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Random observation here …

We have a bit of an anomaly this week. Throughout most of the season we have to deal with bye weeks. Whether it is our fantasy teams or not being able to get more points in a week of a confidence pool, we have to deal with a stretch of the season where someone won’t be playing.

This week though, in the heart of it all, guess who has a bye week … … … bye weeks!

Yes, all 32 teams will be taking the field this weekend. It’s a good thing, too – after the last couple of weeks, we need more points!

Week 8 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – MIAMI over New England – The Patriots won a game they shouldn’t have last week – won’t happen two weeks in a row.

15 – BUFFALO over Tampa Bay – Buffalo will happily use the national stage for a “get right” game

14 – DETROIT over Las Vegas – Fire Josh McDaniels

13 – SEATTLE over Cleveland – The Brows just aren’t allowed to be on a roll for this long – it ends in Seattle

12 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS – Khalil Mack had six sacks against the Raiders, a former team, a few weeks ago…just gonna leave that there

11 – Kansas City over DENVER – The only reason this is not the 16 point game is that its in Denver

10 – SAN FRANCISCO over Cincinnati – Keep an eye on the Brock Purdy situation – if he can’t go, drop the 9ers way down…maybe even take the Bengals.

9 – Baltimore over ARIZONA – The Cardinals have made it a little harder to say this – My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE CARDINALS WILL HAVE THE FIRST PICK IN THE 2024 NFL DRAFT.

8 – DALLAS over Los Angeles Rams – Micah Parsons vs Aaron Donald … enjoy!

7 – New Orleans over INDIANAPOLIS – I see a big game from Derek Carr here – at least 300 yards.

6 – Minnesota over GREEN BAY – To quote the great Dennis Green – Jordan Love is indeed who we thought he was.

5 – CAROLINA over Houston – Bryce Young was just waiting to play #2 pick CJ Stroud for the first time to get his first win … … … is the denial that he is going with.

4 – Atlanta over TENNESSEE – I can’t really figure the Falcons out this season…but in a good way,

3 – WASHINGTON over Philadelphia – Hunch…and hunches stay low on our list.

2 – PITTSBURGH over Jacksonville – This just seems like a game the Steelers can pull out.

1 – NEW YORK JETS over New York Giants – I’d give the standard “New York Bragging Rights” comment here, but is anyone in New York bragging over either team?

All due respect to the great Willie Beaman, we have now seen the true Any Given Sunday.

In one week, we saw two undefeated teams go down in games that they should have easily won, plus a third top team that escaped thanks to a bad no-call! Makes it hard to have confidence in some of these teams!

So, that being said…let’s show some confidence to 13 teams ?

Week 7 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

13 – SEATTLE over Arizona – Look for the Seahawks to make a statement in this one.

12 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Pittsburgh – Hard to have any faith in the Steelers after a cross-country trip.

11 – KANSAS CITY over Los Angeles Chargers – Pretty sure you won’t be picking the Chiefs to lose against the division anytime soon. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE CHIEFS WILL NOT LOSE A GAME AGAINST THE AFC WEST THIS YEAR … … … OR NEXT.

10 – TAMPA BAY over Atlanta – If the Falcons can’t win at home anymore then they have no chance on the road.

9 - NEW ORLEANS over Jacksonville – Drop this down a few lines if Trevor Lawrence does end up playing, but still take the Saints.

8 – Las Vegas over CHICAGO – I’ll be in the stands so I can’t go against my Raiders!

7 – Buffalo over NEW ENGLAND – Bailey Zappe by halftime.

6 – INDIANAPOLIS over Cleveland – The Browns used up all of their winning points last week

5 – Green Bay over DENVER – Why would anyone have confidence in the Broncos?

4 – PHILADELPHIA over Miami – Hell, take who you want – this is just gonna be fun to watch!

3 – Detroit over BALTIMORE – This seems like another road game the Lions will somehow sneak out of with a win.

2 – MINNESOTA over San Francisco – 49ers injuries scare me more than Kirk Cousins in primetime

1 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Washington – I am very not interested in this game

If you haven’t noticed by now, we are in the thick of a time that plays a role in the confidence pool, especially season-long pools – bye weeks!

This can play big in your season long pools. If you have had a solid start and are sitting comfortably towards the top of the standings, you are loving bye weeks as the top numbers aren’t in play! You can’t have 15 and 16 point games where there are only 14 games played in a week!

On the flip side, if you need to make up ground, you need to make sure you hit as many picks as you can in a week.

Lucky for you, you’re reading my picks, so you’re good to go ?

Week 6 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

15 – KANSAS CITY over Denver – A week of dramatic, close, competitive NFL games … … … will begin on Sunday, not Thursday.

14 – MIAMI over Carolina – Welcome to the league, Bryce! We need 64 points from you this week.

13 – BUFFALO over New York Giants – An easy way for the Bills to transition into a season without Matt Milano is to play the Giants

12 – Philadelphia over NEW YORK JETS – Another nationally televised game based on a quarterback who won’t be playing.

11 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Arizona – The Rams offense seemed pretty tough BEFORE Cooper Kupp came back.

10 – JACKSONVILLE over Indianapolis – The Colts don’t win in Jacksonville, and that’s even when they have the better team!

9 – Baltimore over TENNESSEE – I feel that the London crowd will be offended by player nicknamed King Henry crowd so the refs will lean towards the Ravens.

8 – San Francisco over CLEVELAND – Hard to see picking against the 9ers in any situation at this point.

7 – LAS VEGAS over New England – Hopefully the Raiders will keep the ball out of Jakobi Meyeres if the game is close late.

6 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Dallas – How quickly has the allure of the Cowboys disappeared?

5 – New Orleans over HOUSTON – The Saints just seem to find a way to win

4 – ATLANTA over Washington – It’s a home game so obviously you can’t go against Desmond Ridder!

3 – CINCINNATI over Seattle – OK, I’m back with the Bengals. My BOLD PREDICTION of the week is that even with the slow start, THE BENGALS WILL WIN THE AFC NORTH.

2 – TAMPA BAY over Detroit – This could be a surprisingly fun game

1 – CHICAGO over Minnesota – If you think the Bears will win at all this season, keep it on the one-point linen

As we head into week 5, we head into our second week of the International Series. This week we are sending the Bills over to London while keeping the Jaguars over there for a second straight week because Jacksonville probably wouldn’t notice anyway.

This, like last week, means that our Sunday is getting an early start. So if you are like me and wait until Sunday morning to do your final fantasy/confidence tweaking, remember to set your alarm!

Week 5 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

14 – MIAMI over New York Giants – The Dolphins put up 70 in their last home game…this time I feel like they could get 70 sacks against the Giants O-Line.

13 – WASHINGTON over Chicago – There is no way change can’t be coming soon. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that, if the Bears lose, MATT EBERFLUS WILL BE FIRED BEFORE WEEK 6.

12 – DETROIT over Carolina – The top three lines on a confidence pool sheet are the Dolphins, Commanders and Lions…whoduh thunk!

11 – BUFFALO over Jacksonville – The Bills lost to the Jets … that still just dumbfounds me.

10 – Baltimore over PITTSBURGH – The Steelers are playing almost the same kind of offense they just gave up 30 points to…only this offense is better.

9 – INDIANAPOLIS over Tennessee – The Colts are just an intriguing team this year.

8 – DENVER over New York Jets – I’d say the non-Rodgers led Jets had there moment in the sun by almost winning last week…that won’t carry over.

7 – LAS VEGAS over Green Bay – OK, maybe still a little bit of a personal reason for putting the Raiders this high on the list.

6 – Cincinnati over ARIZONA – If they can’t beat the Cardinals, stick a fork in the Bengals.

5 – SAN FRANCISCO over Dallas – Grab your Pogs and put on some Ace of Base – this one will take you right back to the 90s!

4 – NEW ENGLAND over New Orleans – Two teams with two-letter abbreviations that both start with N … … … that’s the excitement I found for this one.

3 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Philadelphia – The will be the game the Rams show the league that they are indeed back.

2 – Houston over ATLANTA – This is going to be an unexpectedly fun game to watch.

1 – MINNESOTA over Kansas City – If you think someone will get their first win against the Chiefs, keep it on the one-point line.