2011 TABRankings — Regular Season

And just like that, the regular season comes to an end. Boy, didn’t those 17 weeks go by fast? For 22 teams and their loyal fan bases, the focus is now on September 2012.

According to the TABRankings, there are some teams that can be happy for something, despite missing the postseason. The Eagles (10th) and Seahawks (12th) are two teams like were “good enough” to make the playoffs without doing so. Both teams greatly outplayed their record. The Eagles went 8-8 with 9.8 Pythagorean Wins, while the Seahawks went 7-9 with 8.2 Pythagorean Wins. Expect both teams to improve their records in 2012.

Meanwhile, the 8-8 Broncos make the playoffs with the 23th rank in the TABRankings and a few helpings of Tebow Time. All Tebow did this year was make a below-average team crawl into the playoffs. Yes, he did some great things in late-game situations, but overall he just fed into the painful mediocrity of the Denver Broncos. Good thing is, Tebow and the triple option has made close games out of potential blowouts, so a playoff win isn’t out of the question.

Check out the final regular season rankings in the 2011 season. Playoff teams are in bold.

The TABRankings 3.0 formula:
(W-L Pct)+(Away Pct/2)+(Division Pct/2)+(Pythagorean Pct/2)+(Time Ahead Avg x 2)+(Third Down Differential x 2)+(TO Margin x 3)-(Fumbles Kept Diff)+(DVOA Rating x 2)
**DVOA is the creation of Football Outsiders. I own no rights to DVOA.**

The TABR Regular Season top eight:
1 , 2, 3, 4
5, 6, 7, 8
——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

2011 Regular Season TABRankings
1(1) Green Bay Packers (15-1) 441.74
2(2) San Francisco 49ers (13-3) 375.90
3(3) New Orleans Saints (13-3) 374.53
4(4) New England Patriots (13-3) 369.67
5(6) Baltimore Ravens (12-4) 311.33
6(5) Houston Texans (10-6) 300.91
7(8) Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) 283.05
8(9) Atlanta Falcons (10-6) 270.56
9(7) Detroit Lions (10-6) 266.65
10(10) Philadelphia Eagles (8-8) 233.11
11(16) New York Giants (9-7) 202.75
12(11) Seattle Seahawks (7-9) 190.21
13(17) Tennessee Titans (9-7) 186.32
14(14) Cincinnati Bengals (9-7) 179.58
15(12) Dallas Cowboys (8-8) 175.77
–AVERAGE MARK (175.00)–
16(15) New York Jets (8-8) 170.07
17(18) Chicago Bears (8-8) 168.07
18(21) San Diego Chargers (8-8) 161.25
19(13) Carolina Panthers (6-10) 151.57
20(20) Miami Dolphins (6-10) 150.55
21(23) Kansas City Chiefs (7-9) 129.49
22(19) Oakland Raiders (8-8) 128.92
23(22) Denver Broncos (8-8) 90.85
24(26) Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11) 86.35
25(28) Arizona Cardinals (8-8) 68.75
26(24) Washington Redskins (5-11) 63.57
27(25) Buffalo Bills (6-10) 48.70
28(27) Cleveland Browns (4-12) 46.65
29(29) Minnesota Vikings (3-13) 8.00
30(31) Saint Louis Rams (2-14) -52.01
31(30) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12) -57.68
32(32) Indianapolis Colts (2-14) -63.12

Pick’em Results: Week 17

Well, it wasn’t a perfect week, with a big thanks to Jets losing a game most picked the Dolphins to win. However, there was some ground that was gained. My on-air declaration was “Giants 34, Cowboys 30″ for the final game. Too bad the Cowboys couldn’t keep up their part  to make it a close game. Even the conservative Giants (conservative in the second half at least) scored 31 points. Overall, it made a for an impressive week. Maybe it continues into the playoffs!

Games of the Week (3 points each)
(19) Tennessee Titans (8-7) at (5) Houston Texans (10-5)
(6) Baltimore Ravens (11-4) at (17) Cincinnati Bengals (9-6)
(12) Dallas Cowboys (8-7) at (13) New York Giants (8-7)

The Rest of Divisional Games (2 points each)
(7) Detroit Lions (10-5) at (1) Green Bay Packers (14-1)
(32) Indianapolis Colts (2-13) at (26) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11)
(14) New York Jets (8-7) at (20) Miami Dolphins (5-10)
(16) Chicago Bears (7-8) at (29) Minnesota Vikings (3-12)
(25) Buffalo Bills (6-9) at (4) New England Patriots (12-3)
(15) Carolina Panthers (6-9) at (3) New Orleans Saints (12-3)
(24) Washington Redskins (5-10) at (10) Philadelphia Eagles (7-8)
(2) San Francisco 49ers (12-3) at (31) St. Louis Rams (2-13)
(11) Seattle Seahawks (7-8) at (28) Arizona Cardinals (7-8)
(30) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-11) at (9) Atlanta Falcons (9-6)
(8) Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4) at (27) Cleveland Browns (4-11)
(23) Kansas City Chiefs (6-9) at (22) Denver Broncos (8-7)
(21) San Diego Chargers (7-8) at (18) Oakland Raiders (8-7)

—————————————————————————

Week totals: 12-4 overall record, 27 points
Season totals: 161-95 record and 282 points
More totals: 34-17 GOTW, 56-40 division, 14-2 locks, 4-12 upsets
Lock of the Week: Six-week streak (Chiefs, Vikings, Colts, Browns, Jaguars, Rams)

My competitors include:

• Cold, Hard Football Facts: 170-86 and 299 points
• ESPN Accuscore: 174-82 and 312 points
• Top ESPN pundit: Seth Wickersham with 167-89 and 298 points
• Top NFLN pundit: Michael Irvin with 175-81 and 309 points
• Pete Prisco, CBS: 163-93 and 294 points

Let’s look at a recap of what I need to get to during the playoffs.

2009: 175-92 record, 319 of 490 points (65.1%)
I didn’t compare my predictions to any experts, but I participated in a points-based predictions pool with some of my local friends from Ewing. In the Street Crew Pick’em, I finished in first place with a strong finish in the postseason.

2010: 172-95 record, 347 of 523 points (66.3%)
The good times roll as I battle against the experts. I competed against four opponents: ESPN Accuscore, the ESPN experts, Pete Prisco and Cold, Hard Football Facts. I finished in second place of 12 in both record and total points. Better yet, no human was able to top the TAB Pick’em machine. However, ESPN’s Accuscore put its heartless, metallic hands on the faux trophy.

2011: ???
Unless I finish with a near-perfect playoffs, I clearly took a step down the chain. As of now, after conquering all humans for two seasons, I’m now basically the runt at the bottom of the mountain. For now, I must make the best of what I’ve done in the regular season.

2011 NFL Pick’em: Week 17

No commentary due to the holiday weekend. Have a happy new year!

(Note: With Week 17 being an all-divisional week, and the rest of the season being the playoffs, there will be no more upset specials and no more locks.)

Games of the Week (3 points each)
(19) Tennessee Titans (8-7) at (5) Houston Texans (10-5)
(6) Baltimore Ravens (11-4) at (17) Cincinnati Bengals (9-6)
(12) Dallas Cowboys (8-7) at (13) New York Giants (8-7)

The Rest of Divisional Games (2 points each)
(7) Detroit Lions (10-5) at (1) Green Bay Packers (14-1)
(32) Indianapolis Colts (2-13) at (26) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11)
(14) New York Jets (8-7) at (20) Miami Dolphins (5-10)
(16) Chicago Bears (7-8) at (29) Minnesota Vikings (3-12)
(25) Buffalo Bills (6-9) at (4) New England Patriots (12-3)
(15) Carolina Panthers (6-9) at (3) New Orleans Saints (12-3)
(24) Washington Redskins (5-10) at (10) Philadelphia Eagles (7-8)
(2) San Francisco 49ers (12-3) at (31) St. Louis Rams (2-13)
(11) Seattle Seahawks (7-8) at (28) Arizona Cardinals (7-8)
(30) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-11) at (9) Atlanta Falcons (9-6)
(8) Pittsburgh Steelers (11-4) at (27) Cleveland Browns (4-11)
(23) Kansas City Chiefs (6-9) at (22) Denver Broncos (8-7)
(21) San Diego Chargers (7-8) at (18) Oakland Raiders (8-7)