Last week Andy got to choose where to pick based on winning a virtual coin flip. This week he picked first because his picks sucked.

Well, they weren’t THAT bad. Tony won week one 8-7. Andy decided to go second and third this week.

Tony: Oakland over the NY Jets – This game didn’t start as the highest spread of the week, but has gone from Oakland -10 to Oakland -14 in some books–tells you what people think. Fans in Detroit have to be thinking that the Jets could match their mark for futility this year.

Andy: Not picking first may have backfired. I’m not really sure why I thought Tony would ignore the Raiders/Jets game, but that’s what I was hoping for. Lesson learned. I’m *reasonably* confident in Seattle beating San Francisco, though that OL is putrid. And Carolina *should* be in the clear against Buffalo. But in hindsight, I really wish I had the Raiders.

Tony: Not good that by game 4, we’re already a little unsure here–the Patriots should beat the Saints, but then again, they should have beaten the Chiefs, too.

Andy: Come on Scott Tolzien. I’m a bit less confident here if the Colts start Jacoby Brissett. But even without David Johnson, the Cardinals should have enough in the tank to beat a rebuilding Indy team minus Andrew Luck.

Tony: Baltimore over Cleveland – If you’d asked last week, I would have guessed this would have been a top two pick for sure. But the Browns played better than most expected, and I’m not ready to write home about the Ravens just yet.

Andy: This is where I started getting queezy with every pick. Tampa is better than Chicago, but the Bears were plucky last week. Factor in the hurricanes and the surrounding chaos and I’ll need some Pepto through this one.

Tony: Houston over Cincinnati…boy, the NFL sure does know how to pick those Thursday matchups, right? The Texans were thought to be the favorites in the NFC South coming into the season–not sure if Harvey played a roll in their week one performance, but they better hope to bounce back. With a rookie quarterback starting, the biggest thing in their favor is that Cincinnati looked even worse in week 1.

Andy: I’m actually glad Tony took Houston – I hate that game, but I think the Bengals might get the win here. Whether it’s the mediocre Tom Savage or the inexperienced Deshaun Watson, I’m not buying Houston right now. Minnesota looked good at home on Monday night against a New Orleans team that has a lot of interesting new parts. Can the Vikings go on the road and beat the Steelers? If they can, mark Minnesota down as a for-real contender, especially if the win comes via the arm of Sam Bradford again. I need to see it to believe it.

Tony: Kansas City over Philadelphia – The Chiefs may be in for a bit of a hangover after surprisingly knocking off the Super Bowl Champs in week 1, but Andy Reid taught Doug Pederson pretty much everything Pederson knows about coaching in the NFL–including ignoring your main running back in the second half? Of course, Pederson may have one-upped Reid in that area–he doesn’t even have a main running back.

Andy: The Dolphins have all the same hurricane distractions the Bucs do plus Miami isn’t that good. Flying across the country to take on the Chargers isn’t a great way to start the season.

Tony: This may be wishful thinking again, but Atlanta is hosting the Packers, so I’ll ignore the fact that the Falcons didn’t look the best against the Bears in the first week, and give them the edge.

Andy: I’m slowly becoming a believer in Jacksonville. I like Tennessee too, which is why I waited until now to go with the Jags. Both of these teams are going to win some games this season. Jacksonville looked a bit more ready last week.

Tony: Andy can have the Jags–that’s a team that has burned me multiple times, multiple ways. If I’d stayed at 1.01 in one of my leagues and taken Leonard Fournette, I’m sure he would have broken a leg by now. I’ll take Washington over the Rams–the game is in LA, but it’s easier traveling East to West than West to East. And it’s easier to win in the NFL with Kirk Cousins than it is Jared Goff–at least for now.

Andy: I don’t like my picks this week, but Tony has helped me out twice. The Redskins looked awful last week. I think the Rams sneak by with a win here. Flip of a coin on my pick. Detroit looked better than the Giants last week, so I’ll take the Lions.

Tony: I’m not all that surprised that Dallas at Denver is the final pick of the week–realistically, if it was in Dallas, I think it’d be a fairly easy pick for the Cowboys, but in Denver…who knows. The Broncos looked decent for the first three quarters against the Chargers, but their offense almost gave the game away. I think the MVP of this game will be the judge that is allowing Zeke Elliot to play this season–without him, the Broncos probably triumph. With him, the Cowboys can eke out a road win.

 

So, again, for anyone scoring at home, here are the picks:

Andy Tony
NY Jets Oakland
Seattle San Francisco
Carolina Buffalo
New Orleans New England
Arizona Indianapolis
Cleveland Baltimore
Tampa Bay Chicago
Cincinnati Houston
Pittsburgh Minnesota
Philadelphia Kansas City
LA Chargers Miami
Green Bay Atlanta
Jacksonville Tennessee
LA Rams Washington
Detroit NY Giants
Denver Dallas
*Bold means that person made the pick

For our more conventional picks, here are the standings. The picks are below.

Andy Tony
Last week 10-5 9-6
Season 10-5 9-6

And the picks:

Andy’s picks Tony’s picks
Oakland  Oakland
Seattle  Seattle
Carolina  Carolina
New England  New England
Arizona  Arizona
Baltimore  Baltimore
Tampa Bay  Tampa Bay
Cincinnati  Houston
Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh
Kansas City  Kansas City
LA Chargers  Miami
Green Bay  Atlanta
Jacksonville  Jacksonville
LA Rams  Washington
Detroit  Detroit
Denver  Dallas