Week 2 predictions ... including the big MNF matchup!

First, let's get some easy ones out of the way. If you just want to know my Philly-Dallas pick, just scroll to the bottom. Tennessee vs. Cincinnati: The Titans won't blow this out by more than 20 points, but the outcome will never be in doubt. Green Bay vs. Detroit: Detroit will dig themselves a hole quickly with turnovers that turn into touchdowns. Then they will either bury themselves in it or comically attempt to frantically climb out of the hole. New York Giants vs. St. Louis: This one won't be close. Winning against the Rams will lose all significance after this beatdown. Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland: You'll swear you saw the exact same highlights of the Steelers rolling and the Browns getting rolled last week. Now, on to the tougher ones: Chicago vs. Carolina: Do you go against Carolina two weeks in a row? This game will be in the low teens for both teams in terms of scoring, and I think expecting more than two offensive touchdowns would be expecting a lot. Carolina squeaks through this one because they're at home and they played a tougher contest the week before. Buffalo vs. Jacksonville: Now we see how solid the Jacksonville offensive line is against their old teammate, Marcus Stroud. Buffalo is playing more opportunistic defense right now. They actually remind me of the Jags over the last couple of seasons, playing games close and winning on turnovers and special teams. I'm going with Buffalo, but again, a close one. Oakland vs. Kansas City: These teams are pretty evenly matched, but Kansas City wants it more. After that near upset vs. the Pats they'll be running on adrenaline. Adrenaline being something the Raiders appear to completely lack. Kansas City by at least ten. Indianapolis vs. Minnesota: Both teams showed glaring holes in their defense. For Indy, it was letting themselves get run over by the Bears O-line, while Minny showed it still can't stop the pass. So who thinks Indy will be able to stop A.P.? Not I. But will Peyton get his groove back in the air? Most certainly. Indianapolis employs the bend-but-don't-break strategy which will keep the Vikings to mostly field goals, and I think even a depleted Indy O-line will be able to keep Peyton upright. The Colts by three or less. New Orleans vs. Washington: This one actually might not be that close, it's just not a gimme on either side. Washington can't be that bad, can they? They might not lack talent, but the willpower of the team is very weak. The real question is how much New Orleans will be content to ground it out now that Colston is injured. I give this one to the Saints. San Francisco vs. Seattle: When I think of Seattle this season, the song "Everything Hits At Once" by Spoon comes to mind. I've never heard of any of the WR's they'll trot out Sunday. Maurice Morris isn't that big a loss, but if they had him starting they must've seen something we didn't. My Niner fanhood comes through, because I still think the 49ers will get their act together offensively. I'll give you a score: 16-10. Both teams get one offensive touchdown, but turnovers by Seattle give the Niners field position several times. They fail to turn it into TD's, but the field goals win it for them. Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay: This will be a good test of Atlanta's offense after the no-contest beatdown it laid on the Detroit defenders. Can Michael Turner get to 125, 150 yards? Can Matt Ryan avoid turning over the ball to a defense that is built to force turnovers? Will Derrick Brooks play? We can figure on the other side that Tampa won't be able to accomplish anything offensively with Ernest Graham and a bunch of has-beens at the skill positions lead by Brian Griese the never-was at QB. I think TB gets the turnovers that make the difference, and Tampa Bay's home-field advantage is underrated. TB by a touchdown. Miami vs. Arizona: I started to look into analysis for the preview of this one, but stopped. I'm going with gut instinct on this one. Miami is hungry, they're playing with a nothing-to-lose attitude that can be dangerous to a team that has never felt momentum in the Cards. Miami in a last-play victory. San Diego vs. Denver: This is a little early for a State of the AFC West address, but here we go. San Diego is missing their most dynamic defender (Merriman) and their best DB (Cromartie) is limping. Look at their offensive weaponry. Gates is hobbled, and while he doesn't have to have mobility to be effective, he does need the ability to shake LB's to be deadly. Can't do that with a toe injury. And LT hasn't practiced all week! The Chargers' streak of winning in Denver ends at two, but this one goes to the last play as well. Baltimore vs. Houston: This game will be too ugly to delve into predictions. Baltimore wins with defensive scoring, neither team scores more than 13 points. New England vs. New York Jets: The Patriots come out with a chip on their shoulder, but betting on them to dominate this game is like asking the Chargers to dominate Denver without LT. I can't see the Jets winning this game: they didn't impress me at all last week. Patriots in a close one. And now, the big one ... PHILADELPHIA VS. DALLAS: Break it down, Lysol! We'll all right, since you asked ...Let's break down by sides of the ball: Eagles offense vs. Cowboys defense: The advantage on this one has to go to the Eagles. That doesn't mean there will be a lot of scoring, though. Andy Reid is one of the best coaches in the NFL of lulling a defense into thinking that it has you figured out, and then hurting them deep with a play-action, reverse or other trickery. They won't score many times, but the scores will be highlight material every time. Cowboys offense vs. Eagles defense: I have to give the advantage to the Eagles on this one as well, and my reasoning is the play-calling. Jason Garrett has put up good numbers with a dominant offensive line (in the regular season) and quality skill players, but Jim Johnson never drops out of the top 5 defensive coordinators. If/when they fire Andy Reid, they should give Johnson serious head coach consideration. You want a score? 24-20. McNabb doesn't reach 300 yards but has two TD passes, Omar Gaither returns a Barber fumble for a touchdown and Westbrook catches one of those TD's on a screen. Dallas starts out fast, scoring on their first drive after winning the coin toss. At halftime they're up 17 to 7 and Philly fans are all over Yardbarker wringing their hands in all uppercase. But the second-half adjustments hold Dallas to 140 yards offensively in the second half, most of that on an unsuccessful attempt at a game-winning drive late in the fourth.