Alternative Picks – Week 14, 2017

Another week, another loss for Andy. It was a tight one and it would have ended up a tie, if not for Pittsburgh’s fourth quarter comeback against Cincinnati. But, then again, who didn’t foresee the Bengals coughing up a game to the Steelers? It seems to happen at least once a year these days.

As a result, Andy drops yet another $2 to Tony.

So here’s where we stand:

Week 14 looks like a minefield. So Andy chose to pick first:

1. Andy: New England over Miami – My confidence this week ends after about two games. I got one of them here. Even minus Gronk (He should have been suspended for far more than one game), the Pats aren’t going to struggle to win this one.
2. Tony: Pittsburgh over Baltimore – Baltimore presents a greater challenge than the Bengals, but the Steelers are finding ways to win each and every week right now, and it’s not that much of a bigger challenge.
3. Tony: LA Chargers over Washington – I still don’t really trust the Chargers farther than I can throw them, but they’ve got too many offensive weapons to ignore – and have you seen the rest of this week?
4. Andy: Cincinnati over Chicago – It’s rare this season that the Bengals get a game against a team whose coach might be on a hotter seat than Marvin Lewis, but John Fox would be that guy. The Bears lost to San Francisco last week. Pretty decent chance Chicago has, more or less, phoned it in for the season.
5. Tony: Green Bay over Cleveland – I’m not sure I’ve ever hoped more to get a game wrong. Here’s hoping the Josh Gordon hangs a couple hundred yards and 2 TDs on the Pack’s terrible secondary.
6. Andy: Dallas over NY Giants – I would normally feel pretty good about this game, but with Bob McAdoo gone and Eli Manning back in his starting QB role, there’s a part of me that sees this as a trap game. I picked it here because WTF else am I going to pick here?
7. Tony: Jacksonville over Seattle – Seattle is gritting out win after win, but can they keep it up traveling East to face a tough Jacksonville defense?
8. Andy: Tennessee over Arizona – Not gonna lie – I am a bit shocked that Tony went with Jacksonville A) at all and B) this high. I think Seattle wins that game … though he is ahead of me by 34, so maybe I should pay attention. Titans over Cardinals? Yeah, I’m about 54 percent sold on this – Blaine Gabbert, etc.
9. Tony: Oakland over Kansas City – Normally you don’t pick someone – especially an AFC West rival – to go in to Kansas City and win. Then again, normally teams don’t fall from grace quite as bad as the Chiefs have…2016 Vikings notwithstanding.
10. Andy: Detroit over Tampa Bay – I was hoping Tony would take the Chiefs in that one. Oh well. Detroit over Tampa Bay … I have about 52 percent confidence in this one.
11. Tony: Houston over San Francisco – I had San Francisco pegged in this one, until I realized it’s in Houston. Jimmy Garappolo gives the 49ers hope, but they still didn’t score a touchdown last week to beat the lowly Bears.
12. Andy: New Orleans over Atlanta – This one should be entertaining, if nothing else. I hope I can watch. Confidence level … yeah, about 52 percent again. The Saints are better. But the Falcons are desperate.
13. Tony: NY Jets over Denver – I can not believe I just took the Jets over Denver. In Denver. That’s how far the Broncos have fallen. Where is the genius of John Elway that was being harped on a couple years back? Probably on the phone trying to convince Papa Archie to let another of his son’s come save his @ss…
14. Andy: Buffalo over Indianapolis – If the mediocre Tyrod Taylor plays, I’ll be more confident in this game. If it’s Nathan Peterman, who the hell knows what happens.
15. Tony: LA Rams over Philadelphia – Just to preserve my streak of not touching the home team game. This should be an entertaining matchup, although I think the Eagles were exposed a bit last week of having played a fairly light schedule. Now, I also wouldn’t have thought that the Rams would constitute one of their toughest tests to date, but here we are in 2017…
16. Andy: Minnesota over Carolina – They’ve won eight in a row, most in convincing fashion. Carolina is an interesting match-up for the Vikings, but Minnesota’s defense has stopped better teams.

So, for those scoring at home:

(Bold means that person made the pick)

And, now for our more traditional picks: