We are proud to bring you the return of the Footballguys.com Staff Confidence Pool Challenge. 20 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.
RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
Brutal. Simply Brutal. Six teams on a bye and a couple key upsets decimated the field. When the carnage ended, Matt Bitonti stood on top of the pile with 10 correct picks out of 13, but just 65 total points. Larkin finished second with 60 and it had some interesting consequences for him as well. Here are the team by team results.
| Staffer | NYG | TEN | CAR | BUF | GB | TB | MIA | DET | JAX | ATL | PHI | NO | NE | TOT |
| WAS | IND | BAL | HOU | CHI | PIT | OAK | NYJ | SD | MIN | SF | DAL | KC | Pts | |
| Bitonti | NYG | IND | BAL | HOU | GB | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | SF | DAL | NE | 65 |
| 1 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Larkin | WAS | IND | BAL | HOU | GB | PIT | MIA | NYJ | SD | MIN | SF | NO | KC | 60 |
| 10 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Grant | WAS | IND | BAL | HOU | CHI | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | SF | NO | NE | 58 |
| 2 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 5 | ||
| Buzzard | WAS | IND | BAL | HOU | GB | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | SF | NO | NE | 54 |
| 9 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 6 | ||
| Cummings | NYG | IND | BAL | HOU | CHI | PIT | OAK | DET | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | KC | 53 |
| 7 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 1 | ||
| Miglio | WAS | IND | BAL | HOU | GB | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | SF | NO | NE | 50 |
| 5 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 | ||
| Lee | WAS | IND | BAL | BUF | CHI | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | SF | NO | NE | 50 |
| 2 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 1 | ||
| Rudnicki | WAS | IND | BAL | BUF | GB | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | SF | NO | NE | 49 |
| 10 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Pasquino | WAS | IND | BAL | BUF | CHI | PIT | OAK | DET | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | KC | 49 |
| 3 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 7 | ||
| Garda | NYG | IND | CAR | HOU | CHI | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | SF | NO | NE | 48 |
| 6 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 10 | ||
| Hicks | WAS | IND | CAR | HOU | GB | PIT | OAK | NYJ | SD | ATL | SF | DAL | KC | 48 |
| 12 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 5 | ||
| Haseley | WAS | IND | BAL | BUF | CHI | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | MIN | SF | NO | NE | 48 |
| 10 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Hindery | NYG | IND | BAL | HOU | CHI | PIT | MIA | NYJ | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | NE | 47 |
| 2 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 8 | ||
| Wimer | WAS | IND | CAR | BUF | GB | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | SF | NO | KC | 44 |
| 1 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Holloway | WAS | IND | CAR | HOU | CHI | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | NE | 44 |
| 5 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| Heiser | WAS | IND | CAR | BUF | CHI | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | NE | 42 |
| 3 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 5 | ||
| Gray | WAS | IND | BAL | HOU | GB | PIT | OAK | NYJ | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | NE | 40 |
| 8 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 5 | ||
| Brimacombe | WAS | IND | CAR | BUF | GB | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | KC | 40 |
| 9 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 6 | ||
| Tremblay | WAS | IND | CAR | BUF | GB | PIT | MIA | DET | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | NE | 39 |
| 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Wood | WAS | IND | CAR | HOU | GB | PIT | MIA | NYJ | SD | ATL | PHI | NO | KC | 37 |
| 13 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 3 | ||
| Away | NYG | TEN | CAR | BUF | GB | TB | MIA | DET | JAX | ATL | PHI | NO | NE | |
| Total Pts | 16 | 0 | 40 | 39 | 47 | 0 | 104 | 88 | 0 | 158 | 34 | 113 | 71 | |
| Home | WAS | IND | BAL | HOU | CHI | PIT | OAK | NYJ | SD | MIN | SF | DAL | KC | |
| Total Pts | 115 | 219 | 80 | 78 | 32 | 222 | 9 | 19 | 244 | 5 | 47 | 11 | 29 |
With so many teams on a bye, the 222 confidence points that were placed on Pittsburgh really hurt the overall field. Washington's loss on Thursday night didn't help. Add in Atlanta, New Orleans and New England and the field lost a total of 670 confidence points. Week 2 winner Jason Wood took the brunt of the damage, posting just 37 points this week.
OVERALL RANKINGS
Larkin may have only posted 60 points this week, but it was enough to let him sneak into the top spot overall, one point ahead of Hindery. He and Haseley slid back to second and third, respectively with Haseley closing the gap by a point. Bitonti continued to climb the charts, moving into 4th with his win this week.
| Staffer | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 | W12 | W13 | W14 | W15 | W16 | W17 | Total |
| Larkin | 91 | 82 | 110 | 60 | 343 | |||||||||||||
| Hindery | 95 | 85 | 115 | 47 | 342 | |||||||||||||
| Haseley | 81 | 83 | 120 | 48 | 332 | |||||||||||||
| Bitonti | 87 | 69 | 104 | 65 | 325 | |||||||||||||
| Cummings | 75 | 75 | 121 | 53 | 324 | |||||||||||||
| Gray | 80 | 87 | 108 | 40 | 315 | |||||||||||||
| Grant | 94 | 65 | 95 | 58 | 312 | |||||||||||||
| Buzzard | 87 | 74 | 95 | 54 | 310 | |||||||||||||
| Miglio | 91 | 66 | 102 | 50 | 309 | |||||||||||||
| Hicks | 77 | 82 | 98 | 48 | 305 | |||||||||||||
| Wood | 82 | 91 | 94 | 37 | 304 | |||||||||||||
| Rudnicki | 86 | 70 | 97 | 49 | 302 | |||||||||||||
| Pasquino | 85 | 68 | 100 | 49 | 302 | |||||||||||||
| Lee | 87 | 51 | 108 | 50 | 296 | |||||||||||||
| Heiser | 98 | 55 | 99 | 42 | 294 | |||||||||||||
| Holloway | 78 | 62 | 107 | 44 | 291 | |||||||||||||
| Brimacombe | 76 | 60 | 111 | 39 | 286 | |||||||||||||
| Garda | 73 | 57 | 102 | 48 | 280 | |||||||||||||
| Wimer | 78 | 45 | 91 | 44 | 258 | |||||||||||||
| Tremblay | 68 | 60 | 77 | 39 | 244 |
The bottom of the leaderboard remained constant this week, with no real big movements. Everyone had a bad week.
THIS WEEK'S PICKS
Here are the picks for this week.
| Staffer | MIN | CLE | CHI | HOU | PIT | BAL | BUF | TB | ATL | STL | ARI | NYJ | KC | CIN | SEA | MNF |
| GB | TEN | CAR | DAL | JAX | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | NE | WAS | TOTAL | |
| Rudnicki | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 46 |
| 12 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 9 | ||
| Miglio | GB | TEN | CAR | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | NE | SEA | 48 |
| 12 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 15 | ||
| Garda | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | NE | SEA | 60 |
| 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 15 | ||
| Hicks | GB | TEN | CAR | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | ATL | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 48 |
| 10 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 15 | ||
| Heiser | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | KC | CIN | SEA | 56 |
| 15 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 13 | ||
| Gray | GB | CLE | CAR | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 46 |
| 10 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 11 | ||
| Hindery | GB | CLE | CAR | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 54 |
| 15 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Larkin | GB | CLE | CAR | DAL | PIT | BAL | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | NE | SEA | 40 |
| 12 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 7 | ||
| Cummings | GB | TEN | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | ATL | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 38 |
| 12 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 13 | ||
| Brimacombe | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | ATL | PHI | DEN | SD | KC | CIN | SEA | 47 |
| 15 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | ||
| Wood | GB | TEN | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | ATL | PHI | DEN | SD | KC | CIN | SEA | 49 |
| 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Haseley | GB | TEN | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 38 |
| 1 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 8 | ||
| Pasquino | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | ATL | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 47 |
| 9 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 13 | ||
| Lee | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 42 |
| 15 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 10 | ||
| Wimer | GB | CLE | CAR | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | KC | CIN | SEA | 55 |
| 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Bitonti | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 60 |
| 10 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 14 | ||
| Tremblay | MIN | TEN | CAR | HOU | PIT | IND | DET | NO | ATL | PHI | ARI | NYJ | SF | CIN | SEA | 43 |
| 1 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 5 | ||
| Holloway | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 41 |
| 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 12 | ||
| Buzzard | GB | TEN | CAR | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | NE | SEA | 45 |
| 15 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 12 | ||
| Grant | GB | CLE | CHI | DAL | PIT | IND | DET | NO | ATL | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | CIN | SEA | 52 |
| 15 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 10 | ||
| Away | MIN | CLE | CHI | HOU | PIT | BAL | BUF | TB | ATL | STL | ARI | NYJ | KC | CIN | SEA | |
| Total Pts | 1 | 45 | 61 | 4 | 191 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 84 | 201 | |
| Home | GB | TEN | CAR | DAL | JAX | IND | DET | NO | NYG | PHI | DEN | SD | SF | NE | WAS | |
| Total Pts | 225 | 43 | 28 | 130 | 0 | 123 | 219 | 236 | 60 | 210 | 162 | 210 | 101 | 6 | 0 |
HEAVY FAVORITES
After a rough week last week, there were a surprising number of teams that drew strong confidence from the field this week. New Orleans was the team that drew the most support with 236 total confidence points as everyone took them to beat Tampa Bay. Philadelphia, Seattle, Detroit and even Pittsburgh were also picked by everyone and heavily favored to win. While they didn't get everyone in the contest behind them, Green Bay, Dallas, Indianapolis, Denver and San Diego all received a strong majority of the confidence points. It looks like one of those weeks where everyone will do well or everyone will bomb.
DUAL SUPPORT
The hardest game of the week to pick looks like Cleveland and Tennessee. It's nearly a tie with Cleveland getting the slight edge 45-43. Carolina drew a fair amount of support against Chicago this week as did Atlanta against the Giants. With about 90 confidence points total riding on all three of these games, it's clear that no one on the staff had super strong feelings either way.
ODDS AND ENDS
The odd game of the week looks to be Sunday night with the Bengals facing the Patriots. With New England drawing just six total confidence points, you'd expect that the Bengals would have drawn a ton of support. Yet when the final totals were calculated, the Bengals had just 84, putting the game on part as a whole with the other 3 games that had about 90 total confidence points. In this case though, most people picked against the Pats after their crushing loss on Monday Night.
Only two teams on a bye this week, so maximum points will be 120. Let's hope everyone has a better week this time around.
Good luck this weekend!
