We are going into week 3, and most teams are going to start and find their rhythms, grooves or what have you. The coming weeks will definitely get easier for picking the right games to put safe action on. You still want to be conservative in the first quarter of the season with your picks, but it's definitely a great time to see how and where teams are trending. As far as shaking off early season rust, I apologize for my misleading information last week, stating that Minnesota was at home instead of Green Bay and giving out wrong moneylines. So much for the new phone app. Hey, I'll admit it if I state something wrong, but you'll just have to live with my advice... no apologies there.
NICK'S PICKS:
BUF -6 The Bills will be at home against a very bad Bengals defense. Buffalo's ground game may not be as explosive without injured rookie RB Devin Singletary, but Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon should be solid enough against Cincinnati's 25th ranked defense. Besides, I heard the Bills have this guy named Josh Allen that's pretty good. This game might not be a massacre like some are predicting, but I do think a victory by 7 points is definitely within reason.
DAL -22.5 Dallas has Ezekiel Elliot, Dak Prescott, a good defense and home field advantage. Miami has, well... nothing. The Cowboys have scored the second most amount of points in the league so far, at an average of 33.0 per game. It would be very safe to say the Dolphins defense won't be bringing anything but a physical comedy routine. I'm usually not a fan of very high spreads, however, this is the year that anti-Miami = money.
ARI -2.5 Cam Newton is banged up for the Panthers and may not play this Sunday against Arizona. I feel it doesn't matter if backup Kyle Allen gets the start over Cam, as the Cardinals and Kyler Murray get their first win of the season. The Cardinals are at home and Carolina has to play across the country(in the desert) which gives Arizona some edge points for their half of my game algorithm(the one that operates inside my head anyway). A field goal win isn't a lot to ask for in this one. BTW, someone has to tell Larry Fitzgerald that "I want in!", on that fountain of youth discovery.
TB -6 Benching QB Eli Manning for backup Daniel Jones won't help the Giants in any game category, other than rushing attempts/ yards by a quarterback. As far as I could tell, New York's O-line has had pass protection issues and the receiving core collectively greases their gloves before game-time. Tampa Bay isn't a team I would fear but their main receivers(Mike Evans and Chris Godwin) are the real deal. QB Jameis Winston will also click for gainful production this game with TE O.J. Howard. The Giants have the 28th ranked defense, which is another factor forcing me to pry open my wallet. Damn you G-Men... or not.
Season Record: 1-2 33.3%
NICK'S NIX PICKS(stay away from these games if you like your $$$):
(BAL +5.5 / KC -5.5), (HOU +3 / LAC -3), (LAR -3 / CLE +3), (CHI -4 / WAS +4)
NICK'S ULTRA MONEYLINE PARLAY PICKS:
(BUF -254 / GB -356 / MIN -424), (TB -261 / SEA -224 / SF -278)
CON-MAN CONFIDENCE(you can't get what I'm selling anywhere else):
W L
DAL - 16 - MIA
NEP - 15 - NYJ
BUF - 14 - CIN
MIN - 13 - OAK
TBB - 12 - NYG
SEA - 11 - NOS
ARI - 10 - CAR
GB - 9 - DEN
ATL - 8 - IND
TEN - 7(lost on TNF) - JAX
SF - 6 - PIT
LAR - 5 - CLE
HOU - 4 - LAC
PHI - 3 - DET
CHI - 2 - WAS
KC - 1 - BAL
