We had very little movement in week 12 with all of the popular picks winning.  We arrive at week 13 and the bye weeks are finally over leaving you with every possible choice that is available to you for picking in your survivor pools.  Since each person has probably taken a slightly different road to stay alive this long, I’ll cover a variety of games, even a few that don’t fit our usual criteria.

When you think about it you still have 20 teams to choose from.  Problem is the Bengals, Dolphins, Giants and Redskins take up 20% of your choices.  Most have used the majority of the better teams by this point which is why planning ahead is just as important as who you pick this week.  Last week I felt the Browns were the best pick, but I took the Saints as the Browns are a team I wanted to have for week 14 at home against the Bengals.  The Saints gave us a scare, but we moved on. 

Let’s start with the Turkey Day games.  Dallas is 6 ½ point home favorites over the Bills.  They have probably been used by many when they played Miami earlier in the season.  The Bills are 8-3, but they haven’t garnered a ton of support as a contender.  Dallas on the other hand hasn’t beaten anyone of significance as they continue to lose to the above average teams they play.  They were definitely “tripped” up by the Patriots in some lousy weather in Foxboro.  If you still have Dallas, you have to consider this as a play, but not sure if I’d go there.

The Bears are 3 point favorites over Detroit on the road.  Detroit lost to the Redskins last week.  The Bears beat...the Giants who haven’t been able to find themselves a win for 7 weeks.  With Matt Stafford still on the shelf, the Lions will have a hard time generating enough offense against a decent Bears defense to gain a victory.  Chicago should pull it out on the road, but another game I’m staying away from.

The night game is a rematch of one of the games that devastated survivor pools in week 10. The Saints travel to Atlanta and are favored by 7.  If your still alive in these pools, then you obviously didn’t take the Saints in week 10.  Are they a pick here?  The Falcons were the darlings for a few weeks as their defense suddenly looked like they were unbeatable. Then they lose to Tampa at home giving up 35 points.  Can the Saints go into Atlanta and win?  They should, but at home last week they gave up a big lead to the Panthers and barely held on thanks to a Joey Slye missed chip shot field goal.  Use the Saints at your own risk.

Moving to Sunday, the sub .500 Panthers are the biggest favorites of the week giving up 10 points to the visiting Redskins.  Hopefully Dwayne Haskins shows up for the flight to Charlotte and isn’t too busy taking selfies with the stewardesses at the airport.  Even if he does will it give the Redskins a chance?  The Panthers offense should have it’s way on the ground against one of the worst rushing defenses in the league.  The Redskins offense is one of the worst in the league and won’t be able to keep up with McCaffery, Moore and company.  Washington could produce some pressure on Allen and force him to make some mistakes which would make the game closer than it should be.  There won’t be a better chance to use the Panthers the rest of the season.

The Eagles travel to Miami as 9 ½ point favorites.  It is unlikely the Eagles haven’t been used by most of you, but if you still have them available, here’s your spot.  Their defense is playing well but with Wentz having bruised his hand, and the question of whether Alshon Jeffery will return (the release of Jordan Matthews tells me he’ll be back this week), there is a slight hesitation in taking them.  In what should be a slam dunk, the Eagles can be your pick if you still somehow have them to choose from. 

The Packers are a team that haven’t really been a popular pick any week.  They take on the reeling Giants at the Meadowlands as 6 ½ point favorites.  Their lackluster showing in San Francisco will give you pause, but expect a bounce back game from Aaron Rodgers.  The Pack are definitely in the mix this week to be on your radar.

The Chiefs are 9 ½ point favorites at home against the Raiders.  Another team that most have used so we won’t spend too much time here.  If you have the Chiefs, you can use them here or save them for week 15 at home against the Broncos. 

The last game I’d consider is going with the Jets over the Bengals.  The Jets are 3 ½ point road favorites coming off their destruction of Gruden’s Raiders.  The Bengals are bringing Andy Dalton back just in time as the Jets stout run defense would have left the game in Ryan Finley’s hands and we have seen that he just isn’t capable with a season QBR of 22.6.  Can Dalton bring the Bengals their first win of the season?  If Adam Gase doesn’t find a way to screw it up, the Jets could be one of the better contrarian picks this week. 

So the advice this week is to map out the rest of the season based on who you have left to choose from.  Week 15 is the one that will test most of you as all the biggest favorites are teams that most have taken already except the Giants. If you have any of the following teams: Patriots, Ravens, Chiefs, Eagles and Niners, save them for week 15 or you may have to go with the G-Men.  The chalk pick on Yahoo this week are the Panthers being taken by 48% of remaining entrants.  They aren’t favored in any of their remaining games and thus a popular choice.  The Jets can also be saved for next week as they take on the Dolphins at home.  My pick this week will be the Panthers.  Run CMC!