Alternative Picks: Week 15, 2017

This is getting to be a bit of an old song, but yes, another week, another loss for Andy.

Truth is he’s been pretty pathetic all season long. His picks have been mediocre. His bets have been abysmal. He’d be pretty close to being an embarrassment to his family … if not for still having at least a sliver of hope at winning three fantasy leagues.

Not that anyone cares about that. So … here are the standings:

And for the moment you’ve all been waiting for … Andy’s picking first again this week. May the force be with him and his godawful picks.

1. Andy: New Orleans over NY Jets – I have little confidence in much of any of what I do related to football right now, but I like this game because Josh McCown was injured last week. No offense to McCown – he’s a great story. But he’s been passable as the QB for the Jets largely because New York’s young backups really don’t belong in the league. And now they get a chance to show that.
2. Tony: Jacksonville over Houston – Jacksonville really seems to have turned a corner this year. Picking them second overall should set them back to their regular ways.
3. Tony: Baltimore over Cleveland – I thought that Cleveland was going to pull out a win sometime this year. I don’t think that any more.
4. Andy: Minnesota over Cincinnati – We’re going to learn something about the Vikings this week. This is a hugely talented team. In years past, a loss could cause this team to wilt. They should beat the Bengals by about 30. If they don’t … this team may not be as mentally tough as we think.
5. Tony: Philadelphia over NY Giants – With Carson Wentz out, the Eagles could use a first game for Nick Foles against a patsy opponent…oh, look at that, here come the Giants.
6. Andy: Atlanta over Tampa Bay – Who knows with the Falcons anymore, but they should win this game and put up some impressive offense in doing so.
7. Tony: Dallas over Oakland – Kind of missed the Bucs game on my list. I don’t really remember what led me to pick the Cowboys here, other than they finally had the offense show up last week.
8. Andy: Carolina over Green Bay – This is where my confidence goes from low to non-existent. Aaron Rodgers is coming back. That could be enough to lift the Packers. But Carolina is the better team.
9. Tony: Detroit over Chicago – I still think Aaron Rodgers putting out that he was cleared on his personal Instagram means that the team wasn’t sure they were ready to start him…and now they’re in a corner. Makes them dangerous, but also puts him at more risk. Oh yeah, and Detroit should clobber the Bears, but probably won’t.
10. Andy: LA Chargers over Kansas City – I keep going back to the first two games of the season with the Chargers, when a decent kicker could have had them 1-1 or even 2-0. They’re tied for first with a lot of momentum. A win here would be huge – I would not want to play the Chargers in the playoff, if they get there.
11. Tony: Indianapolis over Denver – I heard someone on the radio point out that in a Thursday night game, when neither team really cares, the home team is probably the better choice. Seems like good enough logic to me.
12. Andy: Washington over Arizona – In picking Detroit and Indianapolis, Tony took two games I was avoiding like the plague. I picked this one because, by the rules we imposed upon ourselves at the beginning of the season, I had to take someone.
13. Tony: Tennessee over San Francisco – What a difference a real starting quarterback can make. Three weeks ago, this would have been a top 5 pick, most likely.
14. Andy: New England over Pittsburgh – I think the Patriots are better. I think there will be some offense in this game. But the Steelers almost lost to Baltimore and New England got shellacked by Miami last week. So … who the hell knows.
15. Tony: LA Rams over Seattle – The Seahawks should, by all rights, be losing weekly now. But somehow, Pete Carroll thrives in the chaos. Must be all the years of experience keeping the chaos of employing so many players at USC under wraps.
16. Andy: Miami over Buffalo – When two stalwarts like the Dolphins and Bills play, you just throw the records out the window.

And so for those of you still keeping track:

And now for our straight up picks: