NFL Survivor Pool Picks

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 15
by Trevor Whenham - 12/12/2016

Again last week the games that stood out as Survivor Pool plays turned out as expected. This year has turned into a gift for aficionados of these pools with plenty of bad teams that are incapable of playing well and which haven't even been throwing in an upset or two along the way. Thanks to the generosity of the Rams, Niners and Bears - though sadly not the Browns this time as we will discuss - the smooth sailing should continue through Week 15. Here's how I see the week playing out from a Survivor Pool perspective:

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 14
by Matt Severance - 12/7/2016

I'm starting to feel like Leonard in the terrific Christopher Nolan movie "Memento." In that I see things in the NFL that I must have just forgotten. Like, how are the Detroit Lions on pace to win their division? What year is this? They haven't done that since 1993. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are good? Huh? The Oakland Raiders are too? Is this the 2002 NFL season?

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 14
by Trevor Whenham - 12/6/2016

We've settled into a comfortable pattern the last few weeks in terms of Survivor Pools. There have been enough games out there that are straightforward that picks are out there to be found, and the games we have picked have mostly turned out as expected. Surprises and chaos are the enemies of Survivor Pool players, and for the most part both have been absent at the top end of games over the last few weeks.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 13
by Matt Severance - 11/30/2016

Not sure I can remember a week around the NFL like Week 12. Favorites crushed it, winning 14 of the 16 games. Thus there were incredibly high scores in my Confidence Pool -- hey, I want to brag because I won it -- with the only favorites losing being Seattle in Tampa Bay and Philadelphia at home to Green Bay. Just so happens I had the Bucs and Packers; my lone miss was Houston over San Diego.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 13
by Trevor Whenham - 11/29/2016

I don't want to overstate things, but I am pretty sure that there has never been an easier Week 12 in the history of the NFL for Survivor Pool enthusiasts than the one we were just lucky enough to experience. There were four games that jumped out as so obvious they were almost embarrassing, and all four turned out just like they were supposed to. No drama. No stress. If it was always this easy to pick winners - any week of the season - then no one would play Survivor Pools because there would be no challenge.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 12
by Matt Severance - 11/23/2016

Tampa Bay's 19-17 upset win in Kansas City might have had some implications in your Survivor Pool as well. But I warned you on that one, writing this last week: "The Chiefs had one of their most unlikely regular-season wins in years at Carolina, so this could be a major trap game against an unfamiliar opponent out-of-conference." Too bad I didn't take my own advice, but I only had the Chiefs middle-of-the-pack on the Confidence pick because I was a tad worried.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 12
by Trevor Whenham - 11/22/2016

This week feels like a bit of a gift on the Survivor Pools front. It doesn't take a whole lot of intense insight and tireless research to find the four games this week that are the most playable. They all kind of jump of the page and smack you on the face. One of the teams is almost certainly not available to you, but there is a good chance that at least one of the other three teams are available to you. If they are then you should jump right in and jump on them. It doesn't matter which one of them you take if you have options - they are all equally likely to come through. Without further ado:

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 11
by Matt Severance - 11/16/2016

NFL television ratings had been a big topic of discussion thus far this season because they had been markedly down across the board. The league kept saying it was because of the uptick in people watching cable news television with all of the election madness. And that's probably true to a limited point.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 11
by Trevor Whenham - 11/14/2016

The tragedy of Survivor Pools this year is that things have gotten relatively easy once we have gotten deep enough into the season that most people are already out of their pools. For the second week in the row we were able to identify a reasonably large number of games that were playable, and all of them finished up as we needed them to. On paper, at least, we should have another week like that this week. There are four games that seem quite playable, and at least one of them features a team that likely hasn't been a pick up to this point. It's another interesting and hopefully fruitful week of Survivor Pool action. Let's jump right in:

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 10
by Matt Severance - 11/9/2016

This will be an election-free column. And perhaps my last before moving to Costa Rica! Sigh. If you want clear proof of why I don't think you should put all your eggs into the Monday night basket in terms of a Survivor Pool, I give you the Week 9 game between the Seahawks and Bills in Seattle.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 10
by Trevor Whenham - 11/8/2016

Last week was a dream week for Survivor Pool players. Dallas, Kansas City and New Orleans were all logical and very playable teams, and all did what they were supposed to do without massive amounts of drama involved. It was ideal - especially this late in the season. The later we get into the season, the more we value weeks with a larger number of viable, lower-risk plays. Let's hope that the Survivor Pool gods are as kind to us this week. Here are the most logical picks this week:

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 9
by Matt Severance - 11/2/2016

When will these NFL coaches stop playing for the chip-shot field goal in overtime of a tie game and go for the touchdown? Playing conservative bit Seattle's Pete Carroll and Arizona's Bruce Arians in a 6-6 tie in Week 7, and the same scenario by Washington's Jay Gruden led to a 27-27 tie last Sunday in London against Cincinnati. At least the "football" fans in London are accustomed to draws.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 9
by Trevor Whenham - 11/1/2016

It was a week of serious carnage in the world of Survivor Pools last week. The most popular pick by a wide margin last week was the Vikings over the Bears - well over half of all remaining players took Minnesota and suffered as a result. The Vikings offense is suddenly nonexistent, and their defense isn't as sharp as it once was - if it was then the Bears wouldn't have been able to score enough to win.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 8
by Matt Severance - 10/26/2016

So I'm curious how your Survivor Pool handles ties. Last Sunday night, the Seahawks and Cardinals played probably the most entertaining 6-6 game in NFL history, only because each team's kicker shockingly missed a bunny to win the game in overtime. Arizona's special teams was a disaster in a game that the Cardinals should have definitely won.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 8
by Trevor Whenham - 10/24/2016

Last week was supposed to be the last week for this column for the year. Seven weeks -- my editor decreed it so before the season, and I agreed. But then we heard from a reader that she wasn't done with us yet. So, Wendy, this one's for you. With thanks. And, for everyone else, if you follow these picks and they don't work out for you then it is all Wendy's fault.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 7
by Matt Severance - 10/19/2016

Can't remember the last time I used Buffalo as my choice in a Survivor Pool, but Rex Ryan's boys are rampaging since a 0-2 start and they were the pick last week at home against San Francisco. The Bills were the biggest blowout winners of Week 6 in a 45-16 victory. How about LeSean McCoy for MVP? That guy has gone off since Anthony Lynn replaced the fired Greg Roman as offensive coordinator.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 7
by Trevor Whenham - 10/18/2016

This is most likely the last time this year that I will take a look at NFL Survivor Pools, although Matt Severance will continue his weekly column here at Doc's Sports. By this point a lot of people are already out of their pools - and potentially out of second- and third-chance pools as well. Last week's loss by the Steelers against Miami was a big one - well over a third of all players picked Pittsburgh, so it was a pool killer.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 6
by Matt Severance - 10/12/2016

Probably a rather ho-hum Week 5 in your Survivor Pool as surely the vast majority of competitors used New England over Cleveland in Tom Brady's return from suspension. That was also listed as my top choice, although I mentioned you might want to play defense and not use the Pats just in case a miracle occurred. But this is Cleveland we are talking about, and the Browns were blown out as Brady started his "FU Tour" against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell with 406 yards passing and three touchdowns. It was win No. 250 for Bill Belichick -- his first came as coach of the Browns in 1991 -- as he became the fourth coach in league history with that many victories.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 6
by Trevor Whenham - 10/11/2016

Things went just as well as they could last week. We looked at three games that were playable. The Patriots crushed the Browns. The Steelers annihilated the Jets, and the Raiders found a way to beat the Chargers. Three comfortable ways to live for another week. No surprises in the games that mattered. It was a dream weekend for Survivor Pool players. Let's see if there is another such weekend in store for us. Here's a look at the most likely plays this weekend:

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 5
by Matt Severance - 10/5/2016

I've said before that sometimes the smart play in a Survivor Pool during a particular week isn't going with the team you think that's most likely to win, especially if there are a few other clubs you are very confident about, but playing defense against the rest of your competition. I hope you did that in Week 4.