Welcome to Canada’s favourite poorly-named twice-weekly NFL picks column, The Fleetwood/Matt Week 4 Thursday Special, brought to you by absolutely nobody at all, we are not sponsored. YET. But we continue to be absolutely crushing it and making real, human money thanks to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
Incidentally, the one good thing Doug Ford has ever suggested is single-game betting in Ontario. I know that there are bigger problems out there (classes are overcrowded and children are vaping themselves to death over it? As I understand it?) but Ford really needs to haul ass on that single-game betting thing in the next few years, while he still can. It would be far easier to make money on football (legally) in this province if you didn’t have to pick a minimum of three games on your OLG Pro-line ticket. I digress forever and will never mention Dug Ferd’s name again in this space.
Records –
Matt Ederer (The pie-eating, jabroni-beating owner and curator of this here Sportsfap website) – 32-15-1. This is likely gonna flip one day but ride this wave until it does!
F Dawg Johnston (aka Fleetwood Downtown Funky Stuff Brown, Avid Browns fan 🙁 ) – 29-18-1
THURSDEE NIGHT FOOTBALL
Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) @ Green Bay Packers (3-0)
Matt – Only one team in history has ever started 1-3 and won the Superbowl. The 2001 New England Patriots. So you have to think that the Eagles will be desperate. They need this one much more than Green Bay does, and Philadelphia is no stranger to big games (they’ve won a Superbowl in the last two years with much of the same roster that they have now, minus of course the Big Nick Energy at QB).
So there are reasons to like Philly here, but let’s not foget that the Eagles are going into Green Bay on a short week, with a team that might best be described as “ailing”. They’re missing the ageless speed threat WR Desean Jackson, two DTs in Malik Jackson and Timmy Jernigan, and three different DBs (They’ve been without Jaylen Mills and Cre’von LeBlanc all season, and are now missing Ronald Darby as well).
The Eagles problems this year are largely centered in their inability to stop the pass. On the plus side, Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay pass attack isn’t currently inspiring a lot of confidence. Green Bay is ranked 28th in total ypg coming into tonight’s game, and Aaron Rodgers is ranked 23rd in the league in Pass Attempts per game. That puts him behind Mitchell Trubisky and Josh Allen, tied with such names as Ben Roethlisberger (who left in the middle of one of his games), and Deshaun Watson (who is supposedly a rushing QB). Green Bay looks like a tough, defensive, dink and dunk, rushing team this season, at least through the first three games.
I will not be betting money on this game, but this is a huge game for Philly. A loss here might knock them out of the playoffs, when all is said and done — in fact, Green Bay and Philly may very well be fighting it out for a WC spot in the NFC. I’m reluctantly taking the IGLZ to have a bounce-back game, and I will be simply watching this one and not putting a dime on it.
Matt’s Pick – Philadelphia Eagles with 0 confidence
Fleet – Which green team will reign supreme?
Being the larger and more green chunk of the graph, it’s clear that Green Bay will win. Also the grass on the field is green! Let us all chalk tonight up as a win for, and celebration of, the colour green. It’s not everyday people come out to support this wonderful secondary colour.
Fleet’s Pick – Green Bay Packers
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the full slate this weekend!
