Week 4: On the Road Again

In Denver's high altitude, Chip Kelly might need to slow
down his offense or else he might see his star players pass out.

Week 4 is here and ready to go! I cannot believe it has only been three weeks of football so far. So much has happened already. Terrelle Pryor is the face of a franchise, Josh Freeman is all but out of Tampa Bay, and Chip Kelly's offense has already been figured out by NFL defenses.

This week is filled with evenly matched teams. The good teams are all playing each other, while the struggling teams matchup against one another in hopes of keeping their seasons alive. This makes our job harder predicting games, but it should lead to some exciting fourth quarters this week, which is sorely needed after last week's round of epic beatdowns (I'm looking at you Giants).

Here's what we've got for you this week:

Week 3: Mismatch City

SPOILER ALERT: The Seahawks-Jags game is the mismatch
of the week, something both SOBs can agree upon.

Welcome to Week 3 of the NFL! One week after Stally and I disagreed on more games than every, we are back to being pretty much on the same track with this week's matchups.

This week might have a lot of mismatches talent-wise, but never underestimate what a team will do to avoid going 0-3. We have two matchups with 0-2 teams, Giants-Panthers and Vikings-Browns, so look to see some desperation plays coming in those games. The Bucs and Steelers are both teams with playoff aspirations, yet they will have an uphill battle to avoid the 0-3 start against two undefeated teams (the Patriots and the Bears respectively).

Either way, it is always exciting, so sit down, relax and enjoy the games..... and our analysis.

Week 2: Readjusting Expectations

The Eagles offense took flight in Week 1. (Getty)

Week 1 Recap

We'll try to keep score as we go this year.  There wasn't a whole lot that we learned in Week 1.  It seemed like maybe the OXen were off on the NFC South, as Stally missed on his pick of Atlanta over New Orleans and Austen completely botched the Bucs over the Jets (his six point pick).

It's also likely that the football power has shifted sides in Pennsylvania.  Austen missed on a pick for Pittsburgh and a pick against Philadelphia.  The teams looked opposite of how they did last year with the Eagles looking like they could be in contention, and the Steelers looking like they might just stink.

On the week, Austen's missed picks cost him dearly as he gave Stally three upset wins worth 15 points, and Stally won the week 51-26.

Week 1: The Season Kicks Off

CJ Spiller will need to run for about 250 yards for the Bills
to have a chance against the Patriots. (Sports Illustrated)

We just finished posting our season picks, so there's not a whole lot of banter to cover that wasn't in there.

In general, Week One poses to be a difficult one to predict as we're not quite sure where all these teams stand, and many of the games take place between teams that were similarly matched in 2012.

For those new to the system: we divy up the games based on confidence.  We start with an important eight points and move our way down to the lesser confidence by ending with just a single point.  Whomever earns the most points wins the week and the key is that whichever games you pick wrong, the other OXen collects the points.

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
New England over @Buffalo

Austen: Pats good, Bills bad --- so says caveman Austen.

Stally: This was clearly the easiest pick of the week.

The Stubborn OXen Kick Off Season 3

In an effort to stick with tradition, the New England
Patriots go first again! (Washington Post)

Hi Fans,

It's Stally, and Austen and I are ready to kickoff Season 3 of the Stubborn OXen blog.  The two of us haven't been very good at keeping score, but I can only assume that I've won both seasons.  (It must be that Patriots dominate Jets confidence.)  We have made a commitment to try and score the past two seasons when we take a week long vacation together to visit some fellow OXen in California and attend a few of our alma mater's games (which they probably won't win).

Austen and I did our season draft over the phone on Thursday night.  It being Season 3 with both of us having had first overall picks the past two seasons, we decided to go with a coin flip, especially since we honestly can't really project who won last year (it had become apparent late in Season 1 that I had won, even once we stopped keeping score).

Being single, I selected "tails" on the coin flip.  "I could use some tail," I joked with Austen in frat boy fashion.  Winner!  I select first.

Enjoy the season!
Stally (and Austen)