5. Very Attractive Slate

There are a bunch of DFS favorites on the Thursday docket. The quarterbacks include Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez, Colin Kaepernick and Jay Cutler. There’s no clear-cut starter and no clear-cut fade (although after this past weekend, Jay Cutler is dead to me). There are already minimal upper-end running backs and most are playing on Turkey Day. Examples are DeMarco Murray, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Matt Forte and Frank Gore. The wide receivers are not quite as plush but do include some wonderful options like Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, and Michael Crabtree.

4. Weakened Weekend State

Holy cow, did you just read those names? Of course you did, no one starts reading a top-five list in the middle. Sunday is going to be a bitch! The main issue I see is one of finding contrarian options that are truly contrary. With so many top quarterbacks and running backs off the table there will be a huge percent ownership of both the top end and lower end fliers. At least there will be some differentiation among the wide receivers and tight ends.

3. Ability to Watch an Entire Game

Look, I love NFL Red Zone. I haven’t had it for a full calendar year and I have no clue how I got along the first 50-something years of my existence without it. Though, I must say I probably wouldn’t have watched it until I was about ten years old then there were about ten years I was hung over every Sunday and the constant switching of games would have compounded the headache and made the room spin even more. Anyway, as much as I love it I also miss watching an entire game, getting to see the ebb and flows, watching the drama unfold. Yeah, there are still the island games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights but admittedly, I don’t give them my undivided attention. There won’t be any channel surfing or multi-tasking on Thursday.

2. Less Pressure, Just Have Some Fun

The win-and-you-can-retire contests are fantastic but let’s face it, they encourage some aggressive if not careless bankroll management. And while there will be some decent prizes on Thursday, the temptation to overextend to hit it big is less of a concern. You can play the more reasonable couple of tournaments with cash games. In fact, Thanksgiving is the perfect day to get together with a friend or relative that will be attending the same get together as you and go at it head-to-head. It’s one thing following the scoreboard trying to beat an Internet moniker. Going mano-a-mano in person is almost as energizing as attending a game live. Well, it’s pretty damned cool.

1. For the Same Reason a Dog Licks his Balls

Because you can! The season is dwindling, thus are your opportunities to play. You need to take advantage of every chance you can to build your bankroll using the Fantasy Alarm DFS Playbook.

Happy Thanksgiving all. Enjoy the day but not so much that you won’t be able to stop back Friday where I’ll offer my take on the weekend’s slate.