A Brief Explanation — The numbers of each game represent how many points they are going to win by. If Miami is (+6.5) at Arizona, that means that they would win if the Cardinals beat them by 6 points or less, or if Miami itself won. If Arizona blew them out by 7 points or more, Arizona would “cover the spread”. If, for some miraculous reason, the game was decided by 6.5 points, the result would be a draw.

Here are the NFL Week 2 picks:

Miami (+6.5) @Arizona
Jeff (Miami) — I’ve got a feeling Miami’s heading in the right direction, and with Arizona’s questions at QB and RB, I could definitely see this game coming down to a field goal in Arizona’s favor.
Bill (Arizona) — Miami is too pitiful of a team to take against Arizona on the road. I am not saying that the Cards are a powerhouse, but they should put up good numbers with a high-potential offense against a lowly defense. Arizona wins this one big.

Chicago (+3) @Carolina
Jeff (Carolina) — A lot of people will be picking Chicago this week after their recent triumph over the Colts last week, but I’m not convinced the same Chicago team will show up to play this week. Factor in a homefield advantage, and I’ve got the Panthers winning by at least a touchdown.
Bill (Carolina) — Carolina is a talented team, and although Bears RB Matt Forte showed a glimpse of greatness in week one, don’t expect that to carry over against a good conference team. Chicago beat Indy last week by a good margin, but good things never last for bad teams.

Tennessee (+1.5) @Cincinnati
Jeff (Tennessee) — The Titans will still play well, despite Vince Young being out. Tennessee has a lot of intangibles that lead me to believe they can defeat a woeful Bengals team.
Bill (Cincinnati) — This game is essentially a pick-em, because both Rob Bironas and Shayne Graham are talented kickers that won’t miss much. As such, I take the home team with the air game. There is something about home field advantage in the NFL, and although I think the Bengals are inferior they will likely pull it out at home.

Green Bay (-3) @Detroit
Jeff (Green Bay) — Aaron Rogers continues to mature, and leads the Packers to a victory over the Lions.
Bill (Green Bay) — I really like the Packers in this game. Detroit showed that they couldn’t beat a rookie quarterback with poor surrounding talent in week one against the Falcons — the Packers are a far better team. Michael Turner ran for 230 yards on the Lions last week, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan Grant runs for just as many.

Indianapolis (-1.5) @Minnesota
Jeff (Minnesota) — Last week, the Colts got run over by Matt Forte, a rookie out of Tulane. This week, the same Colts defense will be up against Adrian Peterson, one of the league’s truly elite backs. Not to mention Minnesota has an ever-improving defense. Look for a close game through the first half, then for Minnesota to break it open late in the third quarter.
Bill (Indianapolis) — This is going to be a turnaround week for the Colts. They should have smashed the Bears last week, but they didn’t. They will take their pent-up NFC North anger out against the Vikings this week, though it will be close.

Buffalo (+5.5) @Jacksonville
Jeff (Buffalo) — Although Jacksonville should provide a much greater challenge to the Buffalo team than Seattle’s defense did, there is no denying Marshawn Lynch’s value as a prototypical back. This Bills team may win 8 or 9 games this year, and should not lose to the Jags by a TD or more.
Bill (Jacksonville) — There was nothing flashy about the Bills’ performance week one against the Seahawks. They had home field advantage and were playing against a hurt team. Neither Trent Edwards or Marshawn Lynch had a fantastic game, and at least 21 points came from special teams. Jacksonville has Super Bowl potential, and although they didn’t show it week one expect the well-rounded team to beat on the Bills this week.

Oakland (+3.5) @Kansas City
Jeff (Kansas City) — Larry Johnson should dominate Oakland’s D, netting the Chiefs an early season win at home.
Bill (Kansas City) — Ditto.

New England (+1.5) @New York Jets
Jeff (New England) — With the loss of Tom Brady for the season, many believe New England’s season to be over, with career-backup Matt Cassel at the reigns. I don’t think this team is done yet, as Cassel will surprise with an outstanding 3 TD performance, at least one of which will be a bomb to Randy Moss.
Bill (New York) — After Tom Brady fell last week, the Patriots’ talented offense had problems putting up numbers on a mediocre-to-bad Chiefs defense. Though Matt Cassel now has a week of starting practice under his belt, he isn’t going to jump up like Brady did when Bledsoe fell. On the other hand, the Jets are a very talented team and Favre brings a new new feeling to a city ridden by Pennington fever over the past seven years. Take the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS to win it big.

New York Giants (-8.5) @St. Louis
Jeff (St. Louis)
Bill (St. Louis)

Pittsburgh (-6) @Cleveland
Jeff (Pittsburgh)
Bill (Cleveland)

San Diego (-1) @Denver
Jeff (San Diego) — Cutler still hasn’t proven himself to me, regardless of his week 1 performance, and even without Merriman, the Chargers are sure to be able to grind out a victory by at the very least a field goal.
Bill (Denver) — Merriman is now out and the Chargers’ defense is lacking. The team lost in week one to Rosario and the Panthers at home, and won’t be able to go to one of the league’s hardest stadiums to play in and grind out a victory. Denver is too good of a team (even if they are so-so) and Cutler is on the rise.

San Francisco (+7) @Seattle
Jeff (San Francisco) — As much as I love the Seahawks, especially at home, the 49ers always seem to play us tough. Couple this with the fact that Seattle has been prone to slow starts in recent years (as seen in last week’s loss to the Bills), and seems to lack any sort of depth at WR, AND still has a stable full of unproven runners, I severely doubt Seattle will defeat the Niners by a touchdown. A win however, is not out of the question, and I’ll take that over covering the spread any week.
Bill (Seattle) — When the team plays at home against a bad opponent, they pile it on. Last season in both appearances against the 49ers, they held Frank Gore to fifty-some yards and gave up a combined three points. This team is obviously not as talented as they were a year ago (injuries being the biggest problem), but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the ground game get going this game — Patrick Willis defending or not.

Atlanta (+7) @Tampa Bay
Jeff (Tampa Bay)
Bill (Tampa Bay)

New Orleans (PCK) @Washington
Jeff (New Orleans) — Washington is a middle of the road team with some viable weapons, but New Orleans has the potential to explode for 30-40 points any given week. Alongside an improved defensive unit, and some other key offseason additions, I wouldn’t be surprised if New Orleans rolls by the Redskins.
Bill (New Orleans) — It comes down to who will win, and after week one I give that edge to New Orleans. The Redskins were unprepared when they played the Giants, and nine days won’t be able to fix all of their problems. They have just as much roster talent, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Zorn coaches his team out of a win like he did last week.

Philadelphia (+7) @Dallas
Jeff (Philadelphia)
Bill (Dallas)

Baltimore (+4.5) @Houston
Jeff (Houston)
Bill (Houston)