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NFL Survivor Pool: Things are getting ridiculous
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Survivor Pool: Things are getting ridiculous

The objective of Survivor Pools is to pick one winner each week without using the same team twice. This has been a wacky year for these kinds of pools with most participants getting eliminated in the first couple of weeks. (Guilty.)

Well, four weeks in and I am still looking to bank that first win. Last week it might have been folly to back the Detroit Lions but Seattle is supposed to be the worst team in the league, just nobody told QB Geno Smith it seems.

The other picks have included the reigning AFC Champs (Cincinnati) and the team that was the top seed in the AFC a year ago (Tennessee), plus, err, the L.A. Chargers. Yes, I am 0-4 with these picks, all of whom were favorites in their games so it is not like I was going out on a limb. It's bad, I know ... Or you can just fade me.

Well here is to breaking the streak this week.

Survivor Pool Teams Used: Tennessee, Cincinnati, Los Angeles (Chargers), and Detroit.

Week 5 Survivor Pick Recommendation

A bunch of the worst teams are on the road this week, providing what should be a plethora of viable options (I just need one). For clarity's sake, those teams are Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle and Houston. The problem is that the bad teams have been fooling us time and again this season. Chicago is 2-2 even though they have scored more than 20 points just once this season. So after much consideration, I have landed on Tampa Bay, but I have to admit I am not feeling great about it. (How can I be at 0-4?)

The Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs Atlanta)

The Bucs and Falcons are both 2-2 this season with the Falcons being more competitive than expected and the Buccaneers less so. The last we saw Tampa they were getting hammered by Kansas City so it might be easy to overlook them this week, but there is a big difference between the Chiefs and the Falcons. Atlanta has shown more spunk than expected but close wins over Seattle and Cleveland back to back are not doing it for me. Nor is their 4-0 ATS record this season. RB Cordarelle Patterson is out and their defense is equally bad against the run and the pass. Tampa has some injury issues too but as long as Tom Brady is good to go it is hard to see them losing a third game in a row (all at home). There is a reason the spread here is Bucs -7.5.

Looking a little ahead. Tampa is a nice play this week too because while they are still considered a top team, they are entering a tougher spot in their schedule with two road games after this than the Ravens and Rams at home after that. Even their game the next week against Seattle is in London, and that travel has an effect on teams that is hard to define. 

This is the spot (though I have said that before).

Matt Wiesenfeld

Matt Wiesenfeld has been handicapping games and espousing sports wisdom online for more than a decade, writing thousands of articles to help bettors understand and play the market. Matt loves to bet on, write about, and engage on MLB, the NFL, NBA, college football, and college basketball

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