BonesCPA

Week #17 The end of the regular season: what have we learned? Good question. Well, we learned that at times it is better for your average veteran quarterback to get injured/removed and the rookie may lead you to a better record (see: Steelers, Pittsburgh), but usually not (see: Giants, New York). We learned that at times a team could start 1-7 and still have playoff potential (see: Panthers, Carolina), but usually not (see: 49ers, San Francisco or Dolphins, Miami). That having a good preseason record generally means nothing once the regular season starts (see: Browns, Cleveland or Titans, Tennessee or Raiders, Oakland or Buccaneers, Tampa Bay) as does a bad preseason record (see: Patriots, New England or Eagles, Philadelphia - both 1-3) but usually a bad record does (see: 49ers, San Francisco - 0-4). Good teams beat bad teams (see: football teams in Pennsylvania). And bad teams can pull out a good win (see: Dolphins, Miami). In the end it always comes down to the same thing: one team wins the Super Bowl and everyone else is hoping to get to that spot. The likeliness is that your team isn’t that winning team, and probably hasn’t been in a number of years, if ever. So are you going to stop watching and start preparing for the start of hockey season (if that ever happens)? No. In about nine months you are going to be at it again. We’re lemmings, but at least we are for a good reason. We’re talking about football here!

Since this will be my last commentary for the season, I want to thank some people who assisted me in this process. Spectre has been kind enough to be the moderator who locks this thread (along with the Suicide and Loser pools), and even when there were oddities in the schedule (potential Dolphins game rescheduling because of a hurricane), he has been there for us even though he didn’t play. I also want to thank crfpilot for providing me with a top rate Excel spreadsheet that allowed me to track not only the weekly games, but also the year to date standings. Without his assistance I would still be in the stone ages with my own attempted record keeping. Without these two, things would not have run smoothly. I also want to thank my wife for putting up with me running to the computer around 4pm EST every Sunday to update the games. (Sorry, I had to do it. She’s not a TFP’er, but if someday she does join, I’ll catch hell if I don’t mention her. Love you honey. Bands of gold.) And finally, thanks for everyone who participated during the season. You are the reason this pools still exists.

Enough of the sappy stuff, go make your picks. (No, that’s not a tear in my eye - I just got some dust in it.)

TFP Football Pool rules:

1. Pick one team from each game to win the game. If they win, you get one point. Ties count as a loss. The most points win. (Points spreads are not included, so therefore they do not matter. “Just win, Baby” - Al Davis)

2. After all games are picked, give a point total for the total points scored in the Sunday night football game (week 17 does not have a Monday night game, so the Sunday night game will be used). This is used as a tie breaker. The closest, without going over will break the tie. If all tied go over, the closest wins.

3. Have your picks in before the first kickoff. The thread will be closed at some point after midnight EST the night before the first game. (Thank you Spectre.) Don't be late - PM's after the thread is closed will not count. (Effective 12/1/04) If you are under a temporary suspension of TFP user benefits (banned), emails with your picks will not be accepted. If you get your picks in before bannation, they count.

For convenience purposes please only list the winning team name. You should copy and delete from the schedule provided. PLEASE KEEP THE GAMES/TEAMS IN THE ORDER THEY ARE LISTED BELOW! Thank you, and good luck.

*Note on the upcoming “TFP Playoffs”* The format of the TFP Football Playoffs will be the same as last year, with the top 16 players eligible to participate. It will be a seeded tournament (1 vs 16, etc.) with a single elimination. Specifics on the picks will be available once the playoffs start. If there is a tie between players at a given spot, a specific week (picked at random - trust me) will be eliminated. This process will be repeated until the seeds are determined. If a player has missed a week, that week will not be eligible to be eliminated. If a player declines the opportunity, the next player in line will be eligible to compete.

Week #17
Team (2004 record, 2004 road/home record)

Sunday January 2, 2005
Cincinnati (7-8, 2-5 road)
Philadelphia (13-2, 7-0 home)

Detroit (6-9, 3-4 road)
Tennessee (4-11, 1-6 home)

Miami (4-11, 1-6 road)
Baltimore (8-7, 5-2 home)

New Orleans (7-8, 4-3 road)
Carolina (7-8, 3-4 home)

Pittsburgh (14-1, 6-1 road)
Buffalo (9-6, 5-2 home)

Cleveland (3-12, 0-7 road)
Houston (7-8, 3-4 home)

Green Bay (9-6, 5-2 road)
Chicago (5-10, 2-5 home)

Minnesota (8-7, 3-4 road)
Washington (5-10, 2-5 home)

NY Jets (10-5. 4-3 road)
St. Louis (7-8, 5-2 home)

San Francisco (2-13, 1-6 road)
New England (13-2, 7-0 home)

Atlanta (11-4, 4-3 road)
Seattle (8-7, 4-3 home)

Tampa Bay (5-10, 1-6 road)
Arizona (5-10, 4-3 home)

Indianapolis (12-3, 5-2 road)
Denver (9-6, 5-2 home)

Jacksonville (8-7, 4-3 road)
Oakland (5-10, 3-4 home)

Kansas City (7-8, 3-4 road)
San Diego (11-4, 6-1 home)

Sunday Night Game
Dallas (6-9, 2-5 road)
NY Giants (5-10, 2-5 home)

This week’s prize: Aspirin. Not only are you still hung over from New Year’s, but you are just about to have a hang over from drowning your sorrows on the either the ineptitude of your team or your picks during this pool. In any case, this is a start to make you feel a little better.

__________________
Back into hibernation.