After a seven month absence the NFL is back. Yes!
The 2016 regular season officially kicked off Thursday night with a superb Carolina Panthers-Denver Broncos Super Bowl rematch.
The Broncos rallied from a 17-7 second half deficit for a thrilling 21-20 victory as Panthers kicker Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal on the second last play of the game.
Did you know that in each of the past 28 years at least one NFL team has increased its win total by five or more games from the previous season?
Last year, for example in the NFC, Carolina went from a 7-8-1 record in 2014 to a 15-1 mark in 2015.
The Washington Redskins improved from 4-12 to 9-7.
In the AFC, the New York Jets went from four wins in 2014 to ten victories in 2015, although the 10-6 record wasn’t enough to get the Jets in the playoffs.
In the previous season, Houston jumped from two wins in 2013 to nine in 2014.
With this in mind, who will that team(s) be in 2016?
The best candidates appear to be the Baltimore Ravens (5-11 in 2015), the Tennessee Titans (3-13), and the Dallas Cowboys (4-12) pending the health of Tony Romo.
Candidates for the biggest tumble include Carolina (15-1), Denver (12-4), Minnesota (11-5) and perhaps Arizona (13-3). The Cardinals may still make the playoffs but I like Seattle (10-6) to take the NFC West.
My other picks for division champions are Carolina (NFC South), Green Bay (NFC North), Dallas (NFC East), Kansas City (AFC West), Indianapolis (AFC South), Pittsburgh (AFC North) and New England (AFC East).
In 12 of the last 13 NFL seasons, there’s been at least one team go from worst to first in its division.
For instance, Washington went from the bottom in 2014 (4-12) to top in 2015 (9-7).
The last place teams in 2015 were Miami, Cleveland, Tennessee, San Diego, Dallas, Chicago, Tampa Bay and San Francisco.
In this group, the Cowboys and Dolphins have the best chance while the Browns and 49’ers have the least chance of going from the cellar to division champions.
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Amidst the culture of the NFL, many fans compete in a growing trend, where participants speculate and pick weekly winners in a popular contest widely referred to as THE FOOTBALL POOL.
Prince George is no different than most cities as interest in the NFL elevates by competing in a pool.
Some, like the one hosted by 94.3 the Goat are free. Others have a token entry fee.
There’s a wide spectrum of pools that include:
• Time frame: weekly winners or season-long chase.
• Elimination pools: pick one team each week to win, keep going until the last player is left alive.
• Survivor pools: pick one team each week to lose, keep going until the last player is left alive.
• Team-win pools: draft certain teams whose wins count for you during the season.
Here are some guidelines that I try to follow when picking winners:
• Know the line: Vegas odds makers are professionals when they establish a line. Use that as a gauge.
• Past reputations: Avoid picking teams living off previous reputations that have not been successful recently.
• Key to Success: The blueprint for winning a pool is “nailing” the games that are close on the spread (three or less points). In this realm, upsets are common. Still, it is important to have some basis for believing the so called better team will lose.
• Have an even keel approach: Do not get discouraged about having a bad week. Standings fluctuate and it only takes a few games to change the direction of the leader-board.
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Week one is usually difficult picking a team in both an Elimination and Survivor pool. I generally don’t like taking a road team as a lock even if they are 5.5 point favorites like Green Bay over Jacksonville.
There are six road favorites and that included Carolina. My best guess for a sure fire win is Seattle over Miami although I would suggest the line of 10.5 is too high.
Week one NFL Odds From www.footballlocks.com
Date & Time Favorite Spread Underdog Total
9/8 5:30 PT Carolina -3 At Denver 40.5 Broncos won 21-20
9/11 10:00 PT At Atlanta -3 Tampa Bay 47.5
9/11 10:00 PT Minnesota -2.5 At Tennessee 41
9/11 10:00 PT At Philadelphia -4 Cleveland 41
9/11 10:00 PT Cincinnati -2.5 At NY Jets 41.5
9/11 10:00 PT At New Orleans -1 Oakland 51
9/11 10:00 PT At Kansas City -6.5 San Diego 44.5
9/11 10:00 PT At Baltimore -3 Buffalo 44.5
9/11 10:00 PT At Houston -6 Chicago 44
9/11 10:00 PT Green Bay -5.5 At Jacksonville 48
9/11 1:05 PT At Seattle -10.5 Miami 44
9/11 1:05 Pt At Dallas PK NY Giants 46
9/11 1:25 PT At Indianapolis -3.5 Detroit 50.5
9/11 5:30 PT At Arizona -6 New England 47
9/12 4:10 PT Pittsburgh -3 At Washington 50
9/12 7:20 PT Los Angeles -2.5 At San Francisco 43.5
PK = Pick Em. No Favorite. No Underdog.
From the Quote Rack:
Baseball scouts say Tim Tebow (who just signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets) has raw talent, but will need lots of polish. In other words, he might be a little rough in the diamond.
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
At Minute Maid Park, Miss Texas threw out the first pitch at a Houston Astros game and promptly bounced the ball to the plate—she was immediately signed to assist Tim Tebow.
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Tim Tebow homered in his workout for MLB scouts. It’s been so long since Tebow played baseball, during his home run trot he stiff-armed the first base coach.
Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald
Seahawks DE Cliff Avril reached out to Tony Romo after hitting him and fracturing his back. Romo apparently texted back “You take care of the NFC West, we will see yall in the playoff.” So will Seattle send Dallas tickets?
Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
A German study concludes that dogs can actually understand human speech. Except, (CFL play-by-play broadcaster) Rod Black.
Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver http://alwaysfunny.com/
And in case you missed it:
Disgraced swimmer Ryan Lochte is endorsing a crime-prevention gadget. The device is so advanced, it can even stop crimes that you completely made up.
Conan O’Brien of TBS
Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat. He also is the 94.3
radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars home games.
His column appears Fridays on myprincegeorgenow.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller
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