This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
For the podcast version of this article:
To subscribe, here.What an ugly week for the staff with two 5-7-2s and three 4-8-2s. As a result, our majority picks were 3-9-2, and we lost three of four unanimous picks.
This week we have four more consensus picks, the Jets, Steelers, Patriots and Bears. Oddly, Dalton and I have the exact same picks. (Given we're battling for last place, it doesn't necessarily bode well for those teams.) Instead of "great minds think alike," it might be "simpletons fall for the same fallacies."
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns +11 at Bengals | Browns | Browns | Browns | Bengals | Browns |
| Raiders +4.5 at Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers |
| Jaguars +6.5 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Rams +2 at Vikings | Rams | Rams | Rams | Vikings | Rams |
| Dolphins +3 at Bills | Bills | Dolphins | Dolphins | Bills | Dolphins |
| Titans +9.5 at Saints | Saints | Titans | Titans | Titans | Titans |
| Redskins +14 at Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots |
| Packers -2.5 at Panthers | Panthers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Falcons -7 at 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons |
| Giants -2.5 at Buccaneers | Bucccaneers | Giants | Giants | Bucccaneers | Giants |
| Broncos -4.5 at Colts | Broncos | Broncos | Colts | Broncos | Colts |
| Eagles -2.5 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Bears +4 at Chargers | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears |
| Best Bet | Bills | Jets | Steelers | Jets | Falcons |
| Last Week's Record | 5-7-2 | 4-8-2 | 5-7-2 | 4-8-2 | 4-8-2 |
| 2015 Record | 57-57-5 | 59-55-5 | 48-66-5 | 58-56-5 | 51-63-5 |
| Best Bet Record | 4-4 | 5-3 | 4-3-1 | 2-5-1 | 5-3 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 7-11 | ||||
| Majority |
For the podcast version of this article:
To subscribe, here.What an ugly week for the staff with two 5-7-2s and three 4-8-2s. As a result, our majority picks were 3-9-2, and we lost three of four unanimous picks.
This week we have four more consensus picks, the Jets, Steelers, Patriots and Bears. Oddly, Dalton and I have the exact same picks. (Given we're battling for last place, it doesn't necessarily bode well for those teams.) Instead of "great minds think alike," it might be "simpletons fall for the same fallacies."
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns +11 at Bengals | Browns | Browns | Browns | Bengals | Browns |
| Raiders +4.5 at Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers |
| Jaguars +6.5 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Rams +2 at Vikings | Rams | Rams | Rams | Vikings | Rams |
| Dolphins +3 at Bills | Bills | Dolphins | Dolphins | Bills | Dolphins |
| Titans +9.5 at Saints | Saints | Titans | Titans | Titans | Titans |
| Redskins +14 at Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots |
| Packers -2.5 at Panthers | Panthers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Falcons -7 at 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons |
| Giants -2.5 at Buccaneers | Bucccaneers | Giants | Giants | Bucccaneers | Giants |
| Broncos -4.5 at Colts | Broncos | Broncos | Colts | Broncos | Colts |
| Eagles -2.5 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Bears +4 at Chargers | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears |
| Best Bet | Bills | Jets | Steelers | Jets | Falcons |
| Last Week's Record | 5-7-2 | 4-8-2 | 5-7-2 | 4-8-2 | 4-8-2 |
| 2015 Record | 57-57-5 | 59-55-5 | 48-66-5 | 58-56-5 | 51-63-5 |
| Best Bet Record | 4-4 | 5-3 | 4-3-1 | 2-5-1 | 5-3 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 7-11 | ||||
| Majority Pick Record | 53-61-5 | ||||
| 2014 Unanimous Pick Record | 20-15-1 | ||||
| 2014 Majority Record | 146-116-5 | ||||
| 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 four unanimous picks, the Steelers, Jets, Patriots and Bears. We went 1-3 on unanimous picks last week, winning with the Broncos, but losing with the Steelers, Seahawks and Lions to bring our season record to 7-11. We went 3-9-2 on unanimous picks to bring our season record to 53-61-5.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
|---|---|
| Erickson | The Bills are such a better team with Tyrod Taylor at the helm than E.J. Manuel, plus they'll be getting back many of their injured players... Maybe it's not the same magnitude as last week at Denver, but I'm very surprised the Packers are favored on the road against Carolina. The line assumes what happened on Sunday night can't happen two weeks in a row, rather than believing there's an identifiable problem with the offense. I tend to believe it's the latter... I also don't believe in Minnesota, at least as much as I do the Rams in the Todd Gurley Era. But I also understand that line more - Minnesota plays good defense, and Nick Foles doesn't scare anybody... I feel sort of dirty backing Blaine Gabbert, and the Niners have a joke of a front office, but I also think that the Falcons are a bit of a fraud. Putting that in print probably will come back to haunt me... I tend to get the Bengals pick wrong, because I can't separate emotion from analysis. But that line strikes me as too big for a team that didn't move the ball well at all against Pittsburgh and now has a short week to prepare for a game - it has the feel of a really sloppy game. |
| Pianowski | New York's flop in Oakland was more about the Raiders being good than anything else. The Jets defense should have a field day against Blake Bortles - the Jacksonville QB has some pretty fantasy stats, but he's not playing well... I'm going to stubbornly play against Minnesota, still annoyed at their 5-2 record that doesn't hold up against any rational second-level number analysis. They don't really pass the eye test, either, though I am in love with Stefon Diggs. |
| Liss | Strange DDD and I have the exact same picks, but we do the podcast together, and also there are only 13 games this week. I also went back and checked my pre-podcast picks, and the only one he swayed me on was Cleveland, and that's because I realized I was initially inclined to go with the favorite due to traumatic experiences from picking Thursday night underdogs the last two weeks. I think the Steelers roll at home this week with Ben Roethlisberger shaking off the rust. Other teams I like are the Jets, Eagles, Colts, Bears and Giants. |
| Stopa | The Jets just played their worst game of the year on the West Coast, now get to get well against an awful Jags team. Expect a double-digit win. This has to be a spot to buy the Bills (getting healthy) and Packers low. |
| Del Don | The Falcons scored 10 points two weeks ago against a team struggling so badly they just fired their coach. Atlanta then lost last week at home to the Bucs. But giving seven points on the road still feels like not enough to the 49ers, who are clearly the league doormat. Good luck with the Blaine Gabbert era. |
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.
