Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

And we’re back!

After a pretty dismal week 2 (silver lining – I’m sure everyone had an off week) we come roaring back only missing two games in week 3! You’re welcome!

That’s what makes the NFL so exciting! It’s going to be a 17-week roller coaster leading up to what always ends up being an exciting four weeks of playoffs. Drama! Let’s keep it rolling though. Unlike your typical roller coaster, the ups on this ride are a lot more fun than the downs!

Week 4 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

15 – ARIZONA over St Louis – The Cardinals are a legit threat in the NFC this year. Get used to seeing them this early in my posts.

14 – ATLANTA over Houston – Keep an eye on the Arian Foster situation here. If he doesn’t play than the Falcons will roll. If he plays, Atlanta will still win but I would drop them down considerably.

13 – INDIANAPOLIS over Jacksonville – OK Colts – I’ve been singing your praises all year! The last time I had you this high you broke my heart and lost at home to the Jets. But come on, this is the Jaguars we’re talking about!

12 – SAN DIEGO over Cleveland – Reports are that there is an internal struggle with many Browns upset that Johnny Manziel isn’t the starter. This distraction is something Cleveland doesn’t need to deal with right now. Oh, and a very large lack of talent…that won’t help either.

11 – BUFFALO over New York Giants – So remember how I spent the first week or two talking about how the Dolphins were going to be a sleeper AFC East contender this year? Well, switch all that over to the Bills!

10 – SEATTLE over Detroit – The word going around is that all three teams the Lions have played have known their plays. If the Seahawk defense has that added to its arsenal, they’ll easily be able to round out consecutive dominant wins against the cellar of the NFC North.

9 – CINCINNATI over Kansas City – The Ben Roethlisberger injury is a golden opportunity for the Bengals to lock in their hold on the top of the AFC North. Hard to see them passing up that chance.

8 – Green Bay over SAN FRANCISCO – The big story coming out of their Monday night win was how perfect Aaron Rodgers is at home. Well, he’s not all that bad on the road either.

7 – DENVER over Minnesota – Peyton is starting to get back into his Peyton groove. That can be scary for the AFC.

6 – Oakland over CHICAGO – The fire sale is underway in Chicago. Keep an eye on it – as more big names leave the Bears keep bumping this game up your list. Especially since…the Raiders…MIGHT be legit???

5 – PITTSBURGH over Baltimore – The Ravens are coming to Pittsburgh at the right time with the Ben Roethlisberger injury. Won’t be enough though – they start the year 0-4.

4 – Carolina over TAMPA BAY – Cam Newton has turned things around quickly and have the Panthers undefeated. Not much should change when going up against Jameis Winston.

3 – NEW ORLEANS over Dallas – This would have been an exciting game a few weeks ago. Take away Drew Brees, Dez Bryant and Tony Romo and NBC is left wishing that they can starting flexing games out early…Bengals/Chiefs would look pretty good under the prime-time lights.

2 – Miami over New York Jets (game played in London) – I look at this game at want to say that my bold prediction would be that the loser stays in London…buuuuuut pretty sure that won’t happen. So I’ll just say after being the pre-season darlings, even with the win this week, my BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE DOLPHINS WILL FINISH LAST IN THE AFC EAST.

1 – WASHINGTON over Philadelphia – The Redskins have firmly set their place in the group of “if you think they will win, put them on the one line” teams. Congrats Jacksonville, you have a friend!

We’re a quarter of the way through the season. Now is the time that off-season questions are answered and we have an idea of what we can expect from this season. Which teams will be at the top of the league, which teams will be at the top of the draft board next year and what teams will be comfortably in the middle?

Don’t worry though – this is the NFL! Nothing is really predictable! (As proven by some of last week’s outcomes).

Week 5 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

14 – GREEN BAY over St. Louis – Yes, the Rams did spoil our top line game last week, but this is in Lambeau. Different story. Aaron Rodgers won’t let what happened to the Cardinals last week happen in his house.

13 – ATLANTA over Washington – The Falcons seem to be turning things around. After a couple years of mediocrity at best, the Falcons look prime to make run to return to the playoffs. This week’s BOLD PREDICTION is that THE FALCONS WILL WIN THE NFC SOUTH.

12 – NEW YORK GIANTS over San Francisco – The Giants are taking advantage of the depleted Cowboys. Look for them to make a statement against the struggling Niners.

11 – KANSAS CITY over Chicago – The Bears showed some signs of life last week. That should be short-lived with a trip to Arrowhead.

10 – BALTIMORE over Cleveland – Baltimore lucked into their first win of the season in Pittsburgh last week. Lucky for them they get a visit from the lowly Browns. The Ravens should be able to enjoy their first legit win this week.

9 – PHILADELPHIA over New Orleans – Well this would have been a great game in the off-season! Now, the Eagles are at home so that gives them the edge.

8 – Buffalo over TENNESSEE – After years of waiting, this week 5 win 15 years later will finally accept the Music City Miracle! Right?

7 – SAN DIEGO over Pittsburgh – The week ends with an intriguing Monday night game. If Roethlisberger was playing, then the Steelers win this game. Unfortunately, Michael Vick showed that he is not the quarterback that the Pittsburgh offense needs.

6 – CINCINNATI over Seattle – Game of the week by far! This has an outside chance of being this year’s Super Bowl matchup! Lucky for the Bengals this one will be played at home.

5 – New England over DALLAS – This was billed as the Eastern Illinois Bowl in the pre-season with a potential Tony Romo vs Jimmy Garoppolo battle. Instead we get the opposite Tom Brady vs Brandon Weeden. Sorry Cowboys, you’re struggles without Dez and Romo continue this week.

4 – Denver over OAKLAND – Pump the brakes on the Raiders. They showed last week that they still aren’t there yet. Though the last time I said that they won at home against Baltimore. Hope is the only reason that this game isn’t higher on our list.

3 – Arizona over DETROIT – The Cardinals losing at home to the Rams may be the most surprising outcome of the year. I can see them looking to take some aggression out on the seemingly confused Lions.

2 – TAMPA BAY over Jacksonville –The state of Florida has three NFL teams…and not an ounce of entertaining football.

1 – HOUSTON over Indianapolis – It took overtime for the Colts to beat the Jaguars…at home. If Luck still isn’t 100%, it’s hard to see the Colts win this game.

Welcome back!

We had another strong week in week 5. This week will be a lot more difficult. We have several evenly matched games including a few instances in which an undefeated team could taste defeat for the first time. No time to waste, the new week is just around the corner!

Week 6 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

14 – GREEN BAY over San Diego – Apparently Aaron Rodgers is human! I can very easily see him doing what he can this week to make us all remember that he is indeed not human.

13 – New England over INDIANAPOLIS – The Pats are playing like they are mad at the world and now they are playing the team that was the cause of it all…and they’re struggling. Bill Belichick could make this turn out to be as ugly as…well…Bill Belichick.

12 – MINNESOTA over Kansas City – It has been a rough start to the season for the Chiefs, and it just got a whole lot worse with another Jamaal Charles injury. It won’t get any easier against a well-rested Adrian Peterson.

11 – NEW YORK JETS over Washington – Kirk Cousins will have to win this game with his arm since the running game is non-existent. That won’t work too well against the Jets secondary.

10 – TENNESSEE over Miami – This game will be hard to watch. Miami is in the middle of an overhaul…not something that should be happening in the middle of the season.

9 – SEATTLE over Carolina – The rough schedule continues for the two-time defending NFC champs as they get another undefeated team. They should be able to hand the Panthers their first loss at home this week.

8 – Denver over CLEVELAND – Call it fantasy football stubbornness, but I think this is the week that Peyton comes out of his funk. That could be bad news for the Browns.

7 – Atlanta over NEW ORLEANS – The week starts off on Thursday in the SuperDome. Devonta Freeman has taken the league by storm and should be able to continue his dominance against the now lowly Saints.

6 – PHILADELPHIA over New York Giants – The battle for the top of the NFC Lease comes to Monday Night. The Eagles might have things figured out on offense. Now they get the national stage to confirm it.

5 – DETROIT over Chicago – Everything seems to be going downhill for the Lions. In order to avoid the cellar of the league, they NEED this game.

4 – Houston over JACKSONVILLE – Blake Bortles had an amazing week last Sunday in Tampa…but that was against Tampa. Arian Foster should have his official return game against the Jags defense. Jacksonville allowed Doug Martin to have a monster game last week, which leads me to this week’s BOLD PREDICTION that ARIAN FOSTER WILL HAVE OVER 250 TOTAL YARDS.

3 – Arizona over Pittsburgh – Welcome back to dominance, Arizona! Big Ben could be back soon, but another week of Michael Vick won’t be enough to beat the Cards.

2 – SAN FRANCISCO over Baltimore – If Jim Harbaugh was still in San Francisco, the Harbaugh Bowl matchup would make this game interesting. But he’s not…so it’s not. The 9ers are at home so there you go.

1 – BUFFALO over Cincinnati – Potentially the game of the week. The Bengals are undefeated for a reason but a trip to Buffalo could very well end that.

Boy do I love this league!

Every week seems to leave you with a fresh set of questions that you just cant wait those seven days until the next set of games to answer. “Any Given Sunday” isn’t just for Willie Beaman! Still, with all of these questions, we are still managing to come out with positive weeks. If you are following my picks this season, you should be looking good in the quest for a season title. Let’s keep it going!

WEEK 8 – HERE WE GO!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

14 – NEW ENGLAND over Miami – The Dolphins have hit a bit of a surge after their coaching change. But that surge was against the Texans and Titans…not the Patriots.

13 – CAROLINA over Indianapolis – At the beginning of the season this would be a big game for the Panthers to prove their worth. In the middle of the season its just another home game against a mediocre team.

12 – ATLANTA over Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay already has a divisional road win on their resume this year. It’s hard to see them getting another one though.

11 – ST LOUIS over San Francisco – The reported locker room turmoil with the 49ers is just more reason to have less and less confidence in them this season.

10 – Arizona over CLEVELAND – The Cardinals need a win like this. I think they will have the needed motivation to get it.

9 – Minnesota over CHICAGO – With a win last week in Detroit, the young Vikings confirmed that they have what it takes to get a divisional road win. Why not get another?

8 – KANSAS CITY over Detroit – The Lions just seem out of it. A team like the Chiefs should welcome the chance to host them for a week.

7 – Seattle – over DALLAS – Even if Dez Bryant returns for the Cowboys, it won’t be enough. Though I will say that my BOLD PREDICTION is that if Bryant plays, he will have over 100 yards receiving.

6 – NEW ORLEANS over New York Giants – The Saints showed signs of life last week on the road. I can see them carrying that momentum through another week.

5 – OAKLAND over New York Jets – What to think of the Raiders? Maybe it’s a fan’s bias, but I don’t think another team has created more intrigue in the league this season. If they want to hold on to playoff hope, they need to win this game.

4 – BALTIMORE over San Diego – A week after taking the Packers to the limit in Green Bay, the Chargers give up 30 first half points to the aforementioned Raiders. Another hard to figure out team.

3 – PITTSBURGH over Cincinnati – Big Ben coming back should be enough to knock one team from the ranks of the unbeaten.

2 – DENVER over Green Bay – But if the Steelers don’t, we are guaranteed to lose one undefeated team here as two undefeateds go head-to-head. Regardless of who you think will win, there is no reason to have one team or the other higher than this on your sheet.

1 – HOUSTON over Tennessee – We go from Broncos/Packers to Texans/Titans…minus Arian Foster. Not worth talking about.