NFL DAY-BY-DAY FORECAST
INDIANAPOLIS by 8 over Tennessee
OAKLAND by 16 over Buffalo
UNDER 42 total points in the Washington-N.Y. Giants game
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Denver 21 - JACKSONVILLE 16-Jacksonville defense a force, and so the Jags might be in AFC playoff race for a good while TY. Still, their offense (225 total yds., two Leftwich ints.) often leaves much to be desired. So, even off their big win vs. AFC West rival K.C., will side with more offensively-competent Denver in the 2004 season, which should favor top passers more than LY. The mobile Plummer now 10-2 SU as a Bronco starter,
while the huge Leftwich often hassled in pocket.
(99-JACKSONVILLE -9 27-24...SR: Denver 3-2)
BALTIMORE 19 - Pittsburgh 17-Baltimore 4-1-2 as home fav. LY, but the home game the Ravens forgot to cover was the one vs. Pittsburgh. Since QB Bulger can't be trusted to scare the Steeler defense enough, it's hard to lay substantial points with Balt. vs. foe that has covered 5 of last 6 in series.
Unless QB Maddox comes apart under Raven pressure, his WRs own big edge over Balt. counterparts, even with Deion in secondary. Pittsburgh defense controlled Jamal Lewis LY (183 YR in 2 meetings).
(03-PITT 34-Balt. 15...P.21-17 P.33/98 B.23/88 P.21/29/0/241 B.22/43/1/143
P.1 B.1)
(03-BALT. 13-Pitt 10 (OT)...B.14-9 B.35/123 P.27/56 P.15/29/3/158
B.16/27/1/156 B.1 P.2)
DETROIT 27 - Houston 19-Young teams tend to play much better at home, so best go with youthful Lions, whose budding, speedy offense seems perfectly suited for the great indoors at Ford Field. Houston pass rush inconsistent, and secondary being retooled a bit, so youthful speed of WR Roy Williams & RB
Kevin Jones figure to produce a few long gainers. PK Hanson nearly automatic indoors, while Texans gave up 26 ppg away LY. First meeting of top two QBs taken in 2002 draft-David Carr first overall & Joey Harrington third (Julius
Peppers went in between). (FIRST MEETING)
***Indianapolis 27 - TENNESSEE 19-Prefer to take any points with potent Indy, desperate to avoid killer 0-2 start (does any team have a tougher first 2 games?), even with Titans' double-revenge motive. Colts better balanced on offense (E. James 142 YR at N.E.), especially if Tenn.'s budding star RB C.
Brown (100 yds. in 1st H at Miami) not 100% due to tweaked ankle. If Dungy's defense can blanket WR Mason, the excellent McNair will be forced to chip away vs. lesser targets. Will Titans miss PK Nedney?
(03-INDY 33-Tenn. 7...I.20-14 I.34/127 T.19/53 T.22/34/1/183 I.14/21/0/164
GREEN BAY 27 - Chicago 10-Brett Favre has enjoyed inordinate career success vs. Chicago (including winning & covering last 7 meetings). While Bears' offense has a long way to go (Grossman 2 ints. in opener), Lovie Smith has lots of ideas in mind for his speed-oriented defense, including the
addition of DE Ogunleye (15 sacks LY w/Miami) & rookie DT T. Harris of Oklahoma. Skeptics, however, say the quicker unit will be vulnerable to pounding offenses, which the Packers intend to be with Ahman Green. Chicago only 4-12 vs. spread last 16 away; 11-5 "under" last 16 on road.
(03-G. Bay 38-CHI. 23...C.23-20 G.25/187 C.28/181 G.22/31/1/193 C.25/44/2/180
G.0 C.0)
(03-G. BAY 34-Chi. 21...G.17-13 G.38/97 C.20/44 C.17/40/3/231 G.22/33/1/210
G.0 C.2)
(03-Green Bay -4 38-23, GREEN BAY -7 34-21...SR: Chicago 84-77-6)
***UNDER THE TOTAL Washington 19 - NY GIANTS 13-"Under" is first choice with Joe Gibbs' safety-first offense and N.Y.'s self-destructing offense (Kurt Warner no ints., but 2 fumbles last week; 1 lost). But Washington hardly a margin team, so oddsmakers asking nearly the max to win by a trey.
But Gibbs, Portis & Co. the more reliable entity, especially with
head-hunting LB LaVar Arrington keeping Warner nervous.
(03-Giants 24-WAS. 21 (OT)...25-25 N.31/129 W.22/124 W.23/45/1/332 N.24/39/0/270 N.0 W.0)
(03-Wash. 20-GIANTS 7...W.20-15 W.48/150 N.23/120 W.13/19/0/138 N.12/25/1/100
W.0 N.2)
(03-NY Giants +2 24-21 (OT), Washington +3 20-7...SR: NY Giants 81-59-4)
NEW ORLEANS 20 - San Francisco 17-Despite all the preseason criticism, S.F. was not as "horseshoe" as everyone thought it would be in the opener, easily out-gaining Atlanta, holding the Falcons to just over 200 total yards, and nearly sending the game into OT. Niners built-for-speed defense held the somewhat rusty Mike Vick to 10 YR, 163 YP, and picked up 4 sacks, while Tim Rattay (La. Tech) had 2 TDP & new No. 1 WR C. Wilson was 7 for 94. (02-NEW
ORLEANS -1' 35-27...SR: San Francisco 45-19-2)
ATLANTA 27 - St. Louis 20-Now that Mike Vick has a full, healthy game under his belt, will side with enthusiastic Falcs in Jim Mora Jr.'s home debut. Atlanta secondary leaves a lot to be desired. But so do the road performances of still-learning St. Louis QB Marc Bulger, who tied for the lead in ints. LY with 22). He'll hit a few good plays, but also be hurried by Mora's frequent blitzes. Vick DNP in LY's game.
(03-ST. LOUIS 36-Atl. 0...S.26-9 S.31/119 A.21/73 S.24/35/2/377 A.12/28/2/136
S.1 A.2)
(03-ST. LOUIS -11 36-0...SR: St. Louis 46-23-2)
KANSAS CITY 31 - Carolina 20-Carolina was the "top dog" LY in the NFL, going 7-1 getting points, including the Panthers' near-victory in the Super Bowl. But this is this year, and there is no OL better prepared to deal with Carolina's ferocious front four than K.C.'s quick group. And, as N.E. showed LY in the Super Bowl, several of the Panther DBs can be picked on. After opening loss at Denver, Gunther Cunningham's defenders eager to show they
appreciate his new simpler, sounder, more aggressive schemes. Chiefs "over" 26-12-1 last 39. (00-KANSAS CITY -2' 15-14...SR: Kansas City 2-0)
TAMPA BAY 20 - Seattle 13-The Bucs might have gotten the offensive equalizer they needed in this game when Seattle star RB Shaun Alexander (check status) sprained his knee in last week's wire-to-wire win over at New Orleans. Washington put up a much better battle vs. T.B., holding the Bucs to 30 YR & only 169 yds. total. Not sure Seahawk front seven can turn similar trick this week, as Brad Johnson did dink away, hitting 24 of 37.
With flashy young WR M. Clayton an immediate threat, Garner & Alstott run better this week on own turf. (99-Tampa Bay +5' 16-3...SR: Seattle 4-1)
DALLAS 22 - Cleveland 13-Conflicting tendencies, as Bill Parcells' charges were 7-2-1 when favored LY, while the Browns are 13-5 their last 18 when underdogs. But, in battle of veteran QBs with new teams, will stick with Testaverde, who led Dallas to 27 FDs with 355 YP at Minnesota. Cowboy
defense (No. 1 overall LY), which virtually shut down Randy Moss (4 for 27), not stretched so much by the scrambling, improvising Jeff Garcia. (94-Cleveland +10' 19-14...SR: Cleveland 17-10)
New England 26 - ARIZONA 14-Arizona was 6-2 as a home dog LY, including last-play, last-game victory that finished the Vikes. And N.E. is only 3-4 as a road favorite the L3Ys. Still, the Pats have won 16 straight games and have extra prep time prior to this game and their bye week after. Run defense seemed down a notch without NT Ted Washington. But Cards' offense is
not the Colts.' And one or two mistakes by inexperienced, but developing QB McCown vs. Belichick's gimmicks might be the difference. Play the Super-Bowl jinx theory w/o our help. (99-N. Eng. -3 27-3...SR: Ariz 6-4)
***OAKLAND 26 - Buffalo 10-Home debut for Norv Turner and his more vertical offense (58 & 38-yd. TDP 1st game), while rookie Bills' coach Mike Mularkey taking his ball-control offense on the road. Question: What happens to Buffalo attack if its often-shaky OL can't root out Oakland's new run-stuffers, Ted Washington & Warren Sapp? Answer: Immobile Drew Bledsoe will be under tremendous damn pressure in "The Black Hole," as CB Woodson
blankets WR Moulds. Bills had only 18 takeaways in 16 games LY; have been last in thefts the L2Ys. Bills "under" 24-3 last 27!
(02-Oakland -3 49-31...SR: Oakland 18-17)
SAN DIEGO 23 - N.Y. Jets 22-N.Y. coach Herm Edwards, who finished his playing career at S.D. State and is vocal offseason booster of the Aztec program, definitely had his Jets well-prepared in their last visit to his old college haunts, pounding the Chargers 44-13 two years ago. N.Y. improved, with a healthy Chad Pennington & Curtis Martin (196 YR in opener) and added
size at WR in 6-2 Justin McCareins. But S.D. on its own high, with star runner Tomlinson, a smarter Drew Brees (2 TD in opener), and more def. speed with new 3-4. (02-NY Jets +8 44-13...SR: San Diego 17-10-1)
*CINCINNATI 23 - Miami 16-With Miami QB situation appearing to get worse in its season opener vs. Tennessee, will give the nod to near-rookie Carson Palmer, who seems to have a better supporting cast anyway. Dolphins would probably love to have either Rudi Johnson or Chris Perry at RB, and Bengals
have both. Miami defense still plenty tough. But Palmer has excellent rapport with speed WR Chad Johnson (5 for 99 last week) and is reported to be a quick study. Dolphins "under" 10 of last 13 on road.
CABLE TV-ESPN (00-Miami -7 31-16...SR: Miami 13-3)
INDIANAPOLIS by 8 over Tennessee
OAKLAND by 16 over Buffalo
UNDER 42 total points in the Washington-N.Y. Giants game
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Denver 21 - JACKSONVILLE 16-Jacksonville defense a force, and so the Jags might be in AFC playoff race for a good while TY. Still, their offense (225 total yds., two Leftwich ints.) often leaves much to be desired. So, even off their big win vs. AFC West rival K.C., will side with more offensively-competent Denver in the 2004 season, which should favor top passers more than LY. The mobile Plummer now 10-2 SU as a Bronco starter,
while the huge Leftwich often hassled in pocket.
(99-JACKSONVILLE -9 27-24...SR: Denver 3-2)
BALTIMORE 19 - Pittsburgh 17-Baltimore 4-1-2 as home fav. LY, but the home game the Ravens forgot to cover was the one vs. Pittsburgh. Since QB Bulger can't be trusted to scare the Steeler defense enough, it's hard to lay substantial points with Balt. vs. foe that has covered 5 of last 6 in series.
Unless QB Maddox comes apart under Raven pressure, his WRs own big edge over Balt. counterparts, even with Deion in secondary. Pittsburgh defense controlled Jamal Lewis LY (183 YR in 2 meetings).
(03-PITT 34-Balt. 15...P.21-17 P.33/98 B.23/88 P.21/29/0/241 B.22/43/1/143
P.1 B.1)
(03-BALT. 13-Pitt 10 (OT)...B.14-9 B.35/123 P.27/56 P.15/29/3/158
B.16/27/1/156 B.1 P.2)
DETROIT 27 - Houston 19-Young teams tend to play much better at home, so best go with youthful Lions, whose budding, speedy offense seems perfectly suited for the great indoors at Ford Field. Houston pass rush inconsistent, and secondary being retooled a bit, so youthful speed of WR Roy Williams & RB
Kevin Jones figure to produce a few long gainers. PK Hanson nearly automatic indoors, while Texans gave up 26 ppg away LY. First meeting of top two QBs taken in 2002 draft-David Carr first overall & Joey Harrington third (Julius
Peppers went in between). (FIRST MEETING)
***Indianapolis 27 - TENNESSEE 19-Prefer to take any points with potent Indy, desperate to avoid killer 0-2 start (does any team have a tougher first 2 games?), even with Titans' double-revenge motive. Colts better balanced on offense (E. James 142 YR at N.E.), especially if Tenn.'s budding star RB C.
Brown (100 yds. in 1st H at Miami) not 100% due to tweaked ankle. If Dungy's defense can blanket WR Mason, the excellent McNair will be forced to chip away vs. lesser targets. Will Titans miss PK Nedney?
(03-INDY 33-Tenn. 7...I.20-14 I.34/127 T.19/53 T.22/34/1/183 I.14/21/0/164
GREEN BAY 27 - Chicago 10-Brett Favre has enjoyed inordinate career success vs. Chicago (including winning & covering last 7 meetings). While Bears' offense has a long way to go (Grossman 2 ints. in opener), Lovie Smith has lots of ideas in mind for his speed-oriented defense, including the
addition of DE Ogunleye (15 sacks LY w/Miami) & rookie DT T. Harris of Oklahoma. Skeptics, however, say the quicker unit will be vulnerable to pounding offenses, which the Packers intend to be with Ahman Green. Chicago only 4-12 vs. spread last 16 away; 11-5 "under" last 16 on road.
(03-G. Bay 38-CHI. 23...C.23-20 G.25/187 C.28/181 G.22/31/1/193 C.25/44/2/180
G.0 C.0)
(03-G. BAY 34-Chi. 21...G.17-13 G.38/97 C.20/44 C.17/40/3/231 G.22/33/1/210
G.0 C.2)
(03-Green Bay -4 38-23, GREEN BAY -7 34-21...SR: Chicago 84-77-6)
***UNDER THE TOTAL Washington 19 - NY GIANTS 13-"Under" is first choice with Joe Gibbs' safety-first offense and N.Y.'s self-destructing offense (Kurt Warner no ints., but 2 fumbles last week; 1 lost). But Washington hardly a margin team, so oddsmakers asking nearly the max to win by a trey.
But Gibbs, Portis & Co. the more reliable entity, especially with
head-hunting LB LaVar Arrington keeping Warner nervous.
(03-Giants 24-WAS. 21 (OT)...25-25 N.31/129 W.22/124 W.23/45/1/332 N.24/39/0/270 N.0 W.0)
(03-Wash. 20-GIANTS 7...W.20-15 W.48/150 N.23/120 W.13/19/0/138 N.12/25/1/100
W.0 N.2)
(03-NY Giants +2 24-21 (OT), Washington +3 20-7...SR: NY Giants 81-59-4)
NEW ORLEANS 20 - San Francisco 17-Despite all the preseason criticism, S.F. was not as "horseshoe" as everyone thought it would be in the opener, easily out-gaining Atlanta, holding the Falcons to just over 200 total yards, and nearly sending the game into OT. Niners built-for-speed defense held the somewhat rusty Mike Vick to 10 YR, 163 YP, and picked up 4 sacks, while Tim Rattay (La. Tech) had 2 TDP & new No. 1 WR C. Wilson was 7 for 94. (02-NEW
ORLEANS -1' 35-27...SR: San Francisco 45-19-2)
ATLANTA 27 - St. Louis 20-Now that Mike Vick has a full, healthy game under his belt, will side with enthusiastic Falcs in Jim Mora Jr.'s home debut. Atlanta secondary leaves a lot to be desired. But so do the road performances of still-learning St. Louis QB Marc Bulger, who tied for the lead in ints. LY with 22). He'll hit a few good plays, but also be hurried by Mora's frequent blitzes. Vick DNP in LY's game.
(03-ST. LOUIS 36-Atl. 0...S.26-9 S.31/119 A.21/73 S.24/35/2/377 A.12/28/2/136
S.1 A.2)
(03-ST. LOUIS -11 36-0...SR: St. Louis 46-23-2)
KANSAS CITY 31 - Carolina 20-Carolina was the "top dog" LY in the NFL, going 7-1 getting points, including the Panthers' near-victory in the Super Bowl. But this is this year, and there is no OL better prepared to deal with Carolina's ferocious front four than K.C.'s quick group. And, as N.E. showed LY in the Super Bowl, several of the Panther DBs can be picked on. After opening loss at Denver, Gunther Cunningham's defenders eager to show they
appreciate his new simpler, sounder, more aggressive schemes. Chiefs "over" 26-12-1 last 39. (00-KANSAS CITY -2' 15-14...SR: Kansas City 2-0)
TAMPA BAY 20 - Seattle 13-The Bucs might have gotten the offensive equalizer they needed in this game when Seattle star RB Shaun Alexander (check status) sprained his knee in last week's wire-to-wire win over at New Orleans. Washington put up a much better battle vs. T.B., holding the Bucs to 30 YR & only 169 yds. total. Not sure Seahawk front seven can turn similar trick this week, as Brad Johnson did dink away, hitting 24 of 37.
With flashy young WR M. Clayton an immediate threat, Garner & Alstott run better this week on own turf. (99-Tampa Bay +5' 16-3...SR: Seattle 4-1)
DALLAS 22 - Cleveland 13-Conflicting tendencies, as Bill Parcells' charges were 7-2-1 when favored LY, while the Browns are 13-5 their last 18 when underdogs. But, in battle of veteran QBs with new teams, will stick with Testaverde, who led Dallas to 27 FDs with 355 YP at Minnesota. Cowboy
defense (No. 1 overall LY), which virtually shut down Randy Moss (4 for 27), not stretched so much by the scrambling, improvising Jeff Garcia. (94-Cleveland +10' 19-14...SR: Cleveland 17-10)
New England 26 - ARIZONA 14-Arizona was 6-2 as a home dog LY, including last-play, last-game victory that finished the Vikes. And N.E. is only 3-4 as a road favorite the L3Ys. Still, the Pats have won 16 straight games and have extra prep time prior to this game and their bye week after. Run defense seemed down a notch without NT Ted Washington. But Cards' offense is
not the Colts.' And one or two mistakes by inexperienced, but developing QB McCown vs. Belichick's gimmicks might be the difference. Play the Super-Bowl jinx theory w/o our help. (99-N. Eng. -3 27-3...SR: Ariz 6-4)
***OAKLAND 26 - Buffalo 10-Home debut for Norv Turner and his more vertical offense (58 & 38-yd. TDP 1st game), while rookie Bills' coach Mike Mularkey taking his ball-control offense on the road. Question: What happens to Buffalo attack if its often-shaky OL can't root out Oakland's new run-stuffers, Ted Washington & Warren Sapp? Answer: Immobile Drew Bledsoe will be under tremendous damn pressure in "The Black Hole," as CB Woodson
blankets WR Moulds. Bills had only 18 takeaways in 16 games LY; have been last in thefts the L2Ys. Bills "under" 24-3 last 27!
(02-Oakland -3 49-31...SR: Oakland 18-17)
SAN DIEGO 23 - N.Y. Jets 22-N.Y. coach Herm Edwards, who finished his playing career at S.D. State and is vocal offseason booster of the Aztec program, definitely had his Jets well-prepared in their last visit to his old college haunts, pounding the Chargers 44-13 two years ago. N.Y. improved, with a healthy Chad Pennington & Curtis Martin (196 YR in opener) and added
size at WR in 6-2 Justin McCareins. But S.D. on its own high, with star runner Tomlinson, a smarter Drew Brees (2 TD in opener), and more def. speed with new 3-4. (02-NY Jets +8 44-13...SR: San Diego 17-10-1)
*CINCINNATI 23 - Miami 16-With Miami QB situation appearing to get worse in its season opener vs. Tennessee, will give the nod to near-rookie Carson Palmer, who seems to have a better supporting cast anyway. Dolphins would probably love to have either Rudi Johnson or Chris Perry at RB, and Bengals
have both. Miami defense still plenty tough. But Palmer has excellent rapport with speed WR Chad Johnson (5 for 99 last week) and is reported to be a quick study. Dolphins "under" 10 of last 13 on road.
CABLE TV-ESPN (00-Miami -7 31-16...SR: Miami 13-3)
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