No New York Giants game today, of course. But a full slate of games on the first Sunday of the 2012 NFL season. To help you out, here is today's schedule and a Big Blue View Rootability Guide for today's games.
Indianapolis Colts at Chicago Bears (-9) -- The debut of Andrew Luck for the Colts. Another year of expectation for Jay Cutler. It says here that as a Giants' fan you should want the Colts to win this game. Any losses for teams who might wind up competing for playoff spots with the Giants have to be considered a good thing. The Colts aren't winning, but you can hope.
Atlanta Falcons at Kansas City Chiefs (+1) -- See above. Besides, Romeo Crennel has Giants' connections. Root for KC.
Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns (+6.5) -- You know what to do here. Root for the impossible. The Browns stunk last year. They will stink this year. But, they could do the Giants a huge favor by picking Sunday to play like a real NFL team.
Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints (-8.5) -- I know it's the Redskins, but it's actually difficult to root against Washington in this game. At least for me. That's probably because I can't see myself rooting for New Orleans.
St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions (-9) -- See Eagles vs Browns. The Rams aren't winning, but you can use some voodoo or try in whatever fashion you can to help them pull off the impossible.
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans (+7) -- You have to root for the Titans. On the simple ground that their opponent is the Patriots. It is your duty.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings (-4.5) -- Can we skip this one? If you care at all maybe it's only because Rhett Bomar used to be a member of the Vikings. Or maybe because Aaron Ross is currently a member of the Jaguars.
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (-6) -- You know what you have to do here. By the way, how did the Jets get to be 6-point favorites in this one? Mike is the picks master around here, but put your money on the Bills.
Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans (-6.5) -- Forget the game. If you are watching this game, root for lots of shots of Lauren Tannehill, wife of Miami rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill. That is about the only reason to pay attention.
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals (-1) -- I don't know what to tell you here. A snoozer most likely from the perspective of Giants fans.
San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers (-7) -- Well, I don't know what to tell you here, either. Maybe just enjoy watching Brandon Jacobs and Mario Manningham.
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) -- Interesting. The Giants play the Buccaneers in Week 2 and the Panthers in Week 3. Maybe you should just root for both teams to look awful.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos (-3) -- Don't know about you, but I will be rooting for Peyton Manning to have a monster game in his return to football that counts.
Other interesting things to watch
Comparing Tampa Bay running back Doug Martin, taken one pick before the Giants took David Wilson, will be a favorite pastime ... Speaking of the Buccaneers, former Giants' quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan and former Giants' running back D.J. Ware are there ... Five rookie QBs start Sunday. Which one will be worst. Best bet is Brandon Weeden of the Browns ... Which game or games will be impacted by the replacement referees? Aside from a couple of holding calls, which the regular refs miss all the time, anyway, they did a good job in the Giants-Cowboys game.