CFC Pick'em Funtimes 2018-2019

[Light Cleric]

Chiefs cover
Texans cover
Broncos cover

 

[Sommerswerd]

Week 15 Spreads

Thursday, 12/13
L.A. Chargers @ Kansas City, Kansas City by 3.5 - cover

Saturday, 12/15*
Houston @ N.Y. Jets, Houston by 6 - cover
Cleveland @ Denver, Denver by 3 - dog

Sunday, 12/16
Arizona @ Atlanta, Atlanta by 9 - dnc
Oakland @ Cincinnati, Cincinnati by 3 - dog
Miami @ Minnesota, Minnesota by 7 - cover
Dallas @ Indianapolis, Indianapolis by 3 - dog
Tampa Bay @ Baltimore, Baltimore by 8- cover
Detroit @ Buffalo, Buffalo by 2.5 - cover
Green Bay @ Chicago, Chicago by 6 - cover
Washington @ Jacksonville, Jacksonville by 7- cover
Tennessee @ N.Y. Giants, Giants by 2.5- cover
Seattle @ San Francisco, Seattle by 5 - dog
New England @ Pittsburgh, New England by 1.5- cover
Philadelphia @ L.A. Rams, Rams by 9.5 - dnc

Monday, 12/17
New Orleans @ Carolina, New Orleans by 6- cover

 

[KMRblue1027]

KC covers
Houston Covers
Cleveland outright

 

[caketastydelish]

Week 15 Spreads

Thursday, 12/13
L.A. Chargers @ Kansas City, Kansas City by 3.5 Chargers win

Saturday, 12/15*
Houston @ N.Y. Jets, Houston by 6 Texans cover
Cleveland @ Denver, Denver by 3 Broncos cover

Sunday, 12/16
Arizona @ Atlanta, Atlanta by 9 Falcons cover
Oakland @ Cincinnati, Cincinnati by 3 Bengals cover
Miami @ Minnesota, Minnesota by 7 Vikings don’t cover
Dallas @ Indianapolis, Indianapolis by 3 Colts cover

1. Tampa Bay @ Baltimore, Baltimore by 8 Ravens cover

Detroit @ Buffalo, Buffalo by 2.5 Bills cover
Green Bay @ Chicago, Chicago by 6 Bears cover
Washington @ Jacksonville, Jacksonville by 7 Jags cover
Tennessee @ N.Y. Giants, Giants by 2.5 Titans win
Seattle @ San Francisco, Seattle by 5 Seahawks cover
New England @ Pittsburgh, New England by 1.5 Patriots cover
Philadelphia @ L.A. Rams, Rams by 9.5 Rams don’t cover

Monday, 12/17
New Orleans @ Carolina, New Orleans by 6 Saints cover

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Thursday, 12/13
L.A. Chargers @ Kansas City, Kansas City by 3.5 whooping bad teams doesn't get it done at Arrowhead Chiefs cover

Saturday, 12/15*
Houston @ N.Y. Jets, Houston by 6 Road game, in the weather...but it's the Jets Texans cover
Cleveland @ Denver, Denver by 3 Browns aren't really bad, Broncoids aren't really good, but at home Broncoids cover

Sunday, 12/16
Arizona @ Atlanta, Atlanta by 9 mail it in time Falcons DNC
Oakland @ Cincinnati, Cincinnati by 3 also mailing it in Bengals cover
Miami @ Minnesota, Minnesota by 7 home with something to prove Vikings cover
Dallas @ Indianapolis, Indianapolis by 3 tough call Colts cover
Tampa Bay @ Baltimore, Baltimore by 8 Ravens have two quarterbacks, TB has none Ravens cover
Detroit @ Buffalo, Buffalo by 2.5 outdoors in December is not the savanna Bills cover
Green Bay @ Chicago, Chicago by 6 Chicago version of hosting the super bowl Bears cover
Washington @ Jacksonville, Jacksonville by 7 Mark Sanchez with three weeks to learn the offense Jags cover
Tennessee @ N.Y. Giants, Giants by 2.5 seriously? Titans win
Seattle @ San Francisco, Seattle by 5 blowout Squawks cover
New England @ Pittsburgh, New England by 1.5 three games, time to right the ship Steelers win
Philadelphia @ L.A. Rams, Rams by 9.5 coming home mad Rams cover

Monday, 12/17
New Orleans @ Carolina, New Orleans by 6 got one seed in sight Saints cover

 

[caketastydelish]

They cheat. Any team can, but most teams won't. Maintaining a competitive balance across the league is critical to continued success for everyone, and the risk of breaking that down is something very few owners would even consider. Certainly no descendant of George Halas.

I hate the Pats as much as you do, but this isn't fair and I think you know it. Before the salary cap rule was implemented some teams spent more than others on a consistent basis and as a result, they were always kicking ass (such as the Steelers in the '70s). In fact, the salary cap rule got implemented in the first place specifically because of what Jerry Jones was doing in the early '90s. The idea that any of them would be willing to cheat to always win but they're too afraid to do it because it isn't in their best interest isn't true.

I wouldn't be that surprised that the Pats actually cheat, though perhaps not the extent you do.

They underpay Tom Brady from what he's worth by a mile which allows them better players during the salary cap era. Robert Kraft is also almost certainly paying Brady more than that under the table. That would be the #1 source of their cheat codes.

Beyond that, as you mentioned before it is a little unnerving that ex Patriot teams other than the Texans tend to stomp them. The Lions and Titans both did this year, despite both of them (especially Lions) being obviously weaker teams. Whether it's because "they know the methods of the cheatriot ways" or because they know the Patriots playbook and strategies and they know how to counter, or a combination both, idk.

The other thing that benefits the Pats is they've been in an exceptionally weak division during the Brady/Belichick era. If you are almost guaranteed to be division champs each season then once you're that far in the playoffs who knows what will happen, hence their frequent Super Bowl trips.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

So, @caketastydelish I am genuinely confused by your post here.

"They underpay Tom Brady from what he's worth by a mile which allows them better players during the salary cap era. Robert Kraft is also almost certainly paying Brady more than that under the table. That would be the #1 source of their cheat codes."

Yes, that would be blatant, outright violation of the letter and the spirit of the salary cap which was agreed to by all the owners for the purpose of providing fans with a product featuring competitive balance. Obviously Robert Kraft is more interested in championships than the agreement he signed on to, and the other owners can't really figure out what to do to rein him in. The fact that back in the pre-cap era many owners were willing to play "championships are up for bids" does not mean they would cheat the cap they agreed to put in.

By the way, the Cowboys of the nineties actually were ringing up championships by using the salary cap rule as it was originally implemented. A number of owners, including Eddie DeBartolo and Jerry Jones, believed that the cap would be struck down in court under anti-trust laws. They followed the letter, but not the spirit, and packed their teams with back loaded contracts under the theory that they would win now, and when the time came for dead money to decimate their rosters the cap would be gone and they could just carry on. They got the "win now" part, and guys who timed the jumping from the ship properly like Jimmy Johnson came out smelling brilliant...but the cap was proven to work in the long run as those teams fell into deep pits they took a decade to crawl out of. It subsequently got fine tuned to prevent such 'boom and bust' cyclers from ruining the league.

 

[rah]

Thursday, 12/13
L.A. Chargers @ Kansas City, Kansas City by 3.5 KC COVERS

Saturday, 12/15*
Houston @ N.Y. Jets, Houston by 6 Houston covers
Cleveland @ Denver, Denver by 3 Denver Covers

Sunday, 12/16
Arizona @ Atlanta, Atlanta by 9 Atlanta DNC
Oakland @ Cincinnati, Cincinnati by 3 Cincy covers
Miami @ Minnesota, Minnesota by 7 Minny covers
Dallas @ Indianapolis, Indianapolis by 3 Indy covers
Tampa Bay @ Baltimore, Baltimore by 8 Baltimore DNC
Detroit @ Buffalo, Buffalo by 2.5 Buffalo Covers
Green Bay @ Chicago, Chicago by 6 DA BEARS COVER
Washington @ Jacksonville, Jacksonville by 7 Jack DNC
Tennessee @ N.Y. Giants, Giants by 2.5 Tennessee
Seattle @ San Francisco, Seattle by 5 Seattle covers
New England @ Pittsburgh, New England by 1.5 STEELERS
Philadelphia @ L.A. Rams, Rams by 9.5 Rams cover

Monday, 12/17
New Orleans @ Carolina, New Orleans by 6 NO covers


AS long as the Bears beat the Pack, I really don't care about the others

 

[Light Cleric]

I'm pretty sure the reason they're paying Brady less is because his wife is worth 3x what he is so he doesn't really give a crap lol

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I'm pretty sure the reason they're paying Brady less is because his wife is worth 3x what he is so he doesn't really give a crap lol

You seriously think that at this point in his career Aaron Rodgers "needs the money"? So why isn't he taking ten million a year less? Brees? Rivers? Rothlisberger?

 

[rah]

They're not married to Tom Brady's wife
I wouldn't care about the money either.

 

[Serutan]

Whilst my memory is still functioning


Kansas City
Houston
Cleveland outright.
Arizona outright.
Oakland outright.
Minnesota dnc
Indianapolis
Baltimore dnc
Detroit outright.
Chicago dnc
Jacksonville
N.Y. Giants
Seattle
New England - Think Pitt is slipping faster than NE
L.A. Rams
New Orleans dnc Division game.

 

[sophie]

KC cov
HOU cov
DEN cov

 

[Light Cleric]

You seriously think that at this point in his career Aaron Rodgers "needs the money"? So why isn't he taking ten million a year less? Brees? Rivers? Rothlisberger?

Why do people with more money than God still lust after more? Why don't CEOs take less money to raise the wages of their employees when it would help society as a whole? Maybe they just want the money a whole hell of a lot more. There's also an element of getting yours so they next guy gets theirs. Maybe Brady just doesn't care about that.

Honestly, with all the things you could dump on the Patriots for, picking the one for which you have literally no evidence is dumb.

*For the record, Brees did take less this time around. A free agent HoF quarterback (whose previous contract stipulated he couldn't be tagged again) could have broken the goddamn bank.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Why do people with more money than God still lust after more? Why don't CEOs take less money to raise the wages of their employees when it would help society as a whole? Maybe they just want the money a whole hell of a lot more. There's also an element of getting yours so they next guy gets theirs. Maybe Brady just doesn't care about that.

Honestly, with all the things you could dump on the Patriots for, picking the one for which you have literally no evidence is dumb.

*For the record, Brees did take less this time around. A free agent HoF quarterback (whose previous contract stipulated he couldn't be tagged again) could have broken the goddamn bank.

If Brady isn't the key player on that team, who is? Gronkowski is the usual answer. When he is out injured their winning percentage drops like a hot rock. He is widely regarded as the best tight end in football, and without question could break the bank in a whole lot of places. He isn't married to a supermodel who makes three times what he makes. So why did he sign on to be the sixth highest paid tight end?

If it was just Brady it's an aberration. If the team didn't have a record for cheating in as many ways as they can figure out it wouldn't seem like a likely possibility. But as it stands it's a pattern, and seems reasonable enough.

As to Brees, which bank do you think he could have broken any better than he did the Bank of New Orleans? Yes, HoF quarterback. But who really had twenty five million a year plus to throw at him? His contract seems right in line with going rates. He makes eight million a year MORE than Tom Brady does. Do you think the same thing can be said there? That it would be hard to find a team that could scrounge up more than seventeen million for Tom Brady?

 

[caketastydelish]

In fairness to Gronk specifically, he isn’t the player he used to be. He’s not getting paid like the best tight end in football which is fair because he isn’t playing like it (talking about this season specifically).

 

[Light Cleric]

As to Brees, which bank do you think he could have broken any better than he did the Bank of New Orleans? Yes, HoF quarterback. But who really had twenty five million a year plus to throw at him? His contract seems right in line with going rates. He makes eight million a year MORE than Tom Brady does. Do you think the same thing can be said there? That it would be hard to find a team that could scrounge up more than seventeen million for Tom Brady?

Bro Kirk Cousins literally got more than he did lol. Cousins also turned down more than that from the Jets. The Broncos could have made room for him because they had room for Cousins if they hadn't gone for Case Keenum instead. The Skins had enough room to pay Alex Smith out the butt. I don't know how you can even make that argument with a straight face. There were teams with a truckload of money this offseason and about the only QB-needy team that couldn't go after one was Jacksonville (because of their d-line contracts and having anchored themselves to Bortles). Whether it would smart to do it is a completely different question, but all those teams could have and it only takes one. EDIT: I forgot the Niners also paid Jimmy G five hundred billion dollars a year.

I really have no idea what your argument is because there's nothing coherent here, it's just anger at the Patriots (which I can empathize with but damn dude). I'm not even trying to be a dick, I literally cannot parse it because it makes no sense.

 

[caketastydelish]

Yeah, for Brees the only argument you could make is

1) Brees is near the end of his career.
2) the Saints are a "win now" mode team.

Combine those two factors and Brees may have decided to take a pay cut just for a happy ending way to go off into the sunset.

Although Brees age means he's not a long-term solution, unlike everyone else you mentioned.

 

[Sommerswerd]

I remember hearing somewhere that Brady offered to take a pay cut so that the Pats could give Wes Welker the raise he wanted. But management said "No we'll just go get you another tiny scrappy quick slot receiver with great hands who will work for peanuts"

I think Brady honestly just loves playing and winning more than he loves money. He's over 40. He's filthy rich. He could run for Governor of Massachusetts on either party's ticket and win in a landslide. He could run for Senator of Massachusetts on either party's ticket and win in a landslide. He could go do movies if he wanted. The dude just wants keep winning football games. The money is a tertiary concern.

And yes @caketastydelish I agree with you that when you have a HOF'er who doesn't need to get the max possible salary, it allows you to build a much better team. That's why I kinda wished the 49ers could make it work with Mullens and dump Garappolo's monster salary on some poor unsuspecting team.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Bro Kirk Cousins literally got more than he did lol. Cousins also turned down more than that from the Jets. The Broncos could have made room for him because they had room for Cousins if they hadn't gone for Case Keenum instead. The Skins had enough room to pay Alex Smith out the butt. I don't know how you can even make that argument with a straight face. There were teams with a truckload of money this offseason and about the only QB-needy team that couldn't go after one was Jacksonville (because of their d-line contracts and having anchored themselves to Bortles). Whether it would smart to do it is a completely different question, but all those teams could have and it only takes one. EDIT: I forgot the Niners also paid Jimmy G five hundred billion dollars a year.

I really have no idea what your argument is because there's nothing coherent here, it's just anger at the Patriots (which I can empathize with but damn dude). I'm not even trying to be a dick, I literally cannot parse it because it makes no sense.

Brady makes eight million a year less than Brees. Brees makes twenty five million a year, which is only three million less than Cousins. Would the Vikings shell out as much for a Hall of Famer stopgap QB as they shelled out for what was supposed to be the now and forever QB? Maybe. Upper mid twenties is where elite, or expected to be elite super bowl heroes get paid. Lower mid twenties is a solid long term starter that still probably has five years in the tank, like Alex Smith. Smith makes less than Brees, as well he should, but makes six million a year more than Brady.

Brady's seventeen million a year is Case Keenum money. It's Blake Bortles money. I haven't checked everybody, but he just might be the lowest paid starting QB in the league that isn't on a rookie deal. Throw in that their next most vital player is also mysteriously willing to be severely underpaid. Sure @caketastydelish can make the point that Gronk isn't playing up to 'best TE in the league' standards right now, but that doesn't really bear on the situation when he signed his contract. At the time he was, by all measures, the most coveted tight end playing the game, by a large margin. How do you even make an offer that at the time was less money than Jordan Reed was making?

But, enough about the Cheatriots.