Could I put together another 14-2 week? Will I stay atop the list of “experts” in the Pick’em? In short, the answers are “no” and “yes.” In fact, the worst in record might be my best week in gaining some separation. Let’s take a look.
Games of the Week (3 points)
(4) Houston Texans (2-0) at (5) Baltimore Ravens (1-1)
(7) Green Bay Packers (1-1) at (12) Cincinnati Bengals (1-1)
(10) Atlanta Falcons (1-1) at (11) Miami Dolphins (2-0)
Non-GOTW Divisional Games (2 points each)
(27) Buffalo Bills (1-1) at (25) New York Jets (1-1)
(29) Oakland Raiders (1-1) at (1) Denver Broncos (2-0)
The Rest (1 point each)
(19) Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) at (24) Philadelphia Eagles (1-1)
(22) New York Giants (0-2) at (15) Carolina Panthers (0-2)
(13) St. Louis Rams (1-1) at (14) Dallas Cowboys (1-1)
(31) Cleveland Browns (0-2) at (21) Minnesota Vikings (0-2)
(25) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2) at (2) New England Patriots (2-0)
(20) Arizona Cardinals (1-1) at (9) New Orleans Saints (2-0) **Lock of the Week**
(17) San Diego Chargers (1-1) at (23) Tennessee Titans (1-1)
(16) Detroit Lions (1-1) at (26) Washington Redskins (0-2) **Upset of the Week**
(32) Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) at (3) Seattle Seahawks (2-0)
(18) Indianapolis Colts (1-1) at (6) San Francisco 49ers (1-1)
(8) Chicago Bears (2-0) at (30) Pittsburgh Steelers (0-2)
I should note that I absolutely called the multi-interception game by Aaron Rodgers. In fact, dating back to the season’s regression analysis, I called that four-turnover game by Packers. Yeah, I’m that good so far.
Overall, this was quite the solid week, so that “worst week” sentiment simply illustrates how awesome the first two weeks were for my predictions. So, it’s the worst week so far this season. Does that mean I should be worried? Not really, the numbers still look great:
- This week’s record and points: 11-5 and 17 points
- Overall record and points: 37-11 and 67 points
- Games of the Week: 2-1 this week (9-3 overall)
- Divisional Games: 2-0 this week (15-0 overall) [includes 3-0 in GOTW]
- Upset of the Week: 2-1 overall (35 ranking points)
- Lock of the Week: 3-0 overall (Colts, Ravens, Saints)
Now for the competition. I wanted this to be a 1 v. 25 battle, so I selected experts from several different publications. Writing some freelance stuff for Cold, Hard Football Facts, I figure that website would provide a great litmus test. Meanwhile, I figure another publication that could provide a litmus test would be Football Outsiders. Of course, there needs to be that mainstream presence. Thus, the competition also includes the 13 experts from ESPN who publish their picks online and the eight experts from NFL Network who work on either Gameday Morning or Playbook. Finally, we close the competition panel with Pete Prisco of CBS Sports and Don Banks of Sports Illustrated. They provide at least some perspective from other top publications.
As it stands through Week 3, the TABMathletics authority holds strong. Only Ron Jaworski topped my 11-5 mark from this week, so I gain some separation as I maintain hold of the top billing in this competition.
- TABMathletics: 37-11 and 67 points
- Don Banks, Sports Illustrated: 35-13 and 66 points
- Ron Jaworski, ESPN: 35-13 and 63 points
- Cris Carter, ESPN: 35-13 and 61 points
- Tom Jackson, ESPN: 34-14 and 58 points
- KC Joyner, ESPN: 33-15 and 60 points
- Steve Mariucci, NFLN Gameday Morning: 33-15 and 59 points
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: 33-15 and 58 points
- Chris Mortensen, ESPN: 32-16 and 60 points
- Mike Ditka, ESPN: 32-16 and 56 points
- Football Outsiders: 31-17 and 59 points
- Mark Schlereth, ESPN: 31-17 and 56 points
- Warren Sapp, NFLN Gameday Morning: 31-17 and 54 points
- Keyshawn Johnson, ESPN: 31-17 and 53 points
- Erik Allen, ESPN: 30-18 and 55 points
- Mike Golic, ESPN: 30-18 and 53 points
- Michael Irvin, NFLN Gameday Morning: 30-18 and 53 points
- Adam Schefter, ESPN: 29-19 and 57 points
- Sterling Sharpe, NFLN Playbook: 29-19 and 52 points
- Marshall Faulk, NFLN Gameday Morning: 29-19 and 50 points
- Merril Hoge, ESPN: 28-20 and 55 points
- Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: 28-20 and 54 points
- Seth Wickersham, ESPN: 28-20 and 53 points
- Kurt Warner, NFLN Gameday Morning: 28-20 and 52 points
- Brian Baldinger, NFLN Playbook: 28-20 and 51 points
- Shaun O’Hara, NFLN Playbook: 26-22 and 48 points
If I keep playing the cards correctly, domination could commence. It’s good to be king for another week. Until then…