1ST ANNUAL METRIC MUSINGS NFL PICKS OVER/UNDER CHALLENGE

Back in August, I threw out an NFL over/under confidence points pick 'em challenge. Ok that's a really long awkward name. Remind me to come up with something better for next year. Anyway, we had 7 participants, including yours truly, take part in the challenge in which the winner gets a beer (or beverage of their choice) on me the next time I see them.

Before we get to the results and our first annual winner, let's look at what Vegas' win total projections were back in for each team, and the total wins the team actually had in the 2008 season. (By the way, I tried to pick over/unders for all 32 teams and failed miserably, picking only 14 of the 32 correctly. But thankfully I included a lot of the correct picks in my 10 confidence picks),

NFC
North
Team, Vegas #- Actual # of 2008 wins
Chicago, 8 wins- 9
Detroit, 6- 0
Green Bay, 8.5- 5
Minnesota, 8.5- 10

South
Atlanta 4.5- 11
Carolina, 7.5- 12
New Orleans, 8.5- 8
Tampa Bay, 8- 9

East
Dallas, 10.5- 9
New York Football Giants, 9- 12
Philadelphia, 8.5- 9
Washington, 7.5- 8

West
Arizona, 7.5- 9
St Louis, 6.5- 2
San Francisco, 6.5- 7
Seattle, 8.5- 4

AFC
North
Baltimore, 6- 12
Cincinnati, 7.5- 4
Cleveland, 8- 4
Pittsburgh, 9- 12

South
Houston, 7.5- 8
Indianapolis, 11- 12
Jacksonville, 10- 5
Tennessee, 8- 13

East
Buffalo, 8- 7
Miami, 5.5- 11
New England, 12.5- 11
New York Jets, 8- 9

West
Denver, 7.5- 8
Kansas City, 6- 2
Oakland, 6.5- 5
San Diego- 10.5- 8

Ok now onto the challenge results. If you're unfamiliar with confidence picks, I asked for the 10 over/under picks you felt the best about. Your STRONGEST pick would get 10 points, 2nd strongest 9 etc etc with your weakest getting 1 point. At the end of the season, we total up the points from your correct picks, and whoever has the most gets a free beer from me. And the winner of a free beer is....

ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep I DOMINATED all the punks that dared pick against my football brilliance!!!! Ok, ok, actually I barely edged out Jason Hetland and Joel Braun. The Josephson brothers, however, finished with the same totals, and might want to consider joining forces next year to have any chance against me. And what happened to Kyle and Joe? I thought these were two of the smartest NFL people I knew, and yet COMBINED they were still 8 points short of me. Better luck next year gentlemen- you'll need it!!

Here's each of our 10 confidence picks:
Jeff- 33 TOTAL POINTS
10.Chicago, 8 wins- UNDER- WRONG
9. New Orleans, 8.5 –over- WRONG
8. San Diego, 10.5- under- CORRECT
7. Baltimore, 6- over- CORRECT
6. Pittsburgh, 9- over- CORRECT
5. Cincinnati, 7.5- under- CORRECT
4. Cleveland, 8- under- CORRECT
3. G-men, 9- under- WRONG
2. Houston, 7.5- over- CORRECT
1. Denver, 7.5- over- CORRECT

Hets- 30 POINTS
10. San Diego 8 – under- CORRECT
9. Chicago 8 – under- WRONG
8. Atlanta 4.5 – over- CORRECT
7. NYG 9 – under- WRONG
6. Indy 11 – under- WRONG
5. Denver 7.5 – over- CORRECT
4. Baltimore 6 – over- CORRECT
3. New Orleans 8.5 – over- WRONG
2. MN 8.5 – over- CORRECT
1. Washington 7.5 – over- CORRECT

Joel Braun- 27 Points
10. Chicago, 8 wins- under- WRONG
9. Baltimore, 6 wins- over- CORRECT
8. Buffalo, 8 wins- under- CORRECT
7. New Orleans, 8 wins- over- WRONG
6. San Diego, 10.5 wins- under- CORRECT
5. NYfootball Giants, 9 wins- under- WRONG
4. Oakland, 6.5 wins- over- WRONG
3. Houston, 7.5 wins- over- CORRECT
2. Detroit, 6 wins- over- WRONG
1. Cleveland, 8 wins- under- CORRECT

Ben Josephson- 21 POINTS
10. New Orleans- 8.5 over- WRONG
9. Detroit- 6 over- WRONG
8. Baltimore- 6 over- CORRECT
7. Houston Nut 7.5 over-- CORRECT
6. Da Bears 8 uner- WRONG
5. Skins 7.5 over- CORRECT
4. Oakland Convicts 6.5 over- WRONG
3. God's Team 8.5 over- WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! GOD’S TEAM MY A**!!!!
2. Sea Town 8.5 over- WRONG
1. Parcells 5.5 over- CORRECT

Brady Josephson- 21 POINTS
10. Detroit, 6 wins – over- WRONG
9. Chicago, 8 wins – under- WRONG
8. St. Louis, 6.5 wins – over- WRONG
7. San Diego, 10.5 wins – under- CORRECT
6. Washington, 7.5 wins – over- CORRECT
5. Atlanta, 4.5 wins – over- CORRECT
4. Philadelphia, 8.5 wins – under- WRONG
3. Baltimore, 6 wins – over- CORRECT
2. Tennessee, 8 wins – under- WRONG
1. Dallas, 10.5 wins – over- WRONG

Kyle- 13 POINTS
10. Chicago 8 Under- WRONG
9. New Orleans 8.5 Over- WRONG
8. Cleveland 8 Under- CORRECT
7. Dallas 10.5 Over- WRONG
6. Green Bay 8.5 Over- WRONG
5. Seattle 8.5 Over- WRONG
4. New York G 9 Under- WRONG
3. Carolina 7.5 Over- CORRECT
2. Buffalo 8 Under- CORRECT
1. Denver 7.5 Under- WRONG

Joe- 12 POINTS
10) Miami Under- WRONG
9) Dallas Over- WRONG
8) Houston Under- WRONG
7) Indianapolis Over- CORRECT
6) Cincinnati Over- WRONG
5) Atlanta Under- WRONG
4) New Orleans Over- WRONG
3) Minnesota Over- CORRECT
2) Detroit Under- CORRECT
1) Chicago Under- WRONG