Week 3 picks and other stuff

Greetings everyone, and as you can probably tell by now, the world did not come to an end last night. Just like it didn't end in 1988, and 1999, and 2002, and 2012. So there you are, and here I am.

Last week when I gave my thoughts on the Dolphins-Chargers contest in suburban Los Angeles, I made this comment regarding the Chargers:

Ever wonder what the Tampa Bay Rays would look like as an NFL team? This is it. Similar color scheme, similar apathetic markets, similar less-than-ideal home stadia. At least the Chargers will have a new home eventually, and will stay put this time.

Well a couple of things happened this week. First, the Rays' lord and savior Joe Maddon returned to the Trop with his defending champion Chicago Cubs, and fans showed up to the Trop in droves, to the tune of 25,000. The sad news however, was that they were pretty much all Cubs fans. Which led me to draw this conclusion about baseball in Tampa/St. Petersburg: yeah, we like baseball, we just don't like our team. That fact did not go unnoticed by Rays players either.

Rays "ace" Chris Archer in particular, was less than pleased. And local sportswriter Tom Jones, who isn't the biggest fan of this region to begin with, was quite negative about the atmosphere. It was not a very pleasing sight to see to those who have "fought" tooth and nail to make this Rays franchise work.

Here's my painful truth about the Rays; the fact that they're in St. Pete is the main reason nobody likes them. Tampa has never really given a shit about St. Pete, and to a somewhat smaller extent, vice versa. The late sportscaster Chris Thomas used to say that there's no unity in this community. He was right fifteen years ago, and he's right now. The Howard Frankland Bridge connects Tampa to the northern reaches of St. Pete, and everyone hates driving on it. Build a new ballpark closer to Tampa, and you may get more fans.  Of course, local leadership has been dragging their knuckles over it, and according to a recent poll, residents couldn't care less.

Enough about bad baseball though. The second thing regarding the earlier quote I posted regarding last week came down yesterday, and it's a doozy. Yahoo Sports posted an article that stated the NFL was considering bringing the Chargers back to San Diego. This from a longtime NFL reporter who spoke with a local sports talker there (more on THAT in a bit). However, league sources were quick to shut down said rumor almost as soon as it was mentioned.

My thoughts on this: this was likely a knee-jerk overreaction to the crowd in Carson for the game last week, a crowd that was nearly split 50/50 between Chargers fans and Dolphins fans. In fact it was so divisive, some couldn't even tell who he crowd was cheering for (kinda like Cubs-Rays as I alluded to earlier). So, the initial reaction would be, "Oh great, it isn't going to work in LA, let's go back to San Diego." Knowing that, one particular ratings-starved sports talk host in San Diego may get a hold of an NFL reporter who has heard rumors of a potential return to San Diego, put him on his show, and stir the pot so to speak. How would I speculate this? Because said radio host used to work in Tampa, an he's so awful I've named him the patron saint of shitty sports talk. Thank God he got himself run out of town.


Now for my Week 3 preview. Last week I went 11-5, and for a third straight week, missed the Thursday night game, so I currently have a record of 23-9. Not bad, but room for improvement.

Baltimore at Jacksonville  London
Ah yes, the Jags' annual trip to Wembley occurs early this season. Their reward? Undefeated Baltimore, who quite honestly hasn't been tested yet; and they won't this week either. Blake Bortles reverted to the Bortles we have come to know and loathe last week against Tennessee, and the Kitty Cats were blown out. This week, at least try to run Leonard Fournette as much as possible, it won't be good enough to win but at least you won't run the risk of that inevitable soul-crushing pick from Bortles.

Ravens over Jaguars

Tampa Bay at Minnesota
Last week, I turned some heads by picking against the Bucs, and they rewarded me with a stellar defensive effort reminiscent of those great Buc defenses of the late 90s/early 00s. This week, they make their first of hopefully two visits to Minneapolis this season, and they got a break when Sam Bradford was ruled out due to a knee issue. His replacement? Case Keenum, who has only torched the Bucs the last two games he's faced them as a member of the Rams. Uh-oh. Kwon Alexander is out for Tampa with a hammy issue. Double uh-oh. Rest easy though, for this is a deeper Bucs defense than in years past. However, I'm worried about Dalvin Cook AND if the Buc offense is at full throttle.  Picking the opponent worked last week. Hopefully it will again this week.

Vikings over Buccaneers 

Miami at NY Jets
Ok, I admit, the Fins got lucky last week at San Diego Carson. That's been their M.O. since last season though, thrilling, heart-stopping, last-minute victories. I doubt they'll need one this week, but these are the Jets...

Dolphins over Jets

Rest of Sunday's games:
Eagles over Giants
Patriots over Texans
Steelers over Bears
Broncos over Bills
Browns over Colts
Lions over Falcons
Saints over Panthers
Packers over Bengals
Chiefs over Chargers
Titans over Seahawks

Sunday Night (Oakland at Washington)
How exactly did Washington get a Sunday Night game this season? Did Dan Snyder gripe to the right people? Was Mia Khalifa involved? Ok I digress. Meanwhile, let's check in on Beast Mode, shall we?

Dude! Marshawn is TURNT! I think he had too much Skittles in the locker room at halftime. All kidding aside, how fun will it be to see him do this again in Landover?

Raiders over Redskins

Monday Night (Dallas at Arizona)

Those who thought Arizona was going to win the NFC West this season (raises hand) my want to reconsider. They let one slip away at Detroit then needed overtime to beat the Colts. This is their home opener, but since it's against a Cowboys team licking their wounds from last week's blowout to Denver, it won't feel like it. Look for Dallas to take out some frustration out on the Cards.

Cowboys over Cardinals

So to review:

BAL

MIN

MIA

PHI

NE

PIT

DEN

CLE

DET

NO

GB

KC

TEN

OAK

DAL

See y'all on Twitter. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!