NFL Survivor Pool Picks

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 4
by Trevor Whenham - 9/23/2014

Last week was a terrifying one for most remaining survivor pool players. The Patriots were the very obvious choice at home against perhaps the worst team in the league. They got the win we all expected, but they sure didn’t win pretty. Their offense is the most flawed it has been under Belichick and Brady, and the Raiders played shockingly well defensively. We can’t dwell about how we won, though — we just have to remember that we did win and figure out how we are going to do it again.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Expert Advice: Week 3
by Matt Severance - 9/17/2014

You absolutely should not be picking road teams this early in the season as your top choice in a survivor pool. Teams can practice with noise, etc., but it's something that takes a bit of getting used to. Later in the year, clubs are a little more comfortable away from home. Plus, lesser teams don't realize they stink yet and can pull shockers at home. I bring this up because some of you may have been knocked out of your pool last week by the Saints losing at Cleveland in the final seconds.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 3
by Trevor Whenham - 9/15/2014

If you are still alive and going strong in your survivor pool then you should probably buy Brian Hoyer a drink the next time you see him. The guy who isn’t even supposed to be Cleveland’s starting QB took advantage of the horrific New Orleans defense to pull off a late win and knock a lot of people out of their pools.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Expert Advice: Week 2
by Matt Severance - 9/10/2014

How embarrassing would it have been to have my initial Lock of the Week to lose in Week 1? The Philadelphia Eagles, easily the biggest favorites on the board, were down 17-0 at the half at home to Jacksonville last Sunday. Now, I did warn you the Jaguars are better than people think, but I obviously didn't see that coming. However, the Eagles woke up in the second half by outscoring the Jags 34-0.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 2
by Trevor Whenham - 9/9/2014

The first week of the NFL season can be tough for Survivor Pool players. There are no limits on the teams you can pick, but you have no real meaningful, current information on which to base any decision. That means you are forced to make decisions based on perception, and that can backfire — as it did for some last week when both New England and Chicago came out and lost games that many assumed they would win.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Expert Advice: Week 1
by Matt Severance - 9/3/2014

The 2014 NFL season is upon us, and as usual you are stuck with me as your Survivor Pool "expert." The first week is always a challenge because you just don't really know how good or bad teams are. I'm not gleaning much from the preseason. I'd be willing to bet that the NFC Championship Game will not feature the N.Y. Giants against Minnesota.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 1
by Trevor Whenham - 9/1/2014

I love NFL survivor pools. There is no better puzzle when it comes to pools. What makes them so great is partly that you have to be good at evaluating which teams will win and lose every week, partly that luck is a big an unavoidable part of things, but mostly that strategy plays such a huge part in being successful.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: 2014 Primer
by Matt Severance - 7/19/2014

I have been writing these since 2008 and hopefully have provided you with a few dollars since then, either because of my recommendations or in spite of them. I've generally learned that readers don't always take my top pick of the week but do tend to pay attention to possible trap games and stay away. Whatever works.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Playoffs
by Matt Severance - 1/2/2014

This will be my final survivor pool column of the 2013 NFL season. Hopefully it brought you some success. And I say good riddance, Jim Schwartz, because I'm still peeved that it was the Detroit Lions who cost me in Week 12 -- other than that it's been a successful season, and perhaps you disregarded my advice that week.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 17
by Matt Severance - 12/26/2013

Another NFL regular season is about to go in the books, and if you are still going in your Survivor Pool, I'm impressed. Not if you took my advice, of course, but that most competitions usually end long before Week 17. Because some leagues include the playoffs as potential tiebreakers if there are still multiple participants after Week 17, I will go at least one week deep into the postseason. I'm always on the lookout for different "themes" for these columns each season, so if you believe there's a better way to write this, don't hesitate to drop Doc's a line (unless of course your suggestion is to get rid of me).

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 16
by Matt Severance - 12/19/2013

It's unlikely that by Week 15 of the NFL season you still had a choice of picking a division leader in your Survivor Pool. That turned out to be a great thing in a week that saw a handful of big upsets. These division leaders lost: Denver (home to San Diego), New England (at Miami), Cincinnati (at Pittsburgh), New Orleans (at St. Louis), Philadelphia (at Minnesota) and Detroit (vs. Baltimore). The two that made it through unscathed were Seattle (routed the Giants) and Indianapolis (blew out Houston).

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 15
by Matt Severance - 12/11/2013

In my opinion, the opening round of the NCAA Tournament is the most exciting thing in sports. And by opening round I mean the first Thursday and Friday of the Big Dance when there are multiple games going at once and often big upsets and fantastic finishes. I'm not talking about what the NCAA now calls the opening round, that silly First Four in Dayton.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 14
by Matt Severance - 12/5/2013

Have you noticed there seems to have been a ton of big come-from-behind victories in the NFL this season? Last week, for example, you were probably feeling good if you picked Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders (pretty sure you didn't take them), Kansas City Chiefs or Washington Redskins. Each of those teams led their games by 14 points only to lose to Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and the Giants, respectively.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 13
by Matt Severance - 11/27/2013

Well, that's a first. My two top recommendations in Week 12 both lost -- so hopefully it was one of those weeks you didn't listen to me. Frankly, on the emails I do get, it does seem many don't usually follow my top recommendation but do listen when I think something is a trap game.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 12
by Matt Severance - 11/20/2013

It has been a typically topsy-turvy NFL season where parity abounds, just as Roger Goodell likes it. For example, already seven teams have matched or surpassed their win totals of last year: Detroit, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Arizona, New Orleans, Carolina and Oakland. The first six are going to blow past last year's number and likely make the playoffs, while the Raiders are ... well, the Raiders. But it would be hard for Oakland to fire coach Dennis Allen if it improves by a few wins off last year's 4-12 record, and that looks doable.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 11
by Matt Severance - 11/13/2013

Quite a few surprising results in Week 10 of the NFL season that may well have your survivor pool down to a handful of contestants. The two biggest upsets were the winless Jaguars shocking the Titans in Nashville and the Rams totally punking the Colts in Indianapolis. On a lesser scale, the Panthers upset the Niners in San Francisco and the winless Buccaneers beat the Miami Incognitos.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 11
by Trevor Whenham - 11/11/2013

Well, it finally happened. After nine weeks of survivor pool action that had been as straightforward and relatively free of potholes as any year I have ever seen, Week 10 brought absolute carnage to most pools. In terms of games that were available to most players, there were two clear choices, and neither went well at all.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 10
by Matt Severance - 11/6/2013

The Packers were sizable favorites to beat visiting Chicago for the seventh straight time, and Aaron Rodgers had driven Green Bay down the field on the Pack's first offensive possession. However, then Rodgers was sacked by the Bears' Shea McClellin (about time the former first-rounder did something) and landed hard on his left shoulder. Rodgers wouldn't return, and the Packers lost because Seneca Wallace is lousy.

NFL Survivor Pools Strategy Advice and Predictions: Week 10
by Trevor Whenham - 11/4/2013

This is the week when it all could blow apart. It is a very tough week. Or at least it will be if you have already used the Titans. If Tennessee is still available, though, then you are done here. Coming off a confidence-building road win, Tennessee hosts the hapless Jaguars. This is as easy as it possibly gets this late in a Survivor Pool.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 9
by Matt Severance - 10/30/2013

The NFL loves it some parity, but the problem with that is it seems every week is filled with mediocre teams facing off or bad ones taking on playoff teams. There are rarely two good teams playing because there are only a handful of them. In Week 8, for example, the three prime-time games were Carolina-Tampa Bay, Green Bay-Minnesota and Seattle-St. Louis. The Bucs, Vikings and Rams are three of the worst teams in the league, although St. Louis gave Seattle everything it could handle on Monday night thanks to a tremendous front seven on defense. Too bad the Rams can't score.