RZ Season 70 Kickoff Games - RZ Celeb Pick-Em
by adelfish | 3 years ago | 0 Comments
Red Zone Season 70 Kickoff - Picks From the Celebs
With the 70th (!!) season of Red Zone finally kicking off, it is time to take a look at the two kickoff games for the cycle, and get some thoughts and picks from your favorite Red Zone celebrities!
Dallas Cowboys @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7.5)
Stephen A. Smith
THE PICK - Buccaneers
STEPHEN'S TAKE - If you think the Cowboys are going to be as ready as Tampa is for Week 1, you've got another thing coming. This is a fundamental difference in coaching staffs, personnel familiarity, and gameplanning. Tampa is one of the most intricate coaching staffs out there, and Dallas, well, isn't. Tampa 35-14.
Field Yates
THE PICK - Buccaneers
YATES' TAKE - Bucs and it won't be close. Did you see what they were able to do with Kyle Trask in the preseason? Now insert Tom Brady in there and let's play the same scenario out.
Tony Gonzalez
THE PICK - Buccaneers
TONY'S TAKE - The Bucs have been dominate in the preseason. Their quarterbacks have shown elite precision and their wide receivers are arguably the biggest and most physical in the league. One the defensive side, Coach Roc has a reputation for being aggressive. I think this defense is built exactly how he would've built it anywhere else. The Cowboys haven't shown much early on and I think they are still figuring things out. The Bucs however are already clicking on all cylinders.
Rich Eisen
THE PICK - Buccaneers
RICH'S TAKE - It's hard to find a better fit than Coach Roc with the Bucs. Historically he has Coach Allen's number, and those Cowboys won't be ready for opening day. I'm going higher register here, but maybe Coach Allen should spend more time at practice and less time on the golf course. Bucs by double digits.
Donovan McNabb
THE PICK - Buccaneers
DONOVAN'S TAKE - Could easily be a trap game, but they have too many elite caliber seasoned vets at nearly every position, on both sides of the ball. Not to mention one of the league's most talented offensive lines.
Shannon Sharpe
THE PICK - Buccaneers
SHANNON'S TAKE - The Bucs and Coach Roc are gonna be a force, and it starts with a big win over the Cowboys this week.
Nick Wright
THE PICK - Buccaneers
NICK'S TAKE - Buccaneers will dominate the Cowboys in a way we've all come to expect of TB12 led terms. Tom Brady is the Lebron James of football, in case anyone has forgotten this fact of life.
Will Cain
THE PICK - Cowboys
WILL'S TAKE - I think the "impressive" Roc-led Buccaneers will come out the gates strong in Week 1. I think AMERICA'S team will keep it close, BUT the Bucs will win by 7. I'm putting my money on the COWBOYS!!!
Minnesota Vikings (-4.5) @ Cincinnati Bengals
Stephen A. Smith
THE PICK - Minnesota
STEPHEN'S TAKE - This is a conflip, maybe only leaning towards Minny because of their roster strength. Give me Minny to win, but Bengals to cover.
I really think this coaching staff in Minnesota has been swallowed by their own ego and has pretty much overlooked the fact they have a raw rookie at quarterback. This is going to hurt them more than they think. I still think top to bottom that team is better, so they will win, but over the course of the year the unbridled arrogance of that coaching staff to just assume they're going to turn Kellen Mond into Peyton Manning is going to cost them games. 28-27 Minnesota.
Field Yates
THE PICK - Cincinnati
YATES' TAKE - While I think ultimately the Vikings might win this game, covering the 4.5 point spread against Coach Mojica is hard to do. Give me a 42-41 offensive shootout.
Tony Gonzalez
THE PICK - Cincinnati
TONY'S TAKE - This is an interesting matchup. Coach Astin has his hands full with developing a quarterback and plugging talent in holes that need to be filled. Coach Moji hasn't made it a secret that he's in a rebuild. I think both teams are going to lean on their elite running back play. I like the Vikings defense more than I like the Bengals, and I like Dalvin Cook much more than I like Joe Mixon. With that being said, I hate betting against Moji. In what should be a rebuild year I think many of us roll our eyes hearing that after what he did in New York.
Rich Eisen
THE PICK - Minnesota
RICH'S TAKE - While these two teams are far from the best rosters in the league, this is the best coach matchup of Week 1. Two guys with a long history against each other, and very different play styles. Something tells me that the Bengals defense won't be able to get off the field when they really need to. If Mond plays safe and we get a healthy does of Dalvin Cook, the Vikes pull away late. 31-21.
Donovan McNabb
THE PICK - Cincinnati
DONOVAN'S TAKE - Two of the league's most accomplished coaching staffs going head to head, this one should go down to the wire. Slight edge goes to Cincy due to quarterback talent. If this was 3 seasons from now I could see my decision change, but Coach Mojica gets it done in this early season clash of titans.
Shannon Sharpe
THE PICK - Minnesota
SHANNON'S TAKE - If we were just looking at coach resumes, this could go either way. Cincy just doesn't have the talent on the field to match Minnesota.
Nick Wright
THE PICK - Cincinnati
NICK'S TAKE - I'm taking the Bengals in the season opener. Something tells me Coach Mojica takes every opportunity to play a Coach Astin led team very seriously. Furthermore, the entire league is aware of how tickled he was to hear the recent "BamaBoys" podcast, where hosts Tauph and ("BigDaddy") Spence ridiculed Coach Astin's Redzone legacy for 20+ minutes. In conclusion, he wants to prove Coach Astin is overrated."
Will Cain
THE PICK - Cincinnati
WILL'S TAKE - Give me the Bengals in this one. If the Vikings win it, I like Cincy to keep it close. The defense will have to step up, but Mond will struggle.