This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
This week was Erickson's turn to destroy his otherwise decent season - he went 2-10-1 and nearly rose to Mark Stopa's (2-11) challenge. Consensus picks suffered a major setback as well, going 1-4-1, but somehow Pianowski managed to keep rolling, winning all of his non-consensus games and remaining in first place with what is surely an insurmountable eight-game margin over DDD and me.
This week the Chargers are not only a consenus pick, but DDD's and my best bet. The Giants are a consensus pick and Pianow's best bet, while the Browns are a consensus pick probably because everyone's coin landed tails.
Enjoy the games.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
| Dolphins +4 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Buccaneers +9 at Saints | Saints | Saints | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Saints |
| Falcons -7 at Colts | Falcons | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts |
| Browns +11 at Texans | Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns |
| Jets +1 at Bills | Jets | Bills | Bills | Bills | Jets |
| 49ers -3.5 at Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | 49ers | Redskins |
| Seahawks +11.5 at Cowboys | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Cowboys |
| Bengals +2 at Titans | Titans | Titans | Titans | Bengals | Titans |
| Broncos +8.5 at Raiders | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Raiders | Broncos |
| Giants +9 at Patriots | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
| Rams +3.5* at Cardinals | Rams | Rams | Rams | Cardinals | Rams |
| Packers -5.5 at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Ravens +3 at Steelers | Ravens | Ravens | Steelers | Ravens | Steelers |
| Bears +8.5 at Eagles | Bears | Bears | Bears | Eagles | Bears |
| Best Bet | Chiefs | Giants | Chargers | 49ers | Chargers |
| Last Week's Record | 2-10-1 | 8-4-1 | 5-7-1 |
This week was Erickson's turn to destroy his otherwise decent season - he went 2-10-1 and nearly rose to Mark Stopa's (2-11) challenge. Consensus picks suffered a major setback as well, going 1-4-1, but somehow Pianowski managed to keep rolling, winning all of his non-consensus games and remaining in first place with what is surely an insurmountable eight-game margin over DDD and me.
This week the Chargers are not only a consenus pick, but DDD's and my best bet. The Giants are a consensus pick and Pianow's best bet, while the Browns are a consensus pick probably because everyone's coin landed tails.
Enjoy the games.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
| Dolphins +4 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Buccaneers +9 at Saints | Saints | Saints | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Saints |
| Falcons -7 at Colts | Falcons | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts |
| Browns +11 at Texans | Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns |
| Jets +1 at Bills | Jets | Bills | Bills | Bills | Jets |
| 49ers -3.5 at Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | 49ers | Redskins |
| Seahawks +11.5 at Cowboys | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Cowboys |
| Bengals +2 at Titans | Titans | Titans | Titans | Bengals | Titans |
| Broncos +8.5 at Raiders | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Raiders | Broncos |
| Giants +9 at Patriots | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
| Rams +3.5* at Cardinals | Rams | Rams | Rams | Cardinals | Rams |
| Packers -5.5 at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Ravens +3 at Steelers | Ravens | Ravens | Steelers | Ravens | Steelers |
| Bears +8.5 at Eagles | Bears | Bears | Bears | Eagles | Bears |
| Best Bet | Chiefs | Giants | Chargers | 49ers | Chargers |
| Last Week's Record | 2-10-1 | 8-4-1 | 5-7-1 | 6-6-1 | 4-8-1 |
| 2011 Record | 54-57-5 | 64-47-5 | 56-55-5 | 53-58-5 | 56-55-1 |
| Best Bet Record | 6-2 | 4-3-1 | 5-3 | 6-2 | 3-4-1 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 13-9-1 | ||||
| 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 three consensus picks: the Browns, Giants and Chargers. Last week we went 1-4-1 on consensus picks to put us at 13-9-1 on the year. We went 32-21-1 on consensus picks in 2010.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | Yeah, Miami played the Giants hard and yeah, the Chiefs win streak has ridden on the backs of a couple of bad opponent performances. Still, I think Miami, especially if Daniel Thomas doesn't play, matches up pretty poorly here... As a Bengals fan, I'm wary of this Tennessee game - the Bengals are riding high, have a number of high-profile division games coming up, and have to play on the road in this one. The Titans are everyone's dog right now, and the public is on the Bengals. Fade the Public... On the other hand, after last week, maybe you should just Fade Me. I'm pretty sure that's a Black Crowes song... I don't think McFadden plays for the Raiders, which means that they'll need to rely on whoever plays quarterback, presumably Palmer. I'll take the points given to me in that case... Most difficult games for me were Jets-Bills and Niners-Redskins. |
| Pianowski | New England continues to get ridiculous respect in the line, and it makes no sense. Their secondary is begging to be exploited, and the Giants have the pieces to do just that. |
| Liss | Only games I really like are the Chargers, Seahawks and Rams. Every other one is pretty much a coin flip. |
| Stopa | I struggled with this slate, and when I don't have a strong feel, I find myself siding with Vegas. For instance, Vegas must have known that I, and many others, would want to take the Pats and Saints to rebound, as those lines are a point or two higher than I'd have thought. The value is with the Giants and Bucs... The Redskins may have the worst offense in football right now. I don't see how that stays close... This week marks the end of Tebow-mania. I think everyone knows it, even John Fox, they're just giving him one more chance so they can tell the fans "see? we told you so."... Home field means little with the Ravens and Steelers, so I'll take the points and a team that dominated the Steelers not long ago. |
| Del Don | The Chargers are coming off a short week, whereas the Packers are coming off a bye, but that's a pretty massive line. I wouldn't be surprised if San Diego wins outright. |
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 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: RotoWire Senior Staff Writer. 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Game Capsules and the Barometer. Covers the Eagles and roots for the 49ers.
