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As we head into week 5, we head into our second week of the International Series. This week we are sending the Giants and Packers over to London.

This, like last week, means that our Sunday is getting an early start. So if you are like me and wait until Sunday morning to do your final fantasy/confidence tweaking, remember to set your alarm!

Week 5 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – TAMPA BAY over Atlanta – Brady has been losing…on and off the field…and I’m sure will be looking to take that aggression out on the Falcons.

15 – GREEN BAY over New York Giants (in London) –If the Packers lose this one, Rodgers might hide the passports of a few of his receivers.

14 – JACKSONVILLE over Houston – I really wanted to put the Jags on the 16 point line…just to say that I did it once in my life! My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is THE JAGUARS WILL WIN THE AFC SOUTH.

13 – BUFFALO over Pittsburgh – After 1 ½ games of questions its safe the say the Bills are back. Look for them to dominate this one.

12 – MINNESOTA over Chicago –  The Bears just won’t be able to keep up with the Vikings offensive weapons.

11 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Dallas – Simply put, the Rams need this one.

10 – San Francisco over CAROLINA – At this point the Panthers would be better just playing with 10 guys on offense with no QB.

9 – Tennessee over WASHINGTON – Wow there are a lot of boring matchups this week!

8 – NEW ORLEANS over Seattle – Wow there are a lot of boring matchups this week!

7 – Los Angeles Chargers over CLEVELAND – Wow there are a lot…ok, you get it.

6 – BALTIMORE over Cincinnati – At least our Sunday should end with an exciting matchup from two teams that will be battling for the division this year.

5 – DENVER over Indianapolis – The Colts would have had a chance if Taylor was playing.

4 – KANSAS CITY over Las Vegas – I’m sure most think the Chiefs should be higher (understandably so) but the Raiders have had some luck in KC.

3 – Detroit over NEW ENGLAND – Picking the Lions to win…on the road…feels weird.

2 – NEW YORK JETS over Miami – Yes it’s the Jets, but it’s kind of hard to have confidence in the Dolphins right now, isn’t it?

1 – ARIZONA over Philadelphia – I’m not sold on the Eagles yet.

Just like last couple of weeks with the London games, we have yet another aspect of the NFL schedule starting up this week, this one having a bit more of an effect on a confidence pool– bye weeks!

This can play big in your season long pools. If you have had a solid start and are sitting comfortably towards the top of the standings, you are loving bye weeks as the top numbers aren’t in play! You can’t have 15 and 16 point games where there are only 14 games played in a week!

On the flip side, if you need to make up ground, you need to make sure you hit as many picks as you can in a week.

Lucky for you, you’re reading my picks, so you’re good to go ?

Week 6 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

14 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Carolina – This is obviously less about how good the Rams are doing and more about how God-awful the Panthers are doing.

13 – GREEN BAY over New York Jets – The Jets have definitely made progress this season  - they’re just not at a “win at Lambeau” level yet.

12 – San Francisco over ATLANTA – Jimmy G has the 9ers on a roll that dwindling Falcons can’t keep up with.

11 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Denver – Ah I remember a time not too long ago when everyone laughed at me and brushed me off when I said trading for Russell Wilson was a huge mistake for the Broncos

10 – Cincinnati over NEW ORLEANS – Look for this to be a game where the Bengals start to make their 2022 comeback

9 – SEATTLE over Arizona – The Cardinals have to be counting the seconds at this point for DeAndre Hopkins to come back.

8 – CLEVELAND over New England – Continuously handing the ball to Nick Chubb seems like it would be a solid offensive strategy.

7 – INDIANAPOLIS over Jacksonville – The Jags have the Colts number in Jacksonville…in Indy…not so much.

6 – Tampa Bay over PITTSBURGH – How lucky are the Bucs that they are in the NFC South? My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that even with the slow start, THE BUCS WILL CLINCH THE NFC SOUTH BY WEEK 12

5 – Minnesota over MIAMI – It would be a fun story for Skylar Thompson to come in and beat the Vikings…just won’t happen

4 – Dallas over PHILADELPHIA – …still not sold on the Eagles…

3 – Buffalo over KANSAS CITY – I’ve decided to bite my tongue regarding my thoughts on the city of Kansas City…

2 – NEW  YORK GIANTS over Baltimore – Are…are the Giants for real?

1 – CHICAGO over Washington – Was going to have a Commanders win here until hearing that Carson Wentz’s arm isn’t 100%

Am I the only that thinks this season has had too much of a hint of…mediocrity?

Perhaps it’s just the fact that the national games have just been atrocious (speaking of, buckle up for a prime-time week of NO/ARI, PIT/MIA, and CHI/NE) but there just doesn’t seem to be too many dominant teams this year. Previous perennial powerhouses (3-pointer) like the Packers and Bucs have issues that have bled over to the field – three divisions don’t have a team above .500 –the Eagles are undefeated…but are you putting money on them to win the Super Bowl? Not to mention the fact that BOTH Super Bowl teams from last year are currently 3-3.

Maybe that’s a good thing though. We are at the height of parody this season – nothing wrong with that! Aside from the Bills, who are far and away the best team so far this season, there really isn’t another dominant team. A lot of really good teams for sure, but not too many that you have total confidence in.

So, that being said…let’s show some confidence to 14 teams :)

Week 7 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

14 – NEW ENGLAND over Chicago – If the Bears can’t beat Washington at home…eesh…

13 – CINCINNATI over Atlanta – The Falcons have been a hard team to peg this season. If you want to move this game down your sheet I’d understand…but still take Cincy.

12 – LAS VEGAS over Houston – It starts NOW! My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE 1-4 RAIDERS WILL FINISH WITH DOUBLE DIGIT WINS THIS SEASON.

11 – BALTIMORE over Cleveland – How can you pick against Baltimore now that they have DeSean Jackson?! Oh yeah, by the way, that happened this week.

10 – TENNESSEE over Indianapolis – If there is still no Jonathan Taylor, you could very well put a Titans win on the top line.

9 – ARIZONA over New Orleans – De …   Andre … Hopkins

8 – DALLAS over Detroit – “I’m the better Thanksgiving host!” “No, I’M the better Thanksgiving host!”

7 – MIAMI over Pittsburgh – Yes Miami will get Tua back – but let’s be honest, they’ll win this game because the Dolphins have a better color scheme, right? ;)

6 – Tampa Bay over CAROLINA – I can’t fully express to you just how happy it makes me that Tom Brady vs PJ Walker now looks like more of an even matchup!

5 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Seattle – At the beginning of the season you would have thought this would be on the 14 point line. You can’t underestimate Geno and the boys anymore.

4 – Green Bay over WASHINGTON – Remember what I said about Tom Brady and PJ Walker? Yeah, we’ll rehash that one for Aaron Rodgers and Tyler Heinicke.

3 – New York Giants over JACKSONVILLE – If the season ended today Brian Daboll would be Coach of the Year, right?

2 – SAN FRANCISCO over Kansas City – If the 9ers are able to get a big 4^th quarter lead against the Chiefs, hopefully this time they’ve learned how to keep it.

1 – New York Jets over DENVER – Wonder which Bronco will end up with a mysterious random injury after this loss?

Let me just clear something up really quick –

I recently talked about how much mediocrity there seems to be in the league this season. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel that way – doesn’t really seem like to many teams want to grab that proverbial brass ring.

But in no way does that mean that the quality of the games have taken a hit (well, with the exception of Thursday Night games…and maybe that will change this week). For those like me who are watching the RedZone channel, the period between 2:30 and 3:00 (CST) has been the most exhilarating half-hour stretch of the week.

We may not have many juggernauts, but my goodness we are still getting great football to watch!

Hooray for football!

Week 8 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

15 – BUFFALO over Green Bay – It’s…it’s just fun seeing the Packers on the wrong side of the top line, isn’t it?

14 – DALLAS over Chicago – Back-to back games against the NFC North is a solid additional rehab program for a returning Dak Prescott.

13 – PHILADELPHIA over Pittsburgh – The Eagles defense would have been a lot for Kenny Pickett to deal with BEFORE the addition of Robert Quinn.

12 – JACKSONVILLE over Denver (in London) – Nathaniel Hackett should double check his ticket to London…might very well be a one-way ticket.

11 – MINNESOTA over Arizona – Justin Jefferson…DeAndre Hopkins…take the over.

10 – NEW YORK JETS over New England – Jets fans have been waiting decades for this game.

9 – ATLANTA over Carolina – PJ Walker can’t play Tom Brady EVERY week (…checks notes…is that right?)

8 – Miami over DETROIT – Safe to say that the Hard Knocks hysteria is over.

7 – HOUSTON over Tennessee – This just seems like a game the Texans can squeak out.

6 – Baltimore over TAMPA BAY – Originally a potential Super Bowl preview, now its just a way for the whole country to see Tome Brady’s demise!

5 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over San Francisco – NFC Championship rematch – same place, different feel…but same result.

4 – SEATTLE over New York Giants – Now here is a potential NFC Championship matchup for this year…as we all predicted back in August.

3 – Cincinnati over CLEVELAND – The Bengals seem like they might be getting things together. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that JOE BURROW WILL THROW FOR OVER 450 yards.

2 – Las Vegas over NEW ORLEANS – Road wins against the mediocre are a necessity for the Raiders to get back on track.

1 – Washington over INDIANAPOLIS – Took us eight weeks to get to a Bryce Young Bowl.