NFL Wild Card Weekend Wrap Up Blog by the Rainmaker

NFL WILD CARD WEEKEND WAS PREDICTABLE!

This weekend wasn't really full of surprises considering the outcome of the games but it sure did have some highlights worth mentioning.  First we would like to start in Green Bay where the weather wasn't as warm as it was in Florida.  Odell Beckam and a "few" New York Giants made headlines all over the country with their trip to Miami on an team off day.  By the looks of the Giants and Packers game, it looks like they continued their off day through Sunday afternoon.  Aaron Rodgers and the Packers completely dominated the Giants in every aspect and quarter of the game.  We're looking for a good game this week in Dallas against the red hot Cowboys.

Speaking of Miami, there's another story down there as the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled south to prove why the Dolphins shouldn't have even been in the playoffs at all.  I personally didn't really appreciate the Dolphin players kneeling during the National Anthem but they got embarrassed immediately after like they didn't belong there.  I look for the Steelers to continue on the winning streak right past the Kansas City Chiefs.  One thing that is worth mentioning here is Ben Roethlisberger sprained his ankle on the second to last play of the game.  Without Big Ben, I'm not sure the Steelers are even half as good as they are with him healthy.

Quarterbacks are one of the most important positions on the NFL football field and this game between the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans absolutely proved that point.  With Derek Carr on injured reserve, the Raiders didn't stand a chance against the Texans defense.  The Raiders struggled to get out of their own way on offense while the Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler made some good plays with great field position.  Yes the Texans looked like they could actually do something in the playoffs but they don't stand a chance against the New England Patriots what so ever!

Lastly, the Seattle Seahawks also dominated the Detroit Lions on Saturday night leaving no doubt that they Lions need to be watching the playoff on TV.  Matthew Stafford did lead the league with 8 come from behind wins while loosing the last 4 games leading up to the post season.  Limping into the playoffs on crutches they were symbolically teed up for the ceremonial practice game against the Seahawks.  Everyone looked good in Seattle but I think Matty Ice will have something to cool them off!  We pick the Atlanta Falcons this weekend against the Seahawks but admit that it's going to be a close game!

Does it look like Bill Belichick is worried about his upcoming game with the Houston Texans?

The original blog can be found:

nflteamsandnews.blogspot.com

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NFL Regular Season week 2 with additional Vegas lines and bets.

NFL Regular Season Week 2 Story

The first highlight of Week two is the match-up between the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys.  Typically these two teams play towards the end of the season with hopes of a division rivalry game that also has playoff implications.  The past few years however, the NFC East tallied up wins only when they played themselves but couldn't get an out of division "W" before week 6.  This display of mediocrity offers a NFL Wildcard Playoff birth to a 7-9 or 8-8 team while 9-7 teams aren't able to make the playoffs.  Needless to say, regardless of what the Cowboys or the Redskins look like on paper, anything can happen when these two take the field.

Josh Norman did a great job last week hiding from Antonio Brown by staying on one side of the field allowing the Steelers too easily avoid the match-up.  There can only be few NFL mega-million superstar contracts awarded to key players on a team due to the salary cap so Norman better be covering Dez Bryant this Sunday.  Another player to watch will be RB Alfred Morris as he will attempt to hit another "home run" in Landover, MD but this time for the opposing team.  I think Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot will be the winning combination over a struggling Kirk Cousins and a 80% healthy Matt Jones.  The Redskins management has to be celebrating the decision to put the Franchise Tag on Cousins instead of signing him to a long term deal right now as he is living up the slogan, "one hit wonder."

Was anybody shocked at the news of RGIII fracturing his coracoid bone in week 1?  That had to be one of the most predictable injuries next to Tony Romo's back leaving both fragile Quarterbacks as the highest paid NFL cheerleaders for the next 8 weeks.  At least Cleveland Brown fans have a little bit of hope that he's escaping his nickname RGKnee however he's finding other reckless ways to let his team down.  The Browns are now starting their 26th Quarterback since 1995.  Maybe the bubble wrap isn't such a bad idea after all or it's time to hang the cleats up for both of these former competitors.

After watching all four episodes of HBO's Hard Knocks, I began to feel a gravitational pull towards the LA Rams.  Coach Jeff Fisher had be believing that he wasn't putting up with 7-9 bullshit this year and now I'm thinking that the Rams may be lucky to see 4-12.  How do you get completely shut down on your Monday Night debut against the 49ers with the world watching?  Another interesting story is the number one pick in the NFL draft, Jared Goff doesn't even have a Rams uniform on during the first game of the season.  I understand he's only 21 years of age and has a lot of learning to do but if the Rams get blown out again this week in LA, nobody is going to the games anyways.

Last week was one of the most unbelievable streaks of bad luck and was almost impossible to foresee.   Out of the 15 games that I placed my predictions on, 6 out of 11 bets actually were correct.  This would be equivalent to a broken kneecap or collarbone for such a laps in judgement.  Literally after the first games on Sunday were played, I thought maybe I wouldn't have picked a single game correct.  Luckily a few games paid off and came through so it wasn't a complete blood bath but there's always week 2 for a comeback.  See below for my Rainmaker's NFL Week 2 picks and I hope that you're able to take advantage of them.

NFL Week 2 Rainmaker Picks on the Vegas Lines

1. Take Buffalo +1 against the Jets (take the under 40.5) (LOSS) (LOSS)
2. Take Detroit -6 against the Titans (take the over 47) (LOSS) (LOSS)
3. Take Kansas City +2.5 against Houston (take the under 43.5) (LOSS) (WIN)
4. Take the Patriots -6.5 against Miami (take the over 42.5) (WIN) (WIN)
5. Take Baltimore -6.5 against the Browns (take the under 42.5) (LOSS) (LOSS)
6. Take Pittsburgh -3.5 against the Bengals (take the over 48.5) (WIN) (LOSS)
7. Take Washington -2.5 against the Cowboys (take the under 45.5) (LOSS) (WIN)
8. Take New Orleans +5 against the Giants (take the under 52.5) (WIN) (LOSS)
9. Take San Francisco +13.5 against the Panthers (take the under 45) (LOSS) (LOSS)
10. Take Tampa Bay +6.5 against the Cardinals (take over 50) (LOSS) (LOSS)
11. Take Seattle -6.5 against the Rams (take under 38.5) (LOSS) (WIN)
12. Take Indianapolis +6 over the Broncos (take the Colts even up) (take the over 46) (LOSS) (WIN)
13. Take Oakland -5 against the Falcons (take the under 49.5) (LOSS) (LOSS)
14. Take Jacksonville +3 against the Chargers (take the under 47) (LOSS) (WIN)
15. Take Green Bay -2.5 against the Vikings (take the over 44) (LOSS) (LOSS)
16. Take Philadelphia +3 against the Bears (take the under 42.5) (LOSS) (LOSS)

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NFL Preseason Week 2

Preseason Week 2

With the new 2016 NFL Season underway, the 32 teams look much different than they did last season at this point.  Thanks to HBO Hard Knocks, fans have a inside look at the LA Rams (which have recently returned to L.A.) and how the number one overall NFLDraft Pick Jared Goff is fighting for a starting spot. Goff has shown signs of brilliance but still looks like he will be riding the pine behind QB Chase Reynolds.  The spotlight however has been shinning very bright on the talented RB Todd Gurley, especially with the HBO cameras capturing the behind the scenes action in Los Angles.

In other news, QB Robert Griffin III seems to be proving his worth as a starter and reminding fans that he should have been starting whenever he has been healthy.  The Washington Redskins released Griffin after naming Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy to start in front of him.  There's no question that RGIII is more talented than both of those QB's combined and I would be looking for another Cleveland Comeback story similar as the one found with Lebron James in the 2016 NBA Finals.  Please note that I'm not comparing RGIII with Lebron James in any fashion except for a professional sports player that can take Cleveland to a Championship.

Another story that has the NFC East watching is Dak Prescott in Dallas where he has lit up the scoreboard for the Cowboys in both preseason games.  Week 2, Prescott connected with Dez for 2 touchdown tosses and also ran two in making it look easy.  The question is, is there a chance to take the starting role in Dallas since Tony Romo is obviously the number one.  Considering that Tony Romo has a 68% chance of a re-injuring his back in 2016 and a 38% chance of finishing the season without missing any games, I would say that Prescott's chances are looking great!  My curiosity is leaning on first round draft pick, RB Ezekiel Elliott as he's limping into the NFL in true Cowboys fashion.

These are just a few stories that I found worth noting in this blog, stay tuned for a more detailed account of the NFL from a fans point of view.  We would like to give a special thanks to our sponsors, Lighting By Veterans and Make It Rain Marketing.