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TNF Packers vs 49ers

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America is on life support this week, as it flatlines from its most recent election. Biden, Trump, Kanye? It’s anyone’s guess, but the real eyes should be on the Bay area this week, as the 49ers host Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Thursday night.
Sure, American polling stations might be burning, but the real burn will be the anger in Rodgers eyes as he attempts to avenge a week 8 loss.

49ers

The 49ers are a total mess after week 8. Not only have they lost Jimmy G, George Kittle, Wilson Jr, and Mostert, they also lost lost Nick Bosa and Dee Ford on the D.
If you’re on San Fran’s practice squad, there’s a pretty good chance you’re playing on Thursday night.
This really could be the end for the 49ers this season in their competitive division. Losing the next few games will definitely push them beyond repair, as some of their top guys will be gone for the season.
As much as we all would love to see Nick Mullens pull a season saver out of his ass, he’ll need to be able to throw accurately over 8 yards, which has eluded him thus far in the season.
San Francisco is on its way to being the NY Jets of the NFC, they just don’t know it yet.

Packers

The Packers got stuffed last Sunday at Lambeau thanks to Dalvin Cook. They had no answer for him as he romped for 4 touchdowns and 200+ yards. Cook was a fantasy hero, and thankfully I had him on my squad, as well as choosing the Packers not to cover.
Aaron Rodgers is a beast after a loss, going 31-15 against the spread in the week following one.
Green Bay is also hit by the injury/ Covid bug, as it looks like all of their running backs could be out. Rodgers is going to have to toss the ball on Thursday, which shouldn’t be a problem against the 49ers secondary which is down & dusted as well.
No one will be able to smother Davante Adams, which should lead to a stellar game for him.

Prediction

The 49ers are far too hobbled to cause problems for anyone this season going forward. They went from a ‘chasing the playoffs year’, to ‘shut up and rebuild year’ in one single week.
Aaron Rodgers will be looking to avenge his Sunday loss, and the poor 49ers will pay the price.
Rodgers is a California boy, and he should feel right at home in this game.

Packers 31 49ers 18

 

 

Head Gase

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Adam Gase still has a job, which might be one of the more messed up things to happen in 2020. The Jets are the worst team in the NFL, which makes Gase the de facto worst coach in the NFL, so why is this happening?
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why:

Woody Johnson

Ambassador Johnson is a busy man. The Jets owner is not only an Ambassador to the UK, but also the scion to the Johnson & Johnson empire. Johnson has been busy working as a British interpreter to Donal Trump, as well as helping the US navigate the upcoming Brexit.
Johnson was supposed to devolve all Jets activities, but you have to wonder if his touch is missing on the team.
It’s like having your neighbours train your puppy. It might be convenient now, but what kind of dog are you going to get?
In the case of the Jets, a bad dog. A very bad dog.

Sam Darnold

Gase chose a solid rookie QB in Sam Darnold, now we can all watch as Gase slowly crumbles the young mans career. Darnold is getting absolutely smoked with no O-line to protect him, and he is aging far too fast in NFL years. Giving Darnold to Gase was like giving a Fabrege Egg to a toddler. He’s just going to smash it up, then ask for a new one.

Player Vacation

The Jets are jettisoning players like someone threw a grenade in their fuselage. They have lost talent on every side of the ball, and it will take years to recover the amount of guys who had fled the sinking Jet. In doesn’t instils much confidence in fans when no one wants to play for your team, as well as thinking that you have the worst playable field in the league. Until Gase leaves, this haemorrhaging will continue to bleed New York of talent.

Play Calling

Someone needs to take Gase off the play calling role. He has too many fingers in too many pockets, which ultimately leads to step in and take the reigns away from him. The Jets plain old suck across everything, so it might make sense for him to take a step back and let someone else tank the team.

Adam Gase will probably make it until the end of the NFL season. The Jets are unlikely to fire the idiot, which means that they will be looking to destroy a new QB next year. Stay in school Trevor Lawrence.

 

Week 7 Preview

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Fire up those ears, it’s time for another burning NFL podcast! Wade & Ryan are back on the mike, breaking down all of the week 6 games, as well as making their top picks for week 7 in the NFL. Are you ready for some football?

Week 6 was an emotional week. Ryan watched his Bills get absolutely man-handled by the Chiefs, Aaron Rodgers threw a hissy fit, and Wade’s Bears moved up the ladder to first place in the NFC North.
Week 7 brings with it some potential drama, as some of the top teams could see more losses, while some of the losers look to sink further into the duvet of the season.

Here are some of the top takes from the podcast. Of course, just listen to the whole thing to get the best tips.

Browns (4-2) vs Bengals (1-4-1)
Browns -3.5  +51

The Browns showed up strong, now they are starting to look like a growing stain on the khakis of the league. Baker is regressing week on week, while OBJ continues to chase the skeletons in his personal closet.
Joe Burrow on the other hand has shown some streaks of goodness, despite blowing a big lead last week.
Ryan thinks that the Browns will right the ship, but Wade sees the locker room drama spilling over to this week.
Ryan- Browns 27 Bengals 24
Wade- Bengals 28 Browns 26

Cowboys (2-4) vs Washington (1-5)
Cowboys -2  +47

The crack heard round the league has caught up with Dallas, as Andy Dalton can barely fill the shoes and legs of his predecessor. Dallas has a horrible O-line, and there won’t be any way of plugging it up this season. How can they be this bad with so many offensive weapons.
Washington might suck, but their fast front D has been keeping them in some games. Kyle Allen has looked unsteady, especially with only McLaurin as his only real target.
Ryan figures that this is the game where the ‘Boys can turn it around, but Wade thinks this slide isn’t over.
Ryan- Cowboys 27 Washington 20
Wade- Washington 24 Dallas 20

Steelers (5-0) vs Titans (5-0)
Steelers -1  +52

One of these teams will have their first loss of the season after this game, but who is it going to be? The Titans lost Taylor Lewan for the season, which means Henry and Tannehill have lost one of the best blockers in the league. The Steelers defence continues to punish, tossing aside the poor Browns last week in easy fashion.
Ryan and Wade both like the Steelers here, although you can never count out the Titans, who have made easy work out of some of the top teams this year.
Ryan- Steelers 24 Titans 20
Wade- Steelers 30 Titans 28

Chiefs (5-1) vs Broncos (2-3)
Chiefs -9.5  +48

Kansas City is hot off a win over the Bills in week 6, while the Broncos are smiling after an easy win over Cam & the Patriots. The Chiefs have had a few tough games in a row, so they will be looking for a solid win in week 7. The Broncos must be exhausted after that messy win against Bill Belichick last week, throwing everything that they had at the Patriots, although most of it was field goals.
Ryan & Wade both see the Chiefs winning this one, with Ryan calling a bit of a blow-out, and Wade thinking that the Broncos overing once KC takes its foot off of the gas.
Ryan- Chiefs 34 Broncos 24
Wade- Chiefs 28 Broncos 21

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TNF Week 6

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Thursday Night Football is back, after Covid scheduling put it on the back burner last week. Looking at the match-up between the Giants & Eagles, you would hope thatchy would put it back on that burner and let both teams go up in flames.

The NFC East is 2020 personified. We started out with hope in the division, only to watch it continually disappoint as it drags itself towards a fetid gutter. It must be how the rest of the Trumps feel about Tiffany.

TNF tonight features two teams who would be better off speeding this game up so we only see 7 minutes of highlights. The Eagles host the Giants, whose combined record is still worse than the Miami Dolphins.
The Giants were able to get their first win of the season off the lowly Washington team, while the Eagles have shot themselves in the foot so much this season, you wonder if they will run out of bullets or toes first.

The Eagles will be missing their main man Myles Sanders, as well as the only guy that can catch-Zach Ertz. DeSean Jackson should return to help out Fulgham, provided Carson Wentz can actually hit them with a pass. Injuries are the star for the Eagles this season, although it looks doubtful they will be able to trade them this season.

The Giants suck. Their O-line is as about as suspect as getting medical advice off of Facebook, and Daniel Jones looks terrified every time the pass rush is in his face. You wonder if Saquon saw this and started the season with ‘screw this, I’m outta here.’

In this battle of dumpsters, I’m taking the Eagles, as they are little less maggoty than the Giants. Both are trash, but Philly is a little less so.

I will not be staying up to watch this 1:20am game, instead I will give this game the attention it deserves. Watching it on the toilet Friday morning as I scroll between the game and Bumble.

Prediction:

Eagles 24 Giants 18 

The Picks Six

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Yo! Welcome to the first edition of The Picks Six. This is a new concept, so bare with me whilst I figure it out. But each week I’m gonna give 6 types of picks or tips for the upcoming slate of games. Each category is a little different; some are sure fire “this is definitely going to happen,” and some are long shots “this is a bit of a dream but it’s plausible at least.” Like for example last week. I thought the Dolphins had a great shot at upsetting the 49ers. And they did. Wish I’d started this column last week now… We’ll keep track of how I do in each category so you can know which ones to trust and which ones to laugh at. 

Anyway… for us Brits, this week’s Sky Sports Slate of games is absolutely electric. Steelers vs Browns, Buccaneers vs Packers, Rams vs 49ers (ehhhh okay not great), Bills vs Chiefs AND Cardinals vs Cowboys? 4 out of 5 are legitimately must see. But if I can avoid watching Jimmy G I will absolutely do so, so let’s just pretend that game isn’t happening for the rest of this article? Cool! Let’s get stuck into my picks. 

1) The 1st and Goal from the One 

This is my lock of the week. A sure fire winner surely. 

I’m very tempted to pick the Panthers to beat the (extremely fraudulent, sorry not sorry Wade) 4-1 Bears, but I’m not quite as confident in that as a couple other options this weekend. It’s two AFC East teams, and I just cannot see any way they lose this weekend. I’m talking about the Patriots and the Dolphins. New England have seemingly survived Cam’s corona scare… and he’s back this week to face the fairly unfortunate Broncos, who have been decimated by injuries and then this week had the story of Melvin Gordon getting a DUI. It’s not been great for Denver, and I don’t think their luck changes on Sunday. Belichick can see a glimmer of light at the top of the AFC East after the Bills lost on Tuesday night. I’m taking the Patriots to win in comfortable fashion. BUT – as a bonus for the first week of this column, I’m also taking the Dolphins, who face the newly LeVeon Bell-less Jets. Adam Gase man… where do you even start? Probably best to make this quick. Brian Flores has the Dolphins playing great football and winning games. The Jets are absolutely horrific. I feel (for once) very confident that my Fins get their 3rd win of the season on Sunday.

2) The 45yd Field Goal (around even odds)

This is my mid-range, toss up of the week. 

So my pick is going to Green to beat Tampa in the matchup I’ve dubbed “battle of the bays.” I’m sure that’s copyrighted by someone else but hey, it sounds good. Tommy B has been up and down since relocating to Florida, and AA Rod is in the middle of his “how dare you not rank me in the top 10 of the NFL 100” revenge tour. It’s hard for me to understand why the Packers are ONLY favoured by a solitary point here coming off a Bye last week. I know the Buccaneers defense is tasty, but Aaron Jones and the (hopefully) returning healthy Davante Adams are too electrifying to stop, and they’ll both benefit from having the other in the lineup. Let’s go for Green Bay -1.0.

3). The Hail Mary (4/1 or longer)

This is my shot from half field. Unlikely, but you never know. 

The AFC North is fast confirming itself to be – alongside the NFC West – the best division in Football. The Ravens, Steelers AND (surprisingly) Browns are all proving themselves to be playoff calibration teams, with potential SuperBowl aspirations. Big Ben’s comeback player of the year campaign is off to a flyer, and rookie WR Chase Claypool set the Fantasy Football world on fire last week with 45 points in his 4TD demolition of the Eagles. Cleveland faced their toughest defense (since the Ravens in week 1) and dismantled the Colts with relative ease. Baker looked good, Kareem Hunt is running like he did in Kansas City, and OBJ has maybe got his mojo back. I’m so excited for this matchup. BUT I think this really means a lot to the Browns. They’re used to getting eviscerated by Pittsburgh and, after the “contentious” ending to last season’s second matchup (you know, the one with the attempted murder??), I think Myles Garrett will be out for… errr… sacks!? Cleveland are the underdogs but if they can get the run game going they can limit the Steelers’ time of possession. Ben will always air it out to try and catch up but I think the Browns have enough to not only upset the Steelers but win by a wider margin than expected.

We’re gonna go Cleveland Browns to win by 7-12 points. 

4) The Over

I like points. Sue me. Give me 45-44 over 17-14 every day. I’m a Big XII guy. Points points points. Throw the ball. So, I’m using this section to look at the points totals and pick an over that I like. 

Cardinals @ Cowboys – Over 55.0

Yeah, it’s a high line, but this has “shootout” written all over it. I love the Cardinals. I absolutely love them. They’re so exciting. Kyler is a speed demon. Hopkins is – for me – the best receiver in the league. Their run game has struggled but we all know Kenyan Drake could just turn it on one week and blow people away again. And then you’ve got Dallas. Firstly, get well soon Dak. Secondly, Andy Dalton is… not Dak Prescott, but has a better set of weapons in Dallas than he EVER had in Cincinnati. Lamb, Cooper & Gallup can cause Patrick Peterson and the Cardinals DBs a lot of issues, creating space for Zeke between the tackles, especially now Chandler Jones is done for the year. But Kyler and Hopkins will feast on a suspect Cowboys secondary that made the Giants look like an offensive powerhouse at times last week. I’m excited to see these two offenses beat up on the defenses on Monday Night. 

5) The Parlay

A little 5 team accumulator for the people. 

Titans -3.5 (how are Tennessee, who are 4-0, only -3.5 against a 1-4 Houston team?!)

Dolphins -10.0 (yeah, it’s A LOT of points for the Dolphins and Fitzmagic to cover… BUT… I mean… have you SEEN the Jets?)

Patriots -9.5 (Cam’s back, and the Broncos are broken. Even if Drew Lock plays, the New England defense is nasty enough to give him nightmares)

Browns +3.5 (I think they win outright, but the FG + a half point here makes this feel like a safe bet)

Lions -3.0 (Golladay back, Sacksonville ain’t what it used to be, Lions managed to beat the Cardinals – a GOOD team – earlier this year. I trust Stafford to win this game)

£10 on this pays about £260 depending on your Bookmaker.

6) The Full English

This is just gonna be my straight up, nice and simple, prediction for who wins every single game each week. We’ll keep a rolling total and win % for me and hopefully it’ll be a number significantly higher than 50…

ATL vs MIN – Atlanta

BAL vs PHI – Ravens

CHI vs CAR – Panthers

CIN vs IND – Colts

CLE vs PIT – Browns

DEN vs NE – Patriots

DET vs JAX – Lions

HOU vs TEN – Titans

WAS vs NYG – Giants

NYJ vs MIA – Dolphins

GB vs TB – Packers

LAR vs SF – Rams

KC vs BUF – Chiefs

ARI vs DAL – Cardinals

And that’s it! Can’t wait to get absolutely none of these right this week. Hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts. Fingers crossed you come back next week. I’m @callumjdsquires on Twitter and Instagram if you wanna chat further. Have a good one!

All Lines and Totals accurate as of Friday 16th October at 15:00. 

Callum Squires is a London based writer, Dolphins fan and regular contributor to NFL in London.