January 07, 2007

NFL Pick'em - Division Round Edition: Herm Edwards and Eric Mangini were cursing on their planes home tonight, but not because of their loses. They curse because they forgot to join our pick'em.

posted by apoch to fantasy at 08:42 PM - 99 comments

The standings are located here. I would do a nice fancy table, but the site doesn't seem to like things that large. The home teams cleaned up, so did the six people who picked the Eagles to win by 3. Congrats: grum, cl, yzelda4045, lil_brown_bat, SummersEve, The_Black_Hand, and Ying Yang Mafia. You are this weeks Perfect Prognosticators (for one game anyway.) We have a seven place tie for first with 5 points. The large amount of ties will probably be broken up handily by this weeks games. Speaking of which we have Indy at Baltimore, The Eagles in New Orleans, Seattle at Chicago, and The Patriots in sunny San Diego. We also have a bonus question. Which running back will pick up the most RUSHING yards. Pick the back and the number of rushing yards. You get a point for the back, and a point for the number of yards with a margin of error of 15 either way. If you nail the yardage and the back exactly you get three points. Unlike the spread point in games, you do not have to get the back right to get a bonus point for the yardage. The first game kicks off at 4:30 Saturday afternoon. All picks are due by 4:00 pm. Clarification of the scoring rules as there was some confusion (including, I abashedly admit, myself). If you do not pick the winner, the only way you can get a point is if you nail the spread. If you pick the winner, you get a point. If you pick the winner and the spread within the margin of error you get two points. If you pick the winner and nail the spread you get three points.

posted by apoch at 08:56 PM on January 07, 2007

Nice looking spreadsheet! Thanks for the rules clarification, apoch- I like the way you've decided that you can get points on the spread if you hit it exactly whether or not you pick the winner, but are only eligible for the margin-of-error point if you did get the winner right. I guess that also means that if you hit the spread exactly but not the team- you'd get one point and not two, because while you got the spread exactly you don't qualify for the margin-of-error point as well since you got the winning team wrong. Just to make sure I understand, then: the bonus question is the running back (or person, on the assumption that it will be a back anyway?) with the most rushing yards next weekend out of all four games.

  • 1 point: pick the right name
  • 1 point: pick the yardage within 15 yards
  • 1 point: pick the yardage exactly
None of these picks are in any way related- you can get the latter two by picking the yardage exactly, you can get the first two by picking the back and the yardage within 15, you can get the second choice only (1 point total) by getting the yardage within 15 yards but with the wrong name.

posted by hincandenza at 09:49 PM on January 07, 2007

You get one point for the running back or within the +/- 15 yard window. If you get both the back and within the window you get two. If you get it exactly and the back you get three. So if you get the yardage exactly but not the back, you only get one point. For example. Tom Brady goes crazy, gives up on all his "receivers" and calls a quarterback sneak audible EVERY play. He rushes for 299 Yards. If you predicted Tom Brady and 299 yards. You'd get 3 points. If you predicted Tom Brady and anywhere between 284-314 (except 299) you'd get 2 points. If you picked within that range but not Tom Brady or Tom Brady but not within that Range 1 point.

posted by apoch at 09:54 PM on January 07, 2007

Hal is right about who says it will be a RB? So The bonus is which PLAYER will gain the most rushing yards, etc, etc.

posted by apoch at 10:00 PM on January 07, 2007

Apoch, the linked spreadsheet says I picked Philly by 13, when in fact I had them to win by 1. I don't think that's worth any more points, so I may just be needlessly increasing your workload, but I thought I'd check as having Summers Eve that close behind me makes me nervous.

posted by Mr Bismarck at 01:20 AM on January 08, 2007

Fixed. It does not give you any more points, but I appreciate the heads up. Accuracy is important.

posted by apoch at 05:05 AM on January 08, 2007

AFC COLTS AT RAVENS Manning gets his act together and Indy’s D stays hot. Colts by 10. PATS AT BOLTS Brady shocked by his teams stagnant offense. Chargers win a blowout by 18. NFC EAGLES AT SAINTS Wings get clipped, Saints by 7. ‘HAWKS AT BEARS The smoke clears and the mirror breaks, Griese replaces Grossman too late. Seahawks by 3. Bonus: L.T. runs wild! 142 yards, 3 tds.

posted by wingnut4life at 07:08 AM on January 08, 2007

you gave me 1 more point than i really have. i picked the giants by 6, but have me as giving them 3, thus getting a point for nailing the spread. actually, looking it over, quite a few of these picks seem to be off. also, is there a way to let us know what the margin of error is?

posted by goddam at 08:07 AM on January 08, 2007

I've pulled the standings and will go back and double check everything. I'll repost with correct standings as soon as I can. Indy 10-15-20 Seattle 1-1-1 Patriots 15-21-27 Eagles 2-3-4

posted by apoch at 08:28 AM on January 08, 2007

I don't get the spread thing. Since Seattle won by one, there is no margin of error? But for the Pats there is 12 point margin of error? I'm not complaining about the rules, just want to make sure I understand them. (I had the four winners and Philly by three too.)

posted by danostuporstar at 08:59 AM on January 08, 2007

Help! When I open the link to the standings, Google informs that the spreadsheet is not published. What do I need to do to view the speradsheet?

posted by yzelda4045 at 09:09 AM on January 08, 2007

Click here (the link at the top also works) I made a mess of the standings. I apologize. It has been (hopefully) corrected. If you see any mistakes or in your points, please let me know and I will correct it as soon as I can. catfish currenlty holds first place with 7 points, daostuporstar is a close second with 6. dano, regarding the margin of error. A 1 point victory isn't enough to establish a spread. The larger the margin of victory the larger the spread. It is easier to get a point for a blowout than a close game.

posted by apoch at 09:17 AM on January 08, 2007

I see. Innerestin. Thanks, dude.

posted by danostuporstar at 09:31 AM on January 08, 2007

AFC COLTS AT RAVENS Ravens by 7. PATRIOTS AT CHARGERS Chargers by 14. NFC EAGLES AT SAINTS Saints by 10. SEAHAWKS AT BEARS Seahawks by 7. Tomlinson for 152 yards.

posted by chris2sy at 09:38 AM on January 08, 2007

Darn. I was enjoying the messed up spreadsheet. Manning stays at playoff form, and then defense reverts to regular season form. Ravens by 10. Rivers shocks the world will a performance only worthy to a first year starter or Rex Grossman. Patriots by 3. Jeff Garcia continues to make Lions fans wince. Eagles by 10. The Bears came oh so close to losing to the Lions. Grossman is a terrible quarterback. Their defense is worst than last year's team which also collapsed in the playoffs. Seattle beats the overrated Bears by 16. Tomlinson for 124 yards.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:44 AM on January 08, 2007

AFC Colts at Ravens - Colts by 6 Patriots at Chargers - Chargers by 13 NFC Eagles at Saints - Saints by 6 Seahawks at Bears - Bears by 1 Tomlinson with 140 yards

posted by trox at 10:10 AM on January 08, 2007

Thanks, apoch. I've never been anywhere near the top of any sports pool. That being said, here goes it for this week: Colts at Ravens RAVENS by 7 Patriots at Chargers PATRIOTS by 6 Eagles at Saints EAGLES by 10 Seahawks at Bears Seahawks by 14

posted by yzelda4045 at 10:16 AM on January 08, 2007

Darn. I was enjoying the messed up spreadsheet. Me too, I used to be tied for first. Okay. Here it goes: COLTS AT RAVENS. This is where it ends. Ravens by 7. PATS AT CHARGERS. The numbers favor the Chargers. So what? Pats by 6. EAGLES AT NEW ORLEANS. Time for some dirty bird jambalaya. Saints by 3. SEAHAWKS AT BEARS. I'm guessing the week off will have hurt more than it helped. Seattle by 3.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:21 AM on January 08, 2007

Baltimore Ravens by 11 New England Patriots by 3 Philadelphia Eagles by 9 Chicago Bears by 15 Deuce McAllister 129 yards

posted by MrFrisby at 10:30 AM on January 08, 2007

colts by 10 chargers by 7 saints by 14 seahawks by 7 LT 140 yrds and 2 td's

posted by louisville_slugger at 10:42 AM on January 08, 2007

Oh, I forgot my bonus question, LT for 147 yards.

posted by yzelda4045 at 11:00 AM on January 08, 2007

Oh yeah! My bonus: McAllister with 112 yards.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:31 AM on January 08, 2007

  • Baltimore reminds Tony Dungy what a playoff defense looks like, Ravens by 7
  • The Eagles visit New Orleans and the Saints give'em a Katrina, assuring the 49ers that Alex Smith is no Jef Garcia, Saints by 13
  • Chicago gets just enough offense from their running backs to slither by Seattle, Bears by 3
  • The Patriots get blinded by the light (the Springsteen original, not the Manfred Mann cover) in sunny San Diego and the Chargers win by 10.
Ladanian tops the charts with 162 yards, a tribute to the Padres.

posted by billsaysthis at 01:29 PM on January 08, 2007

AFC Ravens by 9. Patriots by 3. NFC Saints by 10. Bears by 3. I'll take Jamal Lewis and 132 for the boneass thanks.

posted by Mr Bismarck at 01:43 PM on January 08, 2007

Baltimore by 10 San Diego by 3 New Orleans by 13 Chicago by 6 Reggie Bush with 107 rushing yards.

posted by NoMich at 03:27 PM on January 08, 2007

AFC: Indy by 3 Chargers by 7 NFC: Saints by 3 Seattle by 9 Reggie Bush and 146 yards

posted by grum@work at 03:43 PM on January 08, 2007

AFC: Baltimore by 6 Patriots by 4 NFC: Saints by 11 Chicago by 3 Tomlinson with 111. Oh boy - Costanza here I come.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 04:33 PM on January 08, 2007

Ravens by 4 Chargers by 9 Saints by 4 Bears by 7 Westbrook 137 yards

posted by tselson at 04:35 PM on January 08, 2007

having Summers Eve that close behind me makes me nervous. Amazingly, that's what the restraining order said. Baltimore by 2 New Orleans by 6 Seattle by 12 San Diego by 2 Deuce McAllister 138 yards.

posted by SummersEve at 06:05 PM on January 08, 2007

Resummation of week one: Perfect Prognosticators - Eagles by 3: catfish, danostuporstar, yzelda4045, chris2sy, hawkguy, cl, The_Black_Hand. 150 points were awarded total, 52 for the Eagles Victory (1 more point in that game, BullpenPro nailed the spread but picked the Giants). The only people to get points on the spread alone were BullpenPro (as prev mentioned) and Spitzengle (who was the only person to get the spread right in the Seahawks victory). Nobody got a point off the spread in the Patriots victory even though it had the largest margin of error. Which is funny because it was the game with the largest average spread pick, but no one picked over 14. In fact in either Sunday's games no one predicted a spread of larger than 14. The blowouts were all predicted for Saturday.

posted by apoch at 06:13 PM on January 08, 2007

Ravens by 2 Saints by 1 Bears by 7 Chargers by 2 Jamal Lewis, 122 yards. Your new math really hurt my stranglehold on the Costanza. But I forgive you. Thanks for the effort -- this looks like a lot of work.

posted by BullpenPro at 08:37 PM on January 08, 2007

It wasn't new math. I made an error while sorting columns and it resulted in people's picks being wrong. It was pretty messed up. I had to reenter and recalculate everyone's picks.

posted by apoch at 08:42 PM on January 08, 2007

Ravens - 7 Chargers - 9 Saints - 4 Bears - 10 Homer pick - Thomas Jones - 139

posted by skydivemom at 10:00 PM on January 08, 2007

Ravens by 6 Chargers by 13 Saints by 8 Chicago by 4 LaDainian Tomlinson - 119 yards

posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 11:19 PM on January 08, 2007

AFC COLTS AT RAVENS Ravens by 6. PATRIOTS AT CHARGERS Chargers by 7. NFC EAGLES AT SAINTS Saints by 7. SEAHAWKS AT BEARS Bears by 7. J. Lewis for 126 yards.

posted by hawkguy at 08:49 AM on January 09, 2007

Ravens by 10 Patriots by 6 Saints by 6 Seahawks by 6 Westbrook - 141

posted by YukonGold at 10:33 AM on January 09, 2007

Colts by a field goal. Chargers by 15. Saints by 11. Bears by 5. And what the hell, Joe Addai gets 156 yards.

posted by chicobangs at 11:23 AM on January 09, 2007

Ravens by 2 Chargers by 12 Eagles by 1 Bears by 10 LT - 172 yards

posted by 86 at 12:09 PM on January 09, 2007

Ravens by 4 Chargers by 14 Saints by 7 Seahawks by 3 LT 139

posted by catfish at 12:13 PM on January 09, 2007

Saints by 5 Bears by 3 Ravens by 4 Chargers by 7 LT 147 Yards.

posted by willthrill72 at 02:26 PM on January 09, 2007

Damn...with all you people thinking NE is going to go down hard in the second round, come Sunday at about 9 pm, I will rule you all!!! (or I'll be heading up to A Basin on Monday to console myself with some powder skiing...nah, nah, they can't lose this one...)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:45 PM on January 09, 2007

Tuesday afternoon and only 18 people left to make their picks, which is good. The earlier your picks are in the easier the weekend is for me. Thanks to everyone who's picked already. And so far I've avoided any calls for impeachment, which is pretty good.

posted by apoch at 03:15 PM on January 09, 2007

You have guilted me into picking today, apoch. Ravens by 3 Chargers by 5 Saints by 10 Bears by 3

posted by bperk at 03:38 PM on January 09, 2007

Patriots 7 Indy 3 Bears 7 Saints 10 Deuce McAllister 122

posted by holden at 03:48 PM on January 09, 2007

Thanks to everyone who's picked already. Here I go.... Ravens by 6 NO by 10 Chicago by 7 SD by 10 LT = 121

posted by Termite at 03:50 PM on January 09, 2007

bperk, you forgot your bonus pick.

posted by apoch at 03:51 PM on January 09, 2007

Sorry. LT 143

posted by bperk at 04:17 PM on January 09, 2007

Completely off topic: Herm Edwards Tony Dungy I'm not the only one that does a double-take when one of them is being interviewed, am I?

posted by grum@work at 04:25 PM on January 09, 2007

grum, The photo of Dungy looks like a bad driver license shot! Nobody ever likes those.

posted by Termite at 04:55 PM on January 09, 2007

Let the conspiracy theories begin.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:12 PM on January 09, 2007

It is time to end the charade.

posted by DrJohnEvans at 05:15 PM on January 09, 2007

I'm not the only one that does a double-take when one of them is being interviewed, am I? My wife does the same thing, thinks they're twins separated at birth. I personally don't see it but you'd think Dungy should have done better with the Jets.

posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 05:47 PM on January 09, 2007

Pats by 3 Ravens by 3 'Aints by 9 Bears by 47... Da Behrz... Okay, fine - by 6. Bears team bus at Lemans.... Behrz. Ditka vs. God in a golf match.... Behrz. Gotta go with Chee-KA-go. Though I know not why.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:23 PM on January 09, 2007

So since you're going with Chicago should I put you down for Thomas Jones with 437 yards?

posted by apoch at 10:04 PM on January 09, 2007

Re: Dungy and Edwards, I see the following important differences:

  • Tony Dungy's eyes look like someone who's about to hand you a tract; Herm Edwards' eyes look like someone who's about to hand you a beer.
  • Tony Dungy's ears make him look like a car driving down the street with its doors open; Herm Edwards' ears make him look like a car driving down the street with the driver's door open.
  • Tony Dungy: male pattern baldness; Herm Edwards: unfortunate barber-edit at the hairline.
Gosh, this is just like those pictures in Highlights magazine.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:53 PM on January 09, 2007

Herm Edwards' ears make him look like a car driving down the street with the driver's door open.

posted by BullpenPro at 12:36 AM on January 10, 2007

Philadelphia at New Orleans - You'll never confuse Jeff Garcia and Jerry Garcia, but make no mistake, if you're a Philly fan making the trip to Nawlins, you're following The Dead. Drew Brees and the Saints are tanned, rested and ready, and this is the week that Philly's "Bend, But Don't Break" defense finally snaps. The Wild Card Hangover kills the Eagles this week. Saints by 10. Indianapolis at Baltimore - At least Peyton gets further in the playoffs than Eli. Combined with his "Older Brother" status, this gives him unlimited noogie rights until January 2008. Meanwhile, Ray Lewis, Chris McAllister, Samari Rolle and Ed Reed break a collective leg off in Pey's ass, while Steve McNair shows him what it takes to win games that really count. Ravens by 9. Seattle at Chicago - The Bears are getting that "no respect" vibe as prognosticators near and far tear apart their defensive secondary and their offensive offense. Rex Grossman comes out with something to prove...namely, that Brian Griese shouldn't be the starter at QB. Seattle has the look of a team just starting to come together at the right time...but not this week. Da Bears by 5. New England at San Diego - MartyBall meets Dress-Like-A-HoboBall. Schottenheimer gets outcoached by Belichick, but it doesn't matter, because Marty's got LaDainian Tomlinson, and LT fixes what ails ya. Shawne Merriman perfects his Bane Pump-it-Up system, and breaks both of Tom Brady's legs in a textbook case of 'roid rage over Jason Taylor winning Defensive Player of the Year. Chargers by 6. Bones - The forgotten back, Jamal Lewis, goes for 147 yards as the Indy defense returns to form.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:26 AM on January 10, 2007

New Orleans by 10 Baltimore by 7 New England by 3 Chicago by 10 Tomlinson - 150 yards (picking New England in the hopes of making up points in the standings and because it would be cold comfort to see the Chargers win and know I jinxed it)

posted by yerfatma at 06:29 AM on January 10, 2007

Sorry, apoch - Gotta go with: Jamal Lewis - 125 yards. Indy blew it's run-stopping wad last week.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:02 AM on January 10, 2007

Weedy, are you trying to give me an complex? I went to enter your picks and saw entries. So here I am double checking all the picks to see where I screwed up, and you picked twice. Which one do you want? "AFC: Baltimore by 6 Patriots by 4 NFC: Saints by 11 Chicago by 3 Tomlinson with 111." or Pats by 3 Ravens by 3 'Aints by 9 Bears by 47... Da Behrz... Okay, fine - by 6. Jamal Lewis - 125 yards"

posted by apoch at 08:18 AM on January 10, 2007

Ack - sorry - the second group, please. Slight case of the stupids there.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:06 AM on January 10, 2007

New Orleans by 15 Seattle by 3 San Diego by 11 Indianapolis by 2 Deuce McAllister - 117 yards

posted by Folkways at 09:53 AM on January 10, 2007

picking New England in the hopes of making up points in the standings We will dance a fandango on the naysayers' graves. Believe it.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:00 AM on January 10, 2007

We get to kill naysayers now? What about people who give bogus predictions? I've got this list . . .

posted by yerfatma at 10:19 AM on January 10, 2007

Weedy just had to see which back I picked for the bonus before he made up his mind. Stinkin' Canadian cheater.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:28 AM on January 10, 2007

Weedy just had to see which back I picked for the bonus before he made up his mind. Stinkin' Canadian cheater. Yep - that Costanza is MINE.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:38 PM on January 10, 2007

Indy by 14 Philly by 3 Chicago-y by 1 Newy England by 10 Corey Dillony (!): 166 yards

posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:56 PM on January 10, 2007

Only 11 more picks to go and I can compute the SpoFi collective and maybe provide some pregame breakdowns.

posted by apoch at 02:00 PM on January 10, 2007

We get to kill naysayers now? We don't get to kill them. They'll just die, is all.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:04 PM on January 10, 2007

hincandenza picks BAL by 7 NO by 3 SEA by 7 NE by 10 Shaun Alexander, 145 yards. The line, and probably smart money, goes for CHI and SD instead of SEA and NE. But I live in Seattle, and am from New England, so what the hell. I think Seattle has a decent chance of gelling, and in doing so showing that they are a better team than their record. Or, they may fold like a house of cards... Plus, NE is 10-1 in the playoffs during the Brady/Belichick era, with 3 Superbowl wins. That means they've lost one game in the 4 years they've made the playoffs. Until proven wrong, I have no reason to not pick the Patriots all the way through to the Superbowl. Their win last week shows to me that NE was a slumbering giant, doing the old Chicago Bulls trick of coasting in the regular season and saving your energy for the playoffs. When you're that talented, you can do this. I think NE wins this in convincing fashion. The Chargers are good, they are talented, they are balanced- but they aren't NE. I haven't counted the actual picks, so I'm curious to see if SpoFi is following the money line/hometeam/conventional wisdom, or if we're picking NE overwhelming for example, due to the presumed "New England Mystique". :)


Random stat musings Hey apoch: when you calculate the Collective spread, do you just average the values, or do you average the values and direction? I.e., if one person picks SD by 10, and two other people pick NE by 5 and 3, you could say:
  1. NE by 6: The majority picks NE, and the overall spread average is (10+5+3)/3 = 6
  2. NE by 4: The majority pick is NE, and the NE pickers only averaged 4 in their spread. The SD spread picks are discounted once the raw team majority is computed
  3. SD by 10: The spread+pick sums to a collective lean towards SD by 2 (if SD is + and NE is -, then +10 -5 -3), or an average of SD by 2/3. Thus SD is the collective pick using the overall spread+pick, and like in the item above the SD only average spread is 10
  4. SD by .67: See above
I'm curious how you do it. A separate pick and spread average is one way, but there's a certain value to a sum of all spreads with direction to determine the pick in the sense of confidence as a factor. In other words, if one team's supporters are predicting a marginal win, while the other team's are predicting a blowout, the overall 'confidence' is leaning towards the blowout team, even if the total # of picks per team give the edge to the small margin of victory.

posted by hincandenza at 07:00 PM on January 10, 2007

Ravens by 3 Saints by 8 Bears by 10 Chargers by 2 Brian Westbrook with 97

posted by forrestv at 09:10 PM on January 10, 2007

Hal, the team pick is whichever team more spofi's pick. For the spread I was originally going to do just an average of everyone's pick for the spread, but grum came along I learned a better way to do it. So pretend Team A is the popular pick. (Sum Spread for Team A - Sum Spread for Team B)/(Team A picks - Team B Picks). So far I haven't run into the problem where one team is picked slightly more but the other team has a larger spread. I'm not sure what I'll do then. (Can't really have a team win by negative points.)

posted by apoch at 02:12 AM on January 11, 2007

Hey, sorry about the lateness. Indy by 7 Philly by 8 Chicago by 9 San Diego by 10 LT rushes for 150.

posted by danostuporstar at 09:22 AM on January 11, 2007

Okay, here goes ... Ravens fly over the Colts by 7 Saints nip the Eagles by 3 Bears maul the 'Hawks by 7 and Chargers jolt the Pats by 6 Jamal Lewis goes for 108 yds as the best rusher of the weekend.

posted by Spitztengle at 02:38 PM on January 11, 2007

Saints nip? Nip? That's the best you can come up with? (jeez, what does a saint do when it works up a number 6 on someone?)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:34 PM on January 11, 2007

All I know is that these picks are not winners. Colts by 8. Chargers by 5 Eagles by 12 Seahawks by 9 Shaun Alexander with 131 yards.

posted by gspm at 06:59 AM on January 12, 2007

Saints nip? Saints are spirits of sorts, "spirits" is another word for liquor, a "nip" is a verb for taking a sip of liquor. Therefore, saints nip. I would have gone with bless.

posted by SummersEve at 07:21 AM on January 12, 2007

Saints nip 'cause that's what Saints do! Thanks for gettin' my back on that one SE!

posted by Spitztengle at 02:42 PM on January 12, 2007

Ravens by 3 - Baltimore revenges Colts. Modell flies over Cleveland in celebration, empties lavatory. Saints by 15 - And the hammer drops on Philadelphia sports fans. Again. Bears by 3 - Note to Seahawks: Grossman bad, but not holder. Patriots by 1 - But nobody is there to cheer. Reggie Bush best rusher for 125 yards.

posted by cl at 02:52 PM on January 12, 2007

Ravens by 6 Saints by 7 Bears by 13 Chargers by 3 Thomas Jones - 137 yards.

posted by Ufez Jones at 03:20 PM on January 12, 2007

Colts by 7 Saints by 7 Chargers by 7 Bears by 7 Tomlinson runs for 107

posted by tron7 at 05:59 PM on January 12, 2007

Tomlinson runs for 107 Why not 77?

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:31 PM on January 12, 2007

Because he's not a defenseman?

posted by NoMich at 10:00 PM on January 12, 2007

Either that, or "L.T." stand for "Left Tackle." This guy really is the MVP!

posted by The_Black_Hand at 09:58 AM on January 13, 2007

Colts by 9 Saints by 10 Chargers by 6 Seahawks by 3 shaun alexander with 144 yards. (hope i'm not too late)

posted by goddam at 03:12 PM on January 13, 2007

Well, it's 4:30 and picks were due half an hour ago. Since no games had started yet, I'll let it go for goddam. The game in Baltimore has started so if the two people who haven't picked yet still want to pick the three other games go for it. This offer lasts till 8, in which case you could still pick Sunday's games. (sorry, no bonus.) SpoFi Collective Picks: Ravens (28-11) by 2. Saints (32-7) by 5. Bears (26-13) by 2. Chargers (27-12) by 4. Tomlinson with 141. Bonus Pick Breakdown Tomlinson 16 141 avg yrds Lewis 6 124 Westbrook 3 125 Bush 3 126 Alexander 3 140 Jones 2 138 Addai 1 156 Dillon 1 166 Excel Geekery: Learned some new tricks this week in Excel. I created some equations to do the scoring for me, so hopefully there won't be any instances like last week. I've also double checked all the picks. Thank you all for your patience.

posted by apoch at 03:35 PM on January 13, 2007

Apoch, I think you may have missed someone on your bonus pick breakdown: Deuce McAllister 5 124

posted by MrFrisby at 03:57 PM on January 13, 2007

You are correct sir.

posted by apoch at 03:58 PM on January 13, 2007

I got your back. Thanks for doing this. If I was not one of the ones to pick Deuce, I would never have noticed.

posted by MrFrisby at 04:04 PM on January 13, 2007

Thanks. I like running it. I've learned some useful stuff in in Excel doing this. Of course, the next time I could see myself using it would be the next time I run a pick 'em. But still.

posted by apoch at 04:08 PM on January 13, 2007

You can view this weeks picks here. If you have Gmail and want to mess around with it, send me an email and I can give you editing priviledges. Since it isn't going to be the official results page for this week you can go nuts with it.

posted by apoch at 04:20 PM on January 13, 2007

Oh and if you don't have gmail but want it, I can help 93 of you out.

posted by apoch at 04:22 PM on January 13, 2007

Huh. Look at that. I'm the only one who picked a running back to lead all others with less than 100 yards. I feel like a contestant on The Price is Right.

posted by forrestv at 05:05 PM on January 13, 2007

Thanks for the link apoch! A word of warning to anyone viewing it: it appears that the Results option allows the Google spreadsheet to automatically get the correct results from some sports feed- but as a result, it's getting them in real time and re-computing the spreadsheet as the game is being played. Do you know if there is any way to sort the spreadsheet when viewing it, like in Excel? I.e., see who's got the most total points, or the most points in week 2, etc? (on preview: that Weatherford run on an apparent punt situation to get the 1st down with 17 seconds left in the 2nd- ballsy and damn entertaining!!!)

posted by hincandenza at 08:40 PM on January 13, 2007

Um.. I'm updating the Results sheet sporadically and it is automatically updating the points. Sorting (and editing) is possible if I list you as a collaborator, but you have to have a gmail address.

posted by apoch at 08:45 PM on January 13, 2007

But then again, maybe you don't. Hal check your email and let me know.

posted by apoch at 08:55 PM on January 13, 2007

What proud weekend for Prognostications. With half the games played we already have 5 Perfect Prognosticators: Colts by 9 over Ravens: goddam Saints by 3 over Eagles: grum@work, Hal Incandenza, lil_brown_bat, and Spitzengle.

posted by apoch at 10:22 PM on January 13, 2007

eh hem ... that was the Saints "nipping" the Eagles by 3 if you want to get picky ;)

posted by Spitztengle at 02:23 AM on January 14, 2007

apoch: looks like you do need a gmail, but don't worry about it- not a concern! I'll happily wait till you post the final results at the end of the weekend. Don't mind me and my rambling- I'm a chatterbox at heart! :) Again, you're doing a great job as "commish"- keep up the good work, it's certainly making watching the games more exciting when I know I have official picks riding on them!

posted by hincandenza at 03:20 AM on January 14, 2007

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