By Michael Robinson   

September 22, 2004  

This article was written for, and is the exclusive property of VIP Sports.

The second week of NFL selections finished a disappointing 2-2. It looked like a 3-1 record was in the bag, until Drew Bledsoe engineered a meaningless touchdown drive with over a minute left against Oakland. The Bills lost 13-10, but sneaked under the four point spread. The year to date record now stands at 3-4. 

The other loss was Houston getting three points at Detroit. Detroit was without starting cornerback Dre Bly, and this game had all the makings of a shootout. Houston cut the lead to 21-16 in the fourth quarter, but Detroit marched 80 yards down the field to give them a comfortable 28-16 win. 

The first win last week was Indianapolis getting one point on the road against Tennessee. The Colts let a victory get away from them the previous week at New England, but they were able to come up with a 31-17 decision against their division rivals. The Colts have now won three straight games against the Titans. 

The second win was the New York Jets giving three points to home team San Diego. Chad Pennington continued his pinpoint accuracy, going 22-29 for 258 yards and two touchdowns. The Chargers had beaten Houston in week one, but Drew Brees started to play like Drew Brees, and the Chargers were outclassed in this one. 

Houston (+8) at Kansas City 

Houston is 0-2 after losing two winnable games to San Diego and Detroit. Houston has averaged 361 yards in offense in those two games, and limited their opponents to 295 yards. The problem has been turnovers, as they have had a total of three interceptions and four fumbles. That is a recipe for losing football games. 

The Texans have the kind of offense that can give the Chiefs’ trouble. Kansas City gave up 174 yards rushing to Carolina’s DeShaun Foster last week, and Houston will try to get similar success from Domanick Davis. Quarterback David Carr is also dangerous, but he needs to do a better job managing the game. 

The Chiefs also dropped to 0-2, after losing 28-16 to an injury riddled Carolina team. Defensive coordinator, Gunther Cunningham was brought in to fix a porous defense. Defense all starts with stopping the run, and Kansas City is currently last in the NFL in that category. 

What is more surprising is that the Kansas City offense has been very average so far. Now, running back Priest Holmes might sit out this game with an ankle injury. Wide receiver Eddie Kennison is also questionable with a hamstring injury, which would make an already  thin wide receiving corps downright barren.

Both teams need this game in order to avoid falling to 0-3 on the season. Kansas City should certainly be favored at home, but 8 points is a little much for a team struggling on both sides of the ball. Kansas City gets their first win of the year, but look for Houston to keep it close. 

Pick: Houston 

Philadelphia (-4.5) at Detroit   

Detroit is 2-0 and overzealous fans in the Detroit area are already putting them in the Super Bowl. A closer look at their victories shows a fortunate win at Chicago, and a solid win over Houston at home. While all NFL wins count the same, neither Chicago nor Houston are close to the caliber of this Eagles’ (2-0) team. 

Lions’ quarterback Joey Harrington has fared well so far, but he hasn’t faced a relentless blitzing defense like the Eagles will throw at him. Rookie, Roy Williams is a stud at wide receiver, but they are going to miss Charles Rogers at some point. Rogers is out for the year with another broken collarbone. 

The Super Bowl is exactly where this Eagles team wants to be after losing in the NFC championship game three years in a row. In the off-season, Philadelphia signed wide receiver Terrell Owens and defensive end Jevon Kearse, to get them over the hump, and they shined in wins over the Giants and Vikings.

Owens’ impact on the Eagles offense can not be overstated. He finally gives quarterback Donovan McNabb a receiver that can stretch the field and force defenses to double team him. That leaves other receivers open and makes running the ball with Brian Westbrook that much easier.

There is some danger in this game in that Philadelphia is coming off a big over Minnesota on Monday Night Football. Now they have to go on the road against an inferior opponent, and there is a chance of a let down. The Eagles are playing like a team on a mission though, and they cover the points on the road.  

Pick: Philadelphia 

Pittsburgh (+1) at Miami  

Pittsburgh (1-1) drafted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th pick in the 2004 draft. The plan was for him to sit behind Tommy Maddox for this season, and take over the reigns in 2005. That plan went out the window with Maddox out at least six weeks with an elbow injury. Roethlisberger is now the starter. 

To take the pressure off their young quarterback, the Steelers will try to run the ball with Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis. Miami (0-2) had major trouble stopping Titans’ running back, Chris Brown in week one, but were able to contain Cincinnati’s Rudi Johnson last week, limiting him to just 67 yards on 22 carries.  

The Dolphins’ offense has been woeful this year to say the least, but quarterback A.J. Feeley did show some signs of life at the end of last weeks loss to the Bengals. He rallied the team from a 10 point deficit to tie the game late in the 4th quarter. Feeley hopes to build on that momentum with a solid outing this week.  

Lamar Gordon was supposed to add some punch to the running game, after coming in a trade from St. Louis. However, he could only muster 22 yards on 19 carries vs. Cincinnati and he is averaging less than two yards per carry this season. Unfortunately, the Dolphins do not have many options at the position.  

If Miami has any hope of salvaging this season, they need to get a victory here to avoid falling to 0-3. The Miami defense is banged up, but they hope to get Tim Bowens and Patrick Surtain back for this game. The Dolphins’ offense will not wow anyone this week, but they have enough at home against a rookie QB. 

Pick: Miami 

Tampa Bay (+3) at Oakland 

Quarterback Brad Johnson has been horrible for Tampa Bay (0-2) so far this year. So bad, that they substituted Chris Simms in for him in last weeks home loss against Seattle. Johnson will get the start this week, but he could get the short hook again if he fails to generate any offense.  

In Johnson’s defense, he has been working with a mediocre offense at best. The offensive line is old and so is their main running back, Charlie Garner. The wide receivers are weak, with Keenan McCardell still holding out and Joey Galloway hurt. Michael Clayton is a good looking rookie, but there isn’t much else.  

Oakland (1-1) loves the vertical passing game which means that possession receiver Jerry Rice sits, and younger receivers like Doug Gabriel and Ronald Curry take his place. The Raiders would love to solve their own running back woes, but it doesn’t appear that Tyrone Wheatley or Justin Fargas are the answer.

The Oakland defense shouldn’t have too much trouble containing Tampa in this game. Charles Woodson and company can handle the Bucs’ wide-outs, and Warren Sapp and Ted Washington will shut down the running game. If Oakland can score over 14 points, then they should win this one fairly easily. 

Tampa Bay Coach Jon Gruden left Oakland on bad terms with Owner Al Davis, and then went on to beat them in the Super Bowl that year. If that wasn’t motivation enough for the Raiders, longtime Buccaneer, Warren Sapp would love nothing more than to stick it to his old team. Raiders win the grudge match at home.

Pick: Oakland