Well, well, well. What is going on here? For the second consecutive week, the House emerged victorious over the membership. By a score of 14 wins to 11, The House beat the collective membership for the fourth time this season. The Madden 09 Xbox 360 simulation tied the membership and also picked 11 games out of 16 correctly. The House now has 4 weekly wins on the season, to the membership’s 9, with 1 tie… and only three more weeks to go. If it weren’t for two upsets, the House could have earned the first perfect week in this feature’s history.
The results to-date are:
| * | The House | Madden Sim | Members |
| Week 14: | 14-2 | 11-5 | 11-5 |
| 2008 Overall: | 118-89 | 114-93 | 129.5-77.5 |
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The Challenge
The three games in disagreement this week, were New Orleans over Atlanta, Philly over New York and Carolina over Tampa. All three were huge division games and all three had playoff implications. Just as the cream rises to the top in December, the House picked all three correctly. In two of those games, the predicted score was eerily close.
The two House misses this week were Favre-like games. The Favre-led Jets were dropped by the Niners and the former Favre-led Packers came up short against the Texans. The Jets will live to fight another day, but the Packers are toast on the year. How big is that smile on Brett’s face right now?
As you know, each week we award one entrant a game ball. There is only one obvious winner this week… The House. Thats right, The House receives this week’s game ball and is awarded a Nerf Pro Grip Football. Just kidding, The House can’t win, but nobody is getting the ball this week. Don’t cry, we gave away multiple balls at one time a few weeks ago.
Tune back in on Thursday morning to once again agree or disagree with the House’s NFL week 15 picks and predictions.
The League
Unlike last week, the home teams fared a bit better in week 14, with only 5 losing their contests… and two of them were the Seahawks and Lions. Four of those losing home teams were actually division match-ups.
Here we are in December. It’s crunch time. So far, three division crowns have been locked up and there are 9 more playoff spots very much up for grabs. We even have a three-way tie in the AFC East among the Jets, Pats and Dolphins. The Pats have gotten both of their division foes out of the way, but the Jets and Phins have a week 17 date that could possibly decide the division. The NFC South could end up the same way soon enough with Carolina holding a slight lead over the Bucs and Falcons.
With the exception of the dreadful AFC West, every division not clinched yet has first and second place separated by only one win. This shit is going down to the wire. In all likelihood, the wildcard slots will all be decided in week 17.
Stay tuned… this season might actually turn itself around with some late in the year excitement.
Fantasy Land
This week saw some pretty big performances, with the biggest coming on Monday night in the Antonio Bryant show… unfortunately it was in a losing effort. The rest of the top fantasy studs of week 14 were:
Antonio Bryant
Wide Receiver – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In 38-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers
– 9 catches for 200 yards, 2 TDs.
Brian Westbrook
Running Back – Philadelphia Eagles
In 20-14 win over the New York Giants
– 33 carries for 131 yards, 1 TD. 6 catches for 72 yards, 1 TD.
Seneca Wallace
Quarterback – Seattle Seahawks
In 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots
– 20/28 for 212 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT. 3 carries for 47 yards.
Brandon Marshall
Wide Receiver – Denver Broncos
In 24-27 win over the Kansas City Chiefs
– 11 catches for 91 yards, 2 TDs.
DeAngelo Williams
Running Back – Carolina Panthers
In 38-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
– 19 carries for 186 yards, 2 TDs.
To review the Week 14 picks, visit the Beat the House main picks page. The week 15 picks and predictions will be up 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. Even if you haven’t played yet, you are still eligible for the weekly prizes.
Stay tuned to see who will be named the Visionman Players of the Week and if any members have won the gaming PC this week. 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.
