It appears that everyone did well in week 3, some better than others… and one of us was perfect. The membership posted 13 wins to The House’s 12 and the simulation of the week on Madden NFL 10 on the Xbox 360 came in third with a 9-7 record. The tally stands at Members 3, House 0, Sim 0 so far in 2009. The members are +6 in picks already… a pretty big span with only three weeks in the books.
The weekly and total stats are as follows:
| * | The House | Madden Sim | Members |
| Week 3: | 12-4 | 9-7 | 13-3 |
| 2009 Overall: | 30-18 | 25-23 | 36-12 |
The Challenge
Three games were not favored by the members this week… Titans at Jets, Jaguars at Texans and Miami at San Diego. Only one of those games fell the way the House predicted so the House has been beaten for the third time in as many week this season.
As the #1 seed in the AFC with a 13-3 record just last season, the Titans needed to avoid going 0-3 in 2009 and matching their 2008 loss total before week 4 even starts. The House had faith in them, but 60% of voting members did not… and accurately so. The red-hot Jets came out with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
Jacksonville at Houston was a hard-fought contest against division opponents. The score flip-flopped back and forth throughout the game but it was the Jags who emerged victorious in the end, as the House predicted. Anyone else want to pad their stats against the Texans? They’ve given up 31 points in consecutive weeks… and 24 in week 1.
The third game in disagreement was Miami visiting San Diego. The House thought that the Dolphins could use the same ball-control offense that they almost held the Colts off with one week prior. Especially with L.T. watching from the sidelines. It never happened. Miami could only muster field goals until late in the fourth quarter but still fell short to the tune of 23-13. The Dolphins are another team that has almost matched their loss total of all last season already.
With the House losing 2 out of the three games in question, it falls again so prizes are to be awarded. This week we have some extra special prizes to award. For the first time in the history of the Beat the House competition, which spans two websites, a member picked all 16 games correctly. That is worth a trip to the prize closet and then some, so C_hawkfan, we’ll let you take your pick of DVDs, as well as giving you the Nerf Pro Grip, but since you were perfect, you have hit the Playboy.com perfect pick set and are entitled to a full-year’s subscription to the Cyber Club… or a prize equivalent in value. We’ll be in touch C, congrats again!
The second part of our competition, the Nickent Players of the Week, will be decided on Wednesday when the NFL announces the top performers for week 3. 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 4 picks and predictions.
The Fantasy
Overall, the personal stats looked low in week 3. After Peyton and MJD, there is a significant drop-off in scoring. We even have a backup QB in the top 5 this week.
The top five week 3 fantasy players were:
Peyton Manning
Quarterback – Indianapolis Colts
In 31-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals
– 24/35 for 379 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT.
Maurice Jones-Drew
Running Back – Jacksonville Jaguars
In 31-24 win over the Houston Texans
– 23 carries for 119 yards, 3 TDs.
Santana Moss
Wide Receiver – Washington Redskins
In 19-14 loss to the Detroit Lions?
– 10 catches for 178 yards, 1 TD.
Kevin Kolb
Quarterback – Philadelphia Eagles
In 34-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs
– 24/34 for 327 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs.
Aaron Rodgers
Quarterback – Green Bay Packers
In 27-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers
– 13/23 for 269 yards, 2 TDs. 8 carries for 38 yards, 1 TDs.
To review the Week 3 picks, visit the Beat the House main picks page. The week 4 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.
