Welcome to the 2011 NFL Ladder Contest! In this wonderful contest created by BBallman7, every week during the regular season you have a challenge. If you get it correct, you move onto the next level; if you get it wrong, you stay at that level to try again the next week. Each level gets tougher as you progress. There will also be a bonus question every week; getting the bonus correct adds to your tiebreaker score which in the end would be used to decide a winner if there are multiple people on the highest-reached level. There are no limits to sign-ups, and you can join at any time during the season.
A few ground rules: -Please say which level you are on when you post your pick. In most cases it will probably be obvious, but this makes it easier for me to record the picks. -The deadline to make a pick is at the start of the second set of games on Sunday afternoon (4:15 PM ET). That means no SNF/MNF picks after most all the games have started or finished. Obviously you cannot pick a game that has already started. -The deadline to answer the bonus question is at the start of games on Sunday (1 PM ET). -I get my spreads from an online site providing lines from several sources, both in Vegas and out. Although these sources may continue to change their lines throughout the week, the ones I post in the topic are frozen and final for our purposes.
Explanation of Levels:
Level 1: Pick a winner. Simply pick one team to win their game. If they win, you go on to level 2.
Level 2: Pick an Underdog to win. You must pick a team that is an underdog to win their game. Underdogs will always be the team listed second.
Level 3: 2 Games with Spread. Using the spreads I provide, pick 2 games. You must get both correct to move on. Spreads work by giving (-) or getting (+) points. The team that is the favorite to win “gives” points to the underdog. If you choose the favorite to win, they must still win after “giving” those points to the underdog. If you choose the underdog, you would be correct if they win the game after “getting” those points. For example, if a game says “Giants (-2.5) vs. Cowboys,” if you pick the Giants, they must actually win the game by at least three points; if you pick the Cowboys, you would win if they actually won the game or lost by two points or less.
Schedule: (Home team in CAPS; favorites to the left, underdogs to the right) Sunday, September 25th CINCINNATI (-2.5) vs San Francisco New England (-8.5) at Buffalo NEW ORLEANS (-3.5) vs Houston PHILADELPHIA (-7.5) vs Giants CLEVELAND (-2.5) vs Miami TENNESSEE (-6.5) vs Denver Detroit (-3.5) at MINNESOTA CAROLINA (-3.5) vs Jacksonville SAN DIEGO (-14.5) vs Kansas City NY Jets (-3.5) at OAKLAND Baltimore (-3.5) at ST LOUIS TAMPA BAY (-1.5) vs Atlanta Arizona (-3.5) at SEATTLE Green Bay (-3.5) at CHICAGO Pittsburgh (-10.5) at INDIANAPOLIS
Monday, September 26th DALLAS (-5.5) vs Washington
Bonus Question: Level 6 Preview: Pick 1 Quarterback, 1 Running Back, and 1 Wide Receiver. They all have to play for different teams. Each one of them has to get one touchdown in their respective positions. [Note: Unlike the real Level 6, they do not need to combine for four touchdowns.]
It was not looking good for Level 2 last week as the Bucs (who made up 22 out of 54 picks on that level) were losing by quite a bit for most of the game, but they pulled it out in the end. There were only two other upsets in the week, one by the Titans which nobody picked, and one by the Falcons which six picked. Tough break for some Ravens pickers who are stuck in Level 1 for another week, as well as one Eagles picker. 24 out of 72 got the bonus question right last week for 3 underdog winners (25 picked 4 underdogs).
Note about the Bonus Question: As it is with Level 6, you don't specifically have to pick a QB, RB, and WR for their respective touchdowns. You could pick a TE or RB to get a receiving TD, or a QB to get a rushing touchdown, or whatever. You're basically picking one person to pass for a TD, one person to rush for a TD, and one person to catch a TD. Just specify who is getting what if it's not obvious.
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If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person? [HERO'S PLUNGE] http://img.imgcake.com/finegifdy.gif
Baltimore's spread seems so low that it feels like a trap, but I'll risk springing the trap. Pittsburgh will probably continue to find themselves again by stomping the Colts.
BBallman7 made 12 levels. I think the highest anyone got was to Level 9. I'm pretty much ignoring the last two because they're pretty ridiculous, and I came up with a new late-game rung. So right now there are 11 levels, but that can change.