This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
A pretty good week for some of the staff, but why dwell on that? This whole business of who's in first, who's in last - it's really a bit tiresome when you think about it. I say we take a week off from recapping the standings - no one will mind, I'm sure.
In any event, a strange slate of games with no home dogs, no point spreads above 7.5 and a few quarterback injuries causing extra uncertainty. We do have two consensus picks: the Lions and Packers.
Enjoy the games
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
| Bills +7.5 at Chiefs | Bills | Bills | Chiefs | Chiefs | Bills |
| Jaguars +6.5 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Panthers +3 at Rams | Rams | Rams | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers |
| Dolphins +2 at Bengals | Bengals | Dolphins | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals |
| Redskins +2 at Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Broncos +1 at 49ers | Broncos | Broncos | 49ers | Broncos | Broncos |
| Packers +5.5 at Jets | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Titans +3.5 at Chargers | Chargers | Titans | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Buccaneers +3 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Buccaneers | Cardinals | Buccaneers | Cardinals |
| Vikings +5 at Patriots | Vikings | Vikings | Patriots | Vikings | Vikings |
| Seahawks +2.5 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Seahawks | Raiders |
| Steelers pick 'em at Saints | Saints | Steelers | Saints | Saints | Steelers |
| Texans +5.5 at Colts | Colts | Texans | Colts | Colts | Texans |
| Best Bet | Rams | Texans | Chargers | Chiefs | Lions |
| Last Week's Record | 10-4 | 8-6 | 5-9 | 9-5 | 6-8 |
| 2010 Record | 53-47-4 | 53-47-4 | 49-51-4 | 59-41-4 | 52-48-4 |
| Best Bet Record | 1-6 | 2-4-1 | 3-4 | 5-1-1 | 3-3-1 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 17-11-1 | ||||
| 2009 |
A pretty good week for some of the staff, but why dwell on that? This whole business of who's in first, who's in last - it's really a bit tiresome when you think about it. I say we take a week off from recapping the standings - no one will mind, I'm sure.
In any event, a strange slate of games with no home dogs, no point spreads above 7.5 and a few quarterback injuries causing extra uncertainty. We do have two consensus picks: the Lions and Packers.
Enjoy the games
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
| Bills +7.5 at Chiefs | Bills | Bills | Chiefs | Chiefs | Bills |
| Jaguars +6.5 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Panthers +3 at Rams | Rams | Rams | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers |
| Dolphins +2 at Bengals | Bengals | Dolphins | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals |
| Redskins +2 at Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Broncos +1 at 49ers | Broncos | Broncos | 49ers | Broncos | Broncos |
| Packers +5.5 at Jets | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Titans +3.5 at Chargers | Chargers | Titans | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Buccaneers +3 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Buccaneers | Cardinals | Buccaneers | Cardinals |
| Vikings +5 at Patriots | Vikings | Vikings | Patriots | Vikings | Vikings |
| Seahawks +2.5 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Seahawks | Raiders |
| Steelers pick 'em at Saints | Saints | Steelers | Saints | Saints | Steelers |
| Texans +5.5 at Colts | Colts | Texans | Colts | Colts | Texans |
| Best Bet | Rams | Texans | Chargers | Chiefs | Lions |
| Last Week's Record | 10-4 | 8-6 | 5-9 | 9-5 | 6-8 |
| 2010 Record | 53-47-4 | 53-47-4 | 49-51-4 | 59-41-4 | 52-48-4 |
| Best Bet Record | 1-6 | 2-4-1 | 3-4 | 5-1-1 | 3-3-1 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 17-11-1 | ||||
| 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 Lions and Packers.
Last week we went 3-1 on consensus picks, putting us at 17-11-1 on the year. We finished 2009 at 19-23-1 on consensus picks, and were 24-19-2 on them in 2008.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | Blech... There's a good chance for bloodshed with this slate. I thought about making the Cardinals my best bet. This is just their third home game of the year - I know that the QB situation is a mess, but I think the home field will make that defense a lot better at least. |
| Pianowski | I hate this slate about 500 different ways. If I have a winning record at the end of it, I'll breathe a sigh of relief. |
| Liss | Tough slate with no home dogs, but I like the Chargers, Cowboys and Saints this week. Warming up to the 49ers, too. |
| Stopa | I'm sticking with my plan of fading the public when it's a big disparity, and that means Saints, Chargers, Bengals and Lions. Interesting that the public is on the Redskins, but the line has moved 3 points in their favor since the opening. That suggests sharps bet big money on the Lions... It's a similar phenomenon with KC/Buf, as that line has gone down 3 points since opening even though a slight majority is on the Chiefs. But I see no way the Bills stop the Chiefs offense, and even coming off a loss, I'll sell the Bills high, at least their offense anyway... I like buying low on the Saints and Broncos and selling high on the Raiders and Titans. I also like how the line moved in Seattle's favor since it opened... The Bucs strike me as the type of team that can play a 17-16 game every week when they're facing similar competition, so I'll take the points there... I struggled with the Packers and Jaguars. Ultimately, I couldn't lay points with Jon Kitna and a Cowboys team that may quit on Wade Phillips, and if the Packers are the playoff team I think they are, they'll give the Jets a game. |
| Del Don | I struggled coming up with a best bet this week and ultimately went with Detroit, who seems like an odd favorite at 1-5 and playing a 4-3 Redskins team. I actually worry about the return of Matthew Stafford, but the Lions are coming off a bye, and Washington has plenty of fleas - its defense is on pace to allow the second most yards in NFL history, and Donovan McNabb has finished with a QB rating under 80.0 in six of seven games this season. |
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 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the Patriots.
- Chris Liss: RotoWire Managing Editor, 2000, 2002, 2006 Staff Picks Champ, 2003, 2004 co-champ. Writes Beating the Book and Surviving the Week in addition to Staff Picks. Covers and roots for the Giants.
- Mark Stopa: Staff Writer, Writes Working the Wire. Roots for the Bills.
- Dalton Del Don: RotoWire Senior Staff Writer. 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Game Capsules and the Barometer. Covers the Eagles and roots for the 49ers.
