articles

Staff Confidence Pool (No Spread): Week 17

Weekly Staff Confidence Pool (No Spread)

By Will Grant
December 27, 2013
Staff Confidence Pool (No Spread): Week 17
Photo: Brett Davis, USA Today Sports
Footballguys Underdog Best Ball Rankings

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 16 RESULTS

Adam Harstad took home the top weekly spot this week, just missing the 100 point mark and securing the top spot with 11 correct picks out of 16 possible. Overall leader Andy Hicks finished second with a total of 91 points and overall second place Ryan Hester finished third with 84. Although Hicks picked the Browns over the Jets and lost on that pick, he correctly picked Carolina over New Orleans, Pittsburgh over Green Bay and Philadelphia over Chicago, giving him a big lead on the overall board going into this week's matchups (see below).

Staffer MIA IND MIN DEN NO TEN DAL CLE TB NYG ARI PIT OAK NE CHI ATL TOT
BUF KC CIN HOU CAR JAC WAS NYJ STL DET SEA GB SD BAL PHI SF Pts
Harstad MIA KC CIN DEN CAR TEN DAL NYJ STL DET SEA PIT SD BAL PHI SF 99
  4 7 11 14 6 10 8 3 9 13 12 2 15 1 5 16  
Hicks MIA KC CIN DEN CAR TEN DAL CLE STL DET SEA PIT SD BAL PHI SF 91
  1 14 12 16 4 2 11 3 8 9 13 7 10 5 6 15  
Hester BUF KC CIN DEN NO TEN DAL NYJ STL DET SEA GB SD BAL CHI SF 84
  1 11 10 15 2 9 6 7 8 13 14 4 12 5 3 16  
Holloway MIA KC CIN DEN CAR JAC DAL NYJ STL DET SEA GB SD BAL PHI SF 84
  8 7 14 16 3 2 5 4 10 12 13 9 11 1 6 15  
Larkin MIA KC CIN DEN CAR JAC DAL NYJ STL DET SEA PIT SD NE PHI SF 83
  11 14 10 9 8 1 3 7 6 12 15 2 13 5 4 16  
Brimacombe MIA KC CIN DEN NO TEN WAS NYJ STL DET SEA GB SD NE PHI SF 82
  10 9 13 16 2 8 1 7 6 15 12 5 14 4 3 11  
Tremblay MIA KC CIN DEN CAR JAC DAL CLE STL DET SEA GB SD NE PHI SF 81
  8 11 10 14 5 3 7 2 9 12 13 6 15 1 4 16  
Rudnicki MIA KC CIN DEN CAR TEN DAL CLE STL DET SEA GB SD BAL PHI SF 80
  9 13 12 14 7 2 6 1 10 8 16 5 11 4 3 15  
Garda MIA KC CIN DEN CAR TEN DAL CLE STL DET SEA GB SD NE PHI SF 80
  8 14 10 16 11 9 6 4 3 12 13 5 7 2 1 15  
Bitonti MIA KC CIN DEN CAR TEN DAL CLE STL DET SEA GB SD BAL PHI SF 79
  7 11 10 13 6 2 3 4 9 12 14 8 15 1 5 16  
Wood MIA KC CIN DEN NO JAC DAL CLE STL NYG SEA PIT SD NE PHI SF 79
  14 11 9 15 10 5 7 4 3 1 13 6 12 2 8 16  
Cummings MIA KC CIN DEN CAR TEN DAL CLE STL DET SEA GB SD BAL PHI SF 78
  10 9 14 13 6 5 8 4 3 11 15 2 12 7 1 16  
Russell MIA KC CIN DEN NO TEN DAL CLE STL DET SEA GB SD BAL PHI SF 76
  10 9 14 15 1 3 7 4 6 11 12 8 13 5 2 16  
Grant MIA KC CIN DEN CAR JAC DAL NYJ STL DET SEA GB SD NE CHI SF 75
  9 13 6 16 1 2 3 5 7 11 14 8 12 10 4 15  
Pasquino MIA KC CIN DEN CAR JAC WAS CLE STL DET SEA GB SD BAL PHI SF 71
  7 11 13 14 5 4 2 1 8 10 15 9 12 6 3 16  
Haseley BUF KC CIN DEN CAR TEN DAL CLE STL DET SEA GB SD BAL CHI SF 69
  9 11 7 14 8 2 6 4 3 13 16 1 5 12 10 15  
Wimer MIA KC CIN DEN NO JAC DAL NYJ TB DET SEA GB SD NE PHI SF 61
  8 12 11 14 7 6 5 4 10 13 16 3 9 2 1 15  
Away MIA IND MIN DEN NO TEN DAL CLE TB NYG ARI PIT OAK NE CHI ATL  
Total Pts 124 0 0 244 22 52 91 31 10 1 0 17 0 26 17 0  
Home BUF KC CIN HOU CAR JAC WAS NYJ STL DET SEA GB SD BAL PHI SF  
Total Pts 10 187 186 0 70 23 3 37 108 187 236 73 198 47 52 260  

Kansas City and Miami started out most of the teams in the hole this week, taking down over 300 confidence points when both teams lost. Seattle was one of the top picks this week and their loss to the Cardinals took everyone on the board down a peg. Only one team picked the Giants to upset the Lions, and that also hurt almost everyone on the board. 

OVERALL RANKINGS

By finishing second last week, Hicks dramatically improved his chances of winning the overall contest. Although Hester finished 3rd, he fell another seven points behind Hicks for the top spot and is now 14 points down going into the final week.

Staffer Wk01 Wk02 Wk03 Wk04 Wk05 Wk06 Wk07 Wk08 Wk09 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Total
Hicks 113 85 86 100 72 82 82 83 46 68 85 79 103 117 90 91   1382
Hester 95 115 87 72 69 95 78 87 56 71 95 47 113 132 72 84   1368
Rudnicki 101 111 78 88 66 100 82 85 49 50 92 59 102 118 87 80   1348
Pasquino 94 112 98 80 78 82 81 82 64 49 88 49 97 124 91 71   1340
Holloway 103 111 84 81 64 97 81 85 55 52 93 48 109 121 72 84   1340
Harstad 85 117 66 84 76 106 86 88 59 41 92 54 93 120 64 99   1330
Cummings 100 101 77 83 62 107 76 82 57 59 75 55 119 117 81 78   1329
Tremblay 92 106 71 97 62 96 80 82 55 49 93 52 108 116 80 81   1320
Larkin 102 121 84 71 63 94 85 83 47 55 92 67 90 94 80 83   1311
Haseley 100 117 96 77 63 82 63 84 60 53 95 55 107 101 64 69   1286
Brimacombe 109 103 53 91 68 100 85 75 67 57 86 40 77 118 74 82   1285
Grant 107 105 68 87 63 97 86 79 60 60 81 49 84 107 74 75   1282
Bitonti 112 97 79 87 66 71 76 85 54 55 86 52 99 112 69 79   1279
Wood 117 110 89 68 57 93 61 63 49 43 49 58 130 127 76 79   1269
Garda 81 105 86 64 67 94 82 75 52 68 77 48 87 106 67 80   1239
Russell 100 102 75 76 62 98 67 83 51 56 68 37 109 90 78 76   1228
Wimer 90 90 57 72 91 102 66 79 52 42 89 31 97 96 83 61   1198

Wimer's tough week has all but locked him into the bottom spot, and being 30 points down, he's going to need a miracle to catch Russell this week. 

THIS WEEK'S PICKS

Here are the picks for this week.

Staffer CAR DET WAS BAL CLE HOU NYJ JAC DEN KC SF STL TB GB BUF PHI MNF
ATL MIN NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND OAK SD ARI SEA NO CHI NE DAL TOT
Rudnicki CAR MIN NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO GB NE PHI 51
  9 1 6 8 15 7 5 10 14 13 4 11 16 2 12 3  
Harstad CAR DET WAS CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO CHI NE PHI 52
  16 3 4 11 7 10 9 12 15 2 1 8 13 6 5 14  
Garda CAR MIN NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO GB NE PHI 65
  13 2 1 10 12 5 3 8 16 4 9 7 14 6 15 11  
Hicks CAR DET NYG BAL PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO CHI NE PHI 58
  16 1 2 3 14 11 5 7 9 10 4 12 8 6 13 15  
Larkin CAR DET NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD ARI SEA NO GB NE PHI 65
  2 1 11 10 13 9 8 7 15 4 3 12 16 6 14 5  
Russell CAR DET NYG CIN PIT HOU MIA IND DEN SD ARI SEA NO GB NE PHI 46
  13 3 2 10 11 1 9 14 12 7 8 6 5 4 15 16  
Cummings CAR MIN NYG BAL PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO CHI NE PHI 52
  16 2 3 10 9 1 8 14 13 4 7 6 15 5 11 12  
Brimacombe CAR DET WAS CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD ARI SEA NO CHI NE PHI 55
  9 8 7 6 5 4 3 12 11 10 2 14 13 1 15 16  
Wood CAR DET WAS CIN PIT TEN NYJ IND DEN KC SF SEA NO CHI NE PHI 54
  13 6 4 3 15 2 1 11 12 7 5 10 14 8 9 16  
Haseley CAR DET NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO GB NE PHI 48
  16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1  
Pasquino CAR DET WAS BAL PIT TEN MIA JAC DEN SD ARI SEA NO GB NE PHI 54
  9 12 13 2 5 3 1 16 4 11 15 8 7 14 6 10  
Wimer CAR DET NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN KC ARI SEA NO GB NE DAL 75
  16 8 7 6 15 11 5 14 13 4 3 10 9 2 12 1  
Bitonti CAR DET NYG CIN PIT TEN NYJ IND DEN SD SF SEA NO CHI NE PHI 68
  10 6 5 4 11 7 8 13 12 3 2 14 15 1 16 9  
Tremblay CAR DET NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO CHI NE PHI 51
  12 6 4 9 3 2 5 7 16 8 13 14 15 1 10 11  
Hester CAR MIN NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO GB NE PHI 47
  4 2 1 6 11 5 9 15 12 10 3 16 13 7 14 8  
Holloway CAR MIN NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD ARI SEA NO GB NE PHI 51
  6 5 4 7 12 8 13 11 14 1 3 15 16 2 10 9  
Grant CAR DET NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO GB NE PHI 56
  11 1 9 6 8 10 7 12 15 5 3 14 16 2 13 4  
Away CAR DET WAS BAL CLE HOU NYJ JAC DEN KC SF STL TB GB BUF PHI  
Total Pts 191 70 28 15 0 1 9 16 211 11 57 0 0 48 0 160  
Home ATL MIN NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND OAK SD ARI SEA NO CHI NE DAL  
Total Pts 0 12 69 109 178 106 100 176 0 99 34 182 209 28 192 1  

HEAVY FAVORITES

Denver, New Orleans, Carolina and New England were all consensus choices this week and all four of them had strong backing from the entire board. Pittsburgh and Seattle were also chosen to win by everyone in the contest. Tennessee, Miami and Philadelphia were all heavily picked to win this week as well. 

DUAL SUPPORT

Although most of the games this week have playoff implications, there were only a couple that came close to splitting the field. Arizona's big win and the short week for San Francisco had some people thinking that the Cardinals could pull off another key win this week. Both the Giants and Washington are out of the running, and neither team really drew a lot of support from the field. Chicago and Green Bay looks to be a close match-up as well, although some picks might have been changed if the contest were open longer (see below).  

ODDS AND ENDS

Although we tried to keep the contest open as late as possible this week, many of the players had submitted their picks before Aaron Rodgers was officially named the starter in this weekend's game against Chicago. Green Bay still came out with almost twice as many confidence points, but it's important to note that this game may have had a different result if the picks were due on Saturday. 

Overall Matchip

The overall leaderboard comes down to Hicks vs. Hester this week. Right now Hester trails Hicks by just 14 points, but as we have seen all season, that can be very difficult to overcome in just one week. Here are the key matchups for the top spot:

Hicks CAR DET NYG BAL PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO CHI NE PHI
  16 1 2 3 14 11 5 7 9 10 4 12 8 6 13 15
Hester CAR MIN NYG CIN PIT TEN MIA IND DEN SD SF SEA NO GB NE PHI
  4 2 1 6 11 5 9 15 12 10 3 16 13 7 14 8

The two players selected the same winners in 13 of the 16 contests this week. The key match-ups that have the most impact are Detroit vs. Minnesota, Baltimore vs. Cincinnati and Green Bay vs. Chicago. Hicks will definitely be pulling for the Bears and the Ravens this weekend. It's also worth noting that confidence points can sometimes make a big difference as well. While both players picked Carolina, Indianapolis and Philadelphia to win this week, a loss by any of those teams could have a big impact on the final outcome. 

Good Luck this Weekend!

Tags:FunRankingsSocial
Underdog Fantasy Deposit Match

More by Will Grant

Eliminator Pool: Final Standings

Will Grant, Jan 2, 2020

Against The Spread Pool: Final Standings

Will Grant, Jan 2, 2020

Staff Confidence Pool (No Spread) Final

Will Grant, Jan 2, 2020

Most Recent

Biggest NFL Draft First Round Fantasy Winners and Losers Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers - Instant NFL Draft Reaction Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs - Instant NFL Draft Reaction Brian Thomas Jr, Jacksonville Jaguars - Instant NFL Draft Reaction Marvin Harrison Jr. Drafted By Arizona Cardinals Brock Bowers Drafted By Las Vegas Raiders - Instant NFL Draft Reaction Malik Nabers, New York Giants - Instant Reaction Rome Odunze Drafted By Chicago Bears - Instant NFL Draft Reaction Drake Maye, New England Patriots - Instant NFL Draft Reaction