After three weeks, I’m 25-23, which puts me above .500. That’s something many NFL fans in places such as New Orleans and St. Louis would be glad to claim right now. Here goes this week’s selections and since the season’s beginning to take shape, it’s easier to make sound decisions, but to quote the illustrious Chris Berman, “that’s why they play the game.” The NFL, in the words of Plucky Duck on “Tiny Toon Adventures” is to “expect the unexpected,” so here goes.

Houston vs. Atlanta: Believe me, Falcons owner Arthur Blank (the founder of Home Depot) is kicking himself for a gaffe which brings Matt Schaub back to the ATL as the quarterback of the now solid Houston Texans. Back in April, he made a theoretical pact with the devil to trade up in the draft with the Texans and he gave Houston coach Gary Kubiak the athletic Schaub. After Michael Vick’s dogfighting binge removed him from the field, he picked up Joey Harrington off the scrap heap. Nevertheless, since I’m a statistician, here’s a few key stats to surmise the quandary in Atlanta. For the Texans: Schaub, (63-83, that’s 76 percent on his completions, 688 yards, 4 TD’s, 3 INT’s). As for the Falcons: Harrington, (66-96, a respectable 69 percent on his completions, 760 yards, 2 TD’s, 2 INT’s). While Joey has done better than expected, the truth of the matter is the Falcons are 0-3 and the Texans have won two of their three ballgames. At the Georgia Dome, Schaub will show Atlanta management that they made the wrong call and while Harrington will hold his own, Atlanta’s a trainwreck right now. Call the final, Texans 34 Falcons 23

Baltimore vs. Cleveland: The Ravens, when they don’t turn the ball over six times, are among the NFL’s elite teams. The media has fallen in love with the Patriots and the Colts are the defending champions, but Baltimore quietly hangs around, ready to pounce on any unsuspecting opponents. The Browns quenched all their positive momentum when they dropped a game to the Raiders last Sunday, and inviting the Ravens into Cleveland Browns Stadium isn’t the way to get anything going. The Ravens, even under Kyle Boller who has spelled injured starting QB Steve McNair from time to time have made strides offensively as they were able to outscore the explosive Cardinals when push came to shove last Sunday. This time around, I expect Baltimore to control the game on the ground as tailback Willis McGahee (66 rushes, 272 yards this season) should break out. Call it Ravens 34 Browns 10

Chicago vs. Detroit: The Bears are a mess. Anyone who endured the final moments of their collapse against the Cowboys should be esteemed as an individual with patience comparable to Job. Rex Grossman was abysmal and his receivers weren’t much better. Even when you have a defense as stout as Chicago’s, if you don’t support them, things will eventually unravel and the downfall will be swift. The Lions, on the other hand are a team that is still learning how to win consistently and much like other teams on the rise such as the Cardinals, there will be growing pains. With that said, Detroit realizes the significance of this game as they welcome the Bears into Ford Field and by the final gun can have a two-game lead on them if they win. Jon Kitna is good enough to beat the Bears’ secondary downfield consistently especially since CB Nathan Vasher is a bit hobbled and may not play because of a groin injury incurred against Dallas. Again, I’ll pick the Lions because even if your defense is really good, you must score and obviously, Chicago can’t. Call the final Lions 23 Bears 10

New York Jets vs. Buffalo: The victory over the Dolphins was huge for the Jets last Sunday, and they have a chance to go into Buffalo and win their second straight contest because of J.P. Losman’s knee injury sustained against New England a week ago. Thus, Buffalo is left with recently-signed veteran Craig Nall and rookie Trent Edwards, not necessarily a propitious set of circumstances. The Jets, meanwhile, are not getting eye-popping stats from Chad Pennington, but hey are receiving efficient performances from the former Marshall star. With all of this said, I’ll go with the Jets in a 24-17 win.

Oakland vs. Miami: If the Dolphins lose this game, it’s officially time for John Beck to replace Trent Green and for Cam Cameron to see what he’s got. Miami showed great heart in coming back against the Jets before falling, 31-28, but with a team infested with similar problems coming to south Florida, the Dolphins must capitalize on their home crowd and run Oakland out of the building. An intriguing subplot is perhaps Daunte Culpepper will be the Raiders’ quarterback, only a year after suffering through an injury-ravaged season in Miami. I expect Chris Chambers to step up for Miami and catch the winning TD pass from Green in a 23-20 thriller.

Green Bay vs. Minnesota: How the Packers are 3-0 really defies logic because they don’t have a running game. Nevertheless, Brett Favre and the defense deserve numerous plaudits for outgutting the Chargers last Sunday. This time, the Vikings are sneaking around in the bushes and ready to strike against a team that still isn’t as good as their record. Yes, Favre will break Dan Marino’s touchdown passes record by getting his 421st, but behind the strong running of Adrian Peterson and an underrated defense, the Vikes will win in a tight one. Call the final Vikings 20 Packers 17.

St. Louis vs. Dallas: Things just keep getting worse for the Rams with every passing week as they travel to the “Big D” without the services of tailback Steven Jackson. Meanwhile, the Cowboys, not necessarily known for offense traditionally, have amassed 116 points in the first three weeks of the season, the most of anyone since the Rams did so themselves in 1999 (their Super Bowl-winning campaign). I still think the Eagles and Redskins are better in the NFC East, and I can easily see the Cowboys coming into this game with a sense of arrogance. I lack the courage to pick the Rams only because of the injury to Jackson, but it will be closer than many think. Former University of Arizona kicker Nick Folk will save the day for Dallas, however with a 46-yard field goal as the Cowboys survive, 27-24.

Pittsburgh vs. Arizona: This is reunion week in the NFL, as much like Schaub to Atlanta, and Culpepper to Miami, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and his offensive line coach, Russ Grimm, welcome their former Steelers players to Maricopa County. Traditionally, despite their less than stellar past, the Cardinals have always played the Steelers tough. With Whisenhunt and Grimm so swiftly removed from the Steel City, things should be no different in this one. The Cards played well enough to win against the Ravens, but they couldn’t stop Boller in the clutch when they had to as he led Baltimore downfield for the winning field goal by Matt Stover as time expired. This time, the roles will be reversed as I expect Matt Leinart to respond positively after his benching by throwing for 250 yards and three scores against a solid Pittsburgh defense. Neil Rackers will win his second game in three weeks with a field goal as Arizona pulls off the “shocker” of the day with a 31-28 victory over the previously unbeaten Steelers.

Tampa Bay vs. Carolina: In the offseason, the NFC South was expected to be won by the Saints while the Bucs and Panthers would labor in the backwater amidst frustration and disappointment. This just goes to show how hard it is to handicap the NFL. Panthers QB Jake Delhomme may not play against the Buccaneers after getting hurt against the Falcons, so backup David Carr needs to be ready if called upon. The Buccaneers have experienced a resurgence under QB Jeff Garcia as after looking uninspired in a Week 1 loss to the Seahawks, they’ve played as well as anyone else in the NFL. Home field belongs to the Panthers, but “Chuckie” (Bucs coach Jon Gruden) has some surprises cooked up for his divisonal rivals and the resurgent Joey Galloway will burn the Panthers secondary for a key score late in the game. Call the final, Buccaneers 28 Panthers 24

Seattle vs. San Francisco: The true 49ers are the team we saw over the weekend at Pittsburgh. When they play a team that can force turnovers and score, San Francisco is haplessly overmatched. The bad news for ‘Niners fans this week is the Seahawks are even better than the Steelers. Although former NFL MVP Shaun Alexander has a broken bone in his wrist, he’ll continue to strike fear into the hearts of San Francisco defenders, and a healthy Matt Hasselbeck at QB is one of the best gifts an NFL team can have. Thus, Seattle, which found its stride against Cincinnati is ready to progress toward an NFC West title while San Francisco will discover that while having a solid defense is nice, it’s expedient to score consistently in the modern-day NFL. Call the final Seahawks 38 49ers 20

Kansas City vs. San Diego: Much like the New Orleans Saints, the San Diego Chargers were preseason darlings and with a solid defense, the premiere tailback in the NFL in LaDainian Tomlinson and a great tight end in Antonio Gates, who could legitimately doubt the ‘Bolts? As they learned the hard way, games are won on the football field, not in the press box. The argument engaged in between Tomlinson and QB Philip Rivers on the sidelines at Green Bay, Wis. last week was a major red flag and the Chargers know that they must swiftly pick up the pieces and salvage the season before it’s too late. Thankfully, they invite the punchless Chiefs into Qualcomm Stadium this weekend, so while the offense will be challenged they may be able to force some key turnovers against the sketchy offense of the Chiefs. In a low-scoring game, I’ll give the Chargers a nod in a 21-12 win.

Denver vs. Indianapolis: The Broncos were outclassed by the Jaguars. Since I’m a fan, it pains me a great deal to say this, but thankfully for the Broncs (and for me), the Chargers’ meltdown enabled them to maintain the divisional lead. The defense has been lights out surrendering only 254.3 yards per game and a respectable 19 points. The Colts, of course, present a different challenge and if the Broncos are to win amidst a raucous environment in Indianapolis, they must for all intents and purposes play a perfect game. The key, as always for the Broncos, is to outrush their opponents as the effective running of Travis Henry will enable Jay Cutler to find dangerous receivers such as Javon Walker and Brandon Marshall for big plays. While the Colts’ defense is also much improved from last season, offense is still their calling card as they average 31 points and 398 yards per contest. I think the Broncos come out motivated enough to steal this one however as they outgun the Colts, 38-34 in a shootout. Champ Bailey will make a big play against Peyton Manning to win. That’s a noteworthy occurrence for all we Broncos fans and I like Champ’s chances.

Philadelphia vs. New York Giants: The Eagles are soaring high once again and even amidst an NFL full of parity and consistent change, you can count on Philadelphia to have a solid team which refuses to quit and even when gashed comes back in excellence. The latest example of this was the 56-21 shellacking of the Lions last Sunday. Donovan McNabb, after throwing for 381 yards and four touchdowns against Detroit has found his stride again and the Giants will have a difficult time containing him. Eli Manning was also vastly improved in a surprising victory over the Redskins but I’ve followed the NFL for far too long to think that the Eagles are going to fold. As McNabb continues his recent string of excellence, I like Philadelphia in a 35-28 victory.

New England vs. Cincinnati: This is a dangerous game for the Pats and this is why: they’ve not yet been challenged this season. Easy victories over the cheated-upon Jets, the unmotivated Chargers and the banged-up Bills have not prepared them for a team as opportunistic as the Bengals. While Cincinnati stunk it up against the Browns two weeks ago, the Bengals played well enough to win against the Seahawks but costly turnovers turned the tide. Nevertheless, even as a Broncos’ loss to Jacksonville will prepare them for the powerful Colts, the Bengals’ lumps against the solid Seahawks will help them beat the Patriots. Carson Palmer can outgun Tom Brady any day and to the tune of 425 yards, (that would give him almost 1,400 for the season) and five passing touchdowns, his guidance will lead Cincy over New England in a 38-30 win.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) may get new life in a bipartisan coalition of Senate and House leaders. Sen. Orrin Hatch said that Congress on Friday worked out an agreement to fund $35-billion to the program. Hatch said that he agrees with Pres. Bush concerning CHIP becoming a government-run health program but he hopes with the compromise, the program will be more of a benefit to uninsured children. Hatch said the difference between new legislation and old version is that the new bill will specifically target the lowest-income uninsured American children for outreach and enrollment. The agreement does NOT call for CHIP coverage for children in families in higher income levels and it reduces Federal matching funds for future coverage of children at higher income levels. Hatch also said that CHIP coverage of childless adults and parents will be phased out to maintain the program’s focus on kids.