Chris W

Divorced Dad, Uncle, sports and politics junky, trusts/estate attorney, charity founder.

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

Hey folks, I’m making my profile more personal and less FPL-centric. So I am changing my name from FPL_Vader to RealUncleHat, and using my real first name. I’m still an avid player of FPL, but am branching beyond that for my twitter identity.

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@adamlevitan @JimmyKempski I think we underestimate the weight qb’s have on playcallers. OC’s want accommodate their qb’s. That is a big reason Mahomes and Burrow don’t do anything under center, even though it prevents them from effective play action.

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@amicsta Ceiling so much higher on a rb than wr.

[mrs. bendell werry @bebookled]

this is absolutely one of the best tiktoks I’ve ever seen

[Megan McArdle @asymmetricinfo]

A special Valentine's Day episode of Reasonably Optimistic: how to use MBA skills to find your life partner https://t.co/NYJhATRAB5

[BetMGM 🦁 @BetMGM]

The Titans have formed the baldest coaching staff of all time

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@JakobSanderson Does “any capacity” include legal work on the side? ;)

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@DavisMattek Adam who?

[Ryan Reynolds @RyanReynoldsNFL]

NFL Week 15 Here’s What I’m Looking At

- A day after John Cena calls it a career, Philip Rivers comes off the couch to start an NFL game, in Seattle, the same week he turns 44. What makes that truly fascinating is traditional pocket passers like Joe Flacco and Jacoby Brissett have had success in this league for a reason this season.

- Rivers was an elite pressure manager for an immobile quarterback during his playing career, so the first thing I’m very curious about is what he’ll look like in that aspect against this Seahawks defense. Second is Rivers was never an arm strength guy, so if there is a big drop off in that area, that could be problematic.

- Overall, if the Colts’ defense can keep this game close, which would then enable Indianapolis to deploy a muddy type of game plan on offense, I don’t think Rivers is drawing dead in that scenario, but he is in the Comeback Player of the Year race due to the AP guidance that essentially eliminated Sam Darnold from contention last season.

- From the Seattle side of things, they have a high-end defense, a quality coaching staff and Darnold has been a very good quarterback for two years now. They are well equipped to take care of business here, especially now that Rasheed Shaheed is on their roster. Before that move it was only a matter of time before a good, well coached defense made things difficult for Jaxson Smith-Njigba, and the Colts could have been that kind of time. Now, Shaheed gives Seattle a second matchup problem on offense in that scenario.

- Speaking of JSN, this is a big Offensive Player of the Year game, as he or Jonathan Taylor have an opportunity to take a substantial lead in that race with a big game in a winning effort.

- Cold weather will impact several games this week, but two look like they could hit at least borderline extreme temps.

- Bengals vs. Ravens could reach sub zero temperatures with the wind, which I actually think favors Baltimore. The Ravens are better equipped to win an ugly, defensive centric contest where defense and running games could play a bigger role.

- I’ve talked about the Ravens potentially peaking late this season, and then going on a playoff run in what is an unexpectedly weak AFC. If that has any shot of turning into reality, this is a gotta have it game for Baltimore.

- Bears vs. Browns is the other game that’s looking at subzero temperatures. As I recently posted, I have experienced Soldier Field in these conditions and it’s genuinely difficult to stay alive outdoors in these kinds of conditions. That said, Cleveland is down their three best offensive linemen and Chicago has a high-performing running game. I don’t think this is a good environment for Caleb Williams fastball, but the Browns’ offensive line situation puts the Bears in a very good position here.

- I could see Shedeur Sanders beating out Deshaun Watson next year, since Cleveland is stuck with Watson’s contract and he’s been genuinely terrible since leaving Houston, but I’d expect more of a game manager type of performance out of Sanders here than what we saw last week.

- The Eagles’ offense has cost them each of their last three games, but their defensive front, even without Jalen Carter, should be able to carry this game against what has been an atrocious Raiders’ offensive line this season.

- On top of that, if Philadelphia’s offense is going to have a spike game, this Raiders defense is as good of an opportunity as there is.

- The Jets have been scrappy, but last week the Dolphins marched up and down the field against New York to start that game, with big running lanes and pass catchers with considerable separation. The Jaguars have been rolling, with two blowout wins over the Chargers and Colts during their current four-game win streak. Jacksonville has been a good team for a month, and good teams take care of business in this kind of spot.

- The 49ers are coming off a bye against a Titans team that had an unsustainable spike game against the Browns’ defense last week. The 49ers have a better roster, the better coaching staff and should take care of business here even if CMC is on a pitch count.

- The Patriots have been impressive, Drake Maye is a genuinely good quarterback with great pocket presence and Mike Vrabel’s defense, already looks like a Mike Vrabel defense. However, Buffalo is the only team of note the Patriots have beaten this year, and that’s why the Bills are slight favorites over 11-2 New England, who is coming off their bye.

- This is a no-lose situation for New England for me. If they lose this game, they’ve been due to drop one for about a month. But if they beat Buffalo twice, given Denver’s schedule, good chance that means the Patriots end up as the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

- Houston has a shot to come out of the AFC with their high-end defense and elite pass rush. This game in particular, is one where I want to see CJ Stroud lay waste to an extremely beatable Cardinals pass defense. Outside of Nico Collins, Stroud doesn’t have a very good supporting cast on offense, but he is ultimately the one that will dictate how far the Texans can go this year.

- What Justin Herbert did last week with a surgically repaired wrist, he’s right there with Josh Allen in terms of guys most football fans have no choice but to appreciate. The Chargers are a good coach and high end quarterback team with a mediocre roster and a bad OL, against a Chiefs team that absolutely needs to win this contest. Good chance Kansas City wins out from here.

- I think the Packers have a better defense than Denver, and Green Bay has the better quarterback. Coach, is close. Offensive line, I’d lean Denver. Skill group, Packers by a mile. Denver has won a lot of games by the skin of their teeth, and regression is coming for them no doubt, but these teams are closer than I’d have thought unless I looked at this directly.

- Most of Green Bay’s success last week came via their pass protection forcing Chicago to bring pressure, and the Packers’ still shutting that down. Denver’s front four, on the road, is a much tougher test and that’s the key to this game.

- I think the Giants are going to win at least two of their final four games, and I think the first one comes here against the Commanders.

- I’m not sure what Marcus Mariota’s contract looks like, but he actually has a similar skill set to Jaxson Dart and would make a ton of sense for the Giants to bring in next year, as Dart seems to have no intention of changing his play style.

- The Panthers lost to the Saints earlier this year in New Orleans and the Saints won in Tampa last week in a matchup that was more about how bad the Bucs are than anything the Saints did. Carolina is well coached and they could give themselves the hammer here in the division with a win.

- If JJ McCarthy plays well, which I have no confidence in him doing at this point, this Cowboys secondary is the sort of group that Justin Jefferson could dismantle. Jefferson could get volume and one over the top against this group.

- One of the things I’m looking forward to the most on this slate is how Brian Flores treats this offense. Good veteran quarterback with two matchup nightmares at wide receiver, on the road, I’m actually not entirely sure how Flores is going to approach that.

- The Rams being 6-point favorites over the Lions is a fascinating line. LA has the pass rush that could get Goff off his spot early, and if that happens the Rams could win this game with some distance, as Stafford could have a monster game against this Lions defense. I’ll be curious to see if Detroit tries to get Jahmyr Gibbs in space early and often both to help mitigate the Ram’s front and simply because Gibbs is the scariest running back in the league. That’s the key to that game for me.

I will try to do this every Saturday night of the NFL season, but to be clear I am doing this for the purpose of growing my following. That means engagement is my requirement so I reach new eyes, likes, comments, retweets, and bookmarks are all appreciated.

You can follow me
@RyanReynoldsNFL

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@DeTahmineh What do you have right now?

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@DeTahmineh Let’s go!

[RedditCFB @RedditCFB]

I’d legitimately rather have the entire Georgia Football team in a car with me than Microsoft Teams.

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@AllDayLUFC Charles De Ketelaere redux

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@fpl_tactician Seems they are really emphasizing depth this year. I would expect a midfield three of Longstaff, Ampadu and Tanaka, but significant rotation and utilization of subs.

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@Vol_Football @fashion_nfl This uniform will be remembered for generations……..as an all-time terrible uniform.

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

Were any other attorneys initially convinced this was going to be named after an obscure court case?

@JakobSanderson
@Parkerlawyer
@emiline129
@alittleleader
@jennyrozelle

[Secretary of War Pete Hegseth @SecWar]

I am pleased to announce that the United States Navy is renaming the USNS Harvey Milk to the USNS Oscar V. Peterson.

We are taking the politics out of ship naming.

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@TheHobbyTales No, I’m interested in getting in to selling, but need someone to do it with.

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@Dubner_Michael I’m not seeing this in your chart or the lobby…

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@TheHobbyTales Nice! Do you ever actually sell them?

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@TheHobbyTales What do you use to estimate the price?

[Chris W @RealUncleHat]

@JakobSanderson But also: Tuten was Gladstone’s guy, not Coen’s.