Alternative Picks – Week 9, 2017

Tony won again in week eight, but at least it was a contest. Actually, both Andy and Tony picked every game they selected correctly – Tony just happened to pick one more game than Andy.

Small victories, I guess.

That means the standings are:

So here we go again.

1. Andy: Houston over Indianapolis – Deshaun Watson is for real. He’s made an incredible difference for the Texans, who, even in losing to Seattle, played like a real contender. Meanwhile, the Colts put Andrew Luck on IR…
2. Tony: Seattle over Washington – Trap game for the Seahawks, coming off a big win against the Texans? Maybe the offense won’t put out 40+ again this week, but guessing the defense won’t perform nearly as bad either.
3. Tony: Philadelphia over Denver – I think this game is closer than the moneyline suggests, but I don’t think Brock Osweiler puts the Broncos over the top.
4. Andy: New Orleans over Tampa Bay – Jameis Winston is playing like garbage. And the Saints have won five in a row. I’ll probably miss this one.
5. Tony: Jacksonville over Cincinnati – This is the kind of game the Jags would choke on in year’s past when they’ve started to look like they figured it out. It’s test time.
6. Andy: Tennessee over Baltimore – Someone has to win this game. I think the Titans are better.
7. Tony: Oakland over Miami – Oakland stayed on the East coast this week, to eliminate travel concerns. Meanwhile, the Dolphins gave away Jay Ajayi, and reportedly were willing to move Jarvis Landry, to make sure they could hang on to Devante Parker when his contract comes up–because there’s nothing like a guy that figures it out/is healthy for the final four games of each season…not that I’m bitter…
8. Andy: LA Rams over NY Giants – Are the Rams really good? Is Goff really good? Beating a bad Giants team handily would put some more evidence in that direction.
9. Tony: Kansas City over Dallas – If we could figure out whether or not Zeke is really going to be gone, this game could have moved up the list quite a bit. As it is, took it here assuming he will be out–if he plays, I might have moved it to the bottom.
10. Andy: Buffalo over NY Jets – The Bills add Kelvin Benjamin to a surprisingly good team the season’s first half. The Jets are finally playing the way we expected the Jets to play this year.
11. Tony: Detroit over Green Bay – As a Vikings fan, nothing would please me more. Of course, as a Vikings fan, I’m expecting Brett Hundley to come out of the bye suddenly grasping the offense, and and able to put up 400 yards and 6 TDs.
12. Andy: Carolina over Atlanta – Picked this game before the Panthers traded Kelvin Benjamin. Carolina will either be pissed off and play well or mope and play badly. The Falcons so far are mostly just playing badly.
13. Tony: San Francisco over Arizona – How does an 0-8 team get picked to win their first game? By facing a team that could barely beat them with their starting quarterback in one piece. Of course, that was before the 49ers decided to try out CJ Beathard…and to presumably put an end on the idea of that in the long term by stealing Jimmy Garoppolo…

And so we move on to our more traditional picks, where Tony’s lead is nearly as commanding as in the alternative picks…