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John Brown, a man of action -- a man who would not be deterred from his mission of abolishing slavery. Crap, wrong John Brown.  But like the former John Brown, John Brown is a man of action and is also on a mission. Brown is an interesting target and has been climbing up draft boards over the last month. His ADP has gone from the 10th round, to the 7th. Heck, I have seen him go as early as the 5th!

History:

Brown is from the college football powerhouse of Pittsburgh State. Fine, maybe not a powerhouse college but he is the all time leader of the Gorillas in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. I will not even begin to get into the countless awards and the recognition he gained for his work on Special Teams. John Brown was drafted by the Cardinals in 2014 in the third round (91st overall) and had a 48/696/5 stat line last year.

 
In the off-season, Brown actually lived and worked out with Carson Palmer. They worked on getting their timing down and getting on the same page. This is nice to hear and see. Both players are committed to getting better in 2015 and Brown can learn a lot from a veteran like Palmer. It was also reported that Brown put on 10lbs in an effort to shed press coverage.

Outlook:

With a year under his belt and having adjusted more to the NFL's level of play, the Cardinals are going to find more ways to get the ball into Brown’s hands. Last season he only rushed 3 times for -6 yards. There will be more reverses and quick screens to get the ball to the speedster. With Fitzgerald drawing attention from defenses and Floyd missing fingers, watch out for Brown. If Palmer stays healthy, all signs point to him having a great season.

Bold Prediction Stat Line: 85/1050/9

Looking for Week 16 Confidence Picks?

FOOTBALL’S BACK!! FOOTBALL’S BACK!! FOOTBALL’S BACK!!

Did you hear that football is back?

Well it is! The defending champion New England Patriots are so close to defending another one of their asterisk covered Lombardi Trophies against the Steelers. With the start of a new year comes a new year of confidence pool picks!

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 2015 season started!

WEEK 1 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – ARIZONA over New Orleans – After a few games last year I predicted that the Patriots dynasty had run its course. I’ll go ahead and throw that label on the Saints this year. Didn’t exactly hold up too well last year though I think it has a better chance of sticking this year.

15 – Green Bay over CHICAGO – The NFL has started its Monday Night Football season with two games for the last few years. On that, this game will allow me to start this season off with an unprecedented DOUBLE BOLD PREDICTION! (I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath ... ... ...) Here goes – THE BEARS WILL END THE SEASON ON THE CLOCK WITH THE WORST RECORD IN THE LEAGUE and even with the Jordy Nelson injury, THE PACKERS WILL WIN THE SUPER BOWL.

14 – DENVER over Baltimore – With the additions the Colts made in the off-season and everything related to the Patriots, everyone seems to be overlooking the Broncos. Peyton and friends will quickly remind the league who they are this week.

13 – NEW ENGLAND over Pittsburgh – Simply put, the Pats are in complete F You mode this season. Brady and the other “straight shooting, play it by the book” Patriots (wink wink) will take every chance they can get to stick it to the league – no better stage to start it than Opening Night.

12 – TAMPA BAY over Tennessee – This pick is obviously more of a bad Tennessee than a good Tampa Bay. The first battle of the top two picks in the draft will go the way of #1 to start. I see Jameis Winston being somewhere between Cam Newton and RGIII, but he’ll at least start off his career on the right foot.

11 – DALLAS over New York Giants – The Cowboys avoided a huge distraction this season by getting Dez Bryant signed long term. They still need to work on their running back situation, but they still look like they can do some damage in the NFC this season.

10 – SAN DIEGO over Detroit – A battle between two teams that could finish anywhere from top to bottom of their division. I’m sure the Chargers will play their hearts out for their home opener in front of all of their now temporary fans.

9 – NEW YORK JETS over Cleveland – The NFL loves to load their opening week schedule up with matchups that will keep us at the edge of our seats to really set the tone for what should be yet another exciting season of professional football ... ... ... this is not one of those games.

8 – Kansas City over HOUSTON – It’s going to be a long few weeks for the Texans before Arian Foster comes back...and even then it won’t be anything to look forward too. JJ Watt can’t play every position.

7 – Miami over WASHINGTON – The ‘Skins finally came to their senses by benching RGIII. They have senses...but they don’t have that much talent...which is pretty important in professional sports.

6 – Indianapolis over BUFFALO – The Colts are going to be scary this season. I can easily see them taking the AFC this year. They start the 2015 campaign with a tough test in Orchard Park, but it is a test that they should be able to pass.

5 – Carolina over JACKSONVILLE – The million dollar question in Charlotte is who will catch a pass from Cam Newton. Lucky for the Panthers they start the season against the lowly Jaguars.

4 – ATLANTA over Philadelphia – The Eagles look like they could challenge the Cowboys for the NFC East this season. The Falcons have struggled the last year or two but I really think they get things rolling again this season and it starts on Monday Night.

3 – ST. LOUIS over Seattle – The Rams beat Seattle at home last year. It is pretty easy to think that it can happen again this year especially with the Seahawks taking a bit of a hit with the current Kam Chancellor holdout situation.

2 – OAKLAND over Cincinnati – It seems like the Raiders have been consistently mentioned as a team on the come up. They need to win games like this to have a shot at a .500 record.

1 – Minnesota over SAN FRANCISCO – The second half of the Week 1 Monday Night doubleheader concludes with Teddy Bridgewater starting the process of showing the country that he is a legit quarterback that teams should not have passed up in the draft last season. (that was a long sentence)

It’s always best to get off to a strong start!

If you followed my picks last week, then you should be sitting pretty towards the top of the standings of your confidence pool. Getting 12 out of 16 right in week 1 is something to pat yourself on the back about…(excuse me while I pat myself on the back).

But as the old saying goes, this is a sprint, not a marathon…though you may have won the weekly payout for the week 1 sprint :). We have a bit of an understanding of what the 2015 version of each team looks like, but there is still room for adjustments.  We are still looking for that elusive perfect week of picks…maybe it will be this week!

Week 2! … HERE WE GO!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – INDIANAPOLIS over New York Jets – The Colts came into the 2015 campaign labeled by some as favorites to win the AFC Championship this season. Losing in week 1 doesn’t help that case. Lucky for them they get a home game against the Jets to help the recovery process.

15 – PITTSBURGH over San Francisco – The season started off with an unexpected bang for the 9ers with a big win on a national Monday night stage. They should be brought back down to Earth pretty quickly in the Steel City.

14 – NEW ORLEANS over Tampa Bay – Last week the Saints were my lock to lose. This week they are on the winning side of the 14-point line … ah the fun of the NFC South.

13 – GREEN BAY over Seattle – Last week in Chicago, the Packers gave up a late TD to the Bears which led to an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. How many Packer fans were brought back to a similar situation seven months ago in Seattle? This week they get their chance at proper retribution – and to put the Seahawks in an 0-2 hole to start the season.

12 – Miami over JACKSONVILLE – The Dolphins got off to a slow start but still pulled off the road win. Look for the same this week…with the probably exception of Miami starting off slow.

11 –Baltimore over OAKLAND – The Raiders proved last week that they are still a work in progress. Add in injuries to key players, including quarterback Derek Carr, and it’s really hard to see the Raiders pulling one out here either.

10 – CINCINNATI over San Diego –The announce team for the Bengals/Raiders game last week made it sound like the Bengals were on their way to the Super Bowl. That game was against Oakland, this is different – but the result won’t be.

9 – CAROLINA over Houston – Doctors in Houston are rushing trying to figure out how the bring Arian Foster back as soon as possible – won’t be this week though!

8 – KANSAS CITY over Denver – After edging the Ravens at home and a very not-Peyton like performance from Peyton Manning, the Broncos are in “Show-Me Mode.” Show me you can pull out big road games like this and I’ll have more confidence in you.

7 – MINNESOTA over Detroit – Both teams are coming off of a rough start to the season. Look for this one to be a shootout – an aerial assault from both teams. If for no other reason, the Vikings are the home team so they get the edge here.

6 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Atlanta – Apparently Eli told Rashad Jennings to NOT score at the end of the Dallas game last week … to NOT score! To NOT put points on the board! The Giants won’t make that mistake again.

5 – Arizona over CHICAGO – Carson Palmer looked like the Carson Palmer of hold. Expect to see more of the same on the lake this week. Arizona is looking solid enough to say that this week’s BOLD PREDICTION is that THE CARDINALS WILL OVERTAKE THE SEAHAWKS AND WIN THE NFC WEST.

4 – Tennessee over CLEVELAND – The scheduling Gods live in Nashville apparently. The Titans start the season with two road games…but those games are in Tampa and Cleveland. Johnny Manziel will be under center for the Browns this week. All Titan fans hail the scheduling Gods!

3 – BUFFALO over New England – Nothing motivates Rex Ryan more than a game against the Pats. Now he gets to go against New England with more talent than he has had in the last few years. I don’t think he will let this opportunity fall.

2 – PHILADELPHIA over Dallas – The Cowboys leading rusher a year ago will be on the other sideline. Their all-everything receiver will still be on their own sideline…but he won’t leave the sideline. Philly will just have too much firepower for Dallas to handle.

1 – St. Louis over WASHINGTON – Washington used their run game to keep it close against the Dolphins last week. They won’t have the same success against the strong Rams defensive line.

Any given Sunday!

Its football – it’s the NFL – anything can happen. Last week was just a microcosm of that fact. The league as a whole was nearly flipped upside-down with upsets galore last week. So much so that the survivor pool that I was in ended! A winner in week 2! Crazy!

It looks like we have more sure-fire match-ups this week though. We should be able to get back on track and get some points back on the overall season total.

Week 3! … HERE WE GO!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – SEATTLE over Chicago – This might have been the 16-point game before Jay Cutler got hurt and Kam Chancellor decided to come back. Seattle is hungry for their first win of the season – hard to think they won’t get it this week.

15 – NEW ENGLAND over Jacksonville – The Pats should have to play with an actually fully deflated ball to keep this one close.

14 – ARIZONA over San Francisco – The Cardinals tore up a depleted defense last week. I expect more of the same this week.

13 – GREEN BAY over Kansas City – Green Bay got hit hard by the injury bug last week. Thing about that is they have been dealing with the injury bug for the last few years yet they still find ways to win.

12 – Pittsburgh over ST. LOUIS – The offense of the Steelers has been almost unstoppable. Now they get Le’Veon Bell back. The black and gold could be a force to keep an eye on the rest of the year.

11 – CAROLINA over New Orleans – The Saints are spiraling downward faster than we could have thought. With Drew Brees not at 100% it’s hard to see them getting a divisional road win.

10 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Washington – Countless injuries in Dallas and a lackluster Eagles’ squad means that the NFC East is wide open this year. New York has the needed experience to get the job done on Thursday Night.

9 – NEW YORK JETS over Philadelphia – Are the Jets for real? A Monday Night win in Indy last week certainly was a large step in the right direction. With game-manager extraordinaire Ryan Fitzpatrick under center I’ll say that my BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE JETS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON.

8 – MINNESOTA over San Diego – Not really too much to say about this game – going to brush off an old gem and give the Vikes the win is a “because they are the home team” situation.

7 – Indianapolis over TENNESSEE – OK, this is a game against the Titans…the Colts SURELY can win this one … right?

6 – MIAMI over Buffalo – Remember when everyone was thinking the Dolphins would surpass the Pats this year? The Fins will need this one to hang on to post-season hope.

5 – Denver over DETROIT – Denver was literally handed the win in Kansas City last week. They sit at 2-0 but still seem to have a lot to prove to the league. Look for a statement in Detroit.

4 – Atlanta over DALLAS – Raise your hand if you are able to play offense for the Cowboys this week! Not too fast though, you’ll probably hurt yourself!

3 – Cincinnati over BALTIMORE – The Ravens are two minutes away from being 2-0…instead they sit at 0-2. This could end up being the game of the week. Look for this to go down to the wire…which hasn’t worked out to well for Baltimore so far this year.

2 – Oakland over CLEVELAND – Neither one of these teams are in last place in their respective divisions. Yes, I’m fully aware that it’s week 3, but would you ever think that this early season match up COULD have an effect on the playoffs down the stretch?

1 – HOUSTON over Tampa Bay – The Texans will pull this one out because the coin I just flipped came up tails.