LAST WEEK, SKY Sports’ Kevin Cadle and The42 both went 4-1 in their five picks which give’s Kilkenny hurling star Jackie Tyrrell a nice benchmark to ease himself into the 2015 season.
Regular readers of The42 will know Tyrrell is a big NFL fan and follows the Dallas Cowboys who made a positive start to the new year with a win over their divisional rivals — the New York Football Giants.
However, the Cowboys will be without stud wide receiver Dez Bryant for the next few weeks with a similar injury — and a similar screw inserted into the 5th metatarsal — to the one which kept Tyrrell sidelined for the latter half of the championship, with the only difference being that it was Bryant’s left foot and the Kilkenny man’s right.
But does the four-time time All-Star think they can make it two wins on the bounce? Find out below.
Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs
Jackie Tyrrell: This is a really interesting start to the week. The Chiefs did so well last week while the Broncos were so poor. CJ Anderson’s 2.7 yards per carry was very disappointing but they are implementing a new scheme on offence which will take some time to bed in. That said, you have to wonder if Peyton Manning has overstayed his welcome by one or two years.
For Kansas City, Travis Kelce is a monster weapon on offence and I do think they’ll have more success running the ball with Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis than the Ravens did last week so I’m just going to give the Chiefs the nod at home.
The42: With Wade Phillips at the helm, the Broncos defence looks like it could well be the best in football. It will need to be because — with Peyton Manning at quarterback — they’re currently only playing with 10 players on offence.
The sample size is small, but the Chiefs looked like real playoff contenders last week and Alex Smith should take care of the football enough to give them a first win over their divisional rivals at Arrowhead since 2010.
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills
Jackie Tyrrell: I think the Patriots can be forgiven for not firing on all cylinders in their opening game of the season given everything that went on with Deflategate and Tom Brady not knowing if he was going to play until the 11th hour.
As for the Bills, I felt they were really impressive in week one, especially Tyrod Taylor and Karlos Williams. However, with Gronk, the Patriots will create the match-ups they need for him to succeed and that’ll be the difference. Between that and Julian Edelman working the slot so well it’s a nightmare for any defence, even one as good as the Bills are.
The42: Against the Steelers last week, the Patriots looked a long way from a team that would defend their Super Bowl title even if they came away with the win. That’s not to say they won’t go back-to-back but the AFC East looks far from cut and dry.
As he proved in week one, Rex Ryan can really scheme to deal with elite quarterbacks and Buffalo are real challengers now having destroyed the Colts offensive line and sacked Andrew Luck five times. The New England O-line is arguably worse so I have to go with Rex Ryan and the Bills in this one.
Detroit Lions @ Minesotta Vikings
Jackie Tyrrell: These were two teams that struggled very badly last week. For the Lions, Ameer Abdullah and their defence looked very good in parts but I think that Matthew Stafford has regressed at the quarterback position over the last couple of years. It also looks like Megatron may have come back to the pack a little too.
Teddy Bridgewater — who I have a lot of time for — and the Vikings looked very poor on Monday but I think Adrian Peterson will be asked to step-up and drive them down the field this week and hopefully that’ll do the job. So I’m going for the Vikings but trying to make picks in week one or two is a nightmare!
The42: Here at The42 we had both these sides down to make the playoffs this year and they both rewarded us with disappointing week one losses. This is probably the toughest of the six games to call as — on paper at least — they’re very similar and we don’t know whether week one was just an abomination or if it’s setting the tone for the entire season.
Both should be better this week — lord knows they can’t be much worse — and we expect bigger games from both Calvin Johnson and Peterson. With that in mind we’re just… just… going for the Lions to get the win by less than a touchdown.
Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
Jackie Tyrrell: There’s definitely a struggle of head versus heart here. Jordan Matthews’ looks like he’s going to be a star but the Eagles did struggle a bit to get that high-tempo offence up and running last week, especially as DeMarco Murray failed to shine.
They will be better this week but I’ve so much confidence in Tony Romo now and it’s very difficult to back against him. Even without Dez Bryant there’s guys who can step up to the plate and in a tight division these games are so important so I’m going to back the Cowboys.
The42: We may not have the emotional dilemma that Jackie does but this is still a really tough game to call. The results last week could have easily gone the other way for both sides and both will need to show a marked improvement in week two.
Running back by committee is never great — especially not for fantasy owners — and the sooner Dallas commits to one back behind that brilliant offensive line, the better. That said, in what is going to be another close game, I do think it’ll be the Eagles that will get their first win of the season as they could easily get 10-15 more offensive plays than the Cowboys in this one.
Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers
Jackie Tyrrell: It doesn’t get any easier for the Seahawks this week after a tight loss to a divisional rival last Sunday. All credit to the Rams but the Seahwaks didn’t look very well organised at all and the issues with Kam Chancellor’s contract do seem to be hanging over them.
Lamebau Field is a difficult place to go and Aaron Rodgers and James Jones put on a show last week as the Packers took care of the Bears. However, I think last week was a kick in the backside for Seattle and they’ll bounce back with a win here.
The42: For many, this could still be a preview of NFC Championship game but the Seahawks are going to have to do a much better job on both sides of the ball than they did last week.
While the Packers pass-rush is nowhere near as potent as the Rams was, the Green Bay offence could run up a score if the Seattle secondary is as bad as it was last week. Don’t expect James Jones to be as good again mind.
New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts
Jackie Tyrrell: Last week, Andrew Luck just didn’t perform, his offensive line was all over the place and he watched his best running back in Frank Gore head off the field with cramp. In short, it was just one of those games for the Colts.
The Jets meanwhile, well they did what they had to do. They really got it together on offence and were just brilliant on the defence. However, the Colts have a lot more weapons on offence than the Browns and that’ll give them their first win of the season.
The42: What we saw from the Colts last week wasn’t pretty but they’re still legitimate Super Bowl contenders and, luckily for their quarterback, they won’t face the Bills defence each and every week.
The Jets had a big win last week but, as it was against the Browns, it doesn’t really count. Our money’s on the Colts.
