So, that happened.
Do a column each week picking the games against the spread, they said. You’ll enjoy it, they said. It will open up new ways of thinking about the game, they said.
Hmmm.
You could say that my 2021 debut with Playing the Odds looked more like Aaron Rodgers’ game against the New Orleans Saints than Jameis Winston’s against the Green Bay Packers. The week started poorly, missing on the opening night contest between Dallas and Tampa Bay, and only wins in the final two games of the week salvaged what could have been an outright disaster.
Overall, we nailed one of the three big plays last week, with the Chargers winning against Washington. We missed on the other two big plays, with the Buccaneers failing to cover against Dallas and the Jaguars losing outright to Houston. Thanks to the Rams on Sunday night and the Raiders on Monday night, we limped to 6-6 on the rest of the games. Somehow I missed picking the Seahawks’ tilt against the Colts, which is probably for the best as I’m sure I would have found a way to screw that up.
Still, we forge on. Mostly because the editors think this remains a good idea, if it were up to me I’m not sure my already-fragile ego could take.
Last Week’s Results:
Big Plays: 1-2
The rest: 6-6
Overall: 7-8
As always, point spreads are listed thanks to our friends at Tipico, and the picks are made against the spread.