Neural networks made easy


If you’ve dug into any articles on artificial intelligence, you’ve almost certainly run into the term “neural network.” Modeled loosely on the human brain, artificial neural networks enable computers to adapt.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/13/neural-networks-made-easy/

Four Amazing Win-Loss Total OVER Wagers for NFL 2017

With training camp and the NFL preseason just a few weeks away surely you’re already gearing up to root for your favorite team.

It’s also more than likely that you’re certain of your team’s win-loss record for the season.

You’re not alone. Most sportsbooks have released their futures odds for NFL football betting and as expected there are some clear favorites.

But, which team will make it to Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minnesota?

Will the Falcons or Patriots make it back to the big game? Or is there another team that will surprise?

To be certain, it’s impossible to predict the future. And, these predictions will likely be more wrong than right.

But, that doesn’t mean we can’t count on a few relevant factors:

It’s likely the Patriots, Steelers and Packers will all have at least 12 wins this season. It’d be hard to argue that these organizations are among the best in the league and they’ll likely do well in their weak divisions.

The Chiefs, Cowboys, Giants, and Raiders might also have at least 12 wins, but because the NFC East plays the AFC West this year it means they’ll be locking horns throughout the entire season and that has to be taxing.

As far as the AFC South and NFC South teams are concerned, they’re pretty much even and might have some surprises in store for us all.

Anyhow, here are some predictions for the 2017 NFL season:

New England Patriots OVER 12.5

The Patriots have lost just about three times per season in their last seven years. That’s including three trips to the big game and two championship rings.

So long as nothing happens to Brady, fans can count they’ll be good for at least 12 wins. They have a difficult test in Week 10 against the Broncos and then the following week against the Raiders in Mexico City, but if they can get past those two games they’ll be fine.

Pittsburgh Steelers OVER 10.5

The Steelers offense is among the best in the league with their deadly trio of Roethlisberger, Bell and Brown.

If Bell can stay healthy all season, they should breeze through the first five games. Their big test comes in Week 15 when they face the Patriots, but by that time they should have already accrued many more wins than the line is at right now.

Oakland Raiders OVER 9.5

Should Derek Carr heal well from his leg injury, the Raiders should be good for at least 11 wins. Three of their first four games are on the road, which will be difficult for them to win, but they should pull through with at least two wins. They also have a difficult game against the Chiefs in Week 7, but if Carr plays well they’ll get through it.

Denver Broncos OVER 8.5

If Trevor Siemian can be consistent, the Broncos are good for at least 11. But, if he plays as he did in the second half of last year’s season it’ll be a short year for the Broncos. They have a trap game in Week 9 versus the Eagles, with a game against Kansas City the previous week and one against the Patriots in the following week. But they’ll pull through.

FF-Winners.com Releases 3 Players to Avoid Like the Plague in 2017!

The 2017 NFL Season is just around the corner as mandatory team activities are set to get underway. While teams around the NFL get prepared for their 2017 NFL Schedule fantasy football owners are busy at work as well. This work includes building draft boards for their fantasy football drafts later this season as well as for the upcoming daily fantasy football campaign.

For us we are turning our attention today to our 3 fantasy busts for the NFL 2017 fantasy football season. Much like most seasons some of the games top fantasy options enter the season coming off big time fantasy season campaigns as well as historical accomplishments. This opens up the door for these players not only to be ranked near the top on sites like Fantasy Pros but also means fantasy football owners will draft them higher making them a bigger gamble.

Over the years we have seen many different stars take a big time step back including Shaun Alexander and Calvin Johnson after record breaking seasons. With that said here are our tops 3 Fantasy Busts for NFL 2017 season.

Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers

For Gordon he benefits from a solid offense that likes to move the ball through the air forcing defenses to play off the line while also opening up red zone scoring chances. For us while we like Gordon at the position he currently ranks 9th overall fantasy football option based on the rankings at Fantasy Pros. Now looking a little deeper Gordon wore out as the season slowed down failing to top the 100 yard mark in three straight games before getting knocked out after just three attempts to end his season on December 11th. Along with being a great option early, Gordon has missed a total of 5 games over the past two seasons.

LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills

McCoy has been one of the better fantasy running back options for most of his NFL career but that could be changing as he enters his ninth season in the NFL. Much like Gordon, we like McCoy as a 3rd/4th round pick but ranking in the top 10 might be a big time reach. McCoy and the Bills will move in a new direction this season with Rick Dennison calling the offensive plays and it could change the flow of their offense. Along with the change the biggest concern for the Bills will be behind center where they may lack production forcing teams to focus on slowing down the running game.

Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins

We won’t back away and say tha Ajayi had a solid season in 2016 and one that many daily fantasy football owners shined with during his three break out games. With that said 624 of his 1272 yards came in three games. Outside of those three games, Ajayi topped the 100 yard mark one other time while failing to reach 70 yards in nine contests. In the end the reality of putting together three more 200 yard games in one season is almost impossible we could see Ajayi fail to reach the 100 yard mark.

Other Top NFL Fantasy Busts for the upcoming 2017 NFL Season could include Jordan Howard, Mike Evans and Kirk Cousins.

FF-Winners.com Reveals Top 3 Steals for 2017 Fantasy Season!

The preparation time has begun for teams around the NFL while fantasy football owners get set to get back to work as well. As we get set for the upcoming fantasy football season we will continue to take a look around the NFL after already taking a look at our Top 3 NFL Fantasy Busts for the 2017 NFL Season.

Today we will turn our attention to our Top 3 NFL Fantasy Bargains for the 2017 NFL Season. Now each season we see that one person that takes the big step forward while rewarding their fantasy football owner that took the risk on them while performing well above what is expected of them of a player picked in that round.

One of those players last season was Mike Wallace for the Baltimore Ravens who many experts left off their draft board. While Wallace slowed down the stretch he still finished the season with 72 catches for 1,017 yards to go with four touchdowns. Along with Wallace we also saw Kirk Cousins jump into a top 5 fantasy quarterback while Michael Thomas and Travis Kelce became prime fantasy threats week in and out.

With all that said here is our Top 3 NFL Fantasy Bargains for the 2017 NFL Season.

Breshad Perriman, Baltimore Ravens RB

After missing his entire rookie campaign in 2015, Perriman slowly became involved in the Ravens passing attack last season. Now as many voluntary workouts are in the books all the rave out of the Ravens camp is how good Perriman has looked this season in his route running, speed and his ability to catch everything in his way. Add that with the fact there is no more Steve Smith and Dennis Pitta for Joe Flacco to check down to someone will need to pick up this slack. While this might change with an addition of someone like Eric Decker or Jeremy Maclin, he currently is one of those players we will be looking at during our drafts.

Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams  WR

For some the rookie pool is one they love to tap into as many fall but for others they look to stay with an option that has put up the production. For us we love Kupp this season as he looks to become a key piece of a young Rams offense. Kupp brings speed, solid size and his ability to find the end zone to a Rams team that lacked a ton of play makers on offense. While the question mark will still be with this teams offense we expect the Rams will work Kupp into the mix while giving Jared Goff a weapon to throw to.

Cordarrelle Patterson, Oakland Raiders WR

Our biggest fantasy bargain of the year will come out west as we love the addition of Patterson to an already explosive Raiders offense. While Patterson had his ups and downs we expect the Raiders to use him as a more protypical wide receiver while teaming him up with Amari Cooper. While Patterson is a late tier draft pick we like him as a flyer and someone who could turn out a big time season for you.

Other Top NFL Fantasy Bargains for the upcoming 2017 NFL Season could include Benjamin Watson, Tyrod Taylor and Paul Perkins.

FF-Winners.Com Releases 5 Shocking Predictions for the Coming NFL Season

The Cincinnati Bengals  Win the AFC North: We absolutely loved the Bengals draft class, they got two future stars in WR John Ross and RB Joe Mixon. The Bengals relied heavily on WR A.J. green early in the season and had no one step up when Green got injured late in the season. The Bengals went 6-9-1 last year basically relying on Green, a non-existent ground game and defense. Ross will take pressure off Green as he is a true deep threat that will force the defense to account for him. He can also take a slant or screen and use his blazing speed and quickness to score from anywhere on the field. Mixon would have been a top 15 pick if he had not punched a woman in 2014, he has kept his nose clean for 3 years and the Bengals took a chance on him. He was the 2nd best RB in the draft in our opinion behind Dalvin Cook as he is explosive, powerful and has great hands out of the backfield. The Bengals will bounce back and win the AFC North with a healthy Green, and two new stars to help him.

The Indianapolis Colts  Fail to Win the AFC South Again: The Colts drafted the best coverage safety in the draft in Malik Hooker, and also got a solid cover CB in Quincy Wilson to help their weak secondary, but they once again failed to upgrade their most pressing need. The Colts offensive line is a disaster and they still have not made the proper effort to upgrade it. Andrew Luck is overrated and a mediocre system QB  but not even Tom Brady could be successful with that offensive line. The combination of Luck’s mediocrity, the lack of run game and a horrible offensive line will result in yet another failed division crown. The Colts may even miss the playoffs because the Houston Texans drafted QB Deshaun Watson and the Tennessee Titans are on the rise. The Colts will once again fail to win the weakest division in professional football.

The New England Patriots  Win Yet Another Super Bowl:

The Patriots won the off-season, there is no question about that. They signed WR deep threat Brandon Cooks from the New Orleans Saints and signed shutdown CB Stephon Gilmore and power RB Mike Gillislee from the Buffalo Bills. They also drafted a solid edge rusher in Derek Rivers in the 3rd round. The Patriots are the overwhelming favorites to win it all again next year, and they will. The AFC is not as strong as the NFC and the only real challengers we see the Patriots having are the Oakland Raiders with a healthy Derek Carr and then probably the Pittsburgh Steelers as they are always dangerous in the postseason. The Patriots just came back down 25 at halftime to the red hot Atlanta Falcons and stunned the entire world to cap the most improbable super bowl victory last year. They actually improved this off-season with their first real deep threat since Randy Moss and a great CB to help their secondary. The Patriots will repeat as super bowl champs this year.

The New York Giants  Have The Best WR Corps:

The New York Giants will give opposing secondary’s nightmares as they already have one of the best three WRs in the NFL in Odell Beckham Jr. and a rising star in the slot in 2nd year Sterling Sheppard. They also added veteran WR Brandon Marshall, and with those three alone they would be one of the best WR corps in the NFL. Most people believed it could not get any better for QB Eli Manning, but that was before the 2017 NFL Draft. They got a steal with the 23rd pick in hybrid TE/WR Evan Engram, who is 6’3″ 215 Ibs and runs a 4.42 40 time. Engram will be a matchup nightmare for LBs and safeties, and then defenses will be scrambling to try and figure out who to cover and who to double. Marshall and Beckham both are stars and Sheppard and Engram are matchup problems down the seam and over the middle. Eli Manning will light up opposing defenses with all his new weapons and the Giants will win games because of the best WR corps in the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys Do Not Win 10 Games :

The Dallas Cowboys shocked everyone by winning 13 games with two major rookie contributors last year with QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekiel Elliott. What people forget is that they were 4-12 the previous season so they played a weak schedule. This season the Cowboys will play a first place schedule which will be much tougher, plus the division rival New York Giants will be a lot better and more explosive. The Cowboys must travel to the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and the Oakland Raiders as well as play the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks at home. All of these games are potential losses especially because the Cowboys did not give their defense much help. They drafted DE Taco Charlton in the first round but passed on stud MLB Reuben Foster who was a top 5 talent in this class. Teams will have an entire off-season to plan for Dak Prescott, and if we add that to the fact that they play a much tougher schedule as well as did not upgrade their defense, the Dallas Cowboys will fail to win 10 plus games this year.

The Raiders Touch Down in Sin City! Las Vegas Awaits Arrival of The Raider Nation

The Raiders are on the move again! This time from their home in Oakland to shiny Las Vegas. This move isn’t their first move away from their home base and is supposedly not their last. But for all it’s worth, it did make a huge number of fans thrilled with the move, albeit some others are disappointed.
If you belong to the latter category of NFL fans, then don’t worry we have something to cheer you up! When you plan a Las Vegas trip, to support your favorite football team, you could rest assured that Vegas has plenty to offer!
There is much fun to be had, plus you get to support your team in a brand new,state of the art stadium.
Things to do and to see in Las Vegas
It’s called the most happening place in America for something, right? Las Vegas has much to offer – like its omnipresent casinos, themed parks, tourist attractions, theaters, fun activities, natural and wildlife areas, and other attractions to keep you busy while you take a rest from all football in town.
Casinos
Traditional casinos are the forte of Las Vegas, but if you are the one who gets dissuaded with large crowds, then you may find some respite in online casino gaming. Old Havana Casino is one such gaming outlet which lets you play in the comforts of your own home or hotel room! Unlike traditional casino outlets, where you would be expected to make your move as soon as possible, you are given ample amount of time to decide on your next step.
Also, you can play on the go, while going places, and experiencing other attractions that Las Vegas has to show.
Natural Attractions
You can also visit the Red Rock Canyon national park, watch the dolphins rumble at Siegfried and Roy’s Dolphin Habitat, or watch the Flamingoes with piqued interest at the Flamingo Habitat. Everything is to be done at your own personal discretion.

Theme parks
If a bout of adrenaline rush right after an exciting Raiders game is what you need, then you could visit places like Vegas indoor skydiving and machine guns park.

The Benefits of Moving to Las Vegas?
Firstly, it’s very easy to travel to Vegas; a flight could take you from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in an hour. Also, if you book it at the right time, you can find cheap tickets!
The Raiders are getting a huge stadium, and honestly, it could be the biggest in the entire NFL. Constructed at a whopping $1.9 billion, it is going to be an impressive complex. And anyways, weren’t Raiders already due for a new stadium? This transaction was overseen by the likes of Bank of America, Las Vegas taxpayers money and Raiders organization.
The Raiders move to Las Vegas may not have come as a surprise to many. After all, they are known for their on the move nature. Though this time, this move could work in their favor, as well as yours, as the new stadium and the city of Las Vegas it is sure to give this team a fresh new start.

Check Out the Musical Neural Network

Playoffs!? Wtf? Playoffs!? Rating the New NFL Head Coaches

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While almost everyone remembers that the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50, few people realize that they did so with a head coach that was brand new to the team heading into that season in Gary Kubiak. In 2016, of the 12 teams that qualified for the playoffs at the end of the 2016-2017 season, two of them were led by first year head coaches: Ben McAdoo of the New York Giants, and Adam Gase of the Miami Dolphins. So, it would stand to reason that the teams who made head coaching changes during this offseason are looking for their new head coaches to immediately replicate the type of success the aforementioned guys had. But who are the coaches in the best positions to lead their teams to the postseason? Here’s our list from least likely to most likely:

Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers — Shanahan and new General Manager John Lynch will start the process of rebuilding the great San Francisco 49ers franchise with the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The problem is, they got the second overall pick in the draft because the team was so bad last year in general. The 49ers could basically use a major infusion of talent at the vast majority of positions on the team, most notably at quarterback. Blaine Gabbert and/or Colin Kaepernick are clearly not the answer, and the new braintrust will likely move quickly in trying to figure out who is the guy that’s going to lead their team for the near and long-term future. But outside of running back, where they have Carlos Hyde, and defensive lineman, where they drafted Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner in recent years, there isn’t really a single position on the team that you could point to as a strength moving forward. Shanahan and Lynch will need a few years to restock the proverbial cupboard.

Sean McVay, Los Angels Rams — The Rams went in the total opposite direction of their previous head coach, when hiring their most recent one. They went from a grizzled NFL-stalwart in Jeff Fisher, to hiring the youngest head coach in NFL history in Sean McVay. McVay was considered somewhat of a “wunderkind” after guiding the Washington Redskins’ offense to the third-best ranking in the NFL last season. His job will largely be tied to the development of Jared Goff, the top pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Even though it’s still way too early to make any type of judgment on Goff, we saw much he struggled last season. The Rams offensive line remains awful for yet another year. They’ve had one wide receiver top 1,000 yards receiving in the past decade. After a superstar-caliber rookie season, running back Todd Gurley looked painfully mortal last year. McVay might be responsible for helping Goff develop, but he’s got his work cut out for him with the rest of this offense. The saving grace for the Rams is that the defense still has talent, including defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who’s one of the five best defensive players in the NFL.

Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills — Halfway through October, the Buffalo Bills looked like they might end up being one of the surprise teams in the NFL. They had a 4-2 record, including a shutout victory over the New England Patriots. But, from there on out, the bottom fell out for the Bills, as they finished with a 3-7 record down the stretch. That led to Rex Ryan’s dismissal, and the hiring of new head coach Sean McDermott. The first order of business for McDermott and Doug Whaley will be to find a starting quarterback, as it looks like Tyrod Taylor’s tenure in Buffalo is all but over. Many people think they’ll use the 10th overall pick in the draft to address the position, but let’s not forget they still have Cardale Jones as a developmental player, and perhaps the long-term answer. Still, the Bills don’t have much in the way of building block pieces around whoever fills the quarterback position. Running back LeSean McCoy looked great last season, but he’ll be 29 years old next season, and hasn’t played in all 16 games as a member of the Bills. Star wide receiver Sammy Watkins has missed 11 of his last 32 games. The offensive line has been inconsistent. The defense was ravaged by injuries and inconsistency last year. Buffalo proved they can be a good team if things break well for them, but they still have more questions than answers.

Doug Marrone, Jacksonville Jaguars — In reality, the Jacksonville Jaguars could end up being one of the most interesting and dangerous teams in the AFC, if not the NFL. It all depends on whether Marrone’s staff can resurrect the career of quarterback Blake Bortles. Bortles appeared to be on an upward trajectory in his second year, leading a young and talented offense. But last year, Bortles badly regressed, and the offense — as well as the whole team — struggled as a result. But this is still one of the youngest and most talented rosters in the NFL.  It’s not out of the question for young stars like Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns to bounce back, edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. to take another step forward. Their group of linebackers is one of the more underrated units in the NFL, and they have talent at both Safety positions. If Jacksonville can make a few upgrades on their still-porous offensive line, and perhaps add a little more consistency from the running game, they could help fix what ails Bortles. But this team will only go as Bortles does.

Anthony Lynn, San Diego Chargers — As snakebitten as this team was with injuries and plain old bad luck last season, San Diego sits near the top of this list for one simple reason: they still have quarterback Philip Rivers, who made the Pro Bowl last season (as an alternate). Even with an offense that continued to lose players seemingly on a weekly basis, Rivers still finished the year ranked among the top five quarterbacks in passing yards, yards per attempt, and touchdown passes. While he’s not exactly getting any younger, he’s still in the prime of his career.  The Chargers will also have some balance on offense, thanks to the second year breakout of running back Melvin Gordon. On defense, they have two of the best young talents in the NFL in defensive end Joey Bosa, who was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, and cornerback Jason Verrett, who admittedly missed much of last year after suffering a season-ending ACL injury. Still, with the offensive and defensive pedigrees that new head coach Anthony Lynn and new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, this team is not that far away from contending for a playoff spot.

Vance Joseph, Denver Broncos — Vance Joseph, the highly-regarded former defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins, is probably the one coach in the best position to guide his team to the playoffs in his first year as head coach, mostly on the basis of the defense he’ll be inheriting. That group still has Von Miller, who is still perhaps the best edge rusher in the NFL, as well as the best pair of cornerbacks in the league in Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. Even with all the injuries and defections via free agency this team had after winning the Super Bowl, those guys represented the foundation of what was still probably the league’s best defense. Obviously, then, the biggest questions for the Broncos will be on the offensive side of the football, namely at the quarterback position. While most people believe that incumbents Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch will battle for the starting job, it’s hard to rule out the possibility of the team acquiring a veteran quarterback — say, Tony Romo? — who could step in and lead this team immediately. If they can get even an average-level of play from the quarterback position, they can rely on their skill position players like Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, C.J. Anderson, and second-year running back Devontae Booker to help spark an offense that sputtered down the stretch of last season.

[Analysis by NFL expert Rajan Nanavati]

Look for Wild Times in The 2017 NFC Wildcard Playoffs!

With the regular season coming to an end a few of the top tier teams can lock in on bringing home the Lombardi Trophy. The NFC teams are going to clash to power their way to Super Bowl LI. Filled with power houses such as Detroit, Green Bay, Seattle, and New York playing in Wild Card matchups the outcomes are unpredictable.

Detroit was snubbed having no players on their roster elected to the Pro Bowl this year, but that didn’t slow them from finishing with a 9-6 record. An offense led by MVP candidate Matthew Stafford it doesn’t seem as if any other offensive weapons are needed. Aside from a QB there is really no great on the Lion’s offense just a lot of good that contributes to filling their schedule with wins. A sub par defense seems to be one of their only weaknesses led by cornerback Darius Slay. If Detroit’s defense can play as a team they will make a case to be true title contenders.

Division rival to Detroit, Green Bay is pretty straightforward. Plain and simple, when Aaron Rodgers is your QB you are gonna win football games. Especially when he is being protected by three of the best pass blocking linemen. Overcoming numerous injuries on their roster to win six straight to finish the season. Receiver turned running back Ty Montgomery has shown flashes that he can play at an explosive level in the NFL. The only thing holding them back is a beat up defense. With arguably the weakest secondary in the NFL it will something Green Bay’s offensive firepower will have to make up for. Green Bay’s front seven unlike its secondary is always bringing the heat. Despite the age of many key players their run stop and pass rush continues to improve.

A team that seemed to be the kryptonite to the Green Bay Packers is the Seattle Seahawks. On the other hand having arguably the best secondary in the NFL with the notorious Richard Sherman. Their defense also known as the “Legion of Boom” causes every opponent’s offense to throw a fit. Questions in the running back spot may hold the offense back, but Quarterback Russell Wilson’s mentality fuels that offense. To progress through the playoffs Seattle will nee complete play by their receivers after suffering a huge loss in Tyler Lockett. Seattle comes with a winning mentality considering their past which will play as a key advantage this time around.

One of the most talked about players around the league seems to be Odell Beckham Jr. His sure hands and quickness can make any quarterback shine. Although recently New York’s defense has been carrying the team. With a loaded young secondary and some bruisers in the front seven New York has been the reason teams are losing sleep at night. An aging and inconsistent Eli Manning has seemed to be the only question mark on the team. If Eli can get hot and use his numerous weapons to his advantage it will make New York a tough team to beat.

 

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