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We are proud to bring you the return of the Footballguys.com Staff Confidence Pool Challenge. 22 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 2 RESULTS
That's why he's one of the most respected members of the FBG staff. Maurile Tremblay was a monster last week, beating Jason Wood by 35 points and crushing the rest of the field by more than 40. Not only did he lead the field with 10 correct picks when most guys were happy to be 8-8, but Maurile also hit his top four confidence picks and only lost a single point on St. Louis when the rest of the field averaged more than 11 confidence points on the Rams. Sometimes it's good to buck the trend.
Staffer | DEN | TEN | TB | NE | ARI | SF | STL | SD | HOU | ATL | DET | BAL | MIA | DAL | SEA | NYJ | TOT |
KC | CLE | NO | BUF | CHI | PIT | WAS | CIN | CAR | NYG | MIN | OAK | JAX | PHI | GB | IND | Pts | |
Tremblay | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | MIN | BAL | JAX | DAL | GB | NYJ | 95 |
8 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 13 | ||
Wood | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | ATL | MIN | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 60 |
1 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 10 | ||
Tuccitt | DEN | TEN | NO | NE | CHI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | ATL | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | NYJ | 54 |
2 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 1 | ||
Bitonti | KC | TEN | NO | NE | CHI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | MIN | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | NYJ | 52 |
8 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||
Grant | KC | TEN | NO | NE | CHI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 51 |
6 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 8 | ||
Miglio | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | MIN | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 51 |
5 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 9 | ||
Garda | DEN | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | SF | STL | CIN | CAR | ATL | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 50 |
10 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
Hicks | KC | TEN | NO | BUF | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | HOU | ATL | MIN | OAK | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 50 |
5 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 12 | ||
Larkin | DEN | CLE | NO | BUF | CHI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | MIN | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 50 |
13 | 1 | 16 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 11 | ||
Haseley | KC | CLE | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 49 |
15 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 11 | ||
Hindery | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | ATL | MIN | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 48 |
6 | 3 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 14 | ||
Gray | KC | CLE | NO | BUF | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | MIN | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 46 |
8 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 12 | ||
Holloway | KC | TEN | NO | BUF | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | ATL | MIN | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 45 |
4 | 9 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 15 | ||
Buzzard | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | MIN | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 45 |
5 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 15 | ||
Pasquino | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | ATL | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 44 |
15 | 2 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 11 | ||
Feery | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | HOU | NYG | MIN | BAL | MIA | DAL | GB | IND | 43 |
11 | 3 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 12 | ||
Howe | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | NYG | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 42 |
3 | 11 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
Wimer | KC | TEN | NO | BUF | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | CAR | ATL | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 42 |
1 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | ||
Brimacombe | DEN | CLE | NO | NE | CHI | PIT | STL | SD | CAR | ATL | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 40 |
1 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 16 | ||
Lee | KC | TEN | NO | BUF | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | HOU | NYG | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 39 |
9 | 15 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 11 | ||
Rudnicki | KC | TEN | NO | NE | ARI | PIT | STL | CIN | HOU | NYG | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 33 |
11 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 9 | ||
Heiser | KC | TEN | NO | BUF | CHI | SF | STL | CIN | CAR | ATL | DET | BAL | MIA | PHI | GB | IND | 18 |
15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 11 | ||
Away | DEN | TEN | TB | NE | ARI | SF | STL | SD | HOU | ATL | DET | BAL | MIA | DAL | SEA | NYJ | |
Total Pts | 26 | 143 | 0 | 116 | 130 | 10 | 241 | 6 | 10 | 43 | 39 | 265 | 293 | 5 | 0 | 15 | |
Home | KC | CLE | NO | BUF | CHI | PIT | WAS | CIN | CAR | NYG | MIN | OAK | JAX | PHI | GB | IND | |
Total Pts | 136 | 10 | 324 | 44 | 30 | 214 | 0 | 174 | 129 | 53 | 40 | 1 | 10 | 142 | 134 | 209 |
1753 confidence points were lost on Kansas City, Tennessee, New Orleans, St. Louis, Baltimore, Miami, Philadelphia and Indianapolis. That's an averaged of almost 80 points per staffer. To say this was a devastating week is an understatement.
OVERALL RANKINGS
Not much of a shocker here - Tremblay finds himself at the top of the leaderboard after two weeks. Larkin falls to second 26 points behind him. Wood jumps up into 3rd with his 60 points this week when the rest of the top teams struggled to get 50.
Staffer | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 | W12 | W13 | W14 | W15 | W16 | W17 | Total |
Larkin | 111 | 50 | 161 | |||||||||||||||
Howe | 109 | 42 | 151 | |||||||||||||||
Grant | 106 | 51 | 157 | |||||||||||||||
Haseley | 101 | 49 | 150 | |||||||||||||||
Tuccitt | 100 | 54 | 154 | |||||||||||||||
Buzzard | 100 | 45 | 145 | |||||||||||||||
Wood | 99 | 60 | 159 | |||||||||||||||
Bitonti | 98 | 52 | 150 | |||||||||||||||
Lee | 96 | 39 | 135 | |||||||||||||||
Hindery | 94 | 48 | 142 | |||||||||||||||
Rudnicki | 93 | 33 | 126 | |||||||||||||||
Garda | 92 | 50 | 142 | |||||||||||||||
Tremblay | 92 | 95 | 187 | |||||||||||||||
Holloway | 90 | 45 | 135 | |||||||||||||||
Gray | 88 | 46 | 134 | |||||||||||||||
Pasquino | 87 | 44 | 131 | |||||||||||||||
Wimer | 86 | 42 | 128 | |||||||||||||||
Miglio | 85 | 51 | 136 | |||||||||||||||
Hicks | 82 | 50 | 132 | |||||||||||||||
Feery | 81 | 43 | 124 | |||||||||||||||
Brimacombe | 81 | 40 | 121 | |||||||||||||||
Heiser | 72 | 18 | 90 |
Bear had just 4 correct picks this week, and only 18 total confidence points on them. He finds himself more than 30 points behind the rest of the board.
THIS WEEK'S PICKS
Here are the picks for this week.
Staffer | WAS | CIN | SD | OAK | ATL | TB | PHI | PIT | NO | IND | JAX | SF | CHI | BUF | DEN | KC | MNF |
NYG | BAL | MIN | CLE | DAL | HOU | NYJ | STL | CAR | TEN | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DET | GB | TOT | |
Rudnicki | NYG | CIN | SD | CLE | ATL | HOU | PHI | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 46 |
12 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 13 | ||
Miglio | NYG | BAL | MIN | CLE | ATL | HOU | PHI | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 51 |
5 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 12 | ||
Garda | NYG | CIN | MIN | OAK | ATL | HOU | NYJ | STL | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 40 |
11 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 9 | ||
Hicks | NYG | CIN | MIN | OAK | DAL | HOU | PHI | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 41 |
7 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 6 | 15 | 16 | ||
Heiser | WAS | CIN | SD | CLE | ATL | HOU | PHI | PIT | NO | TEN | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 48 |
12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 13 | ||
Feery | NYG | CIN | SD | OAK | DAL | TB | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 45 |
1 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 2 | ||
Gray | NYG | CIN | MIN | CLE | ATL | HOU | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 51 |
7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 11 | 13 | ||
Hindery | WAS | CIN | MIN | CLE | ATL | HOU | PHI | STL | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 43 |
5 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 14 | ||
Tuccitto | NYG | CIN | MIN | CLE | DAL | HOU | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 49 |
5 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 3 | 13 | ||
Larkin | NYG | BAL | MIN | CLE | ATL | HOU | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 48 |
4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 13 | ||
Brimacombe | NYG | BAL | MIN | CLE | ATL | HOU | PHI | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 52 |
12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 14 | ||
Wood | WAS | BAL | MIN | OAK | ATL | HOU | PHI | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 49 |
2 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 14 | ||
Haseley | NYG | BAL | MIN | CLE | DAL | HOU | PHI | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 50 |
6 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 14 | ||
Pasquino | NYG | BAL | MIN | OAK | ATL | HOU | PHI | PIT | NO | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 49 |
1 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
Lee | NYG | BAL | SD | CLE | DAL | HOU | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 50 |
1 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 10 | ||
Howe | NYG | CIN | MIN | OAK | DAL | HOU | NYJ | STL | CAR | TEN | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 48 |
3 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 8 | ||
Wimer | NYG | CIN | MIN | CLE | DAL | TB | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 41 |
10 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
Bitonti | WAS | CIN | MIN | OAK | ATL | TB | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 46 |
2 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | ||
Tremblay | WAS | CIN | MIN | CLE | DAL | HOU | NYJ | PIT | CAR | TEN | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 41 |
6 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 7 | ||
Holloway | NYG | BAL | MIN | OAK | ATL | HOU | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 52 |
4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 15 | ||
Buzzard | NYG | BAL | MIN | CLE | ATL | HOU | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DEN | GB | 45 |
12 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 14 | ||
Grant | NYG | BAL | MIN | CLE | DAL | HOU | NYJ | PIT | CAR | IND | NE | ARI | SEA | BUF | DEN | GB | 51 |
11 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 13 | ||
Away | WAS | CIN | SD | OAK | ATL | TB | PHI | PIT | NO | IND | JAX | SF | CHI | BUF | DEN | KC | |
Total Pts | 27 | 80 | 23 | 40 | 84 | 14 | 35 | 149 | 11 | 167 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 191 | 0 | |
Home | NYG | BAL | MIN | CLE | DAL | HOU | NYJ | STL | CAR | TEN | NE | ARI | SEA | MIA | DET | GB | |
Total Pts | 112 | 41 | 120 | 110 | 40 | 177 | 107 | 12 | 189 | 18 | 322 | 262 | 314 | 42 | 0 | 248 |
HEAVY FAVORITES
Vegas predicts that the two Super Bowl teams - New England and Seattle should win their games by two touchdowns or more. It's no surprise that those two teams were both picked by everyone this week. The Packers, Cardinals and Broncos were also unaminous selections by the staff. Carolina, Pittsburgh and Houston were all heavy favorites this week.
DUAL SUPPORT
With so many big upsets last week, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding several teams this week. The division battle between Miami and Buffalo was the closest match this week, with less than 100 total confidence points on the match, and the Bills receiving just 15 more confidence points. The Bengals and the Ravens was a relatively close matchup this week as well. Even the Cowboys 40 confidence points despite playing the Falcons without Tony Romo or Dez Bryant. Tremblay even wagered 11 confidence points on the Cowboys this week.
ODDS AND ENDS
I checked last season to see if we had a comparable week to the disaster that happened this week. The closest that I could find was Week 4 of 2014 where the top score was just 65 total points. However, that week we had six NFL teams on a bye. We had a similar week in 2013, but that also had only 13 games. This week was the worst that we've had in the last three years.
Next week the NFL teams will start to have bye weeks. This will reduce the total possible points for each week and will make it much harder for teams to make big moves from week to week. Tremblay is out to an impressive lead already and if he continues to hold the top spot by this wide margin after this week, It's going to be hard to catch him for quite some time.
STAFF COMMENTS
Each week, we invite the FBG staff to provide comments on any of their picks. Here are this week's comments:
Maurile Tremblay
New England's offense is far better than Jacksonville's, but Jacksonville's defense is far better than New England's. Overall, I see this as a close game, though I realize I'm going against the grain on this.
Will Grant
Tossing a point on the Cowboys may look like I'm playing favorites, but the Falcons could very easily be 0-2. Even more telling, when the Cowboys lost Romo last week against the Eagles, they didn't lay down and die, but stayed aggressive and really pulled out a solid win. The game script says that without Romo and Bryant on the road, the Cowboys will probably lose. I'm taking a shot that the Cowboys turtle up, and hand the Falcons their first loss against a home crowd.
Good luck this weekend!