Week 15 picks: My ability to following football has been somewhat waning this week. Not that I havent been keeping up, my enthusiasm just drops off when my fantasy team goes down. Plus, its winter meetings in baseball, and as a Red Sox fan, I actually have a reason to care about off season baseball...$... Sure, Im still in another league, where I have a chance to win a lot of money. That features more standard features that I find less challenging though. With Tom Brady, LeVeon Bell, Matt Forte, and A.J. Green, I at least consider my chances decent. In my league, Ill be living vicariously through my wife, Yollie Calvin. Who coincidentally bounced me from the playoffs last week. Still, I hope this is her year. As far as upcoming years, Ill hold a grudge against Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson from now on. Its just the way I am. Unless the price is exactly right, I dont imagine Ill ever own either again. For keepers, Antonio Brown is a given, but Ill have a tough choice picking between Marshawn Lynch and Rob Gronkowski. You know, if the Raiders just went ahead and got good already, it would take some of the sting out of losing fantasy football. Other than the fact it practically bored me to tears, theres not much to say about Thursdays game. Anybody that says that kind of defensive football is entertaining, is probably some kind of reckless optimist. These types of defensive performance, have just as much to do with lousy offenses. Watch the Seahawks shutdown a good offensive unit, like the Eagles last week, then talk to me about defense. Dont label what happened Thursday as adequate. That said, I figure if I continue to pick against the Cardinals, theyll eventually wind up in the Super Bowl. Anyway... Pittsburgh over Atlanta - I know, a lot depends on which Steelers team makes the trip. The good Steelers showed up last week, and its risky, but I think well see them again. Dont assume that the Steelers lack the offensive firepower to turn the Georgia Dome into a track meet. They do, and Atlanta doesnt have the defensive tools to stop it. New York Giants over Washington - Who cares? I know the answer to that question isnt the Giants or the Redskins. New York blew out Washington earlier this year. Now, the Redskins are buried beneath another wave of dysfunction, so Id bet on similar results. New England over Miami - Anyone who thinks that the Dolphins will pull off a season sweep, probably isnt paying close enough attention. The Patriots dont lose at home, and if they complete a 3 game sweep of division rivals, the road to the Super Bowl goes through Foxborough. Kansas City over Oakland - The last time the Raiders won a game, the next week, they traveled to Missouri and got absolutely destroyed. Last week, the Raiders won, and theyre on their way back to Missouri. Youd understand why Im gun shy about expecting to much from Oakland. Indianapolis over Houston - Do the Colts have some weaknesses? Yeah. Is it anything to worry about? Probably not. Definitely not against Houston. Andrew Luck just has a knack for winning games. Baltimore over Jacksonville - The Jaguars best chance to win...wait...I cant think of anything to make up. Like most weeks, Jacksonville has very little chance of succeeding. Green Bay over Buffalo - Buffalos schedule down the stretch is a monster. Theyre a good team, but they cant overcome matchups against the Patriots, Broncos, and Packers. Why? Well, lets take this game for example: All you need to know is that its Aaaron Rodgers versus Kyle Orton. Carolina over Tampa Bay - I still think that the Buccaneers put forth a solid effort at times. You know what they say though? Put forth a solid effort in one hand and...you should be able to figure the rest out. Speaking of what happens in the other hand, that about sums up the performance of New Orleans last week. So, Im still not very excited about whats going on in Carolina. Still, they already beat Tampa Bay with Derek Anderson once this year, so it can be done. Cincinnati over Cleveland - The last time these two teams met the Browns laid the Bengals out. That had a lot to do with Andy Dalton looking and playing like he had three sheets floating aimlessly in the wind. Johnny Manziel is making his debut today, against a very stern secondary. I think it will be a miserable introduction to the league, but only if the good Bengals show up. And by good, I mean a sober Andy Dalton. New York Jets over Tennessee - I still cant figure out how the Titans have won anything this year. Hmm. How the hell have the Jets won anything this year? Knowing whos involved here, theyll probably tie. I suppose on paper, the Jets are slightly more talented. Thats not really saying much though. Denver over San Diego - The Chargers know how to win games if the other team hands them the victory. The Broncos arent really in the habit of giving away games. Detroit over Minnesota - Detroits offense has been resuscitated in recent weeks, and the defense is as dominating as ever. I consider the Lions a legitimate contender this year. The key term: legitimate. Theyve always been talented, but now they seem equally focused. As far as the Vikings, they win the games they should, and they lose the games they should. Seattle over San Francisco - At the beginning of the year this was one of the leagues most anticipated rivalries. Half of the equation is no longer capable of holding up their end though. The Seahawks are quickly approaching their championship form, especially on defense. Which is bad news for the Niners, because Colin Kaepernick has regressed to the point that he probably shouldnt even be playing. I dont think that San Francisco will even be competitive today. Philadelphia over Dallas - The Eagles came into the Cowboys house on Thanksgiving and humiliated them. They walked in the dining room and took the turkey off the table. Not because they wanted to eat it, they just booted it across the front yard so the Cowboys couldnt eat it. Thats an amusing picture to me...I dont know why? Anyway, heres the problem the Cowboys have with the Eagles. I dont think Dallas can stop what the Eagles do offensively. Their defense isnt good enough. Once Philadelphia starts scoring, it lures the Cowboys away from what they do best offensively. If Dallas can control the game on the ground, they have a good chance, but I like Philly here. Chicago over New Orleans - Here you have a match up loaded with squandered potential. As bad as the Bears have looked, I just cant trust that the Saints are capable of competent football. Sure they should dominate Chicago, but they should have done the same against Carolina, and they just looked awful. For the Bears, the game plan here is glaringly obvious. So, Im sure its lost on Marc Trestman. Somebody needs to just stand up and scream at the guy...DESIGN YOUR GAMEPLAN AROUND MATT FORTE!!! HE IS YOUR BEST PLAYER!!! Well, what if we... NO!!! DONT GIVE JAY CUTLER THE OPPORTUNITY!!! HELL SCREW IT UP!!! YOU HAVE TO USE MATT FORTE!!! THE SAINTS CANT STOP THE RUN!!! USE MATT FORTE!!! Seems pretty simple. My pick here is assuming that Marc Trestman can still grasp the obvious. Granted, its a risky pick.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 14:54:09 +0000
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