One of my favorite things to do with the index is check out the newspaper section. I have dubbed it The Simulation Sentinel. I love to see the different stories that pop up before and after games each week. One of the sections that really caught my eye was the Game of the Week with the expert predictions. There are four "experts" who make picks for the game and have a small blurb about their pick. I wanted to see how good these predictions were vs my own. Let's meet our panel of experts and myself:
Jeremy Piper - The newest addition to the prediction panel. He's only been with the Sentinel for a couple years but has shown a lot of knowledge when it comes to the ISFL.
Mary Moore - She is one of the most respected members at the Sentinel and has won the prediction club 2 of the last 3 seasons. Mary is all about metrics when it comes to her selections.
Jim Nox - One of the original members of the prediction panel. Jim has been covering the ISFL since the league's inception. He is very straight forward with his predictions.
Darren Francis - He has been part of the Sentinel since S15, quickly joining the panel. He has a few championships to his name but has had a bit of a drought as of late. He's looking to change all that this year.
Week 1 - Yellowknife Wraiths at Chicago Butchers
Jeremy Piper:
Mary Moore:
Jim Nox:
Darren Francis:
ShnarlyDude:
The first game of the season is always hard to predict as you only have a small sample size of preseason games when it comes to your decision. The panel was leaning towards Yellowknife in this game with Mary Moore being the only one to select Chicago. "A tough choice. I think this will be a close game." Mary was quoted as saying when making her selection. I also went with Chicago only giving them the nod because they were playing at home. Chicago went on to win the game 26-20.
Week 2 - New York Silverbacks at Orange County Otters
Jeremy Piper:
Mary Moore:
Jim Nox:
Darren Francis:
ShnarlyDude:
The Week 2 match up set up a couple 1-0 teams in New York and Orange County. Both of these teams made playoff appearances in S26 and were looking to keep that going in S27. The experts were again leaning towards one team, that being New York. Darren Francis was the lone expert to pick Orange County. Darren on his pick "Look for them to build on their last win." I too thought Orange County would win, again having a homefield advantage but alas I was wrong. New York came in and took the win 24-21.
Week 3 - Austin Copperheads at New York Silverbacks
Jeremy Piper:
Mary Moore:
Jim Nox:
Darren Francis:
ShnarlyDude:
Week 3 finally brings us our first split between the experts. Jeremy and Mary went with Austin, while Jim and Darren went with New York. Jeremy said "The Copperheads are for real!" and Jim said "I do not think you get very far against their offense. I am looking forward to watching this showdown." I selected Austin in this game. Even though they were 1-1 I bought into their Free Agent acquisitions this offseason and really thought they would be one of the top teams in the league. Jim Nox was dead on about New York's offense as they put up 44 points against Austin's 29. Jim being the oldest of the prediction panel, couldn't help but gloat at the next prediction club.
Week 4 - Chicago Butchers at Sarasota Sailfish
Jeremy Piper:
Mary Moore:
Jim Nox:
Darren Francis:
ShnarlyDude:
Just like in Week 3 the panel was split in Week 4. Jeremy and Mary had the same picks again, same goes for Jim & Darren. Mary was very impressed with Sarasota's defense up to that point "I do not think their defense gets enough credit. They are 5th in sacks with 13. They are 1st in interceptions with 5. They are 3rd in the league in tackles for loss. They are 5th in the league pass average yards per rush. They are 5th in forced fumbles." Darren had a similar thought when it came to Chicago's defense. "They are well coached. I am sure head coach Richard Jensen has them prepared for this game. He is running an explosive defense." This wasn't exactly the defensive showdown the panel thought it would be as the final score ended up 32-28 with Chicago coming out on top. I was finally off the schneid after missing out on the last two games. Jim Nox was riding high with 3 correct predictions in a row.
Week 5 - Arizona Outlaws at Honolulu Hahalua
Jeremy Piper:
Mary Moore:
Jim Nox:
Darren Francis:
ShnarlyDude:
A first in the predictions the panel have unanimously picked one team to win the Game of the Week. Honolulu was one of the hottest teams in the league coming off 3 straight victories. How could you not pick them to beat a middling Outlaws team? Mary Moore stated "They are on a win streak. They will continue that streak. They will win this game. A tough choice. I think it will be a close game." Honolulu couldn't pull out a win at home as Arizona came in and held the great offense to 14 points in a 30-14 victory. It's tough to keep a win streak going, that's why I selected Arizona, and this might be the only time I pull off a complete victory against the expert panel.
After 5 weeks of predictions let's take a look at our panel vs me:
1. Jim Nox & ShnarlyDude (3-2)
2. Mary Moore and Darren Francis (2-3)
3. Jeremy Piper (1-4)
I seem to be right in line with the predictions panel as no one is really dominating in the picks so far through 5 weeks of action and poor Jeremy has only one game correct with his pick of New York over Orange County. Will he be able to turn it around in the next 5 weeks of predictions? We'll have to find out after the results of Week 10.