Last week was not a good one for our contributors, Brandon Kravitz, or really myself for that matter. There was a lot of love shown towards the Dolphins upsetting the Patriots in the Cam Newton debut and that was not the case.
But now we are in a new week and as they say in the sports world, you have to have a short-term memory.
Who do our contributors like this week? Let's find out:
Evan Fitzgerald (Fox 35) @EvanWFitzgerald 'Local Lock of the Week':
- Bucs (-9.5) vs. Panthers
"OK, so this is a big line. Normally... I'd shy away from something like this. But a pissed off Tom Brady is a dangerous Tom Brady, and I can't see the GOAT being a goat for Tampa two weeks in a row. Bucs win big and cover against Carolina." - Evan Fitzgerald
Harry Gagnon (BestBetCorner.com)@AAOHARRY 'Best Bet of the Week':
- Falcons @ Cowboys Over 53
"The Falcons couldn’t stop the Seahawks a week ago as they allowed Seattle to put up 38 points and Russell Wilson was a machine as he tossed 4 touchdown passes and had just 4 total incompletions. Matt Ryan on the offensive end had 450 yards and had 3 different receivers go for over 100 yards. Zeke Elliott (120 combined yards & 2 tds) and the rest of the Cowboys will be looking to be fed the ball after their poor performance a week ago and knowing how bad the Falcons defense looked.The last time Matt Ryan and the Falcons visited Dallas 67 points were scored that day." - Harry Gagnon
JIM COLBERT SHOW (REAL RADIO 104.1) @jimcolbertshow 'Surprise of the Week':
- Falcons Road Win Over Cowboys
"Atlanta flies high over the Cowboys in Big D as Zeke & Co. continue to struggle under Mike McCarthy and the Falcons find their offensive groove." - Jack Bradshaw
DANNY DONAHUE (ACTION NETWORK) @_DannytheDon 'MNF Pick':
- Saints @ Raiders Under 49
"This certainly feels like a game that sets up for offense. Both teams are coming off 34-point outputs in their respective Week 1 wins, and I'm sure the public will want to root for scores on a Monday night. But all signs point to sharps thinking otherwise.
As of Friday morning, the 47% of bettors on the under have generated 89% of actual money hitting the total (and as you may know, the big spenders tend to be the sharper players). The total has also fallen out of the 50-club, dropping from as high as 51.5 to the seven-touchdown total of 49, even with the over being the more popular pick.
It's also worth noting that taking overs simply because teams had big offensive performances the week prior hasn't been a sound strategy. In our database, the over is 113-129-4 in games where each team scored 30+ the previous week. That's certainly not a record I'd call predictive, but it does show that lines may be shaded a bit too much to account for recency bias.
I'll trust that the sharps know what they're doing here." - Danny Donahue
ZAC BLOBNER (WDAE IN TAMPA) @ZacOnTheMic 'NFL Lock of the Week':
- 49ers (-7) @ NY Jets
"I have a golden rule when betting on the NFL, never take a team to win by more than a Touchdown because if we've learned anything from years of Fantasy Football - Garbage Points are very real. However, how awful does a team have to be to void the Garbage Points rule? Well, the trash must turn Gang-Green as it has with the Jets offense. San Fran will play Sunday pissed off after losing Week 1 to a division foe and look to show that last year's Super Bowl trip wasn't a fluke! No Le'Veon Bell for the Jets means even more problems (somehow) for QB Sam Darnold. I expect the 49ers to put up 49 against NY, I don't expect much from the Jets.. Lock-It-In!" - Zac Blobner
PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES