11:05 – 11:30 – MIKE WALLACE (MLB INSIDER/ NATS TALK/ FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER)

CAROLINA -2 1⁄2 OVER DETROIT (43) – Cam Newton gets the start for a Carolina team that held on last

week to beat the Tampa Bay Bucs. I doubt he’s 100% but by the looks of things, he’s ready to get

his offense on track. Last week in street clothes he ran out onto the field to read the “riot act” to his

offense. It seemed to work. Detroit has Matthew Stafford, Megatron, Reggie Bush, and an offense that

looks like they can attack from everywhere. Their defense is improved but I’m not sure if they will be

as good with bad weather tomorrow expected in Charlotte. If they can establish the run and open up

their passing game, I look for Detroit to give the Panthers some problems they can’t handle. DETROIT 27

CAROLINA 21. TAKE THE POINTS FOR 3 STARS.

MIAMI PICK AT BUFFALO (43) – PASS. I just can’t get a feel for this game. Sure, Buffalo won last week

and everyone is happy because they won’t have to travel to Canada to see future NFL football games.

Last week the Bills played well in Chicago and took advantage of three Bears turnovers to beat them

in OT 23-20. I’m still not convinced that Bills QB E.J. Manuel is the guy for the job but he managed the

game well only throwing one interception and going 16 for 22 with a touchdown. The Bills ran the ball

33 times for 193 yards. If they can do that against the Dolphins, they should win the game but I think

that this is definitely an improved Dolphins squad. The Dolphins came back from a 20-10 halftime deficit

to outscore the struggling Patriots 33-20. Knowshon Moreno rushed 24 times for 134 yards in the win.

Patriots QB Tom Brady threw the ball 56 times and did NOT throw a TD pass. I’M GOING TO PASS ON

THIS GAME.

JACKSONVILLE +6 OVER WASHINGTON (43) – The Jaguars are getting better but it is a slow process.

They have two good QBs who can move the football and some players who have the tools to score. The

Redskins defense is decent and their best side of the ball for sure, but I’m not sure how successful they

will be against an improving Jacksonville tea. Both teams have some injuries to watch. I’ going to pass

on the game but wouldn’t be surprised if the Jaguars stay close and cover. I’ going to PASS.

TENNESSEE -3.5 OVER DALLAS (49.5) – Tennessee looked ready to play last week going into Kansas City

and handling the Chiefs and Andy Reid by a score of 26-10. It wasn’t that close. Jake Locker looked

good going 22 for 33 for 266 yards and 2 TD’s and NO picks. The Titans also RUSHED for 162 yards

distributing the ball to different runner. I look for the Titans to jump on the Cowboys at home and take

advantage of a confused looking Tony Romo and the Dallas offense. The Dallas defense is a sieve to

begin with. If Dallas is going to have a chance, it will lay in the hands of running back DeMarco Murray

who had 118 yards on 22 carries and a TD last week. Their passing game looks horrible. FINAL SCORE

TENNESSEE 34 DALLAS 24. TAKE THE TITANS FOR 4 STARS!

ARIZONA -2.5 OVER GIANTS (42.5) – Carson Palmer practiced on Friday and even though he’s listed as

questionable, he’s close to 100% according to my sources. The Cards held on and beat a good San Diego

Chargers team last Monday and even though they are on a short week AND they play on the East coast,

I’m tempted to play the against the struggling Giants. The Giants have injuries and their offense, which

is new under Coach McAdoo, doesn’t seem to have much of a chance anytime soon. Eli threw two picks

and had a QB rating of only 53 last week against the Lions. They only averaged 3.5 yards PER PLAY.

Carson Palmer looks comfortable in Bruce Arians offense and he has some weapons. Even though the

Cards have lost some good defensive players to injury, they played great last week. I’M GOING TO TAKE

THE CARDS FOR A REGULAR PLAY TO BEAT AND COVER AGAINST THE GIANTS. FINAL SCORE ARIZONA 27

GIANTS 21.

NEW ENGLAND -5.5 AT MINNESOTA (48.5) – What has happened to Minnesota this past week you

couldn’t make up. Adrian Peterson is probably done for the year, suspended for being indicted in Texas

to disciplining his 4 year old son with a switch and leaving marks that didn’t look good in the pictures.

No matter how you feel about this, the Vikings best offensive weapon is gone. The Pats lost last week.

They are playing outside in a new stadium when the home field advantage won’t be as easy to attain

thus the 5.5 point spread with Vikings the underdog. Matt Cassel had a great week throwing the ball

last week in St. Louis. They HAMMERED the Rams 34-6. I doubt that Belichick is going to let former

Patriot QB Cassel beat him. Tom Brady had a horrible week last week ending up with a 69.7 QB rating

against the Dolphins. Gronkowski should be a week healthier this week. I’M GOING TO PASS ON THIS

ONE. FINAL SCORE NEW ENGLAND 23 MINNESOTA 20.

NEW ORLEANS -6.5 OVER CLEVELAND (48.5) – The Saints lost a tough one when their defense under

Rob Ryan, forgot to show up and cover and tackle. I don’t see the Saints and Sean Payton coming into

Cleveland and losing to a team that lost their star running back and tight end in last week’s game. Look

for a shootout of sorts but Ryan will get the Saints defense working better and Cleveland won’t have

a team to come back on like they did last week against the Steelers. The Browns were down 27-3 at

halftime last week. I like the Saints here to completely manhandle the Browns. We might see JOHNNY

FOOTBALL at halftime of this week’s game. TAKE THE SAINTS FOR 5 STARS HERE. FINAL SCORE NEW

ORLEANS 35 CLEVELAND 14.

CINCINNATI -5.5 OVER ATLANTA (49) – Cincinnati prevailed in Baltimore last week and the Falcons

UPSET the Saints at HOME in a shootout of sorts. Matt Ryan was Offensive Player of the Week going

31 for 43 for 448 yards and setting all kinds of Atlanta Falcon records. They ran the ball very efficiently

also running the ball 25 times for 123 yards. Everybody seems to be healthy for Atlanta this week. The

Bengals have some injury issues but the Falcons defense is anything but tough. I look for a shootout

in Cincinnati in some good weather and the results will be too close to call. A.J. Green looks like a Hall

of Famer in the making. IM GOING TO TAKE THE OVER 49 POINTS HERE FOR 5 STARS! FINAL SCORE

CINCINNATI 38 ATLANTA 34.

TAMPA BAY -5.5 OVER ST. LOUIS (37.5) – The Rams pretty much SUCKED last week against the Vikings

who opened up a can of whoop ass against them. The Bucs lost a tough one against a Panther defense

that refused to lose. You’re going to see a very similar game today in Tampa on a hot day but not a lot

of humidity. Since the Rams look to be starting a backup today (Shaun Hill is hurt) I don’t see much of

a chance of the Bucs losing this one. Whether they cover the spread is another question. Last week

against Carolina they HAD NO RUNNING GAME at all. I’M GOING TO HEDGE HERE ON BOTH PLAYS.

I’M GOING TO TAKE THE BUCS TO COVER THE SPREAD AGAINST A ROOKIE QB AND I SEE THE NUMBER

GOING UNDER 37.5. FINAL SCORE TAMPA BAY 23 ST. LOUIS 10

SEATTLE -5.5 OVER SAN DIEGO (44) – This has the makings of a GREAT game this week but it will all

hinge on whether the Chargers defense can stop Russell Wilson and his balanced offense and running

game to be able to stay close enough for the Charger OFFENSE to score enough points to cover and/or

win the game. The Seahawks are healthy. The Chargers are a little banged up after their game against a

physical Arizona tea that they lost a close one against last week. It is also a short week for the Chargers.

Gametime temperatures are going to be around 90 degrees but I don’t think that will give either team

an advantage. This game features two great QBs in Phillip Rivers and Russell Wilson. Wlson gives the

Hawks an edge with his ability to run when nothing is available. Rivers has to look for a soft place to

lay down. Chargers RB Ryan Matthews will get the ball at least 20 times for the Chargers to have any

chance to win. I’M GOING TO PASS ON THE GAME, EVEN THOUGH SEATTLE IS THE BETTER TEAM FOR

SURE. THE LINE IS A GOOD ONE. FINAL SCORE SEATTLE 24 SAN DIEGO 21.

HOUSTON -3 AT OAKLAND (40) – UGLY UGLY UGLY GAME. The Texans are banged up but have a much

better team than Oakland and after winning last week in Washington, they know how important this

game is in the grand scheme of making the playoffs. J.J. Watt pretty much beat up the entire Redskins

OL and made Robert Griffin nervous and caused turnovers. TAKE THE HOUSTON TEXANS TO GO 2-0

BEATING THE RAIDERS IN OAKLAND ON A BEAUTIFUL TEXAS DAY! FINAL SCORE HOUSTON 27 OAKLAND

20.

GREEN BAY -8 OVER JETS (46) – Hey, I’d love to take the JETS here but I’m scared of how good the

Packers are going to look coming off a loss an ass whooping to the Seattle Seahawks. Granted, the

Jets aren’t the Seahawks, but they have a pretty good defense. However, coming off one of the worst

passing games of his career, I look for Aaron Rodgers to bounce back and deliver a win for the Packers

hopeful. Whether they cover 8 points or not is another thing. JETS QB Geno Smith looked good against

Oakland but, hey, IT WAS OAKLAND!! I’M GOING TO TAKE THE PACKERS HERE TO BOUNCE BACK AND

DELIVER A WIN AND A COVER HERE AGAINST REX AND THE JETS! PLAY THE PACKERS FOR 5 STARS HERE.

FINAL SCORE GREEN BAY 31 JETS 21. WE MIGHT SEE MIKE VICK IN THIS GAME.

DENVER -12.5 OVER KANSAS CITY (50.5) – This is my play of the week. I think Denver will absolutely

DESTROY the Chiefs. Sure, K. C. still has some weapons on offense but I’m looking for the Chiefs to be

just as bad as they did in the playoffs last season. Manning and his offense are going to score early and

score repeatedly. I don’t see the Chiefs having much of a chance here in the altitude of Denver. Chiefs

QB Alex Smith had the WORST QB rating of the entire league last week against the Tennessee Titans.

Hey, give me a break. That absolutely sucks. Their best receiver is suspended for another few games

(Dwayne Bowe) and last week they didn’t run the ball much at all. It sure is starting to look like an

Andy Reid team. Look for Jamaal Charles to get the ball much more frequently this week. TAKE THE

BRONCOS TO COVER AND WIN THIS GAME. YOU CAN HEDGE (IF YOU WISH) ON THE OVER ALSO. THAT

WOULD COVER A K.C. GOOD OFFENSIVE GAME (WHICH I DON’T THINK WILL HAPPEN). FINAL SCORE

DENVER 48 K.C. 24.

SUNDAY NIGHT

SAN FRANCISCO -7 OVER CHICAGO (48) – Chicago looked so pitiful last week on both sides of the ball

that I have to go with the Niners AND the over in a slight hedge here. The Niners minus some personnel

are still FAR better than the Bears. The Niners are at home for their Opener in their new stadium. I

could see Cutler getting hurt in this game against a defense that is going to be looking to kick a little ass

today and go 2-0. The Bills had 193 rushing yards last week against the Bears defense. Look for Frank

Gore and Colin Kaepernick to do more of the same. Some injuries to some Bears players isn’t going to

help either. TAKE THE NINERS MINUS THE POINTS FOR 4 STARS AND THE OVER FOR 4 STARS. FINAL

SCORE SAN FRANCISCO 45 CHICAGO 28.

MONDAY NIGHT

INDIANAPOLIS -3 OVER PHILADELPHIA (54) – See my website for the pick tomorrow night!! As of right

now, I’m taking the OVER for 5 stars. I might release Indy tomorrow. I’m waiting on some news.

PICKS FOR NHB-

TENNESSEE -3.5 OVER DALLAS 3 STARS

DENVER -12 OVER KANSAS CITY 5 STARS

NEW ORLEANS -6 OVER CLEVELAND 5 STARS

NEW ENGLAND -6 OVER MINNY 3 STARS

HOUSTON -3 OVER OAKLAND 3 STARS

INDIANAPOLIS -3 OVER PHILLY 4 STARS

SAN FRANCISCO -7 OVER CHICAGO 4 STARS