2014 Week 7 Review & Week 8 Picks
Week 7 Review (Week, 2-3, Season, 16-19, All Time 119-98-2)
Week 7 marked our third straight 2-3 week, and our 16-19 season record is well below where we typically are just before the halfway point in the season. Despite poor outcomes, our process has and will remain the same. We will continue to pick teams that we believe are being under valued and pick against teams we believe are being overvalued.
Week 8 Picks
Chicago+6 @ New England
For what is now the fourth time in the last five weeks, we are picking against New England. However, unlike the previous three times, it is for slightly different reasons. While the offense, our biggest concern, has improved nicely for New England, they have been hit pretty hard by injuries in their defensive front seven. Without Mayo, New York ran up and down the field on New England. Though the secondary has remained exceptionally strong, it will be stressed by the loss of Chandler Jones, who represented a bulk of New England's pass rush. We still like New England to win, but think 6 points is too many to lay given the concerns on defense.
Tampa Bay -2.5 vs Minnesota
It is difficult to think of a unit in football that has performed worse than Tampa Bay's secondary...until you look at Minnesota's passing offense. While Tampa Bay's defense is simply underachieving, Minnesota's offense is just systematically bad starting at the player talent level. Though Tampa Bay's secondary has struggled this year, it has the fundamental talent to abuse Bridgewater and the Minnesota passing attack. We do have some concern surrounding Tampa Bay's ability to score on Minnesota, but think Tampa Bay should be able to win at home.
Houston -3.5 (100) @ Tennessee
Last week, Houston recorded its third heartbreaking loss in as many weeks, as a flukey 2 minute span at the end of the first half netted their opponent 21 points. Though Houston does have a tendency to implode, they have received more than their fair share of bad luck. Conversely, Tennessee has just been plain bad. Not only is Houston a better team, but Tennessee is being forced to start a third string rookie QB. We believe Houston is being undervalued and like them to win.
Indianapolis -3 (105) @ Pittsburgh
Most people are picking Indianapolis in this spot because of how well they have played since dropping their first two games. For us, this is more of a play against Pittsburgh, who we believe is not a good football team. Though offensively their numbers look great, they have really just beat up bad defenses. This team has more bad losses than they do good wins, and we think Indianapolis is in a completely different league.
Green Bay +1 (105) @ New Orleans
Much has been said about New Orleans and how great they are at home. Of course, this makes sense considering New Orleans has been a great team in recent seasons, and great teams tend to be great at home too. This season, New Orleans has not been great, and not totally unsurprisingly, hasn't been great at home either (3-0, but with close games). On the other hand, Green Bay is as hot as almost any other team in the league. We like Green Bay to win on the road and put New Orleans' 2014 season aspirations in serious jeopardy.