Philip Rivers

All posts tagged Philip Rivers

NFL 2014: WEEK #1-The Furnace’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on September 5, 2014
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 21 Comments

Its been a long time coming but finally the new NFL season is underway with Seattle’s Legion of Doom overpowering the Pack by 20 points, 36-16 on Thursday night. Here now are our Top Five Best Bets for the first full week of games. Good luck!

*Home teams in CAPS

JETS -5 1/2 over Raiders- New offensive weapons in Chris Johnson, Eric Decker and Jace Amaro, home field, plus going up against rookie QB Derek Carr in his first game as a pro will be all too much for the travelling Raiders to handle. If you are waivering between these two teams, here is an interesting stat that might alter your thinking: Oakland has failed to win a game in the Eastern Time Zone since 2005, a span of 13 games.

Vikings +3 1/2 over RAMS- St. Louis has a fairly good defensive team but they lack a potent offense. Their quarterback, Shaun Hill, hasn’t started a game since 2010 and the rust could show. Adrian Peterson who rushed for over 200 yards the last time these two clubs met in 2012, along with veteran Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Kyle Rudolph, should make the visiting Vikes 1-0 entering Week 2.

BUCCANEERS -2 over Panthers-  It is not beyond the realm of possibilities for the Bucs to end the season as a top five most improved team. New headcoach Lovie Smith will help achieve that goal as will RB Doug Martin, if he can stay healthy. Cam Newton, who has been dealing with a rib injury, will have a target on his back all afternoon.

LIONS -5 1/2 over Giants- Eli Manning has looked like a deer in headlights throughout the pre-season and even if and when he masters the new West Coast offense, we’re not convinced that the G-Men’s offensive line will cooperate. The Lions’s, with Matt Stafford at the helm, have the talent and the chemistry to thwart any threat the Giants might impose. Big Blue will opt to keep their attack on the ground but when they fall behind they will have to abandon their game and that’s when the trouble will start.

Chargers +3 over CARDINALS- Arizona has some injuries on their defensive line and lost Linebackers Daryl Washington to suspension and Karlos Dansby to free agency. The addition of Antonio Cromartie will not be enough to stop Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson and company from having a big day in Phoenix.

Advertisement

NFL 2013: Week #3-The Furnaces Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on September 20, 2013
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 16 Comments

Last week’s record: 3-2 Season to date: 6-4  Although we wanted to stay away from the NFC East given their total ineptitude this season,  we find ourselves with one selection from that putrid division. It’s our first Best Bet this week and we’re hopeful it will begin a winning trend this weekend.

Home team in CAPS

1. Giants over the PANTHERS- This is almost a deja vous game given that the G-Men went into Charlotte after a so-so 1-1 beginning to last season and completely overwhelmed Carolina 36-7. Fearing that they could conceivably be 0-3 after this meeting, we expect more of the same this Sunday. Several of the Panthers defensive backs are playing with some sort of handicap which will allow Eli to have his prototypical kind of game. If Ramses Barden can have a career day against Carolina last year, then imagine what a healthy Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Reuben Randle can do. Expect the Giants to play a bit harder hoping to grab a win for their coach who lost his 63 year old brother John earlier this week in a freak accident while stepping out of a cab.

2. Chargers over the TITANS- San Diego, our second underdog selection in as many picks, has shown little defense over the first two weeks  but Philip Rivers has been off to one of his best starts in years throwing for seven touchdowns against just one lone interception. The Chargers have put up 61 total points in the first two games which were decided by 3 points each week. In his career Rivers has a 5-0 record against the Titans and we look for his sixth win on Sunday.

#17 Philip Rivers will need his offensive line to keep the Titans, and their 7 sacks on the young season, from disrupting his game. John R. McCutchen/San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images:

#17 Philip Rivers will need his offensive line to keep the Titans, and their 7 sacks on the young season, from disrupting his game. John R. McCutchen/San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images:

3. VIKINGS over the Browns-  The Vikes, looking for their first win of the season as they faced and lost to two of their division rivals on the road in Weeks 1 and 2, will have a much easier time of it in their home opener on Sunday against the “rebuilding” Cleveland Browns. The debut of newly acquired Willis McGahee will be overshadowed by what we think will be Adrian Peterson’s best game of the season to date. The Vikings need this game because they play their next contest across the pond in London vs the Steelers and then will have to play 12 consecutive games after their week 5 bye to end the season.

4. SAINTS over the Cardinals- Although the Saints have opened the season at 2-0, they haven’t shown the offensive explosiveness that they are accustomed to. Over their first two games this season they are averaging a pedestrian 19.5 points per game while last year, by the time game three rolled around, they were averaging 29.5 PPG. The Cardinals have two key players that have minor injuries going into this game in Larry Fitzgerald (hamstring) and Rashard Mendenhall (toe). The Saints who missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008, will have Sean Payton on the sidelines and their home crowd in the stands plus a healthy Drew Brees, which is all they’ll need to put away the Cards.

5. Bears over the STEELERS- All signs point to the Steelers winning this game. They have the home crowd, they’re hungry after losing their first two games, and Ben Roethlisberger is 15-1 straight up at home against the NFC in his career. However, we are sticking with the visiting Bears and sacks are one of the reasons why. For starters, the Steelers have only one sack so far this season while last year they averaged almost 3 per game. Jay Cutler on the other hand, a quarterback that usually ends up on his posterior, has only been sacked once in his two home games as the offensive line has been shored up and are protecting Cutler who has been effective and efficient with wins over the Bengals and the Vikings. If he can keep his interceptions down (he has 3 over his first 2 games and had 14 last season), then we think the Steelers can be had with a less than potent running game, the loss of Heath Miller, and a quarterback that’s been sacked 7 times in two games.

The Titans sacking Big Ben in one of their 5 Scott Boehm/Getty Images North America in Week 1.

The Titans sacking Big Ben in one of their 5 sacks in Week #1. Photo: Scott Boehm/Getty Images North America

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.