NFL Pro Football 2011 Week 2 Picks Late Games

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Fearless Rick's NFL Week 2 Picks - Late Games
Rick Gagliano | September 18-19
All times Eastern - Click here for early games.
Dallas Cowboys (-3, 43) at San Francisco 49ers 4:05 pm - The Cowboys lost a tough one to the Jets Sunday night, 27-24, and now have to travel again, this time to the West coast, so how do they exactly deserve to be three point favorites over a team that sucker-punched a weak Seattle squad, 33-17?
The Cowboys are a weak 3-6-1 ATS when playing San Fran and the 49ers are a solid 6-1 straight up at home over their last seven games. Of course, the Cowboys had a tough task, trying to win New York against the Jets, but they blew a 24-10 4th quarter lead and lost, 27-24. There is no excuse for 4th quarter stumbles and the Cowboys will be better prepared for the final 15 minutes of play, but the 49ers may just have the answers here.
Prediction: 49ers 24 Cowboys 21

San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots (-7, 54) 4:15 pm - New England went off against the Dolphins on Monday in a 38-24 win, that actually could have been a lot closer. The Dolphins were inside the 10-yard line on three different occasions and came away with just three points, so some red zone offense could have made all the difference.
The key take-away from the game is not Tom Brady's 517 yards passing, but the 488 yards of offense given up by the New England defense to Chad Henne and a generally ineffective Reggie Bush. The Patriot defense has plenty of holes and Phillip Rivers will surely find them.
It's unknown which Las Vegas nitwit came up with this line, but it's a sure sucker bet for Patriots fans. The Chargers will smoke them.
Prediction: Chargers 35 Patriots 24

Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos (-4 1/2, 40) 4:15 pm - Both teams come into this game following physical contests in Week 1, but the Broncos get to stay home while the Bengals travel. Bengal QB Andy Dalton is day-to-day with a sore wrist, a plus for Denver, and the Bronco fans should keep their mouths shut about Tim Tebow vs. Kyle Orton.
Orton was 24-of-46 for 304 yards with a TD and one pick against the Raiders and they only lost by a field goal, 23-20. The Denver QB played well. The Raiders were just a little better.
Denver came out of that game with injuries to Elvis Dumervil, Champ Bailey, Brandon Lloyd and Knowshon Moreno, and it's unclear if any will play on Sunday. That puts the onus on Orton to deliver and the defense - worst in the league last year - to step up, and they will.
Prediction: Broncos 24 Bengals 17

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Houston Texans (-3, 47 1/2) at Miami Dolphins 4:15 pm - Forget how badly the Texans manhandled the Colts in Week 1. Indy is undermanned without Peyton Manning and will be hard-pressed to win even one game without him.
The Dolphins ran up and down the field against the Patriots, but failed horribly in the red zone, and those kinds of problems aren't usually rectified in the space of six days. Both QBs - Matt Schaub and Chad Henne - will light it up, but the Texans have a slightly better defensive unit, so we'll forfeit the three points and get the Texans to 2-0 here.
Prediction: Texans 30 Dolphins 24

Philadelphia Eagles (-2 1/2, 49 1/2) at Atlanta Falcons 8:20 pm - Well, this is a tough spot for the Falcons after they bombed in their opener against the Bears, losing 30-12, and you know that Michael Vick still harbors ill-will against his former team.
The Eagles made quick work of the Rams, 31-13, and probably could have won by even more. They look like the serious contender everybody thought they would be.
Atlanta will surely bounce back from their loss at Chicago, but this is about as tough a task one could expect so early in the season, and maybe an 0-2 start will not look so bad a few weekends from now.
Prediction: Eagles 31 Falcons 21

Monday, Sept. 19
St. Louis Rams at NY Giants (-4 1/2, 44) 8:30 pm - Somebody's going to come out of this game at 0-2, and while Giants fans are thinking it's not going to be them, it just might, especially considering how poorly the G-Men played in their opener at Washington. The issues were third downs (1-for-10 converting) and pass defense (Rex Grossman hit on 21 of 34 passes for 305 yards), and those problems are not going to be fixed right away. The lack of a consistent run game is also a problem. The Giants gained only 75 yards on 20 carries.
St. Louis is banged up, losing a couple of cornerbacks against the Eagles, plus RB Steven Jackson, though Carnell Williams filled in well, rushing for 91 yards on 19 carries against the Eagles. Sam Bradford has a bruised index finger and should be good to go, but there's lots of pressure on him. Given the 4 1/2 points, though, the Rams have as much chance of winning this one as do the Giants.
Prediction: Rams 31 Giants 30
All times Eastern - Click here for early games
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