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Another strong week to help with our own “playoff push” in confidence pools!

The stories are starting to pop up now about whether the Panthers will rest players or not during the last three weeks of the season. This is something you need to keep in mind when making your picks as well. If you think that Cam Newton, Greg Olsen and the majority of Carolina starters will spend most of the game on the bench, you probably don’t want the Panthers too high on your sheet.

Week 15 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – NEW ENGLAND over Tennessee – The Pats are back after a strong showing in Houston. Their reward is the late season equivalent of a bye week.

15 – SEATTLE over Cleveland – Some teams seem to rest at the end of the year to prepare for the playoffs, but it seems like Seattle rests at the beginning of the season and dominates at the end for momentum into the playoffs. Looks like that is their strategy yet again this year.

14 – MINNESOTA over Chicago – The Vikings need to get back on track before the playoffs start. Lucky for them they get a confusing Bears team that are coming off of losses against the “mighty” Redskins and 49ers.

13 – Cincinnati over SAN FRANCISCO – Cincy is on their backup quarterback as they make their playoff run – that’s a small negative. They get to play the Niners this week – that’s a major plus!

12 – NEW ORLEANS over Detroit – This was a playoff game just a few years ago. I’ll go out on a limb and say it won’t be a playoff matchup this year.

11 – PITTSBURGH over Denver – Yes, it’s odd to see Denver this high on the list on the losing side, but the Steelers seem to be running on all cylinders at the right time.

10 – Kansas City over BALTIMORE – Justin Houston may be out for the Chiefs, but against this depleted of a Ravens’ offense, you don’t really need to play 11 guys on defense to win.

9 – Carolina over NEW YORK GIANTS – If the Panthers start to sit players for the playoffs, it won’t be this week. Sorry Giants!

8 – Arizona over PHILADELPHIA – The dysfunctional Eagles team can handle a home game against the Bills, but not the Cardinals.

7 – New York Jets over DALLAS – The Cowboys are still eligible to win their division AND are still eligible for the #1 pick in the draft! This week will show they are closer to the latter.

6 – OAKLAND over Green Bay – By the time you finish reading this, Khalil Mack will have another sack! Watch out Aaron!

5 – ST LOUIS over Tampa Bay – I’d have something intelligent to say about this game, but I am just WAY too distracted by the uniforms these teams plan on wearing!

4 – WASHINGTON over Buffalo – The Skins seem to be the lesser of four evils in the NFC East this year. This week’s BOLD PREDICTION is that THE REDSKINS WILL WIN THE NFC EAST.

3 – SAN DIEGO over Miami – In August, this game was viewed as potentially huge in the race for the wild card in the AFC. Now its viewed…by nobody outside of San Diego and Miami.

2 – INDIANAPOLIS over Houston – Even after three months of disappointment the Texans and Colts will still battle for control of the division. Colts take this one because they are at home.

1 – JACKSONVILLE over Atlanta – It’s hard to argue that the Falcons have thrown in the flag on the 2015 season. That’s good news for Jacksonville’s division hopes.

Happy Holidays!

Last week we had a bit of a Christmas present for you with another pretty solid week. You should be close to if not at the top of your pool by now – you’re welcome! Here is hoping that the picks just keep on giving for you! Have a happy and safe holiday season everyone!

Week 16 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – KANSAS CITY over Cleveland – The Chiefs haven’t lost a game seemingly since VHS was a thing. They host the Browns this week…Merry Christmas Chiefs!

15 – SEATTLE over St Louis – Seattle continues to roll on their way to the post-season. Russell Wilson continues to shine as his backfield continues to crumble.

14 – BUFFALO over Dallas – So many fans will be watching this game just thinking about Super Bowl matchups in the early 90s – Cowboy fans more so since they actually won those games.

13 – TAMPA BAY over Chicago – It’s the Lovie Bowl! New Lovie will have the young Bucs hungry to play their hardest against Old Lovie.

12 – OAKLAND over San Diego – The Raiders were originally on a lower line, but add in the emotions of what will now be Charles Woodson’s last home game and a Raider win is almost a sure thing…helps that they’re playing the Chargers.

11 – MINNESOTA over New York Giants – No O’dell Beckham for the Giants means that they won’t have a way to combat the stingy Viking defense.

10 – Carolina over ATLANTA – The thriller in Jersey last week might just be the last chance of seeing a not round number in the L column for the Panthers this season. If you don’t think Cam is the MVP, you’re doing it wrong.

9 – DETROIT over San Francisco – The Lions offense seems to have returned a bit. Doesn’t matter though, they get to play the 49ers anyway.

8 – Pittsburgh over BALTIMORE – Antonio Brown has been called the Jerry Rice of this era…can you argue against that? My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that ANTONIO BROWN WILL HAVE ANOTHER 200 YARD RECEVING GAME.

7 – ARIZONA over Green Bay – Ladies and gentlemen, introducing David Johnson. Packer fans will probably be sick of hearing his name by the end of the night.

6 – DENVER over Cincinnati – This can’t be! Monday Night Football actually has a top matchup of the week? Not two team battling for the top spot…in the draft?? What a concept! The Broncos defense will take advantage of the new Bengals starting QB in this one.

5 – Houston over TENNESSEE – Houston seems to have taken control of the AFC South after a big win in Indy last week. Their reward is a game against the lowly Titans with a backup quarterback.

4 – NEW ORLEANS over Jacksonville – The Saints need to start re-building – a Drew Brees foot injury could very well be the nudge needed to take that step.

3 – NEW YORK JETS over New England – Who knew that this late season matchup of old rivals would actually end up being a good game … with the possibility of the Jets winning?

2 – MIAMI over Indianapolis – Miami has been a big disappointment this year. The only other team that would have the same consideration for disappointment of the year are the Colts. At least the Dolphins get this game at home.

1 – Washington over PHILADELPHIA – The Redskins should pull out a big road win in the race to see who will be the tallest midget in the NFC East.

Happy New Year everyone!

In our last push to get that full season championship, we get a week of divisional match-ups with almost no playoff scenarios finalized – that is a Christmas present in itself. We don’t need to worry about the Panthers benching their starters – they are still playing for home-field advantage thanks to the Falcons. The Redskins have their playoff opening week set, but they play a depleted Dallas team, so no real need to think too much about that game.

It has been another exciting year of football. I think we can all agree that the biggest takeaway from 2015 to take into 2016…the Raiders will win Super Bowl 51!

Week 17 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

16 – CAROLINA over Tampa Bay – Remember how I said that the Panthers still have something to play for? That’s bad news for the Bucs.

15 – CINCINNATI over Baltimore – Baltimore just needs to look towards 2016 and the Bengals will be more than willing to help them put an end to a bad 2015.

14 – DENVER over San Diego – The Broncos always seemed to find ways to win a game in 2015…and the Chargers always seemed to find ways to lose a game.

13 – New England over MIAMI – Simply put, the Dolphins were a joke this year. Tom Brady and friends get to put the final punch line in Miami this season.

12 – Pittsburgh over CLEVELAND – In the spirit of the college bowl season, the Steelers get to play the equivalent of a mid-major college team.

11 – ARIZONA over Seattle – Wow the Cardinals are good! With such an explosive offense and a potentially dominating defense, the Panthers in the Super Bowl may not be a sure thing.

10 – INDIANAPOLIS over Tennessee – To say the season has been a letdown for the Colts would be an understatement. They can still sneak in the playoffs with a win and a Houston loss. They’ll do their part and …

9 – HOUSTON over Jacksonville – …well it won’t matter. Houston has been looking solid the last few weeks and should be able to wrap up the dreadful AFC South title.

8 – KANSAS CITY over Oakland – These two teams could very well rekindle their storied rivalry over the next few years. As for this year, the Chiefs look too strong.

7 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Philadelphia – At least the Eagles get to look forward to a non-Chip Kelly led team next year.

6 – New York Jets over Buffalo – The Jets have been a very pleasant surprise this season. A win here and some help will give them a seemingly improbably playoff berth.

5 – GREEN BAY over Minnesota – The regular season ends in Lambeau. The winner of this one wins the NFC North and hosts Seattle in the Wild Card round … the loser gets to play Washington … hhmmm …

4 – St Louis over San Francisco – Cheer up 9er fans – with the way the draft order is playing out, Jared Goff should be there for you to snatch up.

3 – Washington over Dallas – Kirk Cousins probably won’t play the whole game … shouldn’t matter against whoever is left to play for the Cowboys.

2 – Detroit over Chicago – The Bears have been horrible on the lakefront this year – why should this week be any different for them?

1 – ATLANTA over New Orleans – How the mighty have fallen! This game could have been an NFC Championship preview the last few years. My final BOLD PREDICTION of the season is that DREW BREES WILL NOT BE THE STARTING QUARTERBACK FOR THE SAINTS IN WEEK 1 NEXT SEASON.

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.