NFL Week 1 Predictions: the Beginning of the Steelers Championship Season

Recently I was approached by Joshua Huffman to participate in a friendly competition here on Associated Content between several of our sports writers. Each one of us will make predictions on the week's football games and at the end of each week Mr. Huffman will update our win-loss record.

Anybody that reads my articles can probably tell my number one sport is College Football. Between Thursday and Saturday I watch parts of 30 or 40 college football games. College football is exciting, rich in tradition, and not nearly as ugly as the NFL. That's why I don't really watch NFL games. But I am here in this competition to prove that I can still out-predict my fellow sports writers with less knowledge of the NFL than them. In fact, I'm even typing this article with one arm tied behind my back just to show you how awesome I am.

My Week 1 predictions are simple. I'm not going to break down the weaknesses and strengths of each team or tell you which players are sleepers and busts. The NFL is a game of quarterbacks and in Week 1 I am going to make my picks solely on which quarterback I like better.

NFL Week 1 Picks: Brett Favre (Vikings) vs. Drew Breese (Saints)
Favre had a miracle season last year. This year he is injured, his best receiver is injured, his number 2 receiver had injury problems and his number 3 receiver is Bernard Berrian, a receiver whose best season was due to REX GROSSMAN of all people. The Vikings will be lucky to be a playoff team, Favre is a bust and Brees and the Saints are NFL contenders.
Winner: Saints

NFL Week 1 Picks: Chad Henne (Dolphins) vs. Trent Edwards (Bills)
Chad Henne is decent, but not great. Trent Edwards is bad, but not...well, I was going to say not horrible, but that would be a lie.
Winner: Dolphins

NFL Week 1 Picks: Matthew Stafford (Lions) vs. Jay Cutler (Bears)
This is the first pick that is difficult. Stafford might be far from being a Pro Bowl quarterback and the Lions aren't winning more than 6 games but Cutler's number of interceptions is just atrocious.
Winner: Lions

NFL Week 1 Picks: Jason Campbell (Raiders) vs. Vince Young (Titans)
Both Jason Campbell and the Raiders will be better with Campbell under center and maybe someday Jason Campbell will be able to give the finger to his critics, but not yet. At this moment Vince Young is the better quarterback.
Winner: Titans

NFL Week 1 Picks: Carson Palmer (Bengals) vs. Tom Brady (Patriots)
Carson Palmer's career is similar to Nick Cage. Yeah, remember back when Cage was doing fun movies like Con Air, Face/Off and the Rock? Palmer used to be that exciting too but now it's like, what happened? Now Carson Palmer is the Wicker Man of the NFL. Let's just hope Carson Palmer never names any of his kids after a Kryptonian.
Winner: Patriots

NFL Week 1 Picks: Matt Moore (Panthers) vs. Eli Manning (Giants)
By now everybody should know that Eli Manning is not as good as the hype. He's still better than Matt Moore though.
Winner: Giants

NFL Week 1 Picks: Jake Delhomme (Browns) vs. Josh Freeman (Buccaneers)
Josh Freeman is a nice little quarterback and Delhomme, well, who knows what we'll see from Jake. It's possible he has more passes caught by Buccaneeers players than Freeman.
Winner: Buccaneers

NFL Week 1 Picks: Kyle Orton (Broncos) vs. David Garrard (Jaguars)
Garrard had a pretty solid season in 2009 while Kyle Orton and the Broncos imploded in the second half. Of course in Jacksonville there is only one quarterback the fans care about. Let the Tebow era begin!
Winner: Jaguars

NFL Week 1 Picks: Peyton Manning (Colts) vs. Matt Schaub (Texans)
Matt Schaub has become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, at least statistically, but there is one reason the Colts beat the Texans so often. Schaub will never be Peyton Manning.
Winner: Colts

NFL Week 1 Picks: Derek Anderson (Cardinals) vs. Sam Bradford (Rams)
Derek Anderson is not a good quarterback but they will be so happy Matt Leinart is gone forever that they may score 700 points.
Winner: Cardinals

NFL Week 1 Picks: Aaron Rodgers (Packers) vs. Kevin Kolb (Eagles)
In a NFL preview article I wrote for another site I picked Aaron Rodgers to win the MVP and Kevin Kolb to be the biggest bust in the league. You do the math.
Winner: Packers (there, I did the math for you)

NFL Week 1 Picks: Alex Smith (49ers) vs. Matt Hasselbeck (Seahawks)
If you still think Matt Hasselbeck is a good quarterback then you probably think M. Night Shyamalan still makes good movies too. In a very poor conference Alex Smith will look like a Pro Bowl quarterback in comparison.
Winner: 49ers

NFL Week 1 Picks: Tony Romo (Cowboys) vs. Donovan McNabb (Redskins)
Donovan McNabb has been to the Super Bowl and three other Conference Championships and he "can't win the big one". Tony Romo finally wins one meaningless, measly playoff game and now they are a favorite to win in the NFC? No. Romo is not a good quarterback until he can do more than win a first round playoff game and McNabb doesn't get enough credit for taking lousy offenses deep into the playoffs (and for the last time they got into the Super Bowl without Terrell Owens playing).
Winner: Redskins

NFL Week 1 Picks: Joe Flacco (Ravens) vs. Mark Sanchez (Jets)
Joe Flacco is my Fantasy Football quarterback so I sure hope he's better than Sanchez. I'm pretty sure he is.
Winner: Ravens

NFL Week 1 Picks: Philip Rivers (Chargers) vs. Matt Cassel (Chiefs)
Remember when Matt Cassel had a fluke season and some people thought he should take over for Tom Brady permanently? Haha. Good times...
Winner: Chargers

NFL Week 1 Picks: Dennis Dixon (Steelers) vs. Matt Ryan (Falcons)
I saved the Steelers for last because they are my team. Since we're doing this whole competition for fun I have no problem with being biased and picking my own team (even though Ryan is the better quarterback). Hey, I figure if I pick the Steelers every week and they have a winning record then I'll get more right than wrong.
Winner: Steelers