Lock:
New York Jets (-3) over Miami: In the offseason, the Jets upgraded on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The Dolphins lost both Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas. Translation? Newly acquired Jet Brett Favre will have loads of time to throw to his competent receivers, while new Dolphin and former Jet Chad Pennington will probably leave the game on a stretcher.
Jacksonville (-3) over Tennessee: Never mind that marquee receiver Jerry Porter still has a few weeks to go before he returns from hamstring surgery, the Jaguars will be for real this season. Tennessee will still look like a high school squad. And not even a good one, either. Look for Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor to run all over the Titans, while QB David Garrard will throw for two touchdowns and run for another. The Titans will get all of their scoring from kicker Rob Bironas, who could probably kick the ball from Nashville to Jacksonville.
Seattle (+1) over Buffalo: Buffalo does look good this season, but Seattle looks incredible. Now that Bobby Engram has gone down with an injury, the way is paved for Seattle wideout Nate Burleson to finally break out and become a top five receiver in the NFL. Former Cowboy Julius Jones has huge shoes to fill, stepping in for Shaun Alexander, but look for him to make a statement in this game, even against a strong Bills defense. Matt Hasselbeck might be rapidly losing his hair, but he can still throw a football. And that’s all that’s going to matter in this game.
San Diego (-9) over Carolina: Steve Smith’s out for three games, and that means that Carolina’s offense will have to rely on Jake Delhomme and rookie running back Jonathan Stewart going into a game against one of the best offensive teams in the NFL, the Chargers. On the defensive side, CB Antonio Cromartie seems to be able to run from one end of the field to the other faster than it will take you to read this sentence. Bottom line: the Panthers are going to get hurt.