NFL Week 1: Best Bets

NFL

Welcome to a new addition to my weekly column where I'll break down the top 5 NFL football lines (for entertainment purposes only of course). I'll keep a weekly record to see how well I do throughout the season. Week 1 is the hardest week in the NFL to predict because you really don't know how these teams are going to look.

1) GIANTS -4 vs Cowboys

This might come as a surprise to those of you who read my NFC Preview column, but the Giants are my Lock of the Week for Week One. Not only is the Big Blue faithful going to be whipped into a frenzy seeing Giants football for the first time since Super Bowl 47, but they are playing Dallas at the right time. The "Boys could conceivably be without their top 3 passing targets, and their weak offensive line plays right into the Giants hands. Eli Manning passed for 746 yards in two games against Dallas in 2011, and I expect more of the same here.

2) Patriots -6.5 at TITANS

I expect the Titans to be a respectable team this season, but I just don't see how you can pass up the Patriots at under a touchdown. Tom Brady is going to have a field day with his plethora of passing targets against the Titans secondary that lost Cortland Finnegan.

3) Falcons -2.5 at CHIEFS

I'm expecting big things from Matt Ryan this season. The Falcons offense is stacked with great receivers and a good running game. The Chiefs are welcoming back safety Eric Berry and running back Jamaal Charles who were lost for the season last year. This should be a competitive game, but I love the Falcons giving a field goal.

4) Jaguars +4 at VIKINGS 

The Jaguars got good news when Maurice Jones Drew returned from his holdout on Sunday. Second year quarterback Blaine Gabbert has a new pair of dynamic receivers and has looked good in the preseason. AP is a game-day decision for this game after tearing his ACL last year. Even if he does play his workload will be severely limited. I trust Gabbert more than Christian Ponder in this game.

5) RAVENS -5.5 VS Bengals

The Ravens were 2-0 against Cincy last season as Ray Rice ran for a total of 295 yards.  I expect Cincy to be better this season, but on this night the Ravens will be fired up to return to the field after their heart-breaking loss in the 2011 AFC Championship Game. 

Jets

The Jets may or may not be ready to start the season, but they don't have a choice on Sunday. As a Jet fan it is hard to be optimistic following the preseason. However, we usually play Buffalo well, and since it's opening in 2010, we are 11-5 at JetLife Stadium. At 1 o'clock on Sunday, it will be the first time that Santonio Holmes, Jeremy Kerley, Stephen Hill, and Dustin Keller are all on the field at the same time. Plus, the debut of the top secret Tebow Wild Gator-Cat should make an impact. 

Prediction: Jets 20 Bills 13

UFC

I hope everyone took time out of their busy Labor Day weekend and made sure to order UFC 151 . It was one of the most exciting UFC shows of the year. The main event had an awesome finish when Dan Henderson unleashed an H-Bomb......

Oh wait, I forgot. It got canceled.

In an interesting turn of events, Frankie Edgar pulled the opposite of Jonny "The Chicken Bones" Jones when it was announced that Eric Koch was injured and unable to fight Jose Aldo at UFC 153 in October. "The Answer" stepped up and is the new #1 Contender to Aldo's Featherweight Championship. Edgar will be competing in his seventh straight title fight. The Toms River native's decision caused Dana White to tweet "I love me some Frankie Edgar". Not only is Edgar fighting arguably one of the best pound for pound guys in the sport on short notice, but he is doing it in Aldo's home of Brazil and in Frankie's debut at the 145 lb division. Aldo 11-0 in the UFC/WEC, and he hasn't lost since 2005. He's beaten a who's who of the lighter weight classes including Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Kenny Florian, and Chad Mendes. 

This fight could be looked at as a win-win for both competitors. If Aldo wins it further cements his legacy as one of the best fighters in the sport by beating a respected former champion. If he loses it could re-motivate him (the way the loss to Matt Serra changed GSP), and the future re-match could be gigantic. If Edgar wins, he becomes only the third guy in UFC history to hold gold in two different weight classes, and the Featherweight Division could see a bigger spike in popularity. If Edgar loses a close hard-fought fight, he took the fight on short notice for the good of the company and will eventually get another chance after a couple more wins.

MLB

With all this excitement I forgot baseball season was still going on. The Mets, "THEY STINK!!!!", according to Mike Francesa. The Yankees though are doing their best impression of the team in Queens by sqaundering a 10 game lead in the AL East, and are now only a game up on Baltimore Since their ten game division lead on July 18th they are 19-24, averaging 4.4 runs/game (a half a run less per game from the first half of the season) while pitching to an ERA of 4.06 (their ERA was 3.72 in the first half). Here are the three of the main culprits in the Yankees collapse (with their stats since July 19th).

Ivan Nova: 1-3, 7.02 ERA 

Robinson Cano: .265, 16 RBI, 24 SO

Curtis Granderson: .195, 55 SO

You add to that the fact that Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira have both missed some time in that stretch and it's easy to see why the Bronx Bombers' bats have gone silent. With 28 games left this season (a four game series in Baltimore starting on Thursday is crucial) the Yanks have to try and keep their heads above water. It is even more important to win your division this season because the Wild Card team plays in a do or die game instead of getting a five-game series.  God only knows how chaotic this would be if George Steinbrenner were still alive.