2008 NFC West Forecast is in!

7/1/08  Our first NFL 2008 team report is in - the NFC West!  Most mainstream football pundits pick Seattle to win the division. But we caution against laying a wager on that bet. Read why we feel St. Louis or Arizona is the better betting pick. 

6/17/08 Dale check's in with his NFC offseason team previews and analysis.

6/08/08 Dale check's in with his comments on the AFC offseason team previews and analysis.

4/28/08 Some people have the opinion you can't really grade a draft till 3-4 years go by; but I disagree.  True, hindsight is 20/20, but the NFL draft is anything but a crap shoot. I see a few clear cut winners, and a couple under performing front offices, from day 1 of the NFL draft.  The winners (based on Saturday's first and 2nd rounds):

2008 NFL DRAFT WINNERS:

PITTSBURGH - After they traded down RB Rashard Mendenhall fall to them in the first round. Mendenhall is a great fit here. And "fast" Willie Parker is coming off a serious leg injury.  Mendenhall has the potential to eventually be an every down back, but will be asked to compliment Parker in the backfield this year, giving them a formidable 1-2 combo.  WR Limas Sweed is a tall receiver, a first round caliber talent the Steelers were able to pick up with their second round pick.  Based on pre-draft grades Pittsburgh, and where they were slotted to draft, the Steelers had a great first day - I'll give them my vote for best draft.

MIAMI - Hard to mess up when you have the first pick of the draft. But after the fiasco of Oakland's number one pick extended hold-out last year Miami should be commended for having the guy they targeted signed, sealed and delivered prior to making their selection.  The Fish also netted two picks in the 2nd round. DE Phillip Merling had a 1st round grade, and QB Chad Henne may very well be the starter by the end of the season. Miami had a solid first day of the draft and should have two starters on opening day. Look for Miami to have QB Henne signed and in camp on time, he could very well be the starter on opening day of 2009. What I like here is the Fish addressed the fundamental's with their first 3 picks - LT on the o-line, DE on the d-line, and QB.

NFL DRAFT LOSER:

HOUSTON - This team has serious needs at OT and RB. Yet they traded down in the 1st round and lost out on both RB's Mendenhall and Felix Jones. Let's face it RB Ahman Green's best days are long past, and journeyman RB Ron Dayne doesn't scare anyone. Mendenhall would have been an excellent value, a 20-25 carry back that filled a pressing need. They did draft OT Duane Brown, who may very well turn out to be a solid pro, but most had Brown rated as a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Who knows what they were thinking when trading down, it could have turned out to be a smooth move if they had gotten Mendenhall or Otah, but I suspect things did not turn out the way they planned. And the extra third round pick the Texans netted just doesn't merit the gamble of what it cost them to move down.

MUSINGS:  If you factor in Kansas City doesn't have All-Pro caliber DE Jared Allen, does the acquisition of OL Branden Albert really make this a stellar draft for the Chiefs?  Despite getting DT Glenn Dorsey, who I really like, the Chiefs did not fare exceptionally well on the first day of the draft. 

I like the selection of RB Darren McFadden by the Raiders. Oakland had the most inept offense in the NFL last year, and needed something to spark the offense and take some of the spot light off young QB Russell - they did the right thing passing on Dorsey.

It looks like Cleveland may have got the better of Dallas by trading there 1st round pick last year after all... if the Cowboys had known they would be getting RB Felix Jones for what turned out to be QB Brady Quinn I doubt they would have made the trade.

4/21/08 Dale's 2008 NFL Mock Draft is in!

4/20/08 Kurt's 2008 NFL Mock Draft is in!

1/30/08 Dale checks in with his NFL championship Superbowl pick!

1/19/08 Dale checks in with his week 20 conference championship NFL picks!

1/10/08  We took a long hard look at the games this weekend and there is no doubt about -  the line value is on the dogs - across the board.  Our scorecasting models have all the dogs covering.  That said, my algo's don't take into account bye week preparations or injuries.  In my opinion the only coach in this group who could take significant advantage of the extra week of preparation is Belichick - and the line seems to already have been adjusted for that as we have the Patriots winning by 7-11 points.  The one play where the favorite will probably dominate is with Indianapolis 

Consider that the Chargers are without playmaker TE Antonio Gates (make no mistake about it - he will not deliver with a dislocated toe injury); while Indy is relatively healthy.  We're not fans of Norv Turner's strategic abilities as a head coach.  Taking into account the game day situation Indianapolis will likely dominate this contest and win by double digits.

In the other three contests this weekend, the bye week value appears to be overrated, and there is line value taking the points.  We're not big proponents of betting the spread; but we think at least 2 of the other three dogs will cover the number.  The most likely upset appears to be either Seattle or New York... still the home teams should advance.

Good luck - Football Forecasters.

1/10/08 Dale checks in with his week 19 division weekend NFL picks!

1/6/08  The College and NFL regular season is over, and the time to make hay is behind us.  During the playoffs the games are heavily bet, and in our opinion the pickings are generally leaner. That said there is a nice situation this Sunday with the Giants traveling and being without their starting center, Shaun O'Hara; who was injured in the NFL regular season finale.  Anytime you are playing on the road without your starting center it's a detriment.  In addition the Bucs have the Giants starting tackle from last year, Luke Petitgout on the roster (who has been out since early in the season with a knee injury).  Petitgout is familiar with the Giants schemes and players, you can bet coach Gruden has been picking his brain for two weeks.  The situation here heavily favors TAMPA BAY, and in our opinion calls for an A rated betting opportunity, in what will probably be our last A rated NFL pick of the football season. Bucs by double digits.

1/2/08 Dale checks in with his week 18 wildcard weekend NFL picks!

12/28/07 Big Al checks in from Florida, among other things he'll be watching the Michigan / Florida game. He likes Florida a little bit in that one, but not enough to make a wager... the line is about where it should be. The game Big Al likes as an A rated college bowl pick is GEORGIA. 

The last week of NFL action is always a little dicey to handicap. We're taking it easy this week, we do have an A rated NFL pick in the Member's Bulletin area, but it's one of those "this is the best game we see on the schedule this week" type of picks.

Regarding the biggest game of the week, if our arms were twisted and we had to take a side it would probably be New York and the points.

12/28/07 Dale checks in with his week 17 office pool NFL picks!

12/20/07 Dale checks in with his week 16 office pool NFL picks!

12/13/07 Dale checks in with his week 15 office pool NFL picks!

12/09/07 We welcome a strong early showing with our Sunday A play, BUFFALO, posting an early 21 point lead at the 12 minute mark of the 1st quarter.  We also like PITTSBURGH this afternoon as a team that should give New England a run for their money.

12/07/07 Dale checks in with his final stretch thoughts for the NFL playoff run.  This weekend we like both NY teams as potential upset plays.

12/06/07 Our football picks have been hanging around the .500 mark for the past 3 weeks... we think we have an A-rated NFL pick this Sunday, but the way it's been going for us recently be extra diligent practicing sound money management.

Dales week 14 office pool NFL picks are in!

11/29/07 With or without CB Charles Woodson the Pack match-up well to Dallas on both sides of the ball. This one ought to be close and there is line value with Green Bay.

11/29/07 Dales week 13 office pool NFL picks are in!

11/21/07 Dales week 12 office pool NFL picks are in!

We are going to take it relatively easy this Turkey Day, with one small two-team parlay on Arizona State (ML) and the Atlanta Falcons (+); Other than those two we don't see a lot of value in the other games. We do see some solid selections for the upcoming weekend, so check back early Friday morning for the Members picks.  Have a great Thanksgiving! 

11/16/07 We had two picks we liked this weekend as A+ caliber picks - we went with the College Saturday play as an A+ rated selection, but we feel almost as good about this  Sunday's NFL pick.  We finally decided that why mess with what's been working? (so we'll stick with making the college pick the A+ rated pick.)  It looks like a strong weekend of football picks. 

In the NFL be careful jumping on Cleveland, consider that they rank near the bottom of the league in rush defense and Baltimore is a run oriented team... there are better picks out there.

11/14/07 Dale's week 11 NFL office pool picks are in!

11/12/07 Monday Night - We kinda like Seattle tonight. The San Fran offensive line is a mess, Gore is not 100%, and the King Dome is not the place for an offensive line to get well. Don't see the Niner's getting their passing game going here. It looks like a double digit victory for the "Hawks; who may be better off with Morris at RB.

11/09/07 We have one A rated football pick in the Bulletin area, and 5 B rated picks altogether, including 3 we like as dogs to potentially outright win.  Check back tomorrow for the NFL picks.

11/08/07 Dale's week 10 office pool NFL picks are in!

11/04/07  (correction 11/6/07) The A rated football picks both came in for our Members, Illinois on Saturday, and the NFL pick, Dallas, cashed in on Sunday.  The Members B-rated picks went 44% on the weekend.

Monday Night: We're sitting this one out, but if we had to make a call it would be Baltimore and the points.

Check back no later than Thursday morning for Dale's NFL office pool picks.

Peace,

Football Forecasters.

11/01/07  Dale's week 9 office pool NFL picks are in!

10/31/07  Dale's Unobstructed View is in! Check out Dale's midway analysis of the NFL.  Dale will have his week 9 NFL office pool picks in tomorrow. 

The Members Bulletin A plays both went down last week (0-2).  The Washington Huskies just self destructed late in the 4th quarter... and in the NFL Chicago could only muster 7 points at home against the Detroit defense.  Over the weekend the B-rated plays won overall going 5-3, which culminated in a 50% weekend and helped keep the hurt on the bankroll minimal.  When we have a losing weekend we are upfront with our record (see 2007 past picks link above). 

We see several promising underdog picks this week, so be sure and check the Members area for the update on Friday morning.

10/26/07  A-rated NFL pick is in!  NFL underdog pick has been updated.  There are several "OVER" plays that look attractive to us this weekend.  We've looked in depth at the total passing yards, sacks, and int's in 4 games taking place this weekend:

Buffalo / NY Jets

Cleveland / St. Louis

Oakland / Tennessee

N.O. / San Fran

With weak pass rush potential from each team in these specific matchups we see potential for higher scoring games than average.

Have a great weekend,

Football Forecasters

10/25/07  The Member Bulletin football picks for Saturday have been updated. We also have one B-rated "also like" opinion on Friday - hell we'll just say that according to our scorecasting models Boise and Fresno State are evenly matched and the line value is with Fresno and the points at home.

10/24/07  Dales week 8 NFL office pool picks are in!

10/21/07  The A plays cashed in at a 66% clip, including A+ rated college football pick - Troy.  The A rated Sunday NFL pick - Detroit - never trailed.  There was a key defensive score for a TD and a 14 point turnaround by Baylor, or else Texas should have covered the large number.

The B-rated money line plays were a mixed bag on the weekend, Saturday's also likes rated picks took a beating.  Anybody can see the 2007 past picks logs by clicking on the link in the header above.  Check back Thursday morning for Dale's office pool picks, in the Members area on Friday for the A rated college football picks, and Saturday morning for the A rated NFL picks - including the free NFL upset pick in the free picks area.

Folks, if you are playing our football picks, and adhering to some form of responsible money management strategy, you are making serious money this year.

Peace, and see you next week.

Football Forecasters

10/19/07  We have identified an A+ rated college football pick this Saturday.  We also have an A rated NFL pick update; for a total of 3 A plays this weekend.  The A-plays have been cashing in at a 75% rate this year.  Please review the 2007 football picks linked above for our YTD record.  Our free upset NFL pick of the week has also been updated.

10/18/07  Dale checks in with his week 7 NFL office pool picks!   We have a strong slate of college football picks coming up this Saturday, with what looks like a strong A+ rated opinion. 

Thursday night - We kinda like South Florida here.  They cashed in as an A rated play for us in our Members Bulletin picks earlier this year.  This team is for real folks, and Rutgers is  not playing at the same level as they were last season.

10/14/07  We badly miscalled the Wisconsin ML play yesterday.  Other than that gross error on our part we were in every contest and flat out rolled with Oregon.

Sunday Update - We like Arizona at home laying under a TD. They can stop the run, and Warner can run the offense better than his understudy.  Carolina is struggling this year, and Carr is a punchy QB who's hurt.

10/12/07  We have two A-rated football picks in the Members Bulletin area (1 Saturday, and 1 on Sunday).  We also have four total B-rated money line picks posted for the weekend for our Members - including Washington this Sunday.  For just $35.00 for the season, it's worth checking out.  No A+ pick thus far this weekend. But our total play record is clipping along at 68% on the year.

10/11/07  Dale's big bad week 6 NFL office pool picks are in!

The Member's Bulletin "all play" football picks have been very very good, clipping along at 68% on the season.  We'll see if we can keep up the torrid pace this weekend. Check back tomorrow morning for the NCAA A-plays, and Saturday morning for the A-rated NFL pick.

10/10/07  Dale presents his Unobstructed View: NFL 1st quarter review. Commentary on NFL injuries, who's hot, what to expect coming up, and who will continue to slide.

Check back tomorrow for Dale's office pool NFL picks, and Friday morning for our Members Bulletin college football picks.

10/06/07  The NCAA A play, Penn State, is up 13-0 at halftime.  Both the B-rated "also like" money line plays, Wisconsin and Georgia are struggling.  If you "need" a Saturday evening winner we like Missouri at 4-5% of bankroll... or pair it with our A-rated NFL pick on a two-team parlay or teaser ticket at 1-2% of bankroll. 

10/06/07  The upset NFL pick has been updated to the free picks page.  We're scaling back our activity this week because we're just not seeing very many great match-up advantageous to exploit.

We have a Big 12 North B-rated "Also Like" update pick in the Members Bulletin area.

10/05/07  The Member's Bulletin has been updated with an A rated Saturday pick, and several B-rated "also like" opinions, including two upset call money line opinions.

Last week's B-rated upset money line NFL picks were 5 for 6, the only loss was San Francisco, the free NFL pick of the week.  Last weekend the A plays split at 2-2, and the B plays finished well in the money.

We'll review the NFL injury report and post the Sunday play by Saturday morning.

10/04/07  Dale's week 5 NFL office pool picks are in!

9/29/07  The NCAA Friday B-rated also like underdog pick, South Florida,  pulls the outright upset!  We've updated the Members Bulletin with a highly rated A+ college pick.

Our Members Bulletin opinions picks are a product of analyzing individual and unit-on-unit match-up advantages, understanding how the line is derived, and identifying those situations where there is a motivational or emotional edge, combined with a fundamental advantage on the field that can be exploited.  But that is only half the formula for sucess.  The other half is the ability to apply conservative and reasonable money management discipline to football betting. 

If you haven't done so yet please read the money management article linked at the top of this page.  I wrote the basis of this article several years ago, and have gratefully watched it's core premises propagate throughout the web.  (After all we do say right at the bottom of this site feel free to plagiarize our stuff as you like - our goal is to spread good football picks, and smart betting strategy - its our small way of contributing to humanity, by helping otherwise deviant football bettors become wiser in their wagering strategy.)

I've enjoyed success by adhering to a disciplined wagering formula of 4-5 percent of bankroll on any given play, which includes playing two teamer parlay tickets on the Money Line at 1-2% of bankroll.

A quick NFL observation on the Eagles and Donovan McNabb.  Be very careful playing Philadelphia. This is a talented team, but there appears to be dysfunction between McNabb and his number 1 receiver, Reggie Brown - McNabb's not even looking his way, let alone throwing him the ball.  In the media there were low blows thrown by both guys after their 0-2 start. This appears to be carrying over onto the field, and if it persists the season could deteriorate pretty quick for Philadelphia.  McNabb's the leader of the team, the onus is on him to suck it up and get Brown the ball.  Keep an eye on this situation, and if this schism continues our bet is NY outright wins this week.

We're ready to rock the house this weekend, good luck and play smart.

Football Forecasters

9/28/07  Check back Saturday morning for the Members NFL picks update. The NFL underdog pick of the week on our free NFL pick page has been updated.  This play has been cashing in at a SU winning percentage of 66% this year.

The Saturday games look a little tough this week, so we are scaling back our action to 2 college A plays. After a great week like we had last weekend it's tempting to over play a bankroll.  However, we're adhering to our recommended money management strategy linked at the top of this page, and limiting our SU action to 4% of bankroll, with 1 to 2% on two-team parlays.

9/26/07  Wednesday - Dale checks in with his week 4 straight up office pool picks!  Week 4 NFL picks.

9/24/07 Correction has been made: Thanks for the emails!  The A+ college football pick, Purdue, did win and cover the number, albeit barely.  The Saturday A plays went 3-3.  It was a great weekend over all, going 4-4 on the A plays for 100% across the board - Saturday football picks and NFL picks. The Saturday ML two teamers also cashed in on the Members Bulletin page. Big Al says to please temper your expectations for next week... as we'll tell you right now it's not going to be this way every weekend; and anybody who tells you they have 75-100% success every week with all their picks is full of it.  Just last weekend we went 2-5 overall - things have a way of evening out over the course of the season. A 58-66% winning ratio is realistic.

9/24/07  Saturdays A-play college football picks went 3 for 3; The A play NFL pick on Sunday, Pittsburgh, never trailed.  But the real pay-off were the money line upset picks, which went 3-4 on the weekend overall; including the free NFL upset pick of the week, the NY Giants.  Which made for a nice return on the two-teamer strategy we illustrated in the Member's Bulletin area. 

MONDAY NIGHT - We are happy to sit this one out.  New Orleans should prevail, but they've been playing poorly to start the season, and their backs are against the wall.  On the other side Tennessee has played above expectations, but they're traveling to a dome on prime time against a team that has something to prove.  We might see the "Philadelphia" effect here.

Check back Thursday morning for Dale's Office Pool NFL picks, again Friday morning for our college football picks, and Saturday for the Member's Bulletin NFL pick.

If you haven't told your friends about us tell them now.  In an effort to gain internet exposure we've lowered the subscription package to one low low season long access price.  We don't advertise, we don't affiliate with sportsbooks, we don't use pop-ups or spam email.  We rely on posting quality football picks and subsequent word of mouth - so please help by spreading the word about us on the web.  Remember, the free NFL upset money line pick of the week will be posted on the NFL free picks page throughout the season every Saturday morning.

Peace,

Football Forecaster's

9/22/07   I've received a few emails from readers who can't play the money line (ML) on two-teamers at their book, asking what they should do, how they should play the upset football picks we illustrated in the Members Bulletin area. Simple, if you can't play a two teamer then just play the dogs straight up at 2-3% of bankroll, or with the points at 4% of bankroll.  It just depends on your betting style and risk tolerance - but whatever you do be consistent. There is a good example of the lines at BetUs.com, where you can play every lined game on the ML, including two team ML parlays, or teased parlays.  IMO you guys that are using Bodog are getting screwed... that's a tough house to win at.  If anybody knows a book they would like to recommend shoot me an email and I'll look at for posting on this site - but there will be no hyper links or referrals.

In the NFL we did consider Arizona and Cincinnati as dog plays, but both those squads are starting back-up centers on the road, against great home teams; and that's a play we stay away from.  But if you really like a play don't let us talk you out of it. I think a strong case can be made for teasing Buffalo on a two teamer, with another pick, such as our upset NFL pick of the week.  I don't really like answering emails regarding picks, it's a no win situation. The picks on this site are the best picks we like on the board.

9/21/07   Free underdog NFL pick has also been updated.  There are a lot of dogs that look good to cover this week. That said we really strive to post an outright upset nfl pick in the free picks area.  Be sure and monitor the injury reports, as this year the Friday NFL injury reports have more significance than in years past; and there are some significant injuries on the offensive line for a couple traveling teams this week.

9/20/07   Dale's office pool week 3 NFL Picks are in!  We've updated the Members area with 3 A-rated college football picks, and 3 B-rated upset picks; with examples of a classic 2-team parlay betting strategy. Check back Friday evening for the NFL picks.

9/18/07   Dale checks in with his Unobstructed View.

9/17/07   MONDAY NIGHT - We don't like either side here very much, the line looks to be right where it should be.  If our arms were twisted we'd have to take Washington and the TD as our MNF NFL pick, we do think Philly will win at home.

9/16/07   Free NFL picks page has been updated.

9/13/07   Hey guys your pop-up blocker has to be OFF to subscribe!  Just allow pop-ups from our site, I assure there are no advertisements :)

9/14/07   Dale checks in with his week 2 NFL office pool picks!  Our NFL A play of the week has been updated to the Members Bulletin page.

9/12/07   We have our first A+ pick of the year posted in the Members Bulletin area, and it's a solid 5% of bankroll play - on the ML.  Part of our success is we know how the lines are determined, and thus know when there is value in a given line.  The vast majority are spot on, but this is a situation where the fundamental unit on unit match-up advantageous greatly favor the home team - in a rare instance where the wrong team is favored.  We have three  A-rated college football picks posted in the Members Bulletin for this Saturday's games.

THURSDAY - we kinda like Maryland to keep this one close... not strongly, but enough to warrant a little action on a low exposure (2% of bankroll) two team parlay.

We'll post our NFL pick of the week Thursday at midnight, along with Dale's NFL office pool picks.

The back door password has been disabled, so please use your personal assigned password when accessing the Members area.  Our webmaster appears to have all the major subscriber glitches fixed (Thanks Peter!).  So please let me know right away if you have ANY problems logging in.

Peace,

Football Forecasters

9/10/07   Sorry - we had more problems with the site this week, due to our late site host transfer, and couldn't get the Friday update in. The issues have been resolved, including the passcode issues, and things should be moving more smoothly from here on out.

Our Members Bulletin NFL pick A play, Houston, completely dominated - a good way to start the season.

Monday Night NFL Picks:  We don't like anything here particularly strongly.  If we had to jump on something here because our arms were twisted it would probably be San Francisco; they should do well on their home turf against a suspect Arizona run defense.

Check back mid-week for Dale's NFL office pool picks, and Friday for Big Al's favorite college picks.

Peace,

Football Forecasters

9/01/07   We have another NCAA update to the Members Bulletin - an A rated college pick.  We've also updated the free NFL underdog pick for opening weekend.  The Members Bulletin NFL A-plays for next weekend will be released this Saturday.

After the opening NFL weekend subscription goes to full price, so if your going to jump get it now.  We may not get Dale's NFL office pool picks, or fantasy perspective this week.  But after that he'll be back for the remainder of the season.

Dale checks in with his week 1 NFL office pool picks!

Kurt

8/31/07   Our opening picks both cashed in. Unfortunately some of you did not get the picks, or the backdoor passcode we sent out via email in time. We still have a glitch in the automated subscription system, and I am entering subscribers passwords into the database by hand.

If you would like to subscribe early to take advantage of the 25% off discount you still can, but please record the temporary passcode given when you subscribe, and use that till our webmaster technician gets the automated registration glitch fixed.  We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

I've received several emails regarding the technical problems, and inability to sign-up. I read them all, but cannot respond to everybody.  Those who subscribed to the early bird special in the spring & summer should have gotten an email with the backdoor password AND Thursday's picks. Those who want to subscribe now, under the terms outlayed above, the subscription script has been enabled.

We will post another Members Bulletin update with this weekends plays on 8/31/07 at 11:59pm EST.  The free NFL football pick (linked above) will be updated this weekend. Hopefully we'll get things ironed out and running smoothly within the next week, but if anyone wants their subscription money back, just send in an email with REFUND in the title, and I'll issue a no questions asked refund on the 12th of September.

Peace,

Kurt

8/29/07  Sorry recent subscribers - If you still cannot login I have your username (email address), please send me an email at: play2win at football forecasters dot com, and I will manually update your desired username to the database.

Damn, we just now got the Members Bulletin area working, the login script fixed, checked-out, and uploaded - and you guys are already signing up!  We do have a couple opinions in the Members Bulletin area.  I'll update some analysis at a later date.

We did run the Payment script through a sandbox and hopefully we have all the bugs fixed. There may be a small anomaly or two - so be sure and let us know via the "contact us" page if anyone runs into any problems or concerns.  We'll be fine tuning the scripts behind the scenes. 

Thanks Peter for coming in on short notice and fixing the site! 

Kurt 

8/13/07  The subscription payment is temporarily out of service.  Hopefully our webmaster will get this up and working soon. We will extend the early bird 2007 subscription price of $35.95 through to August. We will put up a big red sign when it's working - expectations are this weekend (but I thought that last week).

FREE NFL PICK OF THE WEEK:  I highly recommend KC Joyner's, The Football Scientist, NFL football book. I've purchased this tomb the past two years. It's almost two inches thick of raw football analysis of players and breakdowns of every NFL team. It's geared mostly towards fantasy football, but it's also a very good handicapping tool - and KC's information is something I actively refer to throughout the season.  KC breaks down individual tendencies to a depth I've not seen by anybody else.

8/11/07  Our NFL guru, Dale Sims, checks in with an in-depth look at the NFL quarterbacks.  Dale picks apart the quarterbacks who are on the cusp of greatness, or football mediocrity.

Also, Dale and I play in an ultra competitive keeper dynasty league. This year the site host is no longer hosting fantasy teams, and the league was moved to a new host. So there are 4 teams that need active owners, take a look and if you're interested shoot me an email and I'll set it up - first come first served. The annual league fee is one hundred dollars. kurt @ footballforecasters.com

The Members Bulletin page will be updated on August 26th with our first A-rated NFL pick of the season. We're locking in on the NFL opener with a couple solid looking betting picks. It looks like we'll have the new payment processing script configured by Monday morning.

Peace,

Football Forecasters

7/30/07  Our NFC West report is in.  Teams in the division have closed the talent gap on Seattle, who play on of the tougher schedules in the NFL. Still, our pick is the Seahawks to prevail in what could be one of the tougher division battles in the league.

7/2407  Our AFC West report is in.  The pick to win the division is San Diego, but if they stumble Denver could steal it away.  KC is our pick to land in the cellar - with or without LJ.

7/12/07  Our NFC South report is in.  We have identified a solid B-rated totals pick - and it's not the Saints. New Orleans appears to be a popular selection of NFL pre-season football magazines to make it the Superbowl. Hold onto your money and take a close look at those game schedules before placing any action on that bet.

7/04/07  Our AFC South report is in.  If Jacksonville can get a solid season from their QB they could push Indianapolis for the division title - but we're not betting on it. The football season is close upon us, and these days that means Indy will once again be in the thick of it.

6/30/07  Our NFC North report is in.  Look for Chicago to win the division, but it may not be as easy a road as last year.  Still, football glory has returned to the Bears, and our pick is their defense will keep them in the playoff hunt.

We've changed to a new web editor, and are working out the nuances, so some of the fonts are off - but we'll have it straightened out in the next few weeks. We're also updating our subscription program - so that the passcode scripts will be more reliable, and subscribers won't have to be a member at PayPal to subscribe to our A+ football picks(PayPal members will still have an easy subscription process).

6/23/07  Our AFC North report is in.  And we have a surprise division winner projected!  Forget about Pittsburgh or Baltimore, they will struggle just to make the playoffs. Our pick for the AFC North winner is the Cincinnati Bengals.

6/18/07  Our NFC East report is in, with team win / loss picks.  This NFL division appears ripe for an upset winner to come out of the wood work - any of these teams may turn their football season with a break here or there. The football picks in this division weren't easy.

6/08/07  Our AFC East report is in.  No surprises here, the NFL's New England Patriots have a stranglehold on the division. And with tougher schedules there may be improving teams in this division but have poorer records.

5/06/08  Several popular pundits are claiming you can't grade a football draft till 3 years after the picks were made. What a crock. The fact is coaches have a good idea how a player is going to work out after just a few months. In any case, hindsight is 20/20 but when the draft takes place everybody has access to the same information - and grades can indeed be given out for the picks based on a relative scale of what we know now.  With that in mind check out Dales 2007 NFL draft grades!

4/30/07 Dale's first round, 2007 post NFL draft  thoughts>>>

4/22/07 Kurt's 5th re-shuffle of his mock draft reflects the actual slots where he thinks the players will end up being slotted; however, any number of trades could occur....

4/8/07 Kurt's version 3 NFL mock draft has been updated with two full rounds & trades!

4/15/07  Dale presents his timely NFL draft thoughts  2007 NFL draft  >>>

4/7/07  Dale checks in with his off-season free agency analysis  2007 free agency  >>>

Dale's first crack at his 2007 NFL mock draft is in!  Dale's Mock Draft  >>>

Kurt's second version of his 2007 mock draft is in!  Kurt's Mock Draft  >>>

We don't accept advertising, nor do we affiliate with online gambling, betting sites or sportsbooks. Our football picks and betting opinions are thereby insulated from influence by third parties. Take a close look at other sites presenting football picks and you will find the majority are referral portals for online sportsbooks and casinos - who both profit off a bettor's losses!  

College Football Picks and NFL Picks

A+ rated football picks had a 64% winning percentage in 2006.  NFL football is the most wagered on of all the major sports. Thus, it is one of the hardest sports to handicap. We take great pride in consistently posting a 53-63% season winning percentage with our A rated Members Bulletin NFL picks - our A+ rated picks, including both college & NFL football picks, cashed in at a 64% clip - down a bit from previous seasons, but still a very high winning percentage.  We focus our picks on football - our interest, and passion is both NFL and college football. And frankly, we don't have the time (or desire) to research and track other sports.

College football actually presents a gold mine of betting opportunities for the knowledgeable bettor; our winning percentage with our college football picks is actually higher than our NFL picks!  This is partially because there typically are more college picks to choose from than in the NFL. Also, College football is more volatile, more emotional, and less scrutinized by the Vegas oddsmakers.

Free Football Picks 

The public loves to follow NFL football, so we lean to covering, analyzing and presenting NFL picks as our free football picks of the week - its what people want. Our free football NFL picks went 62%!  During the course of the football season we post 1 free NFL pick a week. Typically this will be our upset College or underdog NFL pick (a "moneyline" pick, sometimes it's a totals pick). There are typically more betting opportunities during the shorter college season (due to the higher number of college games every week); however, the vast majority of football betting occurs on the NFL, so we strive to emphasize the NFL on our free picks page. (Coming in 2007 we are looking at presenting 1 free college football pick and 1 free NFL pick weekly.)

NFL Picks  -  NFL Team Reports

We post our annual pre-season NFL team reports and division picks in August. In 2006 we went against the popular favorites and predicted the fall of the Bengals, and the rise of the Ravens (but we'll stop right there). We'll post our NFL team reports and NFL division picks on a weekly basis starting in July of 2007.

2007 NFL Mock Draft

We follow the NFL year round, and track off-season player acquisitions, and coaching changes throughout the NFL.  We know each teams weakness and needs; and post these with our mock draft every year. Look for our 2007 NFL mock draft around the 1st week of April. The 2007 NFL mock draft is in.

Feature articles by Football Forecasters:

War in the trenches:

6/27/06 - Dale checks in with part 4 of 4 on his NFL Lineman series. The last installment from Dale's interview with Colt's Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday.

The basics of blocking:

6/20/06 - Dale checks in with part 3 of 4 on his NFL Lineman series. Based in part on Dale's interview with Indianapolis Colt's Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday.

The key to any offensive scheme is the strength of the offensive line:

6/13/06 - Dale checks in with part 2 of 4 on his NFL Lineman series.

The key to any backfield is the strength of the offensive line:

6/10/06 -  Dale Sims checks in with part 1 of his NFL Lineman series. We would like to thank Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday for his interview time, and insightful views of what it takes to man the line. This is part 1 of a 4 part series Dale is presenting on the intricacies of offensive line play in the NFL.

Kurt Schumacher sends his AP top 25 ranked College football picks and NFL picks to our local newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, every week for print in the pigskin prophets football picks column. However the selected opinions (the "cherries" so to speak) we put up on this site are the official football picks for record keeping purposes at TrackPicks.com. 

A+ NFL Football Picks

We present our best of the best football pick of the week in this members area football picks bulletin page. Typically there will be two football picks, sometimes there may not be a pick. No promises... no guarantees (if you need a 10 star guarantee there are plenty of other sites that offer em). We'll post a comprehensive analysis of what we like about best College football picks and NFL picks of the week. 

Welcome to Free NFL Picks and College Football Picks by Football Forecasters. Two football fanatics, but otherwise normal guys, presenting FREE College football picks & NFL picks opinions against the Vegas betting line. We claim that our free football picks are superior to the vast majority of "Insider" football picks found elsewhere on the web. All of our College football picks and NFL picks are independently produced. Allen and I strive to present a page free of corporate influences, no pop-ups, link traps, e-mail address harvesting, cookie trackers, or data-mining of any sort. It's just you and us - and the man. 

Peace,

Football Forecasters