This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
DDD won the week at 11-5 to pull into second place, eight games behind Pianow, who more or less has this contest sewn up. Stopa and I are tied for fourth with Erickson two games back in last place.
We have three consensus picks this week, the Vikings, Bucs and Jaguars. And both DDD and I have the Texans as our best bets.
Happy Holidays.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
| Texans -5.5 at Colts | Colts | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans |
| Dolphins +10 at Patriots | Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Patriots |
| Browns +13.5 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Browns | Ravens | Browns |
| Cardinals +4 at Bengals | Cardinals | Bengals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Vikings +6.5 at Redskins | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings |
| Broncos -1.5 at Bills | Bills | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
| Rams +16 at Steelers | Rams | Steelers | Rams | Rams | Steelers |
| Giants +2.5 at Jets | Giants | Jets | Jets | Giants | Giants |
| Buccaneers +8.5 at Panthers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers |
| Jaguars +8 at Titans | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Raiders +.5 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Raiders | Raiders |
| Chargers +1.5 at Lions | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Lions |
| Eagles +1 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Eagles | Cowboys |
| 49ers -2 at Seahawks | Seahawks | 49ers | Seahawks | 49ers | Seahawks |
| Bears +13.5 at Packers | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears | Packers |
| Falcons +7 at Saints | Saints | Falcons | Saints | Falcons | Saints |
| Best Bet | Ravens | Chiefs | Texans | Broncos | Texans |
| Last Week's Record | 9-7 | 9-7 | 8-8 | 8-8 | 11-5 |
| 2011 Record | 108-111-5 | 120-99-5 | 110-109-5 | 110-109-5 | 112-107-5 |
| Best Bet Record | 7-8 | 7-7-1 | 10-5 | 10-5 | 6-8-1 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 26-22-1 | ||||
| 2010 |
DDD won the week at 11-5 to pull into second place, eight games behind Pianow, who more or less has this contest sewn up. Stopa and I are tied for fourth with Erickson two games back in last place.
We have three consensus picks this week, the Vikings, Bucs and Jaguars. And both DDD and I have the Texans as our best bets.
Happy Holidays.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
| Texans -5.5 at Colts | Colts | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans |
| Dolphins +10 at Patriots | Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Patriots |
| Browns +13.5 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Browns | Ravens | Browns |
| Cardinals +4 at Bengals | Cardinals | Bengals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Vikings +6.5 at Redskins | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Vikings |
| Broncos -1.5 at Bills | Bills | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
| Rams +16 at Steelers | Rams | Steelers | Rams | Rams | Steelers |
| Giants +2.5 at Jets | Giants | Jets | Jets | Giants | Giants |
| Buccaneers +8.5 at Panthers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers |
| Jaguars +8 at Titans | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Raiders +.5 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Raiders | Raiders |
| Chargers +1.5 at Lions | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Lions |
| Eagles +1 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Eagles | Cowboys |
| 49ers -2 at Seahawks | Seahawks | 49ers | Seahawks | 49ers | Seahawks |
| Bears +13.5 at Packers | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears | Packers |
| Falcons +7 at Saints | Saints | Falcons | Saints | Falcons | Saints |
| Best Bet | Ravens | Chiefs | Texans | Broncos | Texans |
| Last Week's Record | 9-7 | 9-7 | 8-8 | 8-8 | 11-5 |
| 2011 Record | 108-111-5 | 120-99-5 | 110-109-5 | 110-109-5 | 112-107-5 |
| Best Bet Record | 7-8 | 7-7-1 | 10-5 | 10-5 | 6-8-1 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 26-22-1 | ||||
| 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 three consensus picks: the Vikings, Buccaneers and Jaguars. We went 2-0 on consensus picks in Week 15 to go 26-22-1 on the year. We went 32-21-1 on consensus picks in 2010.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | There are a lot of teams on this slate I generally like as dogs but not as favorites - Bengals, Redskins, Jets (and Giants for that matter) and Broncos among them... The Jags pick is made on the notion that the Titans seem insistent on self-weighting by starting Matt Hasselbeck instead of Jake Locker. |
| Pianowski | Kyle Orton makes the Kansas City offense respectable, and Carson Palmer is good for a few mistakes every week, especially with Tamba Hali breathing down his neck. Arrowhead is still a factor when the Chiefs are relevant, and all of a sudden, they are. Happy and safe holidays, everyone. |
| Liss | Tough slate - like the Texans, Dolphins, Bucs, Seahawks and Saints |
| Stopa | I really like the Texans and Broncos this week. The Colts got their victory to avoid 0-16, so they'll revert to apathy and suckitude. Plus, the Texans should bounce back after a bad loss. As for the Broncos, let me count the reasons I'd bet my own money on them this week: (i) giving less than a FG to a Bills team that's lost seven straight, five of which weren't competitive; (ii) Denver is run-oriented, and the Bills just let Reggie Bush have the best game of his career; (iii) only the Bucs and Vikings are worse on defense than the Bills right now; and (iv) Broncos bounce back in a must-win game after a loss... The number-crunching sharps (per Liss in ECO) are pounding the Dolphins, and I've been in the Dolphins corner much of the past several weeks, so I'll keep riding it... Rams getting that many points against an injured Roethlisberger doesn't make sense... If there was ever a time to buy ugly on the Bucs, particularly with the Panthers coming off a win, this is it. ... I don't think the Jets are a playoff team. I'm not sure the Giants are, either, but I trust the Giants offense to rebound more than I trust anything on the Jersey side... Seattle at home and selling the Niners high might be the sharp play, but I think the Seattle dream ends this week - not enough physicality on offense. ... Somewhere along the line in 2011, the Cardinals got better on defense and nobody realized... I far prefer the Redskins as a dog, not a TD favorite. |
| Del Don | The loss of DC Wade Phillips on the sideline proved drastic last week, but this seems like a good time to buy Houston low and sell Indy high. |
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 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: RotoWire Senior Staff Writer. 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Game Capsules and the Barometer. Covers the Eagles and roots for the 49ers.
