Houston @ Tennessee……..These clubs have replaced the Panthers and Jaguars as the two teams most often mistaken for one another. Their only similarity in Week 1 was that they both lost. The Titans looked good against Pittsburgh, particularly in the passing game (which was a result of solid pass protection). The Texans looked utterly inept against a Byzantine Jets defense.

A slow start (0-4) killed Houston last season. It’s never easy to get off the snide on the road, but at least the Texans defeated Tennessee (in Reliant Stadium) last December.

If I’m a Titans fan, I’m extremely concerned about my team’s Albert Haynesworth-less defensive line. Yes, the line generated good pressure on Ben Roethlisberger early in the opener, but it faded and eventually vanished down the stretch. Fortunately for Tennessee, the Texans appear to be a mess right now.

Pick: Titans

New Orleans @ Philadelphia

This is the game I forecasted as the NFC Championship. I always stick with my picks through at least the first week of November, though I’ll admit I’m a little uneasy about the Eagles. Shawn Andrews is on IR with a back injury (again), making his career effectively over. Philly can’t (and won’t) ever trust him. The loss of budding star middle linebacker Stewart Bradley hurts the run defense; Joe Mays simply doesn’t have the instincts to lead.

The Saints offense is strong as always, but what in the world is up with Reggie Bush? Against the Lions he had seven carries for 14 yards, five catches for 55 yards but also two fumbles. More telling was that journeyman backup Mike Bell, filling in for an injured Pierre Thomas, touched the ball 28 times.

The Eagles brought Jeff Garcia in to be a backup….for this week. Should McNabb miss extended time (and it’s doubtful he will) then I’d almost guarantee you the wily Garcia will supplant the jittery Kevin Kolb under center.

Pick: Saints

Arizona @ Jacksonville

Looks like Jacksonville’s first regular season television blackout of ’09 will be against the defending NFC Champions. Have we ever seen a less-heralded Super Bowl loser than the Cardinals? No one is picking them to return to the big stage, and America is quickly cooling on Arizona’s chances in the NFC West. I have been on the anti-Cardinal wagon all offseason, though I will say, Beanie Wells is a sharper runner than I would have guessed. He might actually improve that run game. But Arizona’s defense is still overrated (you need consistent pass-rushers in order to thrive in the NFL).

Jags rookie corner Derek Cox is a raw, small-school product who not only captured a starting job but, early in his debut game, picked off Peyton Manning. Now he has the task of likely matching up with Anquan Boldin. Good thing the other 10 players around Cox will play physical.

Pick: Jaguars

Oakland @ Kansas City

For some reason everyone has been praising these two teams for their losing efforts in Week 1. Yes, Oakland looked decent, but had the expectations not been so low going in, we would be talking about how the Raiders’ rushing attack got shutdown at home in the second half.

We’d also be talking about how Oakland has the fattest quarterback in football. I’m pretty sure JaMarcus Russell is the only NFL quarterback who wears armbands, and I’m definitely sure he’s the only NFL quarterback who has arms just flabby enough for said armbands to deeply indent on his biceps.

Last week at Baltimore, the Chiefs racked up seven miscellaneous points on a blocked punt for a touchdown and seven more that were set up by a Derrick Johnson 70-yard interception return. (By the way, Johnson’s demotion to second string is shocking. He’s a fast and fluid former first-round pick, playing in a position where Kansas City is deathly thin.) Take out the blocked punt and interception and the Chiefs only scored 10 points against the Ravens. They gave up 38. At least this time they’re playing at home.

Pick: Chiefs

Cincinnati @ Green Bay

The Packers are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Aaron Rodger will prove to be the type of star who can win games even when his numbers aren’t good. Ryan Grant looks like the 2007 Ryan Grant. The offensive line will get better as Josh Sitton and Alan Barbre gain experience.

Defensively, Dom Capers’s 3-4 scheme looks dominant. Something people haven’t realized is that it’s much easier to implement a new scheme when you have lockdown corners and rangy safeties. Green Bay’s secondary is superb.

Besides the Raiders, is there any team in football you’d have less faith in than the Bengals when it comes to bouncing back from a devastating last-second loss?

Pick: Packers

Minnesota @ Detroit

I was surprised how much attention Brett Favre’s Vikings debut received. I guess I shouldn’t have been. Expect the vacillating veteran to post big numbers this week….the Lions secondary is to football what Sanjaya is (was?) to machismo. And both are equally as painful to watch.

Pick: Vikings

St. Louis @ Washington

The rule this week for anyone talking about this game is they have to mention that one of St. Louis’s two victories last season came against Washington. That’s fine – at least it’s not irrelevant. But it’s not enough to justify picking the Rams this week.

This is almost a must-win for Washington (“almost” because there is absolutely no such thing as a “must-win” in Week 2). Coming into the season, the emphasis was on how it was imperative for Jason Campbell and Jim Zorn to get off to a good start. If they show the same form they showed in losing at New York last week, D.C.’s talk radio waves will blow up with hooligans demanding changes. Remember, Washington’s owner thinks more like a talk radio hooligan than front office exec.

Pick: Redskins

New England @ New York Jets

Yes, Mark Sanchez will face a tougher task against Bill Belichick’s 3-4 defense. But it won’t be a huge test. The Patriots were a good but not great defense when they had the league’s best 3-4 defensive lineman (Richard Seymour) and the league’s best 3-4 inside linebacker (Jerod Mayo). Seymour is now tearing it up in Oakland after the most shocking, and second most significant, trade in 2009 (behind the Jay Cutler deal). Mayo is on the shelf for 6-8 weeks with a bum knee. So long, Patriot run defense.

It was encouraging to see New England’s pass-rush come to life late in the Bills game. Adalius Thomas is going to be a monumental player these next two months. It looks like the Pats are finally starting to use him in a variety of ways.

A Jets win would be the biggest news in football this week. Victory is certainly a possibility, but as long as Tom Brady is Tom Brady (and it looks like he is), it’s not a probability.

Pick: Patriots

Carolina @ Atlanta

Two teams going in very different directions. We’ve covered Jake Delhomme (see item No. 1 from The Top 7 Most Noteworthy Things of Week 1). How about that Falcon defense? Mike Smith got big plays from two of his former Jaguars last week – linebacker Mike Peterson and cornerback Brian Williams. Outstanding veteran play is what can allow Atlanta’s collection of youngsters (like linebacker Curtis Lofton, cornerback Chris Owens, defensive tackle Peria Jerry and, eventually, safety William Moore) to blossom without excruciating growing pains.

Pick: Falcons

Tampa Bay @ Buffalo

Let’s get one thing straight: Leodis McKelvin made a good decision by running the final kickoff out of the end zone against New England Monday night. His mistake, obviously, was that he fumbled. (Don’t you love the analysts who have said something along the lines of “You just can’t fumble in that situation”?). McKelvin’s decision was a good one because he fielded the ball with 2:06 remaining. By running it out, I believe he was aiming to extend the play past the two-minute warning, which would have forced the Patriots to use all three of their timeouts before regaining possession. Never mind the hands team issue – McKelvin actually got past the 20-yard-line just fine. Overall, smart idea, just poor execution.

The bottom line is we saw the difference between the Patriots and Bills Monday night. One franchise knew how to win and the other is still learning. Expect a bounce back for Buffalo this week. (Remember last season after the Bills gave away a game to the Jets on a J.P. Losman fumble that was returned for a touchdown? The next week, Buffalo, playing for nothing but pride, went on the road and beat a Broncos team that was looking to secure a division title.)

The Bills have the type of aggressive corners who can take advantage of Byron Leftwich’s slow windup. Offensively, watching film last year, I thought Fred Jackson was a better running back than Marshawn Lynch. He’s more patient and astute in using his interior blocks, which makes his acceleration translate better.

Terrell Owens gets two touchdowns this week against a feeble Bucs secondary that is learning the ins and outs of man coverage.

Pick: Bills

Seattle @ San Francisco

Big game because the NFC West will come down to these two teams. The Seahawks, if healthy, are clearly the superior club at this point. Put Matt Hasselbeck on the Niners and the scenario flips.

P.S. Michael Crabtree = Michael Westbrook 2.0.

Pick: Seahawks

Baltimore @ San Diego

The Bears and Steelers are two of the five most popular teams in football, which is why Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will be in Chi Town on Sunday. But the best matchup on CBS this week is between these two playoff sluggers of a year ago.

Cam Cameron is opening up the offense for Joe Flacco. Through one game, the second-year stallion has responded well. He’ll have a truer test this week, however, as San Diego’s secondary is adequate (which makes it tenfold better than Kansas City’s). And, unlike the Chiefs, its pass-rush actually exists. The Ravens need to do all they can to avoid having Mark Clayton line up across from Quentin Jammer. Clayton won’t be able to get off Jammer’s press.

I’m a big Mike and Mike fan, and I thought Greeny and Golic did a good job calling the game Monday Night. But I don’t understand their perplexity with LaDainian Tomlinson not playing down the stretch. Granted, Tomlinson turned out to be injured, but even if he were healthy, who in their right mind would think he should be operating in what was essentially a two-minute offense ahead of the faster, quicker, shiftier Darren Sproles?

Ravens played better in Week 1 but they’re taking a cross-country trip. San Diego wins by attacking through the air.

Pick: Chargers

Pittsburgh @ Chicago

People have acknowledged that the Brian Urlacher injury is huge. But they haven’t admitted why. The Urlacher injury is huge because it means Chicago’s season is over. Urlacher can be a vociferous run defender but his greatest value is in pass coverage. With the Bears already in somewhat of a limbo at safety (they rotate starting safeties the way Hugh Heffner rotates playmates), having the slower and more reactionary Hunter Hillenmeyer holding down the middle of the field is potentially costly.

The Steelers, by the way, are no longer a running team. They ranked 22^nd on the ground last season and won the Super Bowl behind the heroics of Ben Roethlisberger and his receivers. It’s okay, Pittsburgh fans, with that defense, your team can still be considered “tough” and “blue collar” and whatever politically correct football purist terms people like to use these days. But the bottom line is this is a passing offense.

Pick: Steelers

Cleveland @ Denver

Is Week 2 too early for a game to have major draft implications? These are two teams jockeying for positioning in the top five for next April. Yes, Denver’s defense played surprisingly well against Cincinnati. And yes, the Broncos will probably look good again this week against a putrid Browns offense (an offense that, with Jamal Lewis, has a running game that’s really more a walking game). But check back in October on Denver’s D.

Pick: Broncos

New York Giants @ Dallas

The Cowboys are expecting 104,000 spectators for their first regular season game in Jerry Jones’s new palace. That’s not insignificant.

Neither are the issues with the ultra-luminous television board. But you just know NBC is going to beat that story to death. The over/under on number of mentions about the possibility of a punt hitting the television board is 15 (For the record, should Al Michaels mention it before a punt, during a punt and after that same punt, that would count as three times.)

As for this matchup itself, whichever team runs the ball most effectively will likely finish better off in final standings. Whether that translates specifically to Sunday night remains to be seen. We hear so much about New York’s three-pronged rushing attack – and rightfully so – but it’s Dallas that actually has the better backfield. Marion Barber is a superb closer. Felix Jones is a homerun threat. And Tashard Choice is potentially a poor man’s ’06 LaDainian Tomlinson (which is still star status).

Pick: Cowboys

Indianapolis @ Miami

For as long as I live, whenever I see this matchup my mind will instantly race back to the 2000 Wild Card game when Dolphins bruiser Lamar Smith carried the ball 40 times for 209 yards. It was one of the greatest performances of all-time.

With Bob Sanders out, Miami might be able to broach the 200-yard mark on the ground again this week. But the Dolphins can’t win if they lose the turnover battle (ditto for just about all of the other 31 teams). They gave up possession four times against Atlanta, which leaves them just nine turnovers away from matching their total for all of last season.

The Colts offensive line has serious issues. On a typical NFL team, slow-footed left tackle Charlie Johnson would be a utility backup. Here, he’s playing ahead of disappointing former second-round pick Tony Ugoh (who looked like a Pro Bowler at times as a rookie but hasn’t been the same since knee problems).

Indy is clearly the better team, but in honor of Lamar Smith, and in honor of the near-upsets from last week’s Monday night contests, the prediction is the Dolphins to eke out a victory on the ground.

Pick: Dolphins

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