Celebrity/media NFL picks Week 2

By Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Sept. 17, 2010 | 8:24 p.m.

My father-in-law has a saying.

Well, he has a few of them. But this is neither the time nor space to discuss the origins of such phrases as, "I tried to tell my daughter how much more doctors make than guys who write cheesy football columns, but she wouldn't listen."

Anyway, one of my favorites is simple, yet invariably true.

"You can't fix stupid."

In pro football circles, that translates into, "You can't fix the Cowboys."

America's Team has become the NFL version of America's Funniest Football Videos. Dallas fans are still smarting over losing against Washington on Sunday after a holding penalty negated a would-be game-winning touchdown on the final play, but the game really was lost on the final play of the previous half.

Trailing 3-0, Dallas had the ball on its own 36-yard line with four seconds until the intermission. The best-case scenario would have been for Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to launch a desperation pass. But even if he avoided a pass rush, moved up in the pocket and released the ball at the line of scrimmage, it's still a 64-yard heave to the goal line. Sure, there's an outside chance Washington could be penalized for pass interference, but conventional thinking here is that you just concede the play, take a knee and head to the locker room.

Instead, though, Dallas opted to run a play (first mistake). Romo scrambled around and decided to pitch the ball carelessly out to a running back in the flat (second mistake). This was particularly foolish because a lateral is a live ball. If his target, Tashard Choice, had mishandled the flip, it would have been a fumble, not an incomplete pass.

The good news: the lateral was handled cleanly. The bad news: Surrounded by four Redskins, Tashard made a bad Choice, trying to (third mistake) run through those tacklers and the rest of the defense.

The result: Washington's D'Angelo Hall ripped at the ball, forced a fumble, then scooped it up and ran it in for a ridiculous touchdown. It was the only TD the Redskins scored in the entire game. Dallas lost by six. Ouch.

The burden falls on head coach Wade Phillips, who accepted blame and suggested during the postgame interview that the Cowboys should have just taken a knee and surrendered the chance to run a play before halftime.

The next time the Cowboys are in a similar situation, we'll see if they have learned from their mistake or whether my father-in-law's adage is indeed true. But regardless, this is one game that could haunt Big D all season long.

Sal's picks: 3-0 as Steelers, Lions and Dolphins covered the number. This week, I'll take the Chargers -8 vs. the Jaguars, the Texans-Redskins over 44 and the Saints -4.5 at the 49ers.

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The media/celebrity picks:

Lance Burton, master magician (1-2)

Vikings -5.5 vs. Dolphins

Falcons -6.5 vs. Cardinals

Saints -4.5 at 49ers

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Anthony Crivello, star of "Phantom — Las Vegas Spectacular" (2-1)

Eagles -4 at Lions

Patriots -1 at Jets

Saints -4.5 at 49ers

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Carrot Top, Luxor headliner (2-1)

Falcons -6.5 vs. Cardinals

Chargers -8 vs. Jaguars

Colts -5.5 vs. Giants

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Terry Fator, Mirage headliner (1-2)

Cowboys -8.5 vs. Bears

Patriots -1 at Jets

Steelers +5.5 at Titans

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Brad Garrett, Tropicana headliner (2-1)

Eagles -4 at Lions

Raiders -4 vs. Rams

Colts -5.5 vs. Giants

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Oscar Goodman, mayor of Las Vegas (1-2)

Eagles -4 at Lions

Steelers +5.5 at Titans

Patriots -1 at Jets

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Alicia Jacobs, KVBC entertainment reporter (2-1)

Patriots -1 at Jets

Saints -4.5 at 49ers

Texans -3 at Redskins

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Kevin Janison, KVBC meteorologist (1-1-1)

Titans-Steelers under 37.5

Texans-Redskins over 44

Ravens-Bengals over 40

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Wayne Newton, "Mr. Las Vegas" (1-1-1)

Cardinals +6 .5 at Falcons

Redskins +3 vs. Texans

49ers +4 .5 vs. Saints

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Donny Osmond, Flamingo Las Vegas headliner (1-2)

Chiefs +2 at Browns

Bills +13 at Packers

Steelers +5.5 at Titans

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Lorena Peril, Vocalist, Fantasy at Luxor (2-1)

Eagles -4 at Lions

Patriots -1 at Jets

49ers +4.5 vs. Saints

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Justin Spencer, star of Recycled Percussion at MGM Grand (3-0)

Bengals +2 vs. Ravens

Vikings -5.5 vs. Dolphins

Saints -4.5 at 49ers

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Frank Caliendo's Fantasy Stud of the Week

Aaron Rodgers, Packers

It should be a beautiful day in Mr. Rodgers' neighborhood on Sunday, as Green Bay hosts the overmatched Bills. Look for speedy delivery after speedy delivery from the Packers' quarterback this week. Rodgers could put up numbers that you'd only expect to see in a neighborhood of make believe.

Last week's result: TOUCHDOWN

Tennessee's Chris Johnson rolled up 142 yards and a couple of TDs in his quest to repeat his 2,000-yard campaign of 2009.