Week 16 NFL Picks

KNOCKOUT POOL/ESPN.com ELIMINATOR CHALLENGE

I had faith in the Fish last week.  In Week 15 of a Knockout Pool, the pickings are very slim.  Miami is not in playoff contention, but they were playing Jacksonville at home, so I went with Miami.  The win brings me to 14-1 in Knockout picks this season

This week’s pick: Washington defeating Philadelphia

I have two problems with my own pick this week.  The Eagles ruined my perfect season, as I picked against them in Week 14 in Tampa when Philadelphia won the game on a last-minute touchdown in its comeback win.  The other problem is my pick is for a road team, which is usually a cardinal sin for Knockout Pool picks.  Washington is on the road, but the Redskins are the upstart team here, tied for first in the NFC East.  Washington wants to set up a division title showdown with Dallas next week and has to win to stay clear of Dallas and the Giants, which are all at 8-6.  Robert Griffin III returns to the field this week, which may the Redskins an added boost.  I could go with New England, another team on the road, at Jacksonville, but I will save the Patriots for next week.  Pick the ‘Skins to win.

PAST PICKS

Week 1: Houston (W vs. MIA)

Week 2: N.Y. Giants (W vs. TBY)

Week 3: Chicago (W vs. STL)

Week 4: Baltimore (W vs. CLE)

Week 5: San Francisco (W vs. BUF)

Week 6: N.Y. Jets (W vs. IND)

Week 7: Minnesota (W vs. ARZ)

Week 8: Green Bay (W vs. JAX)

Week 9: Seattle (W vs. MIN)

Week 10: Pittsburgh (W vs. KCY)

Week 11: Dallas (W vs. CLE)

Week 12: Indianapolis (W vs. BUF)

Week 13: Denver (W vs TBY)

Week 14: Tampa Bay (L vs PHL)

Week 15: Miami (W vs JAX)

GAME PICKS/ESPN.com PIGSKIN PICK ‘EM

Here are the game picks for this week.  We also have a “Sports With the StatMan” entry in the ESPN.com Pigskin Pick ‘Em for games against the spread.  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.  Here they are:

LOCAL GAMES

Last Week: 2-2 straight up, 1-3 against the spread

Season: 35-18 straight up, 27-25-1 against the spread

Week 16 Picks:

New England at Jacksonville (Sunday 1pm) – Straight Up: NE, Against the Spread: NE (-14.5)

San Diego at N.Y. Jets (Sunday 1pm) – Straight Up: NYJ, Against the Spread: NYJ (-2.5)

Washington at Philadelphia (Sunday 1pm) – Straight Up: WSH, Against the Spread: WSH (-4.5)

N.Y. Giants at Baltimore (Sunday 4pm) – Straight Up: NYG, Against the Spread: NYG (-2.5)

BIG GAMES

Last Week: 3-0 straight up, 2-1 against the spread

Season: 34-12 straight up, 26-20 against the spread

Week 16 Picks:

Minnesota at Houston (Sunday 1pm) - Straight Up: HOU, Against the Spread: MIN (+7.5)
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (Sunday 1pm) - Straight Up: CIN, Against the Spread: CIN (+4.5)
San Francisco at Seattle (Sunday night) - Straight Up: SEA, Against the Spread: SEA (+1.5)

OTHER GAMES

Last Week: 4-5 straight up, 3-6 against the spread

Season: 77-48 straight up, 63-62 against the spread

Week 16 Picks:

Atlanta at Detroit (Saturday night) - Straight Up: ATL, Against the Spread: ATL (-3.5)
Tennessee at Green Bay (Sunday 1pm) - Straight Up: GBY, Against the Spread: GBY (-12.5)
St. Louis at Tampa Bay (Sunday 1pm) - Straight Up: STL, Against the Spread: STL (+3.5)
Oakland at Carolina (Sunday 1pm) - Straight Up: CAR, Against the Spread: OAK (+8.5)
Buffalo at Miami (Sunday 1pm) - Straight Up: MIA, Against the Spread: MIA (+4.5)
Indianapolis at Kansas City (Sunday 1pm) - Straight Up: IND, Against the Spread: IND (-6.5)
New Orleans at Dallas (Sunday 1pm) - Straight Up: DAL, Against the Spread: DAL (-3.5)
Cleveland at Denver (Sunday 4pm) - Straight Up: DEN, Against the Spread: DEN (-13.5)
Chicago at Arizona (Sunday 4pm) - Straight Up: CHI, Against the Spread: CHI (-5.5)

START ‘EM/ANTI-START ‘EM/ESPN.com GRIDIRON CHALLENGE

We are participating in the ESPN Gridiron Challenge on ESPN.com.  The object is to pick the best team possible with a $50 million salary cap.  However, we are adding 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.

So far this season, my nine-man squad is 7-7-1 and we have lost two in a row after an impressive 6-0-1 run:

Week 1: Head-to-Head – L, 107-124; By Position – 2-6-1

Week 2: Head-to-Head – L, 73-98; By Position – 3-6

Week 3: Head-to-Head – L, 103-139; By Position – 3-6

Week 4: Head-to-Head – L, 105-118; By Position – 4-5

Week 5: Head-to-Head – W, 110-56; By Position – 7-2

Week 6: Head-to-Head – L, 98-127; By Position – 2-6-1

Week 7: Head-to-Head – W, 119-80; By Position – 6-3

Week 8: Head-to-Head – T, 75-75; By Position – 3-5-1

Week 9: Head-to-Head – W, 138-105; By Position – 4-4-1

Week 10: Head-to-Head – W, 145-43; By Position – 9-0

Week 11: Head-to-Head – W, 100-65; By Position – 5-4

Week 12: Head-to-Head – W, 98-95; By Position – 5-4

Week 13: Head-to-Head – W, 92-81; By Position – 5-4

Week 14: Head-to-Head – L, 54-110; By Position – 1-6-2
Week 15: Head-to-Head - L, 71-95; By Position - 3-5-1

TOTALS: W-L: 7-7-1, PF: 1488, PA: 1401, By Position: 62-66-7

Here is the Week 16 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
Robert Griffin III WSH ($7.3)	QB	Ben Roethlisberger PIT ($6.9)
Greg McElroy NYJ ($5.4)	QB	Philip Rivers SDG ($5.9)
Reggie Bush MIA ($7.0)	RB	BenJarvis Green-Ellis CIN ($7.8)
Knowshon Moreno DEN ($5.9)	RB	Beanie Wells ARZ ($5.6)
Cecil Shorts JAX ($6.9)	WR	Anquan Boldin BAL ($6.3)
Leonard Hankerson WSH ($4.5)	WR	Josh Gordon CLE ($5.4)
Jeff Cumberland NYJ ($4.6)	TE	Kellen Davis CHI ($3.8)
Sebastian Janikowski OAK ($3.9)	K	Josh Scobee JAX ($3.3)
San Diego Chargers SDG ($4.3)	DEF	Arizona Cardinals ARZ ($4.9)
$49.8 million	TOTAL	$49.9 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.