So as I alluded to in my last post, Eileen and I have fled the prarie town of Kansas City and relocated to Columbus, OH. Eileen will be attending The Ohio State University for grad school this Fall, and I've already begun working at Battelle Memorial Institute.

There is less barbecue here, but there are also fewer rodeos which is a good thing for everyone involved. Most of our time has been spent assembling furniture, but as we start exploring the area hopefully I'll start posting a bit more often.

NE at NYJ: The Patriots have a number of hidden question marks this week that most people probably will miss. For instance, if any of their 3 defensive linemen get hurt, all they have on the bench is a just-activated practice squad player. Still, the team has been preparing for the Jets for the past 3 weeks, and with that much preparation the Pats never lose. NE

DEN at BUF: The coronation of Jay Cutler already happened, so in this game we'll find out who exactly the Broncos plan to play at running back this year. Historically Denver has been a below-average road team, so I'll go with the upset here. Does this qualify as an Upset Special? BUF

TEN at JAX: Tennessee is the chic playoff team, which is usually good for a few easy picks against them, but the Jags are a mess at QB and that overshadows any other problems. TEN

PHI at GB: I read somewhere that the Eagles weren't going to lose a game until week 8 or 9. That seems ludicrous, but I'm not picking the Packers until I can verify that Brett Favre is indeed alive and able to move his arm in a forward, throwing motion. PHI

KC at HOU: Oh man, what to do here. The Chiefs are a trainwreck but the Texans are relying on Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, and a bunch of nothing else. I still just can't pull the trigger on a bad Chiefs team on the road. HOU

CAR at STL: I saw the Panthers play the Pats in a preseason game on TV and they looked cover-your-eyes awful when their starters were in the game. That's good enough for me. STL

MIA at WAS: Speaking of awful...Your 2007 Miami Dolphins! Their defense is getting extremely old, and that's the *bright* spot of their team. The scariest part is that Cleo Lemon is lurking on the bench, ready to turn an NFL game into a D-III college contest at a moment's notice. WAS

ATL at MIN: Count me as one of the few who think that the Falcons will be markedly *better* without the coaches having to figure out how to win a game with a QB who can't throw. I know everybody's doing it, but: ATL

PIT at CLE: One of my 2 new "hometown" teams, the Browns have been awful since about 1994 when Vinny Testaverde beat Drew Bledsoe in the playoffs. PIT

DET at OAK: How is it that for one week, one of these teams will be undefeated? It's a crime against the sport. Oakland has a decent defense and a total mockery of an offense, while the Lions are exactly the opposite. Both teams lose...I can't do that? Fine...DET

TB at SEA: The Bucs may have about 5 quarterbacks on their roster, but none of them are any good. Maybe one of them can play receiver? SEA

CHI at SD: Poor Bears fans, it won't be Rex's fault but the Bears will not have a good showing in San Diego and everyone will be calling for his head. SD

NYG at DAL: Two overhyped glory franchises without much going for them. May Eli continue to whine and lose. DAL

BAL at CIN: My other "hometown" team, the Bengals, are still having problems staying out of the squad car despite a season of being the laughingstock of late-night television. I don't like picking an overripe Steve McNair, but here it goes. BAL

AZ at SF: You've got me people, I don't know what to make of either of these teams. SF