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This season, we are proud to bring you the return of the Footballguys.com Staff Confidence Pool Challenge. 17 staff members will pick the winner of each NFL game, and rank each choice from most confident (16 points) to least (1 point). As a tie-breaker, the person who is closest to the total points scored on the last Monday Night game will be the winner. Winners will be announced from week to week and the best overall record will be crowned Confidence pool Champion. Picks and ranks are due on Wednesday, so any late-breaking news may not be reflected in the choices. Also please note that no point spread is taken into account with these picks – it is a straight up pick of which NFL team will win this week. See the other confidence pools for picks against the spread (ATS) or Survivor / Eliminator style.
WEEK 11 RESULTS
Point totals returned to a respectable number this week, and it wasn’t a surprise that this week’s contest came down to the Monday night final. With Carolina taking the victory, overall leader Ryan Hester and Jeff Haseley both finished with 95 points. However, Haseley correctly picked 44 total points scored in the Monday night contest which ended with Carolina winning 24-20. Nice call Jeff! Both Haseley and Hester had 12 correct picks this week, and both lost just 25 points with their three losses.
| Staffer | IND | ATL | NYJ | DET | WAS | BAL | ARI | OAK | CLE | SD | GB | MIN | SF | KC | NE | MNF | TOT |
| TEN | TB | BUF | PIT | PHI | CHI | JAC | HOU | CIN | MIA | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | TOT | Pts | |
| Haseley | IND | TB | BUF | PIT | WAS | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 44 | 95 |
| 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Hester | IND | TB | BUF | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 42 | 95 |
| 10 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 4 | |||
| Holloway | IND | TB | BUF | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | NE | 93 | |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 3 | |||
| Tremblay | IND | TB | NYJ | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | NE | 93 | |
| 12 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 2 | |||
| Larkin | IND | TB | NYJ | PIT | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 92 | |
| 9 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Rudnicki | IND | TB | BUF | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | NE | 92 | |
| 13 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 1 | |||
| Harstad | IND | TB | BUF | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | GB | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 92 | |
| 10 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 3 | |||
| Wimer | IND | TB | NYJ | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | GB | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 89 | |
| 6 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 1 | |||
| Pasquino | IND | ATL | NYJ | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | NE | 88 | |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 1 | |||
| Brimacombe | IND | TB | NYJ | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | GB | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 86 | |
| 13 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 2 | |||
| Bitonti | IND | TB | NYJ | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 86 | |
| 13 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 2 | |||
| Hicks | TEN | TB | NYJ | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | OAK | CIN | SD | GB | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 85 | |
| 5 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 12 | |||
| Grant | IND | ATL | NYJ | DET | PHI | BAL | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | NE | 81 | |
| 13 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 8 | 14 | 9 | |||
| Garda | IND | ATL | NYJ | DET | PHI | CHI | ARI | HOU | CLE | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | 77 | |
| 14 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 1 | |||
| Cummings | IND | TB | NYJ | DET | PHI | BAL | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | NE | 75 | |
| 13 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 4 | |||
| Russell | IND | TB | NYJ | DET | WAS | BAL | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | NYG | SEA | NO | KC | CAR | 68 | |
| 15 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |||
| Wood | IND | ATL | NYJ | DET | PHI | BAL | ARI | HOU | CIN | SD | GB | SEA | NO | KC | NE | 49 | |
| 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Away | IND | ATL | NYJ | DET | WAS | BAL | ARI | OAK | CLE | SD | GB | MIN | SF | KC | NE | ||
| Total Pts | 179 | 27 | 94 | 117 | 17 | 22 | 166 | 2 | 6 | 121 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 21 | ||
| Home | TEN | TB | BUF | PIT | PHI | CHI | JAC | HOU | CIN | MIA | NYG | SEA | NO | DEN | CAR | ||
| Total Pts | 5 | 71 | 23 | 20 | 113 | 90 | 0 | 153 | 166 | 0 | 67 | 232 | 130 | 149 | 28 |
Houston, Detroit and San Diego were the big upsets this week. Between the three heavy favorites, almost 400 points went up in smoke. Wood in particular took it hard with key losses right out of the gate with Atlanta, the Jets and Detroit costing him big time.
OVERALL RANKINGS
Hester may have finished second due to the tie breaker this week, but he extended his lead on the overall leaderboard with the tie for the top score. He now has a 12 point lead. Pasquino narrowly held on to second as Holloway pushed hard into third place just five points behind him. Rucnicki, Harstad and Larkin used their strong week to climb back to within striking distance of the top spot
| Staffer | Wk01 | Wk02 | Wk03 | Wk04 | Wk05 | Wk06 | Wk07 | Wk08 | Wk09 | Wk10 | Wk11 | Wk12 | Wk13 | Wk14 | Wk15 | Wk16 | Wk17 | Total |
| Hester | 95 | 115 | 87 | 72 | 69 | 95 | 78 | 87 | 56 | 71 | 95 | 920 | ||||||
| Pasquino | 94 | 112 | 98 | 80 | 78 | 82 | 81 | 82 | 64 | 49 | 88 | 908 | ||||||
| Holloway | 103 | 111 | 84 | 81 | 64 | 97 | 81 | 85 | 55 | 52 | 93 | 906 | ||||||
| Hicks | 113 | 85 | 86 | 100 | 72 | 82 | 82 | 83 | 46 | 68 | 85 | 902 | ||||||
| Rudnicki | 101 | 111 | 78 | 88 | 66 | 100 | 82 | 85 | 49 | 50 | 92 | 902 | ||||||
| Harstad | 85 | 117 | 66 | 84 | 76 | 106 | 86 | 88 | 59 | 41 | 92 | 900 | ||||||
| Larkin | 102 | 121 | 84 | 71 | 63 | 94 | 85 | 83 | 47 | 55 | 92 | 897 | ||||||
| Brimacombe | 109 | 103 | 53 | 91 | 68 | 100 | 85 | 75 | 67 | 57 | 86 | 894 | ||||||
| Grant | 107 | 105 | 68 | 87 | 63 | 97 | 86 | 79 | 60 | 60 | 81 | 893 | ||||||
| Haseley | 100 | 117 | 96 | 77 | 63 | 82 | 63 | 84 | 60 | 53 | 95 | 890 | ||||||
| Tremblay | 92 | 106 | 71 | 97 | 62 | 96 | 80 | 82 | 55 | 49 | 93 | 883 | ||||||
| Cummings | 100 | 101 | 77 | 83 | 62 | 107 | 76 | 82 | 57 | 59 | 75 | 879 | ||||||
| Bitonti | 112 | 97 | 79 | 87 | 66 | 71 | 76 | 85 | 54 | 55 | 86 | 868 | ||||||
| Garda | 81 | 105 | 86 | 64 | 67 | 94 | 82 | 75 | 52 | 68 | 77 | 851 | ||||||
| Russell | 100 | 102 | 75 | 76 | 62 | 98 | 67 | 83 | 51 | 56 | 68 | 838 | ||||||
| Wimer | 90 | 90 | 57 | 72 | 91 | 102 | 66 | 79 | 52 | 42 | 89 | 830 | ||||||
| Wood | 117 | 110 | 89 | 68 | 57 | 93 | 61 | 63 | 49 | 43 | 49 | 799 |
With three brutal weeks of less than 50 points, Wood has fallen from first overall in week one to officially land in last place this week. Wimer’s strong performance not only helped him climb out of the basement, but he now has a 30 point lead on Wood. Russell continued to slide, and he is just eight points ahead of Wimer.
THIS WEEK'S PICKS
Here are the picks for this week.
| Staffer | NO | NYJ | CHI | SD | PIT | MIN | TB | JAC | CAR | TEN | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | MNF |
| ATL | BAL | STL | KC | CLE | GB | DET | HOU | MIA | OAK | ARI | NYG | NE | WAS | TOT | |
| Rudnicki | NO | BAL | STL | KC | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | TEN | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | 42 |
| 14 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 12 | ||
| Harstad | NO | BAL | CHI | SD | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | TEN | ARI | DAL | DEN | WAS | 52 |
| 13 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 2 | ||
| Garda | NO | BAL | STL | KC | CLE | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | OAK | IND | NYG | DEN | SF | 40 |
| 13 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 14 | ||
| Hicks | NO | NYJ | STL | KC | PIT | MIN | TB | HOU | CAR | TEN | ARI | DAL | NE | SF | 51 |
| 14 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 11 | ||
| Larkin | NO | BAL | STL | KC | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | TEN | ARI | NYG | NE | SF | 49 |
| 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Russell | NO | NYJ | CHI | KC | CLE | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | OAK | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | 45 |
| 14 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 12 | ||
| Cummings | NO | BAL | CHI | KC | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | TEN | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | 37 |
| 14 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 11 | ||
| Brimacombe | NO | BAL | CHI | KC | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | TEN | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | 47 |
| 14 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 6 | ||
| Wood | NO | NYJ | STL | KC | PIT | GB | DET | JAC | CAR | TEN | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | 44 |
| 14 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 13 | ||
| Haseley | NO | BAL | CHI | KC | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | TEN | IND | NYG | DEN | SF | 53 |
| 14 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 11 | ||
| Pasquino | NO | BAL | CHI | KC | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | OAK | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | 44 |
| 10 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 14 | ||
| Wimer | NO | NYJ | STL | KC | CLE | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | OAK | IND | NYG | DEN | SF | 35 |
| 9 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| Bitonti | NO | BAL | STL | KC | CLE | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | TEN | IND | NYG | DEN | SF | 55 |
| 14 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 13 | ||
| Tremblay | NO | BAL | STL | KC | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | OAK | ARI | DAL | DEN | SF | 38 |
| 14 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | ||
| Hester | NO | BAL | STL | KC | CLE | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | OAK | IND | NYG | DEN | SF | 49 |
| 14 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 | ||
| Holloway | NO | BAL | CHI | KC | CLE | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | OAK | ARI | NYG | DEN | SF | 41 |
| 14 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | ||
| Grant | NO | BAL | CHI | KC | PIT | GB | DET | HOU | CAR | OAK | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | 49 |
| 14 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 9 | ||
| Away | NO | NYJ | CHI | SD | PIT | MIN | TB | JAC | CAR | TEN | IND | DAL | DEN | SF | |
| Total Pts | 227 | 20 | 53 | 1 | 72 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 149 | 36 | 48 | 36 | 109 | 169 | |
| Home | ATL | BAL | STL | KC | CLE | GB | DET | HOU | MIA | OAK | ARI | NYG | NE | WAS | |
| Total Pts | 0 | 109 | 47 | 168 | 23 | 128 | 171 | 132 | 0 | 31 | 14 | 18 | 7 | 2 |
HEAVY FAVORITES
The Saints look to get everyone off on the right foot this week as they are a unanimous choice to win tonight’s game and there are more than 225 confidence points behind their win this week. Carolina is the only other team that everyone expects to win this week, but they are not nearly as strong of a favorite as other teams. Kansas City, Green Bay, Houston, Denver and San Francisco are all heavily favored to win this week as well.
DUAL SUPPORT
Dallas against the Giants looks like a game that nobody wanted to wager on this week. They have a combined 54 confidence points on both of them, with Dallas being a two to one favorite to come out on top. Tennessee against Oakland is almost too close to call, with both teams receiving just over 30 points of support. Chicago and St. Louis also divided the house, with Chicago having a 53-47 edge in confidence points.
ODDS AND ENDS
The NFL scheduling is odd, and this week we have four teams on a bye, meaning 105 points is the high-water mark this week. As we head into the holiday season, we’re asking Staff to get their picks in early so that subscribers can get their office picks in early. Look for all pool picks to be a day early next week.
Good Luck this Weekend!
