2014 Week 1 Review & Week 2 Picks

Week 1 Recap (Week, 1-4, Season, 1-4)

As always, Week 1 proved to be a struggle as a majority of teams either fell short of or exceeded pre-season exceptions. We'd expect our performance to improve as the season progresses as has been the case over our last two year.

Week 2 Picks

Carolina -2.5 vs Detroit

While Detroit won big and Carolina narrowly escaped a loss, we think Carolina is still a vastly superior team to Detroit. Carolina's defense seems to have not regressed from last year and there is only so much one player like Calvin Johnson can do against a great defense. In addition, the return of Cam Newton should provide some spark to a pedestrian Carolina Offense. We like Carolina to win handedly.

Cincinnati -5.5 vs Atlanta

In the Matt Ryan era, Atlanta has been much better at home than on the road. Despite beating a fantastic New Orleans in overtime last week, we do not think Atlanta will bring its game North to Cincinnati. In many ways, Cincinnati's defense is the anti-thesis of Atlanta's offense. Atlanta is finesse at the talent positions while Cincinnati is smash mouth in the trenches. Cincinnati's defense should be able to bully Atlanta in ways New Orleans could not. We like Cincinnati to win by a touchdown. 

San Diego +6 vs Seattle

Seattle certainly looked to be in mid-season form last Thursday during their walloping of Green Bay, eschewing any questions about a Super Bowl slump. As dominant as Seattle looked, they are unquestionably much better at home than they are on the road. They have much more difficulty dictating the flow and style of the game, a hallmark of their success, when they are away from Century-Link. Additionally, San Diego is far from being an average team. While they can be inconsistent, at their best, this team can score on any defense and pressure any offense. Seattle may certainly win this game, but San Diego will be able to compete from start to finish.

Oakland +3 (120) vs Houston

After just one game, many have been quick to equate this Houston team to the team that finished 12-4 in 2012 rather than the team that finished 2-14 in 2013. Truth be told, they are most likely somewhere in the middle, and certainly have not shown enough to warrant being road favorites. Despite playing very poorly against New York, Oakland still managed to keep it close. This team has a certain immeasurable grit quality, and we expect Oakland to grind out a very close win at home.

Kansas City +13 @ Denver

The two teams could not have started off the season any more differently. Denver looked dominant as they jumped out to a huge first half lead, while Kansas City had essentially lost their home opener before the fourth quarter even started. However, Kansas City was still a playoff team last year, and Denver faded towards the end of their first game. While we don't see a way for Kansas City to win this game, we expect their defense to get them within 13 points by the final whistle.