FRIDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!!

Yeesh.  Last week you could tell it was week 1 still--I was only 9-8.  Now that everyone has played, maybe now we all know more.  On to week 2!!!!

COLLEGE PICKS

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame.  My pick:  FIGHTING IRISH.  Yes, ND has been hurt by injuries. And now Malik Zaire is out for the season.  But even with all their injuries, the Irish still have talent; everyone is picking Tech, thus giving the team something to rally around; and they are at home.  I can easily see ND finding a way, for one week anyway, to rally together and find a way to win.

Ole Miss at Alabama.  My pick:  CRIMSON TIDE.  Ole Miss has rolled up lots of points so far. They've been on the come the last year or two.  So why can't they knock off the Tide again?  Well, because...'Bama is at home, they still have lots of talent and Nick Saban, and they're still 'Bama.  I believe:  don't pick against them until they give you a reason to do so; haven't done that yet.

NFL PICKS

Houston at Carolina.  My pick:  PANTHERS   24-16.  Texans' Coach Bill O'Brien is already so desperate that he's switching quarterbacks.  Never a good sign.  Cam Newton and co. should do enough to win here.

San Francisco at Pittsburgh.  My pick:  STEELERS  28-17.  San Fran was impressive at home vs the Vikings.  But West Coast teams heading east the next week often struggle; and you have to think Big Ben and the Steelers will find ways to move the ball.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans.  My pick:  SAINTS  34-14.  Did you see some of the throws Jameis Winston made last game?  Horrible.  He'll improve; but facing an angry Saints team in the loud Superdome strongly suggests Winston will struggle again.

Detroit at Minnesota.  My pick:  VIKINGS 24-21.  I hate to pick against my Lions again; but going on the road for a second straight week is tough; and I can't believe the Vikes offense is as bad as it looked against the 49ers.

Arizona at Chicago.  My pick:  CARDINALS  27-20.  The Bears are tough at home; this will be a battle.  But if the Cardinals can keep Carson Palmer and all their playmakers healthy, I think they are a very strong team.

New England at Buffalo.  My pick:  PATRIOTS  23-21.  No doubt, that Buffalo defense looks strong. This game is at Buffalo.   Lots of folks on the Bills bandwagon right now.   This could be the game of the day.  But Belichick and Brady have quite the track record.  They know how to attack a Rex Ryan defense.  Beware of picking against Brady...

San Diego at Cincinnati.  My pick:  BENGALS  28-24.  This should be another excellent matchup.  Nobody has more respect for Philip Rivers than I do.  But the Bengals have lots of talent too. And once again--you have here a West Coast team having to go east and play.  Tough.  I like the Bengals here in a good game.

Tennessee at Cleveland.  My pick:  TITANS  21-20.  Very interesting--once again with the Titans we see a battle of the young QBs.  This time its Mariota vs Manziel.  Marcus Mariota was impressive last week.  Yes, he'll still struggle at times, because he's a rookie.  But he's shown more than Manziel has.  Look for Mariota to prevail in a close one.

Atlanta at NY Giants.  My pick:  FALCONS  31-24.  I  think the Falcons are an improved team.  And I ssuspect we'll see a Giants team nursing a hangover from their unbelievable screwup of last Sunday night.

St. Louis at Washington.  My pick:  RAMS 20-17.  It would not surprise me if the Redskins keep this one close, just like last week.  But the Rams look like an improved team to me with Nick Foles at QB; look for Tavon Austin to again make a big play and help win this one for St. Louis.

Miami at Jacksonville.  My pick:  DOLPHINS  27-14.  Miami won last week though they did not look that great.  But guess what--Jacksonville looked much worse.

Baltimore at Oakland.  My pick:  RAVENS  30-14.  Obviously the Ravens had their problems against Denver's tough defense last week.  But they are playing the sad-sack Raiders; 'nuff said.

Dallas at Philadelphia.  My pick:  EAGLES 31-27.  This should be another good game between the top 2 teams in the NFC East.  Dallas won every regular season road game it played last year; isn't the law of averages due to catch up to them?  It is hard to win continuously on the road.  Plus--for Dallas, no Dez Bryant.  That's tough.

Seattle at Green Bay.  My pick:  PACKERS  24-17.  Two good teams; but the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, who I believe right now is perhaps the best QB is the NFL.  And the Seahawks don't have Cam Chancellor, and you could see last week vs the Rams that they missed him--guys running free in the Seahawk secondary, tackles missed.  That's hurt you even more vs the Pack.

NY Jets at Indianapolis.  My pick:  COLTS 30-17.  The Colts have too much talent to play poorly again; they will bounce back at home.