans at Indianapolis
Line: Indy by 5 1/2
I contend that New Orleans, while they’ll still be a good football team, won’t be the Katrina-hungry squad they were a year ago. In other words, teams won’t pity them anymore, and there’ll be no “cause” like last year. That said, they’re a dangerous offense with a bad defense. Sounds a lot like the Colts, which has a little better of an offense.
Pick: Colts 38, Saints 30

Jennifer’s pick: This one is tough because I am a huge Colts fan and they did win the Super Bowl, but also because who knows what’s going to happen to the Saints.  I’ve never been a “fan” of them, but I always root for them. Is the magic from last year going to come through for them again? I’m going with my gut and my gut says COLTS. 

Kansas City at Houston
Line: Texans by 3
I’m not sold on either of these teams after this preseason. Matt Schaub looks good for Houston, but Ahman Green as the running back? Kansas City kind of named Damon Huard the starting QB by default, since Brodie Croyle stunk it up in the preseason. Larry Johnson is the wild card in this one.
Pick: Chiefs 21, Texans 17
Jennifer’s pick: I think it’s going to take a lot more than getting rid of David Carr to help these guys out. CHIEFS.

Denver at Buffalo
Line: Denver by 3 1/2
People are picking Buffalo as a possible darkhorse, but I don’t buy it. The team took a beating in free agency. Denver’s more talented, and their secondary will shut down Losman and Evans.
Pick: Broncos 28, Bills 13
Jennifer’s pick: I don’t like either team and could care less. I’m going with BRONCOS.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland
Line: Steelers by 4 1/2
As a Cowboys fan, I’m praying for dozens upon dozens of Browns losses this year (Dallas has their No. 1 pick in 2008). Until Brady Quinn comes along, they’ll struggle.
Pick: Steelers 33, Browns 10
Jennifer’s pick: Umm…STEELERS.

Tennessee at Jacksonville
Line: Jaguars by 6 1/2
Jack Del Rio stirred up the Jaguars by cutting Leftwich loose and picking Garrard as the starting QB. Jacksonville may either rally around the new QB or fall apart. The Titans looked sharp last year, but Vince Young’s still young. They’re not there yet.
Pick: Jaguars 27, Titans 25
Jennifer’s picks: Don’t care. JAGS

Carolina at St. Louis
Line: Rams by 1
Carolina looked brutal in the preseason, and the Rams looked much better. I’m surprised St. Louis is only favored by 1 in this … but maybe they know something I don’t.
Pick: Rams 30, Panthers 26
Jennifer’s pick: Jake!!  He’s from my hometown, went to my college and led our team to the greatest victory in our history. (Take that Aggies.) But, I’m going RAMS.  Please send all hate mail to my husband’s attention.

Philadelphia at Green Bay
Line: Eagles by 3
Donovan McNabb looks scary again, and the Eagles frighten me. Green Bay, on the other hand, is improved and Favre could be making his last home opening start.
Pick: Eagles 21, Packers 20
Jennifer’s pick: Well, as a Packers girl at heart, I can never really pick against them.  GO PACK.

Atlanta at Minnesota
Line: Vikings by 3
The Falcons have been through hell and back with the Michael Vick thing … but their QB situation is still better than Minnesota’s. I’m not sold on Tavaris Jackson. Falcons regroup and win.
Pick: Falcons 20, Vikings 10
Jennifer’s pick: All I know about the Falcons this year is Joey Harrington is their QB.  All I know about the Vikings is nothing.  I would love to see the Falcons (as much as I don’t like them) do really well without Vick, so I’m going with FALCONS.

Miami at Washington
Line: Redskins by 3
As mayor of this blog, I hereby declare this to be the worst display of offense in Week 1. The Dolphins can’t throw the ball, and Washington can’t either.
Pick: Redskins 12, Dolphins 7
Jennifer’s pick: Hmm…I would really LOVE for the Dolphins to completely kick ass this year and shove Nick Saban’s face in it. But, I don’t really see that happening…however, I don’t know of any reason they couldn’t beat the Redskins.  DOLPHINS

New England at New York Jets
Line: Patriots by 6 1/2
I’m picking New England to make the Super Bowl this year, so they’ve got to start somewhere. The Jets will be tough at home though, so this isn’t a cakewalk.
Pick: Patriots 31, Jets 24
Jennifer’s pick: What’s not to like about Tom Brady? I mean the Patriots. Eric Mangini is great and I find myself pulling for him. PATRIOTS 

Tampa Bay at Seattle
Line: Seahawks by 6
Seattle isn’t a great team, but neither is Tampa Bay. Both will struggle this year, only Seattle’s downfall will be more noticeable. Tampa Bay plays tough in this one.
Pick: Seahawks 17, Bucs 14
Jennifer’s pick: Ooh, I really don’t like Hasselback, but I’m going SEAHAWKS 

Chicago at San Diego
Line: Chargers by 6
This is my surprise pick of the week … not because the Chargers will win, but because I don’t think it will be close. The offense will be too much for the Bears, and Chicago’s offense will sputter against San Diego.
Pick: Chargers 33, Bears 10
Jennifer’s pick: I’ve never been a Chargers fan, but for some reason, I find myself pulling for Phillip Rivers and L.T. CHARGERS 

Detroit at Oakland
Line: Raiders by 1 1/2
How can a 2-14 team be favored in Week 1 of the following season? By playing the Lions, that’s how. Still, I’ve got to assume Oakland will still be bad, whereas Detroit has to have improved … they HAVE to, right?
Pick: Lions 20, Raiders 9
Jennifer’s pick: Ugh.  LIONS 

N.Y. Giants at Dallas
Line: Cowboys by 6
I won’t be a complete homer when it comes to the Cowboys this year, but their chances do look good in this one. New York is in turmoil between Tiki (who’s not even on the field), Eli and Strahan’s shenanigans. Dallas will be out to prove they can play without Parcells. New York will be playing to get rid of Coughlin.
Pick: Cowboys 27, Giants 17
Jennifer’s pick: I was dreading this one.  As you’ll soon learn, I HATE the Cowboys.  I really, really HATE them.  (I hope my in-laws aren’t reading this.)  So, it pains me–it actually hurts my heart to do this.  COWBOYS.

Baltimore at Cincinnati
Line: Bengals by 2 1/2
This is about as even as you get for a Week 1 opener, but I give the nod to Cincy for being at home … plus I don’t think Baltimore will be able to keep up offensively, even with McGahee.
Pick: Bengals 28, Ravens 24
Jennifer’s pick: Palmer, Johnson, BENGALS 

Arizona at San Francisco
Line: 49ers by 3
This is a season for either one of these teams to shed off the label of “loser,” so this is a big game. I thin Arizona has more talent, and I expect Leinart to have a big day in this one.
Pick: Cardinals 31, 49ers 29
Jennifer’s pick: Yuck, what a crapfest.  NINERS

Appalachian State: Win divides local family

As editor, I don’t get to do a ton of story writing … but I was able to do some on Labor Day (thanks to a staff mostly taking the day off … lazy bums).

College football’s biggest upset divides Sanford family

By BILLY LIGGETT
bliggett@sanfordherald.com

SANFORD — Michigan alumna Laura Younger had no problem sending her daughter Alexandra to Appalachian State last year when it came time to decide on the next four years of her life.
Laura, who bleeds Wolverine blue and gold and proudly displays her Michigan banner in front of her Historic District home, didn’t know much about the little university in Boone, but it wasn’t as if she was sending her daughter off to an enemy — like Ohio State.
So when Laura and Alexandra, 19, learned earlier this year that Michigan, ranked No. 5 in the nation and a football powerhouse for decades, would face little Appalachian on the gridiron over Labor Day weekend, the two had a good chuckle.
“I joked to Alex that if Appalachian won, I’d fly an App. State banner in front of our house,” Laura recalled Monday … two days into the aftermath of what’s being called the greatest upset in college football history.
Today, she’s searching for that black and gold banner, and she’s not thrilled about it.
The Youngers, like the rest of college football fans across the country, are still in shock over Appalachian’s 34-32 victory over Michigan before 100,000-plus in the Wolverine’s “Big House” Saturday. However, Laura and Alexandra are dealing with their shock in two completely different ways.
For Laura, it’s smiling through the embarrassment and keeping her optimism alive.
For Alexandra, it’s trying to stay sane on a campus that’s gone completely football crazy over the past two days.
“I didn’t expect any of this to happen,” said Alexandra from her dorm room on the circus-like Boone campus Monday. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve been into football (Appalachian State has won two Div. I-AA national championships). But it’s been insane since this. The atmosphere and the people around here are probably the happiest I’ve ever seen them. People who went home over Labor Day weekend are starting to come back, and they’re excited … so it hasn’t stopped yet.”
Alexandra, who attended a Department of Defense High School in the U.K. as her father traveled with the military, chose not to come home to Sanford for Labor Day weekend because she wanted to spend a quality three-day weekend in the mountains instead. She watched the game Saturday from a club with a big screen in Boone, and when Appalachian State went up 14-7 early, she text-messaged her mother to tease her.
“As soon as we started scoring higher, I got more nervous. The fourth quarter was intense,” she said, adding that as the game went on, more and more people started to pile into the club to catch the game on TV. “Then Michigan went ahead toward the end, and I thought it was over. I’ve never seen so many people get so quiet so quickly.”
Appalachian kicked a field goal to go up 34-32 with just under a half minute to go in the game, but Michigan positioned itself for a game-winning field goal with six seconds left.
“I knew Michigan’s reputation, and I thought it was over at that minute,” Alexandra said. It was over, but not in the way she expected. Appalachian State blocked the final field goal attempt, picked up the loose ball and ran out the clock to complete what many thought was the impossible.
In Boone, things turned chaotic.
“Everyone went crazy,” Alexandra said. “Chairs flipped over, people jumped in the air … it was havoc. Everybody ran into the street.”
Alexandra was one of those who screamed and ran out into the street. Monday, her voice was still hoarse from all the yelling.
Back in Sanford, Laura and her husband Raymond didn’t say a whole lot.
“I kept thinking during the game that Michigan would pull itself together,” Laura said. “But they never did. They played like a freshman football team.”
Things were bad in the Younger household, but Laura was sure things were worse at her mother’s house in Michigan. Alexandra’s grandmother lives and breaths Michigan football, she said.
“I knew better than to call her,” Laura said. “So my dad called me, and when he asked if I wanted to speak to mom, all I heard in the background was ‘I don’t want to talk to anybody. Those … hillbillies ruined our season.’”
Two minutes after the final gun, the first post-game text message from Alexandra came across Laura’s phone. The phone call came later. Alexandra said the game has been one of the highlights of her year and two weeks at Appalachian State.
“It’s probably something I’ll always remember, something everybody will be talking about for the next decade,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll tell my future kids about how they beat my mom’s college.”
In Sanford, the Michigan flag still flies at Laura and Raymond’s house, even after the bet.
“We need to take it down,” Laura said. “I’m still embarrassed, especially since one of my neighbors is from Ohio State.”