2015 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 2

The coalition didn't get scared off after one week, so we are back for Week 2 action.

Everyone got off to a 1-0 start last Thursday with the Patriots beating the Steelers 28-21 and then we had varying levels of success on Sunday before generally bombing the Monday night picks.

As for our picks in this post, Adam took four of the seven disputed games between us, good to put him in a tie for first place with my dad while I am one game back and defending champion Geoffrey Clark is three back. You can view the official standings here, or click on the Pigskin Pick 'Em link on the right side of the page.

This week, Adam and I differ on half of the games. Let's take a look at the picks for Week 2.


Thursday Night

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs (-2.5)
Lucas: Chiefs. Let's face it: Denver really only won last week because the defense bailed out Peyton. I think he's officially past his time as an elite quarterback. I look forward to Evil Manning returning, destroying the Chiefs secondary, and sending me to the chalkboard next week.

Adam: Chiefs. Comparing both team’s Week 1 efforts, this looks to be solid in favor of KC. You still cannot discount the offensive fire power of Manning. Should be one of the more competitive Thursday night games.

Sunday, Early Afternoon

Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants (-2.5)
Lucas: Falcons. Jake Long > Jason "Three Finger" Pierre-Paul. Which begs the question... could JPP pull off a 2.06 ERA 100 years ago?

Adam: Giants. I just eked out a win with Atlanta last week and the Giants played Dallas better than I anticipated. We should get to see just how much air you can get under a football. The name of this game will be air it out…

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills (+0.5)
Lucas: Bills. Tough call, but I'm playing a hunch here. Buffalo looked good last week, and they can hold their own at home against New England.
Adam: Patriots. Another line I just don’t get. Sure, Buffalo played great against Indy last week, but Indy seemed to be just a half-step off. With Brady still fuming from the whole Deflategate I don’t see how New England does not come out a winner here.

Arizona Cardinals @ Chicago Bears (+2.5)
Lucas: Cardinals. The Bears have a lot to be proud of; they held their own against the Packers in Week 1. They're still going to get beat in Week 2, because Arizona's defense isn't going to get gashed like Green Bay's did.
Adam: Cardinals. Even with the great effort the Bears put up last week against Green Bay and the fact that Arizona is down their starting running back, I still cannot pick the Bears.  

San Diego Chargers @ Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5)
Lucas: Chargers. With the AFC West potentially up for grabs now, give me the points even though this is a tough road game. Also, Pacman Jones is a thug and should have been suspended for multiple games.

Adam: Bengals. It took me a few minutes of having an internal monologue about who I thought would win this game, and no you don’t want to hear it… I didn’t want to be there either… haha.  Anyway, I can seen this game going either way so when in doubt take the home favorite I say.

Tennessee Titans @ Cleveland Browns (+1.5)
Lucas: Titans. So you overreact to one half of a Week 1 game (see below), but underreact to the other half of the game. Whatever, Vegas.
Adam: Titans. Johnny “Money” Manziel spent most of his week shooting a follow up video to his smash hit. [EDITOR'S NOTE: VIDEO CONTAINS NSFW LANGUAGE]

Lucas note: ...da eff did I just watch?

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings (-2.5)
Lucas: Lions. Five sacks allowed by the Vikings on Monday. Teddy is going to get killed at this rate. Also, I'm picking against Minnesota in protest of them costing me my money.

Adam: Vikings. Going against my intuition here and picking the home favorite. Detroit has a solid rookie RB in Ameer Abdullah but this is about the time that old Calvin starts to have his injuries creep up. Plus Minnesota will want to come out better than they looked in San Fran.

St. Louis Rams @ Washington Redskins (+3.5)
Lucas: Rams. I can't believe the line is this low. Seriously. Kirk Cousins is going to get killed.
Adam: Rams. At the advice of Lucas I took the Rams in my survivor pool this week. With Washington’s whole team up lame – at least that’s what it feels like – and the St. Louis D and special teams performance last week against Seattle I don’t see any way Washington gets anything going.
Lucas note: I apologize in advance if this knocks you out.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints (-9.5)
Lucas: Buccaneers. I get the feeling this is Vegas overreacting to Jameis Winston getting outclassed by Marcus Mariota in Week 1. New Orleans still wins, but a division game shouldn't have this high of a line. Take the points. 
Adam: Buccaneers. I hate this large of a spread. Taking the points; that is all.

San Francisco 49ers @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-6.5)
Lucas: 49ers. Screw you, Carlos Hyde. You and your freaking spin move...

Adam: 49ers. Like above, this spread seems too high. With how San Francisco performed on Monday and that Pitt is still without their #1 RB and #2 WR, this game will be closer this week than it will be in week 4/5 or after.

Houston Texans @ Carolina Panthers (-3.5)
Lucas: Panthers. Gizmo won his debut pick, so I'll ride with him again, even though he's too busy hunting bunnies in the backyard.

Adam: Texans. I think Carolina wins but Houston covers. But I can also see either team winning outright and big.

Sunday, Late Afternoon

Baltimore Ravens @ Oakland Raiders (+6.5)
Lucas: Ravens. The Raiders are lucky that Derek Carr didn't have more than a bruise, but I still refuse to count on them.
Adam: Raiders. I’ll give the Carr-Cooper combo a chance to see what they can do.

Miami Dolphins @ Jacksonville Jaguars (+6.5)
Lucas: Jaguars. Miami had trouble with the freaking Redskins. And with this line, the potential for a back door cover looms, as does a potential good game. Taking the points.
Adam: Jaguars. Miami gave me a little scare at half against Washington, but came back to finish it off. I think Jacksonville is a little underrated this year. Taking the points and saying a prayer.

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)
Lucas: Eagles. No Dez hurts the Cowboys, and I don't think they're getting the opportunity to make a comeback again.
Adamm: Eagles. Dallas is down Byant and Philly is fuming from a tough loss. I think Philly comes out hot and cruises to victory.

Sunday Night

Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers (-3.5)
Lucas: Packers. You ain't in your precious CenturyLink anymore, Seattle. Can we bring back Al Harris for old time's sake?

Adam: Seahawks. Another tough game this week. If this were a mid-December game I would pick Green Bay all day, but it is not, so Seattle does not have to worry about the cold. Seattle keeps it tight and covers. Not sure who will win, that may come down to the last drive.

Monday Night

New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts (-6.5)
Lucas: Colts. There's no way Andrew Luck lets the Colts start 0-2. None. 
Adam:  Jets. Two words: Chris Ivory. Who would have thought he would have any relevance in the NFL again? He looked great last week and should keep it going. 

Records So Far
Lucas: 9-7
Adam: 10-6
Geoffrey: 7-9
Scott: 10-6
Rascal: 1-0
Gizmo: 1-0