Are You Ready For Some Football?

September is finally here and summer is all but gone. With Labor Day behind us, the time has come to start another NFL season. On Thursday night, Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts will start defending their Superbowl Title as they host last season’s comeback team of the year, the New Orleans Saints.

News stands and Internet blogs are piling up as football fans look to find details that can give them insight into the first week of the gridiron battles. To help everyone along, I’ll be offering my own advice. I’ve been picking games for the last five years and so far boast a winning percentage of 55% against the spread. Although these may be exceptional numbers, I aim to break the elite mark of 60% this season. So stick with me each week as I analyze the schedule and give you my expert advice on four to six NFL games.

Here are this week’s picks:

· Kansas City Chiefs +3.5 @ Houston Texans
In the first four weeks of the season it is important to take advantage of the spreads and take as many underdogs as possible because the general public tends to go heavy on favorites, thus forcing line-setters to balance out the action and making the favorites less attractive. Kansas City’s game against Houston is a perfect example of selecting an underdog early in the season.
Houston’s additions at Quarterback and Running Back will improve this team in the long run. However, before Ahman Green can be a force in Houston’s backfield, he will need at least a couple of weeks to gel and get used to his offensive line’s tendencies, that’s if he doesn’t get hurt before then. On the other hand, Larry Johnson should have a great week and should lead the Chiefs to a win over the Texans. Take the Chiefs with the 3.5 points.

· Detroit Lions +2 @ Oakland Raiders
A weak Raiders team is at home to kick off the season. The Raiders’ do have home-field advantage, but that won’t be enough to get them passed the Detroit Lions. The Lions looked good during the pre-season and they shouldn’t have any problems handling the lowly Raiders. Don’t get me wrong, the Lions are a terrible team too and I wouldn’t pick them any other week. But this Sunday, the Lions will conquer Raider Nation’s Black Hole and they will squeak out the win in a low scoring affair. Take the Lions with the 2 points.

· Tennessee Titans +7 @ Jacksonville Jaguars
The Titans have a young and exciting team and they should be fun to watch this season. Even though Jacksonville has a solid Defensive core, they just aren’t fast enough to stop Vince Young from scrambling and finding ways to gain positive yardage. With Young being on the cover of this year’s edition of the Madden video game, many believe that he will get injured this season because of the Madden Curse. Since 1999, the players that have appeared on the cover of the popular game have either had a serious injury, or the worst season of their careers. However, this is the year that Young will do what the Boston Red Sox did in 2004 and reverse the curse. Take the Titans with the 7 points.

· Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Seattle Seahawks –5.5
Like everything else in this world, there are exceptions to every rule. This is one of the few times that you will see me select a favorite early on in the season. I simply could not resist this soft line. The Seahawks looked good in all aspects of their game in the pre-season. Look for Matt Hasselbeck to bounce back after his worst season as a starter last year. Between him, Shaun Alexander and Deion Branch, they should have enough firepower to light up the scoreboard against Jon Gruden’s Bucs. Take the Seahawks at minus 5.5.

With all the off-season transactions and drama, this season should be an enjoyable one for any football fan. I hope you’re all as excited as I am about the first week of the NFL season. After all, none of us have a losing record – yet. Until next week, Break your Bookie and Squish the Fish.