This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Week 7 wasn't a great one for the Staff as Stopa won it at 7-5, putting him four games up on DDD.
Week 8 marks a first for the Staff in the 13 years we've run the column - four out of five writers made a team - the Eagles - their best bets. It's also one of five consensus picks, as there was a lot of agreement this week.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers +6.5 at Vikings | Vikings | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Vikings | Buccaneers |
| Jaguars +13 at Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Dolphins +1.5 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Dolphins | Jets |
| Chargers -1.5 at Browns | Browns | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Colts +3.5 at Titans | Titans | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts |
| Patriots -7 vs. Rams (London) | Rams | Patriots | Rams | Patriots | Patriots |
| Falcons +1.5 at Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Panthers +9 at Bears | Bears | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers |
| Seahawks +1.5 at Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Redskins +4.5 at Steelers | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Raiders +1 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Raiders | Chiefs |
| Giants -1 at Cowboys | Giants | Giants | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Saints +6 at Broncos | Saints | Saints | Broncos | Broncos | Saints |
| 49ers -7 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Best Bet | Eagles | Redskins | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Last Week's Record | 5-7-1 | 6-6-1 | 4-8-1 | 7-5-1 | 6-6-1 |
| 2012 Record | 48-53-3 | 57-44-3 | 50-51-3 | 62-39-3 | 58-43-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 1-5-1 | 5-2 | 3-4 | 6-1 | 4-3 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 11-10-1 | ||||
| 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 |
Week 7 wasn't a great one for the Staff as Stopa won it at 7-5, putting him four games up on DDD.
Week 8 marks a first for the Staff in the 13 years we've run the column - four out of five writers made a team - the Eagles - their best bets. It's also one of five consensus picks, as there was a lot of agreement this week.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers +6.5 at Vikings | Vikings | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Vikings | Buccaneers |
| Jaguars +13 at Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Dolphins +1.5 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Dolphins | Jets |
| Chargers -1.5 at Browns | Browns | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Colts +3.5 at Titans | Titans | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts |
| Patriots -7 vs. Rams (London) | Rams | Patriots | Rams | Patriots | Patriots |
| Falcons +1.5 at Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Panthers +9 at Bears | Bears | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers |
| Seahawks +1.5 at Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Redskins +4.5 at Steelers | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Raiders +1 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Raiders | Chiefs |
| Giants -1 at Cowboys | Giants | Giants | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Saints +6 at Broncos | Saints | Saints | Broncos | Broncos | Saints |
| 49ers -7 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Best Bet | Eagles | Redskins | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Last Week's Record | 5-7-1 | 6-6-1 | 4-8-1 | 7-5-1 | 6-6-1 |
| 2012 Record | 48-53-3 | 57-44-3 | 50-51-3 | 62-39-3 | 58-43-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 1-5-1 | 5-2 | 3-4 | 6-1 | 4-3 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 11-10-1 | ||||
| 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 |
Consensus Picks
This week we have five consensus picks: the Packers, Eagles, Lions, Redskins and Cardinals. Last week we went 1-2 to put us at 11-10-1 on the season. Last year we were 30-24-2 on consensus picks.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | Perfect confluence of events - the Eagles' record after the bye week under Andy Reid, and my general feeling that Atlanta is still a little overrated. I also really like the Lions this week. |
| Pianowski | I don't see what makes the Steelers that much better than Washington. Pittsburgh is still a team with balance issues and a bunch of holes in defense. The spot looks generous against a Redskins team that hasn't played a poor game yet. Bonus Pick: Tigers in 7. |
| Liss | Atlanta's luck runs out on the road against a talented Philly team with a coach whose track record off the bye is 13-0. Also like the Broncos and Cardinals a good deal. |
| Stopa | I really like the Eagles, Cardinals, Broncos, Colts and Packers. We all know about Andy Reid's record coming off a bye, but I like fading the Falcons just as much... SF isn't explosive enough on offense to be laying 7 on the road to a winning team, and AZ has played them well in their stadium in recent years... NO/Den opened at -2, and now it's all the way up to -6 even though the public is on NO. When the public is pounding a road dog (which rarely happens, BTW), yet the line moves the other direction so significantly, that means a ton of sharp money is on Denver... I want to fade the Colts, but not nearly as much as I want to fade the Titans off two wins giving the half-point hook... I'm surprised GB is laying less than 14 instead of more. I'm typically good at predicting these lines, and I saw that one at -14.5... I really like the setup for Minny. The home teams have dominated the Thursday night games, and Tampa is coming off a crushing home loss. My only trepidation there is that TB's weakness is against the pass, and that's not how Minny prefers to win. |
| Del Don | I had a hard time deciding among the Lions, Eagles and Jets as my best bet this week, but ultimately went with Philadelphia. Both teams are coming off a bye, so we'll see if Andy Reid can continue his unblemished record. The toughest game for me this week was Giants/Cowboys. |
The players:
•Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Value Meter. Covers and roots for the Bengals.
•Scott Pianowski: Fantasy expert for Yahoo! Sports, and also contributes to Rotowire.com. 2009 and 2011 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 Surviving the Week in addition to Staff Picks. Covers and roots for the Giants.
•Mark Stopa: Staff Writer, 2010 Staff Picks Champ, Writes Working the Wire. Roots for the Bills.
•Dalton Del Don: Fantasy Expert for Yahoo! Sports, 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the 49ers.
