Week 2 NFL picks

by Sheil Kapadia

Published Sep. 12, 2008, 10:45 a.m. ET

Note: Lines used are from

I'm implementing a pick rule here. Go against the Raiders until they prove you wrong. Oakland looked awful Monday night, and they've been awful for years now. This passage from the

» READ MORE: Raiders blog on insidebayarea.com

should tell you all you need to know about the state of the franchise:

I've never been so confident in taking a

combination to cover.

Bizarre few days in Tennessee with

this week.

» READ MORE: Jim Wyatt of tennessean.com sums it up

pretty well. Young was injured and booed during last week's game. Coach

was told Young had left his house in an emotional state Monday night so he alerted police. They met up later that night, and everything was fine. As for the game,

and the Cincy offense were terrible against the Ravens, and Tennessee's 'D' stymied the Jaguars.

Amazing how quickly things can change in the NFL. Going into this season, I think most would have agreed the Patriots, Colts and Chargers were the favorites to win it all. Now

and

are out, and the Colts were roughed up in Week 1 against the Bears. In 2007, Indy lost its first game on Nov. 4. In 2006, Nov. 19. And in 2005, Dec. 18. I know they didn't look like the same team in the opener, but I can't seen an 0-2 start.

This feels like one of those games where Vegas shows it's smarter than the rest of us. The Packers and

are coming off a nice Monday night win over the Vikings. The Lions, meanwhile, gave up 318 yards on the ground against the Falcons. The following are actual headlines on

» READ MORE: the Detroit Free Press' Web site

;

. I'll probably regret it, especially considering

, but I don't see how you can go with Detroit at this point.

Two early possibilities to be the NFL's surprise team.

and the Panthers stunned the Chargers on the game's final play, and the Bears got a great road win in Indy. Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad said in the offseason that Chicago is where receivers go to die. Meanwhile,

writer David Haugh

» READ MORE: calls Bears quarterback Kyle Orton

the team's most improved player. The Panthers historically haven't had much of a home-field advantage (3-5 last season).

You all watched the Rams last week. Do I really need an explanation here? The Giants were 7-1 on the road last season. There. That should be enough.

This is MC's pick of the week. If you missed it from Week 1, my buddy MC will be picking one game each week for the blog. Here's what he's got:

Record: 0-1

Do we add Jacksonville the growing list of preseason AFC favorites that are nearing panic mode? The Jags

» READ MORE: lost their two starting guards

in the opener against the Titans. QB

was picked off twice after throwing just three interceptions all last season. And the Jags rushed for just 33 yards on 17 attempts. I say they bounce back, but the line might be a little high for my liking.

Is it just me, or has

turned into quite a whiner since leaving Philly?

» READ MORE: Here's what he said

about

going with Brian Griese this week:

Very convincing, right?

As I mentioned yesterday, Seattle is without its four top receivers, which caused the Seahawks to select former Eagles wideout

. Meanwhile, the beginning of the

(offensive coordinator) era in San Francisco resulted in five fumbles (four lost), an interception and 13 points against Arizona.

Interesting

» READ MORE: article on azcentral.com

that examines U.S. cities that feature out-of-market fan bases for different NFL teams. For example, what U.S. city besides Philadelphia houses the most Eagles fans? The answer, according to the report by DirecTV, is Baltimore. I know this has nothing to do with the game, but it's the Dolphins and the Cardinals. I have absolutely nothing insightful to add.

The aformentioned MC e-mailed me earlier this week and said "What if I would have told you six months ago that the Jets would be favored over the Patriots in Week 2?" Like I said before, crazy how quickly things can change in this league. I'm going with

and the Patriots. Note -- If New England wins, it would be a good idea not to watch ESPN at all next week. It will be unbearable.

Let's take a look back at the QBs selected in the 2006 draft:

had to call the cops earlier this week because he feared for his QB's emotional well-being.

: Couldn't beat out 37-year-old

for the starting job.

And then there's

, who threw for 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns without his leading receiver in Denver's Week 1 win over the Raiders. I'd say things look like they'll turn out pretty well for the Broncos. That being said...

is banged up but expected to play in the Sunday night matchup. The Browns looked terrible in a Week 1 loss to the Cowboys, and I said before the season, I don't see Cleveland matching its win total from a year ago.