2014 NFL Pick 'Em Challenge Winner

The 4th Annual BoSox Tavern NFL Pick 'Em Challenge is in the books!  And the winner is Aaron!  Each year the gang endeavors to see who can pick the most winners each week of the NFL season.  It actually stayed pretty close through the first eight weeks, but Aaron's prowess in pigskin prognostication proved particularly potent, providing the pride of participants with pundit perfuse proficiency!  (whew!)

 
1.  OVERALL WINNER:  Aaron 175 correct picks (65.9%)

BLAIR: 170 wins

JAMES: 170 wins
ZEB: 169 wins
RICK: 166 wins
ROBBIE: 163 wins
GEORGE:  160 wins
ELLERY: 160 wins
BRENT: 162 wins
MIKE: 144 wins
TOM: 77 wins

2.  TOTAL WEEKS WON:

ROBBIE: 4
AARON: 3
BLAIR: 2
GEORGE: 2
ZEB: 2
RICK : 2
JAMES: 1
BRENT: 1
MIKE: 0    
TOM: 0
ELLERY: 0

3.  TOTAL WINS DURING THE PLAYOFFS:

BLAIR: 8
ZEB: 8
AARON: 7
RICK: 6
ROBBIE: 6
JAMES: 6
ELLERY: 5
GEORGE: 5
BRENT: 3
MIKE: 0
TOM: 0

4.  WINNING PERCENTAGE (AS A GROUP): 58.8%.....(eeeh!)

Week 1 Pick 'Em Results

I promise not to defile this blog site with discussion or news about that team from the City of Washington, DC, but since I'm a "homer" born and raised in DC (thus "DC Homer"), you're gonna have to listen to a smidge of my grousing.  So, for me, Week 1 was a total disaster, but not totally unexpected.  RGIII ain't it; and if the Houston game is any indication, The Team, and our rookie coach, are facing a pretty typically horrible season.   Here's my summary of the game:

 

  - "...and Griffin throws it away..."

  - "...and Griffin is sacked!"

  - "...and Griffin throws it away..."

  - "...and the point after touchdown is....BLOCKED!!"

  - "...Morris runs up the middle to the 30, the 20, the 10, the...FUMBLE!"

  - "...and the punt is BLOCKED....picked up for a score!"

  - "...and Griffin is sacked!"

  - "...and Griffin throws it away..."

 

 

(...sigh...at least we ain't Dallas!)

 

I'm officially on the Curt Cousins bandwagon!!!!

Here are the Week 1 results of our Pick 'Em Challenge:

1.  Overall winner:  Jim Randall with 12 wins.  Jim wins in the tie breaker (48 pts) with Ellery (56 pts).

2.  Results:

JIM:  12 wins (75%)
ELLERY: 12 wins (75%)
BLAIR:  11 wins (69%)
ZEB:  10 wins (63%)
AARON:  10 wins (63%)
GEORGE:  9 wins (56%)
RICK:  9 wins (56%)
BRENT:  9 wins (56%)
MIKE:  9 wins (56%)
TOM:  7 wins (44%)
ROBBIE:  5 wins (31%)

3.  Overall group performance:  103 correct picks (59%)

2013 NFL PICK 'EM CHALLENGE CHAMPION

The 3^rd Annual BoSox Tavern NFL Pick ‘Em Challenge is in the books and the 2013 Champion is the main, hairy mane Mainer from the Great Republic of Maine—Zeb Pike!  Over the 17 week season, Herr Pike tallied 165 points, or 165 correct game picks.  He didn’t run away with it, however, there was stiff competition from Brent and Mike, who came in close 2^nd and 3^rd with 163 and 161 wins, respectively. 

 

The rest of the field included Robbie with 148 points for 4^th place, George with 144 (5^th), Aaron with 142 (6^th), and Rick and Tom pulling up the rear, both tied for 7^th with 140 points each.

 

We also decided to take the challenge into the playoffs with each participant picking the winner of each round, through the Super Bowl, up front—we didn’t pick each week.  We added Ellery to the playoff mix, and the winner in a tie breaker was Aaron with 6 wins.  Both Aaron and Zeb had six playoff wins, but Aaron wins in the tie breaker, for successfully picking the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. 

And like the true New Englander he is, Zeb picked the Boston Patriots to win every week during the regular season, and again throughout the playoffs!  (Either this guy is a true “homer” or he thinks he had some inside dope that he didn’t share with his buds!) 
 
While we turn our “Pick ‘Em” attention to the Olympics, we look forward to next year!!!

NFL Pick 'Em - The Playoffs

The first round of NFL Playoff Picks are in and George is in the lead.  No bragging at this point--not yet, we still have several games to go. 

2013 NFL Pick 'Em Champion: The Zebster

The gang has concluded yet another year of successful team pick 'ems, with our host, Zeb, from outer Mainegolia, coming in as the 2013 champion with overall points (total correct picks for the season) totaling 165!  Zeb unseats Rick who was last year's champ:



  Zeb:  165 pts             RJ:  148 pts
  BK: 163 pts                George: 144 pts 
  Mike:  161 pts           Rick:  140 pts
  AA:  154 pts               Tom:  140 pts
  
Our Week 17 summary found Zeb with a near perfect 15 picks:

  Zeb:  15 wins
  Mike:  14 wins
  Rick:  13 wins
  BK: 12 wins
  AA: 12 wins
  RJ:  11 wins
  George:  11 wins
  Tom:  0 wins

Total Weekly Wins:  We have a tie between BK and RJ, both with 4 weekly wins.  We will use the first round of the Playoffs to determine the tie-breaker in this category.

  BK: 4 wins

  RJ: 4 wins
  Zeb:  3 wins
  George: 2 wins
  Rick 1.5 wins
  Tom:  1 win
  AA:  1 win
  Mike:  .5 win

Week 9 NFL Pick 'Em Results

This week’s Pick ‘Em winner is Rick, who joins RJ and BK in the “Deuce Club” with two wins. 

1.  WEEK 9 Results:

  - Rick – 9 wins

  - RJ – 8 wins
  - Everyone else had 7 wins!

2.  Group Standings:

  - ZEB: 82 pts

  - BK: 82 pts**
  - Mike: 81 pts
  - Rick: 81 pts
  - Tom: 80 pts
  - AA: 77 pts
  - RJ: 76 pts
  - George: 73 pts

(** This total does not include two missed picks)

3.  Here are the WEEK 10 match-ups:

  - WAS vs. MIN (Thursday)

  - JAX vs. TEN
  - PHI vs. GB
  - PIT vs. BUF
  - NYG vs. OAK
  - STL vs. IND
  - SEA vs. ATL
  - CIN vs. BAL
  - DET vs. CHI
  - CAR vs. SF
  - ARZ vs. HOU
  - SD vs. DEN
  - DAL vs. NO
  - MIA vs. TB (Monday)

Week 9 NFL "Pick 'Em" Results

This week’s NFL "Pick 'Em" challenge winner is RJ, in a tie breaker with BK.   He and BK both had 12 wins and it went down to the MNF tie-breaker with RJ picking 47 pts, and BK picking 56 (total score for the game was 23):

                   - RJ:  12 wins
                   - BK:  12 wins
                   - Zeb:  11 wins
                   - George:  10 wins
                   - AA:  10 wins
                   - Mike:  10 wins
                   - Rick:  9 wins
                   - Tom:  9 wins

The total points standing:

 

BK: 75 pts - (2 wins)

Zeb: 75 pts - (1 win)

Mike: 74 pts - (1 win*)

Tom: 73 pts - (1 win)

Rick: 72 pts - (1 win*)

AA: 70 pts

RJ: 68 pts - (2 wins)

        George: 66 pts - (1 win)

 

(* Split tie)

 

 

Week 7 pick 'em results & standings

No comment on the games.

This week's results: 

- Rick:  10 wins (Picked NYG – 37 pts)

- Mike:  10 wins (Picked NYG – 37 pts)

- Zeb: 9 wins

- Tom: 9 wins

- George: 9 wins

- AA: 8 wins

- BK: 8 wins

- RJ: 7 wins

 

Therefore, your current standings:

 

- Total Points:    
     - Tom:  64
     - Zeb:  64     
     - Mike:  64

     - BK:  63

     - Rick:  63

     - AA:  60
     - RJ:  56
     - George:  56

 

Weekly wins standings:  Brent has two and the rest of us all have one, thanks to this week's results with Rick and Mike at the top.

 

Look at high tight the total pick standings are!

Week 6 Pick 'Em results & Standings

First, congrats to Brent for winning this week:

- BK:  12 wins

- AARON:  11 wins

- ZEB:  11 wins

- RICK:  10 wins

- MIKE:  10 wins

- GEORGE:  7 wins

- ROBBIE:  7 wins

- TOM:  7 wins

 

And with that, we have the following standings after six weeks:

 

Brent now leads the weekly win category with two, followed by George, RJ, Tom and myself each with one.

 

Your overall correct picks so far:

 

- Total Points:    
     - Tom:  55
     - Zeb:  55
     - BK:  55

     - Mike:  54
     - Rick:  53
     - RJ:  49
     - AA:  52
     - George:  47

 

Boy, have things tightened up.  Don't forget to get at least your Thursday night pick in before kickoff tonight.

Anything stand out in any of the games you watched last weekend?  Did you see the ending of the Patriot/Saint game?  :)

WEEK 5: PICK 'EM WRAP-UP

DENVER vs. DALLAS:  What Defense??

In my humble opinion, a low scoring game is more of a tribute to a well-disciplined, focused team defense.  Of course,  this doesn't necessarily mean the offensive game plan was a poor one, but a well-focused defense will reign in even the best offense.  But when a team scores points in bunches, it's not as if every offensive play is like an IED to a defense, catching it off guard and exploding for score after score.  More likely than not, that "big run/catch/scoring play" is the result of a lapse (mistake) in the defensive scheme.

A "shoot out" (such as the Broncos' 51-48 win over the Giants), as opposed to a blowout (e.g., 49ers' 34-3 annihilation of the Texans), is merely a poorly played game and thoroughly indicts the defense, and makes meaningless the hundreds of yards gained by either offense--such yardage are hardly "earned."  And by "not earned," I mean it's like a 40-yard sprint footrace where the opponent slips and falls down at the starting blocks, and the winner crosses the finish line before his opponent can make 20 yards.  There was no competition--it wasn't a real race, so what was proven?  Nothing. 

The NFL (likewise for the NBA and the NHL) has created rules that handcuff the defense, and are designed specifically for high scoring events, because that's what they think we want to see--the 60-yard TD pass, the 50-yard run up the middle, the foot chase to the goal line.  I know up front that I'm on an island and few will share my opinion that shoot outs are not what the fans want, it's what the League and its sponsors want, and it's what fantasy players want.  An undefeated (5-0) team like Denver "allows" 48 points to be scored against it--in fact, they had to catch up and relied on an unlikely interception with 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter, bringing the game down to a last second field goal to win. 

Really?  I think that's just pitiful.

In the Denver game, both the Broncos' and Cowboys' defenses were equally and totally sorry.  Both teams' offense ripped through each other like the defense was standing still.  Defense wins championships.  Good defenses limit yards and points.  A lot of people want the excitement of high scoring shootouts in professional sports--tons of homers, bomb passes, 3-pointers, and blue line spinnerammas.   Well, not me, I appreciate a pitcher who can force a batter to hit into a DP, or a goalie with quick eye and defensemen who sacrifice the body.  Defense is the game in my view.  

51-48?  Great Jehovah, I hope we don't see too many more games like that.

RJ Wins Week 5 Pick 'Em:

  - RJ:  9 wins (winner by tie breaker – 47 pts)

  - Tom: 9 wins (tie – 35 pts)
  - Rick: 8 wins
  - BK: 7 wins
  - Zeb: 7 wins
  - AA: 7 wins
  - George:  6 wins
  - Mike:  4 wins

STATS:

  - Wins:  (George, RJ, Tom, Zeb, BK)
  - Total Points:
     - Tom:  48
     - Mike:  44
     - Zeb:  44
     - BK:  43
     - Rick:  43
     - RJ:  42
     - AA:  41
     - George:  40

NFL Pick 'Em: Week 4 Results

Who's Your Daddy? 

I accepted the task of keeping the weekly score of our NFL Pick 'Em Challenge, and I committed to providing a weekly post with each week's score, but because we started in the middle of government fiscal year-end throes, I couldn’t find the time to write my usual pithy words on the previous week's games.  Well, since my so-called "representatives" in Congress believe in their hearts that their argument to see who has the biggest dick is what the American people asked for, and since it's also in my best interests to put me out of work to salve our budget woes (while they keep their paychecks), it seems that I have time to write something--at least for this week.  I hope this doesn't become a habit!  :-(

Here are the results for Week 4:

  - Tom:  12

   -  Rick:  10
   -  Mike: 10
   -  AA: 9
   -  Zeb: 9
   -  BK: 8                                                                 
   -  RJ: 6
   -  George: 6

The overall 4-week standings:

   -  Mike:  40 wins

    -   Tom:  39 wins
    -   Zeb:  37 wins
    -   BK:  36 wins
    -   Rick:  35 wins
    -   AA:  34 wins
    -   George:  34 wins
    -   RJ:  33 wins

I'm not a sports prognosticator (as you can tell from my W-L record above), but notwithstanding the pure "suckyness" of the NFC Least (Washington, Dallas, New York, and Philadelphia), the rest of the League seems to have latched on to a degree of parity.  With some of the usual suspects still holding the high ground (New Orleans, New England, Indianapolis, Seattle), they are joined by a few upstarts (Detroit, Miami, and Kansas City).  Other perennial 1st-placers seem to need their "Geritol" (Green Bay, Baltimore, Pittsburg(h), Houston, and Atlanta). 

Did I mention the NFC Least?  No?  Good, because they SUCK! With the entire conference winning a total of just four games (that's "4" as in:  quatro, vier, quate, shi, 四,quattro,  четыре), we'll let Dallas (2-2) believe they're just kicking some serious ass!!!

If I get my job back, I promise not to be so wordy in future posts, and will give you just the facts, ma'am, just the facts!

2013 Pick 'Em Week 3

Don't forget to get your picks in, if you haven't already, for week 4.  We have one blog challenge game this weekend, RJ's Raiders vs G's Skins.

Here are your week 3 results:

  - Geo:  11

  - Tom:  10

  - BK:  9

  - Rick:  9

  - Mike:  9

  - Zeb:  8

  - RJ:  8

  - AA:  6

 

And then your overall standings as follows:

 

Mike – 30

Zeb - 28 with one win

Brent - 28 with one win

George – 28 with one win

RJ - 27

Tom – 27

Rick – 26

AA - 25

The newcomer is kicking our asses, fellas.

 

 

 

Robbie Pulls Out the Big Win in Week 17!!

 

CONGRATULATIONS to Robbie for winning the final week—Week 17—of the Pick ‘Em Blog Challenge.   He almost ran the table in the last week of our challenge by winning 15 out of 16 games, only the Falcons let him down.   Good job, Robbie!

NOW for the rest of the story!  “Hail to the Redskins, Hail Victory!  Braves on the warpath—FIGHT for old DC!!!”

Isn’t that such a lovely tune?  One that I’m sure Gallas Cowgirl fans are thoroughly tired of hearing right about now.   Redskins win seven games in a row; win 5 out 6 NFC East games, and claim the NFC East Title for the first time 13 years.  All on the backs of rookies!  Only in America!!

WEEK 17 SCORES
BUCS:  22		FALCONS:  17		PANTHERS: 44		SAINTS: 38
BEARS: 26		LIONS: 24		PACKERS:  34		VIKINGS: 37
EAGLES: 7		GIANTS: 42		COWBOYS: 18		REDSKINS: 28
TEXANS: 16		COLTS: 28		JAGUARS: 20		TITANS: 38
RAVENS: 17		BENGALS: 23		BROWNS: 10		STEELERS: 24
JETS:  9		BILLS:  28		DOLPHINS: 0		PATRIOTS:  28
CARDINALS: 13		49ERS: 27		RAMS: 13		SEAHAWKS: 20
CHIEFS: 3		BRONCOS: 38		RAIDERS: 21		CHARGERS: 24
LEADERBOARD
Name	Points		This Week		Weekly Wins		Week
Rick	171		12		4		8, 9, 10, 12
Shelly	162		11		2		2, 5
Zeb	157		9		3		1, 7, 11
Brent	163		11		1		16
Jim	160		12		2		4, 15
Robbie	161		15		1		17
Aaron	154		10		2		6, 14
George	139		11		2		3, 13

Time to get your picks in for Playoffs –

WILDCARD:                                                                DIVISION:
a. Saturday, 5 January                                            a. Saturday, 12 January
- (6) CIN / (3) HOU (4:30)                                   - (4/5/6 Winner) at (1) DEN (4:30)
- (6) MIN / (3) GB (8:00)                                      - (3/4/5 Winner) at (2) SF (8:00)

b. Sunday, 6 January                                               b. Sunday, 13 January
- (5) IND / (4) BAL (1:00)                                   - (4/5/6 Winner) at (1) ATL (1:00)
- (5) SEA / (4) WAS (4:30)                                  - (3/4/5 Winner) at (2) NE (4:30)