Week 14 Picks and Results- Special Kiss Of Death Issue

It will probably be easier for the rest of the season to post random thoughts and observations here, rather than try to compile everything all at once.

Kiss of Death

So with that in mind, let's talk about the KOD- because this season Steve's Five Star Lock of the Week has seemed more like Steve's Kiss of Death. For those new to Wallyball, it wasn't always this way: the first two seasons went much more smoothly. But this week, I had two games in mind as sure-fire wins: the Raiders against whoever won the Rams' fan contest to  play QB this week, or the Cowboys as crazy 17 point favorites against Houston.  With the Holiday Bonus in play, winning is important, but so is winning big. With that in mind, it was time to give Dallas the FSLOTW... and the KOD

Upset Specials

After Thursday night, it looked like avoiding the Raiders was a good thing. Sunday, I don't know what happened:

• The Cowboys got lucky and escaped
• "Whoever is playing Carolina" and "Whoever is playing Jacksonville" are no longer viable automatic choices each week
• A few weeks ago, Miami was invincible and the team Jose refuses to mention by name was very "vincible." I guess the Chargers are healthy again.  Unfortunately.
• Congrats to anyone who already used their Tampa Bay pick successfully... the good ship Tom Brady is more like the Andrea Doria.
• Same as above for Tennessee where the firings have already started.
• The Chiefs look great... the Chiefs look awful... often in the same game. If you still have your KC pick, use it wisely. Hopefully you'll pick a game where they are giving maximum effort for the full 60 minutes.

Which means we have movement at the top

of the standings.  For 13 weeks our top five players were a combined 62-2-1. In week 14, three of them lost. 

• Carter is now the only person to win each week- can he hold on over the final four weeks? Thanks to his love of the BPOW, he still has Philly and SF available. He takes over the top spot from...
• Scott K, who picked up his first loss ever in Wallyball because for some reason Tennessee is now unpredictable and Trevor Lawrence is starting to look more like the QB we expected (before he had to endure the Urban Meyer Experience).  Scott's loss should have put him in a tie with...
• Jose and Ryan, except they both took Seattle. As they should have. 
• See comments above about how Jacksonville and Carolina are no longer Old Faithful.
• Should Carter stumble, Greg B is ready to take the top spot. He's still wondering why he took Indy in Week 1.  Or any week.
• Dave pretty much has the Lamprey Award locked up.
• But the excitement sits right next to Dave, where Paul, Colin, and Wally are trying to combine wins and losses in such a way that they win the $50 for 50%. And in such a  way that if they fail to win that prize, they finish second to last and pick up the $25 consolation prize.
• As much as that Tennessee loss hurt Scott K, it got Colin much closer to .500. Had Houston lost by 17 like it was supposed to, Paul would be only 2 points away from the target. 

Ongoing notes and thoughts post Week 14

• As a group, our picks were as accurate as Harry Kane's PK. We were only 13-10, after posting just 3 losses in the last three weeks combined- not counting Dave's intentional losses in the quest for the Lamprey Award.
• So far Jay, Al, Cheryl, and Doug have the best starts in the race for the $50 Holiday Bonus.
• A few weeks into the season, I added conditional formatting to the part on the home page where we make our picks, so that any duplicate picks are highlighted in red. Unfortunately, we all somehow missed an early-season duplicate.
• Gil took Green Bay in weeks 2 and 4, which means we can't count the Week 4 win. Gil will have a chance to make it up on Week 17 or Week 18.
• Maybe if Matt Ryan is playing quarterback, "Whoever is playing Indianapolis" is our new go to. 
• After Monday night, I'm ready to add "Whoever is playing Arizona" to the list.

Futlity... or KOD

Even though the picture at the top is for the other football, few elements of sports futility are as predictable as "What happens when England has to make a penalty kick in the World Cup?" I guess the NFL equivalent is "This will finally be the Browns' year!"  Nope.

Please share your snark and humor below. Or let me know if you have anything you want to add to the weekly post.