10 Questions to Ponder as the season begins tonight

Are we just Matt’s playthings? Maybe Chris knew something was wrong with Kelce? Which team is worse: Ron's or Blayze's?

The Tirades waved goodbye to Cooper Kupp just minutes into his first appearance for his new team last season. As of this week, he's still not healthy. And yes, Tirades management is kicking itself for not protecting Pat Mahomes instead. It's one of several reasons why they will likely be drafting first next season.

The season has finally arrived, boys. The Kansas City Chiefs will raise their Super Bowl banner tonight and the NFL season will kickoff with the Detroit Lions visiting loud and raucous GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

As the NFL season gets underway this week with a full slate of games, it is time to take a look at Week 1 of the JSFL landscape and try to answer 10 burning questions that have been troubling the “JSFL Today” staff for weeks now. And, it is time to get our first look at the Week 1 odds (like there is any chance of these predictions coming out right).

Before we get to the betting lines and previews for Week 1, let’s first take a look at some of those burning questions.

1. Will Blayze go oh-for-2023? He opens the season as a 4-point dog to the newbie, Jordan, and his newly named “CPU1.” The gauntlet of fire does not go down as the Blazing Saddles then take on the defending champ Spread Beaters, the Invaiders, the Recliners and then the Rangers before starting division play. It could be a long, long year.

2. Who will be the first stud to go down with an injury? We might already have our first early-round casualties as both Cooper Kupp (Tirades keeper, bum ankle) and Travis Kelce (Recliners’ first pick, knee) are both on the south side of the questionable tags in Week 1. No one can guess who might go down this weekend. We just hope it is all of Bob’s guys.

3. Was Chris clairvoyant when he took two tight ends with his first four picks? We were all scratching our heads when he took Darren Waller two rounds after taking Kelce. With Kelce likely sidelined this week, Waller steps into the breech and tries to stop the bleeding against the Tirades.

4. Can the Draft Day gambles on sidelined players pan out? Blayze protected Jonathan Taylor and may not win this year. Ron gambled on Kupp and may only miss a game or two. Young guns Breece Hall and Jaxson Smith-NjigIba were both taken by the Rangers, and Alvin Kamara by the Invaiders. Other drafted stars expected to miss time were Jerry Jeudy (Spreadbeaters) and Terry McLaurin (Packers).

5. Which team will be the first to bag the season and start a fire sale for 2024 draft picks? It is still 50/50 odds on the Invaider owner just doing it for old-time’s sake. The frontrunner for an early exit this season is Blayze, followed by Ron. At least that is what ESPN thinks as the Saddles and Tirades are currently picked to finish last and 9th, respectfully. The Recliners are picked for 8th, the Gerbils 7th, the rookie 6th and the Rangers 5th; leaving the Spreadbeaters, Packers, Invaiders and Band Aids to fight in the playoffs. Why play the rest of the season?

6. Will Bijan Robinson live up to the preseason hype? Bob sure hopes so and rolled all in with his first pick on the Atlanta Falcon rookie from Texas.

7. Was the early run on quarterbacks going to be worth the draft capital? Bob (Patrick Mahomes), John (Jalen Hurts) and Jeff (Josh Allen) went all-in early on the three best QBs on the draft board. The Gerbils (Joe Burrow) made some heads shake by passing on Hurts and Allen to take the Bengals Bomber. And it is not like the dude was from USC.

8. Will the “rookie” wither under the pressure of running his own team? Jordan takes over the franchise previously run by Huey. He has three stalwart building blocks to screw up with – his keeper Nick Chubb, Christian McCaffrey and the Chargers quarterback. He gets a first-week “bye” with the Blazing Saddles. He continues his run through the Crap Talkers with the Packers in Week 2, before starting division play against the Spreadbeaters in Week 3 and the Invaiders in Week 4.

9. Who will be the first boneheaded drop of the season? Even money still has the Invaiders in the queue for this one, but we are holding out hope the “rookie” does something really dumb.

10. Are we just Matt’s playthings? It does not matter where he drafts or who he drafts. He will be a pain to beat because no one else can beat him to the punch on the 10 a.m. waiver claim on that week’s hot “must-have” player. The team he has now is a far cry from what it will be in, say, 5 weeks. Pound away early on him, boys. We may not have the chance later this season.

Band Aids (-4) vs. Invaiders: This line has not moved since Draft Day, and it is the highest-scoring (projected by ESPN) matchup on the board this week. These guys don’t like the look, smell or sound of the other. The Band Aids have the betting edge and Bob looks to have the advantage at QB (Mahomes), second RB (Kenneth Walker II), TE (Mark Andrews), Flex (Miles Sanders) and K (Justin Tucker). The Invaider WRs (Garrett Wilson and CeeDee Lamb) have the projected edge. This one will get off to a roaring start tonight as Mahomes and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown take the field, and Lions rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs counters for the Invaiders. Take the Band Aids and 4.

Spreadbeaters (-11) vs. Gerbils: The line opens on this one at 11 points for the Spreadbeaters. And, they have projected edges at every position except QB (Burrow for Chuck) and Flex (James Conner for Chuck and Chris Olave for Matt). Take the 11 and bet the house on the Beaters.

Packers (-7) vs. Rangers: We have way too many Lamberts in this league now. Two of them, Jeff and John, square off in this one. The scoring advantage is leaning Jeff’s way at every position except QB (Hurts for John), lead RB (Josh Jacobs for John) and WR1 (Justin Jefferson for John). The depth of the Pack wins out. Take the Pack and 5.

CPU1 (-4) vs. Saddles: Aside from might be the worst JSFL team name in league history, the line on this one is a lot closer than we expected, and it is the lowest scoring total on the board. The Big Three for Jordan's poorly-named bunch (Herbert, Chubb and McCaffrey) will like score the bulk of CPU1’s points and that might be all he needs. Blayze has an interesting cast of has-beens and used-to-bes dotting his starting lineup. He could lose by an eyelash, or lose by 30. Take CPU1. By 3.

Recliners (-8) vs. Tirades: This line might continue to move through the weekend. Yesterday, it was a 13-point edge before the news of Kelce’s injury. Chris has benched Kelce as a starter with his projected 12 points as of this writing and Waller is his default TE. The current option at flex is RB Dalvin Cook (former Tirades standout). Ron has benched Cupp any may still have one more lineup decision to make Sunday as rumors are out that WR Christian Watson may not be ready for Week 1 as a starter in Green Bay. Ron can still swap in 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk (projected for 5 points) or Buffalo’s Gabe Davis (projected for 6). Whoever starts, take the Recliners but this one might be a nailbiter.