Year: 2013

Jacksonville Jaguars: 2013 Week 11 NFL Power Rankings (#32)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 11 NFL Power Rankings, Jaguars, Uncategorized

Last week: 32 (+0)

Record: 1-8

As I said, the Jaguars were going to win a game at some point. It’s very, very hard to go 0-16. That win doesn’t change my opinion on the team. They’re still a very, very bad football team who was able to take advantage of a distracted Tennessee team, who was looking forward to Indianapolis on Thursday Night. The Titans weren’t getting up for the Jaguars in that situation and when they lost their quarterback and the turnover battle (4 to 2, including 3 fumbles to 1), it just made it worse. This is still the worst team in the NFL, moving the chains at a 64% rate, as opposed to 80% for their opponents, and now that they have a win, teams might not take them as lightly.

Week 10 Studs

TE Marcedes Lewis

ROLB Geno Hayes

CB Dwayne Gratz

Week 10 Duds

QB Chad Henne

RT Austin Pasztor

RG Uche Nwaneri

C Brad Meester

TE Clay Harbor

MLB Paul Posluszny

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Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans: 2013 Week 11 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Picks, 2013 Week 11 NFL Picks, Colts, Titans, Uncategorized

Tennessee Titans (4-5) at Indianapolis Colts (6-3)

Both of these teams lost as huge home favorites last week, the Colts lost 38-8 at home to the Rams and the Titans losing 29-27 to the Jaguars. It’s very likely both teams were caught looking forward to this huge divisional game and that last week’s performance was just a fluke for both teams. Both teams won the first down battle despite the loss and they lost for fluky reasons. The Titans fumbled 3 times and lost the turnover battle by 2, as a result.

Meanwhile, there are definitely some fluky aspects to the Colts’ loss to the Rams. The Rams led just one methodical touchdown drive, scoring on two return touchdowns, and two long passing touchdowns. That forced the Colts to give up their game plan and put them out of their comfort zone. Since 1989, 5 teams have won a game by 25 or more despite losing the first down battle by 9 or more. 2 of them are the 2013 Rams. I think we can give both of these teams a pass for what happened last week and essentially just approach this game is if neither of those games ever happened.

Yes, the Titans lost Jake Locker for the season last week, but he wasn’t the reason they were in the hunt. That would be their solid defense, led by Jurrell Casey, Alterraun Verner, Derrick Morgan, and others, which is allowing opponents to move the chains at a 71% rate. There’s a reason they were competitive with both Kansas City and Seattle even without Jake Locker. Fitzpatrick will have the whole week to prepare for this week and he’s one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL. Besides, it’s very possible the Colts recent struggles (including a near loss in Houston) are related to the loss of Reggie Wayne, who they lost against Denver before the bye. They haven’t been the same without him.

I’m not saying the Titans are definitely going to win this game, but the public seems to be giving the Colts a pass for last week, but not the Titans, even though they were in the same situation. The public is all over the Colts -3 because “how can the Colts not beat the Titans by 3 or more?” I love fading heavy public favorites when an opportunity presents itself and I also love getting a field goal or more with a home team unless that team is completely terrible. Remember, the Colts were 10 point favorites over the Rams last week. This line suggests the Colts would be 9 point favorites over the Titans. Considering the Titans covered as 3 point favorites in St. Louis 2 weeks ago, that makes no sense. I’m not confident or anything, but the Titans should be the right side.

Tennessee Titans 24 Indianapolis Colts 23 Upset Pick +135

Pick against spread: Indianapolis +3

Confidence: None

San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints: 2013 Week 11 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Picks, 2013 Week 11 NFL Picks, 49ers, Saints, Uncategorized

San Francisco 49ers (6-3) at New Orleans Saints (7-2)

It’s arguable the Saints’ win over the Cowboys was the most lopsided contest in NFL history. While the Saints set the NFL record with 40 first downs, the Cowboys ran just 43 plays. The Saints’ +31 first down margin was the best in NFL history. The closest came when the Steelers had 29 more first downs than the Browns in 1999 in a 43-0 victory. They outgained the Cowboys by 431 yards, the most lopsided yardage battle since the Patriots in a 59-0 victory over the Titans in 2009. It would have been even more lopsided if the Saints hadn’t muffed a punt and the Cowboys hadn’t recovered an onside kick. Because of those 2 things, the Saints had just 8 drives and scored touchdowns on 7 of them. It was an absurd destruction.

The Saints have now not just won, but covered in 14 straight home games under Sean Payton. They’ve won these games by an average of 22 points per game, with only two being decided by 10 points or less and none being decided by fewer than 6 points. As a result of last week, the Saints now lead the NFL in rate of moving the chains differential. They are moving the chains at an 82% rate, as opposed to 70% for opponents. The 49ers, meanwhile, are moving the chains at a 72% rate, as opposed to 69% for their opponents, ranking 10th in the NFL. That suggests this line should be around 9 points, before you even take into account the Saints’ home dominance.

So Saints -3.5 should be a no brainer right? Well, not necessarily. The 49ers are coming off of a loss to the Panthers and they have been deadly off of a loss in the Jim Harbaugh era. They are 6-3 ATS off a loss under Jim Harbaugh, including 8-3 ATS if you take into account week 1 games off of a playoff loss. If you look closer, that’s even more impressive as those two non-covers included a 14 point win as 16.5 point favorites and a 7 point win as 7.5 point favorites, a game they would have covered against the Seahawks if Jim Harbaugh hadn’t declined a safety, in favor of just running the clock out.

With the exception of a fluky home loss to the Colts, they have only lost back-to-back games once in the Jim Harbaugh era. If you exclude that Colts game, they have won all 8 of their regular season games off of a loss by an average of 18 points per game. This line has actually shifted past the key number of 3 in the past week, as it was at 2.5 last week and the public is still all over the Saints. I hate backing huge publicly backed sides and that could be an overreaction to the 49ers loss to a very underrated Panthers team. Of course, it could also be a proper reaction to the Saints’ dominant home performance over the Cowboys.

The 49ers are also in a good spot. Non-divisional road dogs are 37-24 ATS before being non-divisional road favorites. The 49ers have no distractions on the horizon with a trip to Washington up next. The Saints, meanwhile, are in a bad spot as favorites before a Thursday Night Game. Teams are 27-50 ATS in that spot since 2008, including 11-26 ATS before a divisional game. We saw both the Titans and Colts fall victim to this big time last week, both losing straight up as huge home favorites. However, it’s unlikely that the Saints overlook the 49ers in favor of a trip to the 2-7 Falcons next week.

Besides, teams are 50-24 ATS as non-divisional home favorites before being divisional road favorites since 2008. Teams are 9-11 ATS in that situation before a Thursday Night Game since 1989. That’s not a big sample size and it’s not a strong trend or anything, but I think, if anything, the non-divisional home favorites before divisional road favorites trend should cancel out the Thursday Night trend. I don’t think the Saints will be nearly as distracted as the Colts and Titans were last week, if they are at all.

It’s not a massive play on the Saints or anything, but I think it’s essentially an auto-bet on the Saints at home at this point. The Saints could also carry over momentum from last week’s win, as teams are 45-28 ATS since 1989 off of a game in which they score 48 or more points. If Vernon Davis is ruled out with his concussion, I’ll make this a high confidence pick because Colin Kaepernick has been pretty lost without him this season, but for now it’s a medium confidence pick.

New Orleans Saints 27 San Francisco 49ers 17

Pick against spread: New Orleans -3.5

Confidence: Medium

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Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans: 2013 Week 11 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Picks, 2013 Week 11 NFL Picks, Raiders, Texans, Uncategorized

Oakland Raiders (3-6) at Houston Texans (2-7)

One of the most powerful trends in betting is known as the six and six trend, meaning teams who finish with 6 wins or fewer are 25-69 ATS as favorites of 6 or more since 2002. There are two issues with this trend. One, it’s very rare (it only happened 7 times all last season, going 2-5 ATS). Two, it’s even rarer that a situation will come up in which you can confidently use the trend. The Eagles were 8.5 point favorites in Cleveland last year week 1 (they didn’t cover), but at the time there was no way to know that the Eagles would finish 6-10 or worse.

The Texans, however, sit at 2-7 and would need to go 5-2 or better in order to avoid finishing 6-10 or worse. I think we can safely put them in the six and six trend and they are favored by 7.5 points here. The Raiders covered in New York as 6 point underdogs last week, when the Giants were likely in the six and six situation. I think they have a good chance of doing the same here this week in Houston as 7.5 point underdogs. The Raiders are also in a good spot as road dogs off of a road loss. Teams are 97-57 ATS in this spot since 2008 and teams cover at about a 65% rate historically in this spot, no matter what year you use to cut off your sample.

The only reason this isn’t a bigger play is because I think the Texans are better than their record. They’ve just been killed by turnovers (-13) and return touchdowns (-7 touchdowns). They actually rank 12th in rate of moving the chains differential, moving the chains at a 75% rate, as opposed to 72% for their opponents, while the Raiders rank 28th, thanks largely to a slumping Terrelle Pryor. According to that statistic, this line should be around 8.5. I don’t think that’s accurate though. You can’t blindly follow that. The Texans aren’t the 12th best team in the NFL. Football Outsiders has them 29th in DVOA. I don’t think they’re that bad, but they don’t deserve to be favored by 7.5 points over anyone.

Houston Texans 20 Oakland Raiders 17

Pick against spread: Oakland +7.5

Confidence: Medium

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Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks: 2013 Week 11 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Picks, 2013 Week 11 NFL Picks, Seahawks, Uncategorized, Vikings

Minnesota Vikings (2-7) at Seattle Seahawks (9-1)

In his last two games, Christian Ponder has completed 42 of 58 for 410 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. However, you have to remember he was facing two defenses in Dallas and Washington that are among the worst in the NFL and he was facing the latter on a short week when they were coming off of an overtime game (teams are 3-17 ATS on Thursday Night after an overtime game). Washington’s terrible “stop” unit made even Matt Cassel look passable when he game on in relief of an injured Christian Ponder. Ponder is expected to be fine for this game, but the schedule gets much tougher as they go to Seattle, arguably the toughest place in the NFL to play.

The Seahawks have been incredible at home since 2007, to the point where you can almost just blindly bet them at home. They are 36-17 ATS at home over that time frame, including 20-9 ATS as home favorites, and 10-3 ATS as home favorites of 7 or more. They have been especially good over the past two years, as they’ve broken out as an elite team, going 9-3 ATS since the start of the 2012 season. They’ve won all 12 games at home over the past 2 seasons by an average of 17.7 points per game. The Vikings are a below average team that could get completely destroyed.

The Buccaneers did almost pull the massive upset in Seattle two weeks ago, but I think that was a fluke, not a new trend. Seahawks got back on track in Atlanta last week and now get Percy Harvin back. He might not play a full set of snaps, but his presence certainly won’t hurt. Also, Minnesota is worse than Tampa Bay, thanks largely to a terrible stop unit that is allowing opponents to move the chains at an 80% rate, as opposed to 72% for their offense. That differential ranks 31st in the NFL. The Seahawks rank 6th, moving the chains at a 78% rate, as opposed to 72% for their opponents. That suggests this line should be at about 11.5, before you even get into the Seahawks home dominance. Even at 12.5, this line is too low.

The Seahawks are also distraction free with a bye coming up. Home favorites of 7 or more are 40-14 ATS before a bye since 2002. It makes perfect sense. Dominant teams are able to dominate when they know they have a week off coming up. The Vikings, meanwhile, could be distracted as they have to head to Green Bay next week, a big rivalry game. It might not be a huge distraction, but enough to prevent them from keeping it close with a vastly superior opponent. Teams are 47-74 ATS as non-divisional road dogs before being divisional road-dogs. It’s a strong play and a projected blowout victory for the Seahawks.

Seattle Seahawks 31 Minnesota Vikings 10

Pick against spread: Seattle -12.5

Confidence: High

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Green Bay Packers at New York Giants: 2013 Week 11 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Picks, 2013 Week 11 NFL Picks, Giants, Packers, Uncategorized

Green Bay Packers (5-4) at New York Giants (3-6)

One of the most powerful trends in betting is known as the six and six trend, meaning teams who finish with 6 wins or fewer are 25-69 ATS as favorites of 6 or more since 2002. There are two issues with this trend. One, it’s very rare (it only happened 7 times all last season, going 2-5 ATS). Two, it’s even rarer that a situation will come up in which you can confidently use the trend. The Eagles were 8.5 point favorites in Cleveland last year week 1 (they didn’t cover), but at the time there was no way to know that the Eagles would finish 6-10 or worse.

The Giants, however, sit at 3-6 and would need to go 4-3 or better in order to avoid finishing 6-10 or worse. I think we can safely put them in the six and six trend. Sure, they’ve won 3 straight, but over Oakland, Minnesota, and a Philadelphia team that has lost 10 straight at home. They haven’t looked good in any of them. The turnover margin has been a big problem, as they are -13 in turnovers, and that’s inconsistent, but that’s not their only issue. They have just 164 first downs to 50 punts (3.28 to 1), as opposed to 187 first downs to 45 punts for their opponents (4.16 to 1). When you take turnovers and failed 4th downs into account, they are moving the chains at a 67% rate, as opposed to 74% for their opponents, a differential that is 30th in the NFL.

They don’t deserve to be favored by 6 or more over anyone. They didn’t deserve it last week, when they failed to cover in this exact same situation at home for the Raiders. And they certainly don’t deserve to be favored by 6 or more against a Green Bay team that is better than people think. Yes, they’ve seemed lost without Aaron Rodgers, but remember, this is probably going to be the first time (barring another injury) in 3 weeks that they have the quarterback who prepared all week for this game make it into the 2nd quarter and beyond.

Seneca Wallace struggled mightily in relief of an injured Aaron Rodgers against the Bears, completing 11 of 19 for 114 yards and an interception, which makes sense considering he was unprepared. He started out better against Philadelphia, but then got hurt, which led to an even more unprepared Scott Tolzien coming into the game, 6 days removed from the practice squad. He completed 24 of 39 for 280 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Tolzien is now the starter going forward, until Rodgers comes back, with Wallace going on IR. He’ll have all week to prepare for this game.

Tolzien doesn’t have a good arm, but remember, this is the same coaching staff that made Matt Flynn look not just passable, but deserving of a starting job elsewhere at one point. They have a solid group of veteran’s around him. Clay Matthews’ 2nd game back helps the defense and they still have talent at the skill positions at offense, with guys like Eddie Lacy and Jordy Nelson. This line suggests the Packers are one of the worst teams in the NFL and comparable to the Oakland Raiders. That’s not true at all.

Even with an unprepared Scott Tolzien under center, the Packers only lost 28-13 at home to the Eagles. The Raiders lost 49-20 the week before. If they can cover in New York as 6 point underdogs, so can the Packers. On top of that, the Giants usually don’t do well as big home favorites and don’t usually do well in the 2nd half of seasons. Since Tom Coughlin took over in 2004, they are 7-15 ATS as home favorites of 3.5 or more in week 9 or later, including a non-cover last week. If I didn’t already love Washington +3.5 in Philadelphia this week, this would be my Pick of the Week.

Green Bay Packers 23 New York Giants 20 Upset Pick +200

Pick against spread: Green Bay +6

Confidence: High

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New York Jets at Buffalo Bills: 2013 Week 11 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Picks, 2013 Week 11 NFL Picks, Bills, Jets, Uncategorized

New York Jets (5-4) at Buffalo Bills (3-7)

The Bills may be 3-7, but they’ve faced a tough schedule, which now gets easier. They will probably be favored in 5 of their remaining 6 games, including 3 at home, where they’ve been very good. This is the first of the games in which they will be favored at home. So far at home, they’ve beaten Carolina and Baltimore and almost beaten Kansas City, Cincinnati, and New England. That’s 4 likely playoff teams and a 5th who is a wild card contender and the defending Super Bowl champions. With the exception of maybe Baltimore, all of those teams are definitely better than these Jets.

The Bills are also getting healthier. EJ Manuel struggled in his first game back against Pittsburgh, completing 22 of 39 for 155 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception in a 23-10 loss that wasn’t as close as that would suggest. However, he’s another week healthier this week and he won’t be facing rookie destroyer Dick LeBeau, who is now 19-2 against rookie quarterbacks. CJ Spiller is getting healthier, as is their secondary, which was without Stephon Gilmore and Jairus Byrd to start the season. There’s a good chance they finish at 8-8, despite starting 3-7, starting with a victory here.

The reason this isn’t a significant play on the Bills though is because they have a big trend working against them. Since 2002, home favorites of 1-3.5 are 16-39 ATS before a bye, including 2-15 ATS in a divisional matchup. This does make some sense. Small home favorites are generally comparable or slightly inferior to their opponent, which is the case here.

Teams in that dynamic might just assume a victory at home going into a bye and completely overlook their opponent, which is not something you should be doing with a comparable opponent. As a result, not only do they rarely cover the spread, but they also lose the game outright more than 2 out of 3 times dating back to 2002. Being in a divisional matchup makes it worse. That’s only enough to scare me off of making a big play on Buffalo though, not to change sides. They should still be the right side. I just wish they were home dogs, even if it was only by a point or two.

Buffalo Bills 20 New York Jets 17

Pick against spread: Buffalo -1

Confidence: Low

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2013 Week 11 Fantasy Football Pickups

stevenlourie 2013 Fantasy Football, 2013 Fantasy Football Pickups, Uncategorized

RB Andre Brown (NY Giants)

Percent owned (ESPN): 23.7%

Andre Brown carried the load in a big way in his first game back, rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. He doesn’t really have any competition for carries and he’s by far their most talented back. He’ll continue being the feature back going forward and he should be owned universally. He’s startable on a weekly basis.

WR Aaron Dobson (New England)

Percent owned (ESPN): 10.5%

The Patriots were on bye this week, so people might have forgotten to pick up Aaron Dobson, but he has a lot of value and upside going forward. Dropson has come a long way. The raw rookie 2nd rounder has shed the Dropson moniker and broken out as the primary outside receiver in a suddenly explosive again New England offense. Fellow rookie Kenbrell Thompkins was a healthy scratch against the Steelers, while Dobson caught 5 passes for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. He now has 18 catches for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns in the last 4 games and is on pace for 55 catches for 807 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season. He could be worth a start weekly going forward if he and the rest of the Patriots’ offense keep this up and he’s definitely worth picking up.

QB Case Keenum (Houston)

Percent owned (ESPN): 9.0%

The Texans haven’t won a game under him yet, but Case Keenum continues to put up big numbers, throwing for 822 yards and 7 touchdowns in 3 games, while not throwing a single interception. If you have an unsettled quarterback situation, there isn’t a better pickup than Keenum right now. He has an easy schedule going forward and will have borderline QB1 value on a weekly basis.

RB Jonathan Stewart (Carolina)

Percent owned (ESPN): 4.1%

In his 2nd game back, Jonathan Stewart led the Panthers in carries, carrying it for 41 yards on 13 carries. He had a very low YPC because he was facing the 49ers’ loaded defense, but he’ll have easier matchups. He’s averaging 12.5 touches per game in 2 games back and should be in that 12-15 range weekly going forward. He’s worth a bench stash.

RB Brian Leonard (Tampa Bay)

Percent owned (ESPN): 0.2%

Doug Martin and now Mike James are both done for the season. Brian Leonard led the way on the ground against the Dolphins after Mike James went down on the first drive and managed 57 rushing yards on 20 carries. He’s a plodder, but he’s a starter and he’ll continue getting 15-20 targets per game. He’s also by far their best 3rd down back. He’s worth a pickup.

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Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles: 2013 Week 11 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Picks, 2013 Week 11 NFL Picks, Commanders, Eagles, Uncategorized

Washington Redskins (3-6) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-5)

One of the weirder streaks in the NFL is that the Eagles have lost 10 straight home games, four off of the all-time record. Yes, they haven’t been a very good team over the past 2 seasons, but they also have won 6 of their past 10 road games. Spread wise, they’ve actually failed to cover in 12 straight home games, as opposed to 8-4 ATS in their last 12 road games. Sure, they have Nick Foles now, but even he struggled in his only home start of the season, completing 11 of 29 for 80 yards. Most of his action this season has been on the road, completing 70.8% of his passes for an average of 11.1 YPA, 16 touchdowns, and no interceptions.

At this point, the Eagles’ home struggles are worth noting. At the very least, home field doesn’t provide much of an advantage for them. This doesn’t seem to just be a Philadelphia thing. The NFC East is 41-72 ATS at home since 2010, including 16-26 ATS in divisional matchups, 25-43 ATS if you go back to 2008. For whatever reason, NFC East teams seem to have less home field advantage than most teams, so when they play each other, the road team is much more likely to cover than the home team.

I don’t think this line takes that into account, given that the Eagles are favored by 3.5 points. If the line was taking this into account, this line would suggest that the Eagles are at least 3.5 points better than the Redskins, which isn’t true. In fact, I don’t think there’s much difference between these teams at all. The Eagles are moving the chains at a 76% rate, as opposed to 78% for their opponents. The Redskins, meanwhile, are moving the chains at a 78% rate, as opposed to 79% for their opponents. Even before we get into the Eagles’ home struggles, this line is too high. Sure, Nick Foles is an upgrade over Michael Vick, but he’s not proven at home yet.

The Eagles are also in a few bad spots. One bad spot is as home favorites of 3.5 or less before a bye. Since 2002, home favorites of 1-3.5 are 16-39 ATS before a bye, including 2-15 ATS in a divisional matchup. This does make some sense. Small home favorites are generally comparable or slightly inferior to their opponent, which is the case here. Teams in that dynamic might just assume a victory at home going into a bye and completely overlook their opponent, which is not something you should be doing with a comparable opponent. As a result, not only do they rarely cover the spread, but they also lose the game outright more than 2 out of 3 times dating back to 2002. Being in a divisional matchup makes it worse.

The second bad spot the Eagles are in is a revenge game type spot. Teams who lose as divisional home favorites are 50-24 ATS since 2002 as road dogs in the rematch. It makes sense. Matchups where the team who is favored is dependent on the location tend to be matchups between very even teams and very even teams tend to split the season series no matter what. If you’ve lost as home favorites, you have to win as road underdogs in this situation to split the season series. Teams do win as road underdogs at a .500 rate since 2002 (39-38) and an even higher percentage, as previously mentioned, about 2/3rds, cover the spread. The Eagles fell victim to this situation at home to the Giants a few weeks ago.

The Redskins, meanwhile, are in a great spot as road dogs after a road loss. Teams are 97-57 ATS in this spot since 2008 and teams cover at about a 65% rate historically in this spot, no matter what year you use to cut off your sample. This is probably because teams tend to get used to being away from home. The Redskins’ season is essentially on the line here. They will have 10 days to get prepared for the Eagles, following a Thursday Night loss as favorites in Minnesota. They should not only cover, but win here. This is my Pick of the Week.

Washington Redskins 31 Philadelphia Eagles 24 Upset Pick +160

Pick against spread: Washington +3.5

Confidence: Pick of the Week

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