Darrelle Revis

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NFL WEEK #4: The Week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on September 28, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 comments

Last week was one of the most strangest that I can ever recall. The disastrous calls (and non-calls) by the replacement refs hurt some teams and naturally had an impact on our picks. But what was even more telling was that seven games in week #3 were decided in the final minute of the 4th quarter or overtime!

And so we’ll try to right the ship that finished an abysmal 1-4 last week, bringing what was a fairly decent 7-3 record to a more pedestrian 8-7. Here then are our five best bests for week #4:

*Home teams in CAPS:

49ers over the JETS- Looking to bounce back after their stunning defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings last week, the 49ers have two things in their favor. For starters they have the 7th best rushing offense in the NFL and they’re going up against a Jets defense that yielded 169 yards to the Bills’ C.J. Spiller and 185 yards to Dolphins RB Reggie Bush & co. And then there’s the ‘Revis Factor’. Joe McKnight is no Darrelle Revis and I think Alex Smith has an easy time of it through the air & with Gore on the ground.

#21 RB Frank Gore takes a handoff from QB #11 Alex Smith. Both should enjoy a productive day vs the Jets on Sunday. Photo: cbssports.com

FALCONS over Panthers- The Panthers are better than their 36-7 blowout by the Giants suggests. They dropped 35 points on the Saints in their win the week prior and held the Bucs to 16 points in their week 1 loss. Their problem has been turnovers and, besides Cam Newton, the absence of any consistent running game. The Falcons have been clicking on all cylinders, in particular QB Matt Ryan is off to an MVP-like start. They are +10 in turnovers which probably is not sustainable but their fairly easy schedule could see them run the table before thier week 7 bye.

Cardinals over the Dolphins- Miami’s been routed by 20 vs the Texans, beat the Raiders, which they always seem to do at Sun Life Stadium, and lost an ugly game that they should have won (2 missed field goals) to the Jets. Reggie Bush is having a career year but a rookie QB is not what you want going up against an over-achieving staunch defense IN Arizona. I do think that this could be a closer game than you might think. If the Cards can’t ruffle Tannehill all that much & Reggie plays at 100% it could make things interesting. Remember the Cardinals won their first two games by a total of 6 points and  Skelton/Kolb has been doing it with mirrors so far this season.

PACKERS over the Saints- We picked the Packers in last Monday Night’s “Shame Game” and I’m guessing they are eager as we are to get back to their winning ways. These aren’t last year’s version of the offensive juggernauts that averaged close to 40 points a game. That number has dropped significantly to 23 but should change against the anemic defense of New Orleans. The Saints, following this game, will probably just play out the season and then come back with authority (and Sean Payton) next year.

Redskins over the BUCCANEERS- Even with the ‘Skins injuries there just isn’t enough offensive power on the Bucs to overtake Washington. Josh Freeman has picked up where he left off last season, regressing so bad that in two of the three games this year he failed to reach even 140 passing yards. His only bright spot was in game 2 going up against a Giants secondary that had their fourth unit on the field. RGIII is leading the league in rushing yards among quarterbacks and the ‘Skins have put up an average of 33 points a game this season. The Falcons come into D.C. in week 5 and so at 1-2 the Redskins need this one.

#10 RGIII goes up against Josh Freeman in Tampa Bay this weekend and the Redskins clearly have the advantage. Photo: washingtonpost.com

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Jets schedule should have them to ‘flying’ into the playoffs…

Posted by fantasyfurnace on April 22, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 4 comments

The N.Y. Jets finished the 2010 season 11-5 which earned them a trip to the playoffs. Rex Ryan’s bold Super Bowl predictions prior to the 2011 season, set the bar a bit too high for the over-achieving Jets and the pressure seemed to get the best of them as Mark Sanchez and his band of merry men regressed and finished with an 8-8 season, keeping them out of the playoffs. However, and just hear me out on this, their 2012 schedule is really a Jet-friendly one, if you were to analyze some of it’s components. It’s one that I feel will surely get them another playoff birth at season’s end.

With the way the N.Y. Jets schedule is set up, they should be 'flying high' come playoff time. Photo: Dave Campbell

Here is how the schedule helps them and also what they must do in order to increase their chances for success in 2012.

For starters, after looking at the quarterbacks on their opposing teams, there are only five Pro-Bowl caliber QB’s to be found: Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, Matt Schaub, and Alex Smith. Although not a perennial Pro-Bowl type quarterback, I threw Smith into the mix by virtue of last season’s  performance where he led the 49ers to a 13-3 season; one very much improved over the previous campaign when they were 6-10.

Of course, this does not guarantee that the Jets will win all the other games because the quality of their opponent’s quarterbacks are not as good; it just means their chances of success increases. Especially if they hope to return to the days when rushing the passer was their number one priority on defense. In 2010, when the Jets went 11-5, they had 40 sacks, just 7 behind the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers who led the league that year.

Ben Roethlisberger getting sacked by a group of Jets defenders at Heinz Field in a 24-19 loss to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game on January 23, 2011. Photo: UPI/Kevin Dietsch

The other glaring note of interest in the Jets 2012 schedule is that they will only face two teams on the road that made it to the playoffs last year. The Jets went 6-2 on the road in 2010 and 2-6 last season. The two playoff teams that they’ll face on the road this season are the Steelers and the Patriots.

Putting their schedule aside, the first thing that the Jets need to consider doing as they prepare for the NFL draft that begins on Thursday, is to find a way to trade up and get a shot at the best RB in the draft-Trent Richardson. Before you shake you head and roll your eyes, consider this..the Jets have had a marked propensity for and a history of trading up in order to grab top notch players in drafts. They traded up in order  to get Darrelle Revis, Dustin Keller, and Mark Sanchez, for example, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for them to go after Richardson.. Improbable? Maybe. Impossible? No.

They need someone to compliment their very pedestrian RB Shonn Greene. Now that Schottenheimer is gone, Rex has said that he will return to the days of his ground and pound offense. Having Tim Tebow will help as Denver, thanks in part to Tebow, had more rushing yards than any team in the league last year. But they need to go after someone else. If Richardson is off the board, LaMichael James, who led the Oregon Ducks with 2,000 all purpose yards and 19 TD last season is probably one of the best of the rest. Although it wouldn’t be disappointing if the speedster Lamar Miller out of Miami or even the very strong, and agile Doug Martin out of Boise St. who has also been adept in returning kicks with blazing speed, were also on the Jets short list next week.

#21Oregon RB LaMichael James would be one of the best running backs to grab after Trent Richardson. Photo: GoDucks.com

Besides adding another running back, they also need to explore the draft in search of another WR and pass rusher. If they can score some decent players at these positions, if Tim Tebow’s presence is not an overwhelming distraction, if Mark Sanchez can learn to coexist with Tebow, and if Rex Ryan can duct tape his mouth shut, I think the Jets, mainly because of their schedule, will have a season that will surprise most.