We are trying to build on our modest success, going 9-5
straight up and 8-6 against the spread. Our best performance in Week 5 was off
the Big Games, where we had a clean three-game sweep straight up and against
the spread.
JOIN US!
It is never too late to join and see how you measure up
against me and other listeners who participate.
You can enter your picks and join the groups I created for the
show. The winner will be touted on the Saturday
show and, if you top the charts, you could even call in to give me your
picks! Here is how:
Game
|
Goal
|
Where to Play
|
Group to Join
|
Eliminator Challenge
|
Pick 1 winner per week, no
repeat picks (a.k.a. Knockout Pool)
|
||
Pigskin Pick’Em (Straight Up)
|
Pick a winner for each game,
every week
|
||
Pigskin Pick’Em (Against the
Spread)
|
Pick a winner against the point
spread for each game, every week
|
||
NFL Gridiron Challenge
|
Pick a team of players with a
$50 million salary cap
|
KNOCKOUT POOL/ESPN.com ELIMINATOR CHALLENGE
We may be in Round 3 of our Knockout Pool with two
early-season losses to our discredit, but we are starting to find a rhythm with
our second straight win. We are
utilizing the “Jacksonville strategy”, which is simply to pick the Jags’
opponent. St. Louis handled Jacksonville
easily at home, 34-20.
This week’s pick: Denver
defeating Jacksonville
The “Jacksonville strategy” will be used for a third
week. It may be the most lopsided spread
in the last decade, with the Jaguars traveling to the rarified air of Denver
and the rare numbers the Broncos offense has put up in the first five weeks of
the season. Peyton Manning: 21 total
touchdowns, 1 interception. Denver has
had some trouble covering big spreads, but an upset here by Jacksonville will
be in “Buster Douglas” upset territory.
PAST PICKS
Week 1: Tampa Bay (L at NYJ)
Week 2: Cincinnati (W vs PIT)
Week 3: Minnesota (L vs CLE)
Week 4: Indianapolis (W at JAX)
Week 5: St. Louis (W vs. JAX)
GAME PICKS/ESPN.com PIGSKIN PICK ‘EM
Here are the game picks for this week. We talk about the local games and the three
of the other most important games, our “Big Games”, on our weekly This Week in
Fantasy Sports segment on Saturdays, but we pick every game, every week here on
the blog. New this year is the listing
of our preseason pick we made for our NFL Preview series on the show. This will give you an idea on what I thought
of each team before the season and what I am thinking of each team during the
season.
ALL GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
SEASON
|
44-33 (.571)
|
36-41 (.468)
|
43-34 (.558)
|
LAST WEEK (Week 5)
|
9-5
|
8-6
|
6-8
|
LOCAL GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
SEASON
|
7-11
|
3-15
|
7-11
|
LAST WEEK (Week 5)
|
1-2
|
1-2
|
0-3
|
WEEK 6 LOCAL GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
N.Y. Giants at Chicago (Thursday
night)
|
CHI
|
NYG (+7.5)
|
CHI
|
Pittsburgh at N.Y. Jets (Sunday
1pm)
|
NYJ
|
NYJ (-2.5)
|
PIT
|
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
(Sunday 1pm)
|
PHL
|
PHL (-1.5)
|
TBY
|
New Orleans at New England
(Sunday 4pm)
|
NO
|
NO (+2.5)
|
NE
|
BIG GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
SEASON
|
8-7
|
9-6
|
7-8
|
LAST WEEK (Week 5)
|
3-0
|
3-0
|
2-1
|
WEEK 6 BIG GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
Detroit at Cleveland (Sunday
1pm)
|
CLE
|
CLE (+2.5)
|
DET
|
Green Bay at Baltimore (Sunday
1pm)
|
GBY
|
GBY (-3.5)
|
GBY
|
Indianapolis at San Diego
(Monday night)
|
IND
|
IND (-1.5)
|
SDG
|
OTHER GAMES
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
SEASON
|
30-15
|
25-20
|
30-15
|
LAST WEEK (Week 5)
|
5-3
|
4-4
|
4-4
|
WEEK 6 OTHER GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
Cincinnati at Buffalo (Sunday
1pm)
|
CIN
|
CIN (-7.5)
|
CIN
|
Oakland at Kansas City (Sunday
1pm)
|
KCY
|
OAK (+9.5)
|
KCY
|
St. Louis at Houston (Sunday
1pm)
|
HOU
|
HOU (-7.5)
|
HOU
|
Carolina at Minnesota (Sunday
1pm)
|
MIN
|
MIN (-2.5)
|
MIN
|
Jacksonville at Denver (Sunday
4pm)
|
DEN
|
JAX (+27.5)
|
DEN
|
Tennessee at Seattle (Sunday
4pm)
|
SEA
|
SEA (-13.5)
|
SEA
|
Arizona at San Francisco
(Sunday 4pm)
|
SFO
|
ARZ (+11.5)
|
SFO
|
Washington at Dallas (Sunday
night)
|
DAL
|
WSH (+5.5)
|
DAL
|
START ‘EM/ANTI-START ‘EM/ESPN.com GRIDIRON CHALLENGE
We are participating in the ESPN Gridiron Challenge on
ESPN.com again this season. The object
is to pick the best team possible with a $50 million salary cap. The salary cap moves up if the value of your
players increases. However, we have added
another wrinkle. The object of the
ESPN.com is to buy low and sell high and the more you accomplish that, the more
money you get in your salary cap. My
goal is to put together a nine-man unit (2 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF)
that is better than another nine-man unit at a similar price.
Week 5 was a high-scoring affair and the game hinged on the
performance of Tony Romo. We told you to
play Tom Brady over Romo. Romo had one
of the most prolific games of his career with 48 points and Brady did not pass
for a touchdown for the first time in 53 games.
Brady scored 5 points and that 43 point difference was plenty to turn
the tide in favor of the Anti-Start Team.
Outside of that matchup, the Start Team was better on 6 of the other 8
lineup slots and outscored the Anti-Start Team, 111-80. But, we are still above .500 in won-lost
(3-2) and by position (24-19-2) with more points scored than allowed overall.
WEEK 1:
Head-to-Head – L, 100-137; By Position: 2-7
WEEK 2:
Head-to-Head – L, 86-116; By Position: 3-5-1
WEEK 3: Head-to-Head – W, 114-95; By Position: 6-3
WEEK 3: Head-to-Head – W, 114-95; By Position: 6-3
WEEK 4:
Head-to-Head – W, 118-48; By Position: 7-2
WEEK 5:
Head-to-Head – L, 116-128; By Position: 6-2-1
SEASON: 3-2 W-L (.600), 534 PF, 524 PA
(.505), 24-19-2 by position (.556)
Here is the Week 6 entry in the Gridrion Challenge, our
“Start ‘Em” team, along with our comparable “Anti-Start ‘Em” team, which is our
“opponent” for the week.
(all dollar figures in millions)
Start ‘Em Team
|
POS
|
Anti-Start ‘Em Team
|
Russell Wilson SEA ($6.1)
|
QB
|
Matthew Stafford DET ($6.3)
|
Matt Schaub HOU ($5.5)
|
QB
|
Sam Bradford STL ($5.8)
|
Doug Martin TBY ($6.4)
|
RB
|
Ray Rice BAL ($6.1)
|
Darren Sproles NO ($5.6)
|
RB
|
Fred Jackson BUF ($6)
|
A.J. Green CIN ($6.3)
|
WR
|
Pierre Garcon WSH ($5.8)
|
Randall Cobb GBY ($6.0)
|
WR
|
Larry Fitzgerald ARZ ($5.6)
|
Antonio Gates SDG ($5.6)
|
TE
|
Julius Thomas DEN ($5.8)
|
Alex Henery PHL ($4.6)
|
K
|
Garrett Hartley NO ($4.9)
|
Seattle Seahawks SEA ($5.5)
|
DEF
|
New England Patriots NE ($5.4)
|
$51.6 million
|
TOTAL
|
$51.7 million
|
Catch me on "Sports With The
StatMan" on Wednesdays at
11pm ET and Saturdays at 11am ET. We'll break down these picks and look ahead
to next week on our This Week in Fantasy Sports segment, Saturday morning at
11am ET.
