As some of our constant followers may know, I am a big high school football fan.
And as most of you probably know, it doesn’t exist in Illinois until the spring, I guess.
So, borrowing from my friends over at one of our local news channels, I thought we would bring in local football coaches, Ben Hammer, from my alma mater, Rock Island and friend of the show, Mike Morrissey, who coaches at rival Moline.
Ben and his coaching staff came out on the losing end of the best two-out-of-three bags match to Mike and his coaching staff. As a result, Ben had to don a Moline shirt. I felt bad for him, until I got his picks for this, where he picked the Texans to beat the Chiefs on Thursday night, just because I am a Chiefs fan. HOW RUDE!
But, we are a team here and hopefully one of us can take down the Maroon donning Morrissey.
You can still enter to play pick ’em this week here by click here
Philadelphia at Washington
DJ: Eagles, Carson Wentz is 5-0 in his career against the Washington Football Team
Ben: Eagles, Washington doesn’t have a mascot
Mike: Eagles, No real explanation needed but Washington as an organization needs some major help.
Miami at New England
DJ: Patriots, Too early in the season for the Dolphins to upset the Pats
Ben: Patriots, Belichick
Mike: Dolphins, This one might be surprising but the AFC East has to jump on NE early as a statement of the parallel in the division.
Green Bay at Minnesota
DJ: Vikings, something about Kirk Cousins in an empty stadium intrigues me
Ben: Packers, Aaron Rodgers is good. Kirk Cousins, not so much
Mike: Packers, Can’t count out Aaron Rodgers in an underdog role this season. He’s still got it and will prove it against Minnesota.
Indianapolis at Jacksonville
DJ: Colts, They should contend for this division
Ben: Colts, I don’t even know who plays for the Jags
Mike: Colts, Jacksonville has pretty much given away any player of value recently. Their rebuild will take some time.
Chicago at Detroit
DJ: Bears, Mitch probably destroys the Lions and gives Bears fans hope
Ben: Sherrick McManis
Mike: Bears, Bears defense still too much for a Lions offense that was inconsistent and getting older by the day.
Las Vegas at Carolina
DJ: Panthers, I just can’t pick the Raiders
Ben: Raiders, Jon Gruden is awesome
Mike: Raiders, Gruden gets things on track this season! A lot of talent on both sides of the football.
New York Jets at Buffalo
DJ: Bills, Mafia
Ben: Bills, Just because
Mike: Bills, Buffalo emerged as a legit contender last fall and continues that direction as a possible Division Champion!
Cleveland at Baltimore
DJ: Browns, Yep, I am doing it. Browns with the upset
Ben: Ravens, Big Truss
Mike: Ravens, Not going to drink the Browns Kool-Aid until they can be consistent on both sides of the ball.
Seattle at Atlanta
DJ: Falcons, just think the travel, Falcons offense will be too much, too early for Seattle
Ben: Seahawks, Russell Wilson is good
Mike: Seahawks, Russell Wilson is the difference.
Los Angeles Chargers at Cincinnati
DJ: Chargers, Bosa meet Burrow
Ben: Chargers, Cincinnati is horrible up front
Mike: Chargers, Welcome to the NFL Joe Burrow. Don’t think he’ll get it done week 1.
Arizona at San Francisco
DJ: 49ers, March to losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl starts here
Ben: Cardinals, San Fran was a fluke last year
Mike: Cardinals, This is a homer pick! Love my Cardinals. They are loaded up offensively. Just have to outscore teams this year!
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
DJ: Saints, Even with TB12 in Tampa, New Orleans not ready to relinquish the NFC South
Ben: Buccaneers, TB12
Mike: Bucs, Close game. Tom Brady does enough to get it done.
Dallas at Los Angeles Rams
DJ: Cowboys, I feel gross
Ben: Rams, HARD KNOCKS
Mike: Rams, Can’t pick the Cowboys. Morally it feels wrong.
Pittsburgh at New York Giants
DJ: Steelers, Healthy Big Ben, Healthy JuJu, they’re ready
Ben: Pittsburgh
Mike: Steelers. Big Ben comes back with a purpose and gets it done this week.
Tennessee at Denver
DJ: Titans, Could be the second-best team in the AFC
Ben: Titans
Mike: Titans, Not sold on the Broncos offense. Tennessee has something special with that run game on offense and it’s enough to win this week.
