NFL Picks: Backing the Pats

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Updated on January 30, 2015 4:28AM EST

Another good week for the staff, and now we have three of us at 8-2 or better for the postseason. Unfortunately for DDD and me, Erickson is 9-1, and we all have the Pats, so Erickson will take the playoff portion of the staff picks no matter what happens.

Everyone except Stopa likes the Pats this week, and while Erickson, Pianow and I have the over, DDD and Stopa have the under.

	Erickson	Pianowski	Liss	Stopa	Del Don
Patriots -1 vs. Seahawks	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots	Seahawks	Patriots
Score	27-23	27-23	31-27	24-13	23-20
Last Week's Record	2-0	0-2	2-0	1-1	2-0
2014 Playoff Record	9-1	4-6	8-2	4-6	8-2
Best Bet Record	9-11	6-14	15-5	11-8-1	11-9
Unanimous Pick Record	20-15-1
Majority Record	145-116-5
2013 Playoff Record	5-4-2	3-6-2	4-5-2	4-5-2	4-5-2
2012 Playoff Record	4-6-1	5-5-1	6-4-1	4-6-1	8-2-1
2011 Playoff Record	8-3	5-6	9-2	6-5	7-4
2010 Playoff Record	6-5	5-6	5-6	7-4	8-3
2009 Playoff Record	5-6	4-7	1-10	6-5	5-6
2008 Playoff Record	6-5	5-6	5-6	8-3	4-7
2007 Playoff Record	8-3	3-8	6-5	N/A	2-9
2006 Playoff Record	7-4	N/A	4-7	N/A	N/A
2005 Playoff Record	5-6	N/A	3-8	N/A	N/A
2004 Playoff Record	6-5	N/A	4-7	N/A	N/A
2003 Playoff Record	6-5	N/A	4-7	N/A	N/A
2002 Playoff Record	6-5	7-4	5-6	N/A	N/A
2001 Playoff Record	6-4-1	7-3-1	4-6-1	N/A	N/A
2000 Playoff Record	6-5	7-4	6-5	N/A	N/A
2014 Record	123-128-5	140-111-5	135-116-5	124-127-5	128-123-5
2013 Record	132-114-10	118-128-10	123-123-10	111-135-10	128-118-10

Everyone except Stopa likes the Pats this week, and while Erickson, Pianow and I have the over, DDD and Stopa have the under.

	Erickson	Pianowski	Liss	Stopa	Del Don
Patriots -1 vs. Seahawks	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots	Seahawks	Patriots
Score	27-23	27-23	31-27	24-13	23-20
Last Week's Record	2-0	0-2	2-0	1-1	2-0
2014 Playoff Record	9-1	4-6	8-2	4-6	8-2
Best Bet Record	9-11	6-14	15-5	11-8-1	11-9
Unanimous Pick Record	20-15-1
Majority Record	145-116-5
2013 Playoff Record	5-4-2	3-6-2	4-5-2	4-5-2	4-5-2
2012 Playoff Record	4-6-1	5-5-1	6-4-1	4-6-1	8-2-1
2011 Playoff Record	8-3	5-6	9-2	6-5	7-4
2010 Playoff Record	6-5	5-6	5-6	7-4	8-3
2009 Playoff Record	5-6	4-7	1-10	6-5	5-6
2008 Playoff Record	6-5	5-6	5-6	8-3	4-7
2007 Playoff Record	8-3	3-8	6-5	N/A	2-9
2006 Playoff Record	7-4	N/A	4-7	N/A	N/A
2005 Playoff Record	5-6	N/A	3-8	N/A	N/A
2004 Playoff Record	6-5	N/A	4-7	N/A	N/A
2003 Playoff Record	6-5	N/A	4-7	N/A	N/A
2002 Playoff Record	6-5	7-4	5-6	N/A	N/A
2001 Playoff Record	6-4-1	7-3-1	4-6-1	N/A	N/A
2000 Playoff Record	6-5	7-4	6-5	N/A	N/A
2014 Record	123-128-5	140-111-5	135-116-5	124-127-5	128-123-5
2013 Record	132-114-10	118-128-10	123-123-10	111-135-10	128-118-10
2012 Record	110-140-6	125-125-6	121-129-6	143-107-6	123-127-6
2011 Record	121-128-7	134-115-7	124-125-7	123-126-7	127-122-7
2010 Record	129-122-5	134-117-5	126-125-5	136-115-5	134-117-5
2009 Record	123-130-3	132-121-3	131-122-3	130-123-3	126-127-3
2008 Record	132-114-10	128-118-10	124-122-10	125-121-10	130-116-10
2007 Record	127-120	118-129	127-120	N/A	130-117
2006 Record	118-129	N/A	139-108	N/A	N/A
2005 Record	121-126	N/A	127-120	N/A	N/A
2004 Record	124-124	N/A	130-118	N/A	N/A
2003 Record	121-126	118-129	124-123	N/A	N/A
2002 Record	113-136	123-126	141-108	N/A	N/A
2001 Record	124-113	117-120	118-119	N/A	N/A
2000 Record	123-117	134-106	141-99	N/A	N/A

Unanimous/Majority Picks

Like last week, there's no unanimous pick. We went 20-15-1 on unanimous picks for the year. And we went 2-0 on majority picks (three or more writers) last week to go 145-116-5 on the season.

Comments:

Writer	Comment
Erickson	I'm having a hard time getting a feel for this game, and think it's as even as a Super Bowl has been in recent memory. One of the big keys is how well the Seahawks handle Gronk - who do they put on him? Can they get a better rush than they generated in their two previous games?
Pianowski	Call it 27-23. It's a balanced matchup, but I feel better about New England's downfield options. I also expect LeGarrette Blount to have a notable impact on this game.
Liss	Once the Patriots got by the Ravens, a team that beat them up the last few playoff matchups, I thought they'd win the Super Bowl. I have no reason to change that assessment based on what happened in the conference title games. In fact, Seattle hasn't been impressive in either win. No idea why I picked such a big over/under total - it's just what came to me while I was writing Beating the Book.
Stopa	I love Seattle and the under. I just don't see how the Patriots will be able to score. Blount on the ground? Pfft. Gronk is awesome, but Kam Chancellor has as good a chance as anyone to cover him. Meanwhile, I do see Seattle moving the ball a bit, and Russell Wilson won't have another bad game. Seahawks 24-13.
Del Don	The spread is close to a pick 'em for a reason, as this game is a toss up. I'm backing the Pats, but I don't love how most of the money has gone on them so far, and I worry their offensive line may be overwhelmed. I bet on New England because I can't imagine watching a Super Bowl without any action on it. Plus I hate the Seahawks. Patriots 23-20

The players:

•Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008, 2013 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Weekly Rankings. Covers and roots for the Bengals.

•Scott Pianowski: Fantasy expert for Yahoo! Sports, and also contributes to Rotowire.com. 2009, 2011 and 2014 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the Patriots.

•Chris Liss: RotoWire Managing Editor, 2000, 2002, 2006 Staff Picks Champ, 2003, 2004 co-champ. Writes East Coast Offense, Beating the Book and the Survivor column in addition to Staff Picks. Covers and roots for the Giants.

•Mark Stopa: Staff Writer, 2010, 2012 Staff Picks Champ, Writes Run 'N' Shoot. Roots for the Bills.

•Dalton Del Don: Fantasy Expert for Yahoo! Sports, 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the 49ers.