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NFL Week #14: The Week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on December 8, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments

Close losses last week of the field goal variety, did us in in two of our three losses bringing the season total to 42-23. We did manage to pick our upset of the week correctly, a stunning victory by the Seahawks over Da Bears and the hapless Jets one point win over the pedestrian Cardinals in 1 7-6 snorer… We’re hoping that we get to finish the season out strong as we did last year so here’s our Five Best Bets for week #14…

*Home team in CAPS

Jets over the JAGUARS- Who would have thought we’d go back to the well and pick the anemic Jets twice in two weeks? Well this matchup was just too tempting to pass up. The Jets need to leave the hostile & depressing confines of Met Life Stadium and this this Floriday trip gives them that opportunity. The Jags are a team even worse off than the Gang Green having lost five out of six home games this season. They will be without their best offensive weapon of late in WR Cecil Shorts leaving them with WR Justin Blackman, TE Marcedes Lewis, and fourth RB back up Montel Owens (no relation to Terrell). If they can tighten up their defense again which surrended just 6 points to the lowly Cardinals last week, they should win this one handily.

#89 Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis along with EWR Justin Blackmon should be the main offensive threats for the lifeless Jaguars this week vs the Jets. Photo: jaguarsgab.com

#89 Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis along with WR Justin Blackmon should be the main offensive threats for the lifeless Jaguars this week vs the Jets. Photo: jaguarsgab.com

BROWNS over the Chiefs– This won’t be the same game emotionally driven game the Chiefs played last week immediately following the tragic loss and double murders of Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend. They travel to Cleveland this week to face a much improved Browns team that should easily handle a Chiefs group who basically are playing out the rest of the season and awaiting a top pick in the 2013 NFL draft. We like how QB Brandon Weeden has progressed and were impressed with WR Josh Gordon’s breakout game last week. Not many more accolades we could come up with for RB Trent Richardson who should have a monstrous game this week.

WR Josh Gordon, the youngest player on the Browns (turned 21 last April), leads the team with 646 receiving yards and 5 TDs. Photo:John Kuntz, The Plain Deale

WR Josh Gordon, the youngest player on the Browns (turned 21 last April), leads the team with 646 receiving yards and 5 TDs. Photo:John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer

STEELERS over the Chargers- Big Ben is expected to start in this one and that boost alone make the Steelers  more of a 6 point favorite to us. The Black & Gold have won 5 of their last seven, (two losses coming with replacements Leftwich and Batch in at QB for the injured Roethlisberger. They are currently sitting in 2nd in the AFC North at 7-5. The Chargers, on the other hand are going in an opposite direction as they are losers of their last four in a row and seven out of eight. Philip Rivers has passed for 300 or more yards just twice all season while RB Ryan Matthews has yet to eclipse 100 rushing yards in an one game. The Steelers would like a win here too because they’ll face the Bengals and the BRowns in their final two.

BUCCANEERS over the Eagles-  The Eagles put up a fight last week in Dallas losing 38-33 with Bryce Brown rushing for another big game with 169 yards which follows his 178 rushing game vs the Panthers the week prior. The Sunday night game in Dallas which now is followed by this week’s game in Tampa Bay make the Eagles, losers of their last eight straight games, another team just playing out the string. The 6-6 Buccaneers, currently second in the NFC South, have something to play for at least.Although losers of their last two to Atlanta & Denver by a combined total of 9 points, Josh Freeman should have an easy time in the pocket without any semblance of a pass rush from the Eagles defensive line. RB Doug Martin should also be in beast mode for this one.

#22 RB Doug Martin is well on his way to 300 carries this season. Photo: zimbio.com

#22 RB Doug Martin is well on his way to 300 carries this season. Photo: zimbio.com

BENGALS over the Cowboys- This is the time of year that the Cowboys begin their annual descent from the standings. They stand at 6-6 in second place in the highly contested NFC East but have forgotten how to play defense over the last two games yielding 64 points to the Redskins and Eagles. They will play their final three games against the Steelers, Saints  and Redskins; no easy task to be sure. Meantime the high potent offense of Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, BJGE, etc. have won their last four and are 7-5; second in the NFC North. This should be a high scoring affair for a Bengals team already on a roll.

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NFL Week #12: This week’s Five Best Picks

Posted by fantasyfurnace on November 22, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 7 Comments

We finished week #11 going a cool 5-0 thus making our season record a very respectable 37-18. Looking to continue the streak, here are our Five Best Bets Picks for this week. Good luck to all the fantasy owners out there and enjoy the games and the holiday weekend…

All of us here at Fantasy Furnace want to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the games this holiday weekend… 

BENGALS over the Raiders- This will prove to be a ‘homecoming’ of sorts for Ex-Bengals quarterback Carson “The Quitter” Palmer and he will go out of his way to show up his old team even though he was the one to give up on them. On the other hand, you would think that the Bengals would go out of their way to contain Palmer as much as they could. The Raiders have lost their last three games, giving up 135 points in the process. Their 3-7 record looks even worse when you consider that 2 of their 3 wins were against the Jaguars and the Chiefs. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green and a pretty good defense will be too much for Palmer and the sliver & black.

Colts over the Bills- The Colts, winners of four of their last five, have had three ‘clunkers’ this season where they just forgot how to play defense. They lost by 20 to the Bears, 26 to the Jets, and 35 to the Patriots last week. They’re 6-4 and still very much alive in the wild card race and can ill-afford to lose to the lowly Bills. Buffalo has given up 35 or more points in 6 of their 10 games this year and will be served a large plate of Andrew Luck this Thanksgiving weekend. Pass the Tums…

#12 Rookie Colts QB Andrew Luck & company will be just enough to for the ‘W’ over the Bills. Photo: vegassharps.com

Seahawks over the DOLPHINS- This pick won’t sit well with my dear friend and huge Dolphin fan Cayman, but honestly we just haven’t had much luck when we DO pick the Fish. Case in point was 2 weeks ago when they were going up vs the Titans. They lost by 34!!! Miami is now riding a 3-game losing streak and going up against the team with the longest trip in the NFL, will not help them. The Seahawks defense has been stellar and ranks in the top five in the league. QB Russell Wilson has one of the best featured backs in the NFL at his disposal in Marshawn Lynch and together with their ‘D’ they should get their 7th win on Sunday.

JAGUARS over the Titans- With Blaine Gabbert sitting this one out, his replacement, veteran Chad Henne, who tore it up last week with 354 passing yards and 4 touchdowns gets the starting nod. WR Justin Blackmon had a breakout game vs the Houston Texans collecting 236 receiving yards and a touchdown. Maurice Jones-Drew will be returning-but not until week #13. Keep an eye on this week’s starter Jalen Parmele who coach Mike Mularkey said will take Rahad Jennings place as Jones-Drew’s backup this week. He ran for 80 yards vs the Texans last week and should have an easier time against the Titans who give up the most fantasy points to RB’s in the league.

#34 Jalen Parmele rushes for a touchdown in an earlier game vs the Atlanta Falcons. He could have a breakout game this weekend vs the Titans. Photo: Will Dickey/The Times-Union

BUCCANEERS over the Falcons- Tough game to call. We’re giving the edge to the Bucs because of two reasons: First they have scored 27 or more points in their last six in a row and have won their last four so they’re surging at the right time. They lost by just a TD to the Super Bowl Champion Giants and the high powered New Orleans Saints so they can keep up with the best of them. Second, the Falcons exposed themselves last week by just eking out a win over the Cardinals. Against lower to mid tiered teams they have not played like a 9-1 team. Examples; they won by 2 over the Panthers, by 3 over the Raiders, 6 over the Cowboys and 4 over the Cards. If it’s close in this contest, the Falcons have the offense (Martin, Jackson, Freeman, etc..) to secure a home field win over on of the league’s more elite teams.

NFL Week #5: The Week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 5, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments

Right off the bat, we want to offer ourselves the obligatory self-praise that we deserve, as we went 5-0 with our picks last week!! This doesn’t happen too often but when it does it helps to validate what our research team does here at the Furnace. They say that  like eating green peppers and sausage, history ‘repeats’  itself. We will try our best to prove that statement correct by offering you this weeks Five Best Bets…

*Home team in CAPS

STEELEERS over the Eagles- These two Pennsylvania teams go at it on Sunday in what should be an exciting game. The Eagles, winners of three games by a total of four points, had miraculous finishes in all of them and probably should not have won two of them save for huge mistakes by their opponents. They are either a team of fate or, well, just plain lucky. The Steelers, fresh from their week 4 bye, returns to the gridiron with key players such as James Harrison, Troy Palamalu, and Rashard Mendenhall. The 3-1 Eagles will go to 3-2 after this one as Big Ben & co. are busting to get back on the field and at 1-2 need this game much more.

#34 RB Rashard Mendenhall returns for the first time this season. Photo: steelerstoday.com

Vikings over the Titans- Tennessee has given up an average of 38 points a game so far this season. Even with last week’s 141 yard season breakout rushing performance by RB Chris Johnson, they’ll need to find another way to overcome the Vikings lean defense that only allows 2.4 YPC to opposing backs. The Titans have been blown out in 3 of their 4 games and will have a difficult time fostering any offensive threat this week. QB Christian Ponder (knee) will play and should have a decent day.

49ERS over Bills- In defense of the Bills, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick leads the league in touchdown passes with 12. However he is prone to panic in games where he is playing from behind and against the number one defense in the league last year, it should mean more of the same. He already has 7 interceptions-a number that will probably increase on Sunday. The Bills lack of defense (they have given up 100 points in 2 games vs the Jets and Patriots), should make this a lopsided affair in the city by the bay.

#14 Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick could be in for a long day between sacks and interceptions playing against one of the league’s elite defenses. Photo: Luc Leclerc — US PRESSWIRE

BENGALS over the Dolphins- This game could be closer than expected as the Dolphins have lost some close ones late in games. The last two, vs the Cardinals and the Jets, were lost in overtime no less. Historically, the Fish play better on the road and even though QB Ryan Tannehill has been connecting with his receivers, especially WR Brian Hartline of late, he’ll be facing a very hot Andy Dalton, ranked fourth in fantasy points in Yahoo! leagues, who has 8 touchdown passes to his credit this season. So we’ll just say Cincy is a close one.

Texans over the JETS- Although there should be no way that the Texans lose this game, our initial reaction was that this could be a ‘trap’ game for Houston. Needless-to-say, that feeling was short lived. Yes, it’s a small possibility but with an Arian Foster and the 9th best rushing team going up against a Jets team that’s 31st against the run, it doesn’t look good for the 2-2 home team. With a decimated receiving corps, and a QB who has a season league low 49.2% completion rate (and that was with Santonio Holmes), one has to wonder where the Jets points will come from.