Hello!
Two more games have come and gone.
The first one started out fast and exciting… if you recall, it was 14-12 after a missed 2pt conversion by WAS midway thru the 2nd quarter and then it got close again at 34-23 with 5 minutes left in the 3rd. WAS even forced a punt and got the ball back. However, their THIRD FUMBLE ended that drive and PHI scored TDs on their next three possessions after two turnovers-on-downs and an INT, making it a serious blowout. 55 points?! DAMN! The Commanders have a bright future, and Daniels could be the next superstar, but not just yet…
The second game was just plain embarrassing. As a lifelong fan of this game (since 1984), I am horrified by some of those calls. Where was the “eye in the sky” or the “replay assistance from NYC” or “CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore”? How the eff was that ruled a catch by KC?! We saw 2-3 quick replays, with the ball clearly moving AND touching the ground, yet it’s 1st-&-Goal?! If anything, it shoulda been either incomplete or a pick. How does that happen?! And then those two non-first down calls late in the game. Not even a measurement? It’s like they’re not even trying to hide the fact that the NFL wants Taylor Swift Mahomes in the Super Bowl again. And I don’t say that lightly… If there is even one tiny smidge of truth that these games are fixed, it would truly ruin my life. I’ve given so much of my time and attention to this sport, I would be flat devastated. Let’s hope the big game has less interference from the zebras!
Anyhoo… Thank you for letting me vent for a minute! But really, how is there only one NFL game left? Doesn’t it feel like the season JUST started?! Either way, I CANNOT wait until Super Bowl Sunday!!
The charts have been double and tripled checked and are now official. Playoff App will be unlocked next Tuesday (February 4th) to accept your Super Bowl picks.
And now to our pool… ONLY 22(!) people picked both games correctly (11%), 88(!) got both wrong (46%), 38 had WAS/KC (20%), 44 had PHI/BUF (23%), and 58 people couldn’t be bothered.
502 points were scored overall, which averages out to 2.61 points per player – the second WORST outing since stats started being keep in 2013 and not even close to the high in 2015!
• January 2024 – 4.26 points per player
• January 2023 – 3.63
• January 2022 – 3.92
• January 2021 – 4.01
• January 2020 – 3.83
• January 2019 – 4.54
• January 2018 – 3.16
• January 2017 – 5.00
• January 2016 – 2.73
• January 2015 – 6.16
• January 2014 – 2.45
• January 2013 – 4.35
The pick results for these two games were quite surprising… As a whole, the league took both underdawgs! Normally it’s the exact opposite. People love favorites, especially in big games.
WAS 66% / PHI 34% and BUF 69% / KC 31%
So my only guess is that people were excited to see what rookie Jayden Daniels could do next, and having almost 7 out of 10 people bet AGAINST the reigning champs at home with a tiny 1½ point spread clearly means people HATE the Chiefs and wanted to see them get bounced. And rightfully so. I most certainly did too!
Here’s a quick link to a very interesting Jayden Daniels post a friend forwarded me that probably influenced some of this week’s picks: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFBvdmbSf-N/?img_index=1&igsh=bjdvdGV0bTB0d205
Moving on…
• OVERALL STANDINGS
Now this is what I’m talking about! Allllllll sorts of possibilities for people to win some serious cash! In total, there are 17 people that can place in the top 10 spots depending on how things fall.
But please note, longtime leader CWD37 has it all wrapped up. He can skip making a SB pick and still win since he cannot be caught from behind. What a feeling that must be, especially when his lead dwindled to only 5 going into last weekend. 9 big points later and it’s over! He gets $3500 for his troubles. Now the pressure is on NLIQ33! Can he hold on to his 2nd place standings by picking a winner or will he leave the door open for others to slip in?!
The chart below shows who still has a chance to win a pile of money (or a free entry for those in 6th through 10th) – just gotta pick the right team and hope whoever is above you picks the opposite! The SB column is the number that you did NOT use last weekend and was automatically designated as your Super Bowl value.
Please note: if your name has a gray background and is crossed out, it means you don’t have enough points left to finish in the Top 10.
• PLAYOFF STANDINGS
The Playoff pool pays the top 10 spots and talk about endlesssssssss possibilities! For those of you at 16 or 17 (not shown on chart) with a 5 or 4 left respectively, you are simply hoping for the long-shot 10th place tie. But there are plenty of others that can do better. There are too many different outcomes to break down a winner, but whoever does win, they will get $1500 for 1st place. 2nd through 5th also gets money, along with a free entry for those in 6th through 10th. If the people at the top were to pick the wrong team, there’s many MANY people below them that have a chance to either jump right past them or at least tie.
One other thing to note, current Playoff Pool leader JOHNNY CABLE took BUF on Sunday, ending his shot at perfection and in turn lost out on the $1000 Perfect Week (or Playoffs) bonus money. That loot will now get split between ‘1st place Overall’ ($400), ‘1st place Regular Season’ ($400), and ‘1st place Playoffs’ ($200).
On this specific chart, if your name has a gray background and is crossed out, it means you don’t have enough points left to finish in the Top 5 (but 6th through 10th gets a free entry).
Please note: We added a few extra tiebreakers last season to avoid having to divide up money between multiple people. Instead, this is how it’s going down, as seen in the Rules and Regulations (Section 7, Subsection 11):
11. Tie for Playoff Standings
a. Super Bowl pick, right or wrong
b. If correct, value of Super Bowl pick (3, 4, or 5 points)
c. If wrong, highest value game during Championship Weekend, right or wrong
d. Lowest value game during Championship Weekend, right or wrong
e. 4-point game from Divisional Weekend, right or wrong
f. Even split
• ROOKIE RACE
This one is much simpler to report on as it’s a two-man race, with both rookies attached to a league manager! WAYNE66 has a 3-point lead, and if he picks a winner, he’s Rookie of the Year! If they both take the same team, it goes to WAYNE. But if WAYNE misses and DOSIE hits, we’ll have a come from behind victory!
• COMBO RACE
Same deal on this one… If the WAYNE & BIG DAN combo pick one winner between the two of them, they win. But if they both miss, and the DOSIE & MARK combo can pick two winners, they’ll tie, with the tiebreaker going their way (total Keys)!
• VETERANS POOL
This race is really a 2-in-1 pool, as there’s separate races between 5-year Vets and 10-year Vets since the 10 can’t catch the 5. And the first one is not over yet… for NLIQ33 to be our Veteran of the Year, he needs to pick correctly, as JORDYSNEAKS could catch up and tie him at 181 with a come-from-behind victory due to having one more correct Key Pick. If they both take the same team, NLIQ33 holds on to his lead.
In the 10-year Vet race, if THE BALD FURITO hits his SB pick, he wins $500. But if he were to lose, and NO FIREWORKS hits, we’d end in a real tie (same number of Keys) so each would win $250. If they both take the same team, FURITO holds on to his lead.
If a 10-yeat Vet had won outright, they would get the full $1000, as seen in the Rules and Regulations (Section 4, Subsection 11):
As far as the payments go, if a 10-year Vet wins the race, they win a complementary entry fee and $750. If a 5-year Vet wins the race, they receive a complementary entry fee and $250, and the top 10-year finisher also receives a complementary entry fee and $250. This is all being done out of respect for the commitment these dedicated members have given to our league.
• THIRD ANNUAL REC LEAGUE POOL (thanks YIGGITY for the idea!)
ROCK VEGAS and their 844-points have pulled away from WE REC 4 CHEX$$$ and NO NAME TEAM, who both have 804 points going into the Super Bowl. Even if all five members of ROCK VEAGS miss their picks and the other squads each get 25-points (5 points x 5 members max) they’d STILL have a 15-point cushion! No matter what ROCK VEAGS scores next weekend, they’ll have set the all-time REC LEAGUE record for points. Last season, MALAKAS OF BROCKTON finished with 817 and in the inaugural season, the BORA BORA BOYS had 778.
Please remember this prize is worth $1785 ($357 per player) for the winner, but second place gets their $125 worth of dues back!
• BEST OF NOTHING and LAST PLACE OVERALL
These are yet to be determined, but they’re both worth a free entry into next season for two (un)lucky members!
Good luck to everyone and I hope all 250 members will join us again next season, but I know that won’t be happening. Every year we seem to lose 25-35 people, but that’s good news for anyone that is looking to get someone new into the league. There’s already a waiting list, so start telling your friends and family NOW about the best pick ‘em pool you’ve ever been involved with!
Look for one last recap sometime shortly after the Super Bowl in mid-February. All money winners will get paid around that same week (depending on Venmo’s maximum weekly payouts).
Can’t believe Pro Football is almost gone again… it just got here!
Be well,
Dan and Mark
PS. One last thing… A fun and informative SB chart Mark found online. Enjoy!
