Fox's Week 2 Pick'ems

Hey everyone, its the Fantastic Ryan Fox, the true NFL mastermind at 990WBOB. We have Week 1 in the books, there were some 'shocking' upsets, impressive debuts, and of course, the predictable. Now lets look ahead to Week 2 and kick things off with a little Thursday Night Football.

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NFL Week 2 Preview

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers
Thursday 8:20 PM

This is one of the oldest rivalries in professional football, going back as long as the entire NFL. That being said, I'm going to go with the Bears in this one. They've got Matt Forte and Michael Bush in the backfield, both  should be able to pound the ball against that suspect Packer defense,  and manage the clock. That's the best way to keep Aaron Rodgers off the field.

Fox Pick: Bears
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Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills
Sunday 1:00 PM

The Bills got slapped around in New York last week. Worse, RB Fred Jackson is going to be out until Week 4 due to injury. Chief DE Tamba Hali will have his way with a pourous Bills O-lin,e and terrorize QB Ryan Fitzpatrick all game long.

Fox Pick: Chiefs
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New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers
Sunday 1:00 PM

This will be a shoot-out between Drew Brees and Cam Newton. Saints will get back MLB Johnathan VIlma and DE Will Smith to help their defense. But when it comes down to it, the Saints have more offensive weapons than Carolina. Even with having talented runners like RBs DeAngelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart, don't expect a successful running attack to keep the high octane Saints offense off the field.

Fox Pick: Saints                                                         *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday 1:00 PM

Cleveland: zero offense.
Cincinnati: QB Andy Dalton, RB BenJarvus-Green Ellis, WR Andy Dalton, TE Jermaine Gresham. Need I say more

Fox Pick: Bengals
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Minnesota Vikings vs. Indianapolis Colts
Sunday 1:00 PM

Andre Luck looked somewhat impressive in his NFL debut, throwing 309 yards and a TD against the Bears. Given the fact that the Vikings secondary is swiss cheese these days, expect high passing yards and multiple TDs from Luck. Also, expect Vikings RB Adrian Peterson to disappear in this game as the Colts defense will be able to contain him.

Fox Pick: Colts
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Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Sunday 1:00 PM

The Texans defensive has been able to easily stuff up Jaguars RB Maurice Drew-Jones as of late. Also QB Matt Schaub and WR Andre Johnson show little or no signs of their injuries affecting their ability to play. Expect a big healthy dosage of RB Adrian Foster to seal the deal and expect Jaguars QB to be well acquainted with Texans DE JJ Watt for the entire game.

Fox Pick: Texans
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Oakland Raiders vs. Miami Dolphins
Sunday 1:00 PM

(No Comment)

Fox Pick: Raiders
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Arizona Cardinals vs. New England Patriots
Sunday 1:00 PM

On the Patriots side, they boast one of the top TE in the NFL right now in Rob 'Gronk' Gronkowski. On the Cardinals' side, they boast the best NFL WR that isn't nicknamed after a Decepticon in Larry Fitzgerald. Both can easily create mismatches on the defense that will open up things for their teammates. But Fitzgerald will be able to run circles against the Patriots' secondary, even if they put 3 guys on him. Don't expect Pats RB Stevan Ridley to emulate his same running success like he did in Tennessee. 

Fox Pick: Cardinals
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New York Giants
Sunday 1:00 PM

Bad News for Giants' fans: DT Chris Canty is still on the PUP list. Good news: DT Marvin Austin and CBs Prince Amukamura and Michael Coe are practicing and all three will be able to play in Week 2. This will be key to be able to stop the revamped Bucs offense. Match up to watch for: Buccaneers LT Donald Penn vs. Giants RE Jason Pierre-Paul. As for Eli and the offense, look for a rebound game by WR Victor Cruz who is hungry to redeem his poor Week 1 performance.

Fox Pick: Giants
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Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday 1:00 PM

Both teams have high flying receivers (Anquain Bolden and Torrey Smith for the Ravens and DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin for the Eagles), both have extremely talented running backs (Ravens' Ray Rice and Eagles' LeSean McCoy), and both boast some stalwart defenses led by top-tier MLBs (Ray Lewis for Ravens and DeMeco Ryans for the Eagles). That being said, it'll come down to Quarterback Play. Unfortunately that's what separates these two teams: Flacco can stay on the field and make little mistakes while Vick is too injury proned.

Fox Pick: Ravens
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Sunday 4:25 PM

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson struggled in his debut against the Arizona Cardinals, who don't really have a top notch defensive player. This time, he faces against one of the game's most dominating defensive players in DE DeMarcus Ware, who just recorded his 102nd sack last weekend and will be looking for more. DC Rob Ryan's was able to limit the Giants' high octane offense last week and against a struggling Seahawk offense, expect more of the same dominance.

Fox Pick: Cowboys
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 Washington Redskins vs. St. Louis Rams
Sunday 4:25 PM

Give the Rams credit where credit is due. They played the Lions tough in last week's 27-23 loss, forcing Lions QB Matt Stafford to throw 3 INTs. Everybody is drinking the RGIII Kool Aid but he didn't play against a tough-minded and disciplined defense, which is what Jeff Fisher's group brings to the table. Also look for Rams RB Stephen Jackson to break out after being held up by a stout Lions run defense.

Fox Pick: Rams 
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New York Jets vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday 4:25 PM

The New York Jets exploded with offense in their 48-28 victory over the Bills, who were picked by many to be one of the up and coming risers in the AFC East. Looking over at Pittsburgh, they are still struggling at the running game so expect the Jets secondary to focus and shut down the Steelers receivers. And if they do that, expect Ben Roethlisberger to be on his back all day long.

Fox Pick: J-E-T-S
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Tennessee Titans vs. San Diego Chargers
Sunday 4:25 PM

If you are a Chris Johnson owner in fantasy football, just bench him for this game. If the Patriots can bottle up CJ2K to a mere 4 yards on 11 carries, imagine what the new-look Chargers D can do. But in same token, Chargers RB Ryan Matthews is coming off a broken collarbone he suffered in Week 1 of the preseason. But as of now, I'd rather take my chances with Matthews over Johnson.

Fox Pick: Chargers
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Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers
Sunday 8:20 PM

Everybody is too focused on what the head coaches are going to do. But the bottom line is that last week we saw a San Francisco defense that held a Green Bay offense that averaged 35 points last year to just 22 points. If Lions QB Matt Stafford threw 3 INTs against young, developing Rams defense, imagine how he'll fair against one of the more elite defenses in the NFL today.

Fox Pick: 49ers
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Denver Broncos vs. Atlanta Falcons
Monday 8:30 PM

This is going to be an interesting showdown. QB Peyton Manning looked impressive in his Broncos debut against the Steelers. Over on the Atlanta side, we saw the Julio Jones acrobatic show against the Chiefs where he caught 2 TDs. What this game will come down to is which running game can help their team keep the other off the field, which so far looks like Denver has the advantage in.

Fox Pick: Broncos
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Last Week: 10-6
Season Record: 10-6

That's it for this week, tune into next weeks edition of Fox's Picks only on 990WBOB.com

-Ryan L. Fox