Pretzel’s Picks Week 17

Kansas City Chiefs by 4 at home over the Oakland Raiders

Haley has said that the starters are going to play to keep their momentum going.  Oakland has nothing to play for.  Chiefs by a touchdown.

Houston Texans by 3 at home over the Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags can still make the playoffs with a win and an Indy loss.  The Texans can’t.  Jags win this one outright.

New York Jets by 2 at home over the Buffalo Bills

Although the Jets have clinched a playoff spot, Ryan won’t want them heading into the playoffs losing 2 in a row and 4 of the last 5.  Look for the Jets to make a statement against their division rivals.  Jets by 14.

St. LouisRams by 3 at the Seattle Seahawks

This game will come down to which team wants the playoffs more which usually comes down to coaching.  Spags will have the Rams ready to go in hopes of a worst to first turn around.  Deej’s Rams take this one by 10.

Eliminator

Falcons over the Panthers

Pretzel’s Picks Week 16

Miami Dolphins by 4 at home over Detroit Lions

The Lions go for their third win in a row.  Yes I said it and yes they will get it.  Lions pull out a close one and win by 3.

Jacksonville Jaguars by 7 at home over the Washington Redskins

The Redskins are awful and got worse with McNabb sitting down.  I don’t want to question Mike Shanahan but Grossman?  Really?  Jags take this by 2 touchdowns.

New England Patriots by 8 at the Buffalo Bills

The Bills are a scrappy team but the Patriots are almost unstoppable at this point.  Patriots by 15.

San Diego Chargers by 8 at the Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals only consistent weapon this year just went on the IR.  This should be a cake walk for the Chargers.  SD by 14.

Eliminator

Eagles over the Vikings.

Top Targets for 2010 week 16

For this late Christmas Day edition I am actually ahead by being behind.  Breaking news has Maurice Jones Drew out for this Sunday’s tilt against the Redskins.  This is a good match up for MJD….if he were playing.  If you listen our podcast (available on iTunes, search for fantasydraftmaster) you always hand cuff your marquis guys, so you already have Rashad Jennings on your roster.  For anyone who dropped the ball, there are possibly some other options for you.  Obviously is Jennings is available, grab him and start him.  If he isn’t here are some other running back options that might be available.

Danny Woodhead, RB, New England Patriots – Danny continues to make the most out of limited opportunities playing behind Green-Ellis.  He seems to find ways to get in the endzone and that should continue with the Pats friendly matchup against the Bills this weekend.

Donald Brown, RB, Indianapolis Colts – The running back corps in indy has been banged up all season so it has been a revolving door.  Last week Brown had good production in the colts win over the Jags.  With the Raiders giving up more than 130 yards/game on the ground and the Colts fighting for their lives, Brown should play well again this week.

Toby Gerhart, RB, Minnesota Vikings – Peterson is questionable again this week and even though he says he wants to play, I cannot see the Vikings riding him too hard if at all in a game that doesn’t matter.  Gerhart should get the majority of the touches.

Other Strong Plays This Week:

LeGarrette Blount, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Blount has be great in recent weeks and there is not reason he will slow down against the shabby Seahawks. 

Any Receiver on the Saints – The Falcons have played a couple of terrible teams in the last two weeks but they have been known to give up yards through the air.  They are at home this week on Monday night and the could be leading which means the Drew and the crew will be airing it out early and often.

Poor Plays:

Eli Manning, RB, New Yorks Giants – This is for you Pretzel! The Packers have been vicious on opposing quarterbacks this season and this week will be no exception.  Add to that, Eli Manning threw 4 TDs last week, but he only threw 7 touchdowns in the five games leading up to last week combined.  This will be a tough week for Eli…he might actually cry.

Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears – Forte has been hit and miss all year and lately he has been losing touches to Chester Taylor.  There is no team in the league that gives running backs more difficulty than the New York Jets, if you have other options than Forte, use them.

Merry Christmas all and happy championship weekend!!!!!

Pretzel’s Picks Week 15

Indianapolis Colts by 4.5 over the Jacksonville Jaguars

The Colts are favored in this one but the Jags have been very good lately.  The home team should win but only by a field goal. Colts get the win by 3 and don’t cover.

St. Louis Rams by 3 over the Kansas City Chiefs

The Rams are not scaring anyone this season but they have been competitive and have proven they can move the ball.  With Cassel questionable this week again, the Chiefs should be about as good as they were last week.  The Rams defense should hold giving them the win and the cover.  Rams by 5

 Baltimore Ravens by 1.5 at home over the New Orleans Saints

Both of these teams are playing really well and both are in a battle for first place in their divisions so this should be a great game. Baltimore is favored because they are at home but this game is really a pick em.   New Orleans started off slowly but has been as good as anyone in December.  Saints by 4 

Cincinnati Bengals by 1 over the Cleveland Browns

The Bengals has shown me nothing all year that screams “I’m a winner!”  Cleveland has been  in a lot of close games and might be better than their record shows.  Browns by 3

Eliminator

For the eliminator I will take the the apparently unstoppable Patriots at home against the banged up Packers.