Thursday, September 20, 2018

NFL 2018 Week 3 Picks

Hello readers! The time has come again to do another picks column. The 3rd week of the National Football League is fast approaching us! In this column, I will do picks, as well as my take on the roughing the passer rule implemented this season and the sudden surprise of Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Buccaneers and Patrick Mahomes II of the Chiefs. Let's get to work.

An early change... is needed.

Last season, during a Green Bay-Minnesota game, Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr would cause a hit on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, ultimately Rodgers would have to leave the game with a broken collarbone. Before the 2018 regular season would begin a new rule would be implemented to attempt to keep the quarterback intact, however, this new rule has its controversy.

The "Body Weight Rule," is that if a defensive player drives a quarterback to the ground with most or all of his body weight, then it is a 15-yard penalty. Roughing the passer has been called 21 times so far this season. Such notable fouls were on Myles Garrett of the Browns and Clay Matthews of the Packers. What would normally be a sack or a quarterback hit in most seasons, it is called "Roughing The Passer" this season. It should be noted that during last week's Vikings-Packers game both sides were called for the same penalty. Certainly, something has to change.

Rule changes during the season and the NFL don't necessarily go together. It is the ineptitude of the NFL to decide on whether or not to keep a rule during the regular season. One such league, the National Hockey League, is noted to change its rules during the regular season. In other words, they get stuff done. One of the reasons why the NFL lost viewers over the last few seasons (not because of players kneeling) is the fact that the rules aren't just and fans feel that the game is turning more into a game of flag football (which still isn't, but this rule makes it feel like it though). Whether or not the league will listen to its fans this is will be true, the rule will probably stay at least until the end of the season. If they do change the rule before then, I'd be shocked.

The Veteran and the Young Gun

Two of the bigger stories so far this season are Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Buccaneers and Patrick Mahomes II of the Chiefs. Fitzpatrick, a 13-year veteran out of Harvard, has played for the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans, Jets, and Buccaneers. Quite a lot of teams. Definitely would make Josh McCown blush a bit with the number of teams he played for.

The Buccaneers and Fitzpatrick have been a pleasant surprise this season because of Fitzpatrick's arm and the receiving corp that the quarterback has. Such weapons like Mike Evans, Desean Jackson, and O.J. Howard has proven to be one of the more devastating air attacks in the NFL. It will have to be seen whether or not this hot streak that the Buccaneers have started can continue as the season wears on but it has to be nice to see such buzz for a Harvard man.

Patrick Mahomes II of the Kansas City Chiefs was one of the more unproven quarterbacks in the NFL before the season began. The 2nd year man out of Texas Tech, became the starter to Andy Reid's Chiefs this season while being a backup to Alex Smith last season. Having thrown four touchdown passes against the Chargers in week 1 and six against the Steelers last week, Mahomes has proven to be quite the quarterback that could be a star in the league for years to come. I was probably one of the critics of Mahomes, saying that he was an unknown, an unproven quarterback to be in the NFL, and I was wrong (as usual). As such, if Mahomes can continue his success this season, the Chiefs look to be a contender in the AFC with the Patriots and the Jaguars.

Cool video of the week

This week's cool video of the week is a sort of a throwback to a simpler time of one's life. As I was looking through Twitter, I happen to see the hashtag #GreatestThingsOfThe90s, and I immediately thought of this week's video. The video is of the NFL on NBC theme, back when NBC had the AFC package, from the 1995 season to their last season carrying the AFC package in 1997. I could write a column discussing how this theme is way better than what NBC has right now and my general feeling of it. Anyway, enjoy:



Week 3 of the regular season consists of 16 games, no teams on a bye week. The week gets started in Cleveland, Ohio and ends at Tampa, Florida. There will be a Thursday night game, 10 early games, three late games, a Sunday night game, and a Monday night game. CBS will have the single game and FOX will have the doubleheader. Hopefully no hurricanes either. Uff da! Let's get to the picks!

NOTE: TW is me, CV is my roommate. Will also include the network the game will be on.

NY Jets (1-1) @ Cleveland (0-1-1) (NFL Network): TW: Browns, CV:
Both teams took losses last week as the Jets lost to the Dolphins and the Browns lost to the Saints. The Browns have not won a game since 2016, let alone win a game on a Sunday. The Browns winless streak could possibly end on Thursday as they host the Jets to kick off Week 3. If it wasn't for the play of Browns kickers, they could easily be 2-0 on the season. I'd go with the Jets but I want to see the Browns win an ugly game, a win is a win. Give the people of Cleveland something to cheer about since Lebron James left the Cavaliers.

Buffalo (0-2) @ Minnesota (1-0-1) (CBS): TW: Vikings, CV:
The Vikings took a tie against the Packers last week and the Bills lost to the Chargers last week. It's somewhat of a no-brainer. The Bills have very little stability in the quarterback position and their offense is very inept. Both things will spell doom to them. The Vikings have stability at both offense and defense. I like the Vikes in this game. Sorry, Buffalo.

Cincinnati (2-0) @ Carolina (1-1) (CBS): TW: Panthers, CV:
The Bengals got a win against the Ravens on Thursday night last week and the Panthers lost to the Falcons last week. Two very good teams so far this season. Both offenses have good passing attacks and ground games that are very even. I'll take the Panthers because they're at home and they need to get a win to keep up with the NFC South. The Bengals could very well win the game too on solid defense.

Denver (2-0) @ Baltimore (1-1) (CBS): TW: Ravens, CV:
Denver got a win last week against the Raiders and the Ravens lost to the Bengals on Thursday night. The Broncos haven't looked too particularly great so far this season. a 3-point win against the Seahawks and a 1-point win against the Raiders last week are the two wins for the Broncos this season. The Ravens had a 44-point win against the Bills while having an 11-point loss against the Bengals. Kind of a tough choice but I will take the Ravens based on home-field advantage and the offensive play of the Broncos has been sporadic at times.

Green Bay (1-0-1) @ Washington (1-1) (FOX): TW: Packers, CV:
The Packers took a tie against the Vikings and the Redskins lost to the Colts last week. The game could be a close one but the Packers offense should have enough weapons to give the Redskins defense a field day. As long as Aaron Rodgers and the running game has a decent game then Packers will win the day. As long as the refs let the players play, that is.

Indianapolis (1-1) @ Philadelphia (1-1) (FOX): TW: Eagles, CV:
The Colts got a win against the Redskins and the Eagles lost to the Buccaneers last week. The Eagles offense will get a boost with Carson Wentz returning at quarterback for the first time since December 2017 in a game against the Rams. The Colts could make it a game but I just think the Eagles have defensive weapons that will rock Andrew Luck all day.

New Orleans (1-1) @ Atlanta (1-1) (FOX): TW: Falcons, CV:
Both teams got wins last week as the Saints beat the Browns and the Falcons beat the Panthers. A classic NFC south showdown this week. Both teams haven't looked particularly great so far this season, the Saints offense has been stagnant and the Falcons offense looked a bit off. This game could go off to be a shootout if this is the case. I'll take the Falcons as I feel that they want to get off to get a good start and they're at home. Saints could very well beat them, who knows.

NY Giants (0-2) @ Houston (0-2) (FOX): TW: Texans, CV:
Both teams got losses last week as the Giants lost to the Cowboys and the Texans lost to the Titans. The Giants have a pretty versatile passing defense in the NFL, however, they're terrible on defending against the run. The Texans have quite a good rushing offense with Lamar Miller and Deshaun Watson. I'll take Houston in this one, could be a good game, offensively.

Oakland (0-2) @ Miami (2-0) (CBS): TW: Raiders, CV:
The Raiders lost last week to the Broncos and the Dolphins beat the Jets. The game is a classic AFC showdown. You remember the classic games the two teams had in the 1970's. The season has been somewhat of a disappointment for Gruden and company and I feel that this game is a make or break situation for the Raiders. I want to see them win.

San Francisco (1-1) @ Kansas City (2-0) (FOX): TW: Chiefs, CV:
Both teams got wins last week as the 49ers beat the Lions and the Chiefs beat the Steelers. The game will have two golden boys at quarterback with Jimmy Garoppolo of the 49ers and Patrick Mahomes II of the Chiefs. It will depend on which defense can stop the opposing team's offense. I feel that will come down to the Chiefs keeping up with the momentum on passing offense.

Tennessee (1-1) @ Jacksonville (2-0) (CBS): TW: Jaguars, CV:
Both teams got wins last week as the Titans beat the Texans and the Jaguars beat the Patriots. The Jaguars look to be quite the legit team this season and beating the Patriots had to be quite the confidence booster. The Titans have been somewhat of a lackluster team so far with no Marcus Mariota.

LA Chargers (1-1) @ LA Rams (2-0) (CBS): TW: Rams, CV:
Both teams got a win last week as the Chargers beat the Bills and the Rams beat the Cardinals. The Battle For LA. The Rams look to be the team to beat and it seems that taking on a Chargers team won't change that much. I feel good taking the Rams in this one as the Rams have a lot of weapons on offense and defense.

Chicago (1-1) @ Arizona (0-2) (FOX): TW: Bears, CV:
The Bears got a win against the Seahawks and the Cardinals lost to the Rams last week. It could be possible to see Josh Rosen of the Cardinals in this game but that's the least of the Cardinals problems at the moment. For the Bears, Khalil Mack is a huge asset on the defense. Defense is a huge part of the game and the Bears have a great tradition on defense. I'll take the Bears.

Dallas (1-1) @ Seattle (0-2) (FOX): TW: Cowboys, CV:
The Cowboys beat the Giants and the Seahawks lost to the Bears last week respectively. The late game of the week is a rematch of a late-season game against the Seahawks and the Cowboys. The Cowboys played alright to good last week with the arm of Dak Prescott and a good game for the wide receivers.

New England (1-1) @ Detroit (0-2) (NBC): TW: Patriots, CV:
Both teams took losses last week as the Patriots lost to the Jaguars and the Lions lost to the 49ers. The Sunday night game features Tom Brady against the Detroit Lions. The Patriots should win this game since Bill Belichek has a good record against his former assistants/coaches and that the Patriots are looking to get back on the winning side of things with a win. More offensive weapons than the Lions.

Pittsburgh (0-1-1) @ Tampa Bay (2-0) (ESPN): TW: Steelers, CV:
The Steelers lost to the Chiefs and the Buccaneers beat the Eagles last week respectively. The marquee game of the week (which is odd for a Monday night game) is the Steelers and the surprise Buccaneers. If there was a game where the football gods decide to take Ryan Fitzpatrick down a notch, it would be this one. The Steelers need a win and will try to desperately win this one. They need to be focused. If they lose this one, I don't know, I might yell at Yinzer Nation and not pick the Steelers for the rest of the season.

Local TV Schedule (courtesy of 506sports.com, subject to change):

CBS Single:
Buffalo @ Minnesota
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo

FOX Early:
Indianapolis @ Philadelphia
Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston

FOX Late:
Chicago @ Arizona
Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth

For more info on what game is being played in your area, check out: NFL Maps, Week 3, 2018

Record:

2018:
Week 1: 10-5-1

Week 2: 6-9-1
Overall: 16-11-2

Cardinal Viking
2018:
Week 1: 8-7-1

Week 2: 9-6-1
Overall: 17-13-2

See you guys on Monday and have a good weekend!
-Tom

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