NFL Week 1 Picks, Uncertainties Abound.

The truth in the NFL has been the same for many years, the more teams change, the more they stay the same! As evidence of this, consider that the Giants throttled the Skins 16-7 despite losing their two best defensive players from last years team.

The Giants managed to cover the spread and looked good doing so. So who else will look sharp come Sunday afternoon? The Jets are -3 at Miami. Take Brett and the points. For some reason, many spectators are convinced Chad Pennington will have a "revenge game". This is just paranoia. I expect the opposite to be true. NY will know exactly what Pennington is doing and Favre will post solid numbers in his debut.

Monday Night Special: Minnesota +1 at GB. Take the Packers giving up one. The reality is even without #4 at the helm, GB has a heck of a team yet again. The defense is going to be solid at least another year, Ryan Grant is a superstar in the making and they have several legitimate options at WR. On top of that, Aaron Rodgers was mentored by who? Brett Favre. I don't expect Peterson to have a monster game but he may have 80-100 yards and a touchdown. The X-factor in all of this is Travaris Jackson. Does anyone expect him to pick the Packer defense apart? I sure don't...

Rams at Philly (-7). Take the Eagles, it's just that simple. Everyone knows how good Bryan Westbrook is, plus Donovan McNabb is apparently 100% healthy and Philadelphia added star corner back Asante Samuel. St Louis may be slowed by the extended holdout of Steven Jackson. Even if not, don't expect Marc Bulger to put up noteworthy numbers. Prediction: Jackson runs for 100 yards but Philly wins by 10 anyway.

Denv (-1) at Oakland. Oakland is going to be a much better team than Denver, by the end of next year. McFadden and JaMarcus Russell are tremendous talents but are going to be very raw for most, if not all, of this year. Denver always seems to have an impressive running game and this should be no exception. Losing in week 1 to Oakland would be a huge letdown for Jay Cutler and company. Take Denver giving up one.

TB (+4) at NO. Assuming this game is played in the Superdome, which it seems it will be, take the Saints spotting TB four points. The real problems here are manifold for Tampa Bay. Galloway is questionable, Garcia has looked average at best in the preseason and can Earnest Graham continue to surprise people? The Saints have upgraded both their offense and defense while allowing their young players time to develop. The one potential fly in the ointment is if NO gets significantly behind early on and has to abandon the running game. This could lead to quick defensive touchdowns and a blowout for the Bucs. Still, NO looks like a safe choice overall.