Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Ladies and gentlemen, until the second week of February there will NOT be a Sunday that goes by without a full day of football!!

We are just days away from the Mile High City opening up the 2016 NFL season with a Super Bowl rematch – the first time that has happened since 1970! From there, it will just get better! Because, you know, there’s more than just one game played in an NFL season!

THAT…AND the return of the confidence pool!

For those who have not been with us the last two seasons, let me give you a quick rundown on what confidence pool is. First off, you pick the winner of every game in the week. After that, you assign a point value (1 through however many games there are that week) based on how confident you are that your pick will turn out to be correct. So you will want to assign a higher point value to those that you are more confident about. If you pick the game wrong, you don’t get those points. Whoever has the most points for the week wins! Some pools also have prizes for total score throughout the season.

So, without further ado, let’s get the 2016 season started!

Week 1 and 2016 season – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – SEATTLE over Miami – I really expect Arian Foster to have a bounce-back year in Miami…though there is no chance of that success starting until week 2.

15 – HOUSTON over Chicago – It’s…um…it’s going to be a long season on the lakefront this year.

14 – KANSAS CITY over San Diego – The Chargers have quickly taken over the Joker's role in the AFC West away from the Raiders. This game could very well be the start of their trip to being the first on the clock next April.

13 – ARIZONA over New England – No Tom Brady – no problem! Well, expect for trying to score more points than one of the most exciting offenses in the league…THAT could be a problem.

12 – PHILADELPHIA over Cleveland – I really don’t think that there could be a smoother transition for Carson Wentz to go from college football to the pros than playing the Browns.

11 – INDIANAPOLIS over Detroit – The Colts obviously have some work to do to show that last season was a fluke. That process should easily begin this week.

10 – BALTIMORE over Buffalo – For this one, just re-read my last explanation, just replace Colts with Ravens…and it won’t be as easy…hence being rated lower.

9 – DALLAS over New York Giants – The NFC East seems to be wide open every year. Dak Prescott should be more than enough to bridge the gap until Tony Romo comes back for the final playoff push.

8 – ATLANTA over Tampa Bay – As open as the NFC East is equates to how, well, closed the NFC South is. It’s Panthers and Friends. The Falcons should be able to hold off the Bucs as they start to be the best of the others.

7 – Green Bay over JACKSONVILLE – I’ve said that the AFC title game could very well be the Raiders and the Jaguars in five years. The Jags are doing something right, but drawing the Packers in week 1 is something wrong.

6 – NEW YORK JETS over Cincinnati – A couple dark horse AFC candidates collide here to start the season. The Jets need to start the season strong before Brady is freed in Foxboro.

5 – DENVER over Carolina – Yes, the Broncos have a big change at quarterback from the last time these two teams faced off. But even having a guy named Trevor under center would be enough for the Panthers to consistently get passed the Broncos defense.

4 – WASHINGTON over Pittsburgh – The Monday Night schedule starts with a bit of a toss-up. Home field advantage and no Le’Veon Bell gives the ‘Skins the edge here.

3 – Oakland over NEW ORLEANS – Derek Carr should be able to shred a horrid Saints pass defense as the Raiders begin their road to redemption season. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is NOT ONLY WILL THE RAIDERS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, THEY WILL WIN THE AFC WEST.

2 – Minnesota over TENNESSEE – The Vikings lost their quarterback…but lets’s be honest, 90% of a Viking’s quarterback job is handing off to Adrian Peterson and letting him do his thing…which he should easily do in Nashville.

1 – SAN FRANCISCO over Los Angeles – The 49ers will firmly be a part of this year’s “Teams That Should Only Be On The One Point Line If You Think They Will Win” list.

We are now one week into the new NFL season … all seems right with the world again!

The tone was set in Week 1 with several games going down to the wire. It is hard to imagine that a week can properly follow up that performance. But it’s football, it’s always a possibility. 10 out of 16 in Week 1 isn’t too shabby! Now that we have a week’s worth of information on the teams, I can see a perfect week in our future!

Week 2 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – CAROLINA over San Francisco – The Panthers let a big week 1 win slip away last week. Hard to imagine them even being in the same situation this week.

15 – NEW ENGLAND over Miami – Miami cost the Pats the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs last season … … … Belichick remembers.

14 – OAKLAND over Atlanta – I can’t begin to describe how much fun it is to put the Raiders on the winning side of a line this high and have it be a legitimate pick rather than just a hopeful fan’s dream!

13 – NEW YORK GIANTS over New Orleans – These two had an epic offensive battle last season – expect more of the same again this year…with the home team again coming out on top.

12 – Seattle over LOS ANGELES –Congratulations LA, this is your team! Could have had the Raiders, just sayin…

11 – DETROIT over Tennessee – Life after Calvin appears to be a smooth transition for Stafford and friends. I don’t expect the Titans to put up much of a fight.

10 – PITTSBURGH over Cincinnati – Boy the Steelers look impressive. They’ll do what they can to win this physical matchup.

9 – ARIZONA over Tampa Bay – It was just a matchup against a motivated Patriots team last week…right?

8 – DENVER over Indianapolis – The Colts came close to pulling out a shootout win in week 1. Unfortunately for them, they won’t be able to score at will in Denver.

7 – Philadelphia over CHICAGO – Monday night on the lakefront. Should be an exciting atmosphere…until the game starts.

6 – Dallas over WASHINGTON – Two disappointing week 1 teams meet up in this divisional matchup. I, for whatever reason, still have faith in the Cowboys. So much so that this week’s BOLD PREDICTION is that despite losing to the Giants already, THE COWBOYS WILL COME BACK AND WIN THE NFC EAST.

5 – New York Jets over BUFFALO – The week kicks off in Orchard Park with Rex Ryan taking on his old team. I really don’t know what to think about the Bills, but it's mostly not good,

4 – MINNESOTA over Green Bay – The brand new U.S. Bank Stadium opens up with a Sunday Night Football matchup against the hated Packers. The momentum of the new stadium will overshadow  the Vikings offense being led by ________________ (insert “quarterback” name here).

3 – HOUSTON over Kansas City – A potential playoff preview goes to the home team simply for that very reason.

2 – SAN DIEGO over Jacksonville – I don’t think it has been more difficult picking the Jaguars to lose a game.

1 – CLEVELAND over Baltimore – I really think things will be better for the Browns with Josh McCown under center. Not enough to put them higher than a 1 though.

A wise man whose face is painted with neon colors first then black and white later has said, “the only thing that is for sure is that nothing is for sure.”

It seems like this is the theme for every week 3 – teams look amazing or terrible in week 1 and the look like a completely different team in week 2. The same holds true for this season as well.

Hey, it’s football…that’s what keeps things exciting!

Week 3 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – DALLAS over Chicago – Have…have you seen the Bears this season? Now they’re even losing several players. This week’s BOLD PREDICTION is that THE BEARS WILL HAVE THE FIRST PICK IN NEXT YEAR’S DRAFT.

15 – INDIANAPOLIS over San Diego – You can’t have a home game against the Jaguars every week, Chargers!

14 – SEATTLE over San Francisco – Barely winning against the Dolphins and losing to the Rams? Still not enough to make me lose faith in the Seahawks at home against the 9ers.

13 – TAMPA BAY over Los Angeles – I expect Jameis Winston to just light up the Rams’ defense.

12 – MIAMI over Cleveland – Nearly pulling off wins in Seattle and Foxboro are enough for me to throw the Fins a bone and give them a high number this week. That, and hosting the Josh McCown-less Browns…that also helps.

11 – GREEN BAY over Detroit – A home opener against the Lions should be the cure for what’s ailing the Packer’s offense

10 – CAROLINA over Minnesota – What a difference one knee will make for the Vikings!

9 – Arizona over BUFFALO – The Bills put up 31 points with their biggest offensive weapons fighting an injury…might as well fire the offensive coordinator! #Nepotism

8 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Washington – The Redskins looked promising coming off an improbable division championship…not so much this season.

7 – KANSAS CITY over New York Jets – This should be a good game but the Chiefs are too tough in Arrowhead.

6 – NEW ORLEANS over Atlanta – The home team comes out on top of this “Hey remember when we dominated this division” Bowl.

5 – CINCINNATI over Denver – Another playoff preview that will end up going to the home team.

4 – Oakland over TENNESSEE – The Raiders have given two exciting games so far. Expect another one this week.

3 – Houston over NEW ENGLAND – I’ll finish writing the prediction for this game unless I get a call to be the Patriots quarterback in which case I will have t…

2 – JACKSONVILLE over Baltimore – Jacksonville needs to win this one to salvage any of the summer hype!

1 – PHILADELPHIA over Pittsburgh – The Keystone Bowl actually won’t be one-sided. If Carson Wentz pulls this off with how good the Steelers have been looking, I will indeed be a believer!