Thursday, November 14, 2024

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 11

As we get into the nitty gritty part of the season, the race at the top has really tightened up. Just three games separate first place from fifth place.

I had a shot Monday night to move into a tie with Adam, but he salvaged that game, leading me to take only five of eight from him. Adam split his six with Joe, but I swept our two disputed games to pull ahead of the back of the pack.

Groupwise, Adam has moved back into a tie for first with Geoffrey, but again, it's a crowded picture as Jim drops to just a game out of first, John is just a game behind him, and I'm lurking just one behind John. I'll take hanging around for now.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. We went 4-1 combined in hero games this week, including me hitting on my third and remaining the only person perfect in those games. Adam remains brilliant in superminority games, going 11-5 so far when he and just one other person agree on a game. Geoffrey has done incredibly well in the 4-3 split games, hitting on a group-best 35 of those 65 games. Consensus picks continue to go well, as after a 2-0 week we're hitting on over 60 percent of those games.

Looking ahead to this week, I disagree with both Joe and Adam on half of the 14 game slate apiece, while they dispute six games. Let's get to it!

Thursday, November 7, 2024

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 10

The second half of the season is underway and the coalition returns from the intermission to resume our quest to successfully pick NFL games against the spread!

It was a decent week for most of us. Adam and I split our six disputed games, while he and I each took three of five from Joe. The slow week though knocked Adam out of first place, though he is just a game off the lead behind Jim. A total of eight games separates the entire group, so we're all doing fairly well.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. It was not a good week for hero picks, though superminority folks had a pretty good day. Ultimately my struggles in these 5-2 split games on both sides is a big part of why I'm six games off the pace.

As we move onward, Adam's taking a shot at extending his lead as he and I disagree on eight games and he and Joe on six. Joe and I, meanwhile, have major groupthink as we only dispute two. Let's get to it!

Thursday, October 31, 2024

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 9

Consider this our two minute warning before halftime on this All Hallows Eve. The midway point of the 2024 season is upon us, and so continues our quest of picking games against the spread.

Strong performances from last week did not really continue on the whole. I did take three of five from Adam to eat into his lead, but Joe grabbed three of four from me and five of seven from Adam for the best week out of the columnists.

Adam was texting us mid-week last week asking how we could have let Jim get into second place, and all this time Adam should have been paying attention to his rear view mirror, as Jim has surged into a tie for first place. Geoffrey remains in striking distance, just two games off the pace. Poor Matthew, meanwhile, after a strong start has faded into last place.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. With Jim's successful hero pick of the Chargers this past week, everyone in the group has managed at least one for the year. Adam's hold on first evaporated thanks in part to a bad week of superminority picks. And despite a bad week for consensus, we're still above .500 for the season.

Looking ahead now, Adam and I disagree on six games, while Joe disagrees with each of us on five games. Let's get to it!

Thursday, October 24, 2024

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 8

For the first time all season, the entire coalition is over .500, and against that backdrop, back into the fray we go.

It was a good week for most of the group, and for me in particular. I took Game 7 from both Joe and Adam for a narrow edge last week, while the two of them split their eight disputed games. My tie for the week high has me back within six of the lead, and I'm only two games out of second place. Adam retains a four game advantage on Jim through seven weeks.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. We've come back to earth a bit on hero games, collectively going 12-15 so far. I have the most wins in games involving a hero pick (including 2-0 in games where I've gone hero), but my struggles elsewhere explain my current deficit. Adam, meanwhile, has dominated games with a 5-2 split among the group, going 20-7 in those games. Joe has a strong showing in hero games (including a 2-1 mark where he's been the lone wolf), but a 4-11 mark in Superminority games has hurt him.

Looking ahead to this week, Adam and I disagree on five games, Joe and I on four, and the two of them on seven games out of 16. Let's get to it!

Thursday, October 17, 2024

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 7

If we go by weeks, we are officially a third of the way through the NFL season. And with that, we begin the second period of picking NFL games against the spread.

I was thrilled mid-afternoon on Sunday as I was in good shape, but I crashed a little bit in the late slate. Ultimately, Adam took four of seven games from me, I took three of five from Joe, and Adam took five of eight from Joe in Week 6. This means for the column, Adam was able to gain a little bit of ground, as I find myself seven games back and Joe nine. Groupwise though, Adam was outshone by much of the rest of the group, and his overall lead has been trimmed to just three games.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. Part of the reason everyone had decent weeks was the fact that collectively the group went 0-4 on hero picks, including Adam missing a couple. As such, I'm the only one without a miss on a hero pick; unfortunately that's out of a sample size of two, which doesn't help my cause. We hit on our lone consensus pick this week though, which puts us at easily our best mark since we started keeping track back in 2016.

And so as we look ahead to Week 7, I disagree with both Joe and Adam on seven games apiece, while the two of them disagree on eight games out of 15. This could be a big week of shakeups, so let's get to it!

Thursday, October 10, 2024

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 6

The coalition returns off a solid week across the board as we get ready for Week 6 of the NFL season!

The good news is that Adam and I split our six disputed games and I swept the two with Joe, while Adam took four of six from Joe. The bad news for me is that Adam maintains his fairly sizable lead over the rest of the group. The rest of us are all clustered together, with Matthew currently alone in second place after an outstanding week.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. Adam maintains his dominance in games where he's heavily in the minority. Of note, we went 3-0 in consensus games this past week, putting us well over .500 in that category for the season. Hopefully we can maintain that, as it's good for all of us.

Looking ahead, Adam and I disagree on seven games out of 14, Joe and I on five, and Joe and Adam on eight. Let's get to it!

Thursday, October 3, 2024

2024 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 5

We're about a quarter of the way through the season, and the coalition returns to action for Week 5 of the NFL season.

Adam has long had this theory of "The Great Reversal," where everything we think we know about an NFL season flips on its head. That informed a lot of his picks this past week, and to an extent it worked; he took six of our eight disputed games. Joe, meanwhile, finally caught fire as he swept our six disputed games and grabbed four of six from Adam.

Adam remains in the lead overall, but with my down week, he now holds a sizable five game lead on the nearest competitor. The rest of us are all hovering in that 5-7 game range. This is fine; everything is fine.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. As a general rule, those of us who have been picking more contrary to everyone else seems to be having more success, and Adam's numbers bear that out, as he's 5-0 in games where he's either gone hero or had one other person agree.

And so as I make an attempt to claw my way back in our first week with byes, Joe and I disagree on only two games, but Adam disagrees with each of us on six out of 14. Let's get to it!