Tag: NFL Awards

NFL Week 9 Predictions: Main Events & Dark Matches Edition

~ Scott ~ 1 Comment

The NFL’s Week 9 schedule is one of the most unique I’ve ever seen. There are three legitimately great games that would be the Game of the Week on their own, but they are taking place on one day in three different windows with Chiefs-Dolphins in Germany in the morning, Cowboys-Eagles for the late afternoon, and Bills-Bengals at night. Even Seahawks-Ravens is a solid highlight for the 1:00 window.

This is like getting a WrestleMania with 3 main events.

The bad news is the rest of the schedule looks like dark matches with jobbers, because what the hell is a Clayton Tune, and why do we maybe need to see him start for Arizona in Week 9? The Vikings are also planning to start rookie Jaren Hall after trading for Joshua Dobbs earlier this week, but if Baker Mayfield can figure out Sean McVay’s offense in 48 hours, why couldn’t Dobbs just give it a shot for Minnesota? He’s also facing Taylor Heinicke, who won’t have Drake London. It’s a mess, and we haven’t even talked about the Raiders firing their coach, GM, OC, replacing Jimmy Garoppolo with a rookie and they’re still a 1.5-point favorite because they’re playing the Giants.

Quarterback of the Rams on Sunday? Damned if I know right now.

For a week that could have also had the first game between rookies Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson and end on Monday night with Justin Herbert vs. Aaron Rodgers, it sure is a collection of shitty games that we’ll put up with as long as the great games turn out at least one instant classic.

This season needs it badly.

This Week’s Articles

NFL Midseason Review: Award Races – I look at the current odds for the 7 NFL awards, including MVP and Coach of the Year, and make my pick for how the rest of the season will play out. It’s a lot of Dolphins and Chiefs, which is another reason why this game on Sunday morning is so huge.

Scott’s Seven NFL Picks: Week 9 – Plenty of good ones in here, including a couple of parlays for KC-MIA, and a Happy Josh McDaniels Firing Week parlay. Hopefully something will hit.

NFL Week 9 Predictions

I had the Steelers winning 20-14, so 20-16 will do even if the ending probably took more time off my life. This team is something else, the only team in the Super Bowl era to get outgained in each of its first 8 games and still have a winning record (5-3). You say they won’t sustain that, and that’s probably true if they play exactly like this, but I believe in analyzing the schedule each summer, and that always made me believe this team was going to finish with a winning record this year.

Let me give some final thoughts on the big games before we deal with the stinkers.

Dolphins-Chiefs: Love the timing of this matchup. Chiefs are losing luster after their worst performance in 2 years in Denver last week. It was largely about the turnovers as the defense was fine. But this is a huge test for that defense with the statistical best offense in the league, maybe the fastest offense of all time, and you know Tyreek Hill is going to want to have a memorable game. But can the Dolphins score on a top team and beat them after failing so miserably against Buffalo and Philly? Is the Kansas City defense really this good, and can the offense still win a shootout with a team like this given the lack of WR firepower?

So many questions to answer here, but I’m still backing the Chiefs. I think the defense is much better than Miami’s, and that should provide an edge. We can talk about Mahomes and turnovers, but Tua has been picked in 6-of-8 games too. I think Mahomes puts the weird flu game behind him and has a big game. I’ll take the Chiefs and hopefully the over as this season needs a classic shootout with top teams invovled.

Final: Chiefs 30, Dolphins 24

Cowboys-Eagles: This is only the 2nd time we’re going to see a game with Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts because of injuries and playoff rest situations since 2020. They both threw for over 300 yards and 4 TDs last week. Prescott has 11 touchdown passes against the Eagles in his last 3 games (all when Nick Sirianni was the head coach). While I picked the Eagles to repeat as division champs and always had them winning the first matchup at home here, the more this week moves towards Sunday and the more I feel like picking Dallas. I just think the narrative of “Dallas can’t win a big game, the coaching staff will blow it” is something you have to almost throw out when it comes to division games, or how else do you explain Sam Howell turning into Steve Young when he played Philly this year and dropped 31 points each time?

I could see a game where Dak and CeeDee Lamb show up big, A.J. Brown’s 125-yard streak ends, Micah Parsons has a big game for the defense, they stop the Brotherly Shove in a big spot, the regular Philadelphia running game is nothing special, and Dallas intercepts Hurts and holds the Eagles under 24 points to get an impressive win. I could easily see that playing out, but I am in fact going to stick with a bland “Dallas can’t do it” pick until we see them do something different.

Final: Eagles 24, Cowboys 20

Bills-Bengals: This was the game we wanted to see so badly last year in Week 17, then the Damar Hamlin incident changed everything. The Bills looked mentally wiped out by the time they met in the playoffs, and that game was over in a hurry after the Bills trailed by 10+ points on their final 7 possessions. And remember, they only had 8 drives that day.

A chance for some revenge here in the first official Joe Burrow vs. Josh Allen game in the regular season, but as much as I’d like to say Buffalo is the better team, you never know which version will show up. Is it the Bills who slaughter Miami 48-20, or is it the team that couldn’t really score until the 4Q against the Jaguars and Giants? Is it the Allen that turns it over 4 times against the Jets? The defense also has sustained a lot of injuries that the Bengals, who seem to have found their groove offensively, can exploit at home.

I also just expect the Bengals to give Burrow more help in a game like this (running game, defense) than the Bills will give Allen. But we’ll see how it goes and recap it Sunday night after what is hopefully the best SNF game this season as they have been duds.

Final: Bengals 23, Bills 20

As for the other games…

Yeah, after that Jordan Love debacle last week, the Stafford injury situation, and Cooper Kupp killing me the last 2 games, I will be avoiding this game like the plague.

I like the under more than anything in TB-HOU as I don’t believe in either offense.

I’ll take the Patriots at home, especially at -2.5, because I think Sam Howell is a perfect quarterback for Belichick to exploit with mistakes (sacks and picks). Mac Jones might feel comfortable after Washington, a bad defense to begin with, traded away Montez Sweat and Chase Young this week.

Saints need to roll the Bears with Tyson Bagent. Period.

I don’t know what to expect from Vikings-Falcons, but I kinda like the Jordan Addison and Jaren Hall props after what the Falcons did last week against Will Levis and DeAndre Hopkins. But I wouldn’t bet much on this game.

Browns might get Deshaun Watson back, but who cares at this point? If Arizona starts Clayton Tune, Cleveland should hold this offense to single digits.

I’m not as excited about SEA-BAL as other people, but I think it has a chance to be a 23-20 type of game. Both coaches obviously end up in a ton of tight games. I just don’t think either offense is that enjoyable to watch yet this season. Their games are often sloppy or one sided.

Already linked above why I think Panthers win another one at home for Frank Reich against his former employer.

Raiders could still easily blow this game, but I love the idea of the offense having its best game of the year (20+ points, Davante & Jacobs going off) after the big changes this week.

Finally, on Monday night I think we get the Chargering special. It was way too easy for them last week when they were up 17+ the entire 2nd half on the Bears. The Jets have been making crazy comebacks all year, and I could see Herbert getting tricked into a bad interception late by a defense that has already picked off Mahomes, Allen, and Hurts a combined 8 times this year. I think the Jets steal a 20-17 type of game to end the week.

But more than anything, I hope at least one of these big games lives up to the potential. This season has sucked to this point, but the big games on the schedule are coming now.

NFL Week 1 Predictions: Awards Edition

~ Scott ~ 3 Comments

One game down, 255 to (hopefully) go for the NFL’s 2020 regular season. It was just nice to see the Chiefs start their title defense with a win and no significant injuries given they are my pick for the Super Bowl this year.

What about any Chiefs when it comes to winning other awards this season? As usual I wrote so much in my season preview that I had to wait for Saturday to post my award winners for 2020:

  • Most Valuable Player: Dak Prescott, Cowboys
  • Coach of the Year: Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
  • Assistant Coach of the Year: Don Martindale, Ravens
  • Offensive Player of the Year: Dalvin Cook, Vikings
  • Defensive Player of the Year: Nick Bosa, 49ers
  • Offensive Rookie of the Year: Joe Burrow, Bengals
  • Defensive Rookie of the Year: Chase Young, FOOTBALL TEAM (SMH)
  • Comeback Player of the Year: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

MVP/Coach: It’s a big year for Dallas, my other Super Bowl team. No ring in the end, but I think Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy click right away and this offense produces more consistently than it did a year ago when Prescott threw for nearly 5,000 yards. The only reason I didn’t double up at OPOY is because it seems like voters don’t want to do that anymore. Lamar Jackson should have been a lock last year with his prolific passing and rushing season, but voters were still deterred by Michael Thomas and his 149 catches (but glossed over the 11.6 YPC, apparently). So let’s just go with Cook going all out on his new contract for a Minnesota team I predicted to finish No. 2 in the NFC. Also, for assistant coach I almost wanted to pick Dallas OC Kellen Moore, but that would feel like overkill. So let’s go with a DC that’s gaining respect quickly in Baltimore.

DPOY: Even though CB Stephon Gilmore won last year, expect it to return to an edge rusher this season. Nick Bosa, whether you like him or not, had a nice rookie season and should be even more prepared to explode this year for what’s still a good defense.

Rookies: It could be a difficult year for rookies given the lack of a real preseason, but that’s why I’m sticking to the first two names off the board in the draft. I could cheat here and say Clyde Edwards-Helaire after his big debut for the Chiefs on Thursday night. He looks like he’s going to be a productive one at a position that’s easy to produce right away, but I wouldn’t have picked him a couple days ago so I won’t do it here either. He could definitely win though. I also like Jerry Jeudy in Denver, but it’s so hard for a WR to win.

Comeback: Again, my preference is to pick a player returning from serious injury instead of someone who sucked last year and now doesn’t. The latter might end up describing Philip Rivers or Tom Brady, but I’d rather pick Ben Roethlisberger on what I expect to be a 10-win team again. His numbers may end up looking more like 2010-13 Ben than 2014-18 Ben, but that’s good enough.

NFL 2020 Week 1 Predictions

Started TNF with a win, so can’t beat that. A fair share of road favorites this week, but no game has a double-digit spread. I’m likely to watch RedZone at 1 PM before focusing more on Bucs-Saints in the late afternoon. Packers-Vikings is quietly a big one in the NFC though. The Vikings need a strong performance to wipe out the taste of last year when they were swept by Green Bay and Kirk Cousins played especially bad in the last matchup.

NFL Week 1 Predictions: Upsets & Awards

~ Scott ~ 2 Comments

I almost refuse to work on Saturdays during the offseason, but I don’t mind it during the season when it comes to making predictions here or doing that last-minute research for Sunday.

I even got a rare Saturday article at FO, the first of its kind for me. I interviewed a former NFL player, picking Jamal Anderson’s brain over what was different for the 1998 Falcons, one of the biggest surprise Super Bowl teams and quick turnarounds ever. And you know I had to ask about the Dirty Bird and Curse of 370. So that was something cool and different for me to do.

Now back to the stuff I’m used to doing. The full season predictions posted below were an epic-length post even by my standards, so I left the award predictions for today.

Award Predictions

  • MVP: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
  • OPOY: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
  • DPOY: Aaron Donald, Rams (think J.J. Watt’s health fails him)
  • Coach: Mike Tomlin, Steelers (really couldn’t think of a good answer for this one based on my playoff seeds)
  • OROY: Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys (would be cool if it’s Tajae Sharpe)
  • DROY: Jalen Ramsey, Jaguars
  • Comeback: Andrew Luck, Colts (the “because he sucked the year before” variety)

In the last two years I picked the MVP from my top-seeded team, and both picks were disasters with the 2014 Saints (Drew Brees) and 2015 Colts (Luck). Hopefully I didn’t put the jinx on Roethlisberger and the Steelers, though you can read in my predictions why I’m already cautious about their success this year.

The reason I pick Roethlisberger is that I think he’s playing as well as he ever has in the last couple of seasons. I think QB should pretty much always win MVP, so when you look at his competition this year, it’s not very deep and there are some real question marks, including how Luck will play. But with Peyton Manning retired, Tom Brady suspended, Aaron Rodgers coming off his worst year, Drew Brees on a bad team, and Tony Romo hurt, the field has really shrunk. Yes, Carson Palmer and Russell Wilson are right there, and I think it comes down to these guys staying healthy and they should all be high up there again by the end of the season. Yes, I see some people picking Cam Newton for back-to-back MVPs, but I never thought he deserved it last year and he’s off to the wrong start this season. In fact, I put together a chart of every first-team All-Pro QB season since 1989 and Newton’s season stands out in a bad way.

dyarap

Newton is the only season with fewer than 1,100 DYAR. In the last two seasons, Roethlisberger has had passing DYAR of 1,114 (missed four games) and 1,572 (1st in 2014). In addition to his play, shouldn’t he have a preset argument with all the skill guys that have been injured or suspended around him? Le’Veon Bell suspended for three games, Martavis Bryant gone for the year, Heath Miller retired and they put Ladarius Green on PUP for at least six weeks. Now that gives me some concern about how good this offense will be, but I think as long as Ben and Antonio Brown stay healthy, they’ll have enough to be successful. And therein lies the rub. Instead of debating Roethlisberger for MVP, I see Antonio Brown for MVP, which would be the first wide receiver to ever win the AP’s MVP award. That’s some 7-9 bullshit thinking right there. They call it a passing league, not a catching league. What has Brown accomplished without QB1 in the lineup? Not much, and for a wide receiver to truly win MVP, I think he’d have to have a mediocre QB at best and make some unbelievable plays that tip the balance of several high-profile games for a team that makes the playoffs. You would need a passing offense with stats where the QB was significantly more efficient and productive when throwing to this wideout than the rest of the receivers. Calvin Johnson may have been able to do this in past years, yet he never even came close to being MVP in Detroit.

But it’s really just typical mainstream NFL media giving Roethlisberger the Rodney Dangerfield “No Respect” treatment. I wrote about this during the 2014 season, and not much has changed. I know he doesn’t help himself by missing games most years, but few quarterbacks play at his level on a yearly basis. As long as the health is there, he has to be a top MVP candidate.

Week 1 Upsets

I have a few games I wanted to share some thoughts on in particular this week.

Pittsburgh at Washington

Well, this might not help the Roethlisberger MVP campaign. My thinking on Monday night’s opener is that Washington is going to pounce on a weakened Pittsburgh roster. While the pre-game narrative is going to be “Washington didn’t beat a good team last year and is Kirk Cousins legit?”, I think the Redskins and Cousins will put on a show in this one. Or at least for 3.5 quarters before maybe a PIT comeback, but it’s a tough matchup when you lose Bud Dupree, don’t have much in the secondary, and will be without RB1 (Bell), WR2 (Markus Wheaton) and TE1 (Green). Washington may not be able to run much, but I think the receiving corps is very deep and will give the Steelers trouble as long as Cousins is getting rid of the ball quickly. I’ve just seen too many instances of the Steelers laying an egg, especially offensively, on road games in prime time. I think the offense will need to step up in this one (24-point minimum), and while I don’t have any real fear of Josh Norman shutting down Antonio Brown, it is a limited PIT offense this week and Brown shouldn’t go off all night. I’d play Sammie Coates a lot because I think he’s the closest thing to Martavis on the roster, but the coaches seem to be emphatically in favor of Eli Rogers and Darrius Heyward-Bey. And then Jesse James is the best TE at this point. Ho-hum.

I still have Pittsburgh going 12-4 and Washington 7-9, but at least for one night, I think it’s Hail to the Redskins.

Pittsburgh 16, Washington 24

Green Bay at Jacksonville

So much great, young defensive talent in Jacksonville after the last two draft hauls and bringing Malik Jackson over from Denver. The problem is this unit has never played together in a meaningful game, and Dante Fowler, Myles Jack and Jalen Ramsey have yet to play a regular-season game period. They’ll get a great test right away with the Packers, especially if Jordy Nelson and Eddie Lacy are playing at a high level. But I think with the recent offensive line shuffle and the Jaguars being at home, the Packers are going to face some good pressure and struggle to run the ball. When healthy, I think Jordy Nelson is one of the best in the game, but I’m a little skeptical of him this week. No reason to think too highly of Davante Adams or new tight end Jared Cook either. Meanwhile, the Jaguars have plenty of options in their skill players, but Blake Bortles needs to avoid the mistakes that plagued him last year. He can make a lot of good plays, but just hasn’t been consistent enough in his first two seasons.

Much like with Pittsburgh, I still think Green Bay has a great season and the Jaguars lose double-digit games, but for one week, it’s about the home team.

Green Bay 20, Jacksonville 24

New England at Arizona

If you know me well, then you know I basically always pick New England to win its game. This would have been a good one to test myself as I think it’s a loss even if Tom Brady was the quarterback. Arizona is a very talented, tough road opponent. This is  rough spot for Jimmy Garoppolo to make his first start, and when you take Rob Gronkowski and Nate Solder out of the game too, that’s just asking for trouble. Bill Belichick would be pulling off a major upset with a win here, which I think can only happen if Carson Palmer really has turned into 2009 Jake Delhomme and implodes again with turnovers. Maybe a Jamie Collins pick-six, because I do think the defense for New England will keep this at least competitive.

The Gronkowski injury news coming late in the week intrigues me as potential out-of-the-box thinking from the Pats again. Keep an eye on his status next week to see how quickly he heals. I honestly believe Belichick is the only coach who would not go all in on a Week 1 non-conference game that he doesn’t think his team has a realistic shot to win. If you expect to lose, why play one of your most important players at less than 100% health? I doubt Gronk will miss a division game coming up.

New England 19, Arizona 27

2015 Week 1 Predictions

I took an L to start the year with Carolina losing a 10-point lead in Denver and Graham Gano missing a 50-yard field goal at the end. Real “game of inches” stuff to start the season.

Winners in bold

  • Packers at Jaguars
  • Bengals at Jets
  • Chargers at Chiefs
  • Raiders at Saints
  • Vikings at Titans
  • Bills at Ravens
  • Bears at Texans
  • Browns at Eagles
  • Buccaneers at Falcons
  • Dolphins at Seahawks
  • Giants at Cowboys
  • Lions at Colts
  • Patriots at Cardinals
  • Steelers at Redskins
  • Rams at 49ers

Oh fudge, that’s 13 home winners including Denver. You know that’s not right, but this is part of what makes Week 1 so fun. And it is very important too. That Bills at Ravens game was my deciding factor in which team I picked for the AFC’s second wild-card team.

NFL Week 10 Predictions, Midseason Review and Award Predictions

~ Scott ~ Leave a comment

In writing a NFL midseason review, it takes a lot of work to come up with something for all 32 teams. I learned that this week, passing the milestone of having written 200 articles (all but eight of them done since mid-July 2011).

But even after making playoff predictions and second-half predictions for the teams, one thing I did not write anywhere were my picks for the individual awards, so here they are. The picks are based on who I think has deserved it in the first half, and not necessarily who willl win the award at the end of the season.

First-Half Awards

  • MVP: Matt Ryan
  • Offensive Player of the Year: Adrian Peterson
  • Defensive Player of the Year: J.J. Watt
  • Offensive Rookie of the Year: Andrew Luck
  • Defensive Rookie of the Year: Chandler Jones
  • Coach of the Year: Mike Smith
  • Comeback Player of the Year: Peyton Manning

This Week’s Articles

Captain Comeback Week 9: New York Giants Shell-Shocked by Pittsburgh Steelers – Cold, Hard Football Facts

Pittsburgh came back on the road from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win for the third time in the Ben Roethlisberger era. Andrew Luck led his fourth game-winning drive in just his eighth game. Matt Ryan (27 years, 171 days) became the youngest QB to reach 20 game-winning drives. Also included is a review of how each team’s offense has done in 4QC/GWD opportunities this season. Only Houston and San Francisco has yet to face one.

NFL Midseason Report – NBC Sports

This is one of three articles I did for NBC Sports this week as part of a midseason review special, and this is the central piece that looks at all 32 teams: where they have been this year, and where they are headed.

Five Biggest Surprises of 2012 NFL Season – NBC Sports

Which surprises continue to amaze us halfway through the season? A look at Peyton Manning’s comeback in Denver, Andrew Luck and the Colts’ quick rebuild, the five rookie quarterbacks, the disappointment of the New Orleans Saints, and the recent dominance of Tampa Bay rookie Doug Martin.

Are These NFL Teams Pretenders or Contenders? – NBC Sports

Finally, I take a look at some playoff hopefuls and just how legit their chances are, focusing on the remaining schedule and conference playoff races. Teams included: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, San Diego, Miami, NY Giants, Seattle, Minnesota, Detroit, and Tampa Bay. I conclude with a prediction for the 12 playoff seeds when it’s all said and done.

Andrew Luck: Midseason Review for Colts’ Rising Star – Bleacher Report

How good has Andrew Luck been so far? I break down his first eight games by the numbers and find all the records he’s already set or is on pace for. Hint: there are a lot of them.

Following a Legend: Andrew Luck Week 9 vs. Miami Dolphins – Colts Authority

My traditional Luck column, breaking down his record-setting performance by Miami where he passed for 433 yards and converted 12 of 17 third-down opportunities.

The Thinking Man’s Guide: NFL Week 10 Predictions – Bleacher Report

You voted for change? Well, not really, but change has come. Not only did I give a marquee preview of Texans/Bears, followed by Colts/Jags, Chargers/Bucs and Falcons/Saints, but I picked every game this week, and will continue to do s.

Predicting the Second Half of a NFL Season Using the First Half – Cold, Hard Football Facts – Cold, Hard Football Facts

Is the second half of the season just a repeat of the first half? Not quite, but we can learn some things from it. Since 2002, 71.3 percent of teams leading their division through eight games go on to win the division. Also some interesting results on the sustainability of offense versus defense, and more playoff predictions.

2012 NFL Week 10 Predictions

Dallas didn’t quite come through last week, marking the first time I picked against Atlanta this season. I am doing it again this week, but promise to only do it one more time at most going forward (regular season at least).

Winners in bold:

  • Raiders at Ravens
  • Broncos at Panthers
  • Giants at Bengals
  • Titans at Dolphins
  • Lions at Vikings
  • Bills at Patriots
  • Falcons at Saints
  • Chargers at Buccaneers
  • Jets at Seahawks
  • Cowboys at Eagles
  • Rams at 49ers
  • Texans at Bears
  • Chiefs at Steelers

Season results:

  • Week 1: 12-4
  • Week 2: 11-5
  • Week 3: 4-12
  • Week 4: 10-5
  • Week 5: 10-4
  • Week 6: 5-9
  • Week 7: 12-1
  • Week 8: 10-4
  • Week 9: 11-3
  • Season: 85-47