Jets New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur wouldn’t say whether the third preseason game — the annual meeting between the Giants and the New York Jets — was a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the regular season. But even if he wouldn’t say it Rhett Ellison Jersey , he sure is acting like he is getting his team ready to play in a regular season game. Shurmur did admit early in the week that the team would be game planning for the Jets. More than any week before a preseason game he has been running “card” practices against scout teams to simulate what they have seen on tape from the Jets. So while Shurmur may not say that this game, and week, has been a dress rehearsal for the regular season, it definitely has that look. Because of that, we have to think that this is the week for players in position battles to step up and make an impression. There is no better time for a player on the fringe of the 53-man roster to prove that he belongs than to show that he can be a contributor in a regular season situation. Can Davis Webb extend his lead over Kyle Lauletta?This wasn’t even considered a real competition before Webb’s bad performance against the Cleveland Browns, but after that it had to be on everyone’s radar. From Lauletta’s perspective, there really isn’t any pressure. The team isn’t going to cut a fourth round quarterback who could be in the running as Eli Manning’s heir. Webb answered critics with a fantastic performance in his start against the Detroit Lions, but he will need to show that he can be consistent and build on that performance this week. He isn’t likely to lose the competition outright, but the Giants would certainly feel better about their quarterback position as a whole and looking toward the future if Webb can be the quarterback he showed himself to be in Detroit. Hunter Sharp needs to stave off Kalif Raymond (and others) Turnovers on special teams can be a backbreaking mistake. So it wasn’t good when Hunter Sharp nearly had two against the Lions. Sharp had a strong spring, propelling him to reps with the starting offense and getting the first crack at the punt and kick returner job. He hasn’t done much with his opportunities as a receiver and has left something to be desired as a returner. Kalif Raymond has been the second option behind Sharp at both returner and receiver. He hasn’t set the world on fire either, but Sharp’s issues with ball security might open the door for Raymond if he can prove dependable. Meanwhile, the Giants’ coaches are beginning to look elsewhere for options beyond Sharp or Raymond. Odell Beckham Jr., Sterling Shepard, Saquon Barkley, and Cody Latimer have all gotten looks as returners, and could be options. The coaching staff likely wouldn’t want to look up the depth chart for a returner, but will if they have to. There is, of course also the waiver wire as well. There are dozens of receivers, running backs, and defensive backs around the league, and Sharp (and Raymond) are in competition with all of them.If Sharp wants to keep the shot at a roster spot he earned with his off-season work, he will need to step up. Can Patrick Omameh be the Giants' best option at right guard?At this point it appears that the battle at center, between Jon Halapio and Brett Jones is all but over. Halapio has gotten the starts and was named the game-day captain against the Lions while Jones saw just 13 snaps in Detroit.But next to him, there might still be competition for the right guard spot. Patrick Omameh hasn’t impressed Cheap Landon Collins Jersey , not distinguishing himself as a run blocker or pass protector. And on the play where Davis Webb was almost sacked for a fumble, Omameh was beaten badly, preventing Webb from avoiding the pressure coming from around Ereck Flowers. John Jerry remains on the team and could be an option at the right guard spot. As well, the coaching staff seems enamored with John Greco, who has gotten snaps at both guard and center, and has played well at both spots. Omameh has a (relatively) large contract — and while it shouldn’t, that DOES matter — but he will need to play well against the Jets to stay ahead of any competition for his job.What can Wayne Gallman do to surpass Jonathan Stewart?At this point it seems unlikely that Saquon Barkley will see the field against the Jets. He returned to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday, but hamstrings can be tricky and there is no need to take a chance in an unpredictable game environment. With Barkley continuing to nurse his hamstring, the question now becomes whether Jonathan Stewart or Wayne Gallman will become the backup running back behind Barkley — and starter for the game. Stewart has the experience and a big contract on his side, but while he has only had 7 carries, he has looked slow and unable to find holes. Gallman, on the other hand, has proven to be an effective — if not especially dynamic — weapon as both a runner and receiver. Stewart has remained the starting back in practice, so it might be that Gallman will need a strong showing against the Jets. Gallman has been one of the Giants’ best offensive players so far this preseason, but he has yet to convince the coaches that he should be handed the ball in most situations when Barkley is being rested — or just to change things up for the opposing defense.We should also watch and see if new addition Jhurell Pressley can make some noise since being added this past week. He has already gotten reps with the starters and his raw athleticism is eye-catching.NFL Week 2 picks, predictions against the spread ... and your live stream [NOTE: Let’s use this as the open thread to discuss Sunday’s games.]It’s easy to overreact to Week 1 in the NFL, but it’s important to not let one game completely alter how we view these teams and the season. However, Week 2 can come with some fairly serious consequences. 2-0 teams typically have a 61 percent chance of making the playoffs while 1-1 teams sit at 41 percent. That drops drastically for 0-2 teams, who are at just 10 percent. Keep that in mind when watching these games this week.Last week’s picks turned out OK, a 9-6-1 record that I’ll take not knowing much about these teams. Week 2 can be even trickier because we think we know something, but often don’t have the full picture yet. Remember these picks are strictly for fun and entertainment purposes and please for your sake do not take these picks as gambling advice. Lines used here come from the Westgate Las Vegas via OddsShark. Home team in CAPS.Baltimore (PK) over CINCINNATIThe best sign of a good team isn’t the ability to beat other good teams, it’s the ability to blow out the bad teams. That’s exactly what the Ravens did to the Bills. Cincinnati had a massive comeback against the Indianapolis Colts, but allowed the Colts to take the lead in the first place. I’ll lean Baltimore here, but I’m not expecting another blowout. It’s the first Thursday night game on short rest Cheap B.J. Hill Jersey , so I’d take the under.[UPDATE: Cincinnati’s 34-23 victory makes this one a loss on the picks ledger.]TENNESSEE (+1.5) over HoustonMarcus Mariota was a full participant in practice Wednesday and his status had held this line from being released in a few places. The Titans lost to the Miami Dolphins in one of the strangest games of the season with hours worth of delays due to weather. Houston and Tennessee are probably pretty close to even — they’re 13th and 18th in Football Outsiders’ DAVE, which combines Week 1 results and preseason projections this early in the season — so let’s go with the home team getting points. [UPDATE: with Marcus Mariota likely out for the Titans, I’m changing this pick to Texans -1.5]GREEN BAY (PK) over MinnesotaAaron Rodgers is unreal and he probably shouldn’t be bet against. Strangely, Rodgers’s knee injury against the Chicago Bears allowed the Packers to stay in a quick rhythm offense that moved the ball. It took away from Rodgers running around and doing typical Rodgers stuff, but he still did some crazy Rodgers stuff from the pocket on one leg. Minnesota might be the slightly better team — sixth in DAVE to Green Bay’s eighth — but the Packers are at home, which makes it more even.NEW ORLEANS (-8.5) over ClevelandThe shootout between New Orleans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was easily the most surprising result of Week 1. While there’s going to be a lot of people thinking the Saints were overrated because of it, they should also remember the team scored 40 points in that game, Drew Brees had 9.8 yards per attempt, Alvin Kamara had over 100 receiving yards, and Michael Thomas was uncoverable. Cleveland, meanwhile, couldn’t win a game with a plus-5 turnover ratio. It’s hard to trust the Browns coaching staff to overcome what’s probably going to be a high scoring game — at least on one side.Carolina (+6) over ATLANTAIn the past week, the Falcons lost Keanu Neal for the season during the game against the Eagles and lost Deion Jones seemingly out of nowhere. Those are two massively important pieces to an Atlanta defense that was only 22nd in yards allowed per drive last season. Those two guys are the speed in the middle of the defense that cover up for some mistakes. Carolina’s offense didn’t look great against Dallas, but this game should see all of the Christian McCaffrey touches and if that’s the case, the Falcons might not be able to do anything about it. The Falcons might have to rely even more on the offense and while that might work against some other defenses, the Panthers’ D is too good to get into a shootout.WASHINGTON (-6) over IndianapolisThe Washington offense was in a groove against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. It was Alex Smith throwing short passes — the shortest of the week by a significant margin — Adrian Peterson running like a modern running back, and Chris Thompson already returning to form. Indianapolis really doesn’t have anyone on defense that should be able to stop that. Andrew Luck played well in his return, but like his other Colts seasons, he might have to play against his teammates as well as his opponents. PHILADELPHIA (-3.5) over Tampa BayNo team that won in Week 1 had a quarterback play worse than Nick Foles. He became the first quarterback to win a game with at least 30 passes below 3.5 yards per attempt. We can assume he’ll play a little better this week. The interesting thing about the surprising Tampa Bay win is the Buccaneers still only came out 21st in Football Outsiders’ VOA (no opponent adjustments), which only takes Week 1 into account, because the defense (and special teams) was so bad. We know a Ryan Fitzpatrick-led offense won’t consistently be that good, but there’s less evidence to prove the defense, which finished 32nd in DVOA last season, won’t consistently be that bad.Kansas City (+4) over PITTSBURGHThe Steelers laid their annual egg on the road and came out with a tie. They still came out of the game 12th in VOA and first in DAVE. Pittsburgh finished sixth in VOA on defense in Week 1 and the question will be if they have anyone who can prevent Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill from connecting deep. If they don’t this might be a high scoring game because the Chiefs’ defense could be one of the league’s worst units. If that’s the case Cheap Dalvin Tomlinson Jersey , let’s take the points in that scenario.JETS (-3) over MiamiIt’s strange to say about a game that started off with a pick-6 on the first throw, but everything went right for the Jets against the Lions on Monday night. The defense dominated and the offense was often put in great starting field position with not a lot of pressure. Miami was the winner of the storm game, but it feels like we’ll learn a lot more about these teams in Week 2 than we did in Week 1. Chargers (-7.5) over BUFFALOThere’s a point where I would start to think about no picking the Chargers here, but 7.5 ain’t it. Buffalo completely collapsed in Week 1. The offense being bad wasn’t surprising, but allowing the Ravens to tear through the defense was. The Chargers had the top offense in Week 1 by VOA, so the matchup isn’t going to get any easier. Josh Allen might not be Nathan Peterman bad, but the lack of talent on the offense isn’t really set up to help any quarterback, especially a raw rookie.SAN FRANCISCO (-6) over DetroitThe 49ers really struggled against the Vikings, even more than the eight-point differential would indicate. But they didn’t struggle nearly as much as the Lions. The Detroit defense looks like a unit that can be outschemed and that’s not what you want going against Kyle Shanahan. San Francisco might not be the sleeper team many though, but the Niners at least look to be better than the Lions.RAMS (-12.5) over ArizonaArizona really didn’t show up against Washington and the parts you would have expected to, like David Johnson, had disappointing usage. It’s going to be a bit of a transition here, especially on defense. This was a team built for James Bettcher that hired a head coach with a vastly different defensive philosophy. A defense in transition is not what you want to run against the Rams — just ask Jon Gruden.DENVER (-6) over OaklandLast week, we talked about the Denver altitude being a big factor in early season games. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll admitted after Week 1 that it had an impact on a few of Seattle’s players. That’s going to come into play again this week and against a worse team.New England (-1) over JACKSONVILLEThis is a rematch just about everyone should want to see. The Jaguars probably would have won the AFC Championship Game if they continued being aggressive throughout the second half, but they sat back and allowed the Patriots to do Patriots things. With Leonard Fournette not 100 percent, it might cause Jacksonville to be a little more aggressive throughout the game, which would be to their benefit. But until further notice, always pick the Pats is not a bad strategy to have.Giants (+3) over DALLASNeither one of these teams played particularly well in Week 1 and this Sunday night game might not be pretty. By VOA after Week 1, the Giants are ahead of the Cowboys (19th to 24th), but by DAVE these two teams aren’t close (ninth for Dallas, 31st for the Giants). The truth is probably somewhere in the middle and there’s really no result on Sunday night that should come as a surprise.CHICAGO (-3.5) over SeattleThe Seahawks have played a dangerous game with the blocking in front of Russell Wilson for the past few seasons. This might be the week when it really becomes a problem. Khalil Mack had himself a day against the Packers and lined up against the right tackle on all of his pass rushing snaps — watch them here. Seattle’s right tackle is Germain Ifedi, who has yet to develop as a former first-round pick. It’s hard to see that working out for a Seattle offense that’s already down Doug Baldwin, regardless of how superhuman Wilson can be at times.Last week: 9-6-1Season: 9-6-1