BSB NFL Playoff Challenge: Preview

As of Playoff Eve, the First Annual BSB NFL Playoff Challenge officially has 7 contestants.  [Editor’s Note:  two more entries were added Saturday morning.  They have been added to this preview at the bottom and will be included in all updates moving forward.  Also, quick addendum to the scoring.  I forgot to mention the fact that the Conference Championship Games will have 2x points and the Super Bowl will be 4x points.  The best possible scores have been updated below.]  The following are the official entries.  In addition to the actual picks, I listed the teams to which the person gave the most points of any of the competitors (“most trust in”) and those to which they gave the least (“least trust in”).  In other words, any team on a competitor’s “most trusted” list means that no one has that team listed higher on their list.  I also calculated each competitor’s best possible total score at the end and their best possible score for this round.  And, finally, I looked at what the biggest “swing game” of the week would be for each person, which I just defined as the game with the biggest differential between the points given to the teams.  Yes, I have no life…

INA:
SD 12, Indy 11, Dallas 10, NE 9, NO 8, GB 7, Philly 6, Cincy 5, B’more 4, Minn 3, Zona 2, Jets 1

Most Trust In:  SD, Dallas, NE
Least Trust In:  Jets

Best Possible Total Score: 164
Best Possible Wild Card Score: 31
Worst Possible Wild Card Score: 13

Biggest Swing Game:  NE (9) vs. B’more (4)

Thoughts:  Ina has a lot of points in the top 3 AFC teams (12, 11, and 9), so she should get a lot of points from the AFC.  She also has the highest “best possible” for this round, as she has some big points in her Wild Card teams. 

DOOGAN:
Indy 12, SD 11, Dallas 10, NE 9, NO 8, Zona 7, Philly 6, GB 5, Minn 4, B’more 3, Cincy 2, Jets 1

Most Trust In:  Indy, Dallas, NE, Zona
Least Trust In:  Jets, GB

Best Possible Total Score:  161
Best Possible Wild Card Score:  29
Worst Possible Wild Card Score:  14

Biggest Swing Game:  NE (9) vs. B’more (3)

Thoughts:  Doogan, like Ina, has a lot of points in the top 3 AFC teams.  But, it looks like Doogan’s fate may be decided by the Arizona Cardinals, as he put them at 7, while no one else had them higher than 4.

DAVID:
Indy 12, NO 11, SD 10, GB 9, Philly 8, Dallas 7, Minn 6, Jets 5, NE 4, Zona 3, B’more 2, Cincy 1

Most Trust In:  Indy, GB, Philly, Jets
Least Trust In:  Cincy

Best Possible Total Score:  162
Best Possible Wild Card Score:  26
Worst Possible Wild Card Score:  13

Biggest Swing Game:  GB (9) vs. Zona (3)

Thoughts:  David is trusting in the top seeds, as his 12 and 11 teams are the two #1 seeds, and his 10 is with #2 SD.  His fate will probably be decided next week, as we see if the top teams can win at home.  Interestingly, in a group of mostly Philly fans, David is one of only two entries that have the Eagles ranked higher than Dallas (the only other one is a non-Eagles fan).

JOSH:
Indy 12, NO 11, Dallas 10, SD 9, NE 8, Minn 7, GB 6, Jets 5, Philly 4, Zona 3, B’more 2, Cincy 1

Most Trust In:  Indy, Dallas, Jets
Least Trust In:  Cincy, SD

Best Possible Total Score:  165
Best Possible Wild Card Score:  29
Worst Possible Wild Card Score:  10

Biggest Swing Games:  Dallas (10) vs. Philly (4); NE (8) vs. B’more (2)

Thoughts:  Josh played the Wild Card Round strategically, as he has wide gaps in all four games this weekend.  In fact, if he gets all four of these games right, he will still have his top 8 ranked teams still left.

SCOTT:
Indy 12, SD 11, NO 10, Dallas 9, Minn 8, Philly 7, NE 6, GB 5, Zona 4, Cincy 3, B’more 2, Jets 1

Most Trust In:  Indy
Least Trust In:  Jets, GB

Best Possible Score:  157
Best Possible Wild Card Score:  23
Worst Possible Wild Card Score:  14

Biggest Swing Game:  NE (6) vs. B’more (2)

Thoughts:  Scott, like David, has a lot of trust in the big boys, who play next week.  He has very few points wrapped up in the wild cards, so his fate will be determined more next week than this one.

ALEXI:
NO 12, SD 11, Minn 10, GB 9, Indy 8, Philly 7, NE 6, Dallas 5, Cincy 4, Zona 3, Jets 2, B’more 1

Most Trust In:  NO, Minn, GB
Least Trust In:  B’more, Dallas, Indy

Best Possible Score:  161
Best Possible Wild Card Score:  26
Worst Possible Wild Card Score:  11

Biggest Swing Game:  GB (9) vs. Zona (3)

Thoughts:  Alexi is the other entry that has the Eagles ranked higher than Dallas.  But, Alexi is a Ravens fan and is the only one to give the Ravens a 1.  Maybe he knows something that we don’t.  Alexi’s fate will almost certainly be determined by the Colts.  He has them at 8, and no one else has them even lower than 11.

BRY:
SD 12, Indy 11, Dallas 10, GB 9, Philly 8, NO 7, B’more 6, Jets 5, Cincy 4, NE 3, Zona 2, Minn 1

Most Trust In:  SD, Dallas, GB, Philly, Jets
Least Trust In:  Minn, NO

Best Possible Score:  164
Best Possible Wild Card Score:  30
Worst Possible Wild Card Score:  17

Biggest Swing Game:  GB (9) vs. Zona (2)

Thoughts:  Bry is putting a lot of eggs in NFC teams that did not get the bye, as he has the lowest values assigned to both New Orleans and Minnesota–who got the 1.  He also has a lot more confidence in Baltimore and a lot less confidence in New England than anyone else.

Well, here we go.  We’ll update the standings some time next week and maybe give a “Challenge Preview” for the Divisional Round.

LATE ENTRIES (that were submitted prior to any of the games being played):

O’NEILL:
Indy 12, NO 11, SD 10, GB 9, Minn 8, NE 7, Dallas 6, Jets 5, Philly 4, B’more 3, Cincy 2, Zona 1

Most Trust In:  Indy, GB, Jets
Least Trust In:  Zona

Best Possible Score:  163
Best Possible Wild Card Score:  27
Worst Possible Wild Card Score:  10

Biggest Swing Game:  GB (9) vs. Zona (1)

WATERS:
NO 12, SD 11, Indy 10, GB 9, B’more 8, Dallas 7, Cincy 6, Zona 5, Jets 4, Philly 3, NE 2, Minn 1

Most Trust In:  NO, GB, B’more, Cincy
Least Trust In:  Minn, NE, Philly

Best Possible Score:  164
Best Possible Wild Card Score:  30
Worst Possible Wild Card Score:  14

Biggest Swing Game:  B’more (8) vs. NE (2)