Survivor Elimination Pool

Looking for a great way to become involved in the NFL frenzy this fall? Participating in a Survivor Elimination Pool may be just the right answer. While many NFL-related games such as fantasy football require extensive knowledge, time, and commitment, Survivor Elimination Pools offer a simple, exciting way for everyone to share in the fun of football season. How do Survivor Elimination Pools work? It’s easy!

All you have to do is pick one team each week to win. If the team you pick loses, you are eliminated from the Survivor Elimination Pool. If the team you pick wins and you survive, you select a new team to win for the next week. Sounds easy, right? It is. The catch is that you can only select a particular team to win once. The winner(s) of the Survivor Elimination Pool is the “survivor” who outlasts all other participants.

Survivor Elimination Pools are an excellent way to enjoy football season with family, friends, and coworkers alike. Need some inside information to help you win your Survivor Elimination Pool? No problem. Each week our panel of football experts participates in a mock Survivor Elimination Pool by selecting a team and providing a brief explanation as to why they believe that particular team will win. Feel free to use their expertise to help you win your Survivor Elimination Pool or to tell them why your choice is better…

Week 14

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Atlanta at Carolina	Atlanta Falcons	Carolina has the number one overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft and they have been playing like they don't want to lose it.
Roberto	Green Bay at Detroit	Green Bay Packers	Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are playing tough football as the NFL playoff picture evolves. On the other hand, the Detroit Lions are hurting at the quarterback position and continue to find ways to lose football games. While this game may not be a complete blowout, the Packers should handle the Lions with ease even on the road.

Week 13

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Carolina at Seattle	Seattle Seahawks	This week was very hard to pick. All the good teams have been taking so it is slim pickings. My top pick would have to be Philadelphia over Houston which Roberto has picked for you. I'm going with Seattle against a putrid Carolina team who looks to be the top pick in the 2011 NFL draft.
Roberto	Houston at Philadelphia	Philadelphia Eagles	The Houston Texans may have delivered a shutout versus the Titans in Week 12 but that will not be the case in Week 13. Remember this is still the same defense who has given up several fourth quarter leads during the 2010 season. In addition, due to the Thursday night matchup, the Texans defense will have even less time to prepare for the unique considerations that need to be accounted for when playing against Michael Vick. The Houston Texans have never defeated the Philadelphia Eagles and the chances that the Texans will get their first victory Thursday night in Philadelphia are very slim.

Week 12

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Jacksonville at NY Giants	New York Giants	This could be a crazy pick because Jacksonville has won their last two games and New York has lost their last two games. But I think the real best team will come out of this matchup and that will be the Gmen.
Roberto	Carolina at Cleveland	Cleveland Browns	One of the best Survivor Elimination Pool strategies is to simply pick against the worst teams in the NFL. Such is the case in week 12. Not only are the Carolina Panthers giving up more than 25 points a game, but they also have an atrocious offense. Expect the Cleveland Browns to play classic smash mouth football and pound the rock with Peyton Hillis all game.

Week 11

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Tampa Bay at San Francisco	San Francisco 49ers	Since Troy Smith has started at QB the 49ers have been a pretty good offensive team. Tampa Bay is traveling across the country and is due for a loss. I'm going with San Francisco in week 11.
Roberto	Arizona at Kansas City	Kansas City Chiefs	Kansas City will look to bounce back from last week’s defeat with a win over Arizona at Arrowhead this Sunday. Despite Matt Cassel’s encouraging numbers against the Broncos, the Chiefs will return to the ground game in hopes that Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles will run wild against the Cardinals’ 28th ranked run defense.

Week 10

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Carolina at Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	This week is full of close matchups, which makes the eliminator pool very hard to pick. I am left with a few choices. The best pick in week 10 I believe is Indianapolis over Cincinnati but unfortunately I have already picked them. My next best pick is Tampa Bay at home against Carolina.
Roberto	Dallas at New York Giants	New York Giants	The Dallas Cowboys are doing everything they can to lock up the first pick in the 2011 NFL draft. The New York Giants will be happy to contribute to the Cowboys’ efforts, destroying them in Week 10 at the Meadowlands. Needless to say Wade Phillips is thankful he was fired prior to this massacre.

Week 9

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Indianapolis at Philadelphia	Philadelphia Eagles	Half way through the NFL season, much of the elite teams have been taken so going forward it will be a challenge. I’m going out on a limb with this pick but I heard a stat the other day about Coach Andy Reid, which I am going to lean on. He is 11-0 coming off a bye week but this week he is going against a very good Colts team. Michael Vick is back at QB and will lead the Eagles to victory.
Roberto	New Orleans at Carolina	New Orleans Saints	The defending Super Bowl Champions have been spotty this year to say the least, but even with injuries the New Orleans Saints still have a plethora of talent and a chance to make a run in the 2011 playoffs. With a 5-3 record, they will have to bury weak teams to earn their playoff spot and that is exactly what they will do in week #9 against a Carolina Panthers team who has no identity.

Week 8

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Carolina at St. Louis	St. Louis Rams	St. Louis is very good at home and although Carolina is coming off their first win of the season I still am going with the Rams in week 8. I expect Steven Jackson to run wild over that weak Carolina defense.
Roberto	Minnesota @ New England	New England Patriots	Brett Favre is not only the most dramatic NFL player in history, but he is also a stubborn old grandpa and he will do everything he can to suit up and gimp around the field in Week 8 to maintain his consecutive game streak. Adrian Petersen may run wild against a soft Patriots run defense, but with minimal help coming from the quarterback position for Minnesota (regardless of who starts), the Vikings will lose to a Patriots team who knows how to get the job done in Foxborough.

Week 7

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Buffalo at Baltimore	Baltimore Ravens	See week 3 explanation.
Roberto	Buffalo at Baltimore	Baltimore Ravens	Would you want to face Ray Lewis following a bitter overtime loss to the Patriots? I didn’t think so… and neither do the Buffalo Bills. The best thing the Bills could do is sit their “starters” and preserve their health for the one game they may have a chance to win this year: Week 14 vs. the Cleveland Browns (and even that’s a stretch). Expect the Baltimore Ravens defense to smother any game plan the Bills developed during their bye week, especially if Pro Bowl Safety Ed Reed makes his return to the football field in Week #7.

Week 6

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Cleveland at Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh Steelers	Cleveland is starting rookie QB Colt McCoy which isn’t a great thing against any NFL defense but even worse against the Steelers defense which in my eyes are the best in the NFL. It is also the return of Ben Roethlisberger from his four game suspension. I expect a huge blow out in this match up.
Roberto	Cleveland at Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh Steelers	Say what you may about Big Ben, but as soon as he delivers his first touchdown every single one of the Steeler faithful will be waving the Terrible Towel. Pittsburgh in Week #6!

Week 5

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Kansas City at Indianapolis	Indianapolis Colts	Indianapolis this year has been on a rollercoaster ride. They are coming off their second divisional loss of the season. This could be a very risky pick due too Kansas City being undefeated and coming off a bye week. The Chiefs have had two weeks to prepare and look to be a young and upcoming team in the NFL. I have faith in Peyton Manning that he will step up and lead the Colts to victory so I am going with them in my survivor pool for week 5.
Roberto	Tampa Bay at Cincinnati	Cincinnati Bengals	The Cincinnati Bengals are looking to bounce back from a tough divisional loss to the Cleveland Browns last week. Although the Bengals offense has failed to live up to expectations thus far, they are still a far more explosive team than their Week #5 opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs struggle to put points up on the scoreboard and will continue to do against the Bengals defense in Cincinnati. Look for the Bengals to move a game above .500 with a win at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week #5.

Week 4

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Arizona at San Diego	San Diego Chargers	In week 4 for my survivor pick I am going with the San Diego Chargers. They play a very weak Arizona Cardinals team that did just come off a nice win at Oakland. Chargers on the other hand are coming off a tough loss to the Seahawks. Hopefully with RB Ryan Mathews back in the lineup San Diego will be more balanced on offense and get back to their winning ways at home.
Roberto	San Francisco at Atlanta	Atlanta Falcons	The Falcons currently lead the NFL in one of the most important statistics in football: time of possession. Keeping opposing teams off the field is one of the best ways to stop them from scoring points and the Falcons have been great at it thus far in 2010. Combine that fact with momentum from beating the defending Super Bowl Champs on their own turf and the Falcons are looking quite favorable playing at home against an inconsistent 49ers team.

Week 3

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Buffalo at New England	New England Patriots	So far in this year’s survivor pool I have found a trend already two weeks in. Take the team who is going against the Bills. Yes the Bills are bad but actually that is only a small part of why I’m picking the Patriots this week. After being dominated for most of the game last week against the Jets, New England is going to come out throwing all over that Buffalo secondary until they score 40 or 50 points and knowing Bill Belichick that still may not be enough. This weeks’ survivor pick should be safe in the hands of the New England Patriots.
Roberto	San Diego at Seattle	San Diego Chargers	Well batting .500 in Survivor Elimination Pool doesn’t exactly cut it. Now that the Dallas Cowboys sabotaged my chance to win this year’s Survivor Elimination Pool, why not roll the dice from week to week with a few risky picks? Enter San Diego Chargers. The Chargers will be facing the Seattle Seahawks in Week #3 without running back Ryan Matthews at 100%. We also witnessed in Week #1 how hostile environments can rattle Philip Rivers and Qwest Field is no easy place for visiting teams to win. This game is certainly closer than the 5.5 spread indicates but nevertheless I select the San Diego Chargers to win.

Week 2

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Buffalo at Green Bay	Green Bay Packers	One of Buffalo’s best chances to win was last week against the Dolphins at home. Trent Edwards absolutely may be the worst QB ever. Give me JaMarcus Russell over him because at least he will chuck it deep which is usually picked off but that’s beside the point. Green Bay’s offense was not at it’s best against Philadelphia so I expect them to get back on track against the Bills at Lambeau Field.
Roberto	Chicago at Dallas	Dallas Cowboys	Despite looking pathetic throughout much of the preseason and Week #1, I am selecting the Dallas Cowboys to win in Week #2. The Chicago Bears are an average team at best and I am betting that the Cowboys will show up at their home opener more focused following an ugly divisional loss and a week of tough practices.

Week 1

	Matchup	Survivor Pick	Explanation
The Fantasy Guy	Minnesota at New Orleans	New Orleans	The first game that kicks off the 2010 NFL season is a rematch of the NFC Championship game last year. I can’t think of a better way to start off the 2010 NFL Eliminator pool by picking the first game. When taking a look at week 1 there are no easy picks here. If you take a look at the teams that are projected to be in the bottom of the league (which is a popular strategy) there still are no easy games to pick. The four teams that I have projected in the bottom of the NFL this year are Buffalo, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Detroit. Buffalo plays at home against rival Miami which is always a tight battle no matter the records of each team. St. Louis plays at home against Arizona who currently doesn’t have a legit quarterback. Tampa Bay plays at home against Cleveland who is another team towards the bottom of the league. And Detroit plays at Chicago who I believe won’t be that strong this year. Well that strategy is out the window, so guess I have to go with my next strategy and that is take the Thursday night game so it is out of the way and you can either celebrate the victory or drown your sorrows in the weekend. New Orleans got the best of Minnesota last year and eventually going on to be Super Bowl champs. This year in the rematch I don’t expect the game to be as close as it was in January. Brett Favre is back but lost his big play receiver in Sidney Rice. They will also have to contend with the crowd noise because I expect the Superdome to be crazy on Thursday. New Orleans will start their 2010 season with a win but look for this matchup again in this year’s playoffs.
Roberto	Oakland at Tennessee	Tennessee	After beginning last year with a horrendous 0-6 record, coach Jeff Fisher is certain to have his team prepared to open the 2010 season with a win at home. Expect Chris Johnson to live up to his #1 fantasy ranking as the Tennessee Titans run over the Oakland Raiders in week 1.