Week 12 was a tough one in just about every measurable
area. We lost our Knockout pick, we were
5-9 picking winners and not much better (6-8) against the spread. On the slim plus side, the Start ‘Em Team won
its sixth in a row to move to 8-4 on the season. But, that was it and we start December on a
low point.
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
It is time to stop underestimating Tampa Bay. They have some talent and they believe in
their coach (again). Also, it is
probably a good idea not to overestimate Detroit, even at home. We did both and got burned in Week 12 in the Knockout
Pool, lowering our record to 8-4, as the Bucs beat the Lions, 24-21.
This week’s pick: Dallas
defeating Oakland
An early pick this week as we are offering our Knockout Pool
pick on the middle game on Thanksgiving.
I would love to know the record of teams with minimal national coverage
playing on Thanksgiving in a nationally-televised game on the road. That is the situation for Oakland and they
have a short week besides. Oakland lost
to Tennessee and, although they are still mathematically alive for the playoffs
at 4-7, I think any playoff hopes are just about gone. I am going with the Cowboys at home.
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)
Week 6: Denver (W vs. JAX)
Week 7: Green Bay (W vs. CLE)
Week 8: New Orleans (W vs. BUF)
Week 9: Seattle (W vs. TBY)
Week 10: Tennessee (L vs. JAX)
Week 11: N.Y. Giants (W vs. GBY)
Week 12: Detroit (L vs. TBY)
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 picks 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 SU
|
SEASON
|
101-75 (.574)
|
74-102 (.420)
|
99-77 (.563)
|
LAST WEEK (Week 12)
|
5-9
|
6-8
|
4-10
|
LOCAL GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
SEASON
|
20-20
|
14-26
|
19-21
|
LAST WEEK (Week 12)
|
1-2
|
1-2
|
1-2
|
WEEK 13 LOCAL GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
Miami at N.Y. Jets (Sunday 1pm)
|
NYJ
|
NYJ (-1.5)
|
MIA
|
Arizona at Philadelphia (Sunday
1pm)
|
PHL
|
PHL (-3.5)
|
PHL
|
New England at Houston (Sunday
1pm)
|
NE
|
NE (-8.5)
|
NE
|
N.Y. Giants at Washington
(Sunday night)
|
WSH
|
WSH (+1.5)
|
WSH
|
BIG GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
SEASON
|
19-18
|
16-21
|
18-19
|
LAST WEEK (Week 12)
|
2-2
|
1-3
|
1-3
|
WEEK 13 BIG GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
Green Bay at Detroit (Thursday
12:30pm)
|
DET
|
GBY (+5.5)
|
GBY
|
Denver at Kansas City (Sunday
4pm)
|
DEN
|
KCY (+4.5)
|
DEN
|
New Orleans at Seattle (Monday
night)
|
SEA
|
NO (+5.5)
|
SEA
|
OTHER GAMES
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
SEASON
|
66-37
|
46-57
|
64-39
|
LAST WEEK (Week 12)
|
5-5
|
5-5
|
4-6
|
WEEK 13 OTHER GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
Oakland at Dallas (Thursday
4:30pm)
|
DAL
|
OAK (+9.5)
|
DAL
|
Pittsburgh at Baltimore
(Thursday night)
|
BAL
|
BAL (-2.5)
|
BAL
|
Tampa Bay at Carolina (Sunday
1pm)
|
CAR
|
TBY (+8.5)
|
CAR
|
Jacksonville at Cleveland
(Sunday 1pm)
|
CLE
|
JAX (+7.5)
|
CLE
|
Tennessee at Indianapolis
(Sunday 1pm)
|
IND
|
TEN (+4.5)
|
IND
|
Chicago at Minnesota (Sunday
1pm)
|
CHI
|
CHI (+0.5)
|
MIN
|
Atlanta at Buffalo (Sunday 4pm)
|
BUF
|
BUF (-3.5)
|
ATL
|
St. Louis at San Francisco
(Sunday 4pm)
|
SFO
|
STL (+9.5)
|
SFO
|
Cincinnati at San Diego (Sunday
4pm)
|
CIN
|
CIN (+1.5)
|
SDG
|
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.
Six in a row now for the Start ‘Em Team against the Anti-Start
‘Em Team and the winning continued on a 126-101 win in Week 12. It was the lone bright spot in all of our
games. During the six-game winning
streak, the average score has been 133 to 103.
The high scorer on either side was the Anti-Start ‘Ems Philip Rivers,
who outscored his opposite number on the Start ‘Em side, Mike Glennon,
39-23. Big wins by Jamaal Charles (27-5
over Alfred Morris) and Rob Gronkowski (17-2 over Charles Clay) more than made
up the difference.
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 4:
Head-to-Head – W, 118-48; By Position: 7-2
WEEK 5:
Head-to-Head – L, 116-128; By Position: 6-2-1
WEEK 6:
Head-to-Head – L, 81-102; By Position: 4-5
WEEK 7:
Head-to-Head – W, 125-94; By Position: 5-3-1
WEEK 8:
Head-to-Head – W, 117-86; By Position: 5-4
WEEK 9:
Head-to-Head – W, 181-165; By Position: 5-2-2
WEEK 10:
Head-to-Head – W, 119-61; By Position: 6-3
WEEK 11:
Head-to-Head – W, 129-112; By Position: 5-3-1
WEEK 12:
Head-to-Head – W, 126-101; By Position: 5-3-1
SEASON: 8-4 W-L (.667), 1412 PF, 1245 PA
(53.1% of points), 59-42-7 by position (.579)
Here is the Week 12 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 ($6.5)
|
QB
|
Philip Rivers SDG ($6.4)
|
Case Keenum HOU ($5.5)
|
QB
|
Matt Ryan ATL ($6.1)
|
LeSean McCoy PHL ($7.7)
|
RB
|
Matt Forte CHI ($7.5)
|
C.J. Spiller BUF ($5.7)
|
RB
|
Stevan Ridley NE ($6.4)
|
Brandon Marshall CHI ($7.3)
|
WR
|
Pierre Garcon WSH ($6.2)
|
Rueben Randle NYG ($5.2)
|
WR
|
Steve Smith CAR ($5.6)
|
Jordan Cameron CLE ($5.2)
|
TE
|
Jared Cook STL ($5.1)
|
Dan Carpenter BUF ($4.4)
|
K
|
Garrett Hartley NO ($4.6)
|
St. Louis Rams STL ($5)
|
DEF
|
Kansas City Chiefs KCY ($6)
|
$52.5 million
|
|
$53.9 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.