NFL Office Pool Picks Week 1
by Trevor Whenham - 9/3/2019

The seemingly endless preseason is finally over, and real action in the NFL is just around the corner. Hallelujah. There are so many things that are great about the start of a new football season. One of those is that the start of the season means the start of NFL office pools. And there are few things more satisfying than taking the money of your co-workers and securing bragging rights for a year. As we have done for many years now, we're going to help you dominate your office pools by picking a winner in every game all season. Let's get started:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 17
by Trevor Whenham - 12/27/2018

The 17th week of the NFL season is unique in two ways. It is the only week in which all games are played on Sunday, so it requires the least commitment to watch. And it is the only week of the season that can rival the final week of the preseason schedule in terms of games in which neither team has no interest whatsoever in being there. Many of the games won't be any good at all, but the ones that matter will feature an intensity that more than makes up for it.

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 16
by Trevor Whenham - 12/20/2018

We are at the stage of the NFL season that is all about contrasts. On one end of the spectrum are the teams that have a playoff spot wrapped up, and right beside them are the squads that are right in the fight - on the verge of big things. Then on the other end are the teams that have been out of it for weeks - or months in some cases - and are just looking for the fastest route from their current, pathetic station to the offseason.

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 15
by Trevor Whenham - 12/12/2018

Last week had some odd results - to say the least. You would have to have a better imagination than I do to imagine the Patriots, Steelers, Texans and Rams all losing. Heck, your imagination is pretty twisted if you could have just imagined New England losing on the final play because Gronk sucks at defense. It's a weird league sometimes. Here's hoping that this week is a little less weird and that we have a strong week in our NFL office pool plays. We deserve it after the last few weeks. Here's how I see the Week 15 games playing out straight up:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 14
by Trevor Whenham - 12/5/2018

Last week is a good example of how sometimes just picking winners straight up can be tougher than making winning bets. We wound up going a pretty dismal 9-7 straight up, but against the spread we passed on two games and went 9-5 ATS on the others. It was an ugly week on the field but a less ugly week at the betting window. I'll take the profit over NFL office pool success any time, but it would be even better to have both. And that's just what we are going to be on the hunt for here.

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 13
by Trevor Whenham - 11/27/2018

Things are getting serious in the world of NFL office pools. No more bye weeks. No more fooling around. The pretenders have been kicked to the curb, and the contenders are all in a death match for playoff qualification and for seeding once they get there. It gets fun now. And we are going to add to the fun by picking as many wins as we possibly can. About 16 sounds good to me:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 12
by Trevor Whenham - 11/20/2018

It feels a little bit like the NFL peaked on Monday night with that ridiculously good Monday night showdown between the Rams and the Chiefs. It was everything football should be, and now it feels kind of wrong that we have to start over with other games. Nothing can be that good, and this week is just not that compelling in comparison. But then, nothing could be. Here's how I see this week set up for office pool players looking for straight up picks:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 11
by Trevor Whenham - 11/14/2018

It feels like things are getting serious in the NFL. After this week, only two teams have byes left - the two that play on Monday night this week. The contenders are separating from the pretenders, division races are starting to be clarified, and we seem to be heading towards the postseason at high speed. This is when things really start to get fun. And hopefully profit for our office pools play. Here are the straight up picks for the week:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 10
by Trevor Whenham - 11/7/2018

On paper this should be a pretty manageable week in our NFL office pools. There are four games with double-digit point spreads, which indicates that we don't need to think about those teams too much when picking the games straight up. And some of the games with smaller spreads feel straightforward, too. I am quite confident heading into this week's action. That often isn't a great thing for some reason, but we'll hope for the best:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 9
by Trevor Whenham - 10/30/2018

The NFL is like a soap opera. There is never any shortage of storylines to keep you entertained. This week alone, we have the chaos in Cleveland, coaching tweaks elsewhere, a potential return of Le'Veon Bell in some capacity, the chance of several trades at a deadline that seems more fired up than ever, and so much more - and it's only Tuesday as I write this. Craziness. But we have to put that crazy aside and make some straight up picks to dominate our office pools:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 8
by Trevor Whenham - 10/24/2018

For no particular reason, last week was a strong week for us on the NFL office pools front - the best of the season so far. And now things are getting interesting. Really interesting. The trade market has already been more heated than we are used to with top-level players like Amari Cooper and Eli Apple moving on, and the rumors of more big deals are flying around. The NFL has never been a huge trade league, but times seem to be changing - and that makes the league even more fun to follow and handicap. With the obvious qualifier that big trades could really change things, here is how I see this week playing out straight up:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 7
by Trevor Whenham - 10/17/2018

How would I summarize my picks last week? Fine. Not great, but not embarrassing, either. Which is really how you could sum up the entire season. We probably aren't making a lot of money with this selection of picks, but we also aren't becoming the butt of jokes for the most part. Most of our failures can be justified, and that's okay. But we can do better. And we will - starting this week. Here are the straight up picks to help you dominate your NFL office pool this week:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 6
by Trevor Whenham - 10/10/2018

Another week of football, which means another week of office pool action for us to decode. A solid month into the season we should, at least theoretically, have some things figured out. We should know which teams are good and which are less so. But, of course, this is the NFL, so things never quite work out that way. If things were that easy then sportsbooks would be in broken-down old trailers, not lavish hotels. And TV ratings would be pathetic - why would people watch games if they already know how they are going to turn out?

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 5
by Trevor Whenham - 10/2/2018

Last week was a more comfortable week for bettors and fans than we had experienced up until this point in the season. There is a good reason for that - more games made sense than in past weeks. Hopefully that is a sign that we are turning a corner and more games will go according to form. It would certainly make it easier to do well in our office pools. Here's how I see the games setting up this week - straight up, and not against the spread.

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 4
by Trevor Whenham - 9/25/2018

Maybe the thing that the NFL is best at is keeping us humble. Weeks like last week - and this whole season, really - are just a reminder that we don't know anything. We might briefly think we do, and for a while it might seem like we are right. However, the second you are confident you have the NFL figured out is the second you become a total fool. And with that uplifting thought planted in our brains, let's see if we can make sense of this week's action for our office pools. Last week actually went alright all things considered, and this week we are going to build on that and have an even better week. Maybe. Hopefully.

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 3
by Trevor Whenham - 9/19/2018

What is so interesting about the NFL season each year is that it only takes a couple of weeks for it to remind us that we know nothing. We spend the eight months of the offseason convincing ourselves we have it all figured out and we know how the season is going to turn out, and we are able to forget that we never know anything. The Dolphins and Bengals are unbeaten division leaders. Ryan Fitzpatrick looks nothing like Ryan Fitzpatrick.

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 2
by Trevor Whenham - 9/11/2018

We got more right than we got wrong in the opening week of office pools action That's not much to crow about, but then there was a lot of bizarreness in that opening week, so I am happy just to have survived. The thing about the opening week is that you know nothing, and you have way too much time to overthink about everything. Now we know a little bit more about teams, so hopefully we can do a little bit better in our next week of office pool picks. Or a lot better, ideally. Here's what I have my eye on for straight up picks this week:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 1
by Trevor Whenham - 9/4/2018

It is time for another NFL season, which means it is time for another season of office pool picks. This is the spot each week where I tell you which team to pick in your straight up office pool. Now, be warned - last year the best approach in several weeks was to pick exactly the opposite of what I suggested. I wasn't as sharp as I should have been at times last year - heck, I often wasn't as sharp as a spoon - but this year will be different. Or at least that's the story I'm going with at this point. So, sit back, copy my picks, and imagine what you are going to buy with your winnings. It's a stone-cold lock:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 17
by Trevor Whenham - 12/27/2017

It's time for our last week of NFL office pool picks for 2017. This is the toughest week of the year for office pool players because of the number of teams that have nothing to play for, the teams that are resting up for next week, and the players that are only focused on their offseason. Unfortunately, it's also a very important week for a lot of office pool players as pools can be decided by this final week of action. Here's how the week of action sets up:

NFL Office Pool Picks Week 16
by Trevor Whenham - 12/19/2017

It was an interesting week in the NFL last week. Not a lot of results came as particular surprises in terms of the who, but the how was frequently shocking. Jacksonville's total massacre of Seattle. New England's crazy comeback win against Pittsburgh. Kansas City crushing the Chargers at home. Jacksonville winning by 38 over the Texans. Philadelphia only narrowly getting by the Giants in a serious shootout. Interesting week. And now we are due for another very interesting week with massive playoff implications in many games. Here is a look at how the week sets up for Office Pool players in terms of straight up picks: