Alternative Picks – Week six, 2017

Well, at least it was a contest last week. We were tied going into the Sunday night game, but Tony got that one and the Monday nighter, to pull off his fifth straight win to start the season. Most troubling to Andy has to be his inability to pick winners in the early rounds of selecting games – of the first eight games last week, Tony got six.

Andy’s going back to picking second and third this week. He’s going to have to either start catching up in the standings or take out a second mortgage on his house. We’ll see. Here are the standings:

And the explanations:

1. Tony – Houston over Cleveland – The only thing that really scares me about this game is that the Texans are without inspirational leader JJ Watt. If this was someone other than the Browns, that might matter.
2. Andy – New England over NY Jets – If this game doesn’t stick, I’m re-evaluating the Patriots and their choke hold on the AFC East.
3. Andy – Denver over NY Giants – Let’s see, all the starting WRs get hurt and now Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is suspended from a defense that was going to be vital if the Giants had a chance? Yeah … if this game doesn’t stick, I may re-evaluate my participation in gambling activities.
4. Tony – Atlanta over Miami – Dolphins fans I see online seem almost shocked at how disinterested Jay Cutler appears to be in playing. They must have been too busy trying to convince themselves that Ryan Tannehill is a legitimate NFL QB to notice the rest of the league laughing at him for the last few years in Chicago.
5. Andy – Green Bay over Minnesota – The Packers are playing well. The Vikings are … playing. The better QB and better team will win on the road.
6. Tony – Washington over San Francisco – Washington hasn’t exactly played well this year. San Francisco hasn’t in about three. West coast teams travelling east struggle, especially when they suck before they get on the plane.
7. Andy – Baltimore over Chicago – In three home games so far, Chicago has lost by six, won by six and lost by three. In two road games, the Bears have lost by 21 and 22. The Ravens aren’t great, but should be able to conquer Mitch Trubisky in his first road start.
8. Tony – Kansas City over Pittsburgh – Are the Chiefs for real? Maybe they’ll get some respect after this win–although I’m sure they’ll still talk about how no one respects them.
9. Andy – Jacksonville over L.A. Rams – The Jaguars are for real.
10. Tony – Philadelphia over Carolina – My theory on this one is that the Eagles will win because it’s a prime time, Thursday night game. If it was a Sunday afternoon game in Charlotte, I’d probably lean the Panthers way–but something about tonight tells me Philly.
11. Andy – Tampa Bay over Arizona – I’ll take the young, up-and-coming QB with a chance at greatness over the old, decrepit QB whose best chance of reliving those glory years is watching in the rear-view mirror.
12. Tony – Oakland over L.A. Chargers – This is how far the Chargers have fallen–I’m willing to take EJ Manual over them. That’s harsh.
13. Andy – Detroit over New Orleans – The Saints are favored why?
14. Tony – Tennessee over Indianapolis – If Marcus Mariota plays in this one, I probably snuck in a steal at the end of the picks. If not…

So for those scoring at home:

And for our more traditional picks, here are the standings: