WEEK 3 PREDICTIONS

BUFFALO AT NEW ENGLAND:  Tough loss to swallow last week for Patriots fans. Thank goodness the Bills are coming to town. I look at it this way: Imagine you’re at the batting cages, and you think you can handle the fast-speed pitches. You struggle to make decent contact, fall out of rhythm and by the end you’re missing with some ugly swings. Your self-esteem is shot, so what do you do? Build your confidence in the slow-pitch softball cage. Also known as…the Bills. PICK: PATRIOTS

SAN FRANCISCO AT KANSAS CITY: Last Monday night against the Saints, the 49ers played like the team most people expected them to be. Now, they’re heading to Kansas City, where Chiefs fans will be pretty excited about their team’s 2-0 record (First place in the AFC West, by the way). The Niners have dates with the Falcons and Eagles following this week, so dropping one to KC could put them in a bad spot. PICK: 49ERS

ATLANTA FALCONS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: This might be the game of the week. Both defenses will be challenged. It could come down to who has the ball at the end. PICK: FALCONS

PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: Two teams I did not expect to be undefeated going into Week 3. I’d be crazy not to pick the Steelers, right? Even with Charlie Batch as their starting QB, it’s hard to imagine the Steelers’ defense allowing much against Tampa. Logic says pick the Steelers. In the NFL, logic doesn’t always prevail. PICK: BUCCANEERS

TENNESSEE AT NEW YORK GIANTS: Two 1-1 teams trying to find their identities. PICK: TITANS

DETROIT AT MINNESOTA: Batting cage metaphor applies here for Minnesota. PICK: VIKINGS

CLEVELAND AT BALTIMORE: The AFC North could shape up to be quite a slugfest, with the Browns excluded of course. PICK: RAVENS

CINNCINNATI AT CAROLINA: Running back Cedric Benson recently vented his frustrations about the Bengals’ offense lacking an identity. I don’t get it. His team just notched a huge victory over a division rival, and he has the gall to complain. I don’t know why it surprises me still when some players act like self-centered morons. Regardless, Cincy will beat the Panthers. PICK: BENGALS

DALLAS AT HOUSTON: Jerry Jones’ boys are on the brink of 0-3. I love it. How ‘bout them Texans!? PICK: TEXANS

WASHINGTON AT ST.LOUIS: The Redskins really screwed the pooch last week against the Texans. They need to beat the Rams because they’ve got the Eagles (McNabb returns to Philly), Packers and Colts on deck. PICK: REDSKINS

PHILADELPHIA AT JACKSONVILLE: This was the toughest game to pick this week. When in doubt, go with the home team. PICK: JAGUARS

I’ve got to make it to a wedding and I’m running late, so here are some rapid-fire picks

SAN DIEGO AT SEATTLE- PICK: CHARGERS

OAKLAND AT ARIZONA- PICK: RAIDERS

INDIANAPOLIS AT DENVER- PICK: BRONCOS

NEW YORK JETS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS- PICK: JETS

GREEN BAY AT CHICAGO- If Falcons-Saints is Game of the Week 1, this is Game of the Week 1A. PICK: BEARS

Last week's record: 10-6

Season record: 19-13

Week 2, here we go. Patriots at Jets. Can’t wait.

Surprise of last week: I went to bed after the Jets-Ravens game, so the last thing I expected to wake up to Tuesday morning was news of a Chiefs victory over the Chargers.

I’d love to see the former Patriot faction of Cassel, Crennel, Weis and Pioli win the AFC West. You never know. A team floating around .500 could take that division. It’s happened before; When Cassel led the Brady-less Patriots to a 11-5 record in 2008, they missed the playoffs while the division-winning Chargers punched their ticket with an 8-8 record.  Blasphemy.

On to this week’s picks…

NEW ENGLAND AT NEW YORK JETS: There are lots of people overreacting after Week 1 of the season, per usual. But can we consider the fact that maybe the Jets’ offense isn’t that bad, but perhaps the Ravens’ defense is that good. That being said, it still made for some great material. Regarding the recent allegations against Jets players, who were accused of sexually harassing a female reporter, comedian Bill Maher , on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, said something along the lines of: “If we learned anything from last week’s game, the Jets are incapable of being offensive.”

This will be a competitive game. Against a solid Jets defense, I don’t expect the Pats’ offense to run wild like it did last week over the Bengals. But I still like the Pats. My prediction is that the Jets will turn the ball over on a potential go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter. PICK: PATRIOTS

KANSAS CITY AT CLEVELAND: Browns may start backup Seneca Wallace to replace injured-starter Jake Delhomme. PICK: CHIEFS

BUFFALO AT GREEN BAY: Don’t hurt yourself trying to think too much about this one. PICK: PACKERS

BALTIMORE AT CINNCINNATI: The Ravens’ looked superb while playing in a hostile environment at the New Meadowlands. I wonder how much T.O. and Ochocinco will get along when the Bengals are 0-2? PICK: RAVENS

PITTSBURGH AT TENNESSEE: The Steelers showed some character last week, beating a good Falcons squad. The Titans romped the Raiders, so you can’t really judge them quite yet. This week will reveal more about what Jeff Fisher’s boys are made of. Should be a great game. PICK: TITANS

PHILADELPHIA AT DETROIT: Detroit is favored in this game. Wow. Lions fans should rejoice in that fact alone. PICK: EAGLES

CHICAGO AT DALLAS: As much as I would revel in the Cowboys (a so-called Super Bowl contender) starting the season 0-2, I don’t think it will happen. PICK: COWBOYS

TAMPA BAY AT CAROLINA: Who cares? PICK: PANTHERS

ARIZONA AT ATLANTA: The Falcons are looking to rebound from a tough overtime loss at Pittsburgh. The Cardinals beat a team with a rookie quarterback (although I picked Bradford and the Rams). Shouldn’t be close. PICK: FALCONS

MIAMI AT MINNESOTA: Upset of the week. PICK: DOLPHINS

ST. LOUIS AT OAKLAND: PICK: RAIDERS

SEATTLE AT DENVER: The Seahawks surprised a lot of people (including me) by rolling over the 49ers, who were, by many people (including me), the preseason favorite to win the NFC West. They’ll have to surprise me again. PICK: BRONCOS

HOUSTON AT WASHINGTON: Big wins for both clubs last week. It seems like everyone is riding the Texans train following their impressive victory over the Colts, but I like the Redskins’ chances in front of their home crowd. I’ll learn quickly this season if I should let home-field advantage affect my predictions. PICK: REDSKINS

JACKSONVILLE AT SAN DIEGO: The Bolts will get back on track. PICK: CHARGERS

NEW YORK GIANTS AT INDIANAPOLIS: It’s nice to approach a Sunday knowing, for sure, that at least one of the Manning brothers will go home a loser. (Well, unless they tie) I think Peyton will get the best of Eli, which will leave both New York teams with 0-2 records. That might make the sting of the Red Sox being out of the playoff race - while the Yankees shoot for a World Series repeat - a bit more tolerable. Go Rays! PICK: COLTS

NEW ORLEANS AT SAN FRANCISCO: Another prime time game for the defending Super Bowl champs. They deserve it. PICK: SAINTS

Last week’s record: 9-7

Season record: 9-7

So here we are, ready to kick off another NFL season. Couldn’t be more excited.

A fall breeze is in the air, school is back in session and the election season is heating up. You’ve got to love the fall! It’s that bitter winter I could do without.