We had it working in picking the locals with a Jets loss
being the only thing stopping us from a clean 4-0 week in picking the winners and
picking against the spread. Overall, we
were 10-5 straight up, but only 6-9 against the spread. Add in the Start ‘Em team’s fifth straight
win and a win in the Knockout Pool, and it was a good week.
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 got back on track in Week 11 with the Giants, joining in
their resurgence. They defeated Green
Bay and their third-string quarterback convincingly, 27-13, to help me to move
to 8-3 on the season in Knockout picks. But,
we can only use them once. And, they are
playing against a starting quarterback in Tony Romo this week.
This week’s pick: Detroit
defeating Tampa Bay
We have reached the time of the season where it is getting
tough to find a good matchup for a team you have not picked all year. We managed to get the most popular Knockout
pick on ESPN.com, which is Detroit at home over Tampa Bay. Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson at home
against an improved Buccaneers team, which includes Darrelle Revis. I think it will be a close game, but I think
Detroit comes out a winner.
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)
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
|
96-66 (.593)
|
68-94 (.420)
|
95-67 (.586)
|
LAST WEEK (Week 11)
|
10-5
|
6-9
|
11-4
|
LOCAL GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
SEASON
|
19-18
|
13-24
|
18-19
|
LAST WEEK (Week 11)
|
3-1
|
3-1
|
2-2
|
WEEK 12 LOCAL GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
N.Y. Jets at Baltimore (Sunday
1pm)
|
BAL
|
BAL (-3.5)
|
BAL
|
Dallas at N.Y. Giants (Sunday
4pm)
|
NYG
|
NYG (-2.5)
|
NYG
|
Denver at New England (Sunday
night)
|
DEN
|
DEN (-2.5)
|
DEN
|
BIG GAMES
RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
SEASON
|
17-16
|
15-18
|
17-16
|
LAST WEEK (Week 11)
|
2-1
|
0-3
|
3-0
|
WEEK 12 BIG GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
San Diego at Kansas City
(Sunday 1pm)
|
KCY
|
KCY (-5.5)
|
KCY
|
Pittsburgh at Cleveland (Sunday
1pm)
|
PIT
|
PIT (+2.5)
|
PIT
|
Indianapolis at Arizona (Sunday
4pm)
|
IND
|
IND (+2.5)
|
IND
|
OTHER GAMES
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
SEASON
|
61-32
|
41-52
|
60-33
|
LAST WEEK (Week 11)
|
6-3
|
4-5
|
6-3
|
WEEK 12 OTHER GAME PICKS
|
Straight Up
|
Against the Spread
|
Preseason SU
|
New Orleans at Atlanta (+8.5)
|
NO
|
ATL (+8.5)
|
ATL
|
Tampa Bay at Detroit (-9.5)
|
DET
|
TBY (+9.5)
|
TBY
|
Minnesota at Green Bay (-4.5)
|
GBY
|
GBY (-4.5)
|
GBY
|
Jacksonville at Houston (-10.5)
|
HOU
|
JAX (+10.5)
|
HOU
|
Carolina at Miami (+4.5)
|
CAR
|
CAR (-4.5)
|
MIA
|
Chicago at St. Louis (-1.5)
|
CHI
|
CHI (+1.5)
|
CHI
|
Tennessee at Oakland (-1.5)
|
OAK
|
OAK (-1.5)
|
OAK
|
San Francisco at Washington
(+5.5)
|
SFO
|
SFO (-5.5)
|
SFO
|
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.
The Start ‘Em team crossed the century mark for the fifth
week in a row in the 129-112 Week 11 victory and, coincidentally, they ran
their winning streak to five games to stand at 7-4 for the season against the
Anti-Start ‘Em team. The teams were even
for the most part and the biggest advantage was in the second quarterback
position, as Carson Palmer scored 32 points for the Start ‘Em team compared to
24 points for Anti-Start ‘Em quarterback Alex Smith.
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
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
SEASON: 7-4 W-L (.636), 1286 PF, 1144 PA
(52.9% of points), 54-39-6 by position (.576)
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
|
Peyton Manning DEN ($7.8)
|
QB
|
Robert Griffin III WSH ($6.7)
|
Mike Glennon TBY ($5.3)
|
QB
|
Philip Rivers SDG ($6.1)
|
Jamaal Charles KCY ($7.7)
|
RB
|
Alfred Morris WSH ($7.3)
|
Andre Brown NYG ($5.6)
|
RB
|
Chris Johnson TEN ($6.9)
|
Demaryius Thomas DEN ($7.4)
|
WR
|
Wes Welker DEN ($6.7)
|
Marques Colston NO ($5.4)
|
WR
|
Antonio Brown PIT ($6.5)
|
Rob Gronkowski NE ($6.3)
|
TE
|
Charles Clay MIA ($5.7)
|
Robbie Gould CHI ($4.8)
|
K
|
Shaun Suisham PIT ($5)
|
Carolina Panthers CAR ($5.9)
|
DEF
|
New England Patriots NE ($5.4)
|
$56.2 million
|
$56.3 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.
