Welcome back, football fans! This is now the sixth year in which I have committed myself to picking every single NFL regular season game.
As a reminder, I pick the winners straight-up, without taking the spread into account (although I do offer my best guess as to what the margin of victory will be). My goal, as always, is to beat ESPN's NFL "experts": Eric Allen, Mike Golic, Merril Hoge, Ron Jaworski, Chris Mortensen, Adam Schefter, Mark Schlereth, and Seth Wickersham, as well as the "Accuscore" and "Pick 'em" predictions.
Writing these columns is much more fun when my readers get involved, so please consider offering your own predictions in the comments section below.
Now it's time for my picks for the NFL's Week One:
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
New Orleans at Green Bay (8:30 PM) [Line: Packers by 4]
Pretty much everyone expects the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers to win the NFC North and make a deep run in the postseason. TE Jermichael Finley and RB Ryan Grant are healthy again, and Aaron Rodgers has proven himself to be an elite quarterback.
The New Orleans Saints are widely expected to be competitive in a tough division. They drafted DE Cameron Jordan and RB Mark Ingram and the first round, and both are likely to be big contributors. They also added two defensive tackles, Aubrayo Franklin from San Francisco and Shaun Rogers from Cleveland.
RJ's Pick: Green Bay by 8
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Atlanta at Chicago (1:00 PM) [Line: Falcons by 3]
Like the Saints, the Atlanta Falcons are expected to finish at or near the top of the NFC South. They drafted the very talented WR Julio Jones, who can stretch the field with his excellent speed. There is a lot of pressure on QB Matt Ryan to take this team back to the playoffs, and this time actually win a game or two (or three or four).
The Chicago Bears are expected to battle the Detroit Lions for second place in the NFC North. The rule change mandating kickoffs from the 35-yard line largely nullifies Chicago's excellent return game and therefore puts more pressure on QB Jay Cutler. Speaking of Cutler, he was sacked 52 times last season, and Chicago's offensive line does not appear to have been upgraded significantly in the offseason.
Article comments
1 - D Marco
Hey RJ great blog! What was your record last year? I know I always came to your site before I did my office football pool picks. Last year I tied for first place out of 100+ people.
Keep up the good predicting.
2 - RJ
Thanks for reading, Marco.
My record from last year can be found here.
3 - C2E
Great to see you back for another season, RJ! I haven't done my picks yet, so I'll read your article once I've made my selections. I'll post my picks soon.
4 - RJ
Thanks, C2E. I'll look forward to your picks.
5 - richard d whitt
r u ready for some football or what? i have pick you to guide me through the season gonna be a good year. you are the captain of my pick ship dont let me down captain rj
6 - RJ
Heh. I will try not to let you down, Richard.
7 - John Wertschnig
Bears-24
Falcons 21
8 - C2E
I guess reading your pick column for five of the last 6 years has made me a better picker! (Or, better at guessing how you'll pick. Or, then there's the pure coincidence thing....)
Anyway, our picks are the same except for the fact that the Steelers will spoil the Raven's home opener. A formidable task, but one the Steelers are capable of and up for (regardless of preposition placement).
Good luck! My Picks:
Packers over Saints
Lions over Buccaneers
Falcons over Bears
Bills over Chiefs
Texans over Colts
Eagles over Rams
Steelers over Ravens
Browns over Bengals
Titans over Jaguars
49ers over Seahawks
Cardinals over Panthers
Chargers over Vikings
Giants over Redskins
Cowboys over Jets
Patriots over Dolphins
Raiders over Broncos
9 - RVJr
Yeah RJ you got Dallas over the Jets! You know whats up. Only difference in picks.. Vikings beat Chargers..
10 - C2E
Hella game!!! Cheering all the way for the Saints but glad I picked the Packers. Looks like we are both 1-0 for the start of the season.
11 - C2E
Oh, maybe you nailed the spread, too...
12 - RJ
Final Score:
Packers 42, Saints 34 - RJ 1-0 [1-0 ATS]
And I nailed the spread. Nice way to start the season. :)
13 - Mike
your picks suck so far . why did i ever use you????????????
14 - RJ
Final Scores:
Bears 30, Atlanta 12 - RJ 1-1 [1-1 ATS]
Bengals 27, Browns 17 - RJ 1-2 [1-2 ATS]
Bills 41, KC 7 - RJ 1-3 [2-2 ATS]
Eagles 31, Rams 13 - RJ 2-3 [3-2 ATS]
Lions 27, TB 20 - RJ 3-3 [4-2 ATS]
Jaguars 16, Titans 14 - RJ 3-4 [5-2 ATS]
Ravens 35, Steelers 7 - RJ 4-4 [6-2 ATS]
Houston 34, Colts 7 - RJ 5-4 [7-2 ATS]
Redskins 28, Giants 14 - RJ 5-5 [7-3 ATS]
SF 33, Seattle 17 - RJ 6-5 [8-3 ATS]
SD 24, Vikings 17 - RJ 7-5 [8-4 ATS]
Arizona 28, Carolina 21 - RJ 8-5 [8-4-1 ATS]
15 - RJ
ESPN's "experts" through 13 games:
Allen 8-5
Golic 8-5
Hoge 7-6
Jaworski 9-4
Mortensen 7-6
Schefter 9-4
Schlereth 8-5
Wickersham 9-4
Accuscore 8-5
Pick 'em 8-5
16 - RJ
Final Score (What a game!):
Jets 27, Cowboys 24 - RJ 8-6 [9-4-1 ATS]
17 - C2E
Missed the Steelers call...very close back and forth game, though . Much like the Texans-Colts game. On your seat to the very end! Glad I missed on such a close one.
Okay, back to the real world now...
18 - RJ
Final Score:
Patriots 38, Miami 24 - RJ 9-6 [10-4-1 ATS]
(And I nailed the spread again...)
19 - RJ
Final Score:
Raiders 23, Broncos 20 - RJ 10-6 [11-4-1 ATS]
20 - RJ
ESPN's "experts" in Week One:
Allen
10-6
Golic
10-6
Hoge
9-7
Jaworski
10-5
Mortensen
8-8
Schefter
11-5
Schlereth
10-6
Wickersham
11-5
Accuscore
10-6
Pick 'em
10-6
21 - RJ
Week 2 picks are here!