"Perhaps it’s because, in his heart, he will always be a Colt. He was drafted by the Colts. He played in Indy forever. The stadium there is even referred to as “the house that Peyton built”. All Manning has built in Denver is expectations, expectations that he failed to live up to in the biggest game we’ve hosted here since the 1990’s"

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There are only 7 games left in the NFL post-season. Will our Buddy, Snyder hang on to win our Annual NFL Pickoff VS the Spread - despite going 0-4 in the Wild Card round?

Here's how our pickers, Snyder, Scott Stafford, John Reidy and Colin Daniels see it going down in the Divisional games...

Baltimore @ Denver (-9.5)
The Ravens visit the Mile High City for the first time this season, fresh off a victory over the Colts in Baltimore. It won’t be Andrew Luck they face this time - and this time they’re not at home. The rested Broncos will play host for as long as they stay alive in these playoffs; and, if the line is correct, that should mean at least one more week. Denver toppled B’more not long ago - and it wasn’t close.
Colin’s pick: Baltimore +9.5
Reidy’s pick: Baltimore +9.5
Snyder’s pick: Denver -9.5 

Scott’s pick: Denver -9.5

Green Bay @ San Francisco (-3)
The ’Niners destroyed the Packers way back in week one. That was a long time ago. Now Green Bay, fresh off a Wild Card victory over Minnesota, travels to California to visit Colin Kaepernick and top-seeded San Francisco in what should be the best game of the weekend.  
Colin’s pick: Green Bay +3
Reidy’s pick: San Francisco -3
Snyder’s pick: Green Bay +3

Scott’s pick: Green Bay +3

Seattle @ Atlanta (-2.5)
The Seahawks are tough as nails. They were lucky to get out of Washington with a win, though. They’re much more potent at home, but they head out on the road this week, to Atlanta, to square off with Matt Ryan and a Falcons team that simply must make noise in the playoffs. 
Colin’s pick: Seattle +2.5
Reidy’s pick: Seattle +2.5
Snyder’s pick: Atlanta -2.5

Scott’s pick: Seattle +2.5

Houston @ New England (-9.5)
The Patriots seem destined to face the Broncos in the AFC Championship game. First they must dispatch the Houston Texans. Can JJ Watt and the Houston defense rattle Brady enough to keep this game interesting?
Colin’s pick: Houston +9.5
Reidy’s pick: Houston +9.5
Snyder’s pick: New England -9.5

Scott’s pick: New England -9.5

The South Stands Annual NFL Pickoff VS the spread rolled on this weekend. Rather than the usual slate of 16 games to pick, our competitors had only four, the AFC and NFC Wild Card match-ups.

Colin Daniels and John Reidy each fared well, going 3-1 VS the spread for the week. Producer Scott Stafford managed 2-2. The current leader of the contest, however, our Buddy Snyder, went 0-4. That's not a good way to protect the lead.

Still, Snyder had opened a wide enough gap that he leads Colin by four games and Reidy by five. Snyder sits at 136-115-8 for the year, Colin at 132-119-8, Reidy at 131-120-8 and Scott Stafford is out of the running at 124-127-8.

On to the Divisional round!

It was an incredible final regular season week in the NFL. Playoff scenarios finally unfolded. Some teams, like your Broncos, had everything clicking, others, like the Dallas Cowboys, let their fans down.

In the South Stands Denver Annual NFL Pickoff VS the Spread we saw similar disparate performances. It all came together for Our Buddy Snyder who went 10-6 in his his picks and stretched his lead to a nearly insurmountable seven games. Producer Scott Stafford, on the other hand, suffered a let-down, managing only to pick five of 16 games correctly. Chances are Scott will be unable to dig out from the basement of the contest.

After week 17, Snyder leads the contest with a record of 136-114-11. Colin remains in second place ... but barely at 129-118-8. Reidy is one game behind Colin at 128-119-8 and Scott is six games back from Reidy at 122-125-8. At least Scott has his South Stands Denver Fantasy Championship trophy to keep him company.

As the NFL enters its final week of the regular season, our Annual NFL Pickoff VS the Spread is becoming intense. Our Buddy Snyder, who has held the lead since mid-season, continues to hold serve with a record of 126-105-8. Colin moved into second place in week 16 at 121-110-8. Reidy is two games behind Colin at 119-112-8 and Scott Stafford is catching up. He sits at 117-114-8, above .500 for the first time this year.

The contest continues through the Super Bowl, but week 17 presents the last chance for our pickers to work with a full sixteen game slate.

Here’s how the fellows see it going down in week 17.

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(photo ESPN.GO.COM)

Can you believe that we are entering into the final seventeenth of the NFL regular season? That, a week from now, there will be no Jaguars, no Rams, no San Diego Chargers. Those teams will cease to exists and only the elite ones, the ones with real championship potential, will be moving on. What an exciting time this is - a great time to be picking games against the spread as we are with the South Stands Annual NFL pickoff VS the spread.

It's been a close race between our pickers all season long .. and growing ever closer ... for some.

Sadly, John Reidy had a miserable week sixteen. The poor bearded sap went 7-8-1 which wouldn't sound all that bad had it not been a very good week for his rivals. Both Colin and Syder went 11-4-1 on the week, while Scott Stafford managed 9-6-1. It woulda been a fun weekend in Vegas for all of us except John.

Snyder continues to somehow hang onto his lead for the year at 126-105-8. Colin snaked second place at 121-110-8. Reidy is two back from Colin at 119-112-8 and Scott Stafford is two back from John at 117-114-8. Nine picks separate first place from last place ...  and we are picking through the Super Bowl.  This could get interesting.

It was not a terribly exciting week in the NFL. The Sunday night game between the Pats and Niners was a great one, but most of the games were pretty average. Our pickers were, too. In our Annual NFL pickoff VS the spread the fellahs all had a decent week - but not a great one.

John Reidy and our buddy Snyder were tops, each logging a 10-6 week. Colin fininshed 9-7 after picking the stupid Jets and Scott Stafford managed 8-8.

For the season Snyder continues to lead with an overall record of 115-101-7. Reidy trails Snyder by three games at 112-104-7. Colin is two games behind John and five behind Snyder at 110-106-7 and Scott Stafford sits right at .500 at 108-108-7, seven games behind the leader.

The race to the top of our Annual NFL pickoff VS the spread continues, and it's a close one! Snyder is still in the lead, but Producer Scott Stafford, John Reidy and Colin Daniels are all hot on his tail as we enter week fifteen. So how do the fellows see these games going down? Our picks after the jump.

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It was another exciting week in the National Football League filled with surprises. As the season progresses it gets harder and harder to pick games versus the spread. There's just no telling who will cover and who will let you down.

This week we welcomed guest picker @OpieGoneMad to compete with our pickers in our Annual NFl Pickoff VS the Spread. He did well, but finished under .500 with a record of 7-8-1. Producer Scott Stafford equalled his effort.

Colin Daniels finished last this week, picking 5-10-1. Not good. John Reidy and Our Buddy, Snyder tied for the win at 8-7-1.

The season contest is tighter than RGIII's MCL. Snyder is still in the lead at 105-95-7 for the season. Reidy's close behind him at 102-98-7. Colin's one behind Reidy at 101-99-7 and Scott is one behind Colin at 100-100-7. The contest continues through the Playoffs and all the way to the Super Bowl.

Our Annual NFL pickoff versus the spread is heating up, even though our pickers went ice cold in week 13. Five games separate first and fourth place as Colin, Reidy, Snyder and Scott plug away with victory on their minds.

Last week our pickers were decamated by our guest, @DSNAdam. Can this weeks guest picker @OpieGoneMad fare as well? We will see.

Our picks are, as they say on the internet, after the jump.

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