NFL Picks 2014: Week 6

by | Oct 7, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Picks

Sometimes you come across a week where it looks like you actually know what you’re talking about. That was week five for us. Noneweekly-picks of us got more than four games wrong last week and John Vomhof Jr. scored a 14-1 week.

The solid weeks – and a slide to 11-4 by Fantasy Editor Anthony Maggio – have created a logjam near the top of our overall season totals. Here’s where things stand heading into week 6

Name Week 5 Overall
Tony 13-2 49-27
John 14-1 47-29
Maggio 11-4 47-29
Andy 12-3 45-31

 

(Apologies to Dr. Phil for leaving him out last week – he also went 14-1 in week five, which actually puts him ahead of all of us for the season at 51-25). So was our sudden surge toward respectability a sign that we actually are figuring things out? Or was this a case of four blind squirrels finding a nut? We’ll know more, I would imagine, as we journey through the second quarter of the season.

Here are our picks for the week: (more…)

Zoneblitz Notebook week five

by | Oct 6, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Random Thoughts

I feel like an ass falling for it again, but yep, I picked Cincinnati over New England Sunday night only to realize just a few minutes into the game that I got that one wrong (I didn’t see much of the game, but followed the feed fairly closely via my phone).

It was an obvious oversight. Sure, the Patriots got crushed by Kansas City Monday night with Tom Brady looking like hell. But one should have been able to tell that Bill Belichick was right in his wheelhouse with his postgame press conference – during which all he did was repeat over and over that the Patriots were moving on to the Cincinnati game.

With his us-against-the-world mentality and a return to emphasizing the run and shorter, tight end-based passing game, the Patriots easily dismantled the Bengals – a team that continues to look like a contender at home and early on, only to drop trow when it has a chance to win a big game on television in prime time.

Make no mistake, this is a flawed Patriots team. But don’t count out Brady and Belichick just yet. They’ve still got a few weapons on board.

So, I’ll take the rap for this one. But there are a lot of other things that happened in week five that were dumb – things that I had nothing to do with. Here are a few observations: (more…)

Zoneblitz Survivor Pool: Week 5

by | Oct 1, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Picks, NFL Survivor pool

Two Tellijohns in a two-strike, four-person NFL Survival Pool to start the season, two Tellijohns out by the end of week four. Stupid Steelers.

If you’re looking for assistance with your Survivor Pool, you still have the undefeated Anthony Maggio and John Vomhof Jr. to help out. They’re the last two remaining, but both are 4-0 on the season. Here are their picks for week five. (more…)

NFL Picks 2014: Week 5

by | Sep 30, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Picks

Okay, Tampa goes and loses by 15 touchdowns to Atlanta and then wins, in Pittsburgh, on a last second TD? Kansas City dismantlesweekly-picks New England in such a fashion that it looks like the Belichick/Brady era is winding to a close? Defenseless Dallas dominates the Saints in another prime time game over by halftime?

These are the confusing weeks that make the NFL fun to watch but also occasionally maddening to predict. Fantasy Editor Maggio handled it best of anyone last week, going 8-5 and catapulting into the lead in our overall standings. The rest of us were sub-.500 for the week.

Name Week 4 Overall
Maggio 8-5 36-25
Tony 6-7 36-25
Andy 5-8 33-28
John 5-8 33-28

The good thing is eventually things usually start to normalize. You start to figure out who the good teams and bad teams are. It clears up a bit in terms of who the surprisingly solid teams will be and the disappointments also start to take shape.

I’m not sure we’re quite there yet, though. We’ll see.

Here are our picks: (more…)

Zoneblitz Week Three Notebook

by | Sep 23, 2014 | 2014 season, NFL Random Thoughts

The NFL got back to keeping its news on the field as opposed to off, at least for the most part, last week. The schedule wasn’t filled with barnburners, but there were a handful of decent games and, as always, some observations.

  • What’s wrong with the Packers?: The Lions tried hard to give the game away, but the Packers still managed to come away with the loss. I expected the defense to struggle this year, but the offense has been pathetic, too. If Aaron Rodgers & Co. struggle again against the Bears, it might be time to hit the panic button. (more…)