Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Oh this is going to be a fun week!

To clarify, this will be a “fun” week.

This is the kind of week where season-long confidence pool participants are separated. Once we get past the first few lines, nearly every other game is a crap shoot!

My best to those who have to make picks for a survival pool this week.

We’re not worried about that here though so let’s get some confidence!

Week 3 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Jacksonville – Sorry, Jags – can’t host the Colts every week.

15 – MINNESOTA over Detroit – The Lions have looked better than they have in years…but its still hard to have confidence in them on the road.

14 – Buffalo over MIAMI – Yes Tua had a bit of a coming out party last week. But give me one good reason why you think the Bills will lose any game this season? Not saying they will go undefeated, crazy things happen during the season but my BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE BILLS WILL WIN AT LEAST 16 GAMES THIS SEASON.

13 – Kansas City over INDIANAPOLIS – With how good Buffalo has looked, the Chiefs haven’t been too far behind.

12 – San Francisco over DENVER – Aren’t too many situations where a team loses their starting quarterback…and MIGHT be better for it.

11 – TAMPA BAY over Green Bay – I haven’t officially done the math but Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers may have more career TD passes than the combined career yards totals for both of their receiving corps.

10 – Baltimore over NEW ENGLNAD – I fully expect Baltimore to take a lot of AFC East aggression out on the Pats this week.

9 – Los Angeles Rams over ARIZONA – I look for the Rams to make a much needed statement in this game.

8 – CLEVELAND over Pittsburgh – Amazon gives us a matchup this week that most wont be upset about missing due to streaming issues.

7 – SEATTLE over Atlanta – Remember when this would have been a Game of the Week candidate?

6 – CAROLINA over New Orleans – This is a matchup for #1 overall pick quarterback…just keep that in mind as you are trying to stay awake watching.

5 – TENNESSEE over Las Vegas – Both teams desperately need a win – luckily for the Titans the game will take place in Nashville.

4 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Dallas – The Giants could very well be 3-0 at the end of this week…just let that sink in for a bit.

3 – WASHINGTON over Philadelphia – We’ll give this the pick ‘em because they’re the home team tag.

2 – NEW YORK JETS over Cincinnati – Welp, the Jets beat the Bengals last year when Cincy wasn’t seemingly falling apart…sooo…

1 – Houston over CHICAGO – You could very well take the Bears in this one but, unlike the Bears, I’ll pass.

OK…so…about last week…

Well, now seems like a good idea to remind everyone that most season-long pools will allow you to remove your lowest scoring week from the total amount.

I didn’t really think we would have to look into that feature less than a quarter of the way into the season…but here we are!

Ah well, time to get back on that horse!

Week 4 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – GREEN BAY over New England – I won’t say that the Packers are back to normal after winning in Tampa last week…but there definitely at a point where they can easily handle Mac Jones’ backup.

15 – Minnesota over NEW ORLEANS – Remember to wake up early to catch the first London game of the year! Or don’t, its just Kirk Cousins vs Jameis Winston.

14 – PITTSBURGH over New York Jets – Zach Wilson is back!!! Yeah…it won’t matter.

13 – PHILADELPHIA over Jacksonville – So the Eagles look like the best team in the league…the Jaguars just went to LA and beat the Chargers by four touchdowns … … … where are we??

12 – LAS VEGAS over Denver – Yes, this is an ignorant hopeful homer pick. If  you choose to make adjustments with this one, I will more than understand.

11 – DETROIT over Seattle – The Lions are on a double-digit line…as the winner? This has been a weird start to the season.

10 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Chicago –  This will basically be Saquon Barkley and a bunch of middle schoolers.

9 – DALLAS over Washington – The Cowboys in another divisional matchup that, unlike last week, wont be nationally televised…thank God!

8 – INDIANAPOLIS over Tennessee – The Colts and Titans both battling to try and keep pace with the Jaguars …(checks notes confusingly)

7 – ATLANTA over Cleveland – Yes this will the Falcons back-to-back wins…but change is coming. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is DESMOND RIDDER WILL BE STARTING FOR THE FALCONS BY WEEK 12.

6 – Buffalo over BALTIMORE – One loss won’t change my Bills’ opinion. Safe to say Ken Dorsey will be making sure no mistakes are made this week!

5 – CINCINNATI over Miami – I don’t think there would be a bigger way to close the book on the 2021 season than the Dolphins going 4-0 by sending the defending AFC Champions to a 1-2 start…but it won’t happen.

4 – SAN FRANCISCO over Los Angeles Rams – Just like the Bengals, the Rams don’t exactly seem to have the dominant aura that a defending Super Bowl champion should have.

3 – Los Angeles Chargers over HOUSTON – I wanted to say the Chargers would lose to the Texans since they knocked me out of my survivor pool last week…but I have responsibilities.

2 – TAMPA BAY over Kansas City – This one is obviously a toss-up with the craziness surrounding it. Thoughts & prayers out to everyone in Florida – stay safe!

1 – CAROLINA over Arizona – Can you think of anything entertaining or helpful to say about this one? Go ahead, I’ll wait…

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.