I make a lot of jokes in this column, but damn – I’m ready for this season to be over. Partly because of the sheer amount of football I’ve consumed since August, and partly because I’ve been pretty terrible at picking games this season. I had a few bad weeks – we’re talking 2-8 and 0-6 bad – at the beginning of the year and just never recovered from it.
If this is how it goes down, it is what it is….my first losing season in the five years I’ve been calling games. Oh well – there’s a first time for everything…it’s always darkest before the dawn….the sun still rises in the east….every cloud has a silver lining…we gotta rock down to Electric Avenue…all of those positive mumbo jumbo bullshit sayings.
But, alas, there’s two more editions of Tank the 401k to write before I can close the 2016 chapter…..the LOSING 2016 chapter, mind you. So, here’s who I’m on Sunday:
Big Natural’s Picks
NFL: Atlanta -4.5 vs. Green Bay – Tricky game here between the two hottest offenses in the NFL right now, but I’m going with the charged up home team. I don’t expect Atlanta to start as slow as Dallas did, and Dan Quinn has built an underrated defense that is better than the Cowboys. They won’t be able to completely stop Aaron Rodgers, but should slow him down enough to eek out a six-point victory.
NFL: Atlanta-Green Bay, OVER 61 – What’s the over/under on the number of punts in this game? Two? I’m not sure – lots of fireworks, lots of touchdowns. I’m thinking 37-31 at a minimum.
NFL: New England, -5.5 vs. Pittsburgh – The Patriots played a bad game and still posted 34 points on the best defense in the NFL. I’m not too concerned about the Steelers coming to town. They’ll try and pressure Brady, but the quick releases will tame those linebackers. I expect another big game from Julian Edelman and Dion Lewis.
NFL: New England-Pittsburgh, UNDER 51 – Bill Belichick does a masterful job of taking away an opponent’s greatest weapon and forcing them to beat the Patriots with role players. How do they stop Le’Veon Bell -AND- Antonio Brown? I don’t know, but I have full confidence that he’ll play this game similarly to the way Kansas City did. I’m saying 24-17, Patriots.
So, yep – I’m looking for a Pats-Falcons Super Bowl. See ya in two weeks.
Last Week: 4-4
On the Season: 67-89-8 (42.9%)
Stoney Keeley is the editor of the SoBros Network, Tennessee Titans Featured Analyst for Pro Football Spot, Contributor to FanSided’s Bama Hammer, and covers the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @PFSpot, @WrestlingNewsCo, @Bama_Hammer
Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork
