Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

We’re winding down the regular season. For most fantasy football leagues, playoffs start off this week. You could say the same about the confidence pools as well. While there is no set tournament format, those that are just a few points away from the top spot are running out of time to make their move.

So let’s get the final push started off on the right foot!

WEEK 14 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – GREEN BAY over Atlanta – The Packers are rolling. Atlanta is coming off of a big home win against the Cardinals, but they won’t have nearly enough to do the same this week.

15 – DETROIT over Tampa Bay – The Lions looked to be back in sync on Thanksgiving. A game against the Bucs is always a good way to fine-tune any and all kinks in the system.

14 – DENVER over Buffalo – Denver showed last week that they are not going to just let the Patriots take the top spot in the AFC. Buffalo is right on the cusp of a playoff spot but they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

13 – MINNESOTA over New York Jets – Teddy Bridgewater looks to be making a small turn around the corner now. Lucky for him the Jets come to town. The Vikings defense has been playing well as of late which gives me confidence to say that my BOLD PREDICTION this week is that Geno Smith will have a second consecutive sub-100 yard passing day.

12 – NEW ORLEANS over Carolina – The NFC South is one of the most wide open divisions in the league. The Panthers keep showing that they want to just close their door.

11 – Houston over JACKSONVILLE – Ryan Fitzpatrick made coaches realize that he deserves the starting job he started the season with after six touchdowns last week. The Texans should have no issues helping the Jags make their claim for the number one pick in the draft.

10 – TENNESSEE over New York Giants – The Giants have shown some signs of life this year, but not on the road.

9 – CINCINNATI over Pittsburgh – The Steelers have been an up and down team this season. Seems like they are on the downward slope right now.

8 – WASHINGTON over St Louis – Ugh…

7 – San Francisco over OAKLAND – Well the Raiders were brought back down to Earth pretty quickly after a 52-0 drubbing at the hands of the Rams. San Francisco hasn’t been themselves this year, but at least they get the equivalent of a second bye week this week.

6 – Indianapolis over CLEVELAND – If the Browns decided to go with Johnny Manziel this week then they would have deserved to be sitting home during the playoffs. They at least have a chance with Brian Hoyer this week, but not a very good one.

5 – Dallas over CHICAGO – The week starts on the lakefront with two teams playing in their second consecutive Thursday game. Both teams were embarrassed last week. The Cowboys seem like the team to be able to rebound better.

4 – PHILADELPHIA over Seattle – Clash of the Titans this week with the Eagles offense going up against the Seahawks defense. Offense wins games and defense wins championships…lucky for the Eagles this one is just a game!

3 – MIAMI over Baltimore –Two more AFC teams trying to put some separation in the cluttered wild card picture. The Dolphins should just be lucky that this game is played in Florida and not Baltimore.

2 - 05B5259097     ARIZONA over Kansas City – The Cardinals, and Drew Stanton in particular, need to win this game to show that they are still contenders in the NFC. They should be able to squeak out a win.

1 – SAN DIEGO over New England – This one is a toss-up. Both teams have been playing great recently. I’m Giving the nod to the Chargers simply because it’s a home game that the Pats have to travel cross-country for.

We’re getting down to the wire!

Teams are playing for their playoff lives, teams are starting to consider benching players to rest them for the playoffs, and some are making roster changes to start looking towards the future. All of these factors need to be kept in mind when making picks from here on out.

So let’s get to it!

WEEK 15! HERE WE GO!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – BALTIMORE over Jacksonville – The Jags just lost their biggest offensive weapon, Denard Robinson, for the year. The number one pick in the draft may now be theirs, and this week starts that road to being “on the clock”.

15 – NEW ENGLAND over Miami – I picked the Dolphins to beat the Pats in week 1 and said that this would be the beginning of the end of the New England dynasty. Won’t make that mistake twice!

14 – DETROIT over Minnesota – Teddy Bridgewater has shown signs of life the last few weeks. The Lions give the kid a test this week that he just may not have enough experience to pass.

13 – SEATTLE over San Francisco – The Seahawks seem to be getting back on the tracks that the 9ers seem to be running off of.

12 – INDIANAPOLIS over Houston – Houston is a consistent quarterback away from this being one of the top rivalries in the league for years to come. They’re not there yet and the Colts should be able run away with this one.

11 – KANSAS CITY over Oakland – It was just a couple weeks ago that the Raiders held on and beat the Chiefs for their first win of the season. The Chiefs haven’t forgotten that night.

10 – Pittsburgh over ATLANTA – The Steelers are going to go as far as Le’Veon Bell will take them – and this week that could be pretty far.

9 – CAROLINA over Tampa Bay – This game would be a little higher if not for Cam Newton’s car accident but the Panthers should still be able to handle the Bucs and stay alive in the lowly NFC South.

8 – Green Bay over BUFFALO – Green Bay almost let one get away last week against the Falcons. We’ll see this week if the Pack have learned from their mistakes… my money’s on yes!

7 – TENNESSEE over New York Jets – Second straight week the Titans host a team from New York. Lucky for them the AFC version has a lot less talent.

6 – Denver over SAN DIEGO – If the Chargers want to keep their AFC West hopes alive, they need this game. Don’t think they’ll get it and it may end up being the start of the fall out of the playoffs all together.

5 – Dallas over PHILADELPHIA – Dallas is desperate. They were blown out at home against these Eagles on Thanksgiving. That and the fact that their division title hopes are fading should be enough to fuel them to a big road win.

4 – New Orleans over CHICAGO – The week ends with what surely seemed like a solid battle of two NFC contenders…before the season started. Tony Romo dissected the Bears defense last week so what do you think Drew Brees can do?

3 – Cincinnati over CLEVELAND – Johnny Manziel is going to have to win a game before I even think of predicting him to win a game. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that Johnny Manziel will NOT be the starting quarterback for the Browns week 1 of next season.

2 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Washington – The NFC East’s other teams meet up because the schedule says they still have to. The Giants are the home team so they get to win.

1 – ST. LOUIS over Arizona – Week 15 kicks off with a battle in the NFC West. The Rams have being pretty solid lately and should be able to pull off the big upset.

13 out of 16 games correct last week is a great way to start the final stretch of the confidence pool season. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Week 16! HERE WE GO!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – New England over NEW YORK JETS – In a week where road favorites dominate, none can give you more confidence than the Pats taking care of their lowly rivals.

15 – MIAMI over Minnesota – The Vikings, namely Teddy Bridgewater, are starting to show signs of life. But the Dolphins are still fighting for their playoff lives and won’t let this win get by them.

14 – Green Bay over TAMPA BAY – Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have a lot of frustrations to take out on the Bucs this week if they want to prove they are still the team to beat.

13 – ST. LOUIS over New York Giants – The Rams have shown signs of life, which is a lot more than can be said for the Giants this year.

12 – Philadelphia over WASHINGTON – RGIII is back under center…which makes it easy to put the Eagles on a line this high on the road.

11 – CAROLINA over Cleveland – Carolina has been a disappointment this year. Lucky for them the Browns decided to end all playoff hopes when they decided to go with Johnny Manziel.

10 – PITTSBURGH over Kansas City – The Steelers are quietly becoming a team to keep an eye on in the AFC. If they can contain Jamaal Charles they should cruise in this one.

9 – NEW ORLEANS over Atlanta – A big divisional game against two bad teams. It’s in New Orleans so it’s pretty easy to pick the Saints here.

8 – DALLAS over Indianapolis – Dallas showed that they are still a contender with a big win in Philly last week. That should give them the needed momentum in this big inter-conference game.

7 – JACKSONVILLE over Tennessee – The Jags have proven to be the lesser of two evils here. Playing at home with about 3,600 screaming fans behind them should help.

6 – Detroit over CHICAGO – I immediately bumped this game up a few lines with the Bears’ quarterback change news. Hopefully for them it’s the start of the process of getting Jay Cutler out of Halas Hall. This week's BOLD PREDICTION is that Jay Cutler will NOT be the quarterback of the Chicago Bears week 1 next season.

5 – ARIZONA over Seattle – The Seahawks have started to climb back into the playoff picture the last few weeks. However the Cardinals have been able to maintain their stance on the NFC lead even with injury issues.

4 – Buffalo over OAKLAND – This could be closer than some think, but the Bills should still be able to pull out the road win.

3 – Baltimore over HOUSTON –Houston is still fighting with their slim chances left but the Ravens are just playing too good now.

2 – San Diego over SAN FRANCISCO – The Chargers head up the coast line and should be able to aid in Jim Harbaugh’s eventual relocation to Oakland…or Chicago…or Ann Arbor…or…

1 – CINCINNATI over Denver – I think the Bengals can pull this out, but their inability to perform on the big stage gives me a lot of trepidation.

A just above .500 week last week takes us to the final week of the season!

We’ve had a solid year and I’m sure you’re sad to see it go – just like I am!

But we’re not done just yet! We have one more week to make that final push to win your season long pool. I hope I have helped you out this year! If so, please contact me and I’ll let you know how to send me my cut from your winnings! ;) Just kidding!

Happy Holidays everyone!!

WEEK 17!! HERE WE GO!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – DENVER over Oakland – The Raiders are on the cusp of turning the corner…they’ll just have one more Bronco beat-down to take before another off-season of change. This may be nothing more than a hopeful fan, but my BOLD PREDICTION to end 2014 is that the Raiders will have a .500 or better record in 2015.

15 – MIAMI over New York Jets – Miami had one of the more surprising seasons in the league this year and should have no problem ending it with an exclamation point and send Rex Ryan to the unemployment line.

14 – SEATTLE over St. Louis – No team has risen to the top faster than the defending champs. After a start that had some, including me, questioning their playoff chances, they should be able to lock up home field advantage with a win this week.

13 – NEW ENGLAND over Buffalo – In the first few weeks of the season I predicted that the Bills would make the playoffs and the Patriots dynasty was done…well this game should pretty much sum up how wrong I was on both fronts.

12 – Indianapolis over TENNESSEE – The Colts need to get things back in order before the playoffs start. Look for them to take out some aggression on the lowly Titans.

11 – BALTIMORE over Cleveland – The Ravens still have a chance to make the playoffs this year and should be able to do their part and beat the Johnny Football-less Browns.

10 – New Orleans over TAMPA BAY – Don’t worry Bucs’ fans! After that pesky little Super Bowl thing is over, YOU will be the NFL’s #1! … in the draft. You are now on the clock.

9 – MINNESOTA over Chicago – Teddy Bridgewater has shown that he could be a top quarterback in this league sooner rather than later. This week he will learn about how NOT to be an NFL quarterback as Jay Cutler is back under center for the Bears.

8 – GREEN BAY over Detroit – The NFC North comes down to this. A first round bye and a home playoff game is likely on the line. There aren’t too many teams that I have more faith in when playing at home than the Packers right now.

7 – HOUSTON over Jacksonville – Houston is still fighting for their playoff lives. They need help that I don’t think they’ll get but they still should be able to do their part.

6 – PITTSBURGH over Cincinnati – The best division in football this year comes down to week 17 where the Steelers, who have been one of the hottest teams to end the year, should be able to take care of a Bengals team that still seems to have some problems winning a big game.

5 – Dallas over WASHINGTON – The Cowboys should be able to put the 2014 Redskins out of their misery and usher them to the off-season quickly and quietly.

4 – ATLANTA over Carolina – The NFC South champion and 7-win play-off team will be decided here…that’s really all the effort this game deserves.

3 – KANSAS CITY over San Diego – The Chargers hold their play-off destiny in their hands. Unfortunately that destiny is in Arrowhead right now – not a place you want to HAVE to win a game.

2 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Philadelphia – The Eagles were prime to make a run to the Super Bowl, they just ran out of gas a few weeks too soon.

1 – SAN FRANCISCO over Arizona – Congrats Jim! Now wave good-bye – we’ll see you next year in Ann Arbor.