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Went with Packers I don't believe they'll be as bad as some think. A very young team, there will be mistakes. Packers have a top O line, returning players on "D", ST has to sort itself out. Fields isn't great, Bears won 3 games last year. All of a sudden they're going to be great? Right!
I don't think they'll be bad at all. They just won't be great. I'd put a floor, and this is kinda thinking Love just stinks up the joint (comparatively) at around 6 wins.
Now.. I also think the ceiling is.. Fairly low. 9 wins.. 10 tops. But, that would be good enough to have them in the hunt.
I'm.. Just.. Confused at the love for the Bears. Of course.. I'll bring it up again.. I said I didn't think that the Seahawks would win 4 games last year.
Went with Packers I don't believe they'll be as bad as some think. A very young team, there will be mistakes. Packers have a top O line, returning players on "D", ST has to sort itself out. Fields isn't great, Bears won 3 games last year. All of a sudden they're going to be great? Right!
I mean, I think they'll be pretty bad personally. They only won 8 games last year and that was with Rodgers. But you know me, I'm a Lions fan so who knows?
Welcome back everyone, seeing many familiar names here. Hope y'all had a good offseason. Me personally, I got to go to Disney World for the first time which was pretty cool! But yeah let's dive back into football and have a grand ole time making our picks...
(0-0 overall)
Detroit @ Kansas City- As many of you know, Im a Lions fan and while there is many causes to celebrate, Andy Reid just doesn't really lose after a bye. He and Mahomes will come into the game prepared, and the Lions will come in hungry. It'll be closer than what people are thinking but let's be honest, Chiefs win
Carolina @ Atlanta- Falcons just have more goin for them right now
Cincinnati @ Cleveland- Im only taking the Browns under the impression Burrow doesnt play. It'd be close even if he did tho
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis- Week 1 is always weird and this is a divisional game....however, Jags on paper are so much better than the Colts are with a new head coach, new qb, and no Taylor
Tampa Bay @ Minnesota- Even with their losses, the Vikings are still more complete than the Buccaneers are
Tennessee @ New Orleans- The Titans have like a handful of good players but they dont play as a team. The Saints should improve from last year with a healthy Michael Thomas and Derek Carr
San Francisco @ Pittsburgh- I may be on an island here, we'll see, but again Mike Tomlin in week one games is pretty good. He hasn't lost since 2019. Plus the 49ers lost to the Bears week one last year. Either this is the way, or im overthinking it
Arizona @ Washington- An ugly game but it has to be played. I think the Commanders are leaps and bounds better than their competition this week. Im picking the Cardinals to be the worst team this year, no cap. Kyler is out for the year, they released their backup qb Colt McCoy, they have no o-line, no defense except Budda Baker and not a good hc. They're just a hot mess ready to get destroyed every week
Houston @ Baltimore- It wouldn't shock me if the Texans won but I'll ride with the statistics on this
Green Bay @ Chicago- one of the few times I'll be picking the Packers this year, but I believe they split games this season and this just happened to be one of them
Las Vegas @ Denver- Raiders didnt change much which actually helps them while the Broncos have to adjust with Russ and Payton. I say the Raiders get the better of them the first time around
Philadelphia @ New England- should be easy pick
Miami @ LA Chargers- a pick'em game but I think Chargers have to get in their groove with Kellen Moore. Once they do tho, look out
LA Rams @ Seattle- Already Cooper Kupp is injured for the Rams, unbelievable. Plus they dont play that well against the Seahawks anyway
Dallas @ NY Giants- Im so upset with the Cowboys for getting rid of Elliott. He was still a good rb, they at least could've had him as backup. Also they lost Kellen Moore so I need to see how they adjust while the Giants have stayed relatively calm and added Darren Waller (they did lose Kenny Golladay)
Buffalo @ NY Jets- Yeah lots of drama with these two teams this offseason. I'll just say I do think both will make the playoffs but the Jets will be better later in the year than early so they need to use this time to gel together
Location: East Texas, with the Clan of the Cave Bear
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I always have a hard time being motivated on these threads but I'll play (I have participated since the 2021 season and didn't finish the year). I'll editorialize a bit. 1st 4-5 weeks of the season is the hardest to pick.
Lions @ Chiefs - Pretty obvious. I'm not sold on the Lions yet either.
Panthers @ Falcons - Falcons seem to be the up and comers moreso
Texans @ Ravens - Poor Texans, they suck!
Bengals @ Browns - It's the Browns and the Bengals are much better
Jaguars @ Colts - Better QB and better team
Buccaneers @ Vikings - TB is rebuilding, and I mean really rebuilding
Titans @ Saints - Tossup game. I'll go with the home team. Who Dat!
49ers @ Steelers - another tossup IMO.
Cardinals @ Commanders - Arizona really sucks and the NFCE is the NFC Beast
Packers @ Bears - Going with the Pack but who knows. Better OL and defense IMO
Raiders @ Broncos Raidahs are just not a good organization. And Sean Payton is good
Dolphins @ Chargers - Chargers will be good. Better than the phish
Eagles @ Patriots - NFC Beast team and Belichick seems to have been riding the coattail of TB
Rams @ Seahawks - Seachickens are better
Cowboys @ Giants - Daboll is good. I think Dallas is better. Dak could lose it though.
Bills @ Jets - Jets only because of AR, Toss-up game though
I'd like to welcome everyone back for another season of fun picking. I can't wait for the season to start and look forward to another year of awful picking and even worse analysis by yours truly. Congrats to DRob4JC and Star691 for winning last year! I will keep track of the standings again this year unless someone else would like to do it. We have the best pickers in the business. Good luck to everyone! I already know I won't win. My picks are too weird. Here goes Week 1:
Lions @ Chiefs-I think this will be an excellent way to start the season. Last year KC had a tendency to keep games close and the Lions are always competitive, but they haven't been able to get over the hump from being a bad/mediocre team to a good team. The difference between a playoff team and a nonplayoff team in the NFL is winning close games. Dan Campbell is eating razor blades for breakfast and changing the culture in Detroit. I'm a huge Iowa Hawkeye fan so I was pretty geeked about the Jack Campbell and Sam LaPorta draft picks. Iowa guys usually produce in in the NFL. BUT they're not beating Mahomes, Kelce, and Andy Reid in Week 1. Chiefs will be collecting their rings again for a reason and they're prone to hot starts. Give me KC 28-24 over the Lions on TNF.
Panthers @ Falcons -Well, I'm completely unprepared for this season. I have no analysis for this game. I guess it'll be Desmond Ridder vs Bryce Young. Ridder at least has a season of mostly riding the pine under his belt. Give me Atlanta at home 17-13 over Frank Reich. I think Steve Wilks should still be the head coach. Carolina played hard and were competitive under him. Dirty Birds usually do me dirty and then I shun them for the rest of the season, so expect Carolina in a mild upset.
Texans @ Ravens-This is my gimme of the week and survivor pick. You have CJ Stroud making his debut against Lamar Jackson. Good luck, Rookie! Texans also have a rookie head coach in DeMeco Ryans who will serve his one-year sentence in the Houston coaching carousel. Ravens usually come out strong in Week 1 and I predict a woodshed beating of 38-13.
Bengals @ Browns-Give me massage enthusiast Deshaun Watson and the Brownies to open the season with a 21-20 win in the Battle of Ohio whether or not Burrow plays. Browns beat them in Cleveland last year and Cincy did start 0-2 last year despite ending up in the AFC Conference Championship game. I expect a similar pattern for Cincy this year. This win will get Browns fans excited, but I expect a 7-10 season for them.
Jaguars @ Colts-I predict Spicoli and the Jags will return to the playoffs this year. They just needed lap dance enthusiast Urban Meyer to get out of the way. Anthony Richardson, another rookie QB, is making his debut. I suspect one of these rooks will collect a win and I think Richardson has the best chance. I can't pick the Colts with Jonathon Taylor not playing though. I'm taking the Jags 24-21. I think I missed about every AFC South game last year, so what do I know? Who's Shane Steichen BTW? Where's Jeff Saturday?
Buccaneers @ Vikings-It has been well established that Kirk Cousins feasts on bad teams like he's buffeting at the Pizza Ranch. I honestly have no idea what the Bucs identity is. They looked really bad last year despite making the playoffs with a losing record. If you're trotting Baker Mayfield out there as a starter, I'm guessing there are some deep issues with your team. However, Bucs still have weapons and the Vikings D was matador last season. Baker will probably have a good game, but Minnesota will still win 35-31.
Titans @ Saints-Remember the Titans are the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL. They don't get no respect. Bellcow Derrick Henry will go into N'awlins and beat the Who dat? Saints in Derek Carr's debut with the team. I'll take the Fighting Tannehills 24-23.
49ers @ Steelers-I'm obviously riding with my Niners all season. They're my team. I'm also a huge Brock Purdy fan since his playing days at Iowa State. I'm really glad he got the starting job. I applaud 49ers management for releasing Jimmy G. and trading Lance away to instill confidence in Purdy. He's the guy now and there's no need to look over his shoulder. I'm also happy for Jimmy G. getting the starting gig in Vegas and for Trey Lance to have an opportunity (but why did it have to be Dallas?). Brock Purdy went from Mr. Irrelevant to no expectations to lofty expectations in his 2nd year. It really is Super Bowl or bust with my Niners. Last year could've been our year had Purdy not gotten injured. He went all Karate Kid in the NFC Championship Game, but there was no way they could beat Philly without him being able to throw. I think the challenge for SF will be staying healthy. Purdy, CMC, and Deebo all have to stay healthy. If we can stay healthy, I like our chances to win the Super Bowl. With that said Week 1 in Pittburgh against Pickett and the Steel Curtain will be a challenge. Give me the Niners 20-19.
Cardinals @ Commanders-Can new head coach Jonathan Gannon unleash the generational talent that Kyler Murray is supposed to be? I doubt it. Right now the only football Murray is playing is Madden on Playstation. I'm pretty sure Kyler's time in the desert is done. So Week 1 is looking like Josh Dobbs vs Sam Howell. Fun times. I'll take the Commanders because of their stout defense. Cards could be epically bad this year. Give me Riverboat Ron in a 24-7 win.
Packers @ Bears-The Pack have always been so much more than Aaron Rodgers. The other Aaron also has game. They will rely on that game heavily as Jordan Love gets used to the offense in real-game conditions. The pieces are still there. I expect Christian Watson to have a breakout year. I don't get all Da Bears hype. Justin Fields is a fantasy stud. He'll put up huge numbers, but the most important is the win column. I don't see Da Bears surpassing mediocrity. They'll be 8-9 at best. Green Bay still owns Da Bears and wins 27-25.
Raiders @ Broncos-With Jimmy G, Josh Jacobs, Davante Adams, and Hunter Renfrow the Raiders will be sneaky good this year. It is entirely possible that Sean Payton will get Russell Wilson back to playing like Russell Wilson, but I have reservations. Payton is obviously an upgrade over Hackett. Anybody would've have been an upgrade over Hackett. I'm just not sold on the Broncos yet. Give me Vegas baby Vegas to win in the altitude by a score of 31-28.
Dolphins @ Chargers-Home? The Homeless Chargers don't need no stinkin home. Their five fans are sure in for a real treat when Tua Time comes to town. This will be the game of the week IMO. I'm predicting a 38-35 shootout with Tua besting Herbert. It is a whoever gets the ball last kind of game. I think it will be the Finz. I hope Tua can stay healthy and succeed in the NFL. Bolts will be there, but they're still that team that looks good on paper who fail to deliver.
Eagles @ Patriots-I'm all in on the Philly bandwagon. My fantasy/DFS teams are chock full of Eagles. I'm not exactly sure what Belichick and the Dark Side are trying to do, so they'll probably surprise us all. Not here though. Jalen Hurts leads the Eagles to soar by a score of 35-20.
Rams @ Seahawks-It is looking like a Kuppless Rams team, so I'll definitely predict Geno Smith and the 12th man to get a 24-13 victory.
Cowboys @ Giants- For those of you new to the pick em and a reminder to the rest, I will NEVER pick the Cowboys to win a football game out of spite for the team. My weekly default score will be 35-0. It has almost happened a couple of times, but usually going against Dallas just destroys my picking record. I think Brian Daboll is the guy who can make the Giants great again. Gmen will definitely need the good Daniel Jones and the bad Dak to pull this out.
Bills @ Jets-I'm loving the Jets and Rodgers on Hard Knocks. I'm usually pretty excited about the Hard Knocks team in Week 1. I'm also a big Robert Saleh guy, a big Breece Hall guy, and a big Allen Lazard guy. The signing of Dalvin Cook will also be clutch. Jets defense will be decent as well. Josh Allen is known for being generous, so give me a Week 1 28-27 upset on MNF to excite the Jets fan base. Bills will still win the division and Jets will settle towards 10-6 or 11-5.
Welcome back to the "regulars" and hope some "newbies" join in, too! Thanks, Maniac for agreeing to keep totals for us again, that's great! Glad to see some are going with the Packers (besides me), Bear hype still going strong though.
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