NFL Picks 2014: Championship Weekend

by | Jan 13, 2015 | 2014 season, NFL Picks, NFL Playoffs

Normally the Divisional Round of the playoffs is among the most dramatic. And weekly-pickswhile a couple of games ended up being pretty one-sided, the Patriots/Ravens game was exciting, the Cowboys/Packers game was controversial and the Broncos/Colts game has provided the now ongoing drama of whether or not it was Peyton Manning’s last game.

Tony saw it the best from our crew. He was 4-0 this week. Anthony Maggio has been consistent in the playoffs, posting 3-1 marks both weeks. Here’s where we stand so far:

Name Division week Overall
Tony 4-0 6-2
Anthony Maggio 3-1 6-2
John Vomhof Jr. 2-2 5-3
Andy 2-2 4-4

Last week’s games, however, have left the Championship Weekend contests feeling a little bit anti-climatic. There are four really good teams left, but Aaron Rodgers’ injury (did you know he hurt his calf a few weeks ago?), the dominance of the Seahawks defense and the pure brilliance of Bill Belichick have dominated the story lines. (more…)

NFL Picks 2014: Divisional weekend

by | Jan 5, 2015 | 2014 season, NFL Picks

Okay, none of us saw the Baltimore upset of Pittsburgh coming even though in retrospect it was the obvious pick weekly-picksfrom about eight miles away. Otherwise it was pretty much a predictable weekend. The four of us were split on who would win what went down as one of the crappiest playoff games in recent memory, the Carolina win over Arizona. And we all got the Sunday games right – even though Detroit put a scare into Dallas.

Here are the standings after Wild Card Weekend:

Name Wild Card Week Overall
John Vomhof Jr 3-1 3-1
Anthony Maggio 3-1 3-1
Tony 2-2 2-2
Andy 2-2 2-2

So now we’re on to the best week of the season. I love the divisional round – you get rid of most of the pretenders and what you’re generally left with is two really good games in each conference. (more…)

NFL Picks 2014: Wild Card Weekend

by | Dec 30, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Picks, NFL Playoffs

We did fairly well picking games through the 17 week regular season. We’ll see now if we can carry that through the playoffs, where 11 good teams and the Carolina Panthers will vie for the Lombardi Trophy.

There are some great story lines this weekend. Can the Lions withstand the loss of Ndamukong Suh, who was suspended for stepping on Aaron Rodgers (for the record, I don’t feel sorry for the guy, but I also don’t think the step was intentional – I know, I know, I’m in the minority, but I believe it was lack of balance and momentum – he never looks down – how does he know he’s stepping on Rodgers and not one of his own teammates?)?

Can the Steelers beat the rival Ravens without LeVeon Bell? Can Andy Dalton finally step up and act like a big-game QB? Can the Cardinals and their third-string QB knock off the sub-.500 Panthers?

Here’s who we think is going to win this weekend: (more…)

Zoneblitz Survivor Pool: Week 17

by | Dec 24, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Survivor pool

It’s the holidays and we all really should be spending this time with our families, so I won’t belabor the point. Last week’s survivor results mirrored those for the rest of the season: The rest of us got our picks wrong, but Fantasy Editor Anthony Maggio continued his run with a comfortable Carolina win.

He now sits at 15-1 as the season comes to a close.

Here are the week 17 selections:

Maggio: San Francisco over Arizona (more…)

NFL Picks 2014: Week 17

by | Dec 22, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Picks

With Cincinnati finishing Fantasy Football Championship weekend by defeating Denver, the NFL continued its frantic, weekly-picksunpredictable run to the real postseason Monday night. The Bengals’ upset caught all of us off guard, ending a week of less-than-stellar prognosticating.

Anthony Maggio proved he can do more than pick fantasy lineups by navigating the upset-laden week to an 11-5 mark. He paced us. Tony, John and permanent guest picker Dr. Phil each hit 10. I botched pretty much every questionable game, dropping to 8-8.

Here are the standings for the week and the season as we head to week 17: (more…)