(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Alright, the first week is in the books and I found out that it is better to be lucky than good. Due to some last minutes heroics by my Bolts and the Patriots, I ended up having a pretty strong week on my picks. I went 13 - 3 picking the games straight up. I'm too big of a wuss to pick against the spread.
The game started out with Oakland on fire! They marched the ball up and down the field with a powerful running game and a dominant offensive line. The silver and black defense also dominated the line of scrimmage and kept the high powered Chargers offense off stride and ineffective most of the night.
Fortunately for the Chargers, the Raiders do not have a very consistent quarterback. Throughout out the entire game, JaMarcus Russell had receivers open and could not get them the ball. He looked very poor until the Bolts blew deep coverage on a third and long and the Raiders hooked up for a 56 yard touch down and a very late lead. If Russell had been more accurate, the game would have been a blowout for the Raiders, even though the Chargers figured out at half time how to stop the Raiders running game.
With a little over a minute to go, the 90 million dollar man, Philip Rivers, calmly drove the Chargers 90 yards with the help of Darren Sproles and Legadu Naanee. So, after being tied, or behind most of the night, the Bolts ended up on top and left Oakland thrilled to get out with a win.
On the other hand, the Bolts may have traded the win for the health of their players. Seven chargers, including six starters went down to injury during the game. Pro Bowl center, Nick Hardwick, future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, and Pro Bowl Nose Tackle Jamaal Williams will all miss this week's game against the Ravens. Williams was placed on the IR today which will keep him out for the rest of the year.
I must admit that I am not exactly over confident for the Chargers against the Ravens. The Ravens did struggle with the lowly Chiefs, but not on defense. There were a couple of fluke touch downs by KC that kept the game close. The Ravens offense ran over 90 plays on the day and totally dominated the Chiefs defense.
The Ravens have a very tough defense, lead by Ray Lewis. Say what you want about Lewis and his personal struggles off the field, in the past. The fact is the guy can play football at the highest level and if you give him a chance, he will find a way to beat you.
On the bright side, as poorly as the Chargers played last week, they still piled up 24 points! Rivers is healthy and so are Sproles, Gates, Jackson, and most of the other offensive weapons of the Bolts. Unfortunately, the Chargers offensive line will have at least one second string player, at center, and may need to spell LuisVasquez at right guard if he isn't ready to go. Losing 40% of your line and your starting tailback doesn't help your offense. I'm afraid that unless Sproles and Bennett can move the ball on the ground, the Ravens will be able to pin their ears back and push around the line to pressure Rivers.
All that being said, I am a die-hard Chargers fan and I always pick my team. Therefore, I say that Rivers will pick apart the Ravens defense and Sproles will give the Chargers great field position all day by running back kicks and punts into Ravens territory. A couple of years ago, the Chargers dismantled the Ravens and made it look easy. No reason they can't do it again. (Did I sound confident?)
Here are all of my picks for this week's games. Winning team is in CAPS.
Season Record: 13-3
PATRIOTS @ jets
SAINTS @ eagles
rams @ REDSKINS
cardinals @ JAGUARS
panthers @ FALCONS
VIKINGS @ lion
bengals @ PACKERS
texans @ TITANS
RAIDERS @ chiefs
bucs @ BILLS
SEAHAWKS @ niners
STEELERS @ bears
BROWNS @ broncos
GIANTS @ cowboys
COLTS @ dolphins
ravens 20 @ CHARGERS 31
Enjoy the games and thanks for reading! Feel free to leave comments. I'd love to hear from you
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