Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

We have hit double digits in weeks now – week 10!

Playoff contenders are starting to take shape and where you stand in your pool should be taking shape as well. Let’s make sure we continue strengthening our lock on that top spot.

Week 10 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

14 – CINCINNATI over Houston – The week ends with what will probably be a Monday Night yawner. Bengals easily remain undefeated.

13 – GREEN BAY over Detroit – The Packers are on a bit of a slide…but that “slide” was against two undefeated teams. They’re playing pretty much the opposite this week hosting the Lions.

12 – Carolina over TENNESSEE – We saw some signs of life last week from the Titans under their new coaching regime – but that wasn’t against the Panthers.

11 – PITTSBURGH over Cleveland – Ben Roethlisberger is on the shelf once again. As long as Landry Jones realizes that Antonio Brown is also on the field, the Steelers should be just fine against the Browns.

10 – PHILADELPHIA over Miami – Once again the Dolphins are not playing a team destined for the top 10 of the draft. Pretty easy to pick against them.

9 – New England over NEW YORK GIANTS – The Giants are pretty familiar with handing the Patriots their first loss. This, however, is not a Super Bowl Giants team.

8 – DENVER over Kansas City – After literally handing the Broncos a win earlier in the season, the Chiefs will be out for a sense of retribution. Unfortunately for them they have a much worse team than they did in the first game.

7 – ST LOUIS over Chicago – The Bears have been showing some signs of life as of late. The Rams have the defense to slow that role down though.

6 – OAKLAND over Minnesota – I actually read a story giving Derek Carr a bit of MVP credibility. How he bounces back against close loses like last week will test that hypothesis.

5 – NEW YORK JETS over Buffalo – Rex Ryan returns to MetLife Stadium and does so with a captain that knocked out the Jets quarterback. The Jets will be amped for this one.

4 – SEATTLE over Arizona – Seattle will be holding on to whatever chance of winning the division they have this week and should be able to squeak out the win against division-leading Arizona.

3 – TAMPA BAY over Dallas – Does anybody else feel as odd as I do saying that the Cowboys need Tony Romo as much as they do?

2 – WASHINGTON over New Orleans – Drew Brees has brought spark back to the Saints offense to make them exciting to watch again. I don’t expect that to happen here, so this game just won’t be exciting.

1 - Jacksonville over BALTIMORE – Normally I would just say that if you pick the Jags to win a road game, they should be on the one point line. But along with that, with how wide open the Colts have left the division door open, my BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE JAGUARS WILL WIN THE AFC SOUTH.

Well, after last week, now seems like a good time to go over another feature of the concept of the confidence pool. A lot of times pools will have a feature where, in an effort to weed out a fluke bad week, the lowest score of your season will be thrown out and not counted towards your final season score. Let’s just hope that your pool includes that feature.

That’s all we need to say about week 10, time to move on!

Week 11 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

14 – NEW ENGLAND over Buffalo – Some say that the Patriots cleared their biggest hurdle on their way to a 16-0 season. Hard to argue that one.

13 – CAROLINA over Washington – The Redskins get to play an undefeated team for their second straight road game. Pretty sure this will turn out as “close” as it did in Foxboro a couple weeks ago.

12 – ATLANTA over Indianapolis – Atlanta got an extra week to prepare for an Andrew Luck-less Colts team. They probably didn’t need it, but they got it!

11 – SEATTLE over San Francisco – Just a couple years ago these two teams were competing for the top spot in the West…now they battle to stay out of the cellar. At least the Seahawks still look like they know what they’re doing on the field…at times.

10 – SAN DIEGO over Kansas City – I’m pretty confident that the Chiefs spent all of their “road division power points” last week in Denver. I don’t see that magic happening again this week.

9 – ARIZONA over Cincinnati – The Texans? Seriously? The Texans?? AT HOME??? Maybe the Bengals aren’t as dominant as their once-undefeated record led us to believe. Unfortunately for them they go against a Cardinals team that seems to be as people think.

8 – MINNESOTA over Green Bay – The Lions? Seriously? The Lions?? AT HOME??? Well while that was happening, the Vikings were showing the league that they are a legit contender.

7 – JACKSONVILLE over Tennessee – If the Jags want to make good on my bold prediction of them winning the division, they need to win what should be considered to be very winnable games.

6 – PHILADELPHIA over Tampa Bay – The Eagles took a blow losing Sam Bradford last week. Mark Sanchez should at least be able to do enough to beat the young Bucs.

5 – Oakland over DETROIT – Well, I guess this isn’t the year for the Raiders to complete their resurrection. Lucky for them they play a Lions team that may still just be riding a high from their win last weeks.

4 – BALTIMORE over St. Louis – Besides watching Todd Gurley be Todd Gurley, what’s the point of caring about this game?

3 – Dallas over MIAMI – Tony Romo is back (that cheering you hear in the background is coming from fans in Texas). My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that IN HIS RETURN GAME, ROMO WILL PASS FOR AT LEAST 300 YARDS.

2 – HOUSTON over New York Jets – Well apparently TJ Yates is a franchise quarterback since the Texans always seem to find a way to win with him under center.

1 – CHICAGO over Denver – I would say that picking the Bears to pull the upset is because they won’t have to worry about playing against Peyton Manning…but does anyone think that would make a difference this season?

This could very well be our make or break week!

We are coming towards the end of the season. Every possible point is critical! This week will go a long way in determining how your standings will lay out. Looking at the schedule, the majority of the games this week could be very close with very close match-ups. In the games where there is a big difference in record, the better team is on the road.

So let’s put that strangle hold on the top spot for good!

Week 13 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – NEW ENGLAND over Philadelphia – Tom and Bill lose – Tom and Bill mad – Tom and Bill take out frustrations on next opponent.

15 – CHICAGO over San Francisco – Yes, it’s a 31 point confidence pool turnaround for the Bears from last week to this week. I guess winning in Lambeau then hosting San Francisco will do that for you.

14 – Carolina over NEW ORLEANS – The Panthers defense made Tony Romo feel like his broken collarbone was the best part of his Thanksgiving. The Saints offense isn’t what it used to be and won’t be able to do any real damage. This week’s BOLD PREDICTION is that THE PANTHERS WILL FINISH THE SEASON UNDEFEATED!

13 – PITTSBURGH over Indianapolis – I can see Antonio Brown having another huge game in this one. The Colts won’t have the fire power to keep up.

12 – Cincinnati over CLEVELAND – The Browns couldn’t even beat a depleted Ravens team last week at home, how can you even think they’ll be able to tame the Bengals?

11 – MINNESOTA over Seattle – The Vikings loss to the Packers a couple weeks ago was all due to their mental mistakes – they have corrected those and seem to be more focused than ever.

10 – BUFFALO over Houston – We saw last week the offensive weapons that the Bills have to utilize with big games from LeSean McCoy and Sammy Watkins. With a playoff spot in sights, look for Buffalo to keep the excitement level high.

9 – OAKLAND over Kansas City – The Raiders are up with another “must-win” game this week – they seem to do better at home with those.

8 – TAMPA BAY over Atlanta – Jamies Winston is doing what he can to sneak the Rookie of the Year award away from Todd Gurley. Lucky for him the Falcons are also doing what they can to hand games away.

7 – Arizona over ST LOUIS – Another divisional road game for the Cardinals. This will be tougher than it was in the bay, but the outcome should be the same.

6 – NEW YORK GIANTS over New York Jets – This is a game that the Giants will utilize their home field advantage to propel them to victory! … … … wait a minute … … …

5 – Green Bay over DETROIT – Can anyone figure out these Packers? The only think I can think of is that they will be playing mad tonight after losing to these Lions at home a few weeks back.

4 – Denver over SAN DIEGO – After handing the Patriots their first lost you would think the Broncos would be higher on this list. There’s just something about road division games that gets me a little worried.

3 – WASHINGTON over Dallas – The Cowboys are now without Tony Romo at quarterback again – we’ve all seen how this story goes.

2 – MIAMI over Baltimore – Well this looked like a great late-season matchup in August! Now, not so much. The Dolphins are at home so they get to win.

1 – Jacksonville over TENNESSEE – I put my faith in the Jags and they have let me down so far. Lucky for them they get a chance at redemption by playing the lowly Titans.

The Fantasy Football playoff season has begun!

Which could very well mean that your fantasy football season is over! Sorry, but you know it’s a fact. There is still time to salvage something from this season though. Let’s start the final stretch of the season in a positive way!

Week 14 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – CAROLINA over Atlanta – If you don’t have Cam Newton down as your MVP this season, you’re doing it wrong.

15 – DENVER over Oakland – The Raiders have proved over the last month that they are still steps away from being a playoff contender – which will bode well for the resurgent Broncos.

14 – NEW YORK JETS over Tennessee – Marcus Mariota has been a beast the last few weeks. I see things slowing down for the rookie against the Jets defense though.

13 – GREEN BAY over Dallas – Well the game doesn’t exactly have the same allure as their playoff matchup did this past January but the outcome should be the same.

12 – ARIZONA over Minnesota – The Viking showed last week that they may not have what it takes to run with the top of the conference just yet.

11 – KANSAS CITY over San Diego – Don’t worry Charger fans…the season will end soon!

10 – Seattle over BALTIMORE – Shame on you for sleeping on the Seahawks! (yes I know I picked against them last week!) Seattle is a second half of the season team and the Ravens are a waiting for next season team.

9 – TAMPA BAY over New Orleans – In the first third of the season the Rookie of the Year award was set to go to Amari Cooper. In the second third Todd Gurley snuck into the top spot. In the final third it seems like Jameis Winston may lay claim to the award.

8 – ST LOUIS over Detroit – Oh the Lions will apparently always be the Lions! I see their offense just shutting down this game – something the Rams’ defense will be sure to help with.

7 – CINCINNATI over Pittsburgh – While this divisional road game will be tougher than last week in Cleveland, the Bengals are on too good a roll to stop.

6 – New England over HOUSTON – There is a legit chance that the Patriots could lose three games in a row…it won’t happen…but there is indeed a chance!

5 – JACKSONVILLE over Indianapolis – The Jags almost won in Indy when Andrew Luck was at quarterback, they should be able to handle the Colts at home.

4 – CHICAGO over Washington – Ugh…just ugh…

3 – New York Giants over MIAMI – I feel that the Giants offense is ready to just explode. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE GIANTS WILL PUT UP AT LEAST 40 POINTS AGAINST THE DOLPHINS THIS WEEK.

2 – Buffalo over PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles shocked the world in Foxboro last week. It’s really hard for me to think that they can put together two consecutive solid performances though.

1 – CLEVELAND over San Francisco – I think the Browns will win this week…would you put them higher than the one point line?