First, as usual, we take a quick look back at all that happened in Week 3. Click here to watch Kyle's and Remmy's take.In Week 4, we're back to normal with just one Game of the Week--Holy Cross at Ansonia--which is our only contest featuring undefeated teams. We all remember what happened last season in a similar situation and the very same thing may occur again. But we'll get to that on Wednesday. For now, let's take a look at our other six NVL games.
Click here to watch Kyle's and Remmy's Week 4 picks video.
Derby (1-2) at Wilby (1-2): This game, now a Friday afternoon contest, features a pair of teams that cannot be especially happy with their 1-2 records. Derby very well could be 2-1 and Wilby very well could be 3-0 if not for surrendering leads late in the fourth quarter. Instead, we get a matchup between teams desperate for a division win. Derby's athletes in the passing game will have to outdo Wilby's athletes in the running game. Both teams have shown some ability on defense, but it's likely that Derby's run defense will be better than Wilby's pass defense.
Picks: Remmy- Derby, 35-20. Kyle- Derby, 34-29.
Sacred Heart (0-2) at Naugatuck (3-0): The Hearts just had a week off as they couldn't find a Week 3 opponent. Whether or not it will be beneficial to the Sacred Heart is a big question as the team certainly could have used some work after its first two games. Naugatuck steamrolled St. Paul in Week 3 with its horse, Jake Yourison. We expect more of the same this week against a poor Sacred Heart defense.
Picks: Remmy- Naugatuck, 42-13. Kyle- Naugatuck, 35-13.
Seymour (3-0) at Wolcott (2-1): Believe it or not, this game between the Wildcats and Eagles is for second place in the Brass Division. Neither team has looked especially great (aside from Seymour's blowout of O'Brien Tech and Wolcott's walk over Crosby) so it's tough to know what to expect in this game. It seems like both teams are still trying to establish some identities on both sides of the ball. Seymour's defense has been its strength and Wolcott's defense has been good except for the debacle at Torrington. Both squads also seem to have run-first offenses but sometimes like to open it up. The similarities are pretty interesting.
Picks: Remmy- Wolcott, 26-14. Kyle- Wolcott, 21-14.
Woodland (2-1) at Kennedy (0-3): Kennedy's been in a pair close, late defensive battles against Wolcott and Seymour. The only problem is that Woodland isn't Wolcott or Kennedy. The Hawks smoothed things out in a big nonconference win over Jonathan Law in which a balanced offense and stifling defense paced them. The Eagles have scored just 12 points in three games against defenses we would consider OK. Now they play against a defense that we would consider one of the best in the league. Not a good formula.
Picks: Remmy- Woodland, 30-16. Kyle- Woodland, 33-6.
St. Paul (0-3) at Torrington (1-2): Torrington is in about a bad a spot as possible. Very few, if any people saw the Red Raiders a game under .500 in Week 4, but that's exactly where one of the major Copper Division contenders finds itself. Last week's come-from-ahead loss could be a tough one to rebound from, but luckily for Torrington it gets to play a St. Paul squad that has not been good on either side of the ball so far this season. Brenden Lytton has been getting a ton of work and that figures to continue here.
Picks: Remmy- Torrington, 40-14. Kyle- Torrington, 52-28.
Watertown (1-2) at Crosby (1-2): These teams went the opposite way as we thought they would last week. Watertown earned a big win over Wilby in the final minutes of the game and Crosby had a horrible performance against Wolcott. Both teams need wins badly to avoid falling into the Brass Division basement. The Indians seem to have a bit more of an identity--running the ball and being physical--than the Bulldogs, which have tried a little bit of everything. This figures to be a close, and potentially ugly, game.
Picks: Remmy- Watertown, 28-19. Kyle- Watertown, 26-20.
Clearly, we have some pretty intriguing matchups this week. Which team we thought would contend in the Brass will fall to the basement, Derby or Wilby? Which upstart Brass team will move into second place, Seymour or Wolcott? Does Torrington begin to fall apart, and will Naugatuck and Woodland keep on a Copper collision course? We'll see.
By the way, the Seymour-Wolcott game is nominated as the NBC Connecticut Game of the Week. If you so choose, go ahead and vote for that game here.
We'll have the Prediction Tracker updated soon with everyone's records through the first three weeks of the season. For the second week in a row, Remmy and Kyle agree on all of their picks (these are done separately, by the way). And as always, we invite you to make your picks with us--and for you to add some football-related thoughts and analysis, if possible. The Game of the Week thread is coming Wednesday!
