Week 1 of our 2011 NFL picks quickly turned into a week to forget for Doc and Del, who did not fair well — particularly against the spread. Doc Brown will post those weak percentages later when he posts his Week 2 picks but I can assure you of one thing: It will only get better from here. As for Week 2, there are some tough lines with some confusing injury situations, but rest assured Del has spent plenty of time scouring over each game. Here are Del’s Week 2 NFL picks, with analysis following after the chart.
(ATS = Against the Spread, SU = Straight Up
Kicking off the top 3 for Del this week are the Ravens -6 over the Titans. Sure the Ravens are on the road, but did the oddsmakers not see what Baltimore did to Big Ben and company last weekend? If the Ravens were able to absolutely manhandle the defending AFC champions, wouldn’t it stand to reason that they can cover a 6-point spread against a team that just lost to the Jaguars? Seems like common sense to me.
Then we have the Jets, who struggled against the Cowboys at home Sunday night and needed a baffling late-game comeback to pull off the win. New York is at home agains this week, this time against Luke McCown and the Jaguars. While McCown looked a little better than many expected Week 1, the Jets should be able to torture him at home. Look for Rex Ryan to dial up some blitzes early and often which should allow the Jets to take a big lead into halftime.
Rounding out the top 3 this week is a game that many will consider a tough one to pick. The Eagles looked decent against the Rams last weekend and the Falcons looked terrible against the Bears, but Atlanta loves playing in the Georgia Dome. Michael Vick is always a threat to tear it up especially in his first return to Atlanta as the starter, but I fully expect the Falcons to try to put last week behind them and get on track for 2011. Since I believe the Falcons will win the game straight up and they are a 2.5-point underdog, this seems like an easy selection.
