'Rivalry Week' is here

You can kiss the 'normal’ schedule goodbye

CJ Stroud says hang loose, guys as he leads the favored Recliners against Who Dey this weekend in the battle of the once-beatens.

As we are about to flip the calendar page to October and launch the second quarter of the JSFL season, we are about to kick off the last “normal” NFL week of the next monthlong stretch of games. Byes begin in Week 5 and games across the pond start kicking off at 6:30 a.m. West Coast time in October.

But until then, we still have one last “normal” week of frenzy and chaos to enjoy. And, be aware a hurricane named Helene is expected to arrive on the Florida coast Thursday and could hamper the home schedule for the Buccaneers and Falcons.

This coming weekend could be the closest thing we have to a “Rivalry Week” as Bob and Ron square off, Matt and Jeff tangle and Chris and Matty look to have the tightest game on the docket to try to make a wager on. It never gets old.

With the first month nearly in the books, it is also never too early to start to speculate who might toss in the towel in 2024 and start to load up draft picks for 2025 during the annual “fire sale” season.

Several team managers are on the hot seat this week – two are still looking for their first wins and several other managers hope to claw their way back to 2-2. A 1-3 start is not a death sentence but few teams in league history that have stumbled out of the gate with at least 3 losses in September have rallied to make the playoffs.

The NFL will make a lot of us sweat out a win or loss until Monday night as two more games are on the docket – the Titans travel to Miami and the Seachickens travel to the Motor City to take on the Lions.

Here's a look at the week four matchups.

Game of the Week

Hermosa Recliners (2-1) vs Who Dey (2-1), Recliners favored by 1: On Draft Day, we really liked how Chris built this team. The Recliners have a bunch of injury updates to sift through (questionable tags apply to 4 starters – Joe Mixon, Marvin Harrison Jr., DeVonta Smith and Sam LaPorta). Even with the tweaks and bruises, the ESPN stat geeks like the matchups the Recliners can exploit. Chris gets the edge at QB and defense (CJ Stroud and the Texans defense at home to Jacksonville), RB Bijan Robinson taking on the stout New Orleans defense, DeVonta at Tampa and Garrett Wilson (flex) hosting Denver. Matt gets an edge with RB James Cook at Baltimore and Ka’imi Fairbaim at home to Jacksonville.. Take the Recliners by 1.

The Close Ones?

The Spread Beaters (1-2) vs The Pack (0-3), Beaters favored by 6: As Derrick Henry goes, so go the Beaters this season and this week the great back gets to stay at home and take on the Buffalo defense. The advantage Henry provides is one of five Matt is projected to have over The Pack. The Beaters also get the edge at QB (Kyler over Tampa), RB Brian Robinson Jr. over Devin Singletary, WR Chris Godwin over Diontae Johnson, and the Chargers defense over the Ravens. Only Ja’Marr Chase (in his swan song with The Pack?) has a scoring advantage for The Pack. Take the Beaters by 5.

WTNE (3-0) vs The Invaiders (1-2), WTNE favored by 6: I don’t know why ESPN keeps thinking the Invaiders are going to score this season. The team has tanked a good 20 points below projections all three weeks so far (no one, at least starters, are scoring touchdowns). Unless that changes this week, this could be a rout for the undefeated squad Jordan has pieced together. Jordan gets the scoring edge at QB (Jayden Daniels), both RBs Saquon Barkley and Alvin Kamara, TE Trey McBride, and kicker Matt Prater. The only scoring edge for the Invaiders is at WR Ceedee Lamb and flex Brandon Aiyuk, both who have underperformed badly so far. We don’t believe the ESPN BS anymore. Take WTNE by 20.

The Blowouts?

The Tirades (2-1) vs Band Aids (1-2), Tirades favored by 11. Small children and animals should take shelter as this scrap might get ugly quickly. The Tirades have sizable scoring edges at QB (Buffalo over the Ravens), RB Jordan Mason (yay, 49ers!), RB flex Aaron Jones, and the Cleveland defense. Bob gets scoring edges at RB with James Conner and WR with Khalil Shakir. We just think the Tirades have too many bullets in the chamber to let Bob hang around in this one. Take the Tirades and 15.

The Rangers (3-0) vs The Gerbils (0-3), Rangers favored by 17: This is another game where one team Is seriously outgunned. John gets the edge in nearly every starting position this week with QB, both RBs, both WRs and flex. That kind of one-sided projection usually leads to a blowout of epic proportions. The only edge the winless Gerbils get is at defense with the 49ers (yay, SF!). Take the Rangers by 15.