The straight up picks which we pick week-to-week has now
finally caught up to the picks we made before the season started, as a 10-5
week of the weekly picks moved our record to 63-44 on the season. The picks we made in preseason netted an 8-7
record to fall to that same 63-44 record.
But, the 10-5 record was our second-best showing in picking winners,
while the 7-8 record against the spread was tied for our third-best week in the
season’s first seven weeks.
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
Week 6 brought our fourth straight win in the Eliminator
Challenge, with Green Bay handling Cleveland easily, 31-13. We have lost twice this season, but we are
gaining momentum with those four straight wins.
Our wins have been routs, as the five wins have a scoring margin of +92,
while the two losses have been by a total of five points.
This week’s pick: New
Orleans defeating Buffalo
The Saints at home are always a good pick. Add in that Buffalo is featuring a rookie
quarterback in Thad Lewis, and their most explosive skill position player, C.J.
Spiller, is doubtful with an ankle injury, that makes the pick even
easier. The Saints have a lot of
weapons, even if Jimmy Graham is a little banged up. The Saints are 12.5-point favorites and I do
not think it will be that close.
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)
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
|
63-44 (.589)
|
46-61 (.430)
|
63-44 (.589)
|
LAST WEEK (Week 7)
|
10-5
|
7-8
|
8-7
|
LOCAL GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
SEASON
|
11-14
|
7-18
|
11-14
|
LAST WEEK (Week 7)
|
2-1
|
2-1
|
1-2
|
WEEK 7 LOCAL GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
Miami at New England (Sunday
1pm)
|
NE
|
NE (-6.5)
|
NE
|
N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia
(Sunday 1pm)
|
PHL
|
PHL (-5.5)
|
PHL
|
N.Y. Jets at Cincinnati (Sunday
4pm)
|
CIN
|
NYJ (+6.5)
|
CIN
|
BIG GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
SEASON
|
10-11
|
10-11
|
11-10
|
LAST WEEK (Week 7)
|
1-2
|
1-2
|
1-2
|
WEEK 7 BIG GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
Dallas at Detroit (Sunday 1pm)
|
DET
|
DET (-2.5)
|
DAL
|
Atlanta at Arizona (Sunday 4pm)
|
ATL
|
ATL (+2.5)
|
ATL
|
Washington at Denver (Sunday
4pm)
|
DEN
|
DEN (-13.5)
|
DEN
|
OTHER GAMES
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
SEASON
|
42-19
|
29-32
|
41-20
|
LAST WEEK (Week 7)
|
7-2
|
4-5
|
6-3
|
WEEK 7 OTHER GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason Pick
|
Carolina at Tampa Bay (Thursday
night)
|
CAR
|
CAR (-6.5)
|
CAR
|
Buffalo at New Orleans (Sunday
1pm)
|
NO
|
NO (-12.5)
|
NO
|
Cleveland at Kansas City
(Sunday 1pm)
|
KCY
|
KCY (-7.5)
|
KCY
|
San Francisco vs. Jacksonville
(Sunday 1pm)
|
SFO
|
JAX (+16.5)
|
SFO
|
Pittsburgh at Oakland (Sunday
4pm)
|
PIT
|
PIT (-2.5)
|
PIT
|
Green Bay at Minnesota (Sunday night)
|
GBY
|
GBY (-9.5)
|
MIN
|
Seattle at St. Louis (Monday
night)
|
SEA
|
SEA (-10.5)
|
SEA
|
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 7 was the best week of the season for us in this
game. The Start ‘Em Team scored 125
points, which is the high-water mark of the season. The win moved us over .500, the winning
margin put us over the break-even mark for point differential (+20 for the
season), and the five wins and a tie in the nine position-by-position
comparisons advanced our winning percentage to .556 for the season.
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
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
SEASON: 4-3 W-L (.571), 740 PF, 720 PA
(50.7% of points), 33-26-3 by position (.556)
Here is the Week 8 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 ($6.3)
|
QB
|
Matt Ryan ATL ($6.7)
|
Eli Manning NYG ($5.6)
|
QB
|
Geno Smith NYJ ($5.9)
|
Alfred Morris WSH ($6.5)
|
RB
|
Adrian Peterson MIN ($6.9)
|
Stevan Ridley NE ($5.9)
|
RB
|
Zac Stacy STL ($6)
|
Jordy Nelson GBY ($6.5)
|
WR
|
A.J. Green CIN ($6.8)
|
Antonio Brown PIT ($5.7)
|
WR
|
Larry Fitzgerald ARZ ($5.6)
|
Julius Thomas DEN ($6.1)
|
TE
|
Charles Clay MIA ($5.3)
|
Matt Prater DEN ($4.8)
|
K
|
Shaun Suisham PIT ($4.6)
|
Seattle Seahawks SEA ($5.7)
|
DEF
|
Dallas Cowboys DAL ($5.4)
|
$53.1 million
|
TOTAL
|
$53.2 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.
