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Lucky
is back this week hoping to duplicate my successful
opening week where I went 10-5-1. Let's kick it off!
SUPER
PICKS
Redskins
(-3) @ Giants:
Holly cow. Just in: Clinton Portis is really that
good. He alone could beat the Giants by more than
three points. The Redskins new defensive scheme is
blitz, blitz, blitz, and the Giants don't have a quarterback
or an offensive line that can handle that. The Skins
roll big. In fact, I intend to place my own mortgage
on this game, hoping to get Grandma back into her
own house!
Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
Jets
(-3) @ Chargers:
Both the Chargers and the Jets looked good on opening
weekend, starting off the season with wins. Don't
expect that trend to continue. The Jets are a good
team, the Chargers are not. LaDainian Tomlinson ran
wild against the Texans and might do it again against
the Jets. But that alone will not suffice. For the
Chargers to win, Drew Brees will have to play mistake
free football for another week, and I just don't see
that happening. The Jet's have a potent passing attack
with Chan Pennington throwing the ball to Santana
Moss, and will ride a rejuvenated Curtis Martin to
victory.
Game Date: 09/19/04 16:15 ET
Seahawks
(-2.5) @ Buccaneers:
The Buccaneers looked hard for some offense last week
and came up wanting. Scoring more points on defense
than offense is now way to win football games. Seattle
on the other hand, looked as good as advertised, beating
the Saints by two touchdowns in New Orleans. Their
young defense held Deuce MaCallister to 57 yards rushing
and forced three turnovers. Look for the Seattle offense
to improve in week two, and beat the Bucs by a touchdown.
Game Date: 09/19/04 16:05 ET
Colts
(+1) @ Titans:
It's hard to imagine the talented Colts at 0-2…
so I won't. The Colts will come back in week two and
beat a formidable opponent in the Tennessee Titans.
Edgerrin James looks like the Edge of old, running
for over 140 yards against a good Patriot D in week
one. Colts need a victory, and Lucky Lester says they'll
Edge one out here. Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
Lucky
Lester's Picks For Week Two
Broncos
(-3) @ Jaguars:
The Broncos really showed me something last week against
the Chiefs. Jake Plummer can lead Shanahan's offense
down the field. Quentin Griffin is making people forget
about Clinton Portis in Denver. The Bronco's balanced
attack is hard to defend against. Denver's defense
is hugely improved with the addition of Champ Bailey.
The Jaguars won't squeak this one out, and will get
beat at home by a much more experienced Bronco squad.
Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
Steelers
@ Ravens (-3.5):
The Ravens are pissed, and a pissed off Ray Lewis
is down right scary. Duce Staley is veteran enough
to know, he's in big trouble this Sunday. Jamal Lewis
can't be satisfied with 50 yards rushing, look for
him to bounce back with help from Jonathan Ogden who's
back in the lineup.
Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
Texans
(+3) @ Lions:
Good news and bad news for the Lions last week. They
finally won on the road, as I predicted, but unfortunately
lost budding star receiver Charles Rogers for the
year. But for some terrible bounces, David Carr would
have led his team to victory in week one. Look for
the bounces to even out and watch the Texans win in
Detroit. Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
Bears
@ Packers (-8.5):
Bears can't score if they don't have the ball, and
the Packers have been very piggish with that lately.
Don't expect undersized Brian Urlacher to hold his
ground against a missive Green Bay ground assault.
Ahman Green will run wild, and Brett Favre will sling
it around. Green Bay in a land slide.
Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
49ers @ Saints (-7.5):
Based on last weeks performance one would be inclined
to take the Niners, but Lucky Lester knows San Francisco,
and San Francisco sucks. Not to mention Miami's own
Ken Dorsey will be under center this Sunday. Never
a good thing! Saints have got to be better then the
Niners. Take the bitter pill and give the 7.5 points.
Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
Rams
@ Falcons (-2.5):
This is a tough one. Both these teams looked terrible
in their Victories last week. Sure, each team is 1-0,
but only because they played the Arizona/San Francisco
tandem that will be hard pressed to win ten games
combined. Mike Vick only had 18 snaps in pre-season
and should be greatly improved with a full game under
his belt. Take Atlanta at home in this offensive dog
fight.
Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
Panthers @ Chiefs (-6):
The Panthers were dominated at home by the Packers
stellar offensive line and star running back Ahman
Green last week. Guess what? The Chiefs boast an even
better offensive line and league scoring record holder
Priest Holmes. Expect more of the same in Kansas City.
Game Date: 09/19/04 13:00 ET
Browns (+4.5) @ Cowboys:
The Browns took it to the Ravens vaunted defense in
week 1. Jeff Garcia looked even more comfortable running
the Brown offense then he thought he'd be. His young
receivers ran up and down the field and William Green
compiled 65 yards on the ground. The Cowboys run D
isn't as good as Baltimore, so Green should find bigger
holes in Dallas. Game Date: 09/19/04 16:15 ET
Patriots
(-8) @ Cardinals:
There isn't a number under twenty the Cardinals would
get that would persuade me to bet Arizona against
a great Patriot team. I've got to give it to Arizona,
they made up the spread against the Rams last week,
and played tougher than expected. But, the Patriots
aren't the Rams, and I can't imagine Bill Belichick
will allow his team to look past Dennis Green's young
Cardinals. And don't think for a minute that Emmitt
Smith will gain 5.4 yards a rush against the Patriot
run defense. Smith played well last week but should
be slowed by a Patriots defense looking to improve
from last weeks sub par performance. Watch the Patriots
win their 17th in a row this Sunday.
Game Date: 09/19/04 16:15 ET
Bills
(+3) @ Raiders:
The Bills dominated an improved Jaguar team nearly
the entire game last week just to let them stumble
down the field in the closing minute and steal a victory.
But the Bills are better than advertised. Buffalo's
defense is one of the most underrated in the NFL and
Drew Bledsoe looks like his old self again. The Raiders
will fail to run against the Bills; Wheatley hasn't
proven himself and Justin Fargas just isn't ready
to carry the load. The Raider's allowed Duce Staley
to gain nearly 100 yards last week and Jerome Bettis
scored 3 touchdowns. The Buffalo duo of Travis Henry
and Willis McGahee are much younger and faster. Look
for Buffalo to take advantage of the Raiders' lack
of cohesiveness. Bledsoe will find Lee Evens and Eric
Moulds for big plays. I have to take the Bills and
the points in Oakland. Game Date: 09/19/04 16:15
ET
Dolphins @ Bengals (-5):
The Dolphins are a mess, they took two months to decide
on a quarterback and then promptly benched him within
thirty minutes, and now A.J. Feely is the starter.
Lucky him. No running game, no passing attack, don't
invite me to that party. The Bengals Carson Palmer
proved to be worthy of his hype, playing a solid game
against a good Jets team in week 1. Cincinnati should
notch their first win of the season, and the Dolphins
should continue their hasty downward spiral. I take
the Bengals at home, in fact if it weren't for Miami's
stout defense, which might win them a game or two,
they might have a shot at 0-16… Thanks Ricky!
Game Date: 09/19/04 20:35 ET
Vikings
@ Eagles (-3):
The Vikings couldn't stop Vinny Testeverde's Cowboys
from racking up over 400 yards of offense, so there's
no doubt in my mind Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens
will explode for close to 500 yards against the Viking
defense. But neither defense could stop their opponent.
The lowly Giants racked up over 400 yards against
the Eagles last week. The Eagles had more trouble
defending the run, but luckily for them the Vikings
don't have a running back. It's on this stat alone
and the fact that Philly's playing at home that I
take the Eagles in this big Monday Night Match-Up.
Game Date: 09/20/04 21:05 ET
WAGERING
SMART MAKES WATCHING NFL GAMES MORE FUN
Good
Luck with your NFL Football Wagering!
Lucky Lester
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