@SKOLWarrior84@WillRagatz To who? Nobody on the Vikings staff has called plays before and even if they did change play callers it would just be a KOC offense with a less talented play caller.
NFL Week 7 First Thoughts ๐
Denver (-2.5 / 37) @ New Orleans
Couple different pros/services on Denver. Believe it is due to New Orleans injuries. Game looks like the inverse of Kendall Hinton game in 2020. Saints likely down QB1, WR1, WR2, RG1 with chance of missing C1, TE1. Broncos without best defensive player Surtain, but what can Saints do to exploit? Who would have thought Nix could be laying points on the road. Certainly a game circled for Payton.
New England vs Jacksonville (-6 / 43)
All Jags and over money so far. Wembley game, not Hotspur. High chance of wind (40MPH gusts) and rain. Semi roof makes wind unpredictable here. Wembley is debuting brand new retractable grass specifically for NFL. Players complained last year about footing, left field in a wreck. Will this be Brazil all over again? Maye looked great vs man in AVP offense debut against a much better HOU defense. Jags high rate of man coverage, but could get CB1 back. Pederson job on the line? Hard to think given Khan's ties to London he lets him go on if it's another embarrassing loss. Jags motivation and rookie in London flop, or do Jags exploit Pats continued defensive struggles?
Seattle @ Atlanta (-3 / 51)
Group played Seahawks +3 yesterday, disagreement in market today at Falcons -2.5. Seahawks signing DT's from other teams as reinforcement for run defense issues. Falcons run game broke out last week. Players post game "loved the way it felt to run like that". Path is there again if Seahawks still injured in front 7. Seahawks most pass heavy team in league. Grubb wanted to run lots vs SF, telegraphed it and got burned. Does he go back, or, does he let Geno fire against worst pass rush opponent this season? Do dome game Seahawks show here? Geno indoor/outdoor splits huge in 37 games with SEA. 8.2/108.1/+0.19 indoors, 7.0/88.0/-0.03 outdoors.
Tennessee @ Buffalo (-9 / 41)
If Will Levis could not get outside receivers going against the Colts, what is the upside on the road against these great Bills outside corners? Buffalo as healthy as they have been since Week 1 on defense and added a much needed piece in Cooper to the offense. If Levis/Titans are viewed as bad Watson/Browns, I guess I could get to -10 here? Bills closed -7 and -4.5 at home to Arizona/Jacksonville.
Cincinnati (-6.5 / 42) @ Cleveland
2 point move up for Cincinnati after the Cooper trade. Bengals defense has closed door/players only meetings last week, then had best game of year vs New York. Turning the corner? Being able to rotate on the DL and defend the run a huge boost that was not there first five weeks. Chubb is back for the Browns, but should be on pitch count. Serious premium to lay Bengals here, but the Browns might be a dead team.
Houston @ Green Bay (-3 / 48)
Packers are a noisy team. Big discrepancy between EPA and Success Rate. Love looked 100% last week. Was willing to go under center, PA rate was higher. WR 1/2 (or 3) back matter. Wins against IND, TEN, LAR, ARZ not great, but, dealt with Love injury and more. Preseason this would have been close to a PK based on three models we reference. Closing line models have GB 1.5. Should GB be laying a full 3 now?
Miami @ Indianapolis (-3 -20 / 44)
Another week of Colts over money. Richardson set to return, Taylor possible. Buckner eligible to return this week - would be huge. Defense keeps getting torched for big plays on 3rd down. Huntley allegedly got in a lot of good offensive work during the Dolphins bye. McDaniel vote of confidence in pressers. Dolphins closed -2.5 at home vs Tennessee Wk 5, Colts closed +2.5 on road vs Tennessee Wk 6 and were faded by sharp money, albeit, injury news was wonky.
Detroit @ Minnesota (-2 / 49)
Big time premium on the Vikings. As much as a 6 point bump from preseason, a FG higher than closing line model. But it's probably warranted? Chance of both Hockenson and Jones returning this week. Extremely well coached, out of the bye and supported by a big HFA. Hutchinson loss enormous. Can Detroit afford to put an extra LB or DE to support the loss vs this offense? Lions run of opposite defenses is comical. Amazing matchups weekly, as easy as it gets. Big step up in class here. Have to think Goff's pressure metrics play a factor.
Philadelphia (-3 / 43) @ NY Giants
The 4's and 3.5's on Philadelphia were taken out in a hurry. Bizarre week for the Eagles off a win that statistically was better than it read on the final. Sirianni's outburst last year after KC led to locker room turmoil. He's now publicly apologizing for his actions Sunday. What is going on in this locker room? Sirianni now calling both offensive and defensive plays? With Brown/Smith back, still the same stagnant Eagles offense with no changes. Where is Moore's influence? New OL injuries could struggle for NYG league leading in sacks pass rush. Daboll continues to string together good weekly game plans and Nabers returns. It's a big discount on the Eagles, but what in the world is going on behind the scenes here in Philly?
Las Vegas @ LA Rams (-7 / 43)
LA has started the season facing 3 of the 4 teams in the best division in football. The opposing QB schedule has been brutal too. The Rams defense finally has a chance to win here. After facing Goff, Murray, Purdy, Williams, Love to start the season, O'Connell is a welcomed step down in class. McVay called out and then adjusted the defensive scheme two games ago and the unit has looked marginally better. AOC looked so tight and conservative after being told to not turn it over all week. Not sure this unit threatens the Rams deep. Can definitely feel the wheels starting to fall off in LV for Pierce. I do question if the 1.5 point move on the Adams news is warranted given his pending trade status and inactivity for multiple weeks? Outside chance of Kupp returning out of the bye, but Week 8 seems more likely.
Carolina @ Washington (-8 / 51)
One way money on the over which makes sense. Up 3-4 points from open. The Panthers have a track to offensive success here. The Commanders don't stop anyone on the ground, and the loss of Allen is big. The Panthers OL graded out high against a Falcons "negative" pass rush, and if Armstrong/Baptiste miss, it's probably comfortable for the Panthers ground and air game here. Certainly a worry for Carolina to get stops. They are desperately trying to sign anyone from anywhere to play in the front seven. 34, 36, 38 given up last three weeks, trending to be worst in history. Zero push up front. If Robinson returns healthy, this could be another big Commanders offensive output.
NY Jets (-1.5 / 38) @ Pittsburgh
Wilson starting for the Steelers. In the presser, Tomlin talked down his mobility. It seems like an odd decision given the Steelers will be without their top two centers for this game against the Jets interior rush. Why change the identity now? This feels like a bad timing given the outside passing game limitations and a game where Fields legs would come in handy. Adams will start for the Jets. Motion rate under Downing spiked to north of 70% - much needed. Offense was still boom or bust, but Hall's usage and minor breakout was a positive. The DL rotation is going to give the NYJ OL trouble. Defense is possibly over rated, maybe? Faced hobbled Cousins, Nix, Herbert (hurt 2Q) and Stick, Flacco (backup), Dak and AOC. Jets offense w Adams maybe best weapons to date?
Baltimore (-3.5 / 48) @ Tampa Bay
Bucs defense has caught some breaks this year. Three rookie QB's (two debuts) and a backup in six games. Bowles makes life hard on all the young QB's. In the one game this defense faced a vet (that wasn't playing down WR 1/2) they gave up 550 yards. The Ravens are probably the best offense in football. So this is a shock to the system here. They have been dealing with injuries all year and are healthiest now. Ravens are just beating any defense thrown at them. They are so multiple. Would think they can run comfortably here. Bucs will have to live on explosive plays, which is the one area the Ravens secondary has been weak.
LA Chargers (-2.5 / 44) @ Arizona
Now that Herbert is getting healthier and his tackles are back, the offense is allowing him to throw more often. But both styles of play are in play here. Herbert gets a comfortable matchup against a zone heavy Cards defense. Cardinals struggled to defend the Bills/Lions/Commanders ground game, and the Chargers OL has an advantage here with Nichols out and possibly White as well. Minter has been great, and the Chargers defense can (king of) hang their hat on the Mahomes game (330 conceded), but it's been a cakewalk otherwise. Nix, Fields, Young (no longer starting), Minshew (no longer starting). Cardinals offense has stalled out, but last two games outdoors on grass, one in weather, playing a factor. Back home in doors on turf could speed things up. Obvious big potential negative with Harrison Jr concussion, but, this looks like points.
@ToneBoneBaby@MattAnderson_8@NextGenStats NFL next gen stats. You can click on the highlights for the game and find it. Last year you could watch the primetime games like this but not sure if they are bringing that back this year.
@CBur36@adamchernoff I was able to find it, but I think his link is bugged. Open his article and scroll down to where he references his 2021 power rankings and click on that link. Scroll down to the bottom of that article and you should see the link you need. Hope this helps.