Week three picks!

Quickly, before I get to the football picks for week three, Floyd Landis has been suspended from cycling for two years and has been stripped of his Tour de France title. Really? we didn't go over this already? I thought this was old news. Moving on to Dan's completely unreliable picks...

Colts (-6) over TEXANS

The Texans have beat two teams that are flawed. The Colts beat an under-whelming Saints team and barely got past the surprising Titans last week. The huge difference maker for Sunday is the fact that Texans on-the-cusp-of-superstardom wide receiver Andre Johnson is out. Without him, the Texans can't possibly beat the Colts. I don't think so at least.

Chargers (-5) over PACKERS

Do you think the Chargers are going to stay down after the beating the Patriots lay on them? They'd never let it happen. Favre's Packers are innocent victims in this one. If it goes the other way, it may be time to re-evaluate this San Diego team, namely it's coaching.

Vikings (+3) over CHIEFS

I like this Vikings team. They're not very appealing, but I have this feeling about them. The fact that the dreadful Chiefs are giving points only helps my pro-Vikes feeling.

Lions (+6) over EAGLES

I am firmly on the Kevin Kolb bandwagon and would love to see McNabb run out town, if only to see what his reaction is and who he blames instead of taking his failure like a man.

PATRIOTS (-16.5) over Bills

This game will go one of two ways. A) The Patriots will look great, go up by 14, then throw it into cruise control because the Bills haven't really poked the sleeping the giant. B) The Patriots will tear J.P. Losman to shreds and he will start crying on the sidelines. Does Buffalo even have a backup QB? Why does nobody ever clamour for him? Can he be that much worse than J.P.?

JETS (-3) over Dolphins

Kellen Clemens could possibly save the Jets even though he's been thrown directly into the fire. Trent Green cannot save the Dolphins because it's a) Trent Green and b) the Dolphins. Also, Zach Thomas may have a concussion and may have to sit this one out.

STEELERS (-9) over 49ers

The Niners are one of those teams that are bad but somehow jump out to 2-0 by flukes. Nobody calls them "the worst 2-0 team" because there's always another over-achiever (like the Texans) who are slightly worse. The Steelers shouldn't have much trouble here. The only thing I'm really hoping for is a Vernon Davis touchdown, wasn't he supposed to be the next great tight-end?

RAVENS (-8) over Cardinals

The Ravens are the team that I'll look at every week and like, no matter what. It may be Willis McGahee, it may be their defense, it may be Brian Billick, hell, it may be the purple in their uniforms. Who knows?

BUCS (-3.5) over Rams

Pundits say that you shouldn't be discouraged over Stephen Jackson's slow start. That would mean something a few weeks from now if the Rams are still faltering, but here, not so much. Also, Marc Bulger is a little banged up. He will more than likely play, but that's something that should be kept in mind.

BRONCOS (-3.5) over Jaguars

The Broncos have pulled their first two games off with late field goals; both were highlight reel worthy, albeit for different reasons. I see this trend change this week with a last-second, highlight reel touchdown instead of field goal. Why not?

SEAHAWKS (-3.5) over Bengals

If the Browns offense can drop 51 points on the Bengals, what hope do they honestly have of containing the Shaun Alexander and the Seahawks in Seattle. The Seahawks can easily go 7-1 or 8-0 at home juts based on their ludicris fan support.

RAIDERS (-3) over Browns

Remember how Derek Anderson looked like an all-world superstar last week? I doubt that will happen again, especially against a team that actually knows how to play defense.

Panthers (-3.5) over FALCONS

Can I bet that Joey Harrington will be booed off the field? What's the over/under on games before Byron Leftwich starts? DeAngelo Hall is the type of guy who would be either dumb enough or arrogant enough to talk trash to Steve Smith before the game, don't you think? Have you seen David Carr wearing his nancy boy white gloves on the sidelines? This game could actually be entertaining, but for the reasons I listed, nothing too football related.

REDSKINS (-3.5) over Giants

The Redskins looked good against the faltering Eagles on Monday night. The Giants are just about on par with that Eagles squad which isn't a good sign for them. The 'skins should roll and we'll all be force-fed some more "Look how good Jason Campbell's doing" articles next week.

BEARS (-3) versus Cowboys

This game is pretty much the decider of who's the best team in the NFC right now. Nobody else has really stood out enough to be part of the argument yet.

SAINTS (-4.5) over Titans

Can the Saints really lose their home opener? They always seem to do better at home and this is nearly a must-win game for them.

On the season: 14-13-3

A few quick thoughts

Honestly, I’ve been busy preparing an NBA training camp preview for the paper I work for so today’s post is just a few quick hits. But never you worry, tomorrow should be the NFL picks for week three.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has left the team after a disappointingly average start. Mourinho had been butting heads with team owner / alleged Russian mob boss Roman Abramovich. Should Mourinho wind up dead in an alley sometime soon, we may be able to remove that “alleged” for Abramovich’s title.

My boys, Blackburn have gotten off to a great start and are one of three teams that are yet to lose a game in the premiership. The other two are Arsenal and Liverpool, which are two of the “big four” in England. It’s not like the Rovers have had an easy schedule either, they’ve recently tied Chelsea 0-0 and defeated Manchester City, who are currently second in the standings.

The new jerseys in the NHL look awful. Just when I was running out of reasons to dislike this shoddily run league, they allow teams to roll out uniforms that are fit for practices at best. Toronto’s jerseys look especially pajama-like; all because they removed the two white strips at the bottom of their shirts. Vancouver and Dallas have both put their city names in bland writing on the fronts of the jerseys which looks straight-up awful as well. This is a great start for the NHL’s 2007-08 season.

Can the Yankees catch the Red Sox for the AL East division title? Honestly, I don’t care. Both teams are pretty much in the playoffs as the east winner while second place takes the wild card. Detroit has looked awful against Cleveland this series and don’t deserve to make the post-season.

NFL signings

In a move that I had already done in Madden to bolster my defensive line, the Cowboys signed suspended DT Tank Johnson. While Johnson is being forced to sit the first eight weeks of the season, he will be a welcome fill in for Dallas starter Jason Ferguson who is out for the season with a torn right biceps. Surprisingly, the deal is worth only $255,000 US, which is the pro-rated value of a league minimum deal. Johnson played very well when with the Bears and with this contract he seems like he’s just out to prove he can play and not bring dram (read: guns) to the locker-room.

The Atlanta Falcons showed how much confidence they have in Joey Harrington yesterday by signing Jacksonville cast-off Byron Leftwich. Harrington has played like, well, Joey Harrington in his first two games with Atlanta and has seemingly lost his chance to guide this club. Leftwich signed on for a two-year tour that will earn him $7 million. Byron not only has to prove to the Falcons fans and the organization that he can play, but he also has to prove to the rest of the league after being cut in favour of David Garrard. He could also be a good fantasy pick up considering he'll be part of a vaunted Bobby Petrino offense. But how long before he's starting?

Eagles punch-less

Well, hate to say i told you so, but the Washington Redskins went into Philadelphia last night and prevailed with a 20-12 win. The Eagles had a chance to tie the game up with a late fourth quarter drive, but Donovan McNabb came up small; his team was stopped in the 'Skins red zone. To make matters worse, on the third down play, he badly over threw his receiver on an out-pattern that would have netted Philly a first down on about the two-yard line.

Next to the Saints, the Eagles have to be one of those teams destined for a feature within the next week or two titled, "What's wrong with the (insert team name here)." It will be complete with a picture of either Donovan McNabb or Andy Reid with a dejected look on their face.

How many weeks should we set the over/under for Kevin Kolb's name been chanted by Philly fans. If McNabb can't bring wins to the City of Brotherly Love, his future there is doomed.

This Week: 8-6-1
This Season: 14-13-3