This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Another off week for the staff as my 7-7 mark won it outright. This week, we have four consensus picks: the Saints, Jets, Chargers and Eagles. It's worth noting DDD and Stopa have directly opposed best bets, the Colts and Lions, respectively.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints +3.5 at Falcons | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints |
| Seahawks +4 at Bears | Bears | Seahawks | Bears | Seahawks | Bears |
| Vikings +9.5 at Packers | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Packers | Vikings |
| 49ers - 7 at Rams | Rams | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers |
| Cardinals +4.5 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Panthers -3 at Chiefs | Panthers | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Colts +4.5 at Lions | Lions | Colts | Lions | Lions | Colts |
| Jaguars +5.5 at Bills | Jaguars | Jaguars | Bills | Bills | Jaguars |
| Patriots -8 at Dolphins | Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Patriots | Patriots |
| Texans -5.5 at Titans | Titans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans |
| Buccaneers +7 at Broncos | Broncos | Buccaneers | Broncos | Broncos | Buccaneers |
| Steelers +3 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Steelers | Ravens |
| Browns +1.5 at Raiders | Browns | Raiders | Raiders | Browns | Browns |
| Bengals -1.5 at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Eagles +10 at Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Giants -2.5 at Redskins | Giants | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Giants |
| Best Bet | Bears | Eagles | Broncos | Lions | Colts |
| Last Week's Record | 6-8-2 | 6-8-2 | 7-7-2 | 5-9-2 | 6-8-2 |
| 2012 Record | 77-94-5 | 85-86-5 | 80-91-5 | 99-72-3 | 85-86-5 |
| Best Bet Record | 2-8-2 | 9-3 | 4-8 | 7-5 | 7-5 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 17-20-1 | ||||
| 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 |
Another off week for the staff as my 7-7 mark won it outright. This week, we have four consensus picks: the Saints, Jets, Chargers and Eagles. It's worth noting DDD and Stopa have directly opposed best bets, the Colts and Lions, respectively.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints +3.5 at Falcons | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints |
| Seahawks +4 at Bears | Bears | Seahawks | Bears | Seahawks | Bears |
| Vikings +9.5 at Packers | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Packers | Vikings |
| 49ers - 7 at Rams | Rams | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers |
| Cardinals +4.5 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Panthers -3 at Chiefs | Panthers | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Colts +4.5 at Lions | Lions | Colts | Lions | Lions | Colts |
| Jaguars +5.5 at Bills | Jaguars | Jaguars | Bills | Bills | Jaguars |
| Patriots -8 at Dolphins | Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Patriots | Patriots |
| Texans -5.5 at Titans | Titans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans |
| Buccaneers +7 at Broncos | Broncos | Buccaneers | Broncos | Broncos | Buccaneers |
| Steelers +3 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Steelers | Ravens |
| Browns +1.5 at Raiders | Browns | Raiders | Raiders | Browns | Browns |
| Bengals -1.5 at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Eagles +10 at Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Giants -2.5 at Redskins | Giants | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Giants |
| Best Bet | Bears | Eagles | Broncos | Lions | Colts |
| Last Week's Record | 6-8-2 | 6-8-2 | 7-7-2 | 5-9-2 | 6-8-2 |
| 2012 Record | 77-94-5 | 85-86-5 | 80-91-5 | 99-72-3 | 85-86-5 |
| Best Bet Record | 2-8-2 | 9-3 | 4-8 | 7-5 | 7-5 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 17-20-1 | ||||
| 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 |
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | Fading the Seahawks on the road again just seems right. ... I made a point of not taking the side I'm *supposed* to take, which means the likes of the Dolphins, Chiefs and Raiders will cover, probably... What happens though, if a matchup is between two teams you don't want any part of? In that case, take the points, I guess, so give me the Eagles. Ugh... |
| Pianowski | I don't trust the Cowboys at home, or as a big favorite... Somehow I'm backing the usual suspects, the ugly ducklings of the league - the Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers and Eagles. Maybe it's a good weekend to watch something else. |
| Liss | Tampa has had a decent run, but the pass defense is still a problem, and in Denver it's likely to be exposed. And the Jets should be laying more points against Ryan Lindley. |
| Stopa | I have a lot of favorites, but not the Raiders or Cowboys. I wouldn't lay points with Oak, or double-digits with Dallas, against my local high school's JV team... The Colts and Jaguars are both road underdogs yet backed by the majority of the public. That rarely happens, so when it does, I like fading the public - so Lions and Bills it is. Notably, Massey Peabody says the Lions should be favored by eight, and that illustrates what I've said for a few weeks now - the Colts aren't as good as their record suggests... I like the Texans defense to bounce back, and if recent history has taught us anything, teams struggle when they change their coordinators, as the Titans just did (not just the Philly defense this year, which has been terrible under Todd Bowles, but remember a few years ago how a few teams changed their OCs right before the season and immediately began the year on losing streaks?)... The Patriots seem like a sell high, but Miami is, too - that offense is putrid, and one thing you have to like about siding with NE is that they keep the pedal to the floor until the end, basically eliminating the chance of a backdoor cover and, if anything, making a Pats late cover more likely... If Bryce Brown can run on Carolina like that, so can Jamaal Charles at home with Carolina on a short week... I like buying the Steelers low and selling the Ravens high, for reasons I explained in Working the Wire... I like this slate, which I never say - it feels like a 12-4 week, so that probably means 4-12 is coming. |
| Del Don | I get that Indy's underlying stats suggest their record is lucky, but I feel like Vegas is more than factoring that in here. |
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.
