Well, I am off to my best start in predicting games since I started two seasons ago. In fact, I had my best week ever last week, posing a 13-3 record. Yes, I know people often have a 14-2 or perfect prediction week here and there, but I am pleased with my own personal record. Also I am starting my survivor picks. Last week I picked Tennessee to win for sure over Miami, and they did. I'll give this weeks survivor pick at the end of this column.

Last week I was not too surprised with how things turned out, since I only lost three games. The teams that lost for me were the Colts, the Chiefs, and the Buccaneers. All three of those games involved some damn good teams, so I could see how they would go either way. Here are some things that impressed me or did surprise me last week:

-How good the Browns looked against the Ravens. I know I already picked the Browns to win the division, but even I didn't expect the Browns to completely shut down Jamal Lewis and the Ravens.

-How well Quentin Griffin did. Actually, this was more of a "oh yeah, I remember now"...type of moment. Last year, Clinton Portis tore up the Chiefs with the Bronco's. Now Griffin is ready to do the same.

-How the Detroit Lions were able to run back a blocked kick about 92 yards with the large Bracy Walker.

-How funny this statistic was: Jerome Bettis - 5 carries, 1 yard, 3 touchdowns.

-How the NFL could lose two potential playmakers at wide receiver in Charles Rogers and Steve Smith. It's like last year when the NFL lost two quarterbacks for most of the season in Michael Vick and Chad Pennington.

-How much damage Tiki Barber did to the Eagles in a losing effort.

-There was not one overtime game. However on a side note, there were three games that came down to the last second basically.

And now, for some things that did not surprise me:

-That Jay Fiedler is already being replaced with A.J. Feely.

-That Drew Brees would perform well with Phillip Rivers behind him.

-That Tim Rattay would get injured already, and Ken Dorsey would take over.

-That Daunte Culpepper tore up the Cowboys and McNabb tore up the Giants.

-That Chad Johnson already made a fantastic touchdown catch.

And now, it's time for my week two predictions...

St. Louis vs. Atlanta
Alanta looked pretty good in their first game, but remember that it was against the 49'ers, whom are in a re-building mode. St. Louis also struggled compared to what people expected, but Marshall Faulk looked pretty good. The Rams should rack up another win after starting out with an easy schedule.

Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore
This one is a very tough pick. Baltimore still had a great defense, and Jamal Lewis should perform better than last week. Also Baltimore is at their home field. I like what Pittsburgh's offense is made of though. Duce and Bettis do the rushing good enough. If Tommy Maddox can make smart decisions like Garcia did last week, he should find Ward or Burress for a touchdown or two and just edge Baltimore.

Houston vs. Detroit
The Lions lost Charles Rogers for the season, but Roy Williams could be so good that the Lions can overcome that. Houston just doesn't have a solid team yet. If the Lions could be the Bears on the road last week, they should definitly be able to beat Houston at home this week. A 2-0 start for the Lions would be a huge turn around from previous seasons wouldn't you say?

Chicago vs. Green Bay
The Packers are coming off a huge victory over the NFC Champions, where Ahman Green had three touchdowns. The Packers will probably use some more of the passing game against the Bears, but will also continue to have Green pound away. Mike McKenzie coming back will be an even bigger boost to the Packers defense.

Denver vs. Jacksonville
I think this will actually be a pretty close game. Remember last year how Delhomme had the last second touchdown in week one for Carolina and then went to the Super Bowl? In week one, Leftwich had the game winner in week one. Both teams have similar qualities. But, Denver played too good offensively against the Chiefs to go against them this week.

Carolina vs. Kansas City
Uh-oh. Could the NFC Champions start off 0-2 this season? Yes, but I still think they will make the playoffs. They still haven't played a division game yet. Jake Delhomme could tear up the poor Kansas City defense, but I think Priest Holmes, Tony Gonzo, and Trent Green will overpower the Panthers in another shootout.

San Francisco vs. New Orleans
Ken Dorsey gets his first NFL start. He should have an average game against the Saints, but the Saints are the type of team that look like a playoff team one week, and a "choke" type team the next. Last week they didn't play too good, so this week they're due.

Washington vs. New York Giants
The Giants offensive line was awful. The Giants secondary was awful. Their quarterbacks couldn't do much without getting nailed by the defense. Their only positive last week were Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber, who played exceptionally well. If Gibbs could be the Buccaneers though, he should have no problem beating the Giants. Brunell will probably have fine tossing it to Coles.

Indianapolis vs. Tennessee
It's another tough road game for the Colts. The Colts were the best football team that did not win last week. They still in my mind have the best offense in the league, which should be enough to overcome their defense in this game. That's not a knock on Tennessee, who also showed great potential with Chris Brown. It's just that the Colts are my Super Bowl team, and I am sticking with them.

Seattle vs. Tampa Bay
Seattle is already on their way to a successful season, while Tampa Bay is already trying to salvage theirs. They have a lot of problems with injuries and holdouts at wide receiver right now. Seattle's Shaun Alexander did excellent last week, and the confidant Matt Hasselbeck will try to win another road game, which they did last week.

Cleveland vs. Dallas
Vinny Testeverde did very good last week, and now will face one of his former teams. Cleveland needs to prove to other teams that their performance against the Ravens was not a fluke. Lee Suggs should be making his return to the Browns, giving them one of their primary offensive weapons back. Dallas had the number one defense last year, but they need to prove something after what Minnesota did to them.

New England vs. Arizona
This should be a no brainer. If New England beat Indianapolis and does not beat the Cardinals, it'll be the shock of the season, even though this is only week two. Though you have to keep in mind that Arizona stayed in the game against the Rams last week.


Buffalo vs. Oakland
Both of these teams suffered heart-breaking losses last week, but Oakland is still the better team in my mind. Rich Gannon is a better quarterback still than people give him credit for and they should pull off a win.

New York Jets vs. San Diego
The Jets had an explosive offense against the Bengals, and should continue that against the Chargers. One thing is for sure though: With Tomlinson, the Chargers are the type of team that could always pull an upset. I just don't see that happening this week though.

Miami vs. Cincinnati
I hope Chad Johnson has a special touchdown celebration ready for Saturday Night Football. Miami doesn't have a very good offensive team anymore, and they are in big trouble at running back still. The Bengals did well offensively last week despite Rudi Johnson's struggling. They should win by about ten.

Minnesota vs. Philadelphia
This is the toughest game to choose this week, and what better of a game than on Monday Night Football. Last week, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens each caught three touchdowns. McNabb tosses four touchdowns and Culpepper had five. I'll take the Eagles in this one because they have the better defense than the Vikings.

Last week's record: 13-3
Last week's survivor pick: Tennessee over Miami

For this week's survivor pick, I am taking the New England Patriots over the Arizona Cardinals.

I'm not positive that this is right, but if the season ended today, these would be the seeds in the playoffs:

AFC:
1. Cleveland
2. Tennessee
3. New York Jets
4. Denver
5. San Diego
6. Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, New England tied.

NFC:
1. Philadelphia
2. St. Louis
3. Detroit
4. Atlanta
5. Seattle
6. Minnesota, Washington, Green Bay tied.

That's it for my week two predictions. I'll be back to recap what happened along with my week three predictions next week. Here's hoping to a successful week in the NFL.