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Oh this is going to be a fun week!

To clarify, this will be a “fun” week.

This is the kind of week where season-long confidence pool participants are separated. Once we get past the first few lines, nearly every other game is a crap shoot!

My best to those who have to make picks for a survival pool this week.

We’re not worried about that here though so let’s get some confidence!

Week 3 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – TAMPA BAY over Denver – Seems like this is the season that Baker Mayfield has been waiting for!

15 – LAS VEGAS over Carolina – With how the Raiders looked last week, benching Bryce Young means this game is on the 15 point line, not the 16. My BOLD PREDICTION for this season is that THE RAIDERS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS

14 – NEW YORK JETS over New England – Aaron Rodgers big New York home opener Jets debut! … … … take two!

13 – CLEVELAND over New York Giants – Daniel Jones got is one win for the quarter last week.

12 – Kansas City over ATLANTA – Normally I would mistakenly have faith in the Falcons after a big road win – they won’t trick me this time!

11 – CINCINNATI over Washington – If this misses, it will be the last you see the Bengals this high this season.

10 – PITTSBURGH over Los Angeles Chargers – Can’t play the Panthers every week!

9 – BUFFALO over Jacksonville – Rumors of the Bills demise might have been greatly exaggerated.

8 – Houston over MINNESOTA – It’s been a good story in Minnesota so far, but not good enough to slow down Houston.

7 – NEW ORLEANS over Philadelphia – The Saints are going to be a fun team to watch this year for sure.

6 – INDIANAPOLIS over Chicago – It’s a long season Bears fans, hang in there!

5 – Detroit over ARIZONA – This could easily be a wrong pick depending on the Kyler Murray that shows up.

4 – DALLAS over Baltimore – Both these teams are going to play pretty desperate after last week.

3 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over San Francisco – Brock Purdy is playing…Matthew Stafford is playing … after that I’m not that sure!

2 – SEATTLE over Miami – We’ll need a week of seeing Skylar Thompson before picking the Dolphins to win.

1 – TENNESSEE over Green Bay – If Jordan Love does play then this pick switches to the Packers, but keep it on this line.

OK…so…about last week…

Well, now seems like a good idea to remind everyone that most season-long pools will allow you to remove your lowest scoring week from the total amount.

I didn’t really think we would have to look into that feature less than a quarter of the way into the season…but here we are!

Ah well, time to get back on that horse!

Week 4 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – SAN FRANCISCO over New England – The 9ers could use a bit of a break to rest some injuries – playing the Patriots will provide that.

15 – HOUSTON over Jacksonville – Change is coming in Florida. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that DOUG PEDERSON WILL BE THE FIRST COACH FIRED THIS YEAR.

14 – NEW YORK JETS over Denver – The Broncos used up all of there energy in Tampa last week.

13 – Kansas City over LOS ANGELES CHARGERS – The Chiefs are playing a game against a divisional opponent – we all know how this goes.

12 – DETROIT over Seattle – Thank God there are two Monday Night Games again this week …

11 – MIAMI over Tennessee – …because this would have been our only option…eesh!

10 – INDIANAPOLIS over Pittsburgh – It’s only a matter of time that the undefeated stretch for the Steelers ends…and that time is about noon central time on Sunday.

9 – BALTIMORE over Buffalo – This game being this high on our list just shows how close the games are going to be this week.

8 – CHICAGO over Los Angeles Rams – Imagine what Caleb Williams could do with a line that could even block a phone call.

7 – TAMPA BAY over Philadelphia – Look for the Bucs to bounce back after last week’s drubbing.

6 – ARIZONA over Washington – Jayden vs Kyler just seems like it will be fun to watch.

5 – ATLANTA over New Orleans – Hopefully the Falcons will have a new set of refs for this game.

4 – Minnesota over GREEN BAY – Who knew this would be an NFC North matchup to be excited about?

3 – CAROLINA over Cincinnati – Andy Dalton for MVP?

2 – Cleveland over LAS VEGAS - If you lose at home to the Panthers, you don’t get to win this week.

1 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Dallas – Just seems like one of the games that Daniel Jones’ could take over…but keep it on the one-point line

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 when 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)

14 – CHICAGO over Jacksonville – This is more about how close all the games are this week than how confident we should be about the Bears.

13 – Houston over NEW ENGLAND – Drake Maye will be a solid quarterback but won’t have the tools to put up enough points against Houston this week.

12 – PHILADELPHIA over Cleveland – Arguably a battle of the two most frustrating teams for their fan bases this season.

11 – BALTIMORE over Washington – The beltway battle is going to be fun to watch for a long time with Lamar vs Jayden

10 – GREEN BAY over Arizona – The Cardinals don’t have enough to win two big road games in a row.

9 – LAS VEGAS over Pittsburgh – FINALLY Aidan O’Connell is back under center where he belongs! My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE RAIDERS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

8 – Buffalo over NEW YORK JETS – Obviously there are a lot of internal issues with the Jets that will overshadow much needed preparations for this week.

7 – SEATTLE over San Francisco – The Seahawks need this big win after last week’s big loss.

6 – DENVER over Los Angeles Chargers – The Broncos are winning games … … … I don’t know why.

5 – Tampa Bay over NEW ORLEANS – Our best to everyone in Florida.

4 – Detroit over DALLAS – The Lions have had this one circled on their calendars for a long time!

3 – TENNESSEE over Indianapolis – This is based on Anthony Richardson not playing. If he plays, switch to the Colts on this line.

2 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Cincinnati – As we know, the Giants should be on the one-point line if we think they’ll win … unless …

1 – CAROLINA over Atlanta – … we also think the Panthers will win in the same week as well.

This has been a dramatic season to say the least.

While that is great while you’re watching the games on Sunday, it does make things a little difficult when filling out your confidence picks. We have had several weeks already where we are sure about maybe one or two games but then the rest are toss-ups.

This week, well, seems to be more of the same! So, now that we’re used to it, let’s just pick ‘em all right!

Week 7 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

15 – BUFFALO over Tennessee – The Bills make a move to improve their offense … FINALLY!!

14 – WASHINGTON over Carolina – Panthers fans have to shed a few tears every time they play a team with a young, high-pick QB that actually succeeds!

13 – Philadelphia over NEW YORK GIANTS – Hard to win a game at home when your quarterback apparently refuses to throw for a touchdown at home!

12 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Las Vegas – Boy it’s fun being a Raiders fan!

11 – JACKSONVILLE over New England – When are they just going to announce the official creation of the London Jaguars?

10 – INDIANAPOLIS over Miami – It’s crazy how different the Dolphins offense is without Tua.

9 – ATLANTA over Seattle – One of those “it will be exciting but you don’t know why” games.

8 – Los Angeles Chargers over ARIZONA – We all know how ‘effective’ a non-MHJ Cardinals offense is.

7 – PITTSBURGH over New York Jets – The Jets have players, but the organization is what is keeping them down.

6 – Houston over GREEN BAY – The Texan look solid. My BOLD PREDICTION is that HOUSTON WILL MAKE THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME … … … AT LEAST.

5 – Detroit over MINNESOTA – This would be higher up the list if Hutchinson was still playing.

4 – SAN FRANCISCO over Kansas City – This game won’t be played in February so the 9ers have a chance.

3 – TAMPA BAY over Baltimore – It’s really weird to think that this could be a Super Bowl preview…but here we are!

2 – Cincinnati over CLEVELAND – It’s the Battle for Ohio! … which is something to battle over I guess.

1 – Denver over NEW ORLEANS – Some has to win this one I guess.