Each week, the great minds behind numberFire will give you some answers to the big questions of the weekend. And how shall we publicly shame Sean for missing the deadline to submit his picks last week? Find out all that and more below.
Game of the Week Pick: Atlanta at San Diego. Who you got?
Keith Goldner, Chief Analyst: San Diego. Should be a close (and high-scoring game) but I'll take the Chargers at home, unless Norv Turner can find a way to mess it up.
Nik Bonaddio, CEO: San Diego. Never trust teams going on the road across the country.
Michael Worthington, CTO: I love San Diego.. the city. Still not sold yet on the Chargers. I've bought into too much Matt Ryan hype to even consider Atlanta won't be able to drive down the field more than the Chargers. Should be a solid game, but I have to take the Falcons.
Sean Weinstock, COO: Tough call! I think this is overall a really well balanced game. I have to go with San Diego. Rivers has got things rolling back together this year, and they're at home. Really no better reasoning than that on my part.
Zach Warren, Editor: I know San Diego is favored, but I'm going to go Atlanta here. I really like what I see from their offense so far this year, and I have the utmost faith in Norv Turner to not go 3-0.
GotW Records: Sean: 1-0, Keith, Nik and Zach: 1-1, Michael: 0-2
Which game this week is your upset special?
Keith: Patriots over the Ravens. Don't see Belichick losing consecutive games (as he rarely does)
Nik: Patriots. Brady and corps are going to be embarrassed by the way they played against Arizona and they'll take it out on the Ravens, who fall to 1-2 in the super competitive AFC North.
Michael: Miami's Reggie Bush has a repeat performance and all the excitement of the Week 1 Jets diminishes. Miami over New York.
Sean: I like Miami, New England, and Arizona this week. Miami mainly because of Hard Knocks and the SWAG they showed there. New England because the line's pretty much even. Baltimore's only getting the 3 point bump because they're at home, and I try not to bet against Man Uggz, or Muggz, when I don't have to. Although, Ray Ray...he wants to hurt people. Arizona because Kevin Kolb might be angry - angry at the Eagles for giving up on him, angry at the Cardinals for giving up on him, angry at his mom for giving up on him...too far? (Ed. Note: I'm counting Miami for the records because that's the first one he chose.)
Zach: I rode the Miami train last week, but I'm hopping off for now. I'm taking the Bengals over the Redskins; RGIII's magic can only go so far.
Upset Special Records: Keith: 2-0, Sean: 1-0, Nik, Michael, and Zach: 1-1
Who is more likely to win again: the Seahawks or the Rams?
Keith: Rams. Seahawks won't beat the Packers on Monday Night.
Nik: Rams. They're a much better team than you think.
Michael: The Seahawks have a tough week against Green Bay. Edge has to go to the Rams by default.
Sean: I think the Rams are underrated, and Chicago has underwhelmed me. Seattle's playing Green Bay, and even though everyone loves this "12th Man" idea, there's no way the anime cartoon jersey'd warriors beat Green Bay this weekend.
Zach: Bradford to Amendola all day! I think both are going to lose, but the Rams have a better shot of it than the Seahawks. That Rams defense didn't buckle under the pressure too badly against solid Detroit and Washington offenses the first two weeks.
Who are you picking for a survivor pool this week?
Keith: Dallas (disgusts me to say).
Nik: I'm 0-2, so maybe I'm shouldn't guess at all. If I had to choose, I'll take the resurgent Bills over the Browns.
Michael: First of all, damn you New England! Now that's out of my system. I like Pitt over Oakland.
Sean: I'm going to go with the Steelers this week. They're good enough to beat the Raiders, but I'm not sure how many more easy games they're really going to have this year. Want to wade everyone else out for how good they'll be before picking them up in a week.
Zach: If I was still actually in a pool (thanks Patriots!), I would start thinking long-term now with most people knocked out. You're not going to have many better chances to pick Dallas, and all other teams are going to have better matchups down the road. My Cowboys over the Bucs.
Survivor Records: Sean: 1-0, Michael and Zach: 1-1, Keith and Nik: 0-2.
Who will be the best currently under-the-radar fantasy player this week?
Keith: Malcom Floyd. Not totally under the radar but I think he's a definite WR2 this week.
Nik: I would have said Andre Brown, but instead I'll take Jonathan Dwyer, who looks to be the best option in Pittsburgh against a weak Oakland defense.
Michael: Daryl Richardson could be seeing a lot of carries this week due to Steven Jackson's groin injury ... and otherwise lack of being able to find the endzone while failing to run more than 58 yards a game.
Sean: Alex Smith? Is he under the radar still having thrown 4 TDs so far?
Zach: Mentioned him in my deep sleepers article, but watch out for Mohamed Massaquoi against the Bills. #1 receiver for a rejuvenated Brandon Weeden against a weak secondary.
Last week's top under-the-radar pick: Thought I had it wrapped up with Danny Amendola, but Nik correctly predicting Reggie Bush to break out gets the nod.