Week One Picks and College Locks.

Football, Football, Football.

This is one of the most exciting times of the year. The NFL is back. Tom Coughlin's defending champion New York Giants kicked off the season in dominant fashion last night, showing no sign of missing Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan, cruising to a 16-7 win against the visiting Washington Redskins. This Sunday, the remaining thirty teams will be in action. Here are my picks (home teams are capitalized):

49ERS over Cardinals. Goooooooooooooooooo Niners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BILLS over Seahawks. Yes, Dick Jauron is on the hot seat. But Buffalo prevails.
DOLPHINS over Jets. Sweet Revenge for Mr. Pennington. Brett who?
Lions over FALCONS. Jon Kitna is in for another strong year. Matt Ryan.....not so much.
Bengals over RAVENS. Palmer to Johns.....ur, Ocho Cinco. A potent duo.
PATRIOTS over Chiefs. A hurt Tom Brady is much better than a healthy Brody Croyle.
SAINTS over Bucs. Good game, but Jon Gruden will still have that scowl afterwards.
EAGLES over Rams. McNabb will show why, when healthy, he is an elite QB.
STEELERS over Texans. Some think Houston is on the rise. Not so fast.
Jaguars over TITANS. Fantastic game. Tennessee, say hello to Maurice Jones-Drew.
BROWNS over Cowboys. Upset alert! Call me crazy, but I'm a believer in the Browns.
CHARGERS over Panthers. Yes, Merriman is a question mark, but let's not forget LT.
COLTS over Bears. No Jeff Saturday, but Peyton, Freeney, and Indy will find a way.
Vikings over PACKERS. The NFC North is Minnesota's division to lose.
Broncos over RAIDERS. Tricky game to call. In a toss-up, I'll go with Mike Shanahan.

And my three college football locks of the week:

EAST CAROLINA over West Virginia
FLORIDA over Miami
OHIO STATE over Ohio University