FanHouse

Well, Atlanta won't go 0-16, but after they thumped the Lions, the big question now is are the Falcons better than everyone expected, or are the Lions worse?

Here's my take on who starred and who's to be blamed for the Falcons' big win.

Stars Of The Game:

1. Falcons RB Michael Turner.

Coming into today, the big question surrounding Turner was how well he'd play now that he was the primary ball carrier, instead of the guy who fills in when LT needs a breather.

I think we can consider that question answered. Turner had six runs of 10 yards or more, including a 66-yard touchdown to single-handedly demolish the Lions defense. His 220 yards is the Falcons' single-game record. Backup Jerious Norwood wasn't bad himself (17 carries for 93 yards), but Turner gave the Falcons a game-changing tailback, something that they haven't had since Warrick Dunn was in his prime.

Mike McKenzie, the Saints' best corner and the best player on their defense last year, was inactive today. That's not good. Jason David donned pads but as far as I could tell didn't step foot on the field. That was good. The result -- new corners Randall Gay (brought in through free agency) and Tracy Porter (a second-round draft choice) got the start and provided the Saints with something they haven't had in years -- competent corner play on both sides.

But they weren't the only new Saints to make an impact. Jonathan Vilma, the team's leading tackler, and Sedrick Ellis, a beast who constantly penetrated double teams, were just as advertised, and Jeremy Shockey took a while to get going but made some clutch catches for 54 yards. These players were the difference in the Saints' win.

Road Chalk and Alaskan Pipelines is Will Brinson's NFL gambling column at FanHouse. Because everyone loves a loser.

Oh. Hello there. Do you like to gamble wager on sports make plays gamble? Excellent. You're in the right place. Each week here at 'RCAP' I will be walking you, hand in hand, to the promised land of guaranteed winnings, should you choose to follow my advice. You will be 100 percent guaranteed to win at least 90 percent of your picks, almost 11 percent of the time.

And yes! There will be an occasional Anchorman joke or two. No, seriously though, I guarantee nothing. Instead, what I'll do is probably talk about something in this space, show you the lines, sprinkle some snarky commentary amid quasi-analysis and then make a selection.

Why should you keep coming back? Because, I, a career loser of at least two commas in sports wagering, am either going to thrash Brandon Lang's picks -- I believe he will also be shown on FanHouse each week -- and end up with an insanely high winning percentage, or I will go down in flames faster than David Carr in the face of a two-backer blitz prevent defense.

Onto the winners.

The bloggers here at the NFL portion of FanHouse recently huddled up in a basement, put our heads together and came up with our predictions for the 2008 NFL season. Eleven of us voted and below is the mathematics of it all.

We don't just have our Super Bowl predictions [go after the jump to see those picks], but the entire NFL. We picked each division how we saw fit and below is how the voting went, along with the links to our writers' previews of each team. The number in parenthesis denotes how many first-place votes that team received.

*- denotes our Wild Card picks:

AFC EAST NFC EAST 1 New England Patriots (11) 1 Dallas Cowboys (8) 2 New York Jets* 2 New York Giants* 3 Buffalo Bills 3 Philadelphia Eagles (2) 4 Miami Dolphins 4 Washington Redskins (1) AFC SOUTH NFC SOUTH 1 Indianapolis Colts (7) 1 New Orleans Saints (7) 2 Jacksonville Jaguars* (4) 2 Carolina Panthers (2) 3 Houston Texans 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2) 4 Tennessee Titans 4 Atlanta Falcons AFC NORTH NFC NORTH 1 Pittsburgh Steelers (8) 1 Minnesota Vikings (6) 2 Cleveland Browns (2) 2 Green Bay Packers* (4) 3 Cincinnati Bengals (1) 3 Detroit Lions (1) 4 Baltimore Ravens 4 Chicago Bears AFC WEST NFC WEST 1 San Diego Chargers (11) 1 Seattle Seahawks (6) 2 Denver Broncos 2 Arizona Cardinals (3) 3 Oakland Raiders 3 St. Louis Rams (2) 4 Kansas City Chiefs 4 San Francisco 49ers

After playing for three different teams between the 2004 and 2006 seasons, Antonio Bryant had no team in 2007. In 2008, he not only found himself a fourth NFL franchise to call home, he's earned himself a starting job in Tampa Bay opposite Joey Galloway, according to Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times.

Bryant was given a one-year contract this off-season, and was competing for the starting spot along with Maurice Stovall, Ike Hilliard and former first-round pick Michael Clayton. Bryant won the job, despite not playing in the teams final two preseason games.

"He's going to be out there with Joey,' receiver Ike Hilliard said. "That's the decision coach (Jon) Gruden made. He's obviously a guy we're looking forward to taking our offense to another level.''

As I said yesterday in the Buccaneers preview, I've never been a big Bryant fan. He can be a frustrating player on (and off) the field, and there's a reason three teams have given up on him in the past, while he was out of the league entirely in 2007.

The Falcons are offering a cut-rate product on the field, so it makes sense that they're cutting their prices.

In an attempt to avoid a television blackout, Atlanta is offering tickets for $10 off. Considering how bad last year was, and the low expectations for this year, the fact that the team only has 2,500 tickets left is actually a very good sign that the Falcons marketing department is doing a bang-up job.

When you consider that the Vikings are offering cut-rate tickets to their opener--and they're a likely playoff team, it makes the Falcons' efforts look even better.

Actually the fact that their slogan acknowledges that last year was a disaster, makes me respect them even more: the e-mail pushing the $10 off slogan included this line:

A packed house. A shiny new Dome. And a team you can be proud of. All we need now ... is YOU!"

Admittedly, the Falcons will probably have several games later in the year that are impossible to sellout, but with a team that appears to be headed in the right direction (even if it's a long way from playoff contention) and the likelihood that no members of this year's team will end up in a federal penitentiary, there's reason for hope.

I'll be honest, I was expecting the Saints to keep both Taylor Mehlhaff and Martin Gramatica at kicker when the final cuts were announced. Shows how little I know about the Saints, who have never been shy about cutting a draft pick.

My logic was based on the fact that Mehlhaff was a fifth-round choice who was known for his strong leg, particularly on kickoffs. Gramatica came on and proved surprisingly reliable last year, but has a weak leg on kickoffs. It seemed as if even comparable play in the preseason would be enough to earn Mehlhaff the roster spot, with Gramatica tagging along as a safety valve.

But Mehlhaff was cut. The truth is, despite all the hype as the first kicker drafted, Gramatica outperformed the rookie. Even on kickoffs, Mehlhaff was inconsistent. And he missed a field goal in the preseason finale -- the only field goal either kicker missed all preseason long. Not a good impression to make.

From '04 to '06, Gramatica was left for the NFL's dead. But he was incredible last season replacing Olindo Mare, and brought an energy to the fans. I'd say "don't call it a comeback," but, well, that's exactly what it is. Knock 'em out, Martin.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Jon Gruden loves his quarterbacks. The Buccaneers entered training camp with five quarterbacks, flirted with the idea of dipping their toes into the Brett Favre fiasco, and will enter the regular season with four signal callers on the roster: Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Luke McCown and Josh Johnson. I imagine that when the Buccaneers front office and coaching staff get together for their off-season strategy sessions, the first item on the agenda in bold faced type, size 20 font is, HOW CAN WE ACQUIRE MORE QUARTERBACKS? While they have a large quantity, the quality is up for debate. Jeff Garcia is 38, but should have another solid season in the tank. He won't carry a team anymore, but he protects the ball and doesn't throw interceptions. Griese is 33 and in his second stint with Tampa. Luke McCown was very effective in limited action last year, completing 67% of his passes and posting a 91.7 passer rating. Josh Johnson was a fifth-round pick out of San Diego this year. Heat Index: 7

Doug Thornton, the vice president of the company that manages the Louisiana Superdome, says that the stadium is fine after Hurricane Gustav hit the region yesterday.

"We're in good shape," said Doug Thornton, vice president of SMG, the company that manages the Superdome and neighboring New Orleans Arena. "We've got some exterior signs ripped and things like that, downed fences and light poles blown over, but nothing major, nothing structural or nothing that would affect the interior condition of the building."

That means the New Orleans Saints are planning to play their game this Sunday at the dome. They will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, that isn't a foregone conclusion. Most of the city has been evacuated ... so there aren't (as of now) any fans nor staff there to attend the game. They aren't sure if suppliers can get their food, drinks and whatever to the stadium in time.

If it cannot be done, the Saints-Bucs game will most likely take place in Tampa. Since they are division rivals, they can swap out their November 30th scheduled meeting back to New Orleans.

One of the surprises of the Saints' cuts were that all of their cornerbacks made the roster, except Greg Fassit, was placed on injured reserve. That meant veterans Jason Craft and Aaron Glenn, battling it out for the token old veteran leadership spot, both stuck around. And it also meant that Jason David, who had a horrible season in his first as a Saint and has had a similarly bad preseason, also had a spot on the team, at least for the time being.

That time being seems about over.

Though the Saints' website still lists David on the roster, and there have been no reports, confirmed or un-, regarding his release, the NFL.com page for Saints transactions clearly says "Jason David (CB) cut" as of today.

If the information is true, David has obviously been cut to make room for someone else. And it means his solid performance in the preseason finale (three tackles, an interception, and a pass defense) wasn't enough to spare him. David never adjusted to man coverage, and this would make clear the team's little faith in him, as they don't believe his play will justify even his low price tag.

Still, with his athletic ability and young age, David can contribute for any team that runs a Cover 2. Unless the year-plus he's spent in New Orleans has Ankieled him, in which case I'll wait for his triumphant, redemptive return as a punter.