Statmark's Reasonable Blog

The Time Is NOW

***For football fans only disclaimer***

Yes, this is the week that us football fans wait all year for with bated breath. My mind is going so many different directions right now between my picks, the matchups, my fantasy team, etc, etc that come Sunday all I'll be capable of is some garbled screams of both joy and pain. Add the fact that my boy Flagler flies in from Tampa just in order to keep the Kickoff tradition alive, thereby defining a truly unbreakable bond between football and friendship. Plus, we're in freakin' Wentworth for a show Sat and when the hell does Wentworth take a backseat to anything??? God knows it's gonna have to be some serious shit to be a front-runner this weekend and let's pray that it doesn't become that.

Quickie notes headed into week 1: Jerry Rice retired. Good for him. Greatest receiver to ever play, especially at such a sustained level. Major respect for him, especially back when I LOVED the 49ers, before management totally destroyed a once proud organization. #80 provided me with a LOT of joy during the '90s. We'll all miss him, but we all knew it was time to go...Don't overlook Peter Warrick's signing with Seattle this week. Seattle isn't a complete team yet, but he could very well be the big time receiver Hassleback needs....Jeff Garcia's injury could actually HELP Detroit in the early going. With him out, Joey Harrington WON'T be feeling the pressure quite as much and the fans won't be clamoring for him to be benched on that first INT he throws.

Ok now, I ain't about to try and actually do a full-blown week-by-week preview during the course of the entire NFL season but just like last year, I GOTSTA do at least a Week 1 preview and picks (plus I gotta post them before Matty does since he trumped me on the season preview). So here we go kids, Statmark's NFL 2005 Week 1 Preview and Picks...bet at your own risk, you know I will...

Oakland at New England - ABC has done a great job promoting this sucker while glossing over the fact that Oakland is NOT a good football team. Minnesota actually HAD leadership but still couldn't get the job done with Moss. In Oakland, there is NO leadership. Collins? Sapp? Are you kidding? The Pats, even though the offseason has kicked them in the balls a couple of times are still a well-oiled machine. Oakland is everything but that. New England 24-10

Chicago at Washington - Yeesh, I pity the fool that gets stuff watchin this game. Whoever wins this one sure better enjoy the win cause neither team is going anywhere. The Bears have a rookie QB, so I'll begrudgingly pick the Redskins. Washington 24-20.

Cincinnati at Cleveland - If you're a Bengals fan, this is a GREAT confidence-building opener to get. Cleveland is tough to figure out, but Cincy is just miles better...and what happened the last time these two met? Yeahhh...Cincy 35-17.

Denver at Miami - Gus Frerotte is the starting QB for Miami. What more do ya need to make a pick here? Denver 28-10.

Houston at Buffalo - Oooohhhh...now this is a nifty little early "AFC Wild-card battle". Man this could REALLY go either way, but I'm gonna take the constantly improving Texans in a mild-upset. Houston 28-27.

New Orleans at Carolina - On paper, there's just NO question about the pick here. But the Saints have that one HUGE intangible on their side that can't be measure: emotion. I sure hope they save that for the Giants game on Monday night next week. Saints play hard, but the better team wins. Carolina 20-17.

N.Y. Jets at Kansas City - A great early test for KC's defense. It's either gonna be a shootout or a slaughter. But the winner is the same either way. Kansas City 38-24.

Seattle at Jacksonville - Another solid week one matchup that's a really tough pick. Seattle has a B+ offense, Jacksonville has a B+ defense. I'm gonna go with Seattle, but they are seriously screwed if they go out and turn over the football. Jax will win this if it stays low scoring. Hesitantly...Seattle 24-17.

Tampa Bay at Minnesota - Hey! Remember back when Tampa was in the SuperBowl? 2 1/2 years ago?? Are you serious??? Damn, it feels like 12. Minnesota is out to set a message on how good they are gonna be even without Moss. Minnesota 31-9.

Tennessee at Pittsburgh - Yes, the winner here SHOULD be obvious, but I swear, I am SO tempted to pick the Titans in my upset of the week. Tennessee ain't THAT bad and if they're gonna win, it's gonna be while McNair is healthy and has all those good young WRs. Pitt is actually a little banged up and Tenn has had all the time in the world to prepare for Roethlisberger. But Pitt IS the better team and of course has home field. Fuck fuck fuck. What to do. If you're betting on the spread, take the Titans. If you're betting straight up (as I do)...ughhh...Pittsburgh 30-24. I have no balls.

Arizona at N.Y. Giants - Gosh darn it, why are all my upset teams on the road this week. NY 20-14. Please don't bet going by my pick.

Dallas at San Diego - Hey! This should be fun. Boy, those early games were a lot easier to pick than these...I'm not convinced that SD is better than Dallas AT ALL, I just like them a hell of a lot better. Super Chargers 24-21 (although if they were anything other than powder blue, they're screwed).

Green Bay at Detroit - For the love of god! Week 1 should be awesome...this game should rock all faces off even if it's not well played, it should be fireworks city. Defenses need not apply. Packers 35-31.

St. Louis at San Francisco - Steven Jackson is gonna do the whole "hot knife through butter" gimmick on the 49ers' D-line. St. Louis 32-10.

Indianapolis at Baltimore - You would think Indy but Indy actually has problems with ANY team with a top-notch defense (see NE, Jax, etc last year). So this ain't gonna be an easy one, despite Balty's complete lack of offense. They're gonna smack around the Colts, like it or not, but they still have to score, something that they ain't real adept at. Indy 21-14.

Philadelphia at Atlanta - Monday! Yeah, let's get Mr. Overrated on national TV as much as possible. I'm no Eagles fan, but why the hell is this an away game for them? Please...Atlanta is so outclassed here in every position, it ain't even funny. Phily 28-17.

That be that. I'm outta here, everyone please enjoy kickoff weekend, I'll be in Chapel Hill at Bailey's on Sunday. Some weekends are just designed to be perfect. God bless football.

Your regularly scheduled wrestling column will return next week. Until then...rock on...

posted by Grant "Statmark" Sawyer @ 10:30 PM