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.