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As we head into week 5, we head into our second week of the International Series. This week we are sending the Browns over to London while keeping the Vikings Jaguars in Europe a second straight week because the Vikings apparently deserve the Jacksonville Jaguar treatment now.

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 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over San Francisco – Mac Jones under center shot this game to the top on our list … for the Rams.

13 – ARIZONA over Tennessee – Haven’t seen a reason to have any kind of confidence in the Titans yet.

12 – INDIANAPOLIS over Las Vegas – Well at least Ashton Jeanty finally decided to join the league!

11 – BUFFALO over New England – This might be closer than you think, but no way the Bills lose.

10 – PHILADELPHIA over Denver – I’m not saying they’ll go undefeated, but I don’t know how we’re not picking the Eagles every week this season. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE EAGLES WILL LOSE TWO GAMES OR LESS THIS SEASON.

9 – Detroit over CINCINNATI – A lack of a QB trade has shown the Bengals don’t care about losing.

8 – Minnesota over CLEVELAND – Carson Wentz seems to be pulling a Sam Darnold and putting JJ McCarthy’s job in question again this season.

7 – Kansas City over JACKSONVILLE – Xavier Worthy being back is a bigger deal than people are letting on for the Chiefs.

6 – BALTIMORE over Houston – Obviously confidence takes a hit with Lamar’s injury status, but the Ravens can still pull this one out.

5 – CAROLINA over Miami – The Dolphins confusion on offense is going up against a team that scored a shutout in their last home game.

4 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Washington – A healthy Jayden Daniels makes me a little weary in a Chargers win this week.

3 – Tampa Bay over SEATTLE – Who knew when the season started that this matchup would have potential to be the Game of the Week?

2 – NEW YORK JETS over Dallas – Putting a New York team to win at home at the two-point line because…

1 – New York Giants over NEW ORLEANS - …you have to put a New York team winning on the road 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)

15 – GREEN BAY over Cincinnati – Well Joe Flacco HAS already beaten the Packers this season so…no…no there’s no chance…

14 – PITTSBURGH over Cleveland – Says a lot about your team when you trade one quarterback, start a rookie quarterback, but the talking point is still your third string quarterback.

13 – WASHINGTON over Chicago – …Pepperidge Farms remembers …

12 – INDIANAPOLIS over Arizona – The Cardinals just don’t seem to want to win games this season.

11 – Denver over NEW YORK JETS – Get up early for this one! Or don’t, it won’t be very exciting.

10 – Philadelphia over NEW YORK GIANTS – A game against the Giants will be a great way for the Eagles to practice playing football for ALL four quarters.

9 – Los Angeles Rams – over BALTIMORE – The Ravens are about to be 1-5 … that’s weird.

8 – Buffalo over ATLANTA – The Patriots need to apologize to the Falcons for what will happen to them this week.

7 – JACKSONVILLE over Seattle – It feels like the Seahawks are going to end up being the best looking 9-8 or 8-9 team this season.

6 – MIAMI over Los Angeles Chargers – We’ll call this the Hunch of the Week.

5 – TAMPA BAY over San Francisco – Baker just seems to find ways to win. My BOLD PREDICTION this week is that THE BUCS WILL WIN AT LEAST 12 GAMES THIS YEAR.

4 – KANSAS CITY over Detroit – I wouldn’t be hurt if you wanted to put the Lions on this line.

3 – NEW ORLEANS over New England – The Pats used up too much winning energy last week. Yes … that’s a thing!

2 – CAROLINA – over Dallas – The Panthers are going to end this week with a better record than the Ravens .. … … just let that sit for a little bit.

1 – Tennessee over LAS VEGAS – Really no reason to have faith in the Raiders at this point … not even at home against the Titans.

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 – KANSAS CITY over Las Vegas – The Raiders have probably had the most luck in Arrowhead out of all opponents in recent memory … but still … this should be easy for the Chiefs this year.

14 – CHICAGO over New Orleans – Win a big road game on a Monday Night and get rewarded with a home game against the Saints.

13 – SEATTLE over Houston – The Seahawks seem to be sneaking their way towards the top of most power rankings these days.

12 – Green Bay over ARIZONA – This has to be a get-right game for the Packers

11 – DENVER over New York Giants – The Gants seem to have an offense for the future…but games are still played in the now.

10 – Pittsburgh over CINCINNATI – I heard this Joe Flacco / Aaron Rodgers matchup referred to as the Icy-Hot Bowl … just wanted to make more people aware of that ?

9 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Indianapolis – This just seems like a game the Chargers SHOULD win

8 – DETROIT over Tampa Bay – This is currently NFL.com’s Power Rankings #1 and #2…called it!

7 – Washington over DALLAS – Makes sense that America’s Team is having this rough of a year. My BOLD PREDICTION for this wee is that for the first time in over 30 years, THE COWBOYS WILL PICK IN THE TOP 5 OF THE DRAFT NEXT YEAR.

6 – SAN FRANCISCO over Atlanta – The Falcons have proven over the years to be a team that cant seem to put consecutive solid weeks together.

5 – MINNESOTA over Philadelphia – This is the perfect time for anyone to play the Eagles, let alone a team like the Vikings.

4 – JACKSONVILLE over Los Angeles Rams – Word is that Travis Hunter will be getting a bigger role in the offense – which should spread things out enough for the Jags to win what should be a shootout.

3 – New England over TENNESSEE – The Mike Vrabel Bowl … yeah I’m not that excited either.

2 – CLEVELAND over Miami – Wait, we’re picking the Browns and NOT putting them on the one-point line? …

1 – NEW YORK JETS over Carolina – … oh that makes sense now

We’re already on double digit weeks? How can this be!

And after last week, we are ready to get into the double-digit portion of the season. We said that we needed a big week last week and, well, I meant this week … obviously!

Let’s get it rolling!

Week 10 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

14 – DENVER over Las Vegas – At least it’s the Thursday Night game so Raiders fans can have a relaxing Sunday this week.

13 – INDIANAPOLIS over Atlanta – So when they lose a game, the Colts just bring in an All-Pro Cornerback … they got this thing figured out!

12 – Buffalo over MIAMI – Remember when we though we were going to get the reincarnation of the Bills/Dolphins rivalry from the 90s? Yeeeeeeah about that …

11 – SEATTLE over Arizona – It’s scary that the Seahawks went and got more offensive power.

10 – CHICAGO over New York Giants – This could be a rivalry for the future when the Giants get healthy.

9 – CAROLINA over New Orleans – Can the Panthers actually make a run at the Bucs? My BOLD PREDICTION is that after multiple years finishing at the bottom of the league, THE PANTHERS WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.

8 – TAMPA BAY over New England – As I just mentioned, the Bucs need to watch their back with the Panthers coming up.

7 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Pittsburgh – The Steelers look strong last week…they just don’t seem like a team that can do it two weeks in a row

6 – Jacksonville over HOUSTON – Losing CJ Stroud will hurt the Texans bad.

5 – Philadelphia over GREEN BAY – This should have been an automatic Game of the Week, but who would have thought the Packers would slip the way they have.

4 – MINNESOTA over Baltimore – If you wanted to flip this and pick the Ravens, I wouldn’t be mad at you … … … much.

3 – Detroit over WASHINGTON – Just like Houston, the Commanders are going to miss their signal caller

2 – SAN FRANCISCO over Los Angeles Rams – This just seems like a big divisional game that the 9ers always find a way to win.

1 – Cleveland over NEW YORK JETS – Keep this game on the one-point line so you don’t have an urge to want to watch a second of it.