The 2015 NFL Football season begins with major quarterback news. Tom Brady, expected to be out four games, is now in. Tim Tebow, expected to be in as an Eagle reserve, is now out. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, the 2013 and 2014 Heisman Trophy winners, face off in week one in football’s equivalent of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 100% healthy, but he hasn’t a healthy top-flight receiver. Former Heisman winners RGIII and Johnny Football begins the year as backups, while veterans Matt Flynn, Christian Ponder, and Matt Cassel are men without a country, er team. As for Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Harvard scholar inherits the unenviable task of trying not to throw interceptions (3.5% rate for career) for the Jets, where each bad play will be scrutinized like the name on the back of the jersey reads, “Trump” or “Clinton.”
By next Sunday, all will be well, and on the field results will take over for off the field news. The PiRates have finalized the preseason ratings and have calculated their first spreads of the season.
| Current NFL PiRate Ratings | |||||||
| N F C | |||||||
| East | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average | W-L-T | Pts | Opp |
| Dallas | 106.9 | 105.6 | 107.6 | 106.7 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 104.7 | 103.9 | 105.2 | 104.6 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| N.Y. Giants | 99.9 | 99.7 | 100.4 | 100.0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Washington | 93.2 | 92.1 | 92.5 | 92.6 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| North | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average | W-L-T | Pts | Opp |
| Green Bay | 108.5 | 107.5 | 109.1 | 108.4 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Detroit | 102.9 | 101.8 | 103.4 | 102.7 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 100.5 | 97.4 | 101.9 | 99.9 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chicago | 95.8 | 95.1 | 95.8 | 95.6 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| South | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average | W-L-T | Pts | Opp |
| Carolina | 100.8 | 100.0 | 101.0 | 100.6 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Orleans | 100.1 | 95.4 | 101.1 | 98.9 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlanta | 95.7 | 96.1 | 95.8 | 95.9 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay | 92.1 | 93.4 | 92.0 | 92.5 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| West | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average | W-L-T | Pts | Opp |
| Seattle | 107.8 | 106.9 | 108.0 | 107.6 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arizona | 101.3 | 100.5 | 101.3 | 101.0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Francisco | 99.3 | 96.9 | 99.1 | 98.4 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Louis | 95.9 | 98.6 | 95.0 | 96.5 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| A F C | |||||||
| East | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average | W-L-T | Pts | Opp |
| New England | 107.9 | 107.9 | 107.9 | 107.9 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Buffalo | 99.8 | 100.6 | 99.6 | 100.0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Miami | 98.7 | 100.3 | 98.0 | 99.0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| N. Y. Jets | 97.7 | 98.2 | 97.5 | 97.8 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| North | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average | W-L-T | Pts | Opp |
| Baltimore | 106.7 | 105.1 | 108.2 | 106.7 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cincinnati | 102.9 | 103.3 | 102.9 | 103.0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh | 102.8 | 102.8 | 102.5 | 102.7 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cleveland | 95.4 | 92.7 | 95.6 | 94.6 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| South | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average | W-L-T | Pts | Opp |
| Indianapolis | 104.7 | 105.8 | 104.9 | 105.1 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | 97.6 | 99.1 | 97.5 | 98.1 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 93.9 | 93.7 | 94.5 | 94.0 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacksonville | 89.8 | 95.2 | 88.5 | 91.2 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| West | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average | W-L-T | Pts | Opp |
| Denver | 105.6 | 104.8 | 105.0 | 105.1 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Diego | 100.8 | 101.7 | 100.1 | 100.9 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 100.2 | 102.2 | 100.2 | 100.9 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oakland | 90.1 | 95.7 | 87.9 | 91.2 | 0-0-0 | 0 | 0 |
Week One Spreads
| Home | Visitor | PiRate | Mean | Bias |
| New England | Pittsburgh | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.4 |
| Arizona | New Orleans | 4.2 | 8.1 | 3.2 |
| Buffalo | Indianapolis | -1.9 | -2.2 | -2.3 |
| Chicago | Green Bay | -9.7 | -9.4 | -10.3 |
| Dallas | N. Y. Giants | 9.5 | 8.4 | 9.7 |
| Denver | Baltimore | 1.9 | 2.7 | -0.2 |
| Houston | Kansas City | -0.6 | -1.1 | -0.7 |
| Jacksonville | Carolina | -9.0 | -2.8 | -10.5 |
| N. Y. Jets | Cleveland | 4.8 | 8.0 | 4.4 |
| Oakland | Cincinnati | -9.8 | -4.6 | -12.0 |
| San Diego | Detroit | 0.9 | 2.9 | -0.3 |
| St. Louis | Seattle | -8.9 | -5.3 | -10.0 |
| Tampa Bay | Tennessee | 0.7 | 2.2 | 0.0 |
| Washington | Miami | -3.5 | -6.2 | -3.5 |
| Atlanta | Philadelphia | -6.5 | -5.3 | -6.9 |
| San Francisco | Minnesota | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.2 |
Coming later this week: Our solution to shortening the preseason while gaining revenue and increasing the fan base.
