One week down and we’re still alive in the NFL survivor pool.
We took Green Bay last week, but our sleeper pick of Tampa Bay and our warning pick of Cincinnati didn’t quite pan out. That’s OK, because if you followed the best bet pick, you’re still playing in week 2 of the NFL season.
Many of the teams have yet to separate themselves from one another, and there’s still a bit of uncertainty in week 2. The picking will get a little easier as the weeks go by, so it’s best to not get too cute in the early going.
For those who haven’t done survivor pools in the past, it’s straightforward on how it works. You pick one winner each week. When you use a team once, you can’t use them for the rest of the year.
Here’s our week 2 picks for survival.
Best bet
New Orleans Saints
The NFL is a week-by-week league, so there’s not much sense in basing too much of an opinion on what happened the previous week. The best way to gauge a team’s ability is to evaluate them during several weeks, instead of a one-week snapshot.
But it’s hard to get Tampa Bay’s last game out of our mind. The Buccaneers were awful against Tennessee. The defense was terrible. The offense was terrible. And the special teams weren’t much better.
New Orleans competed well against Arizona last week, and at home, the Saints are one of the best teams in the NFL. Since 2008, the Saints are 37-14 at home, while Tampa Bay is 16-32 on the road in that same time period.
The Saints shouldn’t overlook Tampa Bay either, after last year’s close call. The Saints needed overtime to beat Tampa Bay at home.
This year, it won’t be that close. New Orleans will run the ball successfully against the Buccaneers defense and this one should be decided by the fourth quarter. The Saints will be a popular pick, but you will survive and advance to week 3.
Sleeper pick
Carolina Panthers
There won’t be many opportunities to use Carolina this year, but with the changes already made in Houston, it appears the Texans are pressing the panic button already.
That should work in Carolina’s favor in this game, and the Panthers will pound the ball at Houston, much like Kansas City did last week.
We don’t like what the decision to bench the starting quarterback means for the Texans’ season. That shows uncertainty, and it’s too early to give up on such a vital position.
The only item that does give us pause is that Carolina struggled to pass last week against Jacksonville. That could be a reoccurring theme, and if Carolina can’t pass this week, it could run into trouble moving the ball.
However, with the game in Carolina, we still like the Panthers to control the tempo and earn the win.
Be careful
Miami Dolphins
The common trick to winning survivor pools is to pick against certain teams. It’s been good strategy to go against Oakland, Washington, Cleveland and Jacksonville in the past.
So, that may be the reasoning to take Miami on Sunday. Don’t be too quick with the Dolphins.
Miami is opening the season with two consecutive road games. It’s tough enough for NFL teams to do that in back-to-back week as the season progresses, but it’s brutal to start out the year that way.
Three teams started out the 2014 season with back-to-back road games. Jacksonville and New Orleans started out 0-2, while New England was 1-1.
There will be better weeks to trust the Dolphins more. This isn’t a week to waste a pick on them.
