Gettin' you ready for week two

What a wild week one it was….except for the fact that, well, it really wasn’t.

Sure, you had some last-minute finishes, as we Packers fans know.

But outside of one upset (San Francisco over Arizona, which I called) and one miracle finish (Brandon Stokley’s tip grab to propel Denver over Cincinnati), the week kind of went as expected. New England and San Diego were given close games by Buffalo and Oakland, respectively, but both still won. In the end, not really that wild.

Perhaps this week will bring a bit more of the out-of-the-ordinary.

Let’s find out as we at OBOD get you ready for week two.

Game of the Week

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

There were a few candidates for this honor, but in the end this was the only game that marked the opening of a billion dollar stadium.

That’s not the only reason I picked this game, set for Sunday night on NBC, though. Giants-Cowboys is, in my mind, the most storied rivalry in all the NFC East rivalries. It’s the two teams with the most history and tradition in the division and two teams that really seem to dislike each other.

Plus, you throw in Tony Romo getting his first real test A.T.O. (After T.O.), Eli Manning’s continuing search for a true No. 1 receiver and all the defensive talent on the two squads and you have the makings for a nice matchup.

You also get to see the Cowboys’ cheerleaders and Jerry Jones’ weird, creepy facial expressions during all the cutaways to him in his owner’s box. So that’ll be fun, too.

Game of the Weak

Cleveland at Denver

There were a few candidates for this, um, honor, as well, but in the end this just seemed like the biggest stinkfest.

First, you have the Browns, a very untalented team that hung tough with the Queens for the first half last week before ultimately getting crushed.

Then, you add the Broncos, a team that had scored all of six points before Stokley’s miracle catch to beat the hapless Bengals.

When combined, you get a truly horrendous matchup that only fans of those teams would care about. And even some of them might be on the fence about that.

Fantasy start

(I’ve ditched the “obvious/not-so-obvious” idea and will now focus on the not-so-obvious part. Slam dunks are too easy, you know?)

Buffalo RB Fred Jackson vs. Tampa Bay – Fred racked up 140 rushing and receiving yards and a touchdown against the Pats on Monday. This week he goes up against a Tampa Bay defense that allowed Marion Barber 5.6 yards per carry last week. Marshawn who?

Fantasy sit

Philadelphia WR DeSean Jackson vs. New Orleans – DeSean is the bomb, no question. But with Donovan McNabb (ribs) likely out, Jackson faces the prospect of either Jeff Garcia or Kevin Kolb at QB (yikes). Plus, you have to think the Eagles’ game plan will be run heavy to cover for whoever lines up under center. That doesn’t bode well for Jackson against an on-the-rise Saints defense.

Week two predictions

Houston at Tennessee – I’m guilty of staying on some bandwagons longer than I should (after all, I still really dig Lindsay Lohan). It looks like that’s the case with my longtime Texans fascination as they looked horrendous in losing to the Jets. I’m sticking with Lohan, but not Houston. Tennessee 24, Houston 13

Minnesota at Detroit – Judas looked about how I expected he would as Adrian Peterson carried the Queens last week. Detroit got blown out by the New Orleans Brees’ (man he’s good). Still, the Lions almost always play Minnesota tough and with this being their home opener, look for them to come out with a lot of fire. The game will be close. Minnesota 27, Detroit 26

Carolina at Atlanta – Good call on giving Jake Delhomme that big extension during the offseason, huh Panthers fans? He looks like he’s just about finished and that isn’t stopping this week against a good Falcons team. Atlanta 28, Carolina 17

St. Louis at Washington – One of the frontrunners for Game of the Weak, this one features one mediocre team (Washington) and one truly awful team (St. Louis). Mediocre wins. At least the Rams might score finally. Washington 20, St. Louis 7

New England at New York Jets – The Jets have been doing a lot of trash-talking that they’re the team to beat in the AFC East. Yeah, go ahead and anger the Pats. That ALWAYS works out well. New England 31, New York 20

Oakland at Kansas City – Both teams looked better than expected in their respective openers, which is to say neither was crushed. I liked what I saw from the Raiders against San Diego, so let’s go with them. Oakland 17, Kansas City 16

Cincinnati at Green Bay – More on this game tomorrow, of course, but for now I’ll just say that the Bengals look bad. Really bad. Green Bay wasn’t great against the Bears but the Pack still came out with a win. Green Bay 31, Cincinnati 10

New Orleans at Philadelphia – Will McNabb play with his cracked ribs? My guess is no. It’s too early in the season to risk further injury. Even if McNabb played, I am loving the Saints and will stick with Drew and Co. New Orleans 24, Philadelphia 20

Arizona at Jacksonville – The Jags are healthy and playing their style of ball again. That almost got them a win over the Colts last week. It will get them a win this week against the suddenly atrocious Cards. Jacksonville 20, Arizona 14

Tampa Bay at Buffalo – Similar story with the Bills on Monday night. They probably should have beaten the Pats. Tampa got dominated by Dallas and seems like a total mess. Buffalo 21, Tampa Bay 14

Seattle at San Francisco – The Seahawks blew out the hapless Rams and could be on the up. San Francisco pulled off the upset over Arizona and also could be on the up. Tough call here, but I like Seattle just a little more. Seattle 23, San Francisco 21

Pittsburgh at Chicago – If Jay “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to” Cutler looked like that against a team still learning the 3-4, how will he ever succeed against the team that has it perfected? Oh wait – he won’t. Pittsburgh 30, Chicago 17

Baltimore at San Diego – This was the toughest game to call this week. Both teams struggled a bit last week but have a lot of talent. Even though the game is in San Diego, I’m starting to come around on this Ravens team pretty quickly. Baltimore 19, San Diego 17

Cleveland at Denver – If you live in Denver, just remember this: You live right near the ROCKY MOUNTAINS! For God’s sake, go out and enjoy them instead of watching this stinkfest. Denver 10, Cleveland 6

New York Giants at Dallas – The Cowboys are opening their new stadium with a loss as the Giants attack Tony Romo like Adam and I attack an open bar. New York 35, Dallas 20

Monday Night

Indianapolis at Miami – The Colts weren’t fantastic last week against a solid Jags team. The Dolphins looked rough in losing to the Falcons. The Colts will get it going while the Dolphins will continue to make 2008 look like a fluke. Indianapolis 24, Miami 13

-Chris Lempesis