NFL
NFL Picks Week 3
STANDINGS
Mike Asti: 21-10-1
Parker Hurley: 20-11-1
Alan Saunders: 20-11-1
Ron Lippock: 18-13-1
LAST WEEK
Mike Asti: 10-6
Parker Hurley: 9-7
Ron Lippock: 10-6
Alan Saunders: 11-5
THURSDAY
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars
Asti: Titans
Hurley: Titans
Lippock: No pick
Saunders: Jaguars. Jags played Houston tight on the road, and Houston is better than Tennessee. Also, Gardner Minshew deserves to have good things happen to him.
SUNDAY EARLY
Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles
Asti: Eagles
Hurley: Eagles
Lippock: Eagles
Saunders: Lions. Eagles are a mess right now with a ton of injuries.
New York Jets at New England Patriots
Asti: Patriots
Hurley: Patriots
Lippock: Patriots
Saunders: Patriots. By 50. Again.
Oakland Raiders at Minnesota Vikings
Asti: Vikings
Hurley: Vikings
Lippock: Vikings
Saunders: Vikings
Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs
Asti: Chiefs
Hurley: Chiefs
Lippock: Chiefs
Saunders: Chiefs, but I can really see this one going either way. We will find out a lot about how good the Ravens are in this one.
Atlanta Falcons at Indianapolis Colts
Asti: Falcons
Hurley: Colts
Lippock: Falcons
Saunders: Falcons, in a game that I can’t quite figure out why they’re underdogs after knocking off Philly.
Denver Broncos at Green Bay Packers
Asti: Packers
Hurley: Packers
Lippock: Packers
Saunders: Packers
Miami Dolphins at Dallas Cowboys
Asti: Cowboys
Hurley: Cowboys
Lippock: Cowboys
Saunders: Cowboys
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
Asti: Bills
Hurley: Bills
Lippock: Bills
Saunders: Bills. One of these days, the Bills will play a real football team and lose. Today is not that day.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Asti: Buccaneers
Hurley: Buccaneers
Lippock: Buccaneers
Saunders: Buccaneers. Daniel Jones was 0-3 against Pitt in his college career. I did not have the same evaluation the Giants did when they took him in the first round.
Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals
Asti: Cardinals
Hurley: Cardinals
Lippock: Panthers
Saunders: Cardinals. Kyler Murray beat out Kyle Allen and made him transfer to Houston. Not going to start losing to him now.
Pittsburgh Steelers at San Francisco 49ers
Asti: Steelers
Even though everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the Steelers so far this season, this team is too talented, especially on defense, to not get it going eventually. Pittsburgh is 0-2, but faced off against two strong contenders. That’s in contrast to San Francisco, who played two weak opponents in weeks 1 and 2. No matter how much confidence people may have in Mason Rudolph, it’s rarely easy for a young quarterback in his first career start. With that said, I think he will play adequately enough and others, maybe James Washington for example, will step up to help the Steelers finally get a win.
Hurley: 49ers
Lippock: Steelers
Saunders: 49ers. The Steelers offense was having trouble before Ben Roethlisberger got hurt, and while I’m a believer when it comes to Mason Rudolph, there’s a ton of work to do. Meanwhile, San Francisco has had an impressive start even without running back Tevin Coleman.
49ers 27, Steelers 21
New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
Asti: Seahawks
Hurley: Seahawks
Lippock: Seahawks
Saunders: Seahawks, which impressed me in their win in Pittsburgh last week. It’s not a big-name offense, but Russell Wilson can direct a drive as well as anyone. Saints are going to really miss Drew Brees.
Houston Texans at Los Angeles Chargers
Asti: Chargers
Hurley: Chargers
Lippock: Texans
Saunders: Chargers by a hair. Worst home-field advantage in the league won’t help them any, and Houston is underrated, but somehow so are Philip Rivers and company.
SUNDAY NIGHT
Los Angeles Rams at Cleveland Browns
Asti: Rams
Hurley: Browns
Lippock: Rams
Saunders: Rams by a bunch. Still very skeptical of the Browns and beating the hapless Jets on Monday night did little for me.
MONDAY NIGHT
Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins
Asti: Bears.
This is an atrocious matchup for the Redskins and their head coach Jay Gruden knows it. Washington has struggled mightily to get their ground game going and a struggling offense may be just what the Bears need to wake up and be the force they can be. Expect Mack and company to feast on Monday night.
Hurley: Bears
Lippock: Bears
Saunders: Bears, and a good night to do the laundry. Woof.
The weeks of waiting and theatrics are over. Free agent defensive end J.J. Watt is signing with the Arizona Cardinals.
Watt broke the news himself on Monday afternoon, tweeting a picture of himself squatting in a Cardinals t-shirt.
source: me. pic.twitter.com/1Y6okQBUy5
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 1, 2021
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Watt is signing a two-year, $31 million deal with Arizona, $23 million of which will be guaranteed.
Cardinals are giving J.J. Watt a two-year, $31 million deal that includes $23 million guaranteed, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 1, 2021
Watt joining the Cardinals comes as somewhat of a surprise, as reporting over recent weeks had suggested the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns were the last favorites standing.
Still, Watt’s former Houston Texans teammate and current Cardinals wide receiver Deandre Hopkins was actively recruiting the star defensive end to Arizona just two weeks ago.
“Let’s finish what we started,” Hopkins said in an Instagram post picturing the two embracing with Watt Photoshopped into a Cardinals jersey.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the early favorites to land Watt, reuniting him with his brothers T.J. and Derek, but the clubs financials made the most virtually impossible to compete with an offer like Arizona’s.
The Cardinals now own one of the league’s fiercest defensive fronts, pairing Watt alongside elite edge rusher Chandler Jones, who has 97 career sacks.
Arizona already had the fourth-most sacks in football last season with 48.
Watt departed Houston as one of the greatest players in franchise history. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, named First-Team All-Pro on five occasions and earned three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.
A future Hall of Famer, Watt is the Texans’ all-time leader in sacks (101), tackles-for-loss (172) and forced fumbles (25).
Watt recorded 52 total tackles, 14 tackles-for-loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown in 2020.
One of the league’s most prominent insiders believes the Steelers are out of the running for free agent defensive end J.J. Watt.
Joining The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday, NFL insider John Clayton said Watt will not be joining his brothers T.J. and Derek in Pittsburgh.
Clayton sees the Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills as the favorites to land Watt’s services.
For a potential dark horse, Clayton says the Las Vegas Raiders as an outside-the-box candidate to sign the veteran pass rusher.
.@JohnClaytonNFL says JJ Watt won't be coming to Pittsburgh. Tennessee, Green Bay, and Buffalo are the 3 teams. Raiders as a dark horse.
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) February 24, 2021
Watt leaves Houston as one of the greatest players in franchise history. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, named First-Team All-Pro on five occasions and earned three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.
A future Hall of Famer, Watt is the Texans’ all-time leader in sacks (101), tackles-for-loss (172) and forced fumbles (25).
Watt recorded 52 total tackles, 14 tackles-for-loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown in 2020.
The NFL is hosting its fifth annual Women’s Careers in Football Forum from Feb. 24-25, the league announced in a press release Tuesday.
The event will be held virtually and “connect 40 women, 75% of whom are women of color, with leaders in professional football to help those women network and build relationships in the areas of coaching, scouting and football operations.”
Those participating in the event will join panel discussions, breakout sessions and have networking opportunities with industry leaders, such as head coaches and team executives. All portions of the event are aimed at building connections that will result in hirings and subsequent representation.
Since its inception in 2017, the two-day event has assisted in developing “a more diverse talent pipeline by connecting high-potential women to career opportunities in football.” According to the league, 118 opportunities for women in football have been created as a result.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and wife Jane Skinner Goodell will speak, as well as NFL Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn Aponte. In addition, three owners, seven head coaches and six general managers will also join the conversation.
Sarah Thomas made history earlier this month becoming the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl. The champion Tamp Bay Buccaneers also had a record number of women on their coaching staff this past season.
