Thursday, November 10, 2016

2016 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 10

We're into Week 10, and the gap has narrowed.

I turned into Steph Curry this past Monday from Thursday through about 6:00 on Sunday evening, winning my first nine picks before coming back down to earth. In the end I took four of the six disputed games between Adam and I, and I've climbed out of the group basement. Adam is now tied with Logan atop our standings, and the difference between first place and last place is just five games. Parity; we has it.

If you want to look at a breakdown of how we've picked games based on majority/minority and things of that nature, I have all that set up on a Google sheet. My thanks do go to Adam for coming up with this idea midway through last season, and I've tried to keep it updated all year.

This week, he and I disagree on just five games out of the 14 being played. Let's see if I can keep the momentum going.

Thursday Night

Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens (-10.5)
Lucas: Ravens. This line is pretty high and it gave me some pause, but given the recent Browns-Ravens history...
Adam: Browns. It is a tough line. 10.5 is a lot of points in the NFL. I am going to employ the old adage of 10+ lines, take the points. But I don't have to like it.

Sunday, Early Afternoon

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles (-0.5)
Lucas: Falcons. Are... are we watching the same NFL? HOW ARE THE EAGLES FAVORED?!
Adam: Falcons. How how how is this a pick 'em? Yes, its in Philly, yes, that means Philly is not getting the customary 3 points for being at home, but there is no reason this should be a pick 'em.

Chicago Bears @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+0.5)
Lucas: Buccaneers. I miss Lovie Smith.
Adam: Buccaneers. Executing on my week one promise (other than a couple weeks ago for my son), less than a TD taking the opponent, not the Bears.
Lucas note: I still can't believe Aiden nailed that one.

Denver Broncos @ New Orleans Saints (-1.5)
Lucas: Saints. With the Broncos having some struggles again going into New Orleans against a revitalized Saints offense, I'll lay the points here.
Adam: Saints. Brees at home? Yes. Against a solid D? Eh. Expecting a high scoring game with Brees as my fantasy QB? Priceless.

Green Bay Packers @ Tennessee Titans (+2.5)
Lucas: Packers. Sources close to the Packers tell me that Ted Thompson has offered the squirrel a one year, 400,000 peanut contract to play running back and move Ty Montgomery back to receiver to give the team a little depth. It makes more sense than whatever the hell Thompson has been doing recently.
Adam: Titans. Tennessee held up well against San Diego until ultimately failing. Green Bay has not done much of anything. I like Tennessee's chances, at home, with a hot QB against a depressed Packer defense.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Carolina Panthers (-2.5)
Lucas: Chiefs. Carolina will probably wake up at some point, and Newton may pose some problems for Kansas City's defense, but I'll take the points and the possible upset here.
Adam: Panthers. I just like Carolina better than Kansas City on a lot of levels.

Los Angeles Rams @ New York Jets (-1.5)
Lucas: Rams. When your injured quarterback sounds like he's okay to come back and the fans don't want him to, what does that tell you? Hey, Todd Bowles... maybe you should give Geno or Bryce or even Christian a shot. Your season is all but lost at 3-6...
Adam: Rams. I think we may finally see an explosive game from Mr. Gurley. The Jets once stout run D is a far cry from that these days.

Minnesota Vikings @ Washington Redskins (-2.5)
Lucas: Redskins. I don't know what's going on in Minnesota, and part of the collapse last week at the new place is Matthew Stafford being good, but I'm riding the downward momentum until it stops, and I'm not sure it stops this week.
Adam: Redskins. What has happened to Minnesota? As I recall the last undefeated team in the NFL that fell to... wahaaaa... my Bears a few weeks back and now are running on three losses.

Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars (+1.5) 
Lucas: Texans. Do I have to pick this game? The AFC South sucks, this game sucks, both of these teams suck. I'll just lay the points and move on.
Adam: Jaguars. Going against the grain this week based on the ESPN users' pick percentages. I am not in love with this game at all. Garbage and more garbage. I am going to give the edge to the home team, that simple.

Sunday, Late Afternoon

Miami Dolphins @ San Diego Chargers (-3.5)
Lucas: Chargers. Hope the Rams make room in their new digs. The Chargers might be a better draw than the Rams, at least until Jeff Fisher is gone.
Adam: Chargers. The Fins have cooled off a little and San Diego seems to be smoking hot despite the rash of injuries from earlier this year.

Dallas Cowboys @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-2.5)
Lucas: Cowboys. Wait. I'm getting points for the best team in the NFC against a team whose quarterback is clearly still hobbling around? Did Chris Boswell set this line?
Adam: Cowboys. If we get a healthy Big Ben we could be in for a high scoring treat. Load up all your fantasy assets in this game.

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals (-13.5) 
Lucas: 49ers. David Johnson or no, a flawed Cardinals team shouldn't be getting two touchdowns, even at home. Taking the points and running.
Adam: Cardinals. I know, 13.5 I should be taking the points and cashing my ticket, but in honor of my favorite NFL player (who reportedly did not vote)...
Lucas note: ...do I make a "triggered" joke here? What the hell.

Sunday Night

Seattle Seahawks @ New England Patriots (-7.5) 
Lucas: Patriots. What did I tell you?! Shady [crap] happens on Monday nights in Seattle! When you have a team that has been gifted two wins (and possibly a third this past week) thanks to terrible officiating over the past few years going up against the Tom Brady Revenge Tour, in Foxboro? The line is a little high for me, but you know the drill at this point.
Adam: Patriots. I hate Pete Carroll.
Lucas note: Same.

Monday Night

Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Giants (-2.5) 
Lucas: Giants. Cincinnati is 5-9-1 in primetime games with Andy Dalton at quarterback. Granted, he's 1-0-1 this season, but I'm going to stick with the longer term trend.
Adam: Giants. I think this week we'll see OBJ with another amazing catch. Now that he has returned from his honeymoon with the kicking net he can get back to the important things...
Lucas note: ...okay, I had to.

Records So Far
Lucas: 64-69 (10-3 last week)
Adam: 68-65 (8-5 last week)
Scott: 63-70 (6-7 last week)
Grant: 66-67 (8-5 last week)
Logan: 68-65 (9-4 last week)

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