Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

It’s Thanksgiving Week!

What that means is that there are NO more bye weeks and we get extra football earlier in the week. You know, just as players are really starting to hit home on their protest against Thursday Football. Ah well, sooner football  - YAY!

Week 12 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – PHILADELPHIA over Chicago – The Bears have been able to hold their own the last few weeks. Hard to see that happening this week though.

15 – NEW ENGLAND over Miami – The fact that the Patriots’ defense is really starting to come around is just a scary thought for the rest of the league.

14 – PITTSBURGH over Green Bay – I’m pretty sure that NBC thought they would be getting a better matchup when they scheduled this in the off-season.

13 – CINCINNATI over Cleveland – Congrats, state of Ohio…these are your football teams.

12 – WASHINGTON over New York Giants – On Thursday, we’ll all have our big turkey dinner which will make us pretty sleepy – we should get a great night’s rest! If that isn’t enough, don’t worry, the Giants will be on in primetime.

11 – KANSAS CITY over Buffalo – A month ago people were calling Alex Smith the MVP – now they’re calling for Patrick Mahomes to take the helm in KC? I’m not buying it.

10 – Seattle over SAN FRANCISCO – Remember when this was the hottest rivalry in the league?

9 – BALTIMORE over Houston – After a shutout win in Green Bay, the Ravens continue their “lucky to be playing teams who have lost their quarterback” stretch of the schedule.

8 – Tennessee over INDIANAPOLIS – Until Andrew Luck gets back, its hard to see the Colts winning many games.

7 – ATLANTA over Tampa Bay – Ryan Fitzpatrick has been more than serviceable since replacing Jameis Winston – but the Falcons are starting to look like last year’s team…blowing leads and everything.

6 – Minnesota over DETROIT – Thanksgiving kicks off with a matchup that could go a long way in determining the NFC North – especially when the Vikings pick up the huge road win.

5 – OAKLAND over Denver – It seems like Denver hasn’t won a game since Elway was under center and they will be starting a new quarterback…again. It’s still not naïve of me to pick the Raiders, right?

4 – DALLAS over Los Angeles Chargers – Unfortunately for the Chargers, you can’t play a team that makes horrible quarterback decisions every week.

3 – New Orleans over LOS ANGELES RAMS – This could be an NFC Championship Game preview … … … I really don’t know how to follow that up.

2 – Jacksonville over ARIZONA – The Jags are clearly the better team, but playing in Arizona has me a little skeptical.

1 – NEW YORK JETS over Carolina – My gut says the Panthers will win this one, but both Carolina and the Jets have done a great job of doing what I thought they wouldn’t this season.

We have come to the last week of the season with bye weeks, and we will be earning every point we get.

This week has some pretty close matchups with almost no clear-cut winners across the board. It’s what makes the confidence pool interesting, right?

Week 11 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

14 – PITTSBURGH over Tennessee – The week starts off with an AFC matchup with playoff implications. The fact that this description is being used on a game at the top of our board should show you how close this week will be.

13 – NEW ORLEANS over Washington – Weird to think that getting rid of Adrian Peterson would be so beneficial for a team.

12 – SEATTLE over Atlanta – The week ends with an NFC matchup with playoff implications. Please review the #14 line for this description.

11 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Buffalo – I’m sure you’re skeptical of seeing the Chargers this high, but a quarterback change right before a cross-country trip may not be the best thing for the Bills.

10 – DENVER over Cincinnati – The Broncos offense is awful … just awful. Their defense should be enough to get them through this one.

9 – Detroit over CHICAGO – Everything about this game will look just like last week for the Bears, just change the NFC North rival.

8 – Kansas City over NEW YORK GIANTS – The Chiefs had their bye week to get extra time to prepare for…the Giants. This should be as easy way to get past the Andy Reid post-bye week curse.

7 – MINNESOTA over Los Angeles Rams – This potential Game of the Week matchup could very well be an NFC playoff matchup as well.

6 – HOUSTON over Arizona – This game would have been a LOT more exciting a few week and two starting quarterback injuries ago. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE TOTAL SCORE OF THIS GAME WILL BE EQUAL TO OR LESS THAN 10.

5 – Baltimore over GREEN BAY – The Packers were able to give Brett Hundley his first career last week. Can’t play the Bears every week though.

4 – Jacksonville over CLEVELAND – Ah I bet the Browns and their fans saw this game on their schedule in the pre-season and thought “Hey! There’s one we can win!” Weellllllll……

3 – OAKLAND over New England – Homer pick…pure homer pick.

2 – DALLAS over Philadelphia – With the week of controversy he has had, Mr. Jones is going to make sure that his ‘Boys come out ready to play and take down the best team in the league that he is seemingly trying to take over.

1 – MIAMI over Tampa Bay – The Jacksonville Jaguars are by far the best team in the state of Florida…just something to think about while watching this one.

I know what you’re thinking – “Wait a minute…there’s football this weekend?”

Yes, for some odd reason, the NFL has decided to go ahead with a full slate of games even though the Raiders are on their bye week. My assumption is that ratings would take a huge hit, but we shall see.

So, since games will be played…let’s have some confidence!

Week 10 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

14 – DETROIT over Cleveland – Oh we’re getting bold right out of the gate! No, not because I’m picking the Lions to beat the Browns, obviously, but my BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE BROWNS WILL BE THE SECOND TEAM IN HISTORY TO FINSIH 0-16.

13 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Houston – It’s still a little weird to put the Rams up this high, but they have definitely earned it. One of the only things that would seem weirder would be if …

12 – JACKSONVILLE over Los Angeles Chargers – …the Jaguars were also up this high! Sign of the times my friends! Especially with Leonard Fournette back, there is no way the Chargers can stop the Jags.

11 – CAROLINA over Miami –Somehow the Panthers always seem to squeak out wins at home like they did last week against the Falcons. This week should be easier though.

10 – CHICAGO over Green Bay – This may not be that exciting of a game seeing as though Mitchell Trubisky recently completed four passes in a game and Brett Hundley has an issue throwing a pass past the line of scrimmage, but Soldier Field would still treat this like a Super Bowl win.

9 – Pittsburgh over INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts pulled off a bit of an upset in Houston last week and have some momentum. Not nearly enough to stop the Steelers offense though.

8 – New York Jets over TAMPA BAY – Simply put – no Jameis, no Evans, no win!

7 – TENNESSEE over Cincinnati – I see this game as the Bengals passing the torch to the Titans as the team that will be in the playoffs for years to come…but won’t have a chance to make it deep.

6 – ATLANTA over Dallas – One of the most advertised games of the week loses a bit of its edge if Zeke doesn’t play … so do the Cowboys.

5 – New England over DENVER – This would be the game of the year a couple years or two, not so much now though. I would have this higher but something about the Broncos at home on Sunday Night Football has me thinking twice a bit.

4 – ARIZONA over Seattle – The week starts with a battle of NFC West teams trying to keep pace with the Rams (again, still weird). AP seems to be the offensive spark needed for the Cards after losing Carson Palmer.

3 – BUFFALO over New Orleans – Who knew that THIS would be a big game!  Buffalo gets the nod here as they seem to be a tough team to play in Orchard Park.

2 – WASHINGTON over Minnesota – The Skins looked good on the other side of the country last week. But they’re still the Skins, which means they are always hit or miss.

1 – SAN FRANCISCO over New York Giants – How many playoff classics has this matchup given us? Now, it’s the game most likely to end in a 3-3 tie.

I want to start this week out by taking a look at the top 10 of NFL.com’s Power Rankings this week…

1 – Philadelphia

2 – LA Rams

3 – Pittsburgh

4 – Kansas City

5 – New England

6 – Seattle

7 – Minnesota

8 – New Orleans

9 – Buffalo

10 – Jacksonville

Now let’s go back to the pre-season. Raise your hand if you thought that more than half of the top 10 would consist of the Eagles, Rams, Vikings, Saints, Bills and Jaguars…I’ll wait…still waiting…so…not you then?

This just sums up how topsy-turvy this season has been. By now, we should have a pretty good idea of what the 2017 version of the 32 franchises are. And, if anything, we will always know that “the Browns are gonna Brown!”

Week 9 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

13 – PHILADELPHIA over Denver – It’s scary to think that the best just got better with Philly’s acquisition of Jay Ajayi. Not even that Broncos defense will be able to stop that offense.

12 – HOUSTON over Indianapolis – Folks, DeShaun Watson is for real. If you don’t know by now, you need to know.

11 – JACKSONVILLE over Cincinnati –  The Jags are used to being this high on our sheet…just not on the winning side.

10 – SEATTLE over Washington – Seattle has quietly found their way back towards the top of the league. It’s hard to see the ‘Skins stopping their momentum.

9 – NEW ORLEANS over Tampa Bay – Speaking of quietly becoming a force again, the Saints have found a bit of a defense to back up the Drew Brees led offense that never really seemed to miss a step.

8 – TENNESSEE over Baltimore – Baltimore looked dominant last week against Miami…key words being “against Miami.”

7 – DALLAS over Kansas City – Ezekial Elliot’s suspension is set to begin this week. But Alfred Morris isn’t exactly a slouch. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that ALFRED MORRIS WILL HAVE 100 YARDS THIS WEEK.

6 – GREEN BAY over Detroit – Hopefully the Packers used their bye week to realize that Aaron Rodgers is no longer under center and put together an offense more fitting for Brett Hundley.

5 – Atlanta over CAROLINA – I still don’t understand why the Panthers traded away Kelvin Benjamin.

4 – Oakland over MIAMI – Good news for the Dolphins is that their starting QB should be back this week. Good news for the Raiders is that the aforementioned QB is Jay Cutler.

3 – Buffalo over NEW YORK JETS – Keeping with the theme of a surprising first half of the NFL season, THIS game has implications for the top of the NFC East!

2 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Los Angeles Rams – The Giants have quickly been a team that if you think they will win, they should be on the #1 line. Unless of course you think…

1 – SAN FRANCISCO over Arizona – …the 9ers will also win this week. No David Johnson, no Carson Palmer, the Cardinals that are left standing will help the Jimmy Garoppolo era get off to a solid start.