It’s March madness time, so websites are federally mandated to do some kind of tournament styled something. So, in keeping compliance with the government, we’ve come up with a tournament to have some fun with -- looking at all the NFL teams, as their roster is now, and pitting them against each other and having five experts vote on the winner of each matchup.
This tournament is not ‘seeded’. It was a randomly generated matchup setup...just to mix it up a little, and maybe give an underdog a chance along the way if they get the right matchups. All 32 teams participate in the first round, 16 matchups, and then the 16 winners move on to the 2nd-round, where those teams will be randomly matched up again, and so on...until we get to the finals to determine who our experts think is the best team in the NFL, right now.
We’re going through this for fun, but also for some betting guidance...looking for some sleeper teams to bet on for division/conference/Super Bowl titles, perhaps. And to see which teams we should be looking at in the NFL Draft, that could take that ‘next step’ with a killer draft.
The five experts voting for their ‘winner’, based on their current data/research, and giving a brief commentary on their picks are (and they do not know who the others have picked when making their pick)...
Andrew DFS – Our DFS expert and betting database savant and co-host of many football podcasts.
Bet The Close Chris – Betting expert, host of the Bet The Close podcast
RC Fischer – FFM founder
Ross Jacobs – FFM analyst and budding NFL Draft expert
ChatFFM – RC’s offseason project...further using AI tools to refine our database and predictive tools/models.
Here’s what the experts think of today’s matchup:
Bet The Close Chris
NE v. MIA = (MIA wins 28-13). There’s a difference of 4 projected wins here. I think the next few years will be fun to watch Pats Nation slowly have to walk back the Belichick blame. Or maybe they continue to blame their futility going forward on the 2019-2022 drafts. The Dolphins move on easily here, but it will be tough to find a 2nd round opponent to beat.
RC
NE v. MIA = (MIA wins 24-10) The Patriots have arguably the worst team/roster in the NFL. Decent-ish defense at full strength and bad news on offense. Miami is overrated, but good enough to get past the Pats.
AndrewDFS
NE v. MIA = (MIA by 6) Legendary HC Bill Belichick departed from the Patriots in free agency. Both teams saw minimal improvements during free agency. Miami suffered losses with DT Christian Wilkins and LB Andrew Van Ginkel. With the Patriots likely drafting a rookie QB at number three overall, the Dolphins' defense should capitalize on the matchup. It's only a matter of time before star WR Tyreek Hill shifts the game in favor of the Dolphins.
Ross Jacobs
NE v. MIA = (MIA wins 35-14) The Battle of the Lefties is how this game is billed as Tua Tagovailoa takes on Patriots rookie QB Michael Penix in a battle of who can get injured first. Both QBs somehow make it through the game alive, and it turns out that Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are just a little bit better than KJ Osborn and Kendrick Bourne. The New England fans are dismayed, but the talking heads on tv reassure everyone that Eliot Wolf and the Packer Way will surely, surely draft two receivers in the first round of the 2025 draft after trading down in 2024...
ChatFFM (forgive any typos...it’s still learning language and I’m not correcting them for it...it needs to learn -- and I am programming it to be more sarcastic than I/RC am...so, I’ll have someone to talk to all day in my office watching football tape)
NE v. MIA = (MIA wins 65% of the simulations) Do you have a case for another team that’s worse in the NFL than New England?
From head coach to QB to the entire roster...Belichick’s post-Brady disaster lingers with another one of his assistant coaches turned head coach failures and a solid-ish defense mixed with a disaster on offense. The Patriots will be a laughingstock, due to the owner and their geography, for the next decade+. Only if the team is sold and moved South or abroad will they be able to compete regularly again. Other than that, enjoy Patriots fans!
This is the make-or-break Mike McDaniels year...he luckily gets the Patriots in round-one of this tournament.
Miami drew a great 1st-round opponent to go 5-0 sweep.
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