This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Congratulations to Jeff Erickson who took home the 2015 Staff Picks title. It's his second in the last three years and his fourth overall. Mark Stopa finishes second, but a distant seven games out. I took command of last place from Scott Pianowski, who had a 10-5-1 week to finish one game out of third.
This week we have something that's never happened in the history of Staff Picks: a unanimous pick that's everyone's best bet: the Redskins.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs -3 at Texans | Texans | Chiefs | Texans | Texans | Chiefs |
| Steelers -3 at Bengals | Steelers | Steelers | Bengals | Bengals | Steelers |
| Seahawks -5 at Vikings | Vikings | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks |
| Packers -1 at Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Best Bet | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Last Week's Record | 10-5-1 | 10-5-1 | 6-9-1 | 9-6-1 | 7-8-1 |
| Best Bet Record | 9-7-1 | 8-9 | 7-8-2 | 7-9-1 | 8-9 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 21-27-1 | ||||
| Majority Pick Record | 123-125-8 | ||||
| 2014 Playoff Record | 10-1 | 5-6 | 9-2 | 4-7 | 9-2 |
| 2013 Playoff Record | 5-4-2 | 3-6-2 | 4-5-2 | 4-5-2 | 4-5-2 |
| 2012 Playoff Record | 4-6-1 | 5-5-1 | 6-4-1 | 4-6-1 | 8-2-1 |
| 2011 Playoff Record | 8-3 | 5-6 | 9-2 | 6-5 | 7-4 |
| 2010 Playoff Record | 6-5 | 5-6 | 5-6 | 7-4 | 8-3 |
| 2009 Playoff Record | 5-6 | 4-7 | 1-10 | 6-5 | 5-6 |
| 2008 Playoff Record | 6-5 | 5-6 | 5-6 | 8-3 | 4-7 |
| 2007 Playoff Record | 8-3 | 3-8 | 6-5 | N/A | 2-9 |
| 2006 Playoff Record | 7-4 | N/A | 4-7 | N/A | N/A |
| 2005 Playoff Record | 5-6 | N/A | 3-8 | N/A | N/A |
| 2004 Playoff Record | 6-5 | N/A | 4-7 | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 Playoff Record | 6-5 | N/A | 4-7 | N/A | N/A |
| 2002 Playoff Record |
Congratulations to Jeff Erickson who took home the 2015 Staff Picks title. It's his second in the last three years and his fourth overall. Mark Stopa finishes second, but a distant seven games out. I took command of last place from Scott Pianowski, who had a 10-5-1 week to finish one game out of third.
Unanimous/Majority Picks
The players:
This week we have something that's never happened in the history of Staff Picks: a unanimous pick that's everyone's best bet: the Redskins.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs -3 at Texans | Texans | Chiefs | Texans | Texans | Chiefs |
| Steelers -3 at Bengals | Steelers | Steelers | Bengals | Bengals | Steelers |
| Seahawks -5 at Vikings | Vikings | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks |
| Packers -1 at Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Best Bet | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Last Week's Record | 10-5-1 | 10-5-1 | 6-9-1 | 9-6-1 | 7-8-1 |
| Best Bet Record | 9-7-1 | 8-9 | 7-8-2 | 7-9-1 | 8-9 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 21-27-1 | ||||
| Majority Pick Record | 123-125-8 | ||||
| 2014 Playoff Record | 10-1 | 5-6 | 9-2 | 4-7 | 9-2 |
| 2013 Playoff Record | 5-4-2 | 3-6-2 | 4-5-2 | 4-5-2 | 4-5-2 |
| 2012 Playoff Record | 4-6-1 | 5-5-1 | 6-4-1 | 4-6-1 | 8-2-1 |
| 2011 Playoff Record | 8-3 | 5-6 | 9-2 | 6-5 | 7-4 |
| 2010 Playoff Record | 6-5 | 5-6 | 5-6 | 7-4 | 8-3 |
| 2009 Playoff Record | 5-6 | 4-7 | 1-10 | 6-5 | 5-6 |
| 2008 Playoff Record | 6-5 | 5-6 | 5-6 | 8-3 | 4-7 |
| 2007 Playoff Record | 8-3 | 3-8 | 6-5 | N/A | 2-9 |
| 2006 Playoff Record | 7-4 | N/A | 4-7 | N/A | N/A |
| 2005 Playoff Record | 5-6 | N/A | 3-8 | N/A | N/A |
| 2004 Playoff Record | 6-5 | N/A | 4-7 | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 Playoff Record | 6-5 | N/A | 4-7 | N/A | N/A |
| 2002 Playoff Record | 6-5 | 7-4 | 5-6 | N/A | N/A |
| 2001 Playoff Record | 6-4-1 | 7-3-1 | 4-6-1 | N/A | N/A |
| 2000 Playoff Record | 6-5 | 7-4 | 6-5 | N/A | N/A |
| 2015 Record | 134-114-8 | 120-128-8 | 114-134-8 | 127-121-8 | 121-127-8 |
| 2014 Record | 123-128-5 | 140-111-5 | 135-116-5 | 124-127-5 | 128-123-5 |
| 2013 Record | 132-114-10 | 118-128-10 | 123-123-10 | 111-135-10 | 128-118-10 |
| 2012 Record | 110-140-6 | 125-125-6 | 121-129-6 | 143-107-6 | 123-127-6 |
| 2011 Record | 121-128-7 | 134-115-7 | 124-125-7 | 123-126-7 | 127-122-7 |
| 2010 Record | 129-122-5 | 134-117-5 | 126-125-5 | 136-115-5 | 134-117-5 |
| 2009 Record | 123-130-3 | 132-121-3 | 131-122-3 | 130-123-3 | 126-127-3 |
| 2008 Record | 132-114-10 | 128-118-10 | 124-122-10 | 125-121-10 | 130-116-10 |
| 2007 Record | 127-120 | 118-129 | 127-120 | N/A | 130-117 |
| 2006 Record | 118-129 | N/A | 139-108 | N/A | N/A |
| 2005 Record | 121-126 | N/A | 127-120 | N/A | N/A |
| 2004 Record | 124-124 | N/A | 130-118 | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 Record | 121-126 | 118-129 | 124-123 | N/A | N/A |
| 2002 Record | 113-136 | 123-126 | 141-108 | N/A | N/A |
| 2001 Record | 124-113 | 117-120 | 118-119 | N/A | N/A |
| 2000 Record | 123-117 | 134-106 | 141-99 | N/A | N/A |
Unanimous/Majority Picks
This week we have one unanimous pick, the Redskins. We went 0-1-1 on unanimous picks last week to bring our season record to 21-27-1. We went 11-4-1 on majority picks (three or more writers) to bring our season record to 123-125-8.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
|---|---|
| Erickson | Does the familiarity effect that comes from rematches in division games apply to Vikings-Seahawks? I doubt it applies to Chiefs-Texans because that happened in Week 1... I'm wary of recency bias, but the recent forms of the Redskins and Packers couldn't be more different. The line reflects an appeal to authority of sorts - "how can you bet against Aaron Rodgers?" I get that the NFC East is terrible, but I expect the Redskins to win this game. |
| Pianowski | Chalky, chalky. With the Green Bay-Washington pick, does everyone realize the Packers' YPA over the last six weeks is *under six.* This offense is broken. The receivers aren't good. The line is a mess. Rodgers is not playing well, perhaps is hurt. Mike McCarthy is part of the problem, too. And for everyone who doesn't like Kirk Cousins, well, maybe you underestimate Jordan Reed, DeSean Jackson and (especially) Jay Gruden. |
| Liss | Four home dogs, and I like three of them, especially the Redskins. And now that the temperature in Minnesota is projected to be around zero at game time, I'm less bullish on my one favorite, the Seahawks. |
| Stopa | I suppose the public still sees a jersey that says "Rodgers," whereas I see an offense that's struggled much of the year. Washington, meanwhile, has become a juggernaut, especially at home. I'd have put this line at -3 or -3.5; to watch it go from -1 to now +1 in some places is remarkable. Washington isn't just my best bet of the week, it's one of my favorite bets of the year - so much so that I've already made a significant, four-figure bet with my own money, which I rarely do. Redskins 31-17. |
| Del Don | I realize the Chiefs and Steelers are probably the sucker/square sides, but I went with them anyway... The Seahawks might be the best team in football on a neutral field entering this tournament, but the Vikings in Minnesota are admittedly no pushover... I love Washington this week, as I a fully believe in Kirk Cousins, and this Green Bay team is a mess offensively right now. |
The players:
• Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008, 2013, 2015 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Weekly Rankings. Covers and roots for the Bengals.
• Scott Pianowski: Fantasy expert for Yahoo! Sports, and also contributes to Rotowire.com. 2009, 2011 and 2014 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the Patriots.
• Chris Liss: RotoWire Managing Editor, 2000, 2002, 2006 Staff Picks Champ, 2003, 2004 co-champ. Writes East Coast Offense, Beating the Book and the Survivor column in addition to Staff Picks. Covers and roots for the Giants.
• Mark Stopa: Staff Writer, 2010, 2012 Staff Picks Champ, Writes Run 'N' Shoot. Roots for the Bills.
• Dalton Del Don: Fantasy Expert for Yahoo! Sports, 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the 49ers.
