Gotta get this done earlier next week once Thursday night games start. Vegas seems to disagree with the power rankings a lot, I notice. Favorite playing at home can’t fully explain some of these lines.

What is the Median Expected Score?

Away	MXS	Home	Time (ET)	TV	DTV	Announcers	NTR	SIRIUS		Notes
								Away	Home
#14(4-3)	21¼-23¾	#6(5-2)	Sun 1:00 PM		704	Jim Nantz, Phil Simms	WW1	92	112	Who would have thought these two teams would be fighting for the division lead? Or that the Bills would be favored?
#25(3-4)	15¼-25¾	#10(5-3)	Sun 1:00 PM		705	Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts		106	137	Why is Houston favored by so much over a team around .500?
#31(0-7)	18¼-22¼	#18(4-3)	Sun 1:00 PM		706	Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots		94	138	Should be easy for the Chiefs to continue their comeback against the stinky Dolphins.
#28(2-5)	17-28	#20(3-4)	Sun 1:00 PM		707	Chris Myers, Tim Ryan		117	85	Evidently Vegas thinks these teams are separated by a lot more than one win and eight spots.
#2(6-1)	20¾-16¾	#T23(3-4)	Sun 1:00 PM		709	Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa	CMP	139	93	The Niners continue to showcase their surprisingly good team against the floundering Skins.
#17(4-3)	21-29	#8(5-3)	Sun 1:00 PM		708	Dick Stockton, John Lynch	USA	136	86	Saints better come back from the Rams shocker quickly with the division lead on the line.
#12(4-3)	25¾-19¼	#32(0-8)	Sun 1:00 PM		710	Ron Pitts, Jim Mora		91	113	Can the Falcons avoid their division mate’s fate against a winless team?
#27(2-5)	17¾-25¼	#19(4-3)	Sun 4:05 PM		711	Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf	CMP	104	139	Showdown of two new quarterbacks on the hot seat quickly.
#11(5-2)	19¼-22¼	#21(4-3)	Sun 4:05 PM		712	Marv Albert, Rich Gannon		93	134	Power rankings say Bengals substantially better; Vegas disagrees. Still can’t get no respect.
#9(5-2)	21-30	#4(5-2)	Sun 4:15 PM		714	Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver	USA	86	94	What luck: same year Eli compares himself to Tom, Giants play Pats… and he may actually be outplaying Brady.
#1(7-0)	28¼-22¾	#15(4-3)	Sun 4:15 PM		715	Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick, Laura Okmin	WW1	85	92	Bad time to have a heartbreaking loss, entering a game against the best team in the league.
#29(1-6)	19-22	#30(1-6)	Sun 4:15 PM		713	Sam Rosen, Chad Pennington		138	91	Divisional showdown between two Luck contenders.
#5(5-2)	19½-22½	#3(6-2)	Sun 8:20 PM			Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya	WW1	92	93	Ravens embarrassed Steelers in Game 1 of this classic rivalry. Pittsburgh wants revenge, and to prove themselves.
#13(4-3)	20-27½	#16(3-4)	Mon 8:30 PM			Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber	WW1	92	93	The Eagles get another primetime game to try to move back into playoff position.

Bye:

Can someone explain something to me? Okay, so everyone knows that Cam Newton has been playing lights out and putting up a show every week. And a few people have noticed that despite the attention foisted on Newton, the Panthers are 1-3. So, Newton’s offense has been blowing up, and they’re 1-3… so why has no one noticed that the Panther defense sucks? I mean, they’re second-to-last in rushing yards allowed and eighth-worst in total points allowed, it’s not like it’s not there for everyone to see.

You know the NFL season is in full gear, because the bye weeks are descending upon us. You’d be surprised how much easier the schedule post is to put together with three fewer games.

What is the Median Expected Score?

Away	MXS	Home	Time (ET)	TV	DTV	Announcers	NTR	SIRIUS		Notes
								Away	Home
#2(3-1)	29¼-22¾	#22(1-3)	Sun 1:00 PM		708	Dick Stockton, John Lynch		91	134	Drew Brees shouldn’t have any problem with this defense.
#28(1-3)	18-20½	#29(0-4)	Sun 1:00 PM		706	Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots	WW1	137	94	Can the Colts do what the Chiefs just did and finally pick up their first win?
#20(1-3)	26¼-23¼	#8(3-1)	Sun 1:00 PM		709	Sam Rosen, Brian Billick, Laura Okmin		86	113	Will the not-so-Dream Team be able to pick up the pace against the Bills?
#27(1-3)	12½-22½	#9(3-1)	Sun 1:00 PM		711	Thom Brennaman, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver	CMP	148	85	Eli wants to bounce back. Hawks want Andrew Luck. And we wonder, how low can the Hawks’ MXS go?
#21(2-2)	17¼-19¾	#26(1-3)	Sun 1:00 PM		707	Bill Macatee, Steve Tasker		128	112	A Luck Sweepstakes side clash, but are the Bengals being disrespected after upsetting the Bills?
#13(3-1)	18¼-21¼	#11(2-2)	Sun 1:00 PM		704	Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf	USA	117	92	The Titans may be 3-1, but good luck upsetting the Steelers at Heinz Field.
#19(2-2)	21¼-27¼	#6(3-1)	Sun 1:00 PM		705	Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts		139	93	What does it say that Oakland started a strong 2-1, and yet the Texans are still favored big?
#24(1-3)	21¼-23¾	#31(0-4)	Sun 1:00 PM		710	Chris Myers, Tim Ryan		138	106	A Luck Sweepstakes prelim clash. McNabb vs. Kolb: who loses their starting job a second time?
#10(3-1)	19¼-22¼	#15(3-1)	Sun 4:05 PM		712	Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa	CMP	136	92	The sneaky-good clash of the day could pit two playoff teams against each other.
#14(2-2)	19¾-29¼	#4(3-1)	Sun 4:15 PM		714	Jim Nantz, Phil Simms	USA	86	93	Everyone will be riveted to their set for this clash of AFC East rivals.
#7(3-1)	25-21	#25(1-3)	Sun 4:15 PM		713	Marv Albert, Rich Gannon	WW1	85	94	The Chargers decided to start strong this year, and the Broncos should keep that going.
#1(4-0)	29¾-23¾	#16(2-2)	Sun 8:20 PM			Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya	WW1	92	93	First of two primetime games starring 4-0 teams sees the defending champs take on the Georgia Dome.
#T17(2-2)	21-26½	#5(4-0)	Mon 8:30 PM			Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber	WW1	92	93	For many, this will be their first look at those plucky 4-0 Lions.

Bye:

After seeing how the inclusion of records looked last week, I’ve decided to include RealClearSports.com’s consensus power rankings. Also, I found out that Westwood One is not the only game in town when it comes to Sunday afternoon NFL games, and have adjusted the former “WW1?” column accordingly. It now reads “NTR”, for “National Terrestrial Radio”, with Westwood One games marked with “WW1″, Compass games marked with “CMP”, and Sports USA games marked with “USA”. Finally, I have a new poll up for the first time in over a year, asking if I should keep doing the SEFL recaps for the remainder of the season. I wanted to minimize the amount of thinking I had to do, which hasn’t been happening; I’ll play out the remainder of the season, but just writing the recaps takes up time better spent on other things, like schoolwork. The poll will run through the Week 4 games, but if “No” is leading substantially by Tuesday I won’t do a Week 3 recap.

I have a feeling the Rams will at least cover; it’s possible the Ravens and Steelers are just both lousy (though not Andrew Luck-lousy) this year. Also, can someone tell me why there’s so little gambling information on the Monday Night game, and what information there is is inconsistent? The MXS for that game is very guesstimated.

What is the Median Expected Score?

Away	MXS	Home	Time (ET)	TV	DTV	Announcers	NTR	SIRIUS		Notes
								Away	Home
#22(1-1)	19¾-23¼	#T26(0-2)	Sun 1:00 PM		704	Spero Dedes, Steve Beuerlein		136	113	Will Cam Newton’s success finally lead to a win, or will Gabbert be this week’s big rookie QB?
#11(2-0)	24¼-20¾	#29(0-2)	Sun 1:00 PM		710	Dick Stockton, John Lynch		135	85	Lions picked a franchise QB #1 once and look red-hot now; could the Vikings follow suit?
#21(1-1)	18¾-21¼	#23(1-1)	Sun 1:00 PM		711	Ron Pitts, Jim Mora	USA	139	149	Two teams looking to discover their identities.
#28(0-2)	19¼-21¾	#24(1-1)	Sun 1:00 PM		707	Don Criqui, Randy Cross		117	94	Is Tony Sparano on the hot seat already?
#2(2-0)	30½-23½	#14(2-0)	Sun 1:00 PM		706	Marv Albert, Rich Gannon	CMP	93	106	The Bills want to prove their start isn’t a fluke, but beating Brady and the Pats will hardly be easy.
#17(1-1)	20-28½	#9(1-1)	Sun 1:00 PM		709	Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa	WW1	112	91	The Dream Team starts divisional play against Eli and the Giants.
#T26(1-1)	18-24½	#18(1-1)	Sun 1:00 PM		708	Bill Macatee, Steve Tasker		92	104	Two teams successfully bouncing back from Week 1 losses.
#6(2-0)	24¼-28¼	#4(1-1)	Sun 1:00 PM		705	Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf		86	148	Texans face a huge road test against Drew Brees and the Saints.
#3(2-0)	22¼-19¼	#19(1-1)	Sun 4:05 PM		712	Jim Nantz, Phil Simms		85	134	The Raiders have had good offensive days, but not against a defense as strong as the Jets.
#5(1-1)	23-19	#25(0-2)	Sun 4:05 PM		713	Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots		92	138	Which is more of a fluke, the Ravens losing to the Titans or the NFC West faves losing to the Giants?
#32(0-2)	15-29½	#10(1-1)	Sun 4:05 PM		714	Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts	USA	137	91	Chiefs continue their descent towards Luck while the Chargers look to recover from the Brady Experience.
#8(1-1)	22-23½	#16(1-1)	Sun 4:15 PM		717	Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick, Laura Okmin	CMP	112	94	Falcons and Bucs seek to lay claim to the South, or at least top-two with the Saints.
#20(1-1)	23¼-19¾	#31(0-2)	Sun 4:15 PM		716	Chris Myers, Tim Ryan		93	139	Which will stink less, the Cardinals D or the Seahawks O?
#1(2-0)	25-21	#12(1-1)	Sun 4:15 PM		715	Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver	WW1	86	135	If the Bears want to return to the playoffs, they’ll have to beat their Super Bowl champion rivals.
#7(1-1)	25-14½	#30(0-2)	Sun 8:20 PM			Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya	WW1	92	93	Colts can’t get their offense going without Manning, and the Steelers D won’t help.
#15(2-0)	20-25*	#13(1-1)	Mon 8:30 PM			Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber	WW1	92	93	Two rivals who plain don’t like each other, as Dallas tries to prove the ‘Skins start is a fluke.

This is a new feature I’m trying out that will undoubtedly suck up all of my time: the NFL schedule for each week, with all the information you could possibly want, including DirecTV Sunday Ticket channel numbers, announcers from Awful Announcing, and coverage maps from the506.com. (Click the network logo for the coverage map.) Teams with a golden outline hold a lineal title.

The numbers between the team logos cram a lot of gambling-related information into a small space. That is the MXS, or Median Expected Score, an amalgamation of the point spread and over/under number. The formula is: 2U+S=N, where N is the over/under number, S is the point spread, and U is the underdog’s MXS. The favorite’s MXS is simply U+S, so when you add the two together you get 2L+S.

Away	MXS	Home	Time (ET)	TV	DTV	Announcers	WW1?	SIRIUS		Notes
							Away	Home
	21½-26½		Thu 8:30 PM			Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya	Yes	92	93	Let’s get back to football! Last two Super Bowl champions.
	21½-19		Sun 1:00 PM		709	Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa		134	92	Defensive showdown between the NFC’s two best teams of the last regular season.
	17¼-25¾		Sun 1:00 PM		706	Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf		136	137	No Manning, big problems: could this be the Texans’ year?
	17-23		Sun 1:00 PM		708	Marv Albert, Rich Gannon		117	91	Chiefs fans start getting the answer to the question: Was last year for real?
	17½-19½		Sun 1:00 PM		707	Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts		149	135	Manning’s injury gives these teams hope, if they can get off on the right foot.
	14½-21		Sun 1:00 PM		705	Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots		106	113	Will this intrastate rivalry kick off the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes?
	24¼-19¾		Sun 1:00 PM		710	Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick, Laura Okmin		93	138	The Dream Team kicks off against the NFC West favorites.
	17-19		Sun 1:00 PM		704	Jim Nantz, Phil Simms	Yes	112	86	What better way to honor the 10th anniversary of 9/11 than one of the NFL’s hottest rivalries?
	19½-21½		Sun 1:00 PM		711	Chris Myers, Tim Ryan		128	94	People are feeling optimistic about the Lions. Will it prove well-founded?
	16½-25		Sun 4:15 PM		713	Ron Pitts, Jim Mora	Yes	139	93	The McNabb era starts in Minnesota, while the Chargers seek redemption.
	20¼-17¼		Sun 4:15 PM		715	Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver		92	86	More than an NFC East rivalry, it’s honoring the day that changed both cities forever.
	15-22		Sun 4:15 PM		712	Sam Rosen, Chad Pennington		136	94	Fans hope new quarterbacks for both teams change their fortunes.
	16-21½		Sun 4:15 PM		714	Dick Stockton, John Lynch		91	85	Harbaugh starts his coaching career against old college rival Carroll.
	17¾-22¾		Sun 8:20 PM			Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya	Yes	92	93	It’s Ryan vs. Ryan as two highly-scrutinized teams square off.
	26¼-19¼		Mon 7:00 PM			Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber	Yes	92	93	Patriots begin their latest Super Bowl quest with a divisional showdown.
	18¾-21¾		Mon 10:15 PM			Brad Nessler, Trent Dilfer	Yes	113	94	Close out the first week of the NFL season with an AFC West clash.