Week 1 - Falcons @ Steelers -1

Joe Duffy, Examiner.com, NFL Picks: Football Odds For Week 1 NFL Up

Falcons vs Steelers (-1)

The Steelers will be thankful to have their home fans behind them in Week 1, as they’ll need all the help they can get with no Ben Roethlisberger and no Santonio Holmes. Matt Ryan and the Falcons will be a formidable challenge but I have a feeling Pittsburgh’s “D” will take it upon themselves to make a statement: that they can win without Ben.

Free pick: Steelers -1

[url="http://steelershotline.com/coverstory.html"]http://steelershotline.com/coverstory.html[/url]

[b]Matt Ryan foresees 12 or 13 wins for the Falcons[/b]

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 8, 2010


Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan isn't lacking in confidence.

Ryan believes the Falcons, who went 9-7 last season, will have an even better record in 2010 than they did when he led them to a surprise 11-5 finish as a rookie in 2008. And he's not shy about expressing that belief.

"We feel like we're a lot closer to 12 or 13 wins than we are to eight," Ryan said Saturday, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Last year was frustrating because we didn't make the playoffs, but you always want to be in the mix. You always want to be playing for something, and really until the last three weeks we were."

Ryan doesn't want to sound like he's making any guarantees, but he does believe the Falcons should be one of the league's best teams.

"No predictions from me," Ryan said. "But 12 or more wins sounds good."

Considering that the Saints went 13-3 last year, if the Falcons want to win the NFC South, they may need to win more than 12 games.

[url="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/05/08/matt-ryan-foresees-12-or-13-wins-for-the-falcons/"]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... e-falcons/[/url]

Even with Ben the Falcons wouldn't be an easy mark (not like any NFL team really is). They are a tough squad. I'm not ready to make any predictions on games yet as we haven't even see the first pre-season game, but they'll come tough and looking to make a statement too.

Of the first 4 games, it is good to have the two best teams (Atlanta and Baltimore) at home and the two weaker teams (Tennessee and Tampa) on the road.

Like us, the Falcons and Ravens were both were 9-7 last year (of the three of us, only the Ravens were able to sneak into the playoffs).

The Titans finished at .500 after starting the season 0-6, and the Bucs were one of the worst teams in the league at 3-13.

I think it is better than playing stronger teams on the road and weaker teams at home while we are without our quarterback.