Trav's Thoughts

Welcome to week 3 of the NFL! After a rough start with picks in week 1 (8-8), I bounced back last week to go 11-4 (Baltimore vs Houston was postponed), bringing me to 61% for the season so far.

My Raiders (1-1) travel to Buffalo (2-0), and I'm glad it's September and not December when it could be snowing.

RB Darren McFadden had a break out game last week. The Raiders are ranked 2nd in rushing yards and they'll be tested against Buffalo's defense, which is ranked 11th against the run. The Bills are 7th in points given up, 8th in passing yards, and 5th in total yards. Oakland QB JeMarcus Russell will have to manage the game and avoid mistakes.

Buffalo is heading in the right direction while Oakland remains inconsistent. The Raiders are young and talented, but that might not be enough.

San Francisco (1-1) hosts Detroit (0-2). The 49ers picked up a great division win at Seattle last week. The offense has gone from miserable last season to servicable this year behind QB JT O'Sullivan and RB Frank Gore. Servicable could be enough against the Lions. Detroit's defense is woeful.

O'Sullivan is 9th in the league in passing yards and completes 65% of his passes. He's been sacked 12 times and has a tendency to fumble under pressure. He's only thrown 1 interception against 1 touchdown. The Detroit defense only has 2 sacks in the first two games, so maybe the SF offensive line will be able to give O'Sullivan more time this week.

Seattle (0-2) hosts St Louis (0-2). The Seahawks receiving corps has been decimated. Nate Burleson, Ben Obomanu, and Logan Payne are out for the season. Deion Branch and Bobby Engram may be back after the bye week. Back up QB Seneca Wallace was pressed into duty as a receiver, but he injured his calf and will be out for a month.

So QB Matt Hasselbeck is throwing to a bunch of guys filling out uniforms. Hasselbeck only has 1 touchdown against 3 interceptions, and he's only completing 45% of his passes for 379 yards. The running game hasn't been much help after Maurice Morris went down with a knee, although Julius Jones did have 127 yards on 26 carries against SF last week.

The Rams are dreadful on both sides of the ball, ranking last or nearly last in most major categories.

Indianapolis (1-1) hosts division rival Jacksonville (0-2). Neither team is off to a great start. The Jaguars rank in the bottom third in every offensive category, which has put pressure on the defense.

The Colts haven't been able to run the ball effectively or stop the run on defense. And now DB Bob Sanders is out with an ankle injury, which weakens the run defense even more.

The good news for the Colts is that Peyton Manning started to get his act together late in the game last week against Minnesota. Manning is still the best bet for the Colts offense, and he should get center Jeff Saturday back on the offensive line. But there are still gaps in the O-line due to injury and that will continue to impact the running game.

We get Cincinnati (0-2) at the Giants (2-0) for our early game on CBS. Then we'll have St Louis (0-2) at Seattle (0-2) on FOX.

Let's see what our picks are this week.

Redskins over Cardinals
Panthers over Vikings
Giants over Bengals
Falcons over Chiefs
Bills over Raiders
Bears over Bucs
Patriots over Dolphins
Titans over Texans
Seahawks over Rams
49ers over Lions
Broncos over Saints
Eagles over Steelers
Ravens over Browns
Colts over Jaguars
Cowboys over Packers
Chargers over Jets