NFL Football Pool Game

[Marianne]

Welcome to the game jacjar1! Its always fun to see new players join the game! Remember, anyone can join the game at any time.

This would be a good time to remind folks of the basic rules of the game, and to answer questions that might come up. The main one to cover right now is the use of a BYE week, for those who either join the game late, or miss getting their picks in by the deadline.

For details on the BYE, deadline rules, and other stuff, please access the Rules And Q&A section of my webspace, which I've set up to accomodate all three boards playing in the game: (Football Pool Game). On this site, you'll find links to recaps, and other fun stats to keep track of in the game as the season progresses.

[Marianne]

1. Carolina Panthers
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. New Orleans Saints
6. New York Giants
7. Detroit Lions
8. Tennessee Titans
9. Seattle Seahawks
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11. Arizona Cardinals
12. New York Jets
13. Denver Broncos
14. Houston Texans
15. Pittsburgh Steelers
16. Dallas Cowboys

BQ1: 12
BQ2: 51

[Nreuest]

I know it's immature for fans to blame a loss on the referees, but that call at the end of the Chargers game was the worst I think I'll ever witness in my life. Even with their poor defensive play, the Chargers would have won that game fair and square if it wasn't for that bonehead call.

[fieldshowqueen]

Well I'm just doing "peachy" this week. 50%!? I mean come on. *sigh*

[Hostrauser]

I know it's immature for fans to blame a loss on the referees, but that call at the end of the Chargers game was the worst I think I'll ever witness in my life. Even with their poor defensive play, the Chargers would have won that game fair and square if it wasn't for that bonehead call.

BS call at the start of the game (Chris Chambers' "fumble" after he'd hit the ground and rolled onto his back) and at the end of the game (Jay Cutler's baloney "incompletion"/early whistle). 15 completely undeserved points given to Denver by the refs.

Yep, I agree, I can't remember the last time I saw two unbelievably bad calls completely negate 55 minutes of football and change the outcome arbitrarily.

Congratulations to the 2nd-best team in the AFC West stealing a game like a thief in the night. Ed Hochuli and crew should be locked up for aiding and abetting.

[Marianne]

Note: jacjar1 will be using a BYE for Week 1 (confirmed through PM), what with starting the game in Week 2.

Wind drummer, will you be taking a BYE for Week 2, since we missed ya this week?

[Marianne]

Here are the results for Week 2:

WEEK 2 RESULTS
1. 69.844 bigmikedrivesbmw
1. 69.844 Hostrauser
3. 64.688 The Aceman
4. 63.594 Nreuest
5. 62.813 jacjar1
6. 57.344 Marianne
7. 50.000 fieldshowqueen

SEASON AVERAGE THROUGH WEEK 2

1. 63.047 Nreuest
2. 62.937 Marianne
3. 62.716 Hostrauser
4. 59.554 bigmikedrivesbmw
5. 59.191 fieldshowqueen
6. 51.682 The Aceman
7. 48.811 jacjar1
8. 30.515 wind-drummer

RECAPS


The "RECAPS" link above is included for your added enjoyment. It links to my personal webspace, where I've posted results with recaps on how you got the score/rank you did for the week. It also tracks various interesting stats like a season-long glance at your weekly placements, scores, and progress throughout the season. There's also a page to compare ourselves with the other two boards who are playing this game. I'll also post each week's Game Open announcement on my site (with instructions on where to e-mail your picks), in case of board outages (or other technical difficulties) that prevent posting picks here. So really this would be a good link to save. I'll also post the link each week when I post the results for that week.

[Marianne]

THE GAME IS NOW OPEN
FOR PICKS FOR
Regular Season Week 3

Pick The Winner Of Each Game: (40 Points Each)

Sunday, September 21st
1. Kansas City Chiefs @ Atlanta Falcons
2. Oakland Raiders @ Buffalo Bills
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Chicago Bears
4. Carolina Panthers @ Minnesota Vikings
5. Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots
6. Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Giants
7. Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans
8. Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Redskins
9. New Orleans Saints @ Denver Broncos
10. Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers
11. St. Louis Rams @ Seattle Seahawks
12. Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
13. Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
14. Pittsburgh Steelers @ Philadelphia Eagles
15. Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers
Monday, September 22nd
16. New York Jets @ San Diego Chargers



Bonus Question 1: What will be the Point Spread of Game# 15 ( Dallas Cowboys vs Green Bay Packers )?
(15 points, minus the variance of your guess from the actual points scored.)

Bonus Question 2: What will be the Final Total Points of Game# 16 ( New York Jets vs San Diego Chargers )?
(25 points, minus the variance of your guess from the actual points scored.)


Deadline for picks is kickoff of the first game of the week ( Sunday, September 21st ). Approximately 1:00 PM Eastern.

[The Aceman]

Sunday, September 21st
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Chicago Bears
4. Carolina Panthers
5. New England Patriots
6. New York Giants
7. Tennessee Titans
8. Arizona Cardinals
9. New Orleans Saints
10. San Francisco 49ers
11. Seattle Seahawks
12. Baltimore Ravens
13. Indianapolis Colts
14. Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Dallas Cowboys
Monday, September 22nd
16. San Diego Chargers



Bonus Question 1: 7

Bonus Question 2: 45

[LoyalTubist]

1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Chicago Bears
4. Carolina Panthers
5. New England Patriots
6. New York Giants
7. Tennessee Titans
8. Arizona Cardinals
9. Denver Broncos
10. San Francisco 49ers
11. Seattle Seahawks
12. Baltimore Ravens
13. Indianapolis Colts
14. Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Dallas Cowboys
16. San Diego Chargers



Bonus Question 1: 9

Bonus Question 2: 48

[Marianne]

Ya! Another new player!!

Welcome to the game LoyalTubist! I hope you are planning to play the whole season. If so, you might want to consider taking your BYE week for Week 2, which would give you a score of 45.000 to start off (based on this week's last place score of 50.000 of those who got their picks in). Otherwise, your Season Average Ranking will have two zeros from the first two week's of play that will factor in to the weekly score you get this week. If you take your BYE right away, then you can at least have a 45 and a zero, instead of two zeros to start off your season.

I know it sucks to start off with zeros for the weeks you missed, but that's the way the game is played. And, by the end of the season you have a good chance of catching up. Its been my experience that (even with the BYE0, some folks will miss their picks and get zeros, so it all averages out.

Wind-drummer, if you decide to take your BYE for Week 2, your score would also be a 45.000, which would also improve your Season Average score/rank. If you decide to take your BYE, I'll adjust the scores from this week accordingly.

The deadline to declare your BYE is Sunday, when the deadline for Week 3's picks are. You must declare your BYE for me to adjust the scores to reflect. I can't just automatically give it to you.

So please just let me know what you'd like to do. Thanks!

[Nreuest]

Sunday, September 21st
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Chicago Bears
4. Carolina Panthers
5. New England Patriots
6. New York Giants
7. Tennessee Titans
8. Arizona Cardinals
9. Denver Broncos
10. San Francisco 49ers
11. Seattle Seahawks
12. Cleveland Browns
13. Indianapolis Colts
14. Philadelphia Eagles
15. Dallas Cowboys
Monday, September 22nd
16. San Diego Chargers (if they lose, I want Ted Cottrell fired)

Bonus Question 1: What will be the Point Spread of Game# 15 ( Dallas Cowboys vs Green Bay Packers )?
10

Bonus Question 2: What will be the Final Total Points of Game# 16 ( New York Jets vs San Diego Chargers )?
65

[Hostrauser]

Have you ever noticed that whenever I provide detailed, "intelligent" analysis of NFL games, I end up going like 4-12 that week? So, without further ado...

Sunday, September 21st
1. Kansas City Chiefs @ Atlanta Falcons
The Chiefs -efense has given up 426 rushing yards in two games. What do you think Michael Turner is going to do them? This team has already lost eleven in a row dating back to last season, and they have a very realistic chance of starting this season 0-14 (have you seen their schedule? It's brutal). It's going to be a long, long season in Kansas City.

2. Oakland Raiders @ Buffalo Bills
A dark-horse Super Bowl contender next to Niagara Falls? Offense looks legit, defense has been stellar and the schedule is loaded with cupcakes. 12-4 for the Bills looks like a distinct possibility, and that's with TWO losses to the Patriots. Buffalo could do even better. Believe it.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Chicago Bears
I'm not buying it. Sell that "Bears are back" junk some place else. Kyle Orton has looked terrible the first two weeks, and I watched him overthrow WIDE OPEN receivers several times each game. Matt Forte has been terrific, but what are the Bears going to do when they meet a defense that can stop the run? Which, coincidentally, happens to be this weekend.

4. Carolina Panthers @ Minnesota Vikings
Dear Brad Childress, here's what you do: stop worrying about Tavaris Jackson for a week [I see you've already taken my advice, though I'm puzzled as to how Gus Frerotte was your best choice for backup QB (upon further review, wow, who knew Gus Frerotte was on the verge of 20,000 yards passing for his career, and has a 102:91 TD:INT ratio?)]. Give the ball to #28. Then give it to him again. And again. And again. And again. 2-0 or not, the Panthers haven't exactly stopped the run their first two games. Stuff it down their throat. And for god's sake, stop worrying about Chester Taylor. You need an 80:20 AP:CT ratio, not 50:50.

5. Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots
Bill Belichick sold his soul to the devil. That's the only possible explanation. Because it amazes me how the universe tends to align itself perfectly for this team time and time again. Tom Brady goes down in the first game. Okay, so, ideally, you'll have a couple of easy games to help get backup Matt Cassel up to speed, right? The Patriots' first four weeks: Chiefs, Jets, Dolphins, bye. It's just not fair.

6. Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Giants
Carson Palmer never recovered from that knee injury a while back; anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves. This offense is TERRIBLE and doesn't look to get much better. Welcome back, Bungles. (PS: think the Giants are determined to prove last year was no fluke? That defense has been AWESOME.)

7. Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans
I'm not quite sure just how good this Titans' defense is, because their first two opponents had truly terrible offenses. However, through two games the Titans have outrushed their opponents 314-121. That right there is what they call "a recipe for success" in Football 101.

8. Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Redskins
"This is the season they break through." Haven't we been hearing that about the Cardinals for four or five years now? I'm not sold. Not yet. The Redskins defense is much better than San Francisco's or Miami's, and Washington comes in on a wave of confidence after a come-from-behind victory over the New Orleans Saints (a team I would consider much better than the Cardinals). Convince me, Arizona.

9. New Orleans Saints @ Denver Broncos
Enveloped in my bitterness over last week's "Whistle Heard Round the World" (aka "The Mile-High Hijacking"), I was reminded of why I hate the Broncos so much, why I hate Mike Shanahan more than any other coach, and how I dealt with it two years ago. And so, I hereby announce my intention to pick against the Broncos every game until they lose. And who knows, maybe I'll pick against them every week for the rest of the season, simply out of spite.

10. Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers
Neither team can stop the run, but Detroit's run defense is far worse and the Niners have Frank Gore. Detroit's rushing offense is also pathetic: 55.5 ypg. In fact, Detroit is getting outrushed by 165 ypg. That's amazing. Also, offensive genius Mike Martz, whose schemes are going over well in the city by the bay, I'm sure would love to show the Detroit Lions what could have been. Factoid that may interest only me: Mike Martz developed his complicated "Greatest Show on Turf" offensive schemes from the old "Air Coryell" offensive system used at San Diego State and with the San Diego Chargers. Mike Martz was a tight end at San Diego Mesa Junior College (eventually becoming their head coach in the mid-1970s) when Don Coryell was head coach of the San Diego State Aztecs.

11. St. Louis Rams @ Seattle Seahawks
Seattle signed two new receivers, which is fine, but what are they going to do about that defense? Thought to be a strength coming into the season, the Seahawks defense has been gouged consecutively by two fairly mediocre offenses (Bills, who might be better than mediocre, and Niners, who probably aren't). However, a visit from the lifeless Rams is just what the doctor ordered. The Rams have been outgained on offense by almost 600 yards in just the first two games. Remember me talking about the Chiefs starting 0-14? Well, I look at the Rams' schedule and I don't see a single game I'd pick them to win.

12. Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
You see this all the time in baseball with rookie pitchers. Some hot shot comes up from AAA and blows people away, winning games, compiling great numbers... and then, after a couple of months, once the hitters have seen him a couple of times and there's plenty of film to review, they start using this young hot-shot pitcher as a batting tee and he can't get anybody out. I liken this analogy to Browns' QB Derek Anderson. First seven games of 2007: 17 TDs, 8 INTs, four games with QB ratings of 100+. Since then (11 games): 13 TDs, 13 INTs, no games with QBR of 100+, EIGHT games with QBR of <76. Besides, how do YOU like the chances of a team that averaged eight points per game in their first two home games and that has no running game going on the road and facing the Baltimore Ravens' defense?

13. Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
There are 35 PLAYERS that have more rushing yards on the season than the entire Colts' team. Let me repeat that: There are 35 PLAYERS that have more rushing yards on the season than the entire Colts' team (78 yards rushing in two games). The Jaguars have no reason to respect the run and will probably blitz Peyton on every down. The Colts have four injured offensive linemen; Peyton Manning, Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark are all recovering from injuries; and they just lost their best defensive player (safety Bob Sanders) for 4-6 weeks. This team is a M*A*S*H unit, and if they don't get healthy in a hurry (okay, I'll go out on a limb and be the first to say it) they could miss the playoffs.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers @ Philadelphia Eagles
Toughest pick of the week, IMO. I'm going with the Steelers simply because I think they're the more talented team. Also, I watched Donovan McNabb in the 4th quarter Monday night, and it wasn't pretty: huffing and puffing, taking sacks he shouldn't have, overthrowing open receivers... I think Pittsburgh's defense will have a similar effect on him, and it might not take until the 4th quarter to happen.

15. Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers
Random factoid: from 2001 through 2004, a span of 73 regular and post-season games during which they won three Super Bowls, the New England Patriots gave up 35+ points exactly ONE time (in 2002, to the Chiefs). I'm just saying. I'm not convinced Wade Phillips can take this team to the promised land. And I'm sure Dallas expects to just pin their ears back and chase Aaron Rodgers all over the field, but the Vikings expected to do the same thing. I also don't think Dallas has a single man in their secondary that can handle Greg Jennings on deep routes. Call it a hunch, but I'm going with the Pack.


Monday, September 22nd
16. New York Jets @ San Diego Chargers
Man-genius, huh? The "Man-genius" is now 5-13 in his last eighteen games, with THREE of those wins coming against the pathetic Miami Dolphins. In fact, in his 35-game regular and post-season coaching career, Eric Mangini has led the Jets to exactly TWO wins over teams that ended the season with a winning record (2006 Patriots, 2007 Steelers). The Jets beat up on the bottom-feeders (Dolphins, Chiefs, Raiders, Lions) and get pummeled by the good teams in the NFL. "Man-genius" indeed.


Bonus Question 1: What will be the Point Spread of Game #15 (Dallas Cowboys vs Green Bay Packers)? 5

Bonus Question 2: What will be the Final Total Points of Game #16 (New York Jets vs San Diego Chargers)? 42

[bigmikedrivesbmw]

1. Kansas City Chiefs
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Chicago Bears
4. Carolina Panthers
5. New England Patriots
6. New York Giants
7. Tennessee Titans
8. Washington Redskins
9. New Orleans Saints
10. Detroit Lions
11. Seattle Seahawks
12. Cleveland Browns
13. Jacksonville Jaguars
14. Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Green Bay Packers
Monday, September 22nd
16. San Diego Chargers



Bonus Question 1: 9

Bonus Question 2: 69

[jacjar1]

Its a little early to post, but I am afraid I will forget..

Sunday, September 21st
1. Atlanta Falcons
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Chicago Bears
4. Carolina Panthers
5. New England Patriots
6. New York Giants
7. Tennessee Titans
8. Arizona Cardinals
9. Denver Broncos
10. Detroit Lions
11. Seattle Seahawks
12. Baltimore Ravens
13. Indianapolis Colts
14. Philadelphia Eagles
15. Dallas Cowboys
Monday, September 22nd
16. San Diego Chargers



Bonus Question 1: 8


Bonus Question 2: 48