Week 2 saw quite a few surprises and upsets. The biggest upset, of course, was that the House was beaten for the second time in as many weeks. The membership threw up a 10-6 record to the House’s 8-8 sub-par effort. The simulation of the week on Madden NFL 10 on the Xbox 360 fared the worst with a 7-9 record. So it is Members 1, House 0 so far in 2009. The members are +5 in picks.
Here are the details…
| * | The House | Madden Sim | Members |
| Week 2: | 8-8 | 7-9 | 10-6 |
| 2009 Overall: | 18-14 | 16-16 | 23-9 |
The Challenge
Only two games were not agreed on by the membership. Neither were very close in voting… and one of the final scores was worse. Both games went opposite of the way the House predicted, and therefore the House has been beaten again.
The House believed that Carolina’s week 1 woes were just a farce and they would bounce back with a vengeance in week 2. This was not the case as Atlanta took the lead in the second quarter and never let it go. The Panthers did keep it close though for most of the game, but close only counts in… well, whatever. Panther QB Jake Delhomme had one foot out of the league and another bad day would essentially issue him his AARP card. He did fare well enough to play another day… at least one more.
The second game in disagreement was the New Orleans Saints visiting the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles put up a great defensive effort in week 1, but lost Donovan McNabb to injury in the process. He was a scratch, but a combination of a repeat defensive performance and New Orleans dreadful road record in recent years, could do the Saints in. Nope. Never happened. The Birds kept it close in the first quarter but two quick turnovers in the second half did them in. The House couldn’t be more wrong as New Orleans won in a rout, 48-22.
The San Diego / Baltimore game was a few votes away from being disagreed with. That one did fall the way the House picked it, but there were quite a few upsets in week 2. As we have seen in recent years, this is typical in the “new” NFL.
Congrats go out to the Members for Beating the House again. We have a sole member with the most correct picks – Rob Custer. Now, I also see a Robbie Custer and Robert Custer at the top of the leaderboard and I’m hoping this is the first Grandfather-Father-Son combination in the Beat the House competition. The other alternative is that it is the same member entering multiple entries, and that would be bad… real bad. Since the House was bested, we’re going to ship out a Nerf Pro Grip to the three generations of football fans as well as a DVD prize pack. We’ll be in touch.
The second part of our competition, the Nickent Players of the Week, will be decided on Wednesday when the NFL announces the top dogs for week 2. The prize is a full set of golf clubs and we actually had a winner in week 1. The odds are on your side, so go for it!
Tune back in on Thursday morning to once again agree or disagree with the House’s NFL week 3 picks and predictions.
The Fantasy
This week, three of the top 5 fantasy point earners all played in the same game. Obviously there was many points to go around in the Titans/Texans 34-31 abomination. Chris Johnson, Matt Shaub and Andre Johnson all had amazing games.
The top five week 2 fantasy players were:
Chris Johnson
Running back – Tennessee Titans
In 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans
– 16 carries for 1897 yards, 2 TDs. 9 catches for 87 yards, 1 TD.
Matt Schaub
Quarterback – Houston Texans
In 34-31 win over the Tennessee Titans
– 25/39 for 357 yards, 4 TDs.
Frank Gore
Running back – San Francisco 49ers
In 23-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks
– 16 carries for 207 yards, 2 TDs.
Andre Johnson
Wide Receiver – Houston Texans
In 34-31 win over the Tennessee Titans
– 10 catches for 149 yards, 2 TDs.
Byron Leftwich
Quarterback – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In 33-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills
– 26/50 for 296 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
To review the Week 2 picks, visit the Beat the House main picks page. The week 3 picks and predictions will be up early Thursday morning. Make sure you get your picks in early to move up the leaderboard and get another shot at beating the house. Check in often, the board can drastically change over the remainder of the football season.
Stay tuned to see who will be named the Nickent Players of the Week and if any members have won another full set of golf clubs. We’ll update you as soon as the players of the week are announced.
For all other NFL and sports updates, check out the TMRzoo Sports Zone.
See you next week.
