I Dislike Your Favorite Team

As explosive as spoiled curry, this here NFL Pick'em is getting exciting.  I feel I must again apologize for the redundancy in the Clash this week.  My hope for that is to find the biggest & hardest to pick game of the week.  I strain to avoid using the same team two weeks in a row. 

But "parity" has created a flawed, choppy league of bobbing mediocrity.  While it could be a battle royale playoffs, it leaves the regular season games hard to fathom.  The Steelers vs. Giants is the best matchup between legitimate contenders, yet I'm getting tired of using them.  But what was another option?  Seattle vs. Vikings?  DeAngelo Hall vs. the world?

Standings
1.  Adw:  66 pts (+11)
2.  Jess:  57 pts (+17)
3.  Big BM:  55 pts (+18)
4.  Garwood:  35 pts (+11)
5.  Barnyard:  2 pts

Week Nine
1.  Your Big Shoe-in?  +3/-2
2.  Your Little Shoe-in?  +2
3.  Surprise!  Your underdog list:  (+5)
     Chiefs, Buffaloaf, Cardinals
4.  I Dislike Your Favorite Team +1/-1
5.  Clash of the Titans +5:  Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants 
 
Bonus Questions +2
6.  Which game will be closest?
7.  Which game will be a blowout?
8.  Pick a defense that will not allow a 100 yard runner
9.  Pick an offense that will pass for over 300 yards

Sometimes, Peter King says things that make no sense. I don't understand what the logical connection is supposed to be here:

"I think the people of New Orleans should be pleased that Paul Tagliabue will oversee the appeals process in the Saints bounty case. There's a good chance owner Tom Benson would have moved the team to San Antonio after Hurricane Katrina, but Tagliabue stepped in and said there was no way the Saints would be leaving the city."  --SI 10/29/12

I just don't see what stopping a team move (in would have been a PR disaster for the NFL as a whole) and weighing on the Bounty cases have anything to do with each other.

Approaching the halfway point of the season, the NFL is swamped with teams at or below .500.  In fact, this week only features two games in which neither team has a losing record (the Philly Dog Killers for Pleasure and Profit are 3-3) so they are both featured in this week's Clash.

In Bonus Questions notes, nobody knew that Matt Cassel would be the first one benched.  Very few bonus questions have yielded points so far this season, but many contestants correctly predicted the excellence of particular pass defenses.  This encourages me to offer up even more sweet & salty bonus points.  I know it's more work, but it's good for you.  Damn the circumcised torpedoes, full speed ahead!

Standings
1.  Adw:  55 pts (+9)
2.  Jess:  40 pts (+11)
3.  Big BM:  37 pts (+6)
4.  Garwood:  24 pts (+11)
5.  Barnyard:  2 pts

Week Eight
1.  Your Big Shoe-in?  +3/-2
2.  Your Little Shoe-in?  +2
3.  Surprise!  Your underdog list:  (+5)
     Bucs, Rams, Jags, Carolina Pants, Cards
4.  I Dislike Your Favorite Team +1/-1
5.  Clash of the Titans +5:  New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
6.  Clash of the Titans +4:  Atlanta Falcons at Philly Eagles
Bonus Questions +2
7.  Which game will have the highest combined score?
8.  Which game will have the lowest combined score?
9.  Pick an offense to commit two or more turnovers
10.  Pick a defense to force two or more turnovers

Participation in this Pick'em is becoming more ... selective.  I will remind all readers again that this contest is open to everybody.  Those big leads exhibited by some are merely flash:  jump in and catch up after them.  Look for the Double Boner Bonus to enlarge your score.

Standings
1.  Adw:  46 pts
2.  Big BM:  31 pts
3.  Jess:  29 pts
4.  Garwood:  13 pts
5.  Barnyard:  2 pts

Week Seven
1.  Your Big Shoe-in?  +3/-2
2.  Your Little Shoe-in?  +2
3.  Surprise!  Your underdog list:  (+5)
     Seattle, Baltimore, Jests, Detroit
4.  I Dislike Your Favorite Team +1/-1
5.  Clash of the Titans +5:  Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

Bonus Questions +2
6.  Which game will be the big blowout?
7.  Which game will be closest?
8.  Pick a RB to get 100 yards
9.  Pick a Defense to surrender less than 200 yards passing

Double Boner Bonus +10
10.  Who will be the first head coach fired?
11.  Who will be the next starting QB benched for crapitude?

So, go ahead, and Like Us:
http://www.facebook.com/theidyfttshirt

UPDATE:  Goddamn blogger interface.  I swear I published this.  It reverted to a draft, so here we are ... late again.  It makes my intro paragraph all the more ironic.

In a triumph of procrastination, there was a lack of participation in last week's picks.  I wish I could say I'll never post the contest so late, but here in good faith I'm posting this Tuesday eve.

Points will start piling up in a hurry.  I've included extra bonus questions which you, the participant, can use to vault upwards in the ratings.  This contest is still very much wide open.





Standings
1.  Adw:  30 pts
2.  Big BM:  25 pts
3.  Jess:  18 pts
4.  Garwood:  13 pts
5.  Barnyard:  2 pts

Week Six
1.  Your Big Shoe-in?  +3/-2
2.  Your Little Shoe-in?  +2
3.  Surprise!  Your underdog list:  (+5)
     Raiders, Titans
4.  I Dislike Your Favorite Team +1/-1
5.  Clash of the Titans +5:  Minnesota Vikings at Washington Skins

Bonus Questions
6.  Which game will have the highest combined score?
7.  Which game will have the lowest combined score?
8.  Which QB will throw for over 300 yards?
9.  Which Defense will allow the fewest TDs?
special teams and return TDs don't count

This week's Pick'em is a little late.  I hate Thursday night football.  I have to work so I can't watch it, but more importantly it confounds my sense of relaxation.  So up yours Thursday night football, you will NEVER be featured in the Clash of the Titans.

The new scoring system is starting to pile up points for our pulchritudinous participants.  Forgive the baseball metaphor, but the IDYFT NFL Pick'em is entering its steroids/juiced ball era.  This contest is still open, and points can be scored in a hurry, with bonus points coming as a fury in a cream sauce spiked with curry.

Standings
1.  Big BM:  19 pts (+11)
Adw:  19 pts (+13)
2.  Garwood:  13 pts (+10 and nailing both bonus questions)
3.  Jess:  9 pts (+6)
4.  Barnyard:  2 pts

Week Five
1.  Your Big Shoe-in?  +3/-2
2.  Your Little Shoe-in?  +2
3.  Surprise!  Your underdog list:  (+5)
     Brownpoo, Buffaloaf, Jests
4.  I Dislike Your Favorite Team +1/-1
5.  Clash of the Titans +5:  Philly Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers
(very sorry to use Philly two weeks in a row but this is the most compelling clash)

Bonus Questions +2
6.   Which game will be a blowout?
7.   Which game will be the closest?
8.   Pick a RB to gain 100 yards rushing