The NFL announced on Monday their All-Decade Team for the 2010 decade, which featured 8 unanimous selections among the 42 players and two coaches.
Tom Brady, who was also an All-Decade Team member for the 2000’s, was named as one of the two quarterbacks, and joined DT Aaron Donald, LB Von Miller, RB Adrian Peterson, OT Koe Thomas, K Justin Tucker, DE JJ Watt and OG Marhsal Yanda as unanimous selections by the 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame committee.
Not surprisingly given their success in the last decade, the New England Patriots led the way with nine selections, including coach Bill Belichick–Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Stephen Gostkowski, Logan Mankins and Chandler Jones made the list with more than 50 games played with the team, while Cordarrelle Patterson, Darelle Revis and Antonio Brown also made the list having played at least one game for the team.
Darren Sproles joined the list at two spots–punt returner and offensive flex player–just the fourth player in NFL history to do so, joining Mel Gray (punt and kick returner), Dante Hall (punt and kick returner) and Deion Sanders (cornerback and punt returner).
2010s ALL-DECADE TEAM ROSTER
* – denotes unanimous selection
OFFENSE
QB Tom Brady*
QB Aaron Rodgers
RB Frank Gore
RB Marshawn Lynch
RB LeSean McCoy
RB Adrian Peterson*
WR Antonio Brown
WR Larry Fitzgerald
WR Calvin Johnson
WR Julio Jones
FLEX Darren Sproles
TE Rob Gronkowski
TE Travis Kelce
OT Jason Peters
OT Tyron Smith
OT Joe Staley
OT Joe Thomas*
OG Jahri Evans
OG Logan Mankins
OG Zack Martin
OG Marshal Yanda*
C Alex Mack
C Maurkice Pouncey
DEFENSE
DE Calais Campbell
DE Cameron Jordan
DE Julius Peppers
DE JJ Watt*
DT Geno Atkins
DT Fletcher Cox
DT Aaron Donald*
DT Ndamukong Suh
LB Chandler Jones
LB Luke Kuechly
LB Khalil Mack
LB Von Miller*
LB Bobby Wagner
LB Patrick Willis
CB Patrick Peterson
CB Darrelle Revis
CB Richard Sherman
S Eric Berry
S Earl Thomas
S Eric Weddle
DB Chris Harris
DB Tyrann Mathieu
SPECIALISTS
P Johnny Hekker
P Shane Lechler
K Stephen Gostkowski
K Justin Tucker*
PR Tyreek Hill
PR Darren Sproles
KR Devin Hester
KR Cordarrelle Patterson
Well, Tony had a good week. For the first time in at least 317 weeks, a Zoneblitz bettor had an undefeated week. Oh, yeah, Andy won some hypothetical pocket change too. It’s a bit odd here, where the normally self-indulgent segment has actually, through two weeks, proven a little bit profitable.
Week 2 W/L
Week 2 $
Season W/L
Season $
Bankroll
Tony
4-0
+$3,375
6-2
+$3,784
$13,784
Andy
2-2
+$325
3-4-1
-$75
$9,925
Andy
Well, I’m down $75 for the season, which is almost like a tie, which is like … well, never mind. I’m happy Tony had a good week and I’m happy I’ve been close to having some good weeks, but come on. Breaking even is boring. Here we go.
$1,500 – Kansas City (-6, -105) vs Baltimore – The Ravens have beaten up on the Dolphins and hung on to squeak by Arizona. Lamar Jackson is looking good, but the Chiefs are the first real test of the season for Baltimore. I don’t think they can keep up.
$800 – Green Bay (-7.5, -105) vs Denver – Joe Flacco looks old. And bored. The Broncos have been bad. Green Bay looks just good enough on offense and much better on defense this season. This could be a letdown after a couple big divisional wins to start the year, but I’m not betting on it.
$800 – Philadelphia (-5.5, -110) vs Detroit – This game opened at -8.5, but the number has gone significantly toward Detroit. Why? The Eagles stumbled on the road against a motivated Atlanta team last week, but I don’t see much indication that Detroit is going to make a game of this game on the road.
$300 – Oakland (+345 money line) at Minnesota – Kirk Cousins usually plays well under the covered roof of a noon-time kickoff. So, this may be a long-shot. But the Raiders’ season has already been bizarre. The Antonio Brown saga seems to have left them with a chip on their shoulder that showed up in an opening week win against Denver and a hot start against Kansas City. They lost to the Chiefs, but Kansas City might win the Super Bowl. Minnesota isn’t that good. And this would be a lot less surprising than the shellacking Buffalo handed them in a similar situation last season.
Tony
Huh, I didn’t even look at how I was doing after week 1, and wouldn’t have known this week if Andy hadn’t told me–maybe completely ignoring my bets is the best way to go about this.
$500 – Dallas (-23, +105) at Miami – I’m not going crazy on the amount of the bet, with a 23 point spread–but there’s nothing so far this season that makes me think Miami will cover a spread at all.
$1,000 – Seattle (-4.5, -105) vs New Orleans – I’m not sure how this one opened with New Orleans as a two point favorite…unless it opened before Drew Brees hurt his hand. Not sure that Teddy Bridgewater can go on the road and hang with Russell Wilson, even if the Saints are probably the better overall team.
$1,000 – Baltimore at Kansas City: Over 52 (-110) – I found one book with it at -109, but I’ll keep it simple for the sake of Andy doing math. If the total line stays under 60 on this game, I’m sticking with the over.
$500 – Pittsburgh (+255 money line) at San Francisco – I don’t love Mason Rudolph’s chances, but they’re better than Joe Flacco’s chances of beating Green Bay, so I’ll take this upset. The 49ers still have a lot to prove, and Pittsburgh does still have James Conner, Juju Smith-Schuster and enough talent on defense to turn the tide.
Let me tell you, the minutes that Andy and Tony spend studying these games before doing these picks has really been paying off so far this season. Especially for Tony, who won the week handily.
Here are the standings:
Week 2
Tony 10-6
Season
Tony 16-15-1
And here are the picks for week 3:
1) Tony: Cowboys over Dolphins – The big advantage to picking first each week is getting to pick the Dolphins opponent.
2) Andy: Patriots over Jets – The Patriots look like they have for the last 15 years or so. The Jets look like they have less passion for playing football than we do for upkeep on a website.
3) Andy: Packers over Broncos – The Packers have adapted to the new coaching staff much more quickly than we’ve written a 2020 Hall of Fame post. Hopefully both of those things change soon. Denver has its hopes riding on another over-the-hill QB who looks bored. Maybe next year they can bring back Donovan McNabb.
4) Tony: Seahawks over Saints – I hope things go well for Teddy Bridgewater…I just don’t think things will go well for him. Tough first start back for him.
5) Andy: Eagles over Lions – Philadelphia let one get away against Atlanta last week. The Eagles will be playing mad. Detroit … yep, still Detroit.
6) Tony: Colts over Falcons – May have grabbed this game a little high, but refuse to touch the Vikings game, and after that it’s a dart toss. Just like what I;ve seen heard about the Colts since Jacoby Brissett took over. And didn’t like what I saw from the Falcons in week 1 that much, even if week 2 was a little better.
7) Andy: Vikings over Raiders – Minnesota should win this pretty handily. The game isn’t in prime time and Oakland isn’t that good, so Kirk Cousins should have a solid performance. Oakland … yep, still Oakland.
8) Tony: Bills over Bengals – I don’t exactly have faith in the Bills right now, but I’m pretty sure I know what the Bengals are capable of.
9) Andy: Chiefs over Ravens – This one is being billed as the game of the week. I don’t see it. Baltimore has had a softer opening two weeks than most college teams. This will be their first test. I think Kansas City wins handily.
10) Tony: Chargers over Texans – This should be a good game…hopefully I took the home team. I mean, I could look it up, but…
11) Andy: Rams over Browns – I went through the whole offseason thinking Cleveland was going to run away with the AFC North. Good thing we also didn’t publish a preseason prediction post either.
12) Tony: Titans over Jaguars – We picked these games on Tuesday, and Andy tried posting them before the game tonight, but apparently my lack of maintenance was causing issues…and this pick didn’t age well. On the plus side…glad I didn’t accept any of those lame offers for DJ Chark last year.
13) Andy: Bears over Washington – Chicago hasn’t looked good. In fact, Mitch Trubisky looks like he’s taken a bigger step back than this blog has the last couple years. But Washington is worse.
14) Tony: 49ers over Steelers – Mason Rudolph might prove me wrong, but Steelers fans have to be a little worried with zero of the Killer B’s playing (for them) the rest of this year.
15) Andy: Cardinals over Panthers – Good gravy, who cares.
16) Tony: Buccaneers over Giants – The Giants made this one slightly more interesting by benching Eli Manning…although it’s still dumbfounding to me how much airtime that story has gotten this week. I mean, it’s not like a Hall of Famer got benched in week 3, right? Right?
Tony has taken the lead in the straight-up picks, but it’s only by a game. Their solid results show the pride and passion they put into making these picks each week.
Here are the standings:
Andy
Tony
Week 2
10-6
11-5
Season
20-11-1
21-10-1
Here’s where the dart throws landed for week three:
Let me tell you, the minutes that Andy and Tony spend studying these games before doing these picks has really been paying off so far this season. Especially for Tony, who won the week handily.
Here are the standings:
Week 2
Tony 10-6
Season
Tony 16-15-1
And here are the picks for week 3:
1) Tony: Cowboys over Dolphins – The big advantage to picking first each week is getting to pick the Dolphins opponent.
2) Andy: Patriots over Jets – The Patriots look like they have for the last 15 years or so. The Jets look like they have less passion for playing football than we do for upkeep on a website.
3) Andy: Packers over Broncos – The Packers have adapted to the new coaching staff much more quickly than we’ve written a 2020 Hall of Fame post. Hopefully both of those things change soon. Denver has its hopes riding on another over-the-hill QB who looks bored. Maybe next year they can bring back Donovan McNabb.
4) Tony: Seahawks over Saints – I hope things go well for Teddy Bridgewater…I just don’t think things will go well for him. Tough first start back for him.
5) Andy: Eagles over Lions – Philadelphia let one get away against Atlanta last week. The Eagles will be playing mad. Detroit … yep, still Detroit.
6) Tony: Colts over Falcons – May have grabbed this game a little high, but refuse to touch the Vikings game, and after that it’s a dart toss. Just like what I;ve seen heard about the Colts since Jacoby Brissett took over. And didn’t like what I saw from the Falcons in week 1 that much, even if week 2 was a little better.
7) Andy: Vikings over Raiders – Minnesota should win this pretty handily. The game isn’t in prime time and Oakland isn’t that good, so Kirk Cousins should have a solid performance. Oakland … yep, still Oakland.
8) Tony: Bills over Bengals – I don’t exactly have faith in the Bills right now, but I’m pretty sure I know what the Bengals are capable of.
9) Andy: Chiefs over Ravens – This one is being billed as the game of the week. I don’t see it. Baltimore has had a softer opening two weeks than most college teams. This will be their first test. I think Kansas City wins handily.
10) Tony: Chargers over Texans – This should be a good game…hopefully I took the home team. I mean, I could look it up, but…
11) Andy: Rams over Browns – I went through the whole offseason thinking Cleveland was going to run away with the AFC North. Good thing we also didn’t publish a preseason prediction post either.
12) Tony: Titans over Jaguars – We picked these games on Tuesday, and Andy tried posting them before the game tonight, but apparently my lack of maintenance was causing issues…and this pick didn’t age well. On the plus side…glad I didn’t accept any of those lame offers for DJ Chark last year.
13) Andy: Bears over Washington – Chicago hasn’t looked good. In fact, Mitch Trubisky looks like he’s taken a bigger step back than this blog has the last couple years. But Washington is worse.
14) Tony: 49ers over Steelers – Mason Rudolph might prove me wrong, but Steelers fans have to be a little worried with zero of the Killer B’s playing (for them) the rest of this year.
15) Andy: Cardinals over Panthers – Good gravy, who cares.
16) Tony: Buccaneers over Giants – The Giants made this one slightly more interesting by benching Eli Manning…although it’s still dumbfounding to me how much airtime that story has gotten this week. I mean, it’s not like a Hall of Famer got benched in week 3, right? Right?
Tony has taken the lead in the straight-up picks, but it’s only by a game. Their solid results show the pride and passion they put into making these picks each week.
Here are the standings:
Andy
Tony
Week 2
10-6
11-5
Season
20-11-1
21-10-1
Here’s where the dart throws landed for week three:
With just three playoff games left, I could have wrapped up the best record in the entire playoffs last week, with Andy going 1-3 after a 3-1 start Wildcard Weekend, and Tony P. going 3-1 after a 1-3 Wildcard Weekend. Had I gotten all four games right, I would have been a perfect 8-0 after two weeks, and sealed the deal. Unfortunately for me, in all my chatter about not wanting to see the Eagles back in the NFC Championship game, I forgot to actually make a pick … and I don’t even know for sure who I was going to pick, based on my own write up. I probably was going to go Eagles again, hoping to go wrong — but either way, even though I’m perfect on games I actually pick this postseason, I have left the door slightly open for Tony P. or Andy to catch me (if they go 3-0 and I go 0-3).
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