Month: September 2014

Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers: 2014 Week 2 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 2 NFL Picks, Lions, Panthers, Uncategorized

Detroit Lions (1-0) at Carolina Panthers (1-0)

The Lions were one of my underrated teams coming into the season. I felt the same way about the Lions as I did about the Panthers last season, when I predicted they would go 12-4, win the NFC South, and get a first round bye They have so much talent and finished 6th in rate of moving the chains last season, but they’ve had big issues with losing close games and turning the ball over in the past 2 seasons. I expect them to get over that this season, especially with a new head coach, and I also think this is their most talented team in a very long time. After a week 1 35-14 blowout victory over the Giants, I feel even more confident in that assessment.

They should carry that into this week. Teams are 32-13 ATS since 2002 off of a Monday Night win of 21+ or more. Meanwhile, the Panthers did a lot last week to quell concerns that they’d decline this season after losing their top offensive linemen and essentially their entire secondary and receiving corps this off-season. Week 1, the Panthers went into Tampa Bay and won despite not having starting quarterback Cam Newton.

However, I still like the Lions a lot here despite that for four reasons. One, it’s very possible the Buccaneers just aren’t a good team. Two, it’s also very possible that the Panthers relax a little bit this week with Cam Newton back. Three, I don’t like to change much from my pre-season predictions after 1 week and I had the Panthers missing out in the playoffs in the pre-season. Four, Cam Newton could easily be less than 100% in his first regular season game with his new supporting cast and coming back from a rib problem and an ankle problem. There’s no reason the Lions should be underdogs here. I like them a good amount.

Detroit Lions 20 Carolina Panthers 13 Upset Pick +115

Pick against spread: Detroit +2.5

Confidence: High

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Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers: 2014 Week 2 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 2 NFL Picks, 49ers, Bears, Uncategorized

Chicago Bears (0-1) at San Francisco 49ers (1-0)

The Bears were one of my overrated teams going into the season. The Bears had a great offense last season, but they also had a defense that was worse than their offense was good. This season, I expected their offense to be worse without their defense being much better. The Bears moved the chains at a 75.68% rate last season, 4th in the NFL, but they were only in the mid 73s in games that Jay Cutler started as a lot of their offensive dominance game in games started by Josh McCown. They’ll still be a good offense, but they’ll finish somewhere in the 8-12 range rather than 4th.

I don’t expect this team to move the chains at a 75.68% rate again or even close within 2% points of that, even if Jay Cutler plays all 16 games. And if he doesn’t, they’re going to be in a lot of trouble because McCown is gone, now starting in Tampa Bay. On top of that, they should have more injuries on offense than last season as the games Cutler missed, which actually made them better, were their only real games lost to injuries offensively. They have minimal depth and now starting offensive linemen Roberto Garza and Matt Slauson are going to miss time with injury. Their loss to the Bills last week only solidifies my opinion that they’re going to struggle this year.

Meanwhile, the 49ers have always been able to beat up on bad teams in the Jim Harbaugh era. They are 24-12 ATS as favorites of 3 or more since 2011. Last season, against teams that finished .500 or worse, Colin Kaepernick completed 110 of 177 (62.2%) for 1553 yards (8.69 YPA), 11 touchdowns, and no interceptions, while rushing for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns on 45 carries in 8 games. They won all 8 of those games by an average of 20.13 points per game and covered 7 times. Last week, they beat up on a terrible Dallas team, winning 28-13. They’re also in a good situation here as non-divisional home favorites before being divisional road favorites (in Arizona next week). Teams are 52-24 ATS in that situation since 2008. They should blow out the Bears here in the Levi Stadium opener on Sunday Night Football.

San Francisco 49ers 34 Chicago Bears 17

Pick against spread: San Francisco -7

Confidence: High

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New York Jets at Green Bay Packers: 2014 Week 2 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 2 NFL Picks, Jets, Packers, Uncategorized

New York Jets (1-0) at Green Bay Packers (0-1)

The Packers got blown out in Seattle week 1, but there’s no shame in that and that doesn’t prove they won’t be a good team this season. They were 6-2 in games that Aaron Rodgers started and finished last season and that was even though they had other significant injuries. Now not only is Rodgers healthy, but also Randall Cobb, Clay Matthews, and Casey Hayward. They have the opportunity to still be a very good team (I had them at 12-4 before the season started), but this line doesn’t suggest that as they are mere 8.5 point favorites over the Jets. That seems like an overreaction to last week.

The Packers will have had 10 days to prepare for this game, which can’t hurt. Rodgers has been very good off of a loss in his career, going 18-9 ATS in such situations. The Packers also return home where they’ve been incredibly dominant over the past few seasons, as long as Rodgers has been under center. The Packers have also been incredible at home over the past few years, as long as Aaron Rodgers has been under center. Rodgers is 21-8-1 ATS at home since 2010 and 26-4 straight up, with an absurd +409 point differential, meaning they outscore opponents, on average, by 13.63 points per game. They should be able to flip the script here and blow out the Jets the way they were blown out in Seattle.

The Jets might also be a little overrated here. They looked decent against Oakland (even though they only won by 5), but that was Oakland at home. This is a different story. They went 8-8 last season, but that was not indicative of how bad of a team they were. They went 5-1 in games decided by a touchdown or less and had a points differential of -97 (7th worst in the NFL) and 5.4 Pythagorean wins. They finished the season 25th in rate of moving the chains differential and 24th in DVOA. They were essentially a 5-11 team that managed to win 8 games. They added Eric Decker this off-season and they should have better turnover and fumble luck, after recovering a league worst 30.30% of fumbles and finishing with a -13 turnover margin, but they aren’t a good team. The Packers should blow them out fairly easily here. This is my pick of the week.

Green Bay Packers 34 New York Jets 13 Survivor Pick

Pick against spread: Green Bay -8

Confidence: Pick of the Week

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Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens: 2014 Week 2 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 2 NFL Picks, Ravens, Steelers, Uncategorized

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) at Baltimore Ravens (0-1)

Last week I mentioned the Ravens’ home dominance in the write up about their game against the Bengals. The Ravens weren’t able to beat the Bengals, even in Baltimore, but the Ravens are still historically very good at home in the John Harbaugh/Joe Flacco era. The Ravens are 41-10 at home since 2008, Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh’s first season with the team. As a result, they are 19-11 ATS as home favorites of less than 7 or home underdog.

Here they are favorites of just 2.5 points. I thought the Ravens and Steelers were very, very comparable in terms of talent level before the start of the season and so far there’s been nothing to suggest that was an incorrect evaluation. Given that, I really like getting the Ravens here as favorites of less than a field goal. Also helping the Ravens is that they don’t have any sort of big game to look forward to week 3, while Pittsburgh has to deal with Carolina that week. The Ravens go to Cleveland next week. Teams are 114-84 ATS since 1989 as divisional home favorites before being divisional road favorites. The Ravens should be the right side here.

Baltimore Ravens 17 Pittsburgh Steelers 9

Pick against spread: Baltimore -2.5

Confidence: Medium

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Rate of Moving the Chains – Week 1

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 2 NFL Picks, Uncategorized

What is this? This is rate of moving the chains, which is my primary statistic for handicapping games. It holds the assumption that the goal of any team on any given 1st and 10 (or 1st and goal) is to move the chains (or score). In order to figure out how often teams meet that goal, I take first downs plus touchdowns and divide it by first downs plus touchdowns plus failures to move the chains (successes divided by attempts). Failures to move the chains include punts, turnovers, failed 4th downs, and field goal attempts (being forced to kick a field goal is a failure). I have this sorted by percent for (to evaluate offenses), percent against (to evaluate defenses), and differentials (to evaluate teams).

Offense

First Downs Touchdowns Field Goals Punts Turnovers Failed 4ths Safeties
1 SEA 25 4 2 2 1 0 0 0.852941
2 NO 30 4 2 2 2 0 0 0.85
3 DET 20 4 3 2 0 0 0 0.827586
4 DEN 24 4 1 5 0 0 0 0.823529
5 ATL 28 4 3 3 1 0 0 0.820513
6 SF 19 3 1 4 0 0 0 0.814815
7 DAL 26 2 1 2 4 0 0 0.8
8 CHI 29 2 2 4 3 0 0 0.775
9 BAL 26 2 2 4 2 1 0 0.756757
10 MIA 25 3 4 2 3 0 0 0.756757
11 MIN 18 3 2 5 0 0 0 0.75
12 ARZ 22 2 2 4 2 0 0 0.75
13 IND 24 3 1 4 2 2 0 0.75
14 CLE 23 3 2 7 0 0 0 0.742857
15 PIT 24 3 3 6 1 0 0 0.72973
16 WAS 20 1 0 5 2 1 0 0.724138
17 GB 19 2 1 4 1 1 1 0.724138
18 TEN 24 2 4 6 0 0 0 0.722222
19 PHI 24 3 2 6 3 0 0 0.710526
20 NYJ 20 2 2 5 2 0 0 0.709677
21 TB 17 2 0 5 3 0 0 0.703704
22 CAR 19 2 3 6 0 0 0 0.7
23 NYG 16 2 0 5 2 1 0 0.692308
24 HOU 16 1 1 6 1 0 0 0.68
25 SD 16 2 1 6 1 1 0 0.666667
26 NE 20 2 2 5 2 2 0 0.666667
27 BUF 15 2 3 5 1 0 0 0.653846
28 CIN 16 1 6 4 0 0 0 0.62963
29 JAX 18 2 3 8 1 1 0 0.606061
30 KC 15 1 2 5 3 1 0 0.592593
31 OAK 11 2 0 9 0 0 0 0.590909
32 STL 15 0 3 6 2 0 0 0.576923

Defense

First Downs Touchdowns Field Goals Punts Turnovers Failed 4ths Safeties
1 MIN 15 0 3 6 2 0 0 0.576923
2 NYJ 11 2 0 9 0 0 0 0.590909
3 TEN 15 1 2 5 3 1 0 0.592593
4 PHI 18 2 3 8 1 1 0 0.606061
5 BAL 16 1 6 4 0 0 0 0.62963
6 CHI 15 2 3 5 1 0 0 0.653846
7 MIA 20 2 2 5 2 2 0 0.666667
8 ARZ 16 2 1 6 1 1 0 0.666667
9 WAS 16 1 1 6 1 0 0 0.68
10 DET 16 2 0 5 2 1 0 0.692308
11 TB 19 2 3 6 0 0 0 0.7
12 CAR 17 2 0 5 3 0 0 0.703704
13 OAK 20 2 2 5 2 0 0 0.709677
14 JAX 24 3 2 6 3 0 0 0.710526
15 KC 24 2 4 6 0 0 0 0.722222
16 SEA 19 2 1 4 1 1 1 0.724138
17 HOU 20 1 0 5 2 1 0 0.724138
18 CLE 24 3 3 6 1 0 0 0.72973
19 PIT 23 3 2 7 0 0 0 0.742857
20 DEN 24 3 1 4 2 2 0 0.75
21 SD 22 2 2 4 2 0 0 0.75
22 STL 18 3 2 5 0 0 0 0.75
23 NE 25 3 4 2 3 0 0 0.756757
24 CIN 26 2 2 4 2 1 0 0.756757
25 BUF 29 2 2 4 3 0 0 0.775
26 SF 26 2 1 2 4 0 0 0.8
27 DAL 19 3 1 4 0 0 0 0.814815
28 NO 28 4 3 3 1 0 0 0.820513
29 IND 24 4 1 5 0 0 0 0.823529
30 NYG 20 4 3 2 0 0 0 0.827586
31 ATL 30 4 2 2 2 0 0 0.85
32 GB 25 4 2 2 1 0 0 0.852941

Overall

1 MIN 17.31%
2 DET 13.53%
3 TEN 12.96%
4 SEA 12.88%
5 BAL 12.71%
6 CHI 12.12%
7 NYJ 11.88%
8 PHI 10.45%
9 MIA 9.01%
10 ARZ 8.33%
11 DEN 7.35%
12 WAS 4.41%
13 NO 2.95%
14 SF 1.48%
15 CLE 1.31%
16 TB 0.37%
17 CAR -0.37%
18 PIT -1.31%
19 DAL -1.48%
20 ATL -2.95%
21 HOU -4.41%
22 IND -7.35%
23 SD -8.33%
24 NE -9.01%
25 JAX -10.45%
26 OAK -11.88%
27 BUF -12.12%
28 CIN -12.71%
29 GB -12.88%
30 KC -12.96%
31 NYG -13.53%
32 STL -17.31%

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2014 Week 1 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 1 NFL Picks, Buccaneers, Panthers, Uncategorized

Carolina Panthers (0-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)

This is another one I could go either way on. I think the line is essentially where it should be. I have these two teams as fairly even, as does this line, which favors the home team Buccaneers by 2.5 points. These two teams went 4-12 (Buccaneers) and 12-4 (Panthers) last season, but both should be much closer to the middle of the pack this season. The Buccaneers will be especially improved defensively, bring in Lovie Smith to work with Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David, All-Pro caliber talents who fit his scheme like a glove, bringing in Michael Johnson to give them the edge rusher they needed, and bringing in Alterraun Verner as a cheaper scheme fit than Darrelle Revis.

The Panthers, meanwhile, lost their two best offensive linemen, their best blocking tight end, every wide receiver who caught a pass for them last season, 4 of their top 5 defensive backs in terms of snaps played, and had Cam Newton suffer a pair of injuries that will limit him and limited his time to get familiar with his supporting cast in the off-season. Gun to my head, I’m taking Tampa Bay because we’re not getting field goal protection with the Panthers and because Carolina is a public underdog, but this is a close one that could go either way and I’m not confident at all.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 Carolina Panthers 13

Pick against spread: Tampa Bay -2.5

Confidence: None

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Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos: 2014 Week 1 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 1 NFL Picks, Broncos, Colts, Uncategorized

Indianapolis Colts (0-0) at Denver Broncos (0-0)

I don’t think we’re getting any line value with either side here. The Broncos are a very good team that deserves to be 7.5 point favorites over the Colts, who aren’t as good as their record has suggested over the past 2 seasons because of their improbable ability to win close games (14-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less, 15-2 if you include playoffs). However, there’s still not really any line value with the Broncos.

I’m taking the Broncos here for three reasons and I’m not that confident. For one, Peyton Manning is great in night games, going 31-14 ATS in night games since 2003. Also since 2003, he’s 27-13 ATS in non-divisional revenge games against teams that he lost to the previous season. Manning obviously hasn’t forgotten about how the Colts knocked them off in Indianapolis last season is likely to get revenge in a big way. He’s also 7-3 ATS in week 1 in that time frame. I’m not that confident, but the Broncos here at home should be the right side.

Denver Broncos 31 Indianapolis Colts 20

Pick against spread: Denver -7.5

Confidence: Low

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Washington Redskins at Houston Texans: 2014 Week 1 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 1 NFL Picks, Commanders, Texans, Uncategorized

Washington Redskins (0-0) at Houston Texans (0-0)

Both of these teams are going to be better than they were last season. These two teams finished worst and 2nd worst respectively last season, after both made the playoffs the previous season. The Texans went from 12 wins to 2 wins in 2013 and the Redskins went from 10-6 to 3-13. Teams that have big declines in win totals like that generally bounce back an average of half of the decline and I think both of these teams could easily do that and more.

The Texans were much better than their 2-14 record last season, finishing 21st in rate of moving the chains differential despite a schedule that was 10th hardest in the NFL in terms of DVOA. Their defense ranked 11th, allowing opponents to move the chains at a 69.40% rate. However, the offense was the issue, as they ranked 25th, moving the chains at a 66.87% rate. Still, they were better than their record. They just had some unlucky things not go their way.

They went 2-9 in games decided by a touchdown or less. As bad as their record was last season, they only lost 5 games by more than a touchdown and two of those came late in the season in their final 3 games after Gary Kubiak was fired and the team essentially quit. They had about 4.2 Pythagorean wins. On top of that they allowed 8 touchdowns off of returns, as opposed to 2 touchdowns off of returns for that. If we zeroed that out, they would have scored 262 points and allowed 372 points, which is a Pythagorean Expectation of 4.9 wins.

Speaking of turnovers, their turnover margin went to a league worst -20, as a result of a 44.44% fumble recovery rate, 26th in the NFL. They also picked off an absurd low amount of passes, 7, and they threw 22 interceptions. Turnover margins tend to be really inconsistent on a year-to-year and week-to-week basis though, as we’re talking about events that happen on such a small percentage of snaps. Teams with a turnover margin of +4 in a week on average have the same turnover margin the next week as a team that had a turnover margin of -4 the previous week, a turnover margin of about +0.0.

Meanwhile, teams that have a turnover margin of +15 or better in a season see their turnover margins drop by an average of about 15.8 the following season, resulting in 2.32 fewer wins. Teams with a turnover margin of -15 or worse in a season have an average turnover margin the following season of +2.04. Meanwhile, teams with a turnover margin of +15 or better in a season have an average turnover margin the following season of +3.42, a difference of about 1.38. If you’re using a team’s turnover margin from the previous season as a reason why they’re going to continue to struggle (or have success) the next season, it’s usually not going to work out well. They should be a lot better this season, especially with an upgrade at quarterback, Arian Foster and Brian Cushing coming back from injury, and Jadeveon Clowney coming in on defense.

The Redskins, meanwhile, get a healthy Robert Griffin back, and add in Jordan Reed, returning from injury, and DeSean Jackson, coming over from Philadelphia. Their defense isn’t much better than last season, even with Jason Hatcher coming in and they’re going to suffer more losses to injuries and suspensions (Brandon Meriweather is already suspended for two games) than last season, when they barely had any. However, their defense is only as bad as the Texans’ offense and their offense is as good as the Texans’ defense. These two teams are very evenly matchup and this line suggests it at Houston -3. I’m going to take the Texans and fade the public underdog, but I’m not confident at all.

Houston Texans 24 Washington Redskins 20

Pick against spread: Houston -3

Confidence: None

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New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons: 2014 Week 1 NFL Pick

stevenlourie 2014 NFL Picks, 2014 Week 1 NFL Picks, Falcons, Saints, Uncategorized

New Orleans Saints (0-0) at Atlanta Falcons (0-0)

These two teams tend to be a lot better at home than on the road. Matt Ryan is 36-12 at home in his career, including 28-19 ATS and 5-3 ATS as home underdogs. The Saints, meanwhile, are 31-10 ATS at home since 2008 in the games which Drew Brees and Sean Payton were involved.  On top of that, they are 16-0-1 ATS at home over their last 16 home games with Drew Brees and Sean Payton. They’ve won all 17 of those games by an average of about 20.8 points per game, with just three being decided by 10 points or less and just one being decided by less than 6 points. That’s as opposed to 19-25 ATS (25-21 straight up) on the road.

In this rivalry, the home team is 8-4 ATS since 2008. The Falcons were awful last season and this was still a 4 point game when the Saints went to Atlanta. The Falcons should be significantly improved this season, both in terms of talent level and record. Given that, the Falcons should be the right side here, but the Saints are, in my opinion, possibly the best team in the NFL so it’s hard to go against them. I’m taking the Falcons, but I’m not confident and a push is very likely.

New Orleans Saints 26 Atlanta Falcons 24

Pick against spread: Atlanta +3

Confidence: None

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