The weekend is here folks, time for another edition of the viewer guide! After an amazing opening weekend of college football, the collegiate game takes a step back for the NFL to take control of our airwaves. Friday and Saturday are a little light compared to the all-day football bonanza on Sunday. Now I should explain that for my NFL selections for the viewer guide I’m not taking regional coverage into account. I’m giving you the best games to watch here, unfortunately some regions get stuck with bad games, and that is way above my pay grade. Sunday NFL Ticket now has a streaming package outside of DirecTV, so I’m going to cater to that crowd for the NFL.

Friday Night (9/9)

#13 Louisville vs. Syracuse (8:00 PM, ESPN2)

Louisville heads to the Carrier Dome to face the Orange. I expect the Cardinals to win this game big behind its quarterback Lamar Jackson. He’s worth watching this game until it gets out of hand. Jackson accounted for eight touchdowns last week against Charlotte, and while Syracuse is a better team Jackson should put up big numbers once again.

Saturday (9/10)

Virginia Tech vs. #17 Tennessee (8:00 PM, ABC)

It’s a pretty lackluster day for college football with no top-25 matchups on the slate. This should be a pretty good game in primetime though. This is technically a neutral site game as this contest will take place at Bristol Motor Speedway, but this is a virtual home game for the Volunteers. Frank Beamer is no longer on the sidelines for the Hokies, but Virginia Tech always is a tough out. Tennessee almost lost to Appalachian State last week, which is not a good sign for a team with national title hopes. I’m putting the Volunteers on upset alert Saturday night.

Sunday (9/11)

Green Bay Packers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (1:00 PM, FOX)

Green Bay is rightly the favorite in this game and should jump out to a big lead against Jacksonville on the road. Don’t change the channel though, Jacksonville was the best team in the league last season when down double-digits and I expect them to keep this game interesting until the final whistle.

Oakland Raiders vs. New Orleans Saints (1:00 PM, FOX)

The Saints always play well at home no matter who the opponent happens to be. I’m expecting this game to be a shootout with the Raiders coming out on top. A 35-31 game is not out of the question here and will have a ton of fantasy football implications.

Detroit Lions vs. Indianapolis Colts (4:25 PM, FOX)

Speaking of shootouts, this is another game where points could be scored in bunches. Both teams like to air it out on offense which is good for the fans, so it’ll be a fun game to watch. Also there will be plenty of mentions for Detroit offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter (for my money, the best name in the league) as his offensive scheme turned Detroit around last season. It will also be the first look at a healthy Andrew Luck in 2016 as he looks to rebound from a rough 2015.

New England Patriots vs. Arizona Cardinals (8:30 PM, NBC)

On paper, Arizona should win this game handily with Tom Brady sitting out the first game of his suspension. Don’t count out the Patriots though. Bill Belichick won eleven games with Matt Cassel at quarterback a few years ago and I expect him to have Jimmy Garrapolo ready with a good gameplan Sunday night. This is totally a coincidence but somehow NBC always ends up with the most entertaining games no matter the matchup (flex-schedule not withstanding).

 

Have a great weekend everyone! I’ll be back on Monday to recap the weekend, dissect the first Sunday in the NFL and Fantasy Football, and preview the Monday Night Football doubleheader. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Wow it’s Friday already and the first NFL Sunday is right around the corner. This will be the first edition of the “No Huddle” blog. I’ll recap anything big that happened in the Thursday night game, make my picks against the spread, and dish out some fantasy advice.

So how about that game last night? Really didn’t think Denver had a chance to take down Carolina but I guess that’s why they play the game. Not the best start for my picks against the spread, but I can take some solace in at least having the under pick correct. Carolina looks just fine on defense without Josh Norman, although they are going to have to decide whether this is a power running team or a team that wants throw more on offense. Kelvin Benjamin didn’t miss a beat in his first action in over a year. Denver is still winning ugly games with its defense. Trevor Siemian didn’t blow me away but he played pretty well for what Gary Kubiak asked of him last night. These are still two of the upper echelon teams in the NFL, but I don’t think we’re getting another rematch anytime soon.

Last night was a good showing for both teams, but doesn’t really affect my playoff predictions. Without further ado, here are my playoff picks for 2016.

NFC East – New York Giants (10-6)

NFC North – Green Bay Packers (13-3)

NFC South – Carolina Panthers (12-4)

NFC West – Arizona Cardinals (12-4)

NFC Wild Cards – Seattle Seahawks (11-5), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6)

AFC East – New England Patriots (11-5)

AFC North – Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)

AFC South – Houston Texans (10-6)

AFC West – Kansas City Chiefs (11-5)

AFC Wild Cards – Denver Broncos (10-6), Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)

 

NFC Title Game – Arizona @ Green Bay

AFC Title Game – New England @ Pittsburgh

Super Bowl LI – Arizona vs New England

Super Bowl Champion – Arizona

I’m going all in on Arizona this season. I think that when healthy this is the best team in the NFL on both sides of the ball. Tom Brady is going to tear up the NFL and look unstoppable in the process, until he faces this Cardinal defense in the Super Bowl.

We’ll see how close I get with these picks later this year, now lets move on to my picks against the spread for Week 1. (Winners in Bold)

1:00 PM Games

Tampa Bay (+2.5) at Atlanta

Minnesota (-2.5) at Tennessee

Cleveland at Philadelphia (-3.5)

Chicago at Houston (-6)

Buffalo (+3) at Baltimore

Green Bay (-5.5) at Jacksonville

Cincinnati at New York Jets (+2.5)

Oakland (+1.5) at New Orleans

San Diego at Kansas City (-6.5)

 

4:05/4:25 PM Games

Miami at Seattle (-10.5)

Detroit at Indianapolis (-3)

New York Giants (EVEN) at Dallas

 

Sunday Night Football

New England at Arizona (-6)

 

Monday Night Football

Pittsburgh (-3) at Washington

Los Angeles (-2.5) at San Francisco

 

Quickly I’m going to give a few start/sit picks for this week in fantasy football. You’ll notice I try to stay away from the obvious picks because you should always start your studs.

Start: Michael Crabtree vs. New Orleans Saints

This game will be a shootout between two of the best passing offenses in the NFL. Crabtree quietly led the Raiders in targets last season. Expect a great game from Crabtree.

Sit: DeMarco Murray/Derrick Henry vs. Minnesota Vikings

I like this two-pronged attack Tennessee has at running back long-term, but not this week against Minnesota. The Vikings have one of the best front-sevens in the NFL, and there won’t be much room to run on Sunday.

Start: Spencer Ware vs. San Diego Chargers

First, if he’s still available in your league’s free agency, go pick him up now. He’s primed for a big day against San Diego with Jamaal Charles likely out on Sunday. Ware will be tabbed for early down work and more importantly, redzone touches.

Sit: Jeremy Hill vs. New York Jets

Hill was incredibly inconsistent last season, and it doesn’t help that he starts 2016 against the Jets. New York was one of the best run defenses in the NFL last season. It will be tough sledding on Sunday for Hill.

Start: Jameis Winston vs. Atlanta Falcons

A big year for “Famous” Jameis starts Sunday with a great matchup against Atlanta. While this defense is improving from being known as the Atlanta Sieves, it is still vulnerable against this vertical passing attack.

Sit: Phillip Rivers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs were one of the best defenses in the NFL last season and will feast on this offensive line, which is bad news for Rivers. Kansas City will force at least a pair of turnovers and rack up sacks on Sunday.

 

Enjoy the games this Sunday everyone! Stay tuned to Shooting the Moon for the Weekend Viewer Guide. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.