NFL Picks, 2012 Season, Week 13

In what should surprise nobody, the NFL Network just reported that the San Francisco 49ers will start Colin Kaepernick this weekend against the St. Louis Rams. Kaepernick’s passing numbers haven’t been overwhelming in the two games he has started since Alex Smith suffered his concussion. But he’s unquestionably jolted an already strong team into another gear.

Smith has developed into a very solid quarterback and he really doesn’t deserve yet another downside to a career that got off to a slow start, in part due to coaching and system changes. But keeping the athletic Kaepernick in the lineup makes all the sense in the world, agrees Steve Spooner, team editor at 49ers Gab.

“The 49ers are making the right move by sticking with Kaepernick,” he says. “He has the hot hand right now and has added an extra spark to the offense.”

Spooner joined Zoneblitz.com as guest picker for week 13. He follows Richard Hill from Pats Pulpit, who went 9-7 in week 12. It was a tough week with a couple of real upsets and a bunch more close calls. Tony and Andy both went 10-6, leaving Tony with a three-game lead for the season.

So as playoff spots start getting clinched and fantasy regular seasons come to an end, here are our picks for week 13.

Game of the Week: We’re starting to get late enough in the season now where every week will feature some good divisional and conference games with playoff stakes on the line. One of the big ones this week happens Thursday, when Atlanta tries to avenge its one loss of the season against New Orleans. Seattle visits Chicago in a game with lots of intrigue and the Monday night game between the Giants and Washington is actually better than the Sunday night game for a change. The Pittsburgh/Baltimore rematch also has implications, though the likely absence of Ben Roethlisberger weakens its intrigue a bit. The one we’re most looking forward to is the Tampa Bay @ Denver tilt. Tampa was one of the hottest teams in the league until Atlanta cooled the Bucs off last week with a one point win. They’re scoring a lot of points behind Josh Freeman and Doug Martin while the run defense is as good as there is in the league. But Tampa’s pass defense is a weakness and that’s where Peyton Manning and the Broncos are at the top of their games. I may head to a bar in order to make sure I can see this one.

Game of the Weak: It’s a shame that the Philadelphia/Dallas game means as little as it does, but both teams have been rendered relatively irrelevant this season. Carolina and Kansas City will play a virtually unwatchable game as will Arizona and the New York Jets. But perhaps the most pointless game of all this week takes place in Oakland, where the Raiders will host the Browns. Cleveland has shown some improvement throughout the season and they’re coming off an upset over the Steelers, but they’re still far enough away from being a contender that this game means nothing to anybody other than perhaps strengthening draft positioning. We’ll worry about that starting in February.

To see our “best bets” for week 13, click here.