Picks Against the Spread: NFL Divisional Round Edition

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
1/15 4:30 ET	At Pittsburgh	-3	Baltimore
1/15 8:00 ET	At Atlanta	-2.5	Green Bay
1/16 1:00 ET	At Chicago	-10	Seattle
1/16 4:30 ET	At New England	-8.5	NY Jets

NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 15

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
12/16 8:20 ET	At San Diego	-10	San Francisco

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
12/19 1:00 ET	At St. Louis	-3	Kansas City
12/19 1:00 ET	At Tennessee	-1.5	Houston
12/19 1:00 ET	At Indianapolis	-4.5	Jacksonville
12/19 1:00 ET	At Carolina	-2.5	Arizona
12/19 1:00 ET	At Cincinnati	PK	Cleveland
12/19 1:00 ET	At Miami	-5.5	Buffalo
12/19 1:00 ET	At NY Giants	-3	Philadelphia
12/19 1:00 ET	At Dallas	-7	Washington
12/19 1:00 ET	At Tampa Bay	-4	Detroit
12/19 1:00 ET	At Baltimore	-2	New Orleans
12/19 4:05 ET	Atlanta	-5.5	At Seattle
12/19 4:15 ET	At Pittsburgh	-4	NY Jets
12/19 4:15 ET	At Oakland	-8	Denver
12/19 8:20 ET	At New England	-14	Green Bay

Monday Night Football Point Spread

12/20 8:35 ET	Chicago	-7.5	At Minnesota (TCF Bank Stadium)

NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 14

Tough week...Been too hot the last five weeks

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
12/9 8:20 ET	Indianapolis	-3.5	At Tennessee
12/12 1:00 ET	At Jacksonville	-4	Oakland
12/12 1:00 ET	At Pittsburgh	-8.5	Cincinnati
12/12 4:15 ET	New England	-3	At Chicago
12/12 1:00 ET	At Buffalo	-1	Cleveland
12/13 7:05 ET	NY Giants	-3	At Minnesota
12/12 1:00 ET	Green Bay	-6.5	At Detroit
12/12 1:00 ET	Atlanta	-7	At Carolina
12/12 1:00 ET	Tampa Bay	-2	At Washington
12/12 4:05 ET	At New Orleans	-9	St. Louis
12/12 4:05 ET	At San Francisco	-5	Seattle
12/12 4:15 ET	At NY Jets	-5.5	Miami
12/12 4:15 ET	Denver	-4.5	At Arizona
12/12 4:15 ET	At San Diego	-7	Kansas City
12/12 8:20 ET	Philadelphia	-3.5	At Dallas

Monday Night Football Point Spread

12/13 8:35 ET	Baltimore	-3	At Houston

NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 13

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
12/2 8:20 ET	At Philadephia	-8	Houston
12/5 1:00 ET	At Minnesota	-5.5	Buffalo
12/5 1:00 ET	At Miami	-4.5	Cleveland
12/5 1:00 ET	At Tennessee	-3.5	Jacksonville
12/5 1:00 ET	At Kansas City	-8.5	Denver
12/5 1:00 ET	At NY Giants	-7	Washington
12/5 1:00 ET	Chicago	-5	At Detroit
12/5 1:00 ET	At Green Bay	-9	San Francisco
12/5 1:00 ET	New Orleans	-6.5	At Cincinnati
12/5 4:15 ET	Atlanta	-3	At Tampa Bay
12/5 4:05 ET	At San Diego	-13	Oakland
12/5 4:15 ET	At Seattle	-6	Carolina
12/5 4:15 ET	At Indianapolis	-5.5	Dallas
12/5 4:15 ET	St. Louis	-3.5	At Arizona
12/5 8:20 ET	At Baltimore	-3	Pittsburgh

Monday Night Football Point Spread

12/6 8:35 ET	At New England	-3.5	NY Jets

NFL Predictions Against the Spread Week 12

Predicted winners are in Bold and Italics.


Tough Sunday Afternoon...Lost a game by one point and another by half a point...

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
11/25 12:30 ET	New England	-7	At Detroit
11/25 4:15 ET	New Orleans	-4	At Dallas
11/25 8:20 ET	At NY Jets	-9.5	Cincinnati
11/28 1:00 ET	At Washington	-1	Minnesota
11/28 1:00 ET	Pittsburgh	-6.5	At Buffalo
11/28 1:00 ET	At Houston	-6.5	Tennessee
11/28 1:00 ET	At NY Giants	-7	Jacksonville
11/28 1:00 ET	At Cleveland	-10	Carolina
11/28 4:15 ET	At Baltimore	-7.5	Tampa Bay
11/28 4:15 ET	Philadelphia	-3.5	At Chicago
11/28 1:00 ET	At Atlanta	-2	Green Bay
11/28 4:05 ET	At Oakland	-3	Miami
11/28 4:05 ET	Kansas City	-2	At Seattle
11/28 4:15 ET	At Denver	-4	St. Louis
11/28 8:20 ET	At Indianapolis	-3	San Diego

Monday Night Football Point Spread

11/29 8:35 ET	San Francisco	-1	At Arizona

Alex Brown's 2011 Big Board: Week 12

*Noteable addition(s) to Big Board: Donta Hightower and Stefen Wisniewski

*Noteable dropoff(s) from the Big Board: Akeem Ayers and Leonard Hankerson

Week 11 NFL Picks Against the Spread

Coming off a 9-3-1 week...Post your thoughts in the comments section

Result:  10-5 Against the spread

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
11/21 1:00 ET	At Pittsburgh	-7.5	Oakland
11/21 1:00 ET	At NY Jets	-6.5	Houston
11/21 1:00 ET	Baltimore	-11.5	At Carolina
11/21 1:00 ET	At Tennessee	-7	Washington
11/21 1:00 ET	At Dallas	-6	Detroit
11/21 1:00 ET	Green Bay	-3	At Minnesota
11/21 1:00 ET	At Cincinnati	-5	Buffalo
11/21 1:00 ET	At Jacksonville	-2.5	Cleveland
11/21 1:00 ET	At Kansas City	-8	Arizona
11/21 4:05 ET	At New Orleans	-11.5	Seattle
11/21 4:05 ET	Atlanta	-3	At St. Louis
11/21 4:05 ET	At San Francisco	-3.5	Tampa Bay
11/21 4:15 ET	At New England	-4	Indianapolis
11/21 8:20 ET	At Philadelphia	-3	NY Giants

Monday Night Football Point Spread

11/22 8:35 ET	At San Diego	-9.5	Denver

NFL Predictions: Week 10 NFL Picks

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
11/14 1:00 ET	At Indianapolis	-7	Cincinnati
11/14 1:00 ET	At Jacksonville	-1.5	Houston
11/14 1:00 ET	Tennessee	-1.5	At Miami
11/14 1:00 ET	Minnesota	-1	At Chicago
11/14 1:00 ET	At Buffalo	-2.5	Detroit
11/14 1:00 ET	NY Jets	-3	At Cleveland
11/14 1:00 ET	At Tampa Bay	-7	Carolina
11/14 4:05 ET	Kansas City	-1	At Denver
11/14 4:15 ET	At San Francisco	-6	St. Louis
11/14 4:15 ET	At Arizona	-3	Seattle
11/14 4:15 ET	At NY Giants	-13.5	Dallas
11/14 8:20 ET	At Pittsburgh	-4.5	New England

Monday Night Football Point Spread

11/15 8:35 ET	Philadelphia	-3	At Washington

Good week last week.  Looking to keep it rollin

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
11/7 1:00 ET	Chicago	-3	At Buffalo (Toronto)
11/7 1:00 ET	San Diego	-3	At Houston
11/7 1:00 ET	New Orleans	-6	At Carolina
11/7 1:00 ET	At Minnesota	-7.5	Arizona
11/7 1:00 ET	At Atlanta	-9.5	Tampa Bay
11/7 1:00 ET	NY Jets	-5	At Detroit
11/7 1:00 ET	At Baltimore	-5.5	Miami
11/7 1:00 ET	New England	-4	At Cleveland
11/7 4:05 ET	NY Giants	-7	At Seattle
11/7 4:15 ET	At Oakland	PK	Kansas City
11/7 4:15 ET	At Philadelphia	-3	Indianapolis
11/7 8:20 ET	At Green Bay	-7	Dallas

Monday Night Football Point Spread

11/8 8:35 ET	Pittsburgh	-5	At Cincinnati

NFL Week 8 Picks Against the Spread

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
10/31 1:00 ET	San Francisco (At London)	-2	Denver
10/31 1:00 ET	At Dallas	-6.5	Jacksonville
10/31 1:00 ET	At Detroit	-2.5	Washington
10/31 1:00 ET	At NY Jets	-6.5	Green Bay
10/31 1:00 ET	At St. Louis	-2.5	Carolina
10/31 1:00 ET	Miami	-1	At Cincinnati
10/31 1:00 ET	At Kansas City	-7	Buffalo
10/31 4:05 ET	At San Diego	-5	Tennessee
10/31 4:15 ET	At Arizona	-3	Tampa Bay
10/31 4:15 ET	At Oakland	-2	Seattle
10/31 4:15 ET	At New England	-5.5	Minnesota
10/31 8:20 ET	At New Orleans	-1.5	Pittsburgh

Monday Night Football Point Spread

11/1 8:35 ET	At Indianapolis	-5.5	Houston

Week 7 NFL Predictions Against the Spread

Last Week - 7-5-2.  Decent week...I missed two games by one point.  Very close to going 9-3-2.

This Week - I'm not sure why the Chargers are favored against the Pats.  But I'll take the Pats as an underdog this week all day!  Look for T. Brady to have a big day

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
10/24 1:00 ET	Pittsburgh	-3	At Miami
10/24 1:00 ET	At Atlanta	-3.5	Cincinnati
10/24 1:00 ET	At Kansas City	-9.5	Jacksonville
10/24 1:00 ET	At Tennessee	-3	Philadelphia
10/24 1:00 ET	At Chicago	-3	Washington
10/24 1:00 ET	At New Orleans	-13	Cleveland
10/24 1:00 ET	At Baltimore	-13	Buffalo
10/24 1:00 ET	San Francisco	-3	At Carolina
10/24 1:00 ET	At Tampa Bay	-3	St. Louis
10/24 4:05 ET	At Seattle	-6.5	Arizona
10/24 4:15 ET	At San Diego	-2.5	New England
10/24 4:15 ET	At Denver	-7.5	Oakland
10/24 8:20 ET	At Green Bay	-2.5	Minnesota

Monday Night Football Point Spread

10/25 8:35 ET	At Dallas	-3	NY Giants

NFL Predictions: Week 6 Picks With the Spread

My picks are in bold and italics.  Go Pats!

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
10/17 1:00 ET	San Diego	-8.5	At St. Louis
10/17 1:00 ET	At Houston	-4.5	Kansas City
10/17 1:00 ET	At New England	-3	Baltimore
10/17 1:00 ET	New Orleans	-5.5	At Tampa Bay
10/17 1:00 ET	At Philadelphia	-1.5	Atlanta
10/17 1:00 ET	At NY Giants	-10	Detroit
10/17 1:00 ET	At Chicago	-6	Seattle
10/17 1:00 ET	At Green Bay	-3	Miami
10/17 1:00 ET	At Pittsburgh	-14	Cleveland
10/17 4:05 ET	NY Jets	-3.5	At Denver
10/17 4:05 ET	At San Francisco	-7	Oakland
10/17 4:15 ET	At Minnesota	-2	Dallas
10/17 8:20 ET	Indianapolis	-3	At Washington

Monday Night
Football Point Spread

10/18 8:35 ET	Tennessee	-3	At Jacksonville

NFL Week 5 Picks Against the Spread

Winners Highlighted in Bold and Red, KM indicates Keith's picks.

Date & Time	Favorite	Spread	Underdog
10/10 1:00 ET	At Baltimore	-7.5	Denver (KM)
10/10 1:00 ET	At Buffalo	-2	Jacksonville (KM)
10/10 1:00 ET	At Indianapolis(KM)	-7	Kansas City
10/10 1:00 ET	At Detroit (KM)	-3	St. Louis
10/10 1:00 ET	Atlanta (KM)	-3	At Cleveland
10/10 1:00 ET	At Cincinnati	-6.5	Tampa Bay (KM)
10/10 1:00 ET	At Carolina	-3	Chicago (KM)
10/10 1:00 ET	Green Bay (KM)	-2.5	At Washington
10/10 1:00 ET	At Houston (KM)	-3	NY Giants
10/10 4:05 ET	New Orleans (KM)	-7	At Arizona
10/10 4:15 ET	San Diego (KM)	-6.5	At Oakland
10/10 4:15 ET	At Dallas (KM)	-7	Tennessee
10/10 8:20 ET	At San Francisco	-3	Philadelphia (KM)

Monday Night Football Point Spread

10/11 8:35 ET	At NY Jets	-4	Minnesota (KM)

AJ's Week 4 NFL Picks Against the Spread

I have had a number of people asking me if I could predict games against the spread, so here goes.  I apologize for not doing so during the first few games of the season.


Sunday, October 3, 2010


49ers at Falcons (-6.5)
AJ's Pick: Falcons.  The 49ers have looked pretty miserable thus far.  Alex Smith was supposed to have a breakout season as they retained offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye.  He was fired after they got smoked by the Chiefs.

Jets (-6.5) at Bills
AJ's Pick: Jets.  I think Sanchez will keep playing as well as he has the last few weeks and the Jets' D will shut down a Bills' offense that put up 30 points last week (against a week Pats' D)

Bengals (-3) at Browns
AJ's Pick: Bengals.  A week after being ripped up by Anquan Boldin, expect the Bengals to throw the ball a lot this week, with Cedric Benson struggling with a knee injury.


Lions at Packers (-14.5)
AJ's Pick: Lions.  The Lions could well be 2-1 at this point.  The Lions will keep this a close game.


Broncos at Titans (-6.5)
AJ's Pick: Titans.  The best passing offense thus far vs. the fifth best pass defense.  The fifth best pass defense also has Chris Johnson running the ball.  


Seahawks (-1) at Rams
AJ's Pick: Seahawks.  In probably the least exciting game of the week, the Seahawks linebackers will play a huge role in this game.  And Stephen Jackson will see just limited time this week.


Panthers at Saints (-13.5)
AJ's Pick: Saints.  This will be a blowout.


Ravens at Steelers (-1.5)
AJ's Pick: Ravens.  This is going to be a very low-scoring battle, but the Ravens have a few more playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.  Joe Flacco will have to limit the mistakes.  This game is very hard to pick, given the Steelers still have Troy Polamalu...


Texans (-3) at Raiders
AJ's Pick: Texans.  In the Texans last game without Brian Cushing, they will make it appear that they don't even need him, shutting down the Raiders offense.


Colts (-9) at Jaguars
AJ's Pick: Colts.  Peyton Manning has yet to throw an interception (9 TDs) and expect more of the same.  


Redskins at Eagles (-6)
AJ's Pick: Eagles.  In the game that everyone is talking about because of Donovan McNabb, and I think the Redskins will step up in an enormous way for him.  However, Mike Vick has a stronger team surrounding him.
Eagles fans better not boo McNabb.  He gave everything he had to that organization and they shipped him off.


Cardinals at Chargers (-8)
AJ's Pick: Chargers.  The Cardinals gameplan and success is built around a high-powered aerial attack, and Derek Anderson has thrown just three touchdowns in three games, and is completing a dismal 52% of his passes.


Bears at Giants (-3.5)
AJ's Pick: Bears.  With a stifling defense, a revamped offense and explosive special teams, the Bears will continue the Giants two game losing streak.


Patriots (-1) at Dolphins
AJ's Pick: Patriots.  Brady has too many weapons.  This is going to be a high-scoring game, as the Patriots defense looked miserable against the Bills a week ago.

Alex Jenny's Week 3 NFL Picks

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Expect to see a lot of these two this week when the Dolphins upset the Jets

Tennessee Titans at NY Giants (1:00 PM)

Alex's Pick: Giants

Why:  Jeff Fisher.  Benching Vince Young last week was not the right move, in my opinion, even if he hadn't been playing well.  Who knows if he'll do the same this week, but the Titans showed last year they are much better off with VY under center.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1:00 PM)

Alex's Pick: Steelers

Why:  Steelers defense.  The Bucs don't have the offensive firepower to put up many points this week.  They won't score more than 14 points.

Cincinnati Bengals at Carolina Panthers (1:00 PM)

Alex's Pick: Bengals

Why:  Jimmy Clausen.  He will be making his first start this week, and even though he will likely enjoy a successful career in the NFL, it could be a tough first one against the Bengals defense.

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns (1:00 PM)

Alex's Pick: Ravens

Why:  The Browns have one playmaker on their roster in Josh Cribbs.  The Ravens have plenty.

Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans (1:00 PM)

Alex's Pick:  Texans

Why:  The Texans have a running game now...uh-oh.  And the Cowboys must get their pound-on-the-ground identity back.

San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs

Alex's Pick: 49ers

Why:  The 49ers looked much better against the Saints and will pick up their first win against the surprisingly 2-0 Chiefs.

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (1:00 PM)

Alex's Pick: Vikings

Why: The Lions have had their share of bad luck this season, but the Vikings will come out hungry and beat the Lions easily.

Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots (1:00 PM)

Alex's Pick: Patriots

Why:  Bills' quarterback situation.  

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints (1:00 PM)

Alex's Pick: Saints

Why:  The Saints have such a well-balanced offense they can beat you in many ways.

Washington Redskins at St. Louis Rams (4:05 PM)

Alex's Pick:  Redskins

Why:  Donovan McNabb has shown already this season why he took the Eagles to the NFC Championship game, leading an overachieving Redskins team to nearly a 2-0 start (lost in overtime to the Texans).

Philadelphia Eagles at Jacksonville Jaguars (4:05 PM)

Alex's Pick: Eagles

Why: Mike Vick looks like the Mike Vick of old, and then some.  He has a QB rating of 105.5 and has rushed for 140 yards in two games.

Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals (4:15 PM)

Alex's Pick: Raiders

Why:  Derek Anderson.  The Cardinals offense is built for a quarterback like Kurt Warner, and Derek Anderson has not been able to fill that role, throwing just one touchdown in two weeks.

San Diego Chargers at Seattle Seahawks

Alex's Pick: Chargers

Why:  So far, Ryan Mathews has not lived up to his hype, but he will have a big game this week.
UPDATE: Ryan Mathews, listed as doubtful.  Looks like Rivers and Gates may be the ones to carry the Chargers this weekend.

Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos (4:15 PM)

Alex's Pick: Colts

Why: The Colts are lucky they get to play the lowly Broncos when they are without Pierre Garçon and Anthony Gonzalez.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (8:20 PM)

Alex's Pick: Dolphins

Why: The Dolphins will wear out the Jets defense, and make them really miss DT Kris Jenkins

Monday, September 27, 2010

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

Alex's Pick: Packers

Why: The Bears have been impressive on their way to a 2-0 start, but this one will come down to consistency at the quarterback position.  Aaron Rodgers has a whole lot of weapons to throw to.

Week 2: 8-8

Week 1: 9-7

Overall: 17-15

Alex Jenny's Week 2 NFL Picks and Why - Manning Bowl, Jets-Pats and More

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Titans

Alex's Pick: Titans

Why:  Chris Johnson, Vince Young and Dennis Dixon.  Vince Young is a winner, Chris Johnson is electrifying and Dennis Dixon is too inconsistent to lead an offense.
Steelers Win

Miami Dolphins at Minnesota Vikings

Alex's Pick: Vikings

Why:  Adrian Peterson.  He is a freak and could be in for a big day against the Dolphins.
Dolphins Win

Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons

Alex's Pick: Falcons

Why:  Matt Leinart.  After narrowly escaping the lowly Rams, the Cardinals' QB disaster will catch up with them sooner rather than later.
Falcons Win

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals

Alex's Pick: Ravens

Why:  Anquan Boldin.  The Ravens finally have a legitimate threat at receiver to go along with their strong run game and punishing defense.
Bengals Win

Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns

Alex's Pick: Chiefs

Why:  Chiefs' rookies.  Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas were huge for the Chiefs in week 1, so expect to see more of their explosiveness this week.  (Plus, they need to beat the lowly Browns for Keith's 10-6 prediction to come true!)
Chiefs Win

Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys

Alex's Pick: Cowboys

Why:  The Cowboys HAVE to play better than they did last week.
Bears Win

Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions

Alex's Pick: Eagles

Why: Matt Stafford.  I had the Lions as the winner of this game until I thought about Matt Stafford's impact on the Lions' success.
Eagles Win

Buffalo Bills at Green Bay Packers

Alex's Pick: Packers
Why: C.J. Spiller.  The fact that the Bills drafted a top-10 player who plays the position that they are deepest at shows the Bills are going nowhere.

Packers Win

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers

Alex's Pick: Panthers

Why:  Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.  The Panthers will run the ball all game this week.
Buccaneers Win

Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos

Alex's Pick:  Seahawks
Why: Poodle Pete.  Pete Carroll could be pretty successful in his second NFL stint...the 'Hawks looked great last week while dominating the 49ers.
Broncos Win

St. Louis Rams at Oakland Raiders

Alex's Pick: Rams
Why: Sam Bradford.  The #1 pick this year threw the ball over 50 times in his debut and did not look like a rookie at all.  Two of his three INTs were prayers, aka good plays by him.
Raiders Win

Houston Texans at Washington Redskins

Alex's Pick: Texans
Why:  Andre Johnson.  As dominant as Arian Foster was last week the Texans are a passing team.

Texans Win

New England Patriots at New York Jets

Alex's Pick: Patriots

Why:  Receivers under 25.  The Patriots have so much young talent at wide receiver.  Brady can spread the ball around very effectively, even against the Jets defense.
Jets Win

Jacksonville Jaguars at San Diego Chargers

Alex's Pick: Chargers
Why: Jaguars defense.  They won't be able to stop Rivers, Gates and Mathews.  (And hopefully Malcom Floyd, he's on my fantasy team...sleeper alert!)
Chargers Win

New York Giants at Indianapolis Colts

Alex's Pick: Colts
Why: Peyton Manning.  Duh.
Colts Win

Monday, September 21, 2010

New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers

Alex's Pick: Saints
Why: Saints defense.  The Saints are known for Drew Brees and their high-powered offense but their defense will shut down a 49ers offense that struggled against the Seahawks.  
Saints Win


Week 2: 8-8
Week 1: 9-7


Overall: 17-16

The 12 Teams That Will Make the NFL Playoffs and Why

AFC
1.  Indianapolis Colts

• The Colts are coming off a year when they very easily could have gone 16-0 had they chosen to play their starters in the last two games..  They had locked up the first seed in the AFC and chose to rest their starters.  I'm not sure that they can have as much success in the regular season unless their running game improves a bit.  The Colts' have Bob Sanders healthy (for now) which will drastically improve their defense and Peyton Manning is a winner.  

2.  Baltimore Ravens

• I think the Ravens adding Anquan Boldin this offseason was the biggest move of the year.  The Ravens have long had a powerful run game and punishing defense.  The Ravens now have a quarterback with a rocket for an arm, and adding Boldin is going to take a ton of pressure off of Derrick Mason and another new addition at WR in Donte Stallworth.  The Ravens defense will be above average as long as Ray Lewis is in the middle (and perhaps longer).  They are huge up front with Haloti Ngata and Rookie Terrence "Mount" Cody.

3.  New York Jets

• The Jets had one of the flashiest offseasons in recent memory, adding to a team that ran their way to the AFC Championship game.  They added the likes of WR Santonio Holmes, CB Antonio Cromartie, RB LaDanian Tomlinson, OLB Jason Taylor and veteran QB Mark Brunell. The Jets' big question mark is at quarterback with Mark Sanchez at the helm.  I was really torn between picking the Patriots or the Jets to win the AFC East but I think the Patriots just have too many question marks on defense.

4.  San Diego Chargers

• The Chargers have the luxury of playing in a very weak AFC West, but they are currently without two former Pro Bowlers in WR Vincent Jackson and LT Marcus McNeill.  The Chargers are expecting huge things from rookie RB Ryan Mathews.  They will need some players to step up (cough, Shawne Merriman) on defense if they want to make any moves in January.  They need a pass rush, especially with the loss of Antonio Cromartie.

5.  New England Patriots

• Tom Brady is going to have a huge year this year.  The young talent that they have at wide receiver and tight end is astounding.  Randy Moss and Wes Welker have been Brady's favorite targets in the past but he now has young players such as WRs Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman and rookie TEs Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.  The defense is very inexperienced, however.  The pass rush may be a concern with the loss of DE Ty Warren to injured reserve.  CB Leigh Bodden is out for the year and three of the four starters in the secondary are in their second or first year.  However, Brady will be able to carry them to, at worst, a wild-card spot in the playoffs.

6.  Houston Texans

• The Texans have been steadily improving since the franchise began in 2002.  I think the Texans are ready to take the next step and make the playoffs this year.  They have a top five quarterback and arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, but their running game is a huge concern, especially after the injury to rookie RB Ben Tate.  Brian Cushing will be out four games and the loss of CB Dunta Robinson is big, but with Cushing in the lineup the Texans have an elite linebacking core.

NFC
1. New Orleans Saints

• I know this is a bit unfair considering their first game has already happened, but beating the Vikings in week 1 was an enormous win for the Saints.  Not only was it a very tough opponent but it was essential for the defending champs to make a statement in week 1.  They return almost every starter from a year ago, and the only team I see that could beat them out for the first seed is...

2. Green Bay Packers 

• Aaron Rodgers has done more than just fill in for Brett Favre the last two seasons and Ryan Grant has run for over 1,200 yards the last two years.  The Packers and the Vikings will both win a lot of games in the division playing two games each against the Lions and Bears.  In addition to their great offense they have a very solid defense and they should be able to knock off the Vikings for the NFC North title.

3.  Dallas Cowboys

• The Dallas Cowboys have an incredibly stacked roster, but the NFC East will simply be very competitive this year.  The Cowboys will have to play the Eagles, Giants and the much improved Redskins twice each.  The Cowboys are definitely the superior team and will win the NFC East but will not finish with a record good enough to earn them a bye-week.

4.  San Francisco 49ers

• If the 49ers were in any other division I highly doubt they would be a divisional winner.  However, they are in the NFC West with the Seahawks, Cardinals and the Rams.  The 49ers also have Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Patrick Willis.  The three of them singlehandedly give them a chance to win every game in that division.

5.  Minnesota Vikings

• The Vikings have the ability to be one of the top wild-card winners in recent years.  Two of the top three teams in the NFC are in the division and the winner of this division could come down to a tiebreaker.  It doesn't help that they began their season 0-1.  Losing Sidney Rice for half of the year is a big blow and Greg Camarillo will need to step up for them to have a shot at the NFC North.

6.  Atlanta Falcons

• I think the Eagles, Giants and Redskins will beat up on each other enough that there will be no wild card winner from the division.  The Falcons absolutely have the talent to make the playoffs and to make a push.  Matt Ryan is a gamer and having targets like Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White with a rushing attack powered by Michael Turner is certainly helpful.

Alex Jenny's Week 1 NFL Picks

Thursday, September 9, 2010
Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints
Alex's Pick: New Orleans Saints

Sunday, September 12, 2010
Carolina Panthers at New York Giants
Alex's Pick: New York Giants

Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers
Alex's Pick: Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Alex's Pick: Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos at Jacksonville Jaguars
Alex's Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
Alex's Pick: Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Alex's Pick: Miami Dolphins

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
Alex's Pick: Detroit Lions

Oakland Raiders at Tennessee Titans
Alex's Pick: Tennessee Titans

Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots
Alex's Pick: New England Patriots

Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams
Alex's Pick: Arizona Cardinals

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Alex's Pick: San Francisco 49ers

Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
Alex's Pick: Green Bay Packers

Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
Alex's Pick: Dallas Cowboys

Monday, September 13, 2010
Baltimore Ravens at New York Jets
Alex's Pick: Baltimore Ravens

San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
Alex's Pick: San Diego Chargers