LAST WEEK’S PICK Six produced another hard-fought draw as Daniel Goulding and TheScore.ie both called five of the half-dozen games correctly.
This week, it’s the turn of Connacht Assistant Coach Dan McFarland who, it turns out, is a fan of another team that play in the green, the Green Bay Packers.
“My dad was a Packers fan, that’s how I got into it. One thing I love about them though is that it’s the only organisation that’s still owned by the members. No other franchise can do that and I love that fact.
“They have unbelievable supporters in the worst weather and you have to admire that too.
“I followed the NFL more when I was younger and then took a big break. When I started doing fantasy football a few years ago I got back into it big style though.”
Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins
Dan McFarland: I think everybody has been surprised by both teams this year. Personally, I’m not shocked that Kyle Orton is now the quarterback in Buffalo as EJ Manuel was awful. For me this game is a competition between two good pass rushing teams with both putting good pressure on the quarterback. However, I think Ryan Tannelhill will deal with it better so I’m going to go for the Dolphins.
TheScore.ie: With Sammy Watkins in nearly all my fantasy football teams, I’m hoping the Bills can bounce back from last week’s fourth quarter loss to the Chiefs. That said, Miami – who do have two home losses already this season – start as four point favourites and I think that’s a fair reflection on the game. I’ll say Dolphins but I wouldn’t recommend anyone stays up for it.
Seattle Seahawks @ Kansas City Chiefs
Dan McFarland: I think both teams are quietly going about their business. The Seahawks are getting better but both have offences that rank in the bottom three in the league in passing. That’s not really a surprise when Alex Smith doesn’t throw the ball over 15 yards. The big question for me is whether or not Seattle’s Legion of Boom will have anything to do but, at Arrowhead, home advantage will sway it for the Chiefs.
TheScore.ie: Seattle are not the team we saw last year, there’s no question about that and losses to the Chargers, Cowboys and Rams – the last two back-to-back – have put a lot of people off the defending champions. However, while the Chiefs have quietly impressed, the Seahawks will use Marshawn Lynch to beat a defence ranked just 20th against the run.
Detroit Lions @ Arizona Cardinals
Dan McFarland: Drew Stanton played well when Carson Palmer was injured last week. The media seem to think that Stanton can’t take them to the Super Bowl and they’re probably right. They’ve three really good wide receivers but can he get the ball to them? That said, in the desert it’s got to be the Cardinals especially as Detroit don’t have a run game and with Nick Fairley missing on defence, they may struggle to pressure Stanton as much as they’d want.
TheScore.ie: I tend to agree that the Cardinals’ Super Bowl credentials are as damaged as Palmers’ ACL after last week. Detroit, on the other hand, appear to be a different beast this year on both sides of the ball and, despite both Joique Bell and Reggie Bush under-performing, their wide receiver corps should see them through this one. Lions for me.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Green Bay Packers
Dan McFarland: This is another big one. It wasn’t a difficult pick for me because I have to pick the Packers. Chip Kelly is a genius of a coach though, because all three areas of their team are over-performing this year. Green Bay have struggled against the run at times this season but Clay Matthews played a big role in stuffing that against the Bears last week and could do so again Sunday.
TheScore.ie: I think home advantage is going to play a huge part here as there is nothing to separate the two sides in terms of scoring offence and defence. This is one instance where the Eagles up-tempo no huddle offence might play against them as they’ll be sitting in the cold in Lambeau for long periods on Sunday evening. Packers for me too, but it’ll be close.
New England Patriots @ Indianapolis Colts
Dan McFarland: It’s another nightmare one for me. If it was the Pats at home, I’d definitely say New England. I think it’s going to be a battle between Andrew Luck’s running of the game and Bill Belichick’s defensive genius and what schemes he draws up to stop the Colts. They’re my second team so I’ll pick the Patriots but it’s a coin toss.
TheScore.ie: With the two teams matched so evenly on defence, the temptation is to go with the hot hand in Tom Brady and the Patriots who now have a league best five wins on the bounce. However, the Indianapolis run game will be the difference in this one with Ahmad Bradshaw at least forcing teams to defend against it this season – in a way they don’t when Trent Richardson has the ball – so I’m backing the Colts just.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Tennessee Titans
Dan McFarland: The Steelers, it has to be. The Titans are a torture to watch. They just don’t have talent and they have a quarterback in Zach Mettenberger who looks like he’s 10. The Steelers are going to be so angry after last week so this could be a big score.
TheScore.ie: The Titans are awful, they’re just lucky the Raiders have had a tougher schedule or they’d be picking first overall next year. Steelers by at least 10.
Pick Six leaderboard
Jackie Tyrell 5-1
Daniel Goulding 5-1
TheScore.ie 5-1
Kevin Cadle 4-3
Shane Jennings 3-3
