Alternative Picks: Week 15, 2017

by Tony & Andy | Dec 14, 2017 | 2017 Season, NFL Picks

This is getting to be a bit of an old song, but yes, another week, another loss for Andy.

Truth is he’s been pretty pathetic all season long. His picks have been mediocre. His bets have been abysmal. He’d be pretty close to being an embarrassment to his family … if not for still having at least a sliver of hope at winning three fantasy leagues.

Not that anyone cares about that. So … here are the standings:

And for the moment you’ve all been waiting for … Andy’s picking first again this week. May the force be with him and his godawful picks. (more…)

Alternative Picks – Week 14, 2017

by Andy | Dec 7, 2017 | 2017 Season, NFL Picks

Another week, another loss for Andy. It was a tight one and it would have ended up a tie, if not for Pittsburgh’s fourth quarter comeback against Cincinnati. But, then again, who didn’t foresee the Bengals coughing up a game to the Steelers? It seems to happen at least once a year these days.

As a result, Andy drops yet another $2 to Tony.

So here’s where we stand:

Week 14 looks like a minefield. So Andy chose to pick first:

1. Andy: New England over Miami – My confidence this week ends after about two games. I got one of them here. Even minus Gronk (He should have been suspended for far more than one game), the Pats aren’t going to struggle to win this one.
2. Tony: Pittsburgh over Baltimore – Baltimore presents a greater challenge than the Bengals, but the Steelers are finding ways to win each and every week right now, and it’s not that much of a bigger challenge.
3. Tony: LA Chargers over Washington – I still don’t really trust the Chargers farther than I can throw them, but they’ve got too many offensive weapons to ignore – and have you seen the rest of this week?
4. Andy: Cincinnati over Chicago – It’s rare this season that the Bengals get a game against a team whose coach might be on a hotter seat than Marvin Lewis, but John Fox would be that guy. The Bears lost to San Francisco last week. Pretty decent chance Chicago has, more or less, phoned it in for the season.
5. Tony: Green Bay over Cleveland – I’m not sure I’ve ever hoped more to get a game wrong. Here’s hoping the Josh Gordon hangs a couple hundred yards and 2 TDs on the Pack’s terrible secondary.
6. Andy: Dallas over NY Giants – I would normally feel pretty good about this game, but with Bob McAdoo gone and Eli Manning back in his starting QB role, there’s a part of me that sees this as a trap game. I picked it here because WTF else am I going to pick here?
7. Tony: Jacksonville over Seattle – Seattle is gritting out win after win, but can they keep it up traveling East to face a tough Jacksonville defense?
8. Andy: Tennessee over Arizona – Not gonna lie – I am a bit shocked that Tony went with Jacksonville A) at all and B) this high. I think Seattle wins that game … though he is ahead of me by 34, so maybe I should pay attention. Titans over Cardinals? Yeah, I’m about 54 percent sold on this – Blaine Gabbert, etc.
9. Tony: Oakland over Kansas City – Normally you don’t pick someone – especially an AFC West rival – to go in to Kansas City and win. Then again, normally teams don’t fall from grace quite as bad as the Chiefs have…2016 Vikings notwithstanding.
10. Andy: Detroit over Tampa Bay – I was hoping Tony would take the Chiefs in that one. Oh well. Detroit over Tampa Bay … I have about 52 percent confidence in this one.
11. Tony: Houston over San Francisco – I had San Francisco pegged in this one, until I realized it’s in Houston. Jimmy Garappolo gives the 49ers hope, but they still didn’t score a touchdown last week to beat the lowly Bears.
12. Andy: New Orleans over Atlanta – This one should be entertaining, if nothing else. I hope I can watch. Confidence level … yeah, about 52 percent again. The Saints are better. But the Falcons are desperate.
13. Tony: NY Jets over Denver – I can not believe I just took the Jets over Denver. In Denver. That’s how far the Broncos have fallen. Where is the genius of John Elway that was being harped on a couple years back? Probably on the phone trying to convince Papa Archie to let another of his son’s come save his @ss…
14. Andy: Buffalo over Indianapolis – If the mediocre Tyrod Taylor plays, I’ll be more confident in this game. If it’s Nathan Peterman, who the hell knows what happens.
15. Tony: LA Rams over Philadelphia – Just to preserve my streak of not touching the home team game. This should be an entertaining matchup, although I think the Eagles were exposed a bit last week of having played a fairly light schedule. Now, I also wouldn’t have thought that the Rams would constitute one of their toughest tests to date, but here we are in 2017…
16. Andy: Minnesota over Carolina – They’ve won eight in a row, most in convincing fashion. Carolina is an interesting match-up for the Vikings, but Minnesota’s defense has stopped better teams.

So, for those scoring at home:

(Bold means that person made the pick)

And, now for our more traditional picks:

Alternative Picks – Week 13, 2017

by Tony & Andy | Nov 30, 2017 | 2017 Season, NFL Picks

Andy got seven of his eight selections correct in the “Alternative Picks” segment for week 12, but a lot of good that did him.

Tony did, as well, so the result was the season’s first tie.

That means Tony keeps his commanding lead for the season. Here are the standings:

With the tie, we flipped a virtual coin, and Tony ended up getting the right to choose–he decided to pick 2nd and 3rd.

Between divisional rivalries, games featuring new QBs and some actual contests with playoff implications, this is kind of a brutal week of games to pick.

But we persevered and got it done. Here we go with another week.

(more…)

Alternative Picks – Week 12, 2017

by Tony & Andy | Nov 22, 2017 | 2017 Season, NFL Picks

Andy continues to be the kiss of death for favorites. His number one pick last week, Kansas City, blew its wad to the previously hapless New York Giants in week 11. He rallied, but came up short, losing … again.

There are a lot of paper mismatches this week. Andy chose to pick second, meaning two of the top three favorites should now be considered in peril this week. But hopefully you’ll be asleep from the L-tryptophan and won’t notice.

Anyway, here we go with yet another week … (more…)

Alternative Picks – Week 11, 2017

by Tony & Andy | Nov 16, 2017 | 2017 Season, NFL Picks

Well, it was nice while it lasted. Andy’s one-week winning streak was snapped, as Tony rebounded with a narrow win in week 10.

There’s a lot of football left to be played, but Tony is maintaining a commanding lead.

Andy chose to pick first. And we’re off. (more…)

Alternative Picks – Week 10, 2017

by Tony & Andy | Nov 9, 2017 | 2017 Season, NFL Picks

Hey-o, Andy broke the streak. It took nine weeks, but he’s got his first win of the season (Bronx cheers arise from the cheap seats).

Can he keep it up? Or does the loss refocus Tony for the second half push?

Here are the standings:

Tony chose to take the second and third picks. Here we go:

1. Andy: Pittsburgh over Indianapolis – I made this pick before learning that Vontae Davis had elected to have season-ending surgery. If Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell can’t get right this week, then those talks of an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl in Minneapolis next February are all bunk.
2. Tony: Detroit over Cleveland – This feels like the kind of game that the Lions would lose in year’s past. As a Vikings fan, I hope it is this year–but I’m not dumb enough to pick that.
3. Tony: Seattle over Arizona – Arizona without Carson Palmer is…not actually that much worse than Arizona with Carson Palmer. That’s not a good thing for Cardinals fans.
4. Andy: L.A. Rams over Houston – The Texans were looking pretty good for the half-dozen weeks they had Deshaun Watson. Tom Savage is no Watson. Meanwhile, Jared Goff is starting to show people why he went first overall last season.
5. Tony: New England over Denver – I, for one, was shocked…shocked I say…that Brock Osweiler wasn’t the cure for what’s ailing the Broncos.
6. Andy: Carolina over Miami – This is one of those games nobody would watch if it weren’t for fantasy football. Cam isn’t playing well, but I’ll take him over Cutler.
7. Tony: Jacksonville over LA Chargers – Definition of a no win situation for the Jaguars–a win doesn’t really prove they’re for real, a loss proves that they’ve not changed. Only if they dominate will I really start to feel comfortable moving them up in picks.
8. Andy: Tennessee over Cincinnati – In retrospect I kind of wish I’d taken Jacksonville at six. Hope this doesn’t come back to bite me. I *think* Tennessee is starting to put it together. I *think* Cincinnati is about to start tanking. These have been hard teams to predict this season, however, so … in the end, who the hell knows.
9. Tony: New Orleans over Buffalo – Saw a stat on Twitter this past week that Buffalo hasn’t beaten a team with winning record this season. I didn’t bother to check if that was accurate or not, because why would someone lie about that on Twitter?
10. Andy: Minnesota over Washington – I’m a tiny bit surprised this game fell this far. Maybe it’s the Case Keenum factor – he’s been serviceable this season and the Vikings are better than the Redskins, but … historically, Case Keenum eventually reminds people that he is, still, in fact, Case Keenum.
11. Tony: Chicago over Green Bay – Surprised the Vikings game fell?  I have picked the Vikings game zero times this season, I believe. I intend to keep it that way. This game is one of three that should be absolutely unwatchable. Let’s see if the Bears can further expose just how bad Green Bay’s coaching, defense, and…everything is without Aaron Rodgers.
12. Andy: NY Jets over Tampa Bay – I thought heading into the season that the Bucs had a solid shot at the playoffs. I thought heading into the season that the Jets had a shot at going 0-16. I was wrong on the Jets, an undertalented team playing hard. I was wayyyyyy wrong on the Tampa, a heartless, gutless team that has quit after choking like dogs early in the season.
13. Tony: San Francisco over NY Giants – An um-moving object meets an immoble force.  Seriously, if Roger Goodell wants to get back in some people’s graces after this debacle of a season, he could start by just cancelling this game.
14. Andy: Dallas over Atlanta – Is Ezekiel Elliott playing?

So for those scoring at home: (more…)