Win a meaningless game and lose a few draft picks? Sign the Bills up!
(Just put Tebow in!)
Jets (+3½) at Bills — Bills
Miami (+10) at New England — New England
Baltimore (+2½) at Cincinnati — Bengals
Cleveland (+6) at Pittsburgh — Cleveland
Houston at Indianapolis (+6½) — Colts*
Welcome to Year Three of NFL picks.
Picking games against the spread is harder than it looks. Growing up in Buffalo led me to believe that the favorite teams always beat up on the underdogs, home or away. Games were won by a touchdown or three, not a fourth-quarter field goal.
Turns out that a seven-point spread is a lot. Any team getting double-digits is a team you should seriously consider picking. And those garbage time points are the ones that will often make or break your picks. Playing at home really does make a difference, but when in doubt, take the points.
I’m learning here. Even though I interned with the Buffalo News this summer, I still doubt they have any idea I make picks and keep standings along with them. It happens.
Last year’s results (we all have the same amount of ties for games that are a push):
Northrop: 125-112-9
Skurski: 122-115-9
Always Game Seven 118-119-9
McKissic: 116-121-9
Sullivan: 114-123-9
DiCesare: 113-124-9
Gaughan: 113-124-9
The Bills start this year at the Jets, who are yet to reveal exactly what Tim Tebow’s wildcat is going to look like. The Bills’ new defensive line gets the first crack at the shirtless rain runner, and I’m taking the Bills.
Bills +2.5 at New Jersey Jets — Bills
Indianapolis +9.5 at Chicago — Colts
Philadelphia at Cleveland +8.5 — Eagles
Washington +7 at New Orleans — Redskins
New England +5.5 at Tennessee — Patriots*
Jacksonville +4 at Minnesota — Vikings
Miami +12 at Houston — Dolphins
St. Louis +7 at Detroit — Lions
Atlanta at Kansas City +3 — Chiefs
San Francisco +5 at Green Bay — 49ers
Carolina at Tampa Bay +2.5 — Panthers
Seattle at Arizona +2.5 — Seahawks
Pittsburgh +1.5 at Denver — Broncos
Cincinnati +6 at Baltimore — Bengals
San Diego +1 at Oakland — Raiders
*Best bet
Largest line of the season: Miami +12 at Houston (Week 1)
Other note: Tim Graham replaces Rodney McKissic in the News’ picks this year.
The real story of this weekend is whether or not Tim Tebow will have enough magic to get past Tom Brady and The Hoodie in Foxborough.
San Francisco and the New York Giants will try to prevent us from seeing the Brees-Rodgers NFC title match up we’re all dreaming of and Joe Flacco will become the first QB in history to start a playoff game in his first four seasons, but all storylines take a backseat to Tebow. I don’t know if he can do it again, but it’ll be interesting.
Saturday night. 8 p.m. CBS. Be there.
New Orleans at San Francisco (+3 1/2)
New Orleans
Denver (+13 1/2) at New England
New England
Houston (+7 1/2) at Baltimore
Houston
Giants (+7 1/2) at Green Bay
Giants
Playoffs:
Northrop: 3-1
McKissic: 3-1
Sullivan: 2-2
Always Game Seven 2-2
DiCesare: 2-2
Gaughan: 1-3
Skurski: 1-3
I still haven't decided what I'm going to do if I ever have a daughter, but there better be another one of these guys around when she becomes of age. It might be an arranged marriage.
Santa’s bringing Western New York an early Christmas present this week and it’s exactly what we want.
Winning football? The Bills are beyond Santa’s help. It’s Tim Tebow!
The NFL decided there wouldn’t be enough people getting together this weekend to waive its blackout policy, so you’ll have to find another way to see Tebow play. There are plenty of tickets left if you want to get away from your inlaws for a little before Christmas Eve dinner, or, for broken leg cripples like me who can’t get out to stadiums, there are online feeds to be found.
I’m expecting a healthy dose of Tebow on the ground and through the air. With seven straight losses, despite the odds, it looks like the Bills are going to pull through after all complete my preseason prediction of a 5-11 record. If the Bills lose to Denver, if it won’t get any easier when they travel to Foxboro next week.
The Bills are a three-point underdog.
Denver at Bills (+3)
Denver
Oakland (+1 1/2) at Kansas City
Oakland
Jacksonville (+7 1/2) at Tennessee
Tennessee
Arizona (+4) at Cincinnati
Arizona
Miami (+9) at New England
New England
Cleveland (+13) at Baltimore
Cleveland
Giants (+3) at Jets
Giants
Minnesota (+6 1/2) at Washington
Washington
Tampa Bay (+7 1/2) at Carolina
Carolina
St. Louis (+16) at Pittsburgh
St. Louis
San Diego (+2 1/2) at Detroit
Detriot
San Francisco at Seattle (+2 1/2)
San Francisco
Philadelphia (+2) at Dallas
Philadelphia
Chicago (+13) at Green Bay
Chicago
Atlanta (+6 1/2) at New Orleans
New Orleans
Overall
Northrop: 109-99-7
Skurski: 107-101-7
Always Game Seven 106-102-7
Gaughan: 102-106-7
McKissic: 101-107-7
Sullivan: 99-109-7
DiCesare: 97-111-7
C.J. Spiller goes against an older version of himself this week in Miami's Reggie Bush. Hopefully Spiller will turn out to be a more productive NFL runner.
I wrote earlier this year about how Miami week doesn’t matter anymore. The most telling sign of all is that this year’s home game against the Dolphins won’t even be televised because the team couldn’t sell out the game.
It’s pathetic really, but empty seats may be the only way to get any results from our penny-pinching owner. Even mother nature isn’t acknowledging this rivalry — forecast for kickoff is mostly sunny and above freezing.
I find it hard to pick the Bills to win against anyone right now, but wouldn’t it be typical us to somehow pull out a win in a meaningless game and lose draft position? I guess it’s a lose-lose situation. Such is life when you’re a helpless football team.
There are more interesting games to talk about tomorrow. I’m interested to watch Denver vs. New England. Does Tebow have a shot against the Patriots’ league-worst secondary? I’m using this game as a barometer for him — if anyone can solve a good story and crush it, it’s the Hoodie.
Plus it’s fantasy playoffs week. I have two semifinal games to keep track of and it’s not looking good for either of them. Tony Romo is killing me! (But I did pick the Cowboys to win ahead of time.)
Miami (+2) at Bills
Miami
Dallas at Tampa Bay (+7)
Dallas
Washington (+7) at Giants
Giants
Green Bay at Kansas City (+14)
Green Bay
New Orleans at Minnesota (+7)
New Orleans
Seattle (+3 1/2) at Chicago
Seattle
Carolina (+6 1/2) at Houston
Houston
Tennessee at Indianapolis (+6 1/2)
Tennessee
Cincinnati at St. Louis (+6)
Cincinnati
Detroit at Oakland (+1)
Detroit
New England at Denver (+6 1/2)
Denver
Jets (+3) at Philadelphia
Jets
Cleveland (+7) at Arizona
Arizona
Baltimore at San Diego (+2 1/2)
Baltimore
Pittsburgh (+3 1/2) at San Francisco
San Francicso
Overall
Skurski: 101-93-6
Northrop: 100-94-6
Always Game Seven 100-94-6
Gaughan: 95-99-6
McKissic: 94-100-6
Sullivan: 94-100-6
DiCesare: 91-103-6
It's Always Game Seven 