Find out why NFL preseason can uncover winning weekly NFL picks

It’s the final week of NFL preseason, which means it’s also the final week to do some handicap sports and scouting before making those weekly NFL regular season picks.

I know you’re reading this, thinking to yourself, “How can I explore when we’ll be lucky to see the headlines play the National Anthem?” All the better to earn some extra money during the season, my dear.

There is no question that having A-list starters goes a long way to the success of the NFL. It doesn’t take a football genius to figure out that a team led by Peyton Manning is often more successful than one led by Alex Smith. But this isn’t your dad’s NFL. Heck, it’s not even your big brother’s NFL. Today’s league is defined by much greater specialization than the past, with coaches squeezing as much work as they can out of their active 45-man rosters.

Nickels and dimes have become much more valuable than their titles indicate. With the emphasis on his performance and that of other specialists like third-down and short-range running backs, coverage corners and run-filling nose tackles, each player on the roster usually has a significant role to fill.

Enter the fourth and final preseason game. This is where guys play for their lives in the NFL. This is the week that the coaches make their final decision on who will make the roster and how their rotations will work. Sure, Drew Brees and Darren Sharper had huge roles in the Saints winning the Super Bowl. But the key to any championship-winning club is the ability to have anonymous Grind Guys doing their job on a weekly basis.

The genius of the New England Patriots in the 2000s wasn’t their ability to catch Tom Brady in the sixth round, though that was pretty smart. His greatest strength was being able to take overlooked young players (who’s Tully Banta-Cain?) or discarded veterans (Rodney Harrison, anyone?) and put them in situations where they could be successful. Those are the teams you want to pay attention to in preseason. They can be NFL gold.

So before you yawn at these final NFL pre-main course appetizers, keep in mind that these could be the key to earning your weekly NFL picks and impressing your friends. Hey, sometimes it takes a little pain to lead to some eventual pleasure. You can thank me later.