Week 10 Circa Millions Picks
I went 3-1-1 last week to put my season-long record at 24-20-1, still likely drawing dead, but the third quarter (for which there’s a separate prize) starts this week.
I feel pretty good about this week’s picks — there are two I liked a lot and about five more that I might have used. Two I didn’t take in the end were the Team +11 — I made that line 8.5 and expect them to show up on what’s a very short trip to a familiar venue. Usually, a division rival that’s not a doormat gets up for an undefeated opponent — and the Colts +6.5. I made that line 6.5 originally, but it’s now down to four, and this sanctimonious bullshit from Joe Thomas really pushed me to Indy:
Thomas is offended on behalf of coaches that the Colts hired inexperienced Jeff Saturday and tells a story about how his former coach Rob Chudzinski worked so hard he barely saw his kids during the football season. What Thomas doesn’t mention is that the Chudzinski Browns went 4-12. He should have spent more time with his family!
Moreover, the idea that the guy who pulls the all-nighter in the office is some kind of hero because of the hours he put in is dumb. The value of one’s work is in the output, not the input. You don’t get extra points for being inefficient with your time.
But beyond the absurdity of this rant, it does show the square mindset, while meanwhile the line was moving in entirely the other direction. I have no idea if Saturday will be worse than Frank Reich, but neither does Thomas, his obsequious dramatization notwithstanding.
In the end, I stayed away because Saturday is a wild card, and in my experience it’s better to ignore horrible takes than to fade them. Once you’ve submitted your picks, it’s always heartening to see a take like this on the other side of your bet, but it’s dangerous to include it in your process.
Okay, without further ado, here are my picks:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Real Man Sports to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.