NFL Cranks Up Hyperbole for Week 2

You gotta love trash talk in the NFL.

See, the guys who really don't like each other rarely get into it publicly. Their distaste is often kept behind the scenes, where it percolates and builds until someone notices and writes an "insider story" about the feud.

No, instead we get phony crap like Darrelle Revis and Randy Moss.

It's like clockwork. The two talk it up during the week, use ridiculous words, and then lock horns for three hours while nothing notable happens.

At least in hockey the feuding couple drops the gloves once in a while for a good ol' fight.

Revis even has an "injury" to drum up the drama before their game at Meadowlands Stadium Sunday, one that is going to get plenty of exposure on CBS, as a large percentage of the country will receive the broadcast.

(No, I'm not saying Revis is faking an injury. I'm saying that this always seems to happen. Adds to the drama before the big game that will decide absolutely nothing.)

The key matchup in this one is Moss against Revis, but don't overlook the other Jets cornerbacks, Antonio Cromartie and rookie Kyle Wilson, who took turns getting roasted by the Ravens and their so-so deep passing attack. The Jets might be better off putting Revis on Wes Welker, who is Tom Brady's favorite target and the man most likely to make the Jets miserable Sunday, especially if Cromartie is trying to cover him.

Or Wilson.

Either way, the Jets are in trouble. Moss might not get his, but Welker will, and there isn't much the Jets are going to be able to do about it.

Meanwhile, the Jets' offense looked putrid Monday, and they won't have as many mistakes to pounce on against New England. All in all, it looks like EVERYONE'S SUPER BOWL PICK is going to start 0-2 ... with both losses coming at home.

Ouch.

The pick: New England

A number of highly-touted teams -- besides the Jets -- are trying to avoid an 0-2 hole to start the season. Minnesota, Dallas, Atlanta, Cincinnati, San Diego, and Indianapolis all face 1-0 teams at home, but all four are favored. The Vikings play a fairly non-descript Miami team that will try to take advantage of Brandon Marshall's size against the Vikings' smallish secondary. Dallas gets a Bears team that had no business winning last week, and they don't match up well with the Cowboys, especially on the offensive line. Atlanta draws an Arizona team that didn't exactly look like a juggernaut at St. Louis last week. San Diego hosts Jacksonville, a non-playoff team in virtually everyone's eyes. And Indianapolis hosts the Giants for Manning Bowl II, with Peyton's Colts ready to actually play defense this week.

Of the four, the one with the best chance of falling to 0-2 is probably San Diego. The Chargers didn't seem to have all their eggs in the right basket Monday night, and they played like a team distracted by two offensive starters holding out. They'll face a surly bunch of Jaguars Sunday, the kind of team that is usually able to beat a couple superior-looking teams during the regular season. The Bengals are also an interesting pick in this regard, but I think they'll circle the wagons and do well in catching Baltimore off a short week and an emotional, physical game against the Jets.

Oh, and it's not like the Ravens looked that good.

In the end, though, I expect all of the home teams to win.

Picks: Minnesota, Atlanta, Dallas, Cincinnati, San Diego, Indianapolis

Other games (home team in CAPS)
Philadelphia over DETROIT
GREEN BAY over Buffalo
CLEVELAND over Kansas City
TENNESSEE over Pittsburgh
CAROLINA over Tampa Bay
DENVER over Seattle
OAKLAND over St. Louis
Houston over WASHINGTON
SAN FRANCISCO over New Orleans

Last week: 11-5
Season: 11-5

INTERESTING DIGITS ON BOMBS

Maybe you heard. Brett Favre got traded to the Jets.

Lots of stuff on FanHouse, some of it penned by your humble correspondent. Some of it penned by other, much more intelligent people.

Anyway, Tim Graham blogs for ESPN.com on the NFL, and he unearthed some superb numbers on Favre, his predecessor in New York (Chad Pennington), and their ability to throw the deep ball.

Pennington didn't go deep as often, but he was much more effective when he did. His amazing passer rating of 107.7 dwarfed Favre's 66.9.

The main reasons for the disparity were Favre's interceptions and Pennington's judiciousness. Only 3.7 percent of Pennington's passes got picked off. Favre's daredevil antics helped inflate his interception rate to 12.1 percent.

Favre threw more than twice as many touchdown passes of 20 yards or more. But Pennington, the infamous soft-tosser, had a higher completion percentage and yards-per-attempt average.

Now, it's worth noting that Favre and Pennington have indeed used the deep ball differently. I swear there were times that Favre used it as a punt.

(And with how some of the Packers' punters have been over the years, I think Favre is better off taking care of it himself.)

It's also worth noting that Pennington threw a lot fewer deep balls, in part because his offense didn't call for them, and in part because it's hard to throw the deep ball when you're laying flat on your back.

Hopefully, the free-agent signings by the Jets work out, because the alternative is Favre spending a lot of time scrambling and/or laying flat on his back.