This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Another ridiculous week for Stopa who now stands at 120 - 83 on the year (59%), which is nearly unheard of while picking every game. He's on pace to beat the Staff Picks record of 141-99 (58.75%) set in 2000.
This week, we have two consensus picks, the Eagles and Cardinals. Yes, we like to go ugly.
Incidentally, both Pianowski and I have the Steelers as our best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals -4 at Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Packers -3 at Bears | Bears | Packers | Bears | Bears | Bears |
| Giants +1 at Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Giants | Falcons | Falcons |
| Buccaneers +3.5 at Saints | Saints | Buccaneers | Saints | Buccaneers | Saints |
| Vikings +2.5 at Rams | Rams | Rams | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings |
| Redskins pick 'em at Browns | Browns | Browns | Redskins | Redskins | Browns |
| Jaguars +7 at Dolphins | Jaguars | Jaguars | Dolphins | Dolphins | Jaguars |
| Broncos -2.5 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
| Colts +9 at Texans | Texans | Colts | Texans | Texans | Texans |
| Lions -6 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Panthers +3 at Chargers | Chargers | Panthers | Panthers | Chargers | Panthers |
| Seahawks -5.5 vs. Bills (in Toronto) | Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Seahawks |
| Steelers -1 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers |
| Chiefs +3 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| 49ers +5.5 at Patriots | Patriots | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers |
| Jets +1.5 at Titans | Titans | Titans | Jets | Jets | Titans |
| Best Bet | Bills | Steelers | Steelers | Jets | 49ers |
| Last Week's Record | 7-9 | 8-8 | 8-8 | 12-4 | 11-5 |
| 2012 Record | 89-114-5 | 101-102-5 | 96-107-5 | 120-83-5 | 102-101-5 |
| Best Bet Record | 3-9-2 | 11-3 | 6-8 |
Another ridiculous week for Stopa who now stands at 120 - 83 on the year (59%), which is nearly unheard of while picking every game. He's on pace to beat the Staff Picks record of 141-99 (58.75%) set in 2000.
This week, we have two consensus picks, the Eagles and Cardinals. Yes, we like to go ugly.
Incidentally, both Pianowski and I have the Steelers as our best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals -4 at Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Packers -3 at Bears | Bears | Packers | Bears | Bears | Bears |
| Giants +1 at Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Giants | Falcons | Falcons |
| Buccaneers +3.5 at Saints | Saints | Buccaneers | Saints | Buccaneers | Saints |
| Vikings +2.5 at Rams | Rams | Rams | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings |
| Redskins pick 'em at Browns | Browns | Browns | Redskins | Redskins | Browns |
| Jaguars +7 at Dolphins | Jaguars | Jaguars | Dolphins | Dolphins | Jaguars |
| Broncos -2.5 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
| Colts +9 at Texans | Texans | Colts | Texans | Texans | Texans |
| Lions -6 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Panthers +3 at Chargers | Chargers | Panthers | Panthers | Chargers | Panthers |
| Seahawks -5.5 vs. Bills (in Toronto) | Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Seahawks |
| Steelers -1 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers |
| Chiefs +3 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| 49ers +5.5 at Patriots | Patriots | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers |
| Jets +1.5 at Titans | Titans | Titans | Jets | Jets | Titans |
| Best Bet | Bills | Steelers | Steelers | Jets | 49ers |
| Last Week's Record | 7-9 | 8-8 | 8-8 | 12-4 | 11-5 |
| 2012 Record | 89-114-5 | 101-102-5 | 96-107-5 | 120-83-5 | 102-101-5 |
| Best Bet Record | 3-9-2 | 11-3 | 6-8 | 8-6 | 9-5 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 19-25-1 | ||||
| 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 |
Consensus Picks
This week we have two consensus picks: the Eagles and Cardinals. Last week we went 1-2 to put us at 19-25-1 on the season. Last year we were 30-24-2 on consensus picks.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | I think it's possible the Bills win outright, especially if Richard Sherman's appeal is unsuccessful Friday... Also think it's possible that the Cardinals win outright, strange as it may sound. |
| Pianowski | Always like Mike Tomlin teams off a loss, and we all know no one is intimidated going into Jerry World. This is one of the picks you envision before the previous slate finished... On paper, the NFL Week 15 slate looks like the best of the year. A slew of interesting games, and the Sunday split (8/5) is reasonable, too. The Monday nighter isn't great, but hey, can't have everything. |
| Liss | Usually I'm contrarian, but PIT at anything less than -3 seems like a gift, especially with Dez Bryant iffy for the game. |
| Stopa | As confident as I felt the past two weeks (21-11) is as uneasy as I feel this week. So I dug in my heels, faded the public and trusted the underlying stats. The Dolphins and Texans appear to be giving a lot of points, but those lines are actually kind of low based on the stats... The Cardinals and Bears are buy-lows, and it's time to sell GB, SEA, NYG and NE high... I still feel like the script is written for RGIII to make the playoffs, and the Browns won't change that... The Jets are only one game out of the sixth seed and should be favored in their remaining three games. Nobody is talking about them as a playoff team now, but after a win this week, the MSM will catch on. I feel like that line should be more like Jets -3. |
| Del Don | As an SF fan, I don't believe I've made them my best bet once this season, and in fact, have picked against them ATS more often than not, but I feel like they play to their competition and will be up to the task at least to keep Sunday night's game close enough. Of course, after watching what the Pats did to the Houston, another blowout is also possible. I felt much better about the overall slate than any particular best bet this week. If I were to place a bet, I'd tease the Texans and Dolphins. |
The players:
•Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Value Meter. Covers and roots for the Bengals.
•Scott Pianowski: Fantasy expert for Yahoo! Sports, and also contributes to Rotowire.com. 2009 and 2011 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 Surviving the Week in addition to Staff Picks. Covers and roots for the Giants.
•Mark Stopa: Staff Writer, 2010 Staff Picks Champ, Writes Working the Wire. Roots for the Bills.
•Dalton Del Don: Fantasy Expert for Yahoo! Sports, 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the 49ers.
