The Rams Have a Standardized Test for Measuring Grit
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This week’s Pigsplosion podcast guest is Kevin Clark, who writes off-beat stories about the NFL for the Wall Street Journal. On Monday, following St. Louis’s relatively surprising victory over Seattle, Clark wrote a feature about how Rams head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead are reconsidering how they run their football team, in an effort to get the best performance out of young millenial players. For example:
We talked to Clark about that piece, as well as past stories on the future of NFL quarterbacking, avoiding Game of Thrones spoilers in the locker room, and the Packers’ playing Settlers of Catan.
Afterwards, we went through the lines and talked about the storylines of this week’s matchups. Will these new progressive locker rooms lead to stories about playing Madden in team meetings? Is Jason Pierre-Paul actually as serene about his predicament as he’s purporting to be on social media? Was the Fail Mary replacement ref debacle sneakily the most egregious error of the Goodell era?
Here are our picks:
Denver @ Kansas City (-3)
Ryan: Broncos
Jason: Chiefs (Despite my concerns expressed on the podcast, going homer here).
Houston @ Carolina (-3)
Ryan: Panthers
Jason: Panthers
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans (-10)
Ryan: Bucs
Jason: Bucs
San Francisco @ Pittsburgh (-5.5)
Ryan: 49ers
Jason: Steelers
Detroit @ Minnesota (-3)
Ryan: Lions
Jason: Vikings
New England @ Buffalo (+1.5)
Ryan: Pats
Jason: Pats
Arizona @ Chicago (+2.5)
Ryan: Cardinals
Jason: Bears
Tennessee @ Cleveland (+1)
Ryan: Titans
Jason: Browns
San Diego @ Cincinnati (-3.5)
Ryan: Chargers
Jason: Bengals
St. Louis @ Washington (+4)
Ryan: Rams
Jason: Redskins
Atlanta @ NY Giants (-2)
Ryan: Giants
Jason: Falcons
Miami @ Jacksonville (+6.5)
Ryan: Dolphins
Jason: Dolphins
Dallas @ Philadelphia (-5.5)
Ryan: Cowboys
Jason: Eagles
Seattle @ Green Bay (-4)
Ryan: Seahawks
Jason: Seahawks
NY Jets @ Indianapolis (-7)
Ryan: Jets
Jason: Colts
Top 5 Picks
Ryan: Cardinals, Titans, Seahawks, Panthers, 49ers
Jason: Steelers, Eagles, Falcons, Redskins, Vikings
Season to Date: Ryan (7-8-1, 2-2-1 Top 5), Jason (13-2-1, 5-0 Top 5)