NFL Predictions Week 1: Picking Opening Week's Most Shocking Upsets

Excitement is in the air as the opening weekend of the NFL season is in sight. The Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints kick things off on Thursday night as Lambeau Field welcomes the former champions to play the reigning champions.

However, for some teams, that excitement will be tampered pretty quickly as the loft expectations of the offseason could come to a sudden halt with the harsh reality of football.

As any good gambler will know—not that I condone that sort of thing—there are always going to be upsets and surprises no matter what the sport is. Just ask Usain Bolt!

The NFL is no different and we should see a few shocking results within the next week as some teams are slow to adjust to their offseason acquisitions while others are still stuck in preseason mode.

Here are a few potential upsets that would shock the NFL world on opening week.

The Indianapolis Colts generally tend to be the favorites in their NFL matchups unless they are facing off against a very good team. They have dominated the AFC South since Peyton Manning took over in Indianapolis but they head into this weekend without him for the first time ever.

Doom and gloom is all that surrounds the Colts and their fans right now as at least one Colts fan that I know believes the Colts without Manning are worse than the Cincinnati Bengals without Palmer.

However, Kerry Collins can get the job done in Indianapolis this weekend. It's no certainty but the Texans are moving from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 that will take some time to adjust, presuming it adjusts at all.

While the Texans will likely be able to run on the Colts defense, I can't see veteran leaders like Dwight Freeney and Antoine Bethea just allowing their team to roll over and die like they did for most of the preseason.

The Texans will definitely enter this game as the favorites, but Manning under center or not, the Colts can win this game and shock their counterparts in the South.

Another team with a future Hall of Fame quarterback at the helm will be taking their talents to—oh, stop that, it's the most overused saying ever by now—the New England Patriots will be traveling to Miami to play the Dolphins as the first game of a Monday night double header.

The Patriots will be the clear favorites as many of their fans have already proclaimed themselves Super Bowl champions. However, not everything is well in New England right now.

The release of Brandon Meriweather may not have been that big of a surprise, but the fact that James Sanders was also let go leaves the team with a few question marks on the back end of their defense. There is no doubting that Sergio Brown and Patrick Chung have talent but the lack of a veteran presence could hurt them early on. A mistake at the safety position often leads to six points the other way.

What worsens this issue is the fact that the Patriots defensive line is still waiting for Albert Haynesworth to make his presence felt. After missing basically the whole preseason because of injury, Haynesworth likely won't be up to much with just a few practices under his belt.

Pats fans will point to the Miami offense and snicker at the idea of losing to them but the Patriots offense isn't in for an easy ride.

The Dolphins look like having one of the best defenses in the league this year. The addition of Kevin Burnett was obviously geared towards stopping the Patriots two tight end sets as Burnett and Karlos Dansby are both supremely athletic and will be able to handle Gronkowski and Hernandez in coverage.

The corners on the outside would be stars if they could simply catch the ball but nonetheless preventing Wes Welker, Chad Ochocinco and co. from making an impact shouldn't be a major issue.

Re-signing Paul Soliai has given the team one of the best run stuffing 3-4 groups in the whole league while Cameron Wake and Koa Misi with a sprinkling of Jason Taylor will be looking to get in Brady's hair (Don't tell me hes cut it???) all night.

The Patriots are undoubtedly the media darlings of the AFC but the NFC version of that is also facing a big upset this week.

A lot of talk has surrounded the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason and it's time for them to prove that they are no all-hype team this weekend. Facing off against the St. Louis Rams won't be easy, however.

Offensively, the Eagles will struggle to contain the Rams front seven as Chris Long could have a huge day against Todd Herremans in open space. Despite being an excellent guard, Herremans will have a tough day with Long as a tackle.

Defensively is where the game really gets interesting. The Rams will run the ball...a lot. They have proven in the preseason that the arrival of Josh McDaniels didn't mean the end of Stephen Jackson. Jackson carried the ball 24 times in three preseason games which is a huge amount for a veteran running back such as he.

The Eagles big question mark defensively is how they will cope with the run. Some teams will repeatedly line up with only one wide receiver to negate their talented coverage corners with two tight ends and a fullback. Pounding the ball on their questionable linebacking and safety group could see the Rams keep Michael Vick and his talented offense on the sidelines for a very long time.

In the Edward Jones' Dome also, the Eagles will be facing a hostile environment as the Rams will have huge motivation to lay down an early marker for the NFC West crown.