Ah, yes! Football is officially back. And with the onset of another football season comes the hope that the Nailed It! Pantheon will see many new names added to its walls. We didn’t have quite the beginning as we did last year, but it was still a solid showing from our prognosticators.
I hope that those of you reading this article are familiar with calling your shot, but for those that still might not know, allow me to explain a bit more about what you will read below. Every week we predict who we think (realistically or homeristically) will win the games played by teams in the NFC North and South. Those who correctly predict the final score are highlighted in this article, and later enshrined in our Nailed It! Pantheon. However, since predicting the final score is not an easy thing to do, four other categories were added to allow for more chances to be entered.
Point System
This year, there has also been a new wrinkle added to the mix! A points system has now been implemented for the tracking of correctly called shots, and, more importantly, for bragging rights. Lest you worry though, the names of those who correctly call their shots will still be entered into the vaunted halls of the Pantheon.
The points system is fairly easy, and is as follows:
Three points are awarded for a correct final score.
One point is awarded for correctly calling any of the other four categories (Scoring Differential, Winning Team’s Score, Total Combined Score, and Against the Grain).
In the event that a correct final score also qualifies as an Against the Grain pick, that point will be added to the three for the final score, bringing the total to four points. Four is the maximum number of points that can be scored for any one called shot.
With that behind us, it’s time to see just how much the Pantheon has grown! We had a solid week, with 33 prognosticators participating. However, only 17 points were scored this week, and I know that we can do better.
There’s one last thing that I would like to get out of the way. It’s a shame that one of our resident Lions fans did not use his predicted score from his preview article when calling his shot. At least he still got the winning team’s score correct, though!
The Games
As always, here is the slate for next week’s games. Simply copy and paste it to the comments, and add your predicted scores after the team names. (Substitute scores for the XX and YY.)
- New England Patriots XX @ Minnesota Vikings YY
- New Orleans Saints XX @ Cleveland Browns YY
- Atlanta Falcons XX @ Cincinnati Bengals YY
- Detroit Lions XX @ Carolina Panthers YY
- St. Louis Rams XX @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers YY
- New York Jets XX @ Green Bay Packers
- Chicago Bears XX @ San Francisco 49ers YY
Now, read on to find out exactly just who Nailed It!
Final score
These are the people who have (somehow) correctly predicted the final outcome of a game. The only shot that was called that could be considered more famous than these belongs to Babe Ruth. Bow down before their wisdom! (And make sure you ask them for next week’s lotto numbers.)
- None this week.
Scoring differential
These are the ones who correctly predicted the margin by which the victors would best their competition. These are also the ones to consult if you want to bet the spread.
- Green Bay @ Seattle – FalconsFan0125 correctly predicted a 20-point victory for the Seahawks.
- Buffalo @ Chicago – Maized and Confused correctly predicted a three-point victory for the Bills.
- New Orleans @ Atlanta – curtisfryer_p, FalconsFan0125, and MIBearFan all correctly predicted a three-point victory for the Falcons.
- Carolina @ Tampa Bay – thenichels correctly predicted a six-point victory for the Panthers.
Total combined score
These are those who somehow managed to pick the correct total score but did not have any clue in how the teams would actually get there. Still, if you want to bet an over/under, you could do worse than consulting with them.
- Green Bay @ Seattle – andylet445 and curtisfryer_p correctly predicted both teams would combine for 52 points.
- Minnesota @ St. Louis – BlutosPackers and LaCW correctly predicted both teams would combine to score 40 points.
- Carolina @ Tampa Bay – MKE and Niners_Never_Die correctly predicted both teams would combine for 34 points.
Winning team’s score
- Carolina @ Tampa Bay – BearsSaveLives, Building With Clay, and Cam of Steel all correctly predicted that the Panthers would score 20 points in a victory.
- New York Giants @ Detroit – ethanfitz, Staffords_Glove, and thebaskett all correctly predicted that the Lions would score 35 points in a victory.
Against the grain
Oftentimes, our picks will be unanimous. However, there are those who will sometimes walk their own path.
- None this week.
ESPN The Magazine
As I wrote in the article last week, I will be tracking our prognosticators against the “professionals” of ESPN The Magazine. In their NFL preview issue, they predicted the score for every single NFL game to be played in the regular season. When the playoffs come, I will be checking to see if they predict those as well. Anyway, let’s see how they did in week one. Here are their predictions:
- Green Bay Packers 21 @ Seattle Seahawks 33
- Buffalo Bills 10 @ Chicago Bears 34
- New Orleans Saints 24 @ Atlanta Falcons 10
- Minnesota Vikings 9 @ St. Louis Rams 27
- Carolina Panthers 27 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3
- New York Giants 21 @ Detroit Lions 35
The only thing they got correct for week one was what the Lions would score in a victory over the Giants. That gives them one point. We’ll keep track of all their points as the season goes on.
Week 1 leaderboard
Now on to the leaderboard!
It’s obviously very early in the year, but bragging rights are bragging rights! With that said, here is the leaderboard after week one (in the case of a tie, the names are arranged alphabetically):
- curtisfryer_p – two points
- FalconsFan0125 – two points
- 13 other people – one point (if you see your name above, you are here)
I will try to bring the Pantheon over here if you would like to see what shots the leaders have correctly called, or perhaps to see how close you are to them. Until that happens, though let’s give a little congratulatory clap to those who are listed in this article. Or not. Your choice.
If you would like to have your name forever enshrined in the vast expanse that is the internet, simply call your shot in the comment section below for the games of the NFC North and the NFC South. I will be reviewing the comments and keeping track as the season goes on. And who knows? Maybe you’ll even see your name in the leaderboard!
If you cannot call your shots on Thursday, as is custom, it is still possible to participate. As long as your called shots are posted to the comments of this article before the games start, I will include them.