This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
It's hard to believe but it took until Week 7 for everyone on the staff to have a winning record and for us to go 2-1 on consensus picks. Erickson won the week at 10-5, extending his lead to three games over DDD.
We have two consensus picks this week: the Cowboys and Rams. Mercifully, Pianow stopped us from having a Jaguars consensus and Stopa saved us from the Vikings.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers -6 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Panthers | Panthers | Buccaneers |
| 49ers -16.5 vs. Jaguars (in London) | Jaguars | 49ers | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Cowboys +3 at Lions | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Giants +6 at Eagles | Giants | Giants | Giants | Eagles | Giants |
| Browns +7.5 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Browns | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Dolphins +6.5 at Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Patriots |
| Bills +11.5 at Saints | Bills | Bills | Saints | Bills | Bills |
| Jets +6.5 at Bengals | Bengals | Jets | Bengals | Jets | Jets |
| Steelers -2.5 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Steelers | Raiders | Steelers |
| Redskins +12.5 at Broncos | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Broncos | Redskins |
| Falcons +2.5 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Falcons | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Packers -9 at Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Packers | Vikings |
| Seahawks -10.5 at Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams |
| Best Bet | Patriots | Patriots | Cardinals | Panthers | Steelers |
| Last Week's Record | 10-5 | 8-7 | 9-6 | 8-7 | 8-7 |
| 2013 Record | 58-45-4 | 47-56-4 | 45-58-4 | 44-59-4 | 55-48-4 |
| Best Bet Record | 4-3 | 2-5 | 1-6 | 4-3 | 2-5 |
| 2013 Consensus Pick Record | 8-16-2 | ||||
| 2012 Record | 110-140-6 | 124-126-6 | 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 |
It's hard to believe but it took until Week 7 for everyone on the staff to have a winning record and for us to go 2-1 on consensus picks. Erickson won the week at 10-5, extending his lead to three games over DDD.
Consensus Picks
The players:
We have two consensus picks this week: the Cowboys and Rams. Mercifully, Pianow stopped us from having a Jaguars consensus and Stopa saved us from the Vikings.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers -6 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Panthers | Panthers | Buccaneers |
| 49ers -16.5 vs. Jaguars (in London) | Jaguars | 49ers | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Cowboys +3 at Lions | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Giants +6 at Eagles | Giants | Giants | Giants | Eagles | Giants |
| Browns +7.5 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Browns | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Dolphins +6.5 at Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Patriots |
| Bills +11.5 at Saints | Bills | Bills | Saints | Bills | Bills |
| Jets +6.5 at Bengals | Bengals | Jets | Bengals | Jets | Jets |
| Steelers -2.5 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Steelers | Raiders | Steelers |
| Redskins +12.5 at Broncos | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Broncos | Redskins |
| Falcons +2.5 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Falcons | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Packers -9 at Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Packers | Vikings |
| Seahawks -10.5 at Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams |
| Best Bet | Patriots | Patriots | Cardinals | Panthers | Steelers |
| Last Week's Record | 10-5 | 8-7 | 9-6 | 8-7 | 8-7 |
| 2013 Record | 58-45-4 | 47-56-4 | 45-58-4 | 44-59-4 | 55-48-4 |
| Best Bet Record | 4-3 | 2-5 | 1-6 | 4-3 | 2-5 |
| 2013 Consensus Pick Record | 8-16-2 | ||||
| 2012 Record | 110-140-6 | 124-126-6 | 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 |
Consensus Picks
This week we have two consensus picks: the Cowboys and the Rams. Last week we went 2-1 to put us at 8-16-2 on the season.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | There are a lot of evil lines this week where I'm picking teams that leave me cold. Here's looking at you, state of Florida. My guess is one of those two first picks will be another damn consensus pick... The Raiders coming off the bye as a home dog were my begrudging second best bet. The Steelers are playing better than earlier this season, obviously, so this could come back to bite me, but I still think the Raiders are better than their public perception... I fear I'm just piling on the Dolphins right now with making the Pats my best bet, but they're a dumpster fire right now, especially on that offensive line. |
| Pianowski | If New England has another messy divisional loss, okay, I'll talk about the sky possibly falling. Not before. |
| Liss | I know Denver was crushing teams early, but this line ignores how its defense has played of late and RGIII's likely improved health. I also think it's a good time to sell the Falcons on the road against a Cards team with a decent defense. |
| Stopa | What better opportunity for the Bucs to lay a total stink-bomb for all the world to see than on national TV on Thursday night? The message will be clear: "Fire Coach Schiano." The Panthers have been killing the league's doormats and may be a bit underrated... I almost always bet against the Lions, a team that always seems to be smaller than the sum of its parts... The Bills should be getting less than 10, not more, particularly with Jimmy Graham hurt. The defense is underrated, as I explained in Run-N-Shoot... The Falcons looked good against a soft team like the Bucs, but the AZ defense is legit, while the Falcons defense is tissue-paper soft, just what Carson Palmer needs... Even though I like several of these picks, I'm still backing the Jaguars and Rams so, as my record attests, something is seriously wrong with me. |
| Del Don | Some of these spreads seem to be getting out of control, though it was tough backing some teams that look like true doormats... I made a last minute change both with the Vikings and Rams, so those two were my least confident picks... My teaser of the week is Chiefs and Patriots. |
The players:
•Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008 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 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 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.
