ALTERNATIVE PICKS – Week 4, 2017

It was one of those upside down weeks where favorites go down in droves in week three. Tony emerged from the carnage with another two-win lead. So he’s 3-0, though not exactly pulling away dramatically.

Here are the standings:

Andy is nothing, if not persistent. Though there is a cliche out there about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, he insists on picking second and third. He did that again this week.

1. Tony: Seattle over Indianapolis – This might be the first week I would have really preferred to go second and third–mostly because I would have like Andy to have had to decide which of these trap games to go with. Indianapolis has looked better since going with Jacoby Brissett–although that doesn’t mean they should pull of the upset in Seattle.
2. Andy: New England over Carolina – Yeah, what of it? It’s not like he’s killing me – one game here, two games there — this thing is still in reach. One good week and I’m right back in the mix. The Patriots have found their groove after a bad first game. Carolina has not. Easy win here.
3. Andy: Atlanta over Buffalo – The Falcons got away with one last weekend. I commend the ref in last week’s game against Detroit for being willing to take away a TD in front of the Lions’ home crowd, but I don’t see how that call gets overturned. Atlanta has to play better to get where it wants to go. Buffalo, despite handing it to Denver last week, isn’t that good. This should be akin to an exhibition game for the Dirty Birds.
4. Tony: Green Bay over Chicago – Tough slate this week, or no way I would take this rivalry game this high. The Packers are clearly the better team–but for some reason, that seems to matter little when these two get together.
5. Andy: Kansas City over Washington – If you’d asked me before the season, I’d have been completely on the New England Super Bowl bandwagon. If forced, I’d probably still pick the Patriots, but the Chiefs have impressed me more than any team in the league to this point.
6. Tony: Tampa Bay over NY Giants – This pick is a lot less based on the Bucs, who didn’t look very good against the Vikings last week–and more based on the Giants, who finally showed some signs of life in the second half against the Eagles last week, but still ended up flopping. I mean, they lost on somewhat of a fluke field goal–but they really shouldn’t have allowed the game to be tied at that point anyway.
7. Andy: Dallas over LA. Rams – I’d like to thank Tony for taking Tampa. I think the Giants started to find themselves in the fourth quarter last week and I think they carry that momentum into this game. They win in an upset. And, oh yeah, Dallas beats the Rams too. Los Angeles is better than they have been since … the team was in St. Louis as the Greatest Show on Turf, I guess, but they’re not good enough yet to knock off the Cowboys.
8. Tony: Pittsburgh over Baltimore – Another heated division rivalry game. I wonder what kind of excuses John Harbaugh will come up with after this game? Jetlag from coming back from their ass kicking in London?
9. Andy: Jacksonville over NY Jets – The London Jaguars dismantled Baltimore in their second home last week. The Ravens aren’t that good, but they are far better than the Jets. I could have taken this game higher and been happy about it. That defense is for real.
10. Tony: Arizona over San Francisco – This is how much I hate the bottom of the slate this week…as I look back at it, I don’t even know if I like the Cardinals to win–but too late to change at this point (especially since I wouldn’t have taken San Francisco this high).
11. Andy: New Orleans over Miami – The Dolphins are probably not as bad as they were in losing to the Jets last week, but they’re a bad kicker’s missed last second field goal from being 0-2. The Saints aren’t great, but the offense is for real and Miami won’t be able to keep up.
12. Tony: Houston over Tennessee – Houston almost upset the Patriots last week, and DeShaun Watson seems to be putting together some confidence. Tennessee is a solid team, but not sure they can overcome the Texans defense.
13. Andy: Denver over Oakland – Getting into coin flip territory. Both teams are coming off bad games. I think Denver’s defense and home field advantage are the difference here.
14. Tony: Philadelphia over LA Chargers – The Chargers apparently can’t even introduce their own players in their micro-stadium, for fear of their own “fans” booing the team. I think the slow start to the season is going to quickly go down the toilet for the Chargers, and another season will be wasted for Phillip Rivers. Maybe they’ll move to St. Louis next year? Or become the first traveling NFL team?
15. Andy: Detroit over Minnesota – This is a complete guess. Detroit either comes in pissed off and motivated after getting screwed by the refs in a game they had won against Atlanta or they come in flat and sad and screw the pooch in a winnable game. Oh, yeah, will the Vikings get Sam Bradford, week two Case Keenum or week three Case Keenum at QB this week? Too many factors at play in this game to make a good guess.
16. Tony: Cleveland over Cincinnati – Thank you, Andy, for not making me pick the Vikings game–if have anything to say about it, I won’t pick a Vikings game all year. I’m going with what is supposedly an upset–but I think that’s based more on the last 10 18 years of history, rather than the first three weeks of the season. Deshone Kizer is a rookie quarterback, who is at times playing like a rookie. Andy Dalton is a seasoned vet…who is sometimes playing like a rookie. The only thing saving Marvin Lewis’ job right now is the strange sense of loyalty shown him already by Mike Brown, and probably the knowledge that it’s not like making a change is going to help them start winning now.

So, again, for those scoring at home, here are the picks:

And for our more traditional straight-up, game-by-game picks, here are the standings:

And here are the picks: