Brooks goes against grain to surge ahead

The tide is changing in the National Football League, and with over three quarters of the season completed it would appear that our local prognosticators have been adopting a level of parity akin to that of organization’s plan.

Last week Will, John, Jennifer, Rich and the Big Tuna shared six identical picks, as everybody had been hard pressed to go against the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, and Green Bay Packers.

In four other games, four out of our five local pigskin gurus were in unison that the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos would emerge victotious, but the mavericks of the bunch were not quite sure.

John went out on a limb and opted for the Cleveland Browns over the Cincinnati Bengals, but lost out when the team from WKRP’s town came away with the win in the second highest scoring game in league history. That one game was the difference between 9-5 and 10-4 for Blanco.

Rich stuck his neck out on the other three games, and reaped the rewards of picking the Bills over the Starbucks Seahawks, the Dolphins over the 49ers, and the Raiders over the Broncos—In Mile High Stadium, no less.

Going against the grain vaulted Brook to a 12-2 record for the week, and allowed him to close the gap in the overall standings.

With little more than a handful of weeks remaining in the season, Will extended his lead by a game over his closest competitors with a 10-4, and still maintains his residence on First Place Avenue with an overall record of 91-53. With identical records of 87-57, Jennifer and the Big Tuna dropped a game to the recovering CFL lineman, but ending the week with a 9-5 record should help them keep pace.

John’s 9-5 has him one game or one Cincinnati pick off of their pace, at 86-58, but he is feeling the heat from a red hot Rich. After starting the season with some of the worst choices since Napoleon at Waterloo or Custer at Little Big Horn, Rich has rebounded with a run of big weeks to pull within four games of John, at 82-62.

Going out on a limb on a couple of games may make the difference as the season winds down, as the fierce fivesome have selected identical picks in 11 out of the 16 games on the schedule. Keep an eye on Denver, Washington, and John’s Cincinnati.