2021 Fantasy Nascar 5 Underrated Weekend Options (MVille)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Folks, I woke up early for nothing this morning it appears. So I am going to take advantage of by doing some Fantasy Nascar content for this weekend's race at Martinsville! Hard to say when the race will be held, though. Personally, I would put some money on it being held on Sunday's afternoon! Especially with all of the rain that is expected today/tonight in the area. So we should have plenty of time to ponder our lineups, which can be very good or very bad. Personally, If I had a gut feeling on a driver, then I would stick with it! I can't tell you guys how many times I regretted a decision that I changed just before the race! And sometimes, if you don't feel a driver then he might be best to avoid. 

Well here are my 5 underrated fantasy options for the weekend! 

William Byron - I know a lot of people will just look at his track record and be like, ''meh''. But he have had some really awesome runs at HMS. And I feel like this is the season where he finally starts to put it together Early on, it looks like he is capable of being a solid contender in the cup series. I think it helps a lot that HMS is ahead some other teams so far this season. At Martinsville, I think Byron is slowly but surely getting a hold of this track. Once he get there. I think he has a chance to be one of the best in the series. 

Bubba Wallace Jr - I am higher than most on Bubba this weekend at Martinsville! He had some good runs with RPM at Martinsville and I feel like the #23 team will benefit coming to track like this, where speed isn't the biggest factor! I also know a lot of people have judged the #23 harshly and I think that is unfair! I think they have had some speed, but the results haven't lined up with the performance. Those results will come, I promise you! This could be a good weekend to take a shot on Bubba!

Matt DiBenedetto - The last couple race, the #21 car has been really good. But they have had some bad luck. Even their twitter account has pointed that out. If they ever get some luck, I think DiBenedetto and the No.21 team can have some strong runs. His results at Martinsville in 2020 are very appealing. If you factor that with his talent and equipment, then I think you get a very solid fantasy option. However, I don't think enough people are talking about him.

Aric Almirola - SHR has clearly been down on performance in 2020 and I think Aric get the most judgement from it. Cole and Chase both get passes because they are young. And Kevin don't get judge because he has carried the organization. So there's just Aric in the middle getting belittled by fans, etc. I think it is unfair and I think it is blown out of proportion some! Clearly all of the drivers at SHR are having down seasons, but I think they are doing better than what we are led to believe. So why am I higher on Aric this weekend? He has a history of being a savvy racer on these shorter tracks. I also look back at that performance at Phoenix, where he was really good. Stated outside of the top 30 and spent some of that event in the top 10. He ended up in 11th. He was legit good for that event! I am not saying it will translate or anything, but it is encouraging, though. 

Ryan Newman - Newman is having a very underrated season! He really only has a couple poor races and the rest of actually really solid. Especially over the past 5 races this season, where he has finished 4 of those races in the top 18. Including back-to-back top 13 finishes in the last two races. He is also been very good in his career at Martinsville! This is very much a Newman kinda of track overall. Don't be shocked if Newman get a low-end teen finish and maybe some more! 

***All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (MVille)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Final Rankings -

1. Brad Keselowski

2. Martin Truex Jr

3. Joey Logano

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Ryan Blaney

6. Chase Elliott

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Kurt Busch

9. Kyle Busch

10. Kyle Larson

11. William Byron

12. Alex Bowman

13. Matt DiBenedetto 

14. Austin Dillon

15. Christopher Bell 

16. Ryan Newman

17. Aric Almirola

18. Erik Jones

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

20. Tyler Reddick

21. Chris Buescher

22. Michael McDowell

23. Bubba Wallace JR

24. Daniel Suarez

25. Cole Custer

26. Chase Briscoe

27. Ross Chastain

28. Ryan Preece

29. Corey LaJoie 

30. Anthony Alfredo

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter-  @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks (MVille)

 Welcome to Timerssports

I won't lie, I was pretty disappointed last week that we had an off-weekend, even though I get it. I hate off-weekends, especially when I just been on a roll the previous two races. Scores of 333 and then a solid 285 at the shitshow of Bristol. So hopefully the downtime don't halt our momentum and we keep on trucking along our way here in 2021! Martinsville always has been a bit of challenge. Even though, I did pretty well the last few seasons here. I think it is one of those tracks that you can afford to go off-sequence, but I think going too far off-sequence get us into trouble, too. But that what makes this game so much fun! 

Picks - 

A:

Brad Keselowski 

Reasons - I am not gonna lie, I have had a really good feeling on Brad all week long. His numbers are just dumb, guys! In his last 18 races here, he has produced 15 Top 10 finishes. In his last 12 races here, he has produced 10 Top 5 finishes. This dude is something else at Martinsville! I have used plenty of Truex Jr and Logano starts early on, so I am 100% fine with taking Brad at a great track for him! 

B: 

Matt DiBenedetto and Kurt Busch

Reasons - I am going half and half here in B. Kurt has been awesome here over the last few years and needs a good run to get his season truly back on track. I haven't used a start, so I am okay with it. Matt D has been pretty fast this season, but the results haven't really been there. Combine that with his pair of top 10 finishes in 2020 and I am loving him as a sleeper pick! 

There are plenty of other names I talk about, too. HMS is well reprented with  Byron, Bowman and Larson being VERY popular. But I am giving them a break because frankly I know they are at their best on intermediate tracks. Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick could be decent picks, but same reason as HMS. Also being frank, I simply think Matt and Kurt are just better picks overall. Even though it is pretty debatable with DiBenedetto! Kyle Busch is another great pick this weekend, but truthfully I really don't need him. Kurt is capable of getting a top 10 and Matt is capable of being a top 15 pick. I will gladly save my Kyle pick for another weekend!

C:

Bubba Wallace Jr - 

Reasons - At first, I was 10000% of board of using another McDowell's pick. Then I got to thinking about Bubba, honestly.  And I would be kinda dumb to use yet another McDoewell pick, when Bubba has a pretty good chance of being just as good. Maybe even better, if everything goes right. He was really good with RPM at these kind of tracks. At Martinsville, he finished 21st or better in his last 4 starts at this track. Including 3 top 17 finishes. 

Dark Horse - Kurt Busch

Winner - Brad Keselowski

**All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (MVille)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Folks, I have been around the block a couple times, kicked some rocks and chucked some stones across the water. And there two things I know about Nascar that I don't like. I hate Nascar off-weekends and my hatre for night races grow as the seasons goes by! This is more from a Fantasy Nascar's perceptive than anything, honestly. The off-weekends always kill my momentum and then we go to a unfriendly track like Martinsville. Yeaaah that is not very ideal! As for the night races, the fan in me still love them! But the fantasy writer and player in me HATES them. Everything get moved up a day which makes my life a lot more challenging. Not only that they are a lot more difficult to predict. Maybe less so with no practice and qualifying being held, but still night races make everything harder! 

 I also believe with more of them, they are becoming less special. It's like if you eat the same meal every single day. What happens? You are gonna get bored of it. That how I feel about night races, but to a much lesser extent. I don't hate them by any means, but they aren't special as they once were.

Alright folks, let's get rolling!

Sleepers - 

Michael McDowell - McDowell is off to a great start to the season and we are the point where we have to just keep riding the good results. I am willing to bet that he finishes are worse later in the season than they are now. How much? I really don't know, but you always ride guys like McDowell until you can't anymore. Long as he is knocking off good results, then you keep rolling the dice with him. It will likely pay off and McDowell is very underrated at this kind of track. He knocked off a top 15 finish here last season and easily could do that once again. 

Bubba Wallace Jr - Bubba has gotten some heat for his performance so far this season, but it really hasn't been that bad. Sure, it is a lot worse when you look at PURE RESULTS at the checkers. And that the problem for a lot of people out here, they strictly looking at results. We don't select drivers based on what we might think could happen. We SELECTED THEM BASED ON THEIR POTENTIAL! If we think a certain driver have a certain potential, then we take a shot with them. If we don't then, we simply don't. If we learned anything good about Bubba at RPM, it was that he was underrated when we came to places like Martinsville. This was a really good track for him in the #43 car! In his last four starts, he had 4 straight finishes in the top 21 and three of them ending in the top 17! He is very capable this weekend to deliver a top 15 finish, if everything goes right! Don't sleep on him!

Dark Horses - 

Kurt Busch - I don't mention Kurt or give him high praises very often, so when I do you best have him on your radar! I have a really good feeling on him this weekend at Martinsville and his numbers here are really good. This season so far, he has been meh but I think this is a place that could turn it around. He currently has 6 straight top 12 finishes at this track and has 3 straight top 9 finishes overall. I don't know I just have a really good feeling about him and I really don't say that very often. Believe this is a major compliment for anybody's considering to use him this weekend!

Kyle Busch - It is weird to have Kyle listed as a dark horse pick, but that where he is right now. He is no longer a weekly favorite to win. I know some people won't like hearing that, but that is NOT the same driver we saw a couple years ago. He is so godly talented, but something is off and has been off for nearly a season and a half now. He has his strong runs here and there, but they aren't consistent. And they typically aren't good enough to be a strong race-winning contender. I do believe Martinsville is a track that he could make a strong run on.

Ballsy Pick of the Weekend - 

Aric Almirola -  Aric has STUNK this season, but he is really good at these kind of tracks. If I wanted to be ballsy and just throw something dumb at the wall, then Aric might be my guy. He has always been stupid underrated at these places. Fun fact: Since joining SHR, he has finished in the top 15 in every race at Martinsville that he DID NOT DNF. So last 3 of 5 races overall at Martinsville! That is pretty good, but what make me believe that he might have a shot? There's one race on this schedule that might have even a little relevancy to this weekend and that would be Phoenix. He had his best race of the season and finished a solid 11th. Not only that, but he also started 32nd. Folks, he is gonna be better than most people think.  

****If you are interested or know of anybody's interested in writing for this blog, then get a hold of me via email or twitter! I will pay well!

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Dirt Bristol)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Final Rankings - 

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Kyle Larson

3. Ryan Blaney

4. Martin Truex Jr

5. Joey Logano

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Chase Elliott

9. William Byron

10. Kyle Busch

11. Kurt Busch

12. Christopher Bell

13. Austin Dillon

14. Alex Bowman

15. Tyler Reddick

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

17. Aric Almirola

18. Ryan Newman

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. Chris Buescher

21. Chase Briscoe

22. Bubba Wallace Jr

23. Cole Custer

24. Michael McDowell

25. Daniel Suarez

26. Ross Chastain

27. Erik Jones

28. Ryan Preece 

29. Corey LaJoie

30. Anthony Alfredo

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks (Dirt Bristol)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Last weekend, I really knocked it out of the park with a 333 pointer with the team of Harvick, Larson, Bryon and Stenhouse! I really needed a score like that to get my season back on track. At this point, I want some consistency on a weekly basis. So going forward, I am really gonna put some thoughts into my picks and try not to go too crazy. Now places like this weekend, the plate races and road course, then yeah you can go a little more crazy. This weekend, I say my picks will be a little more out there than most. However, I have very good reasons for it and I think it gonna be an excellent score. If not, then I am expecting pure craziness in the race! 

DGG Picks -

A:

Starter - Denny Hamlin 

Reasons - The two drivers that I picked for this weekend were Hamlin and Blaney. Both looked very good in practice. But my gut feeling is strong on Hamlin. He has collected the most top 5 this season and he has been very consistent this season. He also was pretty happy with his car, too. 

B:

Starer - Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon

Reasons - I know Kyle Lason, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, etc will be the popular options in this grouping and rightfully so. But here's my thinking: both RCR drivers know their way around dirt. Both drivers were good in practice. Both drivers I probably won't max their starts out. Those guys above? At least 2-3 of them I will max out before the season is over. This could backfire, but I would be okay with that if it is the case!

C: 

Starter - Chase Briscoe

Reasons - I have selected Briscoe and McDowell here for this weekend. I really could go with either of them, honestly. I kinda wanted to save Briscoe for later in the season, but his dirt background is extremely appealing to me overall. He will feel a lot more like home than most drivers out there, so I will take a shot with him and see how he does. 

Dark Horse - Tyler Reddick 

Winner - Denny Hamlin

***All stats are from DriverAverages.com 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12 

2021 Fantasy Nascar Weekend Targets (Dirt Bristol)

Welcome to Timerssports

I have really sucked this season at posting every week and I really apologize for that. My life hasn't been the easiest over the past month and sometime I am just not into writing anything. I am gonna try to do a little better as the season goes on, though. I do have a little change for this weekend. Normally, I will write about some possible sleepers and dark horses. But I am taking that out of the rotation for this week and replacing it with a new article. As you see, this article is listed as ''Fantasy Nascar Weekend Targets''. These are the drivers that I would personally try to target. Since we never raced on dirt, I am gonna try to based it on things about a driver's skill-set or past background. I don't care if somebody says that they know what gonna happen this weekend, then they are lying their butts off. All we can do is based possibly predictions off season's results, success from Bristol in the past and drivers' background. We also can take practice into consideration, but I doubt it will matter too much when the green flag waves. I am 100% expecting a crazy race! 

5 drivers to Target: 

Kyle Larson - This should be pretty easy one. He is starting in the back, but in practice he maybe the best driver. Is anyone shocked by that? He is a regular on the dirt and can wheel a car better than probably anybody in the whole field. He is a godly talent behind the wheel and now it seems like he is with a team on par with his talent. It also seems like HMS is giving Larson the best possible equipment of all 4 drivers, that certainly doesn't hurt. When the schedule came out, I was circling Larson as the driver to beat on the dirt. Target him! 

Denny Hamlin - Hamlin sounded pretty happy with his car overall in practice and he has been maybe the most consistent driver in the series this season. I just have a really good vibe about Hamlin in this race. He also has the skill-set to wheel a car around this track. Hamlin should easily be one of the first drivers that we think of picking this weekend! 

Tyler Reddick - Tyler Reddick was pretty good in practice on Friday as well. Once he started to run the top the RCR's official twitter account said he was ripping off some pretty fast laps. This dude is almost Kyle Larson 2.0, in my opinion. He can wheel a racecar on just about anything, but sometimes he just over does it. Reddick is one of those guys in the field whom I absolutely expect to be at the front at some point. His starting position is a little worrisome, but if he can make it clear then I think he will be very tough to beat! 

Ryan Blaney - Blaney should be a popular option this weekend! Like the 4 drivers above, he looked good in practice. Like the 4 drivers above, he has talent to just about drive anything on anything. He is also coming off a big win last weekend at Atlanta. He is also pretty good at Bristol in general, but obviously dirt is a whole new animal. I do believe he will still be pretty good, though. It helps that he has been pretty strong week in and week out, minus those first few races this season. 

Christopher Bell - There were a couple guys that I were considering for this spot, but I think Bell's background gives him plenty of upside in one of the series' top rides. Bell came up as a dirt racer and then made his way up the Nascar's ranks! So having that dirt background is kinda what I am looking for in my picks. It won't translate into results automatically, but a lot of these drivers were saying how uncomfortable they been. I am sure even the dirt guys are uncomfortable, but at least they are semi use to it. Bell has been meh this season, minus the win and a few top 10s. But at the same time, it is hard to overlook his upside!

Let me know, if you guys would like me to make Weekend Targets as a regular post! I personally love this kinda of post, but I would love some feedback on how useful it is

All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

     

2021 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Atlanta)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Final Rankings -

1. Kyle Larson

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Martin Truex Jr

4. Chase Elliott

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Joey Logano

7. Brad Keselowski

8. Kurt Busch

9. William Byron

10. Ryan Blaney

11. Alex Bowman

12. Kyle Busch

13. Christopher Bell 

14. Austin Dillon

15. Tyler Reddick

16. Aric Almirola

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

19. Cole Custer

20. Ross Chastain

21. Erik Jones

22. Michael McDowell

23. Bubba Wallace Jr

24. Chase Briscoe  

25. Chris Buescher

26. Ryan Newman

27. Daniel Suarez 

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Ryan Preece

30. Anthony Alfredo 

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Altanta)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Picks - 

DGG - 

A: 

Starter - 

Kevin Harvick 

Reasons - Kevin Harvick has been the driver to beat at Atlanta for a long time and he is one of the few drivers that I expect to contend for the win this weekend. He has struggled at bit this season at times, but elite drivers don't stay down for long. This is a driver's track, so I think he will be one of the top picks here! 

B: 

Starters - 

William Byron and Kyle Larson  

Reasons - I am going with the HMS cars today. They have been strong all season long and these 1.5 mile tracks are easily their bread and butter. If I had one kind of track to use all of my starters with them, then it would be on these 1.5 mile tracks. 

C: 

Starter - 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr 

Reason - I love Stenhouse Jr for many reasons. He loves Atlanta and he has not finished worse than 18th place this season actually. I think he will keep it rolling and finish in the top 15 on Sunday's afternoon

Dark Horse - William Byron

Winner - Kevin Harvick

***All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Atlanta)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Sleepers - 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr - People don't talk about it, but Ricky Stenhouse Jr is having a great season so far. He has finished 18th or better in every race this season and has spent some time in the top 10 as well. No top 10 finishes yet, but he is rolling with those top 20 finishes. Atlanta fits right into his wheelhouse with his dirt background. I am sure he will be a popular option in the Driver Group Game (hint hint for one of my other articles). I say Stenhouse is on top for another solid teen finish this weekend at Atlanta!

Christopher Bell - Bell is a very interesting pick for Atlanta. Like Stenhouse Jr, he has the background to be a very good pick. He has also ran very well this season. His worst race was Homestead, though. Which is very concerning since it is the most comparable track that we have gone to. But at the same time, not all results will translate. He has been a top 10 guy over the last two races, too. I don't love him to challenge for a top 5 or anything, but I say he is at least a solid mid-teen driver. 

Dark Horses - 

Alex Bowman - Bowman haven't been on his teammates level, but he has been good enough. He ran top 10 at Homestead and was running top 10 again at Las Vegas. Then a tire came apart and he had to pit with less than 20 laps to go. I had him as one of my fantasy picks and I just put my face in my hands. Then last week, he was good once again and scored a top 15 finish. He won't be that sexy pick that we are looking for, but he has top 10 written all over him. He was a machine on these intermediate tracks at end of last season. Unless he is completely off, then I am thinking he will at least be a top 10 driver again. 

William Byron - Byron is having a great season and will look to keep it up again here at Atlanta. He only has a career-best 17th place finish at Atlanta. But over the last three races this season, he has produced 3 straight top 8 finishes. Including a win at Homestead. I find that very important because it is the most similar track. Byron was class of the field at end of the race. Larson and Truex Jr couldn't do anything with him. Riddick might have had something with more laps, though. I LOVE William Byron here at Atlanta! 

***All stats from DriverAverages.com

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Las Vegas)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Sleepers - 

Michael McDowell - Michael McDowell has produced a top 10 finish in every race this season and will look for another this weekend. He has been really incredible and soon I might have to move him to the dark horse list. I honestly can't believe that he has been this good and personally I thought he would come back down to earth at Homestead. I mean, at the Daytona 500? Sure, I figured he could get a top 10. At the road course? Sure he is super talented on the road courses. But freaking Homestead? I didn't think he had good enough car to get it done, but damn he sure did!  

Austin Dillon - I was pretty big on Austin Dillon in 2020 and I am same way in 2021. I kinda was expecting a little more out of Dillon last weekend, but it still a damn good performance. Austin Dillon isn't the driver that gonna lead a lot of laps, but he quietly becoming a lesser-Matt Kenseth. That is the best way to describe him overall. He probably won't much as Kenseth, but he has a Kenseth-vibe to him. And I do feel like he will be at his best on these intermediate tracks. He will have his days on other kinds of tracks, but I feel like this is where he will make his bread on, though. I am not super high on him at Las Vegas, but high enough to write about him. I would expect a low-end teens finish from him. He will likely have enough upside to sniff the top 10, if they give him a good enough car!

Dark Horses - 

Alex Bowman - I really love Alex Bowman today at Las Vegas! He has been really good on these intermediate tracks, especially at end of the season and start o the season these last few years. I don't know what happens to him in the warmer month, honestly. Anyways, he has now finished in the the top 10 in his last 5 races on 1.5 mile tracks. In 3 of his last 4 races on this type of track, he has finished in the top 5. Bowman reminds me a lot of prime Dale Jr. Consistent on a weekly basis and probably good enough to challenge for wins sometimes. and Dale Jr was also very good on these 1.5 mile tracks in the mid-2010s. I think this could the year that Bowman finally puts it all together.

Ryan Blaney - Blaney really struggled last weekend at Homestead, but I am gonna go out on a limb and say it was pure fluke. The #12 car was the best car on the intermediate tracks in 2020. I can promise you that he won't be that bad again this season on this type of track. None of the Penske cars were that good after the sun started to set, honestly. That is another reason that I am gonna consider it a fluke. If it happens again, then I will say that they might be in trouble. However , I am expecting these Penske cars to be very strong at one of their best tracks!

***All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Las Vegas)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Final rankings - 

1. Joey Logano

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Martin Truex Jr

4. Kyle Larson

5. Brad Keselowsi

6. Chase Elliott

7. Denny Hamlin

8. Kyle Busch

9. Alex Bowman

10. Kurt Busch

11. Ryan Blaney

12. William Byron

13. Aric Almirola

14. Austin Dillon

15. Tyler Reddick

16. Christopher Bell

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Michael McDowell

19. Ryan Newman

20. Chris Buescher

21. Cole Custer 

22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

23. Ross Chastain

24. Bubba Wallace Jr

25. Daniel Suarez 

26. Chase Briscoe 

27. Erik Jones

28. Corey LaJoie

29. Ryan Preece

30. Anthony Alfredo 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Las Vegas)

 Welcome to Timerssports

I certainly apologize for my absence last weekend, but things came up. Anyways, I am excited to get back at things here at Las Vegas. I am kinda upset at myself for missing last weekend because my picks were straight fire! I mean, I absolute nailed my picks at Homestead! But truthfully, I wouldn't base everything off Homestead. Las Vegas and Homestead are both 1.5 mile tracks. But they are definitely different and race differently as well. I am sure some of the big names will be up at the front, but there also will be some different ones. This early in the season, you might want to look some data from last year and combine it the data we put together in Homestead. At least that what I would recommend! Anyways, it is time to get into some Fantasy Nascar content! 

DGG - 

A: 

Joey Logano - 

This is a really tough grouping tier because I feel like there are three drivers that could win this race pretty easily. Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr and Kevin Harvick. Unquestionably, theses are the best three drivers at Las Vegas over the last few years. Truex Jr struggled early at Homestead, but was stout after first stage. Harvick struggled early, but found himself late. While, Logano was really strong early at Homestead, but faded really fast. A lot of the Fords did, actually. With that said, all three of these drivers were strong at some point and all have impressive Las Vegas' records. But I am going with Logano for a few reasons: 1) He is consistnetly a top 10 finisher here. In 9 of his last 10 races here, he has finished in the top 10. Including wins in each of the last two spring races. In 5 of his last 8 races here, he has finished in the top 5. 2) I have already used a start with Harvick and Truex Jr this season. 

I do feel like there is a gap to everybody's else after the top 3. A drivers whom I do really love as a off-sequence pick is Ryan Blaney. Don't be suprised if he is mixing up front at one of his best tracks!

B:

Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch 

Reasons -  It is really early in the season and we really only seen one race that we can actually take data from. This early in the season, it is hard to use starts from your ''studs''. At the same time, I have a lot of questions about a lot of drivers. Byron did win last weekend at Homestead, but he is so dang inconsistent on a weekly basis. Almirola was meh at Homestead and he was at best average in 2020 at Las Vegas. I remember that because I used him both races and got burned. Oh boy I was hot, guys! Erik Jones scares the crap out of me after seeing how bad that car was at Homestead! Yikes buddy! Then there's Kyle Busch! He is always a popular fantasy option, but guys I don't love him! He struggled a lot last season on these intermediate tracks. Last week, it was the same story with him. To make matters worse, he has been just decent at his hometrack of Las Vegas lately. In 3 of his last 7 races, he has finished 15th or worse. He has produced 3 finishes in the top 10, though. With that said, he really only have had one legit car capable of winning since 2016 here. 

There are a few interesting options that I would really consider, though. I was big on Austin Dillon last weekend and he did decent enough. I think RCR gonna be really good on these 1.5 mile tracks this season.  Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher are also interesting options. RFR was shockingly strong at Homestead. I am not gonna gamble on them, but I was impressed with their improvement from a season ago

With all of that said, I am going with Bowman and Kyle Larson. Bowman just been a stud on these 1.5 mile tracks dating back to last season. In fact, he has posted 5 straight top 10 finishes. Including 3 of his last 4 tries ending in the top 5! He finished 9th, last weekend at Homestead for whatever it is worth. I could easily go with Kurt Busch, but my freaking god! His record has been pure garbage at his hometrack. I don't know he even won last season here. In his last 10 races at Las Vegas, he has produced 7(!!!!!) finishes of 20th or worse. Guys, he has finished 20th or worse in his last 10 races at a 70% clip! Christ that is straight up awful. 

C:

Michael McDowell

Reasons - C is so damn tough right now because there are a lot of questions marks and a lot of inexperience drivers. I am not really sure what the 42 car gonna be this season, so I kinda wanna wait on him. I wanna wait on the 14 because he is a rookie and they typically do better later. Wallace is a good option, but that is a new team. So I want to wait on him as well. Stenhouse Jr is Stenhouse Jr. A good top 25 option, but nothings is certain with him. Then there is the hottest driver in the series in Micahel McDowell! I don't know what the heck they did to that team, but they are killing it right now! Folks ride him until he loses his momentum! You always ride the hot hand!

SlingShot - 

Logano (starting 15th), Blaney (starting 26th), Almirola (starting 28th), Matt DiBenedetto (starting 30th) and Bubba Wallace Jr (starting 23rd)

Reasons - On the slingshot game, I try to get the points differential. Especially, if it on a 1.5 mile track with 400 miles. Because that means there are only 267 laps. So this weekend, I am going with Blaney, Almirola and DiBenedetto as my guys that should move forward 10 spots at least. Personally I think two of them can gain many as 15 or 20. Then there is Logano, starting in the 15th position. I think he will have a shot to win. Then there's Bubba Wallace Jr. I kinda wanted a driver that could race up into the top 10, but I couldn't make the math work, though. I think Wallace Jr will finish a little ahead o that 23rd starting position, though. 

Dark Horse - Ryan Blaney 

Reasons - It is hard to go against a guy like Ryan Blaney, honestly. He's really good here at Las Vegas and was a stud in 2020 on these 1.5 mile tracks. I don't know what the heck happened at Homestead, but I think he will be a lot stronger at Las Vegas

Winner - Joey Logano 

Have a question or wanna chat? 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 RaceDay Thoughts (Daytona RC)

 Welcome to Timerssports

RaceDay Thoughts - 

Jeff Nathans (@TheJeffNathans): 

- Road courses are always fun and they are typically difficult hard to predict with so much strategies being put into these races. There gonna be a few drivers that just fall on the wrong side of lady luck

- I love the HMS cars. They all have pretty good records of late on the road courses

- Don't overlook Martin Truex Jr. He is starting deep in the field, but no many drivers been better on the road courses than him 

- I am not high on Kyle Busch overall 

Garry Briggs (@Garryy12): 

- If the races at this road course this weekend is any indication then we are in for heck of a race 

- AJ Dinger is a guy that I have my eyes on. I have my doubts about him, but his talent is undesirable on these road courses though 

- Watch out for Ryan Blaney, I think him and the Penkse guys are very underrated

- Bowman might be one of the safest bets this weekend

DGG Lineups - 

Jeff's lineup - 19,48,24,34

Garry's lineup - 19,48,24,34

Dark Horse - 

Jeff's pick - Erik Jones

Garry's pick - Ryan Blaney

Winner - 

Jeff's pick - Martin Truex Jr

Garry's pick - Chase Elliott

2021 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Daytona RC)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Sleepers - 

Michael McDowell - McDowell was one of my sleepers in last week's articles and boy was it a HUGE one. He ended scoring his first career win at Daytona and comes to another strong kind of track for him. McDowell has been great on these road courses and that should be the case once again. In his last 8 road courses, he has produced 5 Top 20 finishes. In 5 of his last 7 races on road courses, he has finished between 10th and 18th. That is likely his range this weekend and that should make him a pretty good value. Especially since there aren't many races where we can say that he is almost a lock for a top 20.

William Byron - I have high hopes all 4 of the HMS cars and I think Elliott is the only one getting any credit. Byron is pretty underrated road course racer! He started off his career pretty rough, but he is currently on a 4-race top 10 streak on this type of track! All 4 top 10s has came in the past two seasons! If you are looking for an underrated driver on a top team, then you might want to seriously consider William Bryon! I love what he offers, but as usual he is a tough guy to trust. The numbers may look appealing, but he brings risk. I found out the hard way last season, but I think he can make it 5 in a row, though. 

Dark Horses - 

Alex Bowman - I love Bowman better than most this weekend and his road course numbers are the biggest reason why. Only 5 drivers have produced a better average finish over the last 8 road courses than Alex Bowman has! In fact, he has finished in the top 15 in 9 straight road courses races! You have go back to 2015 to find a road course race where he finished worse than that. In 2020, he had finishes of 8th and 12th. In the clash, he ended finishing 7th. If we count that, then he has 10 straight top 14 finishes (I am not counting that). Bowman isn't the first driver we think of, but the combination of his consistency and equipment makes him a very solid fantasy option this weekend!

Ryan Blaney - I would compare Blaney on plate races to Blaney on road courses. A lot of times, he will run well, but doesn't always seem to get the finishes. But make no mistake that Ryan Blaney is good enough to challenge for the win on these road courses. A few weeks ago at the Clash, he was very strong and was in a great position late but instead got wrecked by Chase Elliott. In his career, he has 56% career top 10 rate at road courses in his young career. In 2020, he had finishes 31st and 5th in the two road course races. He has made 8 career starts in the #12 car (4 in the #21) and he finished in the top 13 in six of those races. Blaney isn't the first guy we think of, but he is quickly becoming a major player on this type of track. If you were gonna gamble, then you might want to look at the Driver of the No.12 car!

**All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Rankings (Daytona RC)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Rankings - 

1. Chase Elliott

2. Denny Hamlin

3. Martin Truex Jr 

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Joey Logaono

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Kurt Busch

9. Kyle Busch

10. Alex Bowman

11. Austin Dillon

12. Aric Almirola

13. Kyle Larson

14. William Byron

15. Matt DiBenedetto

16. Christopher Bell 

17. Bubba Wallace Jr

18. Chris Buescher

19. Erik Jones

20. AJ Dinger

21. Cole Custer

22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

23. Ryan Newman

24. Michael McDowell

25. Ross Chastain

26. Chase Briscoe

27. Ryan Preece 

28. Ty Dillon

29. Daniel Suarez

30. James Davison

Have a question or wanna chat?

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Daytona RC)

 Welcome to Timerssports

DGG Picks - 

A:

Starter - Chase Elliott

Reasons - A lot of big time names in this A-grouping tier, but Chase Elliott has been the most dominate driver and that is saying something, too. Considering guys like Blaney, Keselowski, Logano and Truex Jr are also pretty viable options as well.  A lot of people will be selecting him, so you could try to go off-sequence but history says that is a horrible idea. It is early in the season and I need to bounce back from last week. So I am going with the majority here. 

B:

Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch

Reasons - I like going with under the radar drivers, but the options are limited compared to years past. When I look at the drivers in B, there aren't drivers that I really love. The Busch bros are proven road course racers and have been for some time. Last season, at least there were guys like Blaney, Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson. This season? None of those guys are options in B. The next best bets might be Alex Bowman, William Byron and Erik Jones, if I am being completely honest.

C:

AJ Dinger 

Reasons - I love McDowell here, but AJ Dinger is on the entry list and he just too good to pass up. You could with either and have legit shot a top 20 and plus some. But AJ Dinger upside should offer more based on his driving talent. And that is no shade at McDowell, though. 

Dark Horse - AJ Dinger

Winner - Chase Elliott

Have a question or wanna chat?

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2021 Fantasy Nascar Rankings (Daytona 1)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Rankings - 

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Brad Keselowski

3. Joey Logano

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Chase Elliott

6. Martin Truex Jr

7. Kyle Busch

8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

9. Austin Dillon

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Aric Almirola

12. Alex Bowman

13. Ryan Newman

14. William Byron

15. Kurt Busch

16. Kyle Larson

17. Chris Buescher

18. Bubba Wallace Jr

19. Chrisopher Bell

20. Matt DiBenedetto

21. Erik Jones

22. Jamie Mac

23. Tyler Reddick

24. Cole Custer

25. Michael McDowell

26. David Ragan

27. Ross Chastain

28. Chase Briscoe

29. Daniel Suarez 

30. Corey LaJoie 

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2021 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Daytona I)

 Welcome to Timerssports

We have made, guys! We have made through the off-season and we seen racecars back on the track this week at Daytona! For me, it is very bittersweet because now majority of my freetime on weekends will be taken up by Nascar. But I love every bit of it! Like I said before many times on this blog, I can't promise I am gonna make posts every single weekend. There will be some weekends that I have things going on and I am sorry for that. The goal for this year is have more posts and even better content. Primarily, there will be at least three articles posted. If I can get out Fantasy Nascar Picks, Fantasy Nascar Rankings and Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses, then it was a successful weekend. Jeff will try to contribute with a Fantasy Nascar Update post as well. Then of course, we will always try to end with some RaceDay thoughts. So all in all, the goal always will be 5 posts per race weekend. Some weeks, there will be more and some there will be less.

Anyways, onto today's post. Below I have posted my picks. This year, I will be picking for the Driver Group Game, SlingShot Game and Fantasy Live on Nascar. I am not a massive fan of the Fantasy Live game these days, so I am sure how long that will last. If you have a game you want picks for on a weekly basis, then email me or message me (my info is at the bottom). Because I will gladly make picks for any game out there, but I need to know there are people with interest for them!

Let's get start!

DGG - 

A:

Joey Logano 

Reasons - I know a lot of people are going with Hamlin and that is probably the smart way to go! As he has been the best fantasy option at Daytona the last few years. But just like when Dale Jr was the mainstay fantasy option at Daytona and Talladega, I would try to avoid him in games like this. Hamlin is getting that same rep, so I fully expect him to be the most picked driver. So why not gamble and go against the gain here? Penske is typically really strong in these races. I thought about Keselowski, but I have a really good gut feeling on Logano. So Logano it is!

B:

Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher

Reasons - I used Newman and Busecher in all 4 races at Daytona and Talladega in 2020. Overall it was pretty successful season with that combo. So why fix what not broken? I may not get top 10 or 15 finishes in every single race from them, but I feel good about their chances to survive the chaos! Really you can go with whoever you want in this grouping tier, but remember that this is the one grouping tier that you will need to save in throughout the season. If Newman and Buescher finish 39th and 40th, I would be fine with that. Compared to Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, etc. 

C:

Ricky Stenhouse Jr 

Reasons - You know there are a lot of options out there to pick from, but I am going with the guy that I probably have the most faith in and the most proven guy on this type of track. Ricky Stenhouse Jr has been a stud at these races dating back a decade, even before he got to cup. Stenhouse is risky because he is crazy on the track, but his skillset gives him a chance to win more than any other option in this tier! 

Slingshot - Keselowski, Hamlin, Chastain, Cindric and Jones

Reasons - Folks, I know you look at this lineup and be like, ''WTF''. But at end of the day, you are looking to score many differential points as possible. If there were like 500 laps or something, then sure. But there are only 200 laps and anyone in the back can finish up front. So I am going with drivers starting deep in the field and hope like 3 or 4 of them finish on the lead lap. If they do, then I still score massive points. Every single driver is starting 24th or worse. And 3 of these drivers are starting 31st or worse. This might backfire, if there aren't many wrecked cars, though.  

Fantasy Live - 

Hamlin, Stenhouse Jr, Blaney, Keselowski and Logano

Reasons - I am going with the best plate racers and hoping for the best here honestly. Daytona is so hard to predict that you could throw all 40 drivers in a hat and pick 10 names. A few of those would have a chance to finish in the top 10. Anybody who think they know how the finishing order gonna turn out is lying their behinds off. I don't care how many sites you look at, we all just throwing things and hoping it stick. Past success can help a driver in the race, but the big one doesn't care who you are! 

Twitter - @Garryy12

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

2021 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Daytona I)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Well the off-season was fun while it lasted, but it back to business. I am super excited to be kicking off another Nascar season! I love writing up Fantasy Nascar articles, especially because I am so good with numbers and looking at trends/patterns. I have always been so good at math, growing up you could give a math problem and I could see it breaking down in my head. So obviously looking at data and understanding that said data is something I really enjoy! I know that is not for everybody, but to strive at this game I think it is important to understand what data to look at and how much you need to take inconsideration. With that said, there are so many amazing websites out there whom does such amazing work. Like many of them, I do this because I love the game and I really hope you guys enjoy the stuff I have planned for this season! 

Let's get rolling into Today's content! 

Sleepers - 

Chris Buescher - Buescher was one of my go-to fantasy options in 2020 on the plate tracks. I actually used him in the Driver Group Game (DDG) in all 4 plate races in 2020. And it was huge part of my success, as he finished no worse than 22nd. And in 3 of 4 races, he finished in the top 10. No, that is not a mistake, either. I mean, he is not an alpha or anything on these plate races, but he is really good at avoiding wrecks. Some guys have a knack for staying out of trouble. In 12 career starts at Daytona and Talladega, he has posted a 15th place finish for his career average finish. Including 8 of 12 races ending in the top 20. In 3 other races, he has posted DNFs. So Buescher has been top 20 or complete bust. At Daytona and Talladega, the numbers do lie sometimes. But history is on his side to be a quality fantasy option. 

Ryan Newman - Newman had one of the scariest moment in recent Nascar history at last season's Daytona 500, but he has been a machine at both Daytona and Talladega over the last few years! In his last 14 races at Daytona and Talladega, he has posted 11 (!!) Top 14 finishes. On top of that 10 of those 11 finishes were top 10 finishes! Prior to finishing 36th in last August's race at Daytona, he had knocked off 6 straight top 14 finishes. Including 5 in the top 10. If you look at most tracks about Newman, he is simply consistent for his career. That kinda the vibe you get about him for here. He may not always score a top 10 finish, but his floor is pretty high. And that kinda what you want in a fantasy option. You always want the floor to be solid and that is pretty much what Newman is offering here.  

Dark Horses - 

Aric Almirola - Almirola wasn't great in 2020 at Daytona and Talladega in the finishing department, but was simply awesome between 2017 and 2019. You could make a very strong case that no driver had better numbers in that 11-race span, honestly. In those 11 races, he had impressive 8 Top 11 finishes. Including 5 Top 5 finishes. The #10 car will probably be really strong again this season at both tracks overall, as I think the Fords will once again have a step up on the competition. These Fords race really well and typical have a lot of speed in them. I think the biggest question with Aric is will we see a top 10 finish out of him or can we expect more like a 18th-25th place finish out of him? I think those are the most likely outcomes for him. Overall, I am really high on the Driver of the #10 car and I think he is truly one of the top dark horses to win the Daytona 500 this year! Aric never get credited for his skills in these kind of races, but make no mistake he is a driver to watch out for! 

Ryan Blaney - Blaney is just one of those drivers that you never know about when the series comes to Daytona! He clearly has a knack for this kind of racing, but he also find himself in trouble sometimes. Whenever we come to Daytona or Talladega, I think one of the heavy favorites to win are always the Penske cars. For whatever reason, they have won more races here than anybody else over probably the last 5 years. And Blaney, himself have finished 5 of his last 6 races at these two tracks in the top 6. Of course, he has won twice and both were at Talldega. He was pretty good at Daytona in 2020, though. He had finishes of 2nd and 6th. From a career standpoint, it seems like he almost always finish worse than he deserves. Blaney has a lot of Jamie Mac in him. He can almost bet he will probably take the lead at some point, but you just hope to God that something bad doesn't happens before the checkers. He has led in his last 9 races at Daytona and Talladega. He has so much talent and upside, I think he's worth taking a gamble on. Beware, though that there a lot of risk with him. However, if he finishes then I am betting he will finish in the top 5! 

**All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

NFL Conference Championships Sunday Predictions

 Welcome to Timerssports 

NFL Predictions - 

Bucs at Packers - 

The 2020-21 Bucs remind so much of 2007 and 2011 Giants in regards how they have gotten hot at the right time. Maybe no team in the NFL playoffs has gotten hotter over the past few months than the Tampa Bay Bucs! Every couple seasons, it seems like an NFC team get hot and make an impressive run and the Bucs certainly has the talent to get it done. I think top to bottom that the Bucs have the most talented team left in the NFL playoffs! As for this game, I think the Bucs' front 7 will determine the outcome of this game! In week 6, we saw how the Bucs' defense took over this game and literally controlled the outcome of the game. After the first quarter, they pretty much forced turnovers or three and outs on every drive vs the Packers. I think the Packers just gave up on their gameplan after the two interceptions. I do have two concerns about the Bucs, though. 1) I think their secondary might get exposed a bit, if they can't consistently get after Aaron Rodgers. Especially, if they blitz. If the Bucs blitz (they blitzed Aaron Rodgers a season-high 21 times in week 6), I think they need to hit home on them. If not, they are at a disadvantage in coverage most likely. 2) I think the Bucs' weakest part of their offense is the interior offensive line. Packers can wreck the Bucs' offensive gameplan if they get after Brady. The Packers killed the Rams last week on the interior! Probably apart of their gameplan this week!

There has been a lot of talk about Week 6 and how the Bucs dominated the Packers for 3 quarters. I know some people will say that the momentum changed after those turnovers and that why they lost. Some will say that the Packers just gave up after that. Both of things may be true, but frankly I don't think week 6 matters. Because I believe both teams are better than they were in week 6. I did go back and watch that game, though. And I am sure the Packers did, too. One thing I notice about it? Packers had a stupid gameplan on how they tried to run the football. They tried to run too many outside runs. I don't understand why they would want the Bucs' speedy linebackers to get head full of stream going in the open-field. They are too fast to block when they play like that. And guess what? Packers best two runs of the game were right up the middle attacking those speedy linebackers head on! Why up the middle? Because you can push those linebackers around with your offensive blockers and create holes. And we saw this same concept last week vs the Rams. A lot of inside zone runs are probably on tap for the Packers!  

There has been a lot of talk about the Bucs' pass rush this week vs the Packers' offensive line. I think the Packers are much better equipped to stop the Bucs' pass rush this time. Why? Well for one, I think LaFleur learned something from that game. It seems like since that game, he has used a lot more set two RBs sets and more FB/TEs in the backfield to help pass protect. Aaron Rodgers haven't been sacked on a blitz since week 6. On the flip side, I think the Packers can take advantage of the Bucs' interior offensive line. Especially the offensive guards in this matchup. Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, ZaDarius Smith and Preston Smith is a tall task for any offensive line to block. It will be interesting if the Packers play more zone defense or man defense in the secondary, though. I think them playing zone defense is safer, but I think Brady will pick them apart with a bunch of easy checkdowns and short passes. I believe man coverage is more risky, but I think they are a far better man coverage defense and I think the pass rush would benefit more! 

Prediction - This is a really difficult game to predict because there are so many things to consider. Top to bottom, I think the Bucs are more talented. But I don't believe the Bucs really have a massive advantage anywhere in this matchup, though. I am leaning towards the Bucs in this one just because I think the Bucs will be able to run the football more effectively and probably control the clock. I also not sure if the Packers' pass rush can get enough pressure on Brady to take him out of his game. You don't beat Tom Brady, if you can't pressure him. I think the Packers are capable of getting to him, but like last week vs Saints, I don't believe it will overwhelm him. I have Bucs by 5 points in this one!  

Buffalo at Chiefs - 

I really thought the Chiefs were gonna lose in last week's game vs the Browns, after Patrick Mahomes went out. But Andy Reid is just an offensive genius! He has proven time and time again that he is one of the league's most creative minds and it really don't matter which QB is starting in his offense. He did it last season with Matt Moore and did it again with Chad Henne. Henne wasn't great, but he was certainly good enough to hold off the Browns. I am just not sure if Pat Mahomes is 100%. Sure, he passed concussion protocol and everything, but that doesn't mean he isn't being put into danger still. I get it this is a dangerous game and we don't know what can happen, but I am just not convinced that he could be cleared this soon after being almost knocked silly on Sunday. Heck, he was even practicing on Wednesday which is pretty unreal. And maybe he really is all good, as every concussion is different. Anyways, this is gonna be a great matchup between these two teams. I don't expect much defense being played. Both defense suspect, in my opinion. They both will have their chances to make plays, but I have hard time seeing this game not ending in the 30s for both offenses! 

The Bills has been a really fun team this watch this season and Josh Allen has been amazing! It has been crazy to watch him take this offense to the next level! I think the addition of Stefon Diggs has been massive as we all thought he would be! But I didn't think he would have this big of impact even. He really helped Josh Allen make this one of the league's top offenses by far. Even though, they don't have a run game and that is the crazy part. Teams know that the Bills will pass the ball and they still drop crazy amount of points on you. I think almost everybody are going with Mahomes and the Chiefs! And rightfully so, but don't overlook this Bills' team! They are very capable of creating problems for Kansas City on both side of the ball! If the Bills are to win this game, I think they need to create pressure on him and give Josh Allen a couple short fields. I think they are capable of doing that, too. If they don't, I still think they have a shot in this game. But I think they will have to be perfect and probably take the top off of the Kansas City's defense a couple times in the process. 

Prediction - I really want to go with the Bills in this one, but my gut is telling me that the Chiefs are gonna find a way to pull this out and head to the SuperBowl again. Pat Mahomes is a special player and special players do special things when stakes are high. We seen him do it before and I fully expect him to take over this game. Maybe it's not until the 2nd half, but at some point I think we will see the difference in these QBs. And Josh Allen has been great, but Pat Mahomes can be special and that might be the difference in this game today! 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

NFL Divisional Predictions (Sunday Edition)

 Welcome to Timerssports

NFL Predictions - 

Browns at Chiefs -

This could go two ways, in my opinion! Browns could come out swinging like last week and get the early jump on Kansas City. Or Kansas could out swinging early and the game is over for the Browns. I think the Browns have played a lot of inconsistent football over the past month or so. They are certainly capable of pulling off the upset, though. Baker Mayfield has played really well at the quarterback position and they have the best rushing attack left in the NFL playoffs. They run the football better than any team during the regular season and they can get a lot of explosive plays rushing the ball. In fact, no team has produced more explosive 20+ runs this season than the Cleveland Browns! My fear is that the defense is questionable and they might struggle to stay in this game, if the offense can't produce the points/yards. 

I have real concerns about the Chiefs and how they have played over the past month or so. They been good at times and others they have really struggled to put away their opponents, too. Mahomes also has struggled with turning the football over, too. In the month of December, he had a lot of questionable plays that we haven't seen out of him all season. I think Andy Reid needs to get some better plays for him, too. The run game has also been a little questionable, too. But I will say that injuries to the position has slowed them down. I also don't think Kansas City defense is great, either. I don't think Pat Mahomes makes this game close, I think it is the lackluster run game and defense that could possibly keep it close overall!

Prediction - I could see the Browns getting the upset in this one, but Pat Mahomes is special. He's built DIFFERENT. Guys like this take over game in the postseason and I fully expect him to have one of his best games of the season. I think Browns could stay in it with their run offense, but at some point I think Kansas City will start to run away with it! I think Chiefs win by double digits! 

Bucs at Saints - 

I felt like of all 4 games this was the one game that could go either way, honestly. Like I have no idea which team is gonna pull this one off and I am not 100% confident in who win this one. The Bucs are the healthier team and probably has played better on offense in the month of December and maybe last week, too. I think the Bucs are playing better football than they did in either of the first two matchups vs the Saints. I think Brady probably playing the best football of the season. Since their bye, no quarterback has played better than Tom Brady. The Bucs are built to play in a game like this. However, I do believe the Bucs would have a lot better shot at home than on the road. I will say that the Bucs' offense is really scary with all of the weapons that they have down in Tampa Bay. I mean, how do you stop this offense consistently? There are guys all over this offense that is capable of going off on any given play. It's a scary unit!

The Saints will be without both Taysom Hill and Murray for this big time matchup for tonight! I think this will only affect the Saints in the run game and that is a major strength early for the Bucs. As the Bucs are No.1 vs the run game. So hard to say how much of impact that it has there. I think if anything it just takes a wrinkle out of the Saints offense. The Bucs know who they need to stop on the Saints' offense! But make no mistake, though. This Saints' roster is scary good overall and still has a loaded team on both side of the ball. The Saints has the best defense in the NFL playoffs and has a playoff led by Drew Brees and probably could drop 30 points on any team. If the Bucs are at a disadvantage in this game, then it will be in the pass game. As good as the Bucs been vs the run, they have been outside the top 20 vs the pass all season long. You think the Saints not gonna pass the ball a lot in this game? Think again! 

Prediction - This game could go either way and I am really not sure who will win yet. However, I am leaning towards the Saints right now. I could easily see Bucs winning this one, but I love the Saints at home and they already beat them twice. Typically, if you beat a team twice then you should be able to beat them a third time. Maybe I am wrong on that, but my gut is telling me that the top 2 seed in each conference will advance this weekend! 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

NFL Divisional Predictions (Saturday Edition)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Last week, I went 4-2 on my playoffs predictions and I am perfectly fine with that. Initially, I had the Browns beating the Steelers. But by the time I wrote my predictions up, I had changed my mind to the Steelers winning the game. Folks, if your gut is telling you something then just listen to it! I couldn't tell you how many fantasy games/races I have lost because I didn't listen to my gut. As for the other game I incorrectly predicted, I just didn't think that the Rams could put together enough offense. I also didn't think the Seahawks would be as god awful as they were, either.

As for this weekend, I am very excited for all 4 games and I think all four of them will be very competitive! A win this weekend and you are off to the conference championship game! A loss and you will be watching from home next weekend! Just like in the Wildcard round, I am breaking my predictions into two articles: One prediction article for the Saturday's games and one for the Sunday's games! 

Alright let's get started!

Rams at Packers -

A lot of people in the media I think are underselling the LA Rams! I think they have limitation on offense, but that defense is legit the best defense in the league and top 3 across the board. No, really! They are graded top 3 in pass rushing, top 3 vs the run and top 3 in coverage. This is a scary unit, but they will be facing the league's No.1 offense at Lambeau Field! I believe the Rams have a shot in this game, if they can do 2 of these 3 things on Saturday: Control time of possession, consistently get after Aaron Rodgers and run the football! I think time possession will be the most interesting one though. Because if they win the TOP (time of possession), then there's a good chance that Rodgers felt their pass rush and there's a good chance that the Rams were able to run the football. I think on flip side, the Rams can't be dropping back to pass the ball. Jared Goff will be eaten alive, if they get into too many passing situations! 

I think the Packers are overrated in a sense because people think they will run away with this game. I think the Rams are gonna keep this close for the most part. I do believe they will pull away at some point, though. I am 100% expecting Davante Adams to be moved around and used as a chess piece to get good matchups. So it will be interesting if Ramsey travels with him, I think he needs to. With that said, I think the Packers are vastly underrated at receiver. The narrate is there is only one good receiver in that Packers' offense and that is just false. This group can really move the ball, but they do it as a unit. 10 yards here, 8 yards here, 13 yards there, etc. Add in the tight ends and running backs catching the ball from a guy completing over 70% of his passes? And remember this offense is built to get guys open, Lafleur loves scheming guys open! So you want to take away Adams? Just watch Lazard, Tonyan, St Brown, MVS, Jones, Williams, etc have plays specifically designed to scheme them open! Personally I think specifically running backs, fullbacks, tightends, etc will be use a lot in this game to move the ball in the pass game. 

Prediction - Like I said up above, I think the Rams have a shot in this game! I also believe that the Rams just don't have the offense to get it done. For the Rams to win this game, i think they need to get some turnovers. It doesn't matter, if you slow down the Packers offense. The Rams need some short fields to set themselves up for some easy scores. A lot of things will need to go right and I think the Rams will come up short!

Ravens at Bills -

I am really looking forward to this game and I was really hoping we would see this game because it would be such a fun matchup. I know most people are picking the Bills to go all the way, but I don't know about that one. I love Josh Allen and the Bills' team, but they could had easily lost that game to the Colts! The Bills had it moments and moved the ball well, but this Buffalo team didn't blow their doors off or anything. And I am worried about the Bills' run defense. The Colts had their way vs the Bills' defense. And I think that is gonna be Buffalo's biggest problem in this game! Josh Allen is gonna find his openings and drive down the field. But Josh Allen has no run game to rely on and has a defense that can give up big plays! And I am not trying to take away anything from this awesome Buffalo team, but I don't think it will be easy for the Bills to win this game! I will say that Buffalo has the best two players in this game, though and that is always a pretty big advantage! 

Entering the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens were one of the league's hottest team and they kept on rolling with a win over the Titans! And honestly, I was kinda surprised so many people picked the Titans in that one. In week 16, the Packers kinda showed us the blueprint for beating the Titans! Commit to stopping the run and load the box vs Henry. If you are able to stop Henry, then their pass offense is way less effective and that pretty much what happened to the Titans. On the flip side, the Ravens are one of the league's best run offenses in football and I think that is a big disadvantage for the Bills in this one! I watched that Colts vs Bills game and damn the Colts were able to break off big run after big run. Did it help that Colts has a really good offensive line? Sure, but Buffalo is around 20th vs the run this season and 19th in their last three games. 

Prediction - This will be a close game, but I smell an upset in this one. I this Baltimore is very capable of running the football in this game and Buffalo has proven that they are below average in stopping the run. I don't think it will be quite as bad as last week, but I expect Baltimore to get their fair share. I think Josh Allen will keep Buffalo in this game, but I think Baltimore is gonna win this game!

2021 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers, Dark Horses and Bust

 Welcome to Timerssports

Happy 2021, my friends and fellow readers! I am super excited to kick off another season of Nascar and another season of Fantasy Nascar! In 2020, it was a very weird year and I feel like I didn't do a great job of posting content much as I should had. Trust me guys, I did the best I could but some days I just didn't feel like it. As we get closer to the season, I hopefully will have a better idea if Jeff or Matt are gonna be doing any writing for the blog this season. If so, that would be huge and give me a major helping hand. If not, I am prepared for the challenge. Regardless, I am super excited for the season! There has been so many changes in drivers, crew members, teams, etc and I think it will make for a very exciting season. Also there has been some noticeable changes within the schedule! 

Anyways, I am gonna kick the season off with my personal picks for sleepers, dark horses and busts! Oh my friends, this is gonna be good! Let's get started! 

Sleepers - 

Austin Dillon - Austin Dillon wasn't great or elite during the 2020 season, but he was way better than most people ever gave him credit for! He isn't a top 5 driver or even top 10, but he is that next group of drivers in the low teens. In 2020, he only finished outside of the top 20 in 9 total races. The first 10 races and the final 14 races were pretty eye-opening for me on Austin Dillon! In the first 10 races, he posted 6 Top 11 races. And in the final 14 races, he also posted 8 Top 12 finishes. It was that middle portion of the schedule, that was where Austin was pretty inconsistent. He did win a race at Texas, though. So that was a pretty bright spot. Overall 2020 saw him have his best season since 2016! Question is will RCR keep bringing fast cars to the racetrack? I thought that was one of the bigger reasons for Austin's upstick in production and could be the reason why he has another good 2021! 

Michael McDowell - You are probably pretty surprised that I have McDowell? Well if you are then you better keep on reading because he was very good in 2020! Most people look at Front Row as a 25th-30th team, but McDowell was much better than that. His average finish on the season was 20.9(!). That is impressive with his caliber of ride! In 2020, he posted 17 Top 20 finishes and added 27 top 25 finishes. He was really a machine during the 2020 season and rarely did he have a bad race outside of that top 25 mark. For me, that is always key to drivers in his range. If you can consistently finish 25th or better, then you are gonna have some value in most fantasy games. If McDowell can do it again (like I believe he can), then he should definitely be a solid sleeper! And that the thing about sleepers, they are about value not how high they finish (dark horses are about more about finishing high, not sleepers). People are too low on guys like McDowell and that what make them legitimate sleepers!  

Dark horses - 

Aric Almirola - Aric Almirola is coming off a really strong season, where he posted 13.1 average finish with 18 top 10s and 6 Top 5 finishes. He posted career highs in Top 5s, Top 10s, average starting position and laps led. And I agree, he doesn't have a ton of upside. However, he is much more consistent than most drivers out there. Outside of the top guys like Harvick, Busch, Truex, Hamlin, Elliott, Logano, Keselowski, etc, how many drivers has the consistency and top 10 potential on weekly basis? Not very many. Do I think he will win a race in 2021? I do not. Do I think he gonna be in contention for several top 5 finishes? You bet I do. If Aric Almirola can have close the season he had in 2020 or 2018, then he is gonna be an excellent fantasy pick in every single fantasy format!

Kyle Larson - Kyle Larson is a tough driver to predict, even though I know a lot of people are very high on him. I love Kyle and I am a huge fan of his, but I am realistic here, too. Drivers going to new teams are hit or miss really. Some do really good and some are inconsistent! It is hard to say about Larson at Hendrick, but it is undeniable that Larson is a godly talent and is very capable of winning multiple races in his first season at HMS! I love the signing by Mr.H and I think it too good for them to pass up. I think Larson will be better later in the season than early in the season, though. That seems to always be the case with drivers on new teams. It might take a little while for the driver and team to get on the same page.

Busts - 

Ryan Blaney - Blaney was really good last season, so why is he my bust for 2021? Frankly, I think he is a bust because he is so damn awesome on these intermediate tracks. When we go to the intermediate tracks, I am eye him up like candy. But they took away multiple 1.5 mile tracks and that is a huge hit for Ryan's fantasy stock. Blaney was not great outside of the intermediate, even though he did have his fair share of good runs in 2020. However, we saw there was a massive dip in production on intermediate tracks and non-intermediate tracks. And that is my biggest concern with him, as Nascar is trying to get away from a crapload of intermediate and have a lot more short tracks, road courses and even plate races. My recommend for using him in 2021 is to target the 1.5 mile tracks/other intermediate tracks and see how he does at other kind of tracks. I am not mega high on him, though. 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

NFL Wildcard Weekend Predictions (Sunday Edition)

 Welcome to Timerssports

NFL Predictions -

Ravens at Titans -

One of the three games on Sunday, this is easily the game that I am looking forward to! Two of the league's most high powered rushing offenses will square off! A month and a half ago, people were wondering if the Ravens would even make the playoffs and now they might be one of the most dangerous teams in the postseason! Seriously, this team is playing excellent football and could easily make a deep postseason run. Lamar Jackson is playing more like he was last season and the defense is coming very big too. In the Ravens' past 5 games, they have reached at least 34 points in 4 of those games. In that other game? They scored 27 points. They are putting points up in the hurry and I think that is where they will have a big advantage over the Titans. In the Titans' last two of the regular season, they gave up 38 and 40 points. They also gave up 40 and 41 in the last two games vs playoffs' team. 

The Titans won their division, but honestly I don't feel great about them overall. They got beat pretty bad by Green Bay in week 16 and had to comeback to beat the Texans in week 17. I think they can go blow for blow with the Ravens for awhile, but I am very worried about the Titans' defense. And I feel like the Ravens' defense can get some stops vs the Titans. And I think that could be the real difference in this game. 

Prediction - I don't love the Titans in this one. They have enough offense to win this game, but they are stoppable vs the Ravens' defense. On the flip side, I don't think the Titans' defense is good enough to get enough stops vs the Ravens. With the way that the Ravens are playing, I am going with the Ravens in this game!

Bears at Saints -

This game will decide how the divisional round will look like in the NFC! A win by the Saints and that would set up a 3rd matchup with the Bucs! A upset win by the Chicago Bears would send them to Green Bay for a 3rd matchup with the Packers. Both would be a very good matchup, but I feel like a win by the Bears would be a massive upset here. Even though, the Bears are playing pretty well. Prior to scoring just 16 points vs Green Bay, they have scored 30 points in 4 straight games and 25 or more in 5 straight games. In Chicago's defense, the Packers defense played excellent in the month of December. So I won't fault them too much for that stinker. The problem is they are missing several players for this matchup with the Saints. They are missing CB Johnson, WR Mooney and LB Smith. All three players are key players for the Bears and I feel like Smith is the biggest blow because how active he is on the Bears' defense. They would had probably kept that Packers' game a lot closer, if Smith didn't exit in the first half of that game. With a matchup vs Karama, I think missing him is going to be huge. The Bears need to get some stops to win this game and i think missing multiple starters on defense is just huge!

The Saints are heavy favorites in this one and they should be! The Saints are healthiest that they been all season long! They will get back both of their playmakers and will face a less than 100% healthy Bears' team. I feel like the Saints have most complete roster in the NFC overall and have good enough defense to keep the Bears at bay! I think the biggest difference between these two offenses is the Saints can get production out several different players on offense. While the Bears really don't have a lot talent on offense side of the ball. The Bears only hope is to get some turnovers vs the Saints, if not I don't think they have much of a shot in this game!

Prediction - I want to go with the Bears in this one, but I just don't think that they will do enough to win this game. The Saints have the most complete roster in the NFL playoffs and it will be tough to beat them at full strength. I have the Saints by 8 points in this one!

Browns at Steelers -

This is probably the game that I am looking forward to the least, to be honest. I don't know there's nothing that really excite about this game. I think this game is going to be a lot different than what we saw in week 17. I think the Steelers are the favorites in this one, especially with having all their starters back for this one. I don't think the Steelers are best team in the playoffs, but I think the Browns are missing a lot of players because of covid and have had missed a lot of practice over the last few weeks. I think the thing that is lacking from the Steelers is they really aren't that explosive overall and that is crazy considering all of the offensive weapons that they have!

The Browns will undoubtedly try to get the run going early and take over this game. If they can take over this game, I think they can win it. But I also think the Steelers could easily take the run game out of it and make Baker Mayfield pass it more. I think that would be worrisome for Browns fans because they are missing their best offensive lineman and their playcaller. I think the Browns can still win this game without them, but I think it will be much more challenging than it originally was going to be! 

Prediction - I am going with the Steelers in this game because I think they have a better overall roster and they have the better defense. The Browns' defense is still questionable and I think the Steelers will put together enough offense to win this game. I am going with the Steelers by 6 points and it will come down to the 4th quarter I think! 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

Wildcard Weekend predictions (Saturday Edition)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Colts at Bills -

All of the games should be good this weekend, but this one might be one of my favorite of the weekend! Both of these teams are built differently, but both of these teams are very capable of making a strong postseason run. I feel like the Colts are set up for less success because of the inconsistent performance of Phillip Rivers! If there is a weakness on this team, then it has been Rivers, in my opinion. Earlier in the season, they also lacked a good run game. But it is becoming more clear that the Colts are running the ball a lot more effectively in the month of December. I think the key for success in this game and going forward (if they advance) is to run the football and playing good defense. The Colts have that massive offensive line, so why not run the football with Taylor and have Rivers just play good enough to win. To me, that should be the formula for them here in January! 

The Bills are one of the most fun teams in the NFL right now! They are having out there and putting up a lot of points. I was impressed with Josh Allen last season, but the jump that he made during the 2020 season is incredible! And honestly, he just got better as the season went on! Truth be told, he made a strong push at the MVP race, in my opinion. And it is not like the Bills' offense is loaded with superstars, either. There a few, no doubt. But the Bills has been really good on offense with no run game. Just imagine, if there was some kind of consistent run game over in Buffalo? Now add in an improving defense that was really really good late in games this season. The Bills' offense is peaking right now and the Bills' defense is definitely trending in the right direction at the right time. Everything is coming up with the Bills right now!

Prediction - I like the Colts and respect what they have done this season! They have really good defense, but problem is I don't think they are capable of shutting any team completely done. I think that goes for all 14 defenses. I think the Colts are better than most, but the Bills have one of the top offenses in the playoffs. Add in a solid defense, I think the Bills are the favorite in this one. I think the Bills win by 10 points in this one! 

Rams at Seahawks -

These offenses has been bad over the past month or so. The Rams bad quarterback play has been masked by a great defense, until the month of December. And the Seahawks have really struggled to pass the football and actually have the fewest passing yards in the last few weeks. I feel like the Rams would have a good shot in this game, but I don't have much faith in their offense. I will be honest, I don't love them that much on offense. Sure, there are some good players. But at end of the day, they need more consistent quarterback play from Jared Goff. The same Jared Goff that broken his thumb vs the the Seahawks in week 16. I also believe the Rams need to run the football more. I think the loss of Henderson was big, too. However, I do think they have a shot in this game because of their defense. That defense is solid everywhere and that should keep them in until at least the 3rd quarter. I think after that, the offense will most likely decide if they win the game or lose the game!  

The Seahawks do really worry me, they kinda remind of the 2019 Packers. Won a ton of games, but really looked lost in the month of December. Not loss enough for them to lose a lot of games, but enough for their wins to be questionable. Russell Wilson has plenty of experience in the postseason, so I am sure there is no extra pressure on him. But that passing offense has not been great and the Seahawks has not looked like the No.3 seed. I think they need to run the football more, though. I think a healthy run game will do wonders for them and that exactly what they have right now. I do think that it will be tough for them to do that vs the Rams. Honestly, i just don't understand how the Seahawks' passing attack can be so lackluster right now with all that talent at receiver! I think their saving grace in this game is that their defense has came a long way since beginning of the season. And I think the Seahawks' defense has played a lot better in second half of the season! Their run defense is really good and they have a pass rush now. Those two things are unquestionably helping that secondary out big time. They beat this same Rams' team not too long ago, so now they just gotta do it again to prove it was legit! 

Prediction - Hard to say which way this game will go because I don't think that there is a big difference between these two teams. I think both of these offenses are somewhat struggling right now, like they aren't playing their best football. But my gut is saying Seattle, though. I expect another ugly game, but something tells me Wilson will pull out all the stops and does enough to win this game and advance! 

Bucs at Washington -

For whatever reason people are thinking Washington will get the upset over the Bucs. And you know, I could see that! I really could, but the Bucs have been really good lately. They are playing their best football of the season has scored more points than any other team in the last three weeks. It was vs the Falcons and Lions, but it still matters. It also seems like the Bucs are getting everyone involved. Even if you hate the Bucs, you have to admit that they probably have more weapons than any other offense in the league. Combined that with the league's top rated run defense and you get something really tough to beat. If the Bucs lose during the postseason, then I think it will be for two reasons: 1) they faced a really good passing offense and a really good passing defense. Or 2) They beat themselves with bad penalties or bad mistakes. 

I love that the Washington Football made the playoffs and I was certainly rooting for them to make it. And I agree that this is a bad matchup for Tom Brady. The Washington Football team probably has the best defensive line in the playoffs and they could cause a lot of problems for Brady. And that secondary could certainly make some plays. But can Alex Smith and the Washington's offense score enough points to outscore Tom Brady? I want to say yeah, but I really don't believe in them all that much. 

Prediction - I will be rooting for the Washington Football team, but I believe the Bucs will be too much for them. I think the Washington Football will do a good job of slowing down the Bucs, but I do believe playoffs Tom will get his shots in and that when it will be all over for the Washington football team! 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

NFL Prediction Week 17 (Part IV)

 Welcome to Timerssports 

Chargers at Chiefs - 

The first mathcup between the Chargers and Chiefs were a lot of fun and actually went into overtime, if I am not mistaken! It was one of Herbert's first games and it pretty much told me that he was the real deal! I was blown away how he played vs the Chiefs. He outplayed Mahomes in that game, in my opinion. Some late turnovers kinda costed them in that game, but I was pretty impressed. I think the Chargers have the advantage in this one, though. Since the Chiefs will be resting some of their starters, especially since the Chiefs have the No.1 seed all locked up now! 

I do question the Chiefs' decision to rest their starters, but I am not surprised that they are, though. I question it for two reasons: 1) Resting your starters sometimes come back to bite teams, especially when they have the bye on wildcard weekend. 2) I haven't been blown away by the Chiefs' offense of late and they could use some work before the playoffs. I still think this is the team to beat, but we thought about the Ravens in last season' playoffs, too. What happened to them? I am just saying, I don't believe that gap is as large as people make it out to be! 

Prediction - With no Mahomes in the lineup, I gotta go with the Chargers in this one! On offense, I love watching this Chargers' team play! They are a lot of fun and I fully expect them to win this one!

Seahawks at 49ers -

The Seahawks still have a outside chance to be the No.1 seed in the NFC, but they need a lot of things to go right and oddly enough it unusual what they need to go right. They specifically need the Packers to lose, the Saints to win and they need to win as well. If all three of those things happen, then they would be the No.1 seed and the NFC would go through Seattle. Regardless, this is a dangerous Seattle team that is coming alive and healthy on both side of the ball right now. Their pass defense has improved from earlier this season and they are becoming less depended on Russell Wilson. How? They are healthy in the run game and running the football more now. 

If there was a good spoiler team here late in the season, then 49ers are good as any! They are still wanting to win football games, even though they are eliminated and has dealt with a lot of key injuries this season. I think that says a lot about their coach! These players wanna win for him and win for each other! Even with all of the injuries, this 49ers defense are still pretty good across the board! I also think this offense is slowly but surely starting to put it together, too. 

Prediction - I would love to pick the 49ers in this one, but I think the Seahawks will win this one. I do think the Seahawks are the better team but don't expect a blowout, though. Personally, i am expecting a low-scoring game between these two teams.

Raiders at Broncos -

The Raiders were kinda a disappointment to me this season, as they added bunch of pieces on defense and the offense was good enough at times to be a playoff contender, too. But for whatever reason, they were inconsistent  on both side of the ball. It kinda like last season, too. You really never knew what offense/defense that you were gonna see. They took Kansas City to the wire both times and actually gave them a loss. But they also got blown out by the Falcons, too. That's the Raiders for you over the past few decades ago, though. Good, but not good enough! 

Anybody who reads this blog knows what my opinion are about the Broncos this season! So I am not gonna beat that dead horse again, but I will say that I think this off-season is gonna be very telling on the Broncos future for the next 4 or 5 years, though. IF they decide to make some changes, I think they need to be the right ones. They already said they are keeping their coaching, but will they make any other changes? Good question, I think how they attack FA and the draft will pretty much tell us a lot, though. 

Prediction - I am going with the Raiders in this one! You never know what team will show up for the Raiders, but I just don't see the Broncos winning this one. 

Washington at Eagles - 

Honestly I didn't understand why they put Washington and Eagles on Sunday Night Football. I get it, they are looking for rating in this one because the Cowboys might win earlier in the day. So the NFL are hoping the Cowboys and all the Dallas fans will tune in for this one. Okay, lets say they lose (I picked them to win), what happens on SNF? Pretty much nobody but Washington/Eagles will be watching. I get the risk, but as a fan in general this game just isn't very appealing. Especially since there are so many good games to choose from, too. 

Prediction - I am going with Washington in this one! I know Cowboys or Giants probably don't want to hear that, but in the end I am not so sure that the Eagles are good enough to win this game. The Washington Football team will be at full-strength on offense and I am sure all hands will be on deck! 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

NFL Predictions Week 17 (Part III)

 Welcome to Timerssports

NFL Predictions - 

Cardinals at Rams - 

This game could impact the NFC playoffs' picture more than any other game in the NFC! One of these two teams could miss the playoffs or make both could make it in as wildcards! A win by the Rams and it pretty much locks the NFC playoffs' picture in and no other game really matters, other than how the teams are seeded. A win by the Cardinals and then things get interesting because the Green Bay-Chicago game comes really interesting! A win by the Packers and both of these teams in the postseason, but a win by Chicago that would mean the Rams are out of the postseason. Who would had thought that a couple weeks ago? 

I think a key element in this game is that fact that both teams will be missing players or have players that aren't 100%. In fact, both starting quarterbacks were banged up in last week's games. Kyler Murray will play, but I don't think he is 100%. And on the other side, the Rams will be without their QB Jared Goff. Both teams are also missing a starting WR because of covid! So yeah, neither teams are at full strength in this one, but I think I would be more worried about the Rams in this one than the Cardinals. Over the last 6 days, they have lost three keys players to their offense and I think that will be a challenge to overcome. Even though, I do love their defense and how they will matchup with a less than 100% Kyler Murray and sometimes inconsistent Cardinals' offense. 

Prediction - It is hard for me to like the Rams in this with a rookie quarterback with no zero in-game snaps at quarterback for them. I don't love the Cardinals and i don't think that they will be able to past the first round, if they win this game. 

Saints at Panthers - 

The Saints are missing several players this weekend due to covid and that including their entire running back room. That is not very ideal in week that they need to win and get some help in the NFC to get the No.1 seed. I think that loss to the Eagles pretty much sealed their fate, in my opinion. Prior to that, they were in control of the NFC and would likely be looking at a bye right now. A loss to the Eagles and the Packers haven't losing a game since week 11 has resulted in this. Also losing to the Packers because of Hill's fumble in the 4th quarter in week 3 also has a factor in this as well. I do think that the Saints are the best team in the NFC, but I still feel like they play better at home than on the road. Maybe it because they play better inside a dome or something? I don't know. 

The Panthers haven't been great this season, but they have been a solid football team. I think this Carolina team can give the Saints a lot of problems in this game. I just feel like their limited offense will be the big why they don't win this game. Ever notice that while watching the Panthers? Good team, but it always seems like they are just lacking something. I do believe some of that has to do with missing CMC. To me this offense is designed around him. Teddy does what he can with this offense, but a special running back like CMC would take this offense to new heights. If defense can keep improving like the one we saw this season, then this team has a chance to contend for a wildcard in the 2021-22 season! 

Prediction - I want to go with the Panthers, but I feel like the Saints will do enough and have enough offensive power to win this game. As for the Panthers, I think they will play this game fairly tight but come up short in the end!

Packers at Bears -

The news broke of Left Tackle DBak sent shockwaves around the league, as he is regarded as one of the league's top offensive linemen! And I agree that is a big blow, but I don't believe it is big enough to really decrease the Packers shot at a superbowl run. The Packers still have three really solid players on that line who were graded as top 10 players as guards, centers or tackles. Obviously moving Billy Turner to left tackle isn't what you want as the Packers, but he played great there earlier this season and he has had a very solid season,too. I don't think Dbak's injury really affect the pass game, if anything it will have a bigger impact on the run game, in my opinion. To me, the bigger thing is on other side of the ball. The Packers defense is starting to play it best football of the season. In 3 of their last 4 games, they have produced their best pass rush games of the season. Not only that, the Packers are playing bigger up front recently and playing more man-coverage in the secondary. Why is that important? That secondary has been elite this season when they are in man-coverage, compared to when they are in zone. Time will tell, but I think Mike Pettine has figured out some things and I think his players has kinda gave him some hints on some things, too. 

The Bears have a chance to punch their ticket to the playoffs with a win over the Packers! But history is not on their since. In the last 28 seasons, they have only won 14 times. Which means they are only producing one win in every two seasons against the Packers. However, the Bears are playing their best football of the season right now. In his last 4 games, they have produced 4 straight 30+ games. First time, they have done that since the 1960s. On offense, they are certainly on a roll right now! And a lot of that has to do with how well they have ran the ball since Naggy stepped down as the playcaller! That should be the key to success for them, as the less Mitch has the ball in his hands, the less chance there will be a turnover! Now, he hasn't been great  this season, but lately he has been above average. And that all they need from him, especially with that defense. For them to win this game, I do feel like that they need to win the turnover battle. If you lose the turnover battle to Aaron Rodgers, there is almost a 100% chance that you will lose the football game!

Prediction - I am a big Packers fan, so I try to pick against them if I feel like there is a real shot that they will lose. When I look at this matchup, I feel like the Bears are at a disadvantage and those aren't the games that the Packers typically lose. The Bears' defense isn't what it was a couple years ago and you can run on this defense and you can pass on it. I think Chicago being down two cornerbacks is a massive blow. I think the Packers defense is a bad matchup for the Bears, too. The Packers are getting after the QBs over the past month and that secondary is starting to really get locked in. Since week 10, they have the No.1 and No.2 graded safeties by PFF. Jaire Alexander is also lurking back there. Folks, this is a big matchup! 

Vikings at Lions -

When I look at the Vikings right now, I think back to week 1 and 2. Why? Because a lot of the problems that we saw early in the season were kinda the same problem that dragged this team down all season long. In the opener in week 1, what was the first thing we noticed about the Vikings? They couldn't stop the pass and had no pass rush. Those things did improve, but it always exposed them for who they are. In week 2, it was they couldn't stop the run. I think their inability to stop the run actually got worse as the season went on with the injuries piling up. I know Vikings fans will want to blame Kirk Cousins and that below average offensive line, but they aren't the reason that they missed the playoffs. It was the defense and yes it was that bad this season. 

As bad as the Vikings has been, I think the Lions has been worse. They fired their coach already and things has improved. But they still are fielding a bad defense and really don't have another gear on offense. I think Stafford does the best he can with what he can, but the man can only do so much! Overall, this is not a great roster. On offense, I think they have some really good pieces to work with for the future. But I think that will depend on how they draft and what Stafford's future is like. 

Prediction - Hard to say how this one goes with no Davin Cook for the Vikings, but I still believe that the Vikings are the better team in this one. I think Stafford's arm will keep them in it, but I think the Vikings have more to work with than that Lions do! 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12