PA Pigskin Picks: Week 3 Published Sept. 24, 2009 By "The Football Czar" Public Affairs DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- *Editor's Note: The 94th Public Affairs office has started a weekly "PA Pigskin Picks" competition. Correctly guess who will win NFL games each week for a chance to win prizes and be named the Pigskin Expert of the Week. Winners will be announced on the Web site each week.* Congrats to Travon Dennis, 94th Communications Flight, who is the Pigskin Expert of Week 2. At the end of Sunday, Travon was tied with Tech. Sgt. Hiram Gunter, 94th Security Forces, with only three missed games. However, Travon's choice of Indianapolis gave him the win as Sergeant Gunter had his hopes crushed with Miami's last-minute lost. In addition to Travon's AAFES gift card, we promised him a Reese's Peanut Butter cup. Don't worry Travon, it's in the mail! "It's too early to tell" At the end of Week 2 there are nine teams that are now 2-0. The most surprising of these teams may be the San Francisco 49ers. There are also nine teams that are 0-2. The most surprising team on this list may be the Tennessee Titans. That means 14 teams are 1-1. If you're a Minnesota Vikings fan, don't plan your Super Bowl celebration parade route just yet. And if you're a Detroit Lions fan, don't panic and count out Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. It's too early to tell. Many teams have great starts and finish with a subpar record. And then there are others that struggle through and make a late season run. Case in point, the 2008 NFC champion Arizona Cardinals made their first ever Super Bowl appearance after finishing the regular season at 9-7. Only one other team, the 1979 Los Angeles Rams, has reached the Super Bowl with a 9-7 record since the NFL went to a 16 game regular season. Week 3 will be the first real test for several teams. This week the 1-1 New England Patriots will host the 2-0 Atlanta Falcons. This is a big game for both teams. The Falcons can prove that they are a legitimate playoff caliber team and that last season was not a fluke. The Patriots are trying to prove that they are still the team to beat after finishing 11-5 and failing to reach the playoffs last year. You can never count out Bill Belichick and the Patriots, but a Falcons win would support the claim that they are a serious Super Bowl contender. Don't forget to turn in your Week 3 entry form by Friday, Sept. 25 at 4:30 p.m. Good luck!
