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The Sports Brief's Week 16 NFL picks

by Sportsbrief

created December 19, 2008, last edited February 10, 2009

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Well, this is the week we’ve all been waiting for. It’s Championship Week for The Gentlemen’s Club of the NFL.com fantasy football variety, and Keefe and I will lock horns for the league title. There are a couple reasons we’re excited about this matchup…first and foremost is the fact that we’ve always discussed the excitement that would surround the two founders of The Sports Brief competing head-to-head for a league title. Second is the fact that the plaque will no longer be owned by Woody (which was despicable and embarrassing for The Brief) and will now be mounted in the Keefe or Besse household.

And we’re going to have ourselves a fairly competitive match. I’ve listed the starting lineups for this week’s final and would love to hear your input as to who you think will have the upper hand in this matchup. Obviously by Monday night we’ll have crowned a new champion.

And now for the introductions, let’s go to the voice of UFC, Bruce Buffer…

Introducing first, in the red corner, Arkham Asylum (Keefe):

QB: Kurt Warner v. Patriots

RB: Chris Johnson v. Steelers

RB: Michael Turner v. Vikings

WR: Braylon Edwards v. Bengals

WR: Randy Moss v. Cardinals

WR: Eddie Royal v. Bills

TE: Tony Gonzalez v. Dolphins

K: Matt Bryant v. Chargers

DEF: Colts (13 points during last night’s game against the Jaguars)

And now introducing, the former, undisputed champion of the Gentleman’s League, A-Rod Still Has Meat Curtains (Besse):

QB: Drew Brees v. Lions

RB: Ronnie Brown v. KC

RB: Pierre Thomas v. Lions

WR: T.J. Houshmandzadeh v. Browns

WR: Terrell Owens v. Ravens

WR: Kevin “Don’t call me Ken” Walter v. Raiders

TE: Greg Olsen v. Packers

K: Kris Brown v. Raiders

DEF: Texans v. Raiders

A couple interesting things to note with this matchup, as well. Earlier this season I traded Kurt Warner and Tony Gonzalez for Ronnie Brown and a bag of chips. I think there was a TE involved, but I can’t remember if it was Olsen or not and I don’t feel like looking it up. But the trade worked out well for all of us. Bush was injured at the time and Pierre Thomas had yet to evolve into a significant fantasy force. I literally did not have an accomplished running back, so I was in dire need. Meanwhile, Keefe needed a QB after J.T. O’Sullivan hit the crapper and he picked up a solid TE in the process. Both our teams got over slow starts and were able to land ourselves a berrth in the final. Great stuff.

Also, I have had the Ravens defense all season, but this week I’m going to go with the Texans. Houston has played solid football as of late, and I actually think the Ravens will turn in a stinker like they did against the Colts earlier this year. And I’m pulling for Tony Romo and Owens to have solid outings as well, as I have Owens going in this league and Romo starting two Yahoo leagues, both of which I made the final in. For the record, of my six leagues this year, four made the playoffs and all four made the final. I already won a title last week in my ESPN league, so it’s been a satisfying season thus far. It’d certainly be nice to add some more hardware to the shelves.

Onto the picks…

Keefe’s picks:

Last week: 4-12; overall: 108-116

Colts -6.5 over Jaguars

Ravens +4.5 over Cowboys

Browns -3.5 over Bengals

Saints -6.5 over Lions

Titans +1.5 over Steelers

Dolphins -3.5 over Chiefs

Rams +5.5 over 49ers

Cardinals +7.5 over Patriots

Chargers +3.5 over Buccaneers