Franchise Quarterback

Courtesy of Ben Liebenberg/NFL The competitive fabric of the NFL is facing a threat unlike any it has ever faced before.  Tanking. The concept is simple: to lose intentionally and elevate draft stock. Tanking allows teams to take advantage of the league rules to position themselves to select talented college prospects in the draft. In other words, fielding apathetic rosters to lose on purpose. In a sports stratosphere fused with analytics, tanking is becoming much more integrated into the fabric of professional sports, especially the NFL. Unfortunately for the NFL, tanking is best designed to work in the NFL, as the worst teams clinch the higher draft picks without the implementation of a lottery. The term, "tanking" is highly ingrained into professional sports jargon, and it has become a regular practice in the NFL. It is believed that the New York Jets sought out to tank the 2020 NFL season by losing out to clinch the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and select a h

Courtesy of The Athletic Written by Sam DeCoste The snow is out, Santa Claus is coming to town, and fantasy championships are in full swing. It must be Christmas.  The penultimate week of the regular season is underway, and it begins on Christmas Day with a hotly contested playoff rematch between the Vikings and the Saints. Week 16 continues with games fused with playoff ramifications, including showdowns between the Colts and Steelers, Rams and Seahawks, and Titans and Packers. There are also clinching scenarios on tap for the Browns, Colts, Titans, Cardinals, Rams, Buccaneers, and Football Team to seal their tickets to the postseason. By Sunday afternoon, the two longest playoff droughts in the NFL could be snapped, if the Browns and Buccaneers win and gain some help along the way. The Chiefs and Packers also have opportunities to seal homefield advantage in their respective conferences. So much is on the line in the NFL this Christmas.  With two weeks to go in the regular season, I

Courtesy of Steven Senne/Associated Press Written by Sam DeCoste Snow is falling, which means we have reached December football. Only 3 games remain in the 2020 NFL regular season, and the playoff picture is finally beginning to take shape. And while the temperature is dipping, and snowstorms are engulfing the East Coast, my Predix record is heating up. Over the past 3 weeks, I am 33-14 in picks, including my 12-4 record from Week 14. That right there is playoff caliber. It has been an up and down season for me, which started hot, and fizzled out midseason for weeks on end. But I am in playoff form, and I am hitting my stride at just the right time.  Week 15 is headlined by a potential Super Bowl preview in New Orleans, featuring the Chiefs and the Saints. The slate also features an AFC East clash between the Patriots and Dolphins, and a Sunday Night Football affair between the playoff-ready Browns and the playoff-hopeful Giants. There are also a myriad of clinching scenarios for teams