Survivor pools, a concept so simple yet devastatingly difficult. Pick one team a week to win outright and you move on to the next week. The only catch you may only use the team once. For the fourth year in a row I'm trying to turn my 20$ into 10,000. I've put two bullets into the chamber once again to double my chances. Will this be the year I make it at least half way through the season?
Last Season all you had to do was pick the team playing the Browns and you were moving on to the next week. This year I think that team could be the Bills, which is why I am taking the Baltimore Ravens in week one. I think Nathan Peterman has thrown more interceptions than completions in his short NFL career and the Ravens defense should have a field day in this one.
My second pick is going to be the New Orleans Saints. They are one of my top picks for teams to win the Super Bowl this season and in week one they go up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs will be led by backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for the first three games of the season because former first overall draft pick Jamis Winston got a little grabby with his uber driver, 0 stars.
Like Peterman, Fitz has at times shown to be an interception machine. The Saints have been building up their defense the last few seasons and are no longer reliant on Drew Brees throwing 4 TDs a game. However I think he does throw for four this game and the Saints run away with an easy one.
Cheers to you all! May your opening NFL weekend be filled with plenty of delicious beer and bottomless nachos. And if you are hung-over on Monday, as Jarvis Landry would say, “Bless em”.
Here's three games with interesting fantasy matchups that you can use to help make your lineup decisions.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints - Let’s try this one more time, shall we. Last week I predicted that the Saints would be giving up a lot of points to the Cowboys, and the entire game featured one touchdown and 5 field goals. I do, however, have more faith in the new Bucs offense than the new-ish Cowboys one. Tampa has scored 96 points in the last 10 quarters of football. Jameis Winston only has one turnover during that time and WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are putting up huge numbers. Of course you’re starting them, but I think you need to get Jameis Winston in your lineup as well, since the Saints are giving up the 2nd most points to opposing QBs.
I also think that Ronald Jones is a guy you can fire up. His snap % has gone from 12 to 31 to 49 in the last 3 weeks and he had 20 touches in last week’s game. On the other side, Tampa is in the top 10 giving up points to opposing QBs and WRs, but with Teddy Bridgewater at the helm, I’m still only starting Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara on the Saints.
Arizona Cardinals @ Cincinnati Bengals - Two teams and 8 games between them and nary a win in sight. The Cards did sniff it in Week 1 with a tie, but these guys are a combined 0-7-1. Both teams lost by 3 scores last week, and at this point it’s just about pride. Let’s start with the Cardinals RB David Johnson, who has a spectacular matchup this week – basically guaranteed double digit points in a standard league. How can I say this? Well in 4 games, the Bengals have had 7 RBs score at least 13 points against them, again, standard scoring. Those 7 RBs are basically averaging 100 yards and a TD each. This should open things up for Kyler Murray and he will likely find Larry Fitzgerald early and often. Fitz will be boosted by the absence of Christian Kirk. Andy Isabella will see more work, but it’ll be on the outside, according the Kliff Kingsbury.
Regardless, the Cardinals run far more 4-WR sets than the rest of the league and there will be a lot of mouths to feed on offense, so I only like Fitzgerald and Johnson as solid fantasy starts, but they should be tremendous against the crappy Bengals. I also like Tyler Eifert for the Bengals, as the Cardinals have given up an absurd about of points to opposing tight ends. The Cardinals are giving up over 19 points per game to opposing TEs, while the next closest team is giving up only 12. This is historically bad, start Eifert!
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers - Traditionally, this is a defensive struggle, but that’s not likely on Sunday. The Ravens have given up over 500 yards of offense the last two weeks. The Steelers finally figured out their offense as led by Mason Rudolph, and the name of the game is efficiency. The Steelers are in the top 10 for most points against at WR and RB while Baltimore is in the top 11 of each of those stats. Both defenses are in the bottom half of the league when it comes to yards given up. The Steelers gave up 85 points in the first 3 weeks and the Ravens have given up 73 in just the last two! This is shaping up to be a solid fantasy matchup for both sides.
For the Steelers, I like James Conner of course, though his available may be up in the air, so keep an eye on injury reports. Jaylen Samuels proved very valuable and could have a huge role if Conner doesn’t play. Both Conner and Samuels had 8 targets and 10 carries, so they’ve both got value as starters, especially in a PPR league. Juju has to get involved sooner or later, so keep him in this week because it’s clear that the Steelers still love him. I also like Diontae Johnson if you’ve got bye week or injury troubles. 6 targets and 6 catches in an offense with lots of short passes is a good sign, especially in a PPR league.
For the Ravens, I like Lamar Jackson to continue to dominate, and hell, he’s the #1 fantasy player so far this year, so of course you’re starting him. Even when the team is losing, he finds a way to put up those garbage points. Last week, Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown did not put up the big numbers you want to see, but they both had lots of targets and that will continue all year long. Start them both along with Mark Ingram and don’t be surprised if both teams put up over 30 points in this division matchup.
Well it was quite refreshing seeing the Kansas City Chiefs fall last week to the Indianapolis Colts. I am developing a theory that good guy Andrew Luck just wanted Jacoby Brissett to get a fair shake at starting QB after he earned it filling in for Tom Brady a few years back during the Deflategate suspension. With that loss we saw another 135 members drop out of the pool followed by 43 poor saps who thought the Bears were a good team. Heck, a team slightly better than the Raiders would have rolled that pathetic Bears offense, rather than gift them a turnover to make it look close. This brings the remaining entrants down to a manageable 326.
This week I am going with the Baltimore Ravens to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals. They opened up as the 2nd biggest favorite of the week at home -11.5, following only the Patriots at -16.5 who mopped the Giants Thursday night. Pretty simple logic here, I already selected the Pats earlier this year and this doesn't look like a spot for the Bengals to get their first W. In fact, this might be a good point in the season for the Bengals to consider losing all of their games and get a decent QB in the draft. By default, either the Dolphins or Redskins will get a win this week, which will give them a leg up, especially if that winner is Miami.
I do believe the Ravens will be the most popular pick this week so if you want to go off the board a little might I suggest going with the Chargers against the Steeler's backup's backup. They will be facing a tough Pittsburgh crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park, but I think ole Phil and the guys can overcome the noise.
On a final note, I would like anyone to submit a theory as to how the Cleveland shit Browns opened as a favorite vs the Seattle Seahawks. Did another of Russel Wilson's teammates sleep with his wife or something?
It’s hard to believe that we are just a few weeks away from the end of the season. Only a few more chances to lock down that top spot in your season long pool.
But, if you have been using our picks all year, you should be at the top as it is. And if you haven’t, well, you’ll learn for next season I guess!
Week 15 – HERE WE GO!!!!
(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)