kidfromsurrey-blog

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

I HATE Group Projects

For one of my courses, we had to do a research project. With a group of 5. I had 1 friend in the course, so I was joining a group blindly. I didn’t choose correctly...

Well okay maybe not, 2 of the 3 people are awesome but this one girl... 

For our first major assignment, we had to come up with a research proposal of sorts. When we were brainstorming and coming up with our project, we opted to do surveys instead of interviews (trying to reach more people). As a group, we brainstormed a bunch of potential survey questions and then moved on to dividing up sections for everyone to do. This girl asked if she could “only make the survey” because she had some other assignments due that week. We all said okay, I mean we’ve all been there.

No big deal right. Wrong, big deal. She proceeded to make the survey and leave out a consent form that we were reminded we needed to include. Our group was docked marks for no consent form.

For our final report, the group was deciding on a date/time to meet and divide up all the work again. The day where most people could meet was the day I was busy, which wasn’t a big deal because I told them I wanted a certain section. So I ask my friend what section I got, and it was the discussion. For this assignment, the discussion was only 2 pages but work nearly 40% of the marks. BUT HOLD ON. I ask in our group how everyone else is doing on there parts and that I have no clue who is working on what but that the discussion will be finished by the end of the night. This girl replies that she thought she was doing the discussion and that “I guess I can just edit”. My friend texts me saying that she wanted to do the discussion with me, which makes no sense... why would two people need to split the discussion which is only two pages and other sections are twice as long. 

I tell this girl to just send me whatever she has done for the discussion so far and that I will combine everything into one final document. She replies with “I haven’t even started”. Mind you we all agreed to have it finished for the next day... So I tell her to just write up her version and then we can go from there. Again, she replies saying how she is so busy and has so many assignments and that she doesn’t want to waste her time, she can just edit it when it's done.

Basically my reaction. I deleted half of the discussion I had already written and told her to just finish the sections that I hadn’t.  I was determined to make her contribute to the group.

She wanted us to do all the work for 40% of her overall grade mark while she only contributed literally 15 mins to the group work over the entire course. 

People like this... They make me hate working in groups. 

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

Who should the Dallas Cowboys take at #19?

Alright... there is no one player that Dallas should take and it would be the perfect selection. This team has quite a few holes that need to be filled, some more important than others. As it stands right now they could use players on all 3 levels of the defense, save maybe for a cornerback, and then any offensive position besides QB and RB. That leaves a lot of options. 

some players we probably have 0 chance of getting are the ones we could use most.

Derwin James (Saftey, Florida State) is a ridiculous athlete. He plays fast and plays with a lot of power. He started off the year coming back from a knee injury and he played very well. He has the ability to play Strong Safety and be a menace but has the athletic ability to be a sideline to sideline type of safety. Those players are rare. He is definitely a player that could benefit from some NFL coaching, and his ceiling is sky high. Unfortunately, we would most likely have to trade up for him... Which I hope we do. 

Roquan Smith (Linebacker, Georgia) is the real deal. He is almost a perfect modern-day linebacker. He is fast, can play in coverage, and he hits HARD. The only knock on him as a prospect is that he may be a bit undersized. I am not one that puts a lot of stock into knocking players just based on size/weight. If they have struggled in their game tape that you can attribute to their lack of size, that is a different story. In the case of Smith, there are no holes. With how our defense becomes complete garbage when Sean Lee gets hurt, we could definitely use someone like Roquan. This picks fits with the future too, if Jaylon Smith is ever able to get to his pre-injury form, this could be the best linebacker pairing in the league. Again, we most likely have to move up for him, but I could see some teams not taking him because of his “lack of size”. Just remember teams did that with Aaron Donald and we see how that played out.

now come the realistic options at pick 19.

Maurice Hurst (Defensive Tackle, Michigan) is a player the Cowboys would love to have. The biggest flaw of our team has been the lack of pressure, which we found last year with Demarcus Lawrence. We have him returning, but getting an interior penetrator like Hurst would be massive. Qb’s struggle most with pressure that comes up through the middle, which is a hallmark of his game. He is definitely a player that could be a huge factor on our defensive line in 2 years. However, Dallas seemingly ignores interior line players until later rounds so I doubt this will be the pick. 

Calvin Ridley (Wide Receiver, Alabama) is a very good fit into what the Cowboys want to do with the offense. Dak isn't the thrower that Romo was, and it shows with how much he has struggled with Dez. Those back shoulder throws Romo and Dez made seem second nature, are surprisingly lacking with Dak. Dak is very good at finding open players and extending the play though. Ridley is probably the best route runner in this draft class. He is, in my opinion, everything Dez is not. He is shifty, a crisp route runner, and most definitely not someone you throw jump balls too. The areas Ridley struggles with, are those that Dez has made his living off of. He is very much a “Dak” type of wide receiver. That being said I don’t see Ridley ever becoming a dominant WR in this league and I feel as though 19 may be rich for his caliber of WR.

An overlooked player in this class that I would be on board with the Cowboys selecting is Harold Landry (Defensive End, Boston College). I was not the biggest fan of the Taco Charlton pick last year and think investing into the DE spot again should be considered. You can never have enough pass rushers. Landry played with some injuries this past year and it showed on the field, but his 2016 stats projected him to be a top 10 type player in this class. He is a twitchy player and a better athlete than Taco. Landry at 19 could be one of the steals of the draft if he plays to his potential of that top 10 type player. 

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

NFL Draft - Prospects

Here are some of my favorite prospects post combine. In no particular order:

QB - UCLA - Josh Rosen

QB - Louisville - Lamar Jackson

QB - Oklahoma - Baker Mayfield

LB - Georgia - Roquan Smith

CB - Louisville - Jaire Alexander

RB - Penn St. - Saquon Barkley 

S - FSU -  Derwin James

I’ll write up a short bit on each player in separate posts just to highlight why I like these guys, or why they intrigue me so much.

Of these players, I would be happy if Smith or James ended up with the Cowboys. I don’t think either will be there for the Cowboys at pick 19. One player who may, and is not listed above, is Maurice Hurst (DL - Michigan). He plays a position of need for the Cowboys and he plays it extremely well. He has a heart condition that needs to be further examined but he may be there for the Cowboys.

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

What do you get someone else from McDonald’s?

If someone asked you to get them food, and you went to McDonald's without knowing anything about what they liked. What would you get them?

Do you play it safe and get cheeseburgers and multiple things off of the value meal? Or would you go big and get a Big Mac meal?

A few days ago I was in this situation. It was late at night, I had just gotten comfy in bed and I had Netflix loaded up. Basically, I was ready to not move for a while. It was at this moment my mom asked me to go get her some cold medication. There was a moment where I was like “maaaaannnn” and was going to tell her to ask my dad to go. Then I thought about it, and if I had asked her to go, she wouldn’t have hesitated. So I paused my show, asked her what kind she wanted, and was off to the drug store.

I pick up the medication, call her to make sure I’m getting the right one, and then go stand in line. I hadn’t had a proper dinner tonight and I was kind of hungry. The line up was long enough that I had a debate in my head about whether or not I should go get myself McDonald’s, I decided against it. I paid for the medication and was going to run to the car. It was like 4 degrees Celsius and pouring rain outside, and I was still in my pj’s and wearing flip-flops. 

As I’m leaving, a man comes up to me and asks me if I have any spare change. I don’t, I paid with my credit card and hate carrying change. He says he wants to get something to eat. I offered to go pick up some food for him, McDonald’s was closest and he said that was fine. I told him that I would be back in 10 minutes. McDonald’s drive-thru time, the lady asks me what I want..... “uhhmmmm, can I have a minute to decide, please?”

I went heavy on the quantity, a few Jr. Chickens and some Cheeseburgers. Threw in some fries and a large drink too, because if I had decided to get McDonald’s that night I would’ve gotten a meal. 

Quickly race back to the drug store, hop out of my car and hand the food to the man. He was genuinely surprised to see me, I guess he thought that I was lying and was just going to leave. He thanked me multiple times. I asked if he wanted any food for tomorrow, like granola bars or anything. He said the food was more than enough, thanked me again, and then he left.

I got back in my car, thought about how close I was to not even going to the drug store, and how I decided not to get my self-food and then I ended up still getting McDonald’s but for someone else. What I thought about most though, was “did I get him food he likes? Should I have gotten him a hot chocolate instead of a coke since it was so cold?”

I’ve told a few people this story, everyone has their own take on what they would’ve bought. My brother said he would play it safe and get chicken nuggets and probably a cheeseburger. My mom called me dumb for getting him a huge cold drink when it was cold out and that I should've gotten him coffee or a hot chocolate. My dad was just happy I didn’t get him Root Beer because he hates it.

What would you have gotten that man?

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

Have you ever thought about the term ‘African American’?

I was watching Atlanta (the Tv show that Donald Glover made) and there was a scene that sort of made me think. A man asked the character played by Donald Glover where he was from, as in where in Africa. His response was

“I don’t know. This spooky thing called slavery happened and my entire ethnic identity was erased.”

Think about that.

I know exactly what country my parents are originally from, what city, what neighborhoods they lived in, even what candy stores they used to go to as kids. Slavery has people being labeled as African-Americans because they have no idea where they heritage is beyond an entire god damn continent. 

Something so simple as the term ‘African-American’, something I’ve heard throughout my entire life, I never really thought about what it meant.

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

Antonio Brown = WR#1

I called it. 

Well sort of, I said he was going to have a big game and I think I called for 10 catches, 160 yards, and 2 tds.... he finished with 10 catches, 144 yards, and 3 tds. I’m sorry I undersold how amazing he would be. This game was kind of proof that even when Brown is covered, he really isn’t covered.His first touchdown was a 40-yard bomb into double coverage that he just snagged at its highest point. His last touchdown, I mean I don't know how it happened. The guy caught it with one hand and held it against his helmet while fighting off a defender in the end zone. 

He is the best receiver in the league. Odell is close, but nobody is quite one Antonio’s level of consistently elite production season in and season out.

Antonio Brown is the Wr1

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

Thursday Night Football Wk11

Pittsburgh Steelers (-7) vs Tennessee Titans

I hate Thursday night football games, first and foremost. I don't understand how it is healthy for players to play like 3 days after their last game. The players seem to also hate it. I think this will get addressed in the next CBA... enough of that though.

The Steelers come into this off of barely squeaking by the Colts, with a last-second win. Leveon Bell did not look good, Antonio Brown didn’t have an impressive game, and the defense gave up big plays. I do not think that will happen again. The Titans have a horrendous defense, especially the pass defense. I think this is an eruption spot game for Antonio Brown, if Big Ben can get him the ball, that is. For the Titans, their run game hasn’t looked nearly as dominant as it was last year, and more importantly, Marcus Mariota has been banged up. He will entire the game with a few injuries and as a mobile quarterback, he is going to be significantly hampered against a pretty aggressive Steelers defense.

Corey Davis has been a pretty big part of the offense when he has been healthy, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he plays the remainder of the year. The rest of the Titans offense doesn’t excite me in this game apart from Demarco Murray. On the flip side, Antonio, Leveon and Juju can all be started with confidence. I think Antonio Brown has the potential to go off for something like 10 catches - 160 yards - 2 touchdowns. He has had 2 relatively quiet weeks and I would bet that it doesn’t happen again.

I don't think the Titans will be able to score with the Steelers. If this game was on the road, all bets are off as the Steelers seem to just crumble. But, they are at home so all systems go. Gimme the Steelers and a big game from Brown.

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

GPA Boosters

Okay, so I’ve talked to a lot of people who want to know about GPA booster courses. They want to know if I have taken any or if I know of any easy courses. I mean, of course, there are some courses that are easier than others and I will tell them about some of the courses I have taken. 

The issue is I have quite a few friends who have taken “GPA Booster” courses and done absolutely horrible. In my opinion, there are 2 reasons this happens. 

1- People sign up for courses that they have absolutely no interest in. I had a friend who is very into stocks and commerce, he took an Earth and Ocean Sciences course because he heard it was easy. I think he came to maybe 30% of the classes in the semester. He despised being in class and whenever he did come, he was on Twitter. If you take courses in which you have no interest, you won’t want to go to class, and more importantly, studying is going to be a bitch...

2- The second, and more widely applicable reason... People go into these courses thinking they are easy. “Of course they will, that's why they are taking the course” I know, I know. What I mean is that they don’t try as much as they would for a normal course because they think the course is easy. They don't pay attention in class as much, studying isn't as focused and then the exams come and you are not at all prepared. This reason is one I focus on when people ask me about easy courses, I make an effort to tell them about the workload but also tell them you still have to study for the exams and actually go to all the classes.

Just my two cents about GPA Boosters. We all want to take classes to boost our GPA, just remember that because they are considered easy, doesn’t mean its a guaranteed A.

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

Monday Night Football  (Nov 6)

Ahhhhh I have missed writing about football so much, I can’t even explain it. Kinda sucks that the game I’m going to write about it Detroit vs Greenbay minus Aaron Rodgers, but it is what it is.

Detroit Lions (-2.0) @ Greenbay Packers 

First and foremost, there is absolutely no way Detroit is favored in this game if Rodgers plays. I would guess that Greenbay would be like -6.5 with Rodgers, especially being at home.

The over/under on this game is sitting at 42.5 right now, and I really don’t know how to feel about that. Stafford threw for over 400 yards last week but had 0 touchdowns which is ridiculous. Brett Hundley has not looked like a starting QB at all and I don’t think he can put up a lot of points on his own. That being said, both of these teams don’t have very good defenses. I could see Stafford having a good day, I don’t think I could say the same about Hundley though and I think that’s why Detroit is favored in this game. Greenbay will probably try to lean heavily on their run game, and I think that is probably their best option given Haloti Ngata is out for the Lions. 

If you are starting players in the matchup for fantasy, it may be rough as they aren't projected to score a lot. I would feel relatively okay with playing Aaron Jones, Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and probably Stafford. I think Hundley hurts the GB wide receivers a lot and Darrius Slay will most likely shadow Devante Adams (this could mean Jordy goes nuts, just don’t bank on it).

I think the Lions will win the game, but I wouldn't be surprised if GB takes it either. They are coming off of a bye week, which hopefully helped Hundley, but I have a hard time trusting him. I just hope if Greenbay wins, its on the back of Aaron Jones.... yes I am starting him in fantasy and need 14 points to win :D

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

Schooool

So my last two weeks have been overwhelming, to say the least. So many midterms, quizzes, labs, papers.... just a bunch of stuff going on, on top of work. I got through it but I was always so tired and I felt so mentally exhausted. These past 3 days of relaxing have felt like an entire week to me. Something I wish I had done differently, and if someone reads this I think you should do, is to work out. I know there is going to be a time crunch and it’s going to seem like you have no time to do anything but study and maybe eat, but just try. If you can squeeze in a workout, you will not only have more energy and feel better, but you’ll actually learn and absorb the material you study more effectively. 

Working out will help somewhat ease the stress you will feel, which in my situation would have helped a ton. A lot of it was me somewhat being lazy and chalking it up to not having time, but you can manage your time to give yourself like 20 minutes to go for a run. Something as small as that will help you.

 I wish I would have handled my stressful weeks differently, so I thought I’d share my thoughts/feelings!

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

Deshaun Watson

Little bit late on this but if you hadn’t heard, Texans rookie QB Deshaun Watson tore his ACL in practice a few days ago. They had to start Tom Savage against the Colts and well the result was what a lot of people would've expected. 

The Texans went from just running up and down the field against the Seahawks to losing to the Colts. The only thing that changed was who started at QB. Watson was running away with Rookie of the Year, even as great as Fournette and Hunt have been. Watson had become this loved young rookie QB, and his injury had everyone across the NFL kind of shocked and wishing him a speedy recovery. 

It’s kind of crazy how one player can change an NFL team so much and how a team's ambitions can completely getting destroyed by one injury, but that's what happened to the Texans. Hopefully, Watson can come back and be the same player he was before the injury, the Texans, and the NFL need him.

Side note: The Browns traded away from Watson... I wonder how much they are regretting that decision.

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

CBS Struck Gold

I’m not sure if you guys have been able to catch one of the NFL games that CBS gets, but I highly recommend you tune in. Tony Romo went from NFL QB to broadcaster in a matter of months. He is absolutely killing it. I have yet to hear anybody have anything other than nice things to say about him in the booth.

The reason he is so well liked is becuase of how he talks about the game. I watched him week 1 when he was doing the Raiders vs Titans. By no means am I a fan of these teams, but the way Romo was calling the game made me not want to switch channels. He was routinely calling out what plays were about to come, why they were running certain formations and audibles that were happening (youtube it). He was freaky. Week 2 CBS has the Saints vs Patriots. I was excited, you had Brady, Brees, and Romo calling the game. He pointed out a lot of things during plays that I had no idea were even things to watch for. Specifically, he broke down why Belichick ran a certain defense in the red zone. Basically saying that now when a team tries to scout them, their ratio of man vs zone vs blitz is going to all be very equal and you cant prepare for it.

That being said he isn't afraid to call players out, specifically quarterbacks, when they aren't doing well. In week 3 Andy Dalton finished with a decent stat line and they lost in OT to Greenbay on the road. That seems like a pretty decent moral victory. BUT, watching the game with Romo calling it changed that view. He repeatedly exposed Dalton for not changing plays when it was obvious the Packers were sending a blitz. He showed how Dalton was missing easy reads, and that it basically let the Packers come back and win the game. Totally different type of game with him calling it.

Some people may only think of him as the NFL player that he was, but I will definitely be watching any game he calls for the rest of the year. Already my favorite broadcaster. CBS hit the lottery.

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

I wrote that entire week 3 NFL post with this picture above me. I wonder who my favorite player is

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

The Struggle

We are a generation that has been given participation ribbons and medals for simply showing up. We are raised in environments where we don’t want to exclude anyone.  While that is an awesome mindset, that isn’t really how the world works, which is quite sad. Due to that, sometimes the real world catches us off guard. 

We grow up believing that if we want something badly enough it will happen, and not that you have to work your tail off to get the things you want.  This is not going to fit for everyone, there are a lot of determined, hard-working people out there. 

 I know a ton of people that simply quit when things get too hard because they have never really hard to persevere through anything like that in their life to that point. For a lot of us, this happens when we get to University or College. Some of us this happens with being physically active, and unless we are playing in a weekly sport where we are dropped off, picked up, and have a coach to guide us through everything, we wouldn't have any other form of physical activity. And you know what, I fit into this. High school came somewhat easy to me but first-year university hit me like a brick wall. It took me some time but I realized how much harder I had to work. After aging out from all my team sports I didn't really have any motivation or thought toward working out. I gained weight, felt unhealthy, and took a while to realize where my life was headed.

In your life, there are going to be things that are tough. Things you have to put in more effort to do. The obstacle is deciding which ones are worth it. For me, school was worth it, trying to become healthier was worth it. That meant I went out with friends less and cut out some other areas. Everyone has things they value, but a lot of people quit on them because they face some adversity... if it really is important, stick with it and work your tail off because it will be that much more satisfying when you get what you want

Check out the two links below. The video is really cool and opened my eyes. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-manson/the-most-important-question_b_4269161.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

NFL Week 3

Takes on this week's games, including my thoughts on players and game lines.

LAR (-2.5) @ SF 

- Sean McVay has this offense looking miles ahead of what they looked like last year. Todd Gurley has been more involved in the passing game which has helped his poor run game efficiency, I think he will have another solid game, Chris Carson just went for almost 100yds on 20 carries. Kyle Shannahan has rejuvenated and worked wonders on this run game, and Carlos Hyde has been a man reborn. They kept it extremely close with Seattle and I see it being close against the Rams too, but I think the Rams take it.

BAL (-3.5) @ JAX

- The Ravens defense has looked like the real deal. I know they played the Bengals and Browns, 2 suspect offenses, but they looked stout. When Jaguars offense has to put the ball in the air I don’t like their chances... Blake Bortles is terrible. Javorius Allen is a safe play, he is playing a lot of snaps and getting used in both the passing and running game. If you have Leonard Fournette you are playing him, but I wouldn’t feel good about it. I expect the Ravens to take this game by stacking the box to limit Fournette and making Bortles beat them which I doubt happens.

ATL (-3.0) @ DET

- This matchup has me very interested. You have both teams coming in at 2-0, one being a preseason Super Bowl Contender, and one not being taken very seriously. The Big 3 from Atlanta all should be safe bets to produce, but I like Austin Hooper in this matchup a lot if you have to stream a TE in fantasy. Stafford looked very good on Monday against the Giants and now he faces the Falcons D who will be missing Vic Beasley (their best player). I think he has another big game and that Golden Tate will be the main beneficiary of it. I think the Lions surprise a lot of people and take this game at home.

CLE (-1.5) @ IND

- I can’t remember the last time the Browns were a road favorite but that is what the Colts roster is without Andrew Luck. The Colts have been surprisingly good vs the run this year but that might be because everyone is exposing their pass D. Crowell is more of a floor play, Kizer should bounce back from his tough matchup vs the Ravens. I wouldn't feel good playing anyone on the Colts roster except Jack Doyle, but again I’d avoid the entire offense without luck. That being said... I like the colts here. This is going to be the 3rd week without Luck, they looked a lot better last week vs Arizona, and they are at home.

DEN (-3.0) @ BUF

- Denver absolutely destroyed my Cowboys last week. That defense is as good as its ever been and look for them to expose this struggling Bills O. Siemian has been on fire, and while I don’t think it will continue for the whole year I think he can keep it up for one more week. I like CJ Anderson again this week, and I prefer Sanders to DT. I expect the BIlls to come out and try to run the ball to try and bleed the clock and keep it close, meaning Mccoy might be the only player you can play. I like Denver to take it, I don’t think the Bills score more than 13 points against this D.

HOU (+13.5) @ NE

- The line is heavily in the Pats favor and for good reason, Belichick just doesn’t lose to rookie Qb’s very often. Lamar Miller is splitting time with Foreman, Watson doesn’t look very good and will be in tough this week, Hopkins is getting peppered with targets and is the only player I’d feel decent about playing. I know the Texans have an elite D but Tom Brady is a start against anyone, Gilislee is looking good for a TD any time inside the 5 and the Pats may be running out the clock early this game. Gronk, Hogan, Amendola all look like decent options given their health status, Cooks might be the only healthy WR on the team, start him. 13.5 is a lot to cover, but I’ll take the Pats at home against the rookie QB.

MIA (-6.5) @ NYJ

- The Jets don’t look very good, as expected. Miami looked like a run-heavy team in the one game we’ve seen, Ajayi is going to have another big game, and Landry should eat in the short passing game. Kearse is perhaps the only player on the Jets to put up decent stats just because he will get targets. The Dolphins do not have an elite D so this game could be closer than people expect. They want to run A LOT, and that means clock will disappear quick, keeping the game low scoring. I think the Dolphins win, but Jets cover.

NO (+5.5) @ CAR

- The Saints defense is terrible, what else is new. Start Cam Newton, Kelvin Benjamin is always a boom or bust type WR but Cam has to throw to someone. I think this is the game we see McCaffery have a big stat line too. Brees has never been a great road Qb, but this is a warm-weather game, and I think he will be fine. Ingram is the RB I’d want out of the Saints backfield. This is the first real test for this Panthers D, and the Saints can’t afford to go 0-3, I think they come out playing fast and pull off the upset in a tight divisional game. 

NYG (+6.0) @ PHI

- After seeing this Giants team the last two weeks I have been so happy as a Cowboys fan. The offense is garbage without a healthy OBJ. Eli looks washed, there is no run game, and that Oline... With all that, I didn’t think they’d be +6 in this divisional game. Carson Wentz has looked good but also has thrown a lot of risky balls. if Janoris Jenkins plays and this D is healthy I think they get 2 INT’s. The Philly Dline will eat up this Giants O if Odell isn’t his other-worldly self.  I think this game will be low scoring and a lot closer than other people expect. Giants to cover.

PIT (-7.0) @ CHI

- Pit has looked good, the Bears have not. People saw them get smoked by the Bucs but forget they were a Jordan Howard dropped pass away from beating the Falcons at home. Start Antonio if you have him, but I wouldn't expect a huge stat line. Bell will have a big game, he will get his 1st Td of the year. Sometime soon we will see Trubisky because Glennon does not look like a starting NFL Qb, Jordan Howard is banged up but he already was splitting snaps with Tarik Cohen, who I think has another decent day. Both teams will want to run the ball and I think that helps the Bears keep it close. Ben has had issues on the road and I think that trend continues, with the Bears covering.

TB @ MIN

- There is no line for this game yet due to the questions around Sam Bradford. Him playing changes this whole offense, so I don’t know how to feel about this game yet. Mike Evans will draw Rhodes all game long, if you have another decent option it wouldn’t be crazy to not start him. 

SEA (+2.5) @ TEN

- A lot of people are writing off the hawks, I’m not. This team always starts slow, they lost to the lowly Rams last year (9-6). I don’t expect them to be a whole lot better than they were last week, but they have kept games close and kept them competitive. The Titans most likely won’t have Demarco or rookie Corey Davis, and I am a fan of Mariota, but Earl Thomas plays like no other safety in the league. Derrick Henry would be a must-start if Murray doesn’t play, as the Hawks have been a bit suspect against the run so far. Chris Carson looks like the guy in that run game, and Doug Baldwin is Wilson’s go-to WR.  The Titans O should reel back from the 37pts they scored last week against this top tier D. I like the Hawks to win.

CIN (+8.5) @ GB

- Alright so Aaron Rodgers is the best Qb in the league, and Andy Dalton... is not. That Bengals offense has looked horrid, the only player I would start is AJ Green. The Packers secondary is not good and I think the Bengals trail a lot in this game = passing attempts. The Bengals pass D is good but they also haven’t played an offense of GB’s caliber so far. Jordy Nelson looks like he will play and TyMont should have another good week. I don’t see the Bengals scoring at a pace near what the Packers are capable of scoring at, Packers cover.

KC (-3.0) @ LAC

- Kareen Hunt looks unreal and I think he keeps it up. Andy Reid has a good track record RB’s (Westbrook, Mccoy, Charles) and Hunt was a hand-picked player. I think he will be in a lot of top-5 RB rankings for the rest of the year. Tyreek Hill looks like a more polished WR than we saw last year and Kelce is a start every week. The Chargers seem to always seem to find a way to lose. Rivers will be in tough this week as Marcus Peters will take away one-half of the field and with the run game not being very efficient, the KC pass rush will be flying. Keenan Allen looks healthy and is playing well, he should get moved around a lot and avoid Peters quite a bit. Melvin Gordon looks like the same player as last year, lots of touches, not very efficient, but consistent in fantasy. If Verrett doesn't play in this matchup I like the Chiefs, even more, Gimme KC.

OAK (-3.0) @ WAS

- Washington has not looked as good as the team last year. Maybe that’s due to Sean McVay leaving but this offense gives me pause. If Jordan Reed plays I think he is the best pass catcher in that offense this week. The run game is up in the air with the Rob Kelly injury. Oakland struggled a little bit with the Jets and that could carry over on the road vs Washington. Carr is a good Qb, I’m not as enamored with him as most people, but I think he will have another solid outing. This Washington team struggled against Todd Gurley last week and now face a top end Oline and a young looking Marshawn Lynch. I think Lynch and the duo of Richard & Washington have a solid performance. I’d expect to see Norman play on Cooper but it’ll be worth monitoring who he covers. Under the radar play is Jared Cook, he should expose a weak LB core. I think this game is close, not confident but I think the Raiders take it by 4.

DAL (-3.0) @ ARZ 

- The Cowboys got beat from start to finish by the Broncos. On Offense, Defense, Coaching, in every aspect of the game they looked overmatched. Zeke had his worst statistical game ever as a pro and I do not think that will happen again. That Oline will look to maul everyone and Zeke should bounce back after being scrutinized for “quitting on the team”. There is always that Angry Brady narrative, I like this week as an Angry Zeke week. Witten looks like Dak’s safety blanket on third down and in the red zone, that could be big this week because.... Dez gets Patrick Peterson. Dez has struggled against Elite CB’s and in my opinion, Patrick Peterson is the toughest corner Dez will have to go up against all year. He is big, super fast, has long arms, and plays physical. He is a physical corner that I don’t see getting bullied by Dez. Dak needs to bounce back from the poor showing last week and I think he will. Carson Palmer needs a clean pocket and if he gets it he will dissect this defense. The issue is I’m not sure he will consistently get it. Demarcus Lawrence is tied for the NFL lead in sacks right now and I see him being disruptive again. JJ Nelson could have a big game, again, against this shaky secondary. Fitz working out of the slot against rookie Jourdan Lewis will be interesting. I like Lewis but he has missed almost all of training camp and just saw his first action last week. Don’t expect too much from the run game but I prefer Chris Johnson. I think Dallas takes this 24-20 in a back and forth game, where the winner is decided late.

Side note - If you haven’t yet watched a CBS game where Tony Romo is commentating, I highly recommend you tune in this weekend. As a huge Romo fan I was hoping he’d do well as a broadcaster, but I had no idea he would be this good. He gives insight to a degree nobody else has even come close (youtube him predicting plays in TENvsOAK, or breaking down why Bill Belichick ran a certain defensive play). He has been getting a lot of love by NFL watchers on twitter and I expect it to continue.

[kidfromsurrey-blog]

Who Am I?

I am a 22-year old undergrad at the University of British Columbia. I am in the School of Kinesiology and love learning about injuries and injury prevention. I graduated from high school as an honor roll student thinking I was going to do amazing at UBC, but, my study habits weren’t the best and I struggled to say the least. I’m better for it, going through those struggles made me a better student and a more resilient person.

I am a serious fan of football... like nerdy about it. I love digging into advanced stats, comparing players with all kinds of different measurables and statistics. I think this is why I became addicted to fantasy football. You have to research and find reports on players, do as much digging as you can to put yourself (your team) in the best position to succeed. Weirdly enough, I think that translates well to real life, you have to put in the time and effort, get as much information as you can to make the best decision possible. Also, I am a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, I know, Romo sucks, Romo choked, blah blah blah. That’s my quarterback.... or was, now its Dak and boy did we get lucky with him in the fourth round! Im definitely excited for this season.

I grew up playing tons of sports. Soccer, Football, Basketball, Ball hockey, I even did gymnastics when I was really young. I started to really enjoy ball hockey, and I put more time and effort into it. After playing for over 10 years, I have traveled across Canada to play in tournaments. Playing all these sports led me to also have quite a few injuries... including 2 knee surgeries, which somewhat sparked my interests in injuries/rehabilitation/prevention and health care.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I am a HUGE fan of Seinfeld, Batman, and Game of Thrones. If something happened to Arya, I don’t know what I’d do.