This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Welcome to the 17th edition of Staff Picks - check the table below. Erickson, Pianowski and I have been at this since 2000. (I actually started Beating the Book in 1999.) This year we're gunning for Erickson who was the only writer to have a good season in 2015.
For Week 1, we have five unanimous picks: the Bucs, Jets, Saints, Lions, and Redskins. And Erickson, DDD and me all made the Broncos our best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers -3 at Broncos | Broncos | Panthers | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
| Buccaneers +3 at Falcons | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers |
| Vikings -2 at Titans | Titans | Titans | Vikings | Vikings | Titans |
| Browns +4 at Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Browns | Browns |
| Bengals -2.5 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Raiders +1 at Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints |
| Chargers +7 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chargers | Chargers | Chiefs | Chargers |
| Bills +3 at Ravens | Bills | Ravens | Ravens | Bills | Ravens |
| Bears +6 at Texans | Texans | Texans | Bears | Texans | Bears |
| Packers -4.5 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Packers | Jaguars |
| Dolphins +10.5 at Seahawks | Dolphins | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Dolphins |
| Giants pick 'em at Cowboys | Giants | Giants | Giants | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Lions +4 at Colts | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Patriots +6 at Cardinals | Patriots | Cardinals | Cardinals | Patriots | Patriots |
| Steelers -3 at Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Rams -2.5 at 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | Rams | Rams | 49ers |
| Best Bet | Broncos | Cardinals | Broncos | Rams | Broncos |
| 2015 Record | 134-114-8 | 120-128-8 | 114-134-8 | 127-121-8 | 121-127-8 |
| 2015 Best Bet Record | 9-7-1 | 8-9 | 7-8-2 | 7-9-1 | 8-9 |
Welcome to the 17th edition of Staff Picks - check the table below. Erickson, Pianowski and I have been at this since 2000. (I actually started Beating the Book in 1999.) This year we're gunning for Erickson who was the only writer to have a good season in 2015.
Unanimous/Majority Picks
The players:
For Week 1, we have five unanimous picks: the Bucs, Jets, Saints, Lions, and Redskins. And Erickson, DDD and me all made the Broncos our best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers -3 at Broncos | Broncos | Panthers | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | ||
| Buccaneers +3 at Falcons | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | ||
| Vikings -2 at Titans | Titans | Titans | Vikings | Vikings | Titans | ||
| Browns +4 at Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Browns | Browns | ||
| Bengals -2.5 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | ||
| Raiders +1 at Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | ||
| Chargers +7 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chargers | Chargers | Chiefs | Chargers | ||
| Bills +3 at Ravens | Bills | Ravens | Ravens | Bills | Ravens | ||
| Bears +6 at Texans | Texans | Texans | Bears | Texans | Bears | ||
| Packers -4.5 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Packers | Jaguars | ||
| Dolphins +10.5 at Seahawks | Dolphins | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Dolphins | ||
| Giants pick 'em at Cowboys | Giants | Giants | Giants | Cowboys | Cowboys | ||
| Lions +4 at Colts | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | ||
| Patriots +6 at Cardinals | Patriots | Cardinals | Cardinals | Patriots | Patriots | ||
| Steelers -3 at Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | ||
| Rams -2.5 at 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | Rams | Rams | 49ers | ||
| Best Bet | Broncos | Cardinals | Broncos | Rams | Broncos | ||
| 2015 Record | 134-114-8 | 120-128-8 | 114-134-8 | 127-121-8 | 121-127-8 | ||
| 2015 Best Bet Record | 9-7-1 | 8-9 | 7-8-2 | 7-9-1 | 8-9 | ||
| 2015 Unanimous Pick Record | 21-27-1 | ||||||
| 2015 Majority Pick Record | 123-125-8 | ||||||
| 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
This week we have five unanimous picks, the Buccaneers, Jets, Saints, Lions and Redskins. Last year we were 21-27-1 on unanimous picks.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
|---|---|
| Erickson | The elite defense that stymied the Panthers in the Super Bowl remains intact, and now the Broncos are at home and getting points? And the Panthers' secondary, which is supposed to feast against Trevor Siemian, has a lot of question marks. |
| Pianowski | Hate the slate. Jimmy G's pocket awareness is not ready for Arizona. |
| Liss | I'd have set the DEN-CAR line at CAR +3, not -3. Put differently, this line implies if the game were in Carolina it would be nine. I also like the Redskins, Saints and Lions. |
| Stopa | The Rams weakness on D is in the secondary, but the 49ers have the worst collection of talent in the passing game in recent memory. Laying less than a FG against this train wreck of a team is a no-brainer for me; these lines will be much bigger in coming weeks... I'm similarly confident the Texans will be up 27-3 at the half against an atrocious Bears secondary. Osweiler is my favorite GPP play of the week. |
| Del Don | As usual, Week 1 is my favorite betting week of the season, as I could have made at least a half dozen other picks my "best bet," when there will be plenty of others times this year in which I struggle to come up with even one. It doesn't mean I'm guaranteed a winning week, of course, but there will never be another slate this season that takes me less time to decide each game, that's for sure. Each new year brings much uncertainty, so when in doubt, I sided with the dog (14 of them, with one of the favorites being by just one point). |
The players:
• Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008, 2013, 2015 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.
