It's a good thing nobody took us up on our bet that Tom Brady would be in his usual spot on the injured list. Well, he's not. And even though we all know, and everyone knows we all know, that the injury list is only mandatory because of wink-wink gambling, it's a good sign. Tom's going to play. We hope he plays better than all those weeks he was injured.
Speaking of gambling...we'd love our Bostonist readers to try to outpick us on all the games this year. We're not going to use point spreads; just pick the winners and leave your picks in comments. We'll give everybody the Giants as a freebie, unless you're a particularly honest and masochistic Redskins fan. Winners get mentioned on the prestigious Internet and maybe a beverage when it's all said and done.
Week One previews from John Clayton, Jim McCabe, Dr. Z, and a back-from-the-grave Bill Simmons, to get you started.
Our picks, with selected commentary (home team in caps):
PATRIOTS over Kansas City. Too bad for Matt Cassel that Brady's 100%; the Chiefs might be the only team he could beat, and retire with a career 1-0 record.
Jets over MIAMI. Chad Pennington was the Jets QB for years; now that he's in Miami, he can bring his vast knowledge of the Jets' weaknesses with him. Unfortunately, the best advice he's given so far is, "You can beat the Jets, because their QB is Chad Pennington." Not super helpful, there.
Seattle over BUFFALO. The other teams in their division are the Rams, Cardinals and 49ers. Look for a touching moment at 11:04 in the second quarter when the Seahawks celebrate clinching their division.
GREEN BAY over Minnesota. Hard to pick this one. Since no media were covering the Packers' summer camp, we don't really know a lot about them.
SAN DIEGO over Carolina. The Chargers' Drive to Mid-But-Not-Late January begins again.
Arizona over SAN FRANCISCO. The Cardinals' 47th straight rebuilding year! The 49ers' stadium is now known as Candlestick Park again, which is awesome, but also telling that no company wants their name associated with the 49ers.
Detroit over ATLANTA. One of these teams will be 1-0. Scary.
Cincinnati over BALTIMORE. The long national nightmare is over. Chad Johnson's changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco, and the Bengals and the NFL have approved him putting it on his jersey. The brave Steeler who changes his name to "Derek Cincinnati Sucks" or some such will be mayor of Pittsburgh one day; mark our words.
TENNESSEE over Jacksonville. Upset special of the week.
Also: NEW ORLEANS over Tampa Bay, PHILLY over St Louis, PITTSBURGH over Houston, Dallas over CLEVELAND, INDY over Chicago, Denver over OAKLAND.
Leave yours in comments below.
The Red Sox are in Texas, Josh Beckett's back, the Rays avoided a sweep by the Yankees and are now 3 1/2 up on the Sox.
Picture from Patriots.com.
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