Brothers and Sisters of the White Laces,
Happy 2017, happy Week 17, and happy BLL 17.
You haven't heard of the BLL 17? It's a new marketing campaign. "Honor your New Year's resolution to make better decisions by drinking 17 Bud Light Limes. You won't even feel a buzz."
It's super popular with the out-of-work crowd. I hear Chip has a case waiting for him. Brockweiler has found it enhances his clipboard trick shots game. Gus Bradley has been poppin' Bortles for days. Rex and Rob seem to think it's the BLL 170, but they still didn't get drunk so it's the same idea.
It's gonna get weird today. Washington needs to win, and 27 percent of the title pool picked them. Green Bay and Detroit need to win, but no one picked them. No one else really needs to win.
Can't wait for BFIG 2016 to come down to a scintillating fourth quarter duel: Chad Henne vs. Scott Tolzien.
Week 17 picks:
WEEK 17 FAST FACTS
- Washington garnering 27 percent of our picks makes it back-to-back weeks - and the fourth time in six weeks - with our top pick netting less than 30 percent of our selections.
- We have eight teams with at least five percent of title pool picks - the most of any week this year.
- Our top picks: Washington (27%), Vikings (13%), Colts (12%), Seahawks (10%), Cardinals (8%), Falcons (8%), Chiefs (7%), Steelers (6%).
- The one person with New England left took the Pats, making them the only team to be picked out this season.
- Aside from the Pats (1-of-1), Seattle had the highest usage rate, with 11 of the 13 people who could have taken the Seahawks doing so. A surprising lack of faith in the 2-13 Niners.
- The Falcons had the next-highest usage rate: 9 of 14. Atlanta needs to beat the Saints to lock up the NFC's 2-seed.
- Our two BFIG leaders - @jmanfield and @nbossert - both picked the Chiefs, but their tiebreaker picks differ. @jmanfield is on KC, Indy, and Arizona; @nbossert is on KC, Tampa, and Pittsburgh.
- If one of those guys wins all four picks and the other doesn't, we have a champ. If they both go 4-0, or if they both falter, we'll have a pickoff next week to determine our champ.
- Our three Second Chance Pool combatants are all on Indy with their first pick. @chrisb has the Eagles with his second pick, @JMB has the Bucs, and @kronan17 has Washington.
WEEK 17 AWARDS
"You've Got Moxie, Kid" Award
The Moxie is BFIG's longest-standing award. It'll always be the Moxie. But if we had to choose a runner-up name for the award, it'd probably be The Cassel. And thus, with $40K on the line, this week's Moxie goes to @robk1900: The man riding Matt Cassel's Tennessee Titans. On the bright side, is Cassel really that much worse than the SavageBrockweiler?
Commish Communication Award
Not many pick comments this week (What? Are you all nervous or something?), so favor goes to those with some gusto. I'm not quite sure I follow the logic in this comment... BUT I LOVE IT. SURVIVAL! FOOTBALL GODS!! ODIN!!!:
@oelziq28 (Vikings): "2 tiebreaker losses and I feel like a loser, but as the great(ish) William Wallace once declared, "Tell our enemies that they may take our tiebreakers, but they’ll never take... OUR SURVIVAL!!!" While riding with the Minnesota Vikings after all the turmoil and losses seems precarious, I'm still putting my faith the the purple people eaters to start 2017 in glorious Viking fashion. Beware of the football gods, pretenders! With coaches sitting starters in preparation for the playoffs, surely another week of bloody upsets will be upon us. Roll the dice with a team nothing to play for or risk the wrath of Odin!!"
"I Could Sell You Bengals Tickets" Award
Of all the Commish-isms introduced this year, one seems to have stuck more than the others. It stuck even though it turned out so obviously, hilariously wrong. BUT WAIT... maybe it didn't. COULD IT BE?! Perhaps we were trendsetters - simply a year or so ahead of the game. Perhaps BORTLEMANIA!! is still coming. Perhaps it's already here.
@Johnnny234 (Chiefs): "Going with KC since everyone will be picking the Colts. I believe in the Bortlemania busting powers two weeks in a row!"
DAVID MICK'S IRRATIONAL AND INEVITABLE MARCH TOWARD THE TITLE BELT
It's with great sorrow that I report @mick's BFIG demise. He was on the Rams last week, who somehow blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead to the then 1-13 Niners. @mick accurately predicted BOTH the Chargers and Titans losses (well, he predicted losses by every heavily picked team every week), but couldn't survive the week himself.
Let's pour one out for @mick, ya'll. Thanks for the entertainment all season long.
COMMISH AND BIGDADDY'S WEEK 17 PICKS, AND DEEP REFLECTIONS ON OUR FIRST SEASON DOING THIS
We went 11-5 last week, so unless something crazy happens this week, we're gonna finish above .500 against the spread.
It wasn't a runaway success, but damnit, it was a pretty good start. Swami's gonna need a replacement eventually, and we know we'll have your support in getting ESPN to make the right call.
Our reflections on the year, followed by our picks:
Commish:"Well, here we are, Dad. Thoughts on our first year throwing these picks on The SZN?"
BigDaddy: "It's been a much more structured way of evaluating games. (Note: We predict each game's score, then average our predictions to make our pick.) It's hard to rebut the other guy's feeling. Before, we could just kind of talk our way into it."
C: "Does that mean you feel we were pulling shit out of our ass in the past?"
BD: "Ya."
C: "Anything you think we did particularly well, or that we struggled with?"
BD: "I don't think we bet New England enough. The AFC North was problematic for us, and the AFC South should never, ever be bet on."
C: "I forgot you actually picked the Browns to win last week. In a season of AFC North darkness, that was a solid bright spot."
BD: "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes."
C: "Who would do better picking games? A blind squirrel, or us?"
BD: "That's a tough one, but I think us. Blind squirrels just rely on their ears. They have great ears, but without eyes, they struggle."
C: "Well, yes. They're blind, Dad."
BD: "Ya."
C: "What's that have to do with picking football games?"
BD: "Well, that's the difference between you and me. You analyze results. I'm the eye test. I think the Vikings are gonna win today."
C: "The Vikings are 2-8 in their last 10 games. The Browns and Niners are each 1-9."
BD: "I think we can be the LeBatards. You see Dan and his father on ESPN. People tune in to see what his old man is gonna say."
C: "His old man just says 'Si' or 'No.'"
BD: "Maybe that's what they've got on us. We're just potpourri."
Home team in CAPS. Lines as of Saturday morning. Picks result from the average of our two score predictions.
- BENGALS (+1) over Ravens
- Texans (+3) over TITANS
- Panthers (+4) over BUCS
- Browns (+6) over STEELERS
- Cowboys (+4.5) over EAGLES
- JETS(+3.5) over Bills
- VIKINGS (-6) over Bears
- COLTS (-4.5) over Jags
- DOLPHINS (+10) over Pats
- CHARGERS (+4.5) over Chiefs
- CARDINALS (-6.5) over Rams
- BRONCOS (-2) over Raiders
- WASHINGTON (-7.5) over Giants
- NINERS (+10) over Seahawks
- FALCONS (-7) over Saints
- Packers (-3.5) over LIONS
Last week: 11-5
This season: 54-47-6
That'll do it for this week. Good luck, everyone!