The 2008 Best Picture class at the Oscars is generally considered one of the worst group of nominees in recent memory. Slumdog Millionaire beat out Benjamin Button, Milk, The Reader and Frost/Nixon for the crown in a subpar year.
But they still slap “Best Picture” on the Slumdog DVD boxes.
Along the same vein, this year in Eliminator has been easier than most. Picking on the Browns — and, to a lesser extent, the 49ers or Jaguars — has made it less difficult to pick at least one winner in a given week than it has been in fantasy circles in years.
But being easier than normal does not mean it has been easy. Just to pick one game, there were nearly half a million entrants in ESPN’s Eliminator Challenge, and of those, only 10,389 remain perfect. That’s about 2 percent. And included in that 2 percent of successes is PFF’s Tyler Loechner.
What makes Tyler’s season picks slightly more impressive is he isn’t making them in a void, only to brag when he emerges victorious. No, Tyler’s been public about his picks all season, first publishing them in weekly advice pieces on the site, then moving them to Twitter in Week 4. Using PFF’s forecasts and projections, Tyler’s gone 15 weeks into a 17-week game flawlessly, and stands only two more correct picks away from a perfect season.
Has he taken the theoretically easy way out and picked on the Browns most of the season? Sure. But if it were really that easy, there would be more than 2 percent perfect still, especially among the public selections.
So yeah, we’re gonna brag on our guy a little here. (At least until this piece jinxes him and he’s wrong in Week 16.) He used our tools and our projections, made his own picks (see them below) and beat some 98 percent of the players. He avoided a couple of theoretically “obvious” picks that doomed many others (twice the most popular play on ESPN failed). @LoechnerNFL for the win.
Week 16
.@LoechnerNFL is going with with has worked so many times before and is picking SD to beat CLV. We have SD projected to win by about 6 pts. pic.twitter.com/DYTG4FhIEi
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 22, 2016
Week 15
.@LoechnerNFL agrees with 57% of you and is picking ATL > SF. We have ATL projected to win by over 10 pts, for the biggest win of the week.
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 17, 2016
The result: Atlanta 41, San Francisco 13
Most popular on ESPN: Atlanta, 32%
Week 14
.@LoechnerNFL is picking DEN to topple JAX. He's been saving the Broncos, and the Jaguars are *not* the “best 2-win team ever.” Sorry, Rex.
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 1, 2016
The result: Detroit 20, Chicago 17 Most popular on ESPN: Detroit, 39%
Week 13
.@LoechnerNFL is picking DEN to topple JAX. He's been saving the Broncos, and the Jaguars are *not* the “best 2-win team ever.” Sorry, Rex. — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 1, 2016
The result: Denver 20, Jacksonville 10
Most popular on ESPN: Denver, 32%
Week 12
.@LoechnerNFL is going to stick with what has worked: He's picking the Giants against the Browns. — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) November 24, 2016
The result: NY Giants 27, Cleveland 13 Most popular on ESPN: Giants, 32%
Week 11
Guess we saved them for a reason? @LoechnerNFL is choosing PIT to topple CLV this week in Eliminator. https://t.co/Xi4XtNa8o3 — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) November 17, 2016
The result: Pittsburgh 24, Cleveland 9
Most popular on ESPN: Giants, 29% (Giants beat Bears 22-16)
Week 10
Since @LoechnerNFL already used Baltimore, he's choosing the Cardinals vs. the 49ers. We have them projected to win by over 10 points. — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) November 10, 2016
The result: Arizona 23, San Francisco 20 Most popular on ESPN: Baltimore, 36% (Ravens beat Browns, 28-7)
Week 9
.@LoechnerNFL is choosing Dallas. We have them projected to win by nearly 10 pts, the biggest margin of the week: https://t.co/2LaerwMC98 — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) November 3, 2016
The result: Dallas 35, Cleveland 10
Most popular on ESPN: Dallas, 44%
Week 8
.@LoechnerNFL is picking the Jets. He says it's the only non-divisional game he's comfy picking. Plus, we have NYJ projected to win by a TD. — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) October 27, 2016
The result: NY Jets 31, Cleveland 28 Most popular on ESPN: Minnesota, 40% (Vikings lost to the Bears, 20-10)
Week 7
.@LoechnerNFL has already chosen the Ravens, so he's picking the Bengals against the winless Browns in Eliminator this week. — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) October 20, 2016
The result: Cincinnati 31, Cleveland 17
Most popular on ESPN: Cincinnati, 37%
Week 6
We have PIT projected to win by over 2 TDs, but @LoechnerNFL wants to save them in Eliminator, so he's choosing BUF against SF in Week 6. — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) October 13, 2016
The result: Buffalo 45, San Francisco 16 Most popular on ESPN: Pittsburgh, 26% (Steelers lost to the Dolphins, 30-15)
Week 5
.@LoechnerNFL is rolling with the Patriots this week in Eliminator. We have them projected to win by 10+ points. — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) October 6, 2016
The result: New England 33, Cleveland 13
Most popular on ESPN: New England, 49%
Week 4
.@LoechnerNFL says he's choosing Washington in #Eliminator this week. 5-pt faces (per our projections), home team. And lets him save Denver. — PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) September 29, 2016
The result: Washington 31, Cleveland 20
Most popular on ESPN: Washington, 24%
Week 3
The result: Miami 30, Cleveland 24
Most popular on ESPN: Miami, 33%
Week 2
The result: Baltimore 25, Cleveland 20
Most popular on ESPN: Carolina, 32% (Panthers beat 49ers, 46-27)
Week 1
The result: Seattle 12, Miami 10
Most popular on ESPN: Seattle, 26%
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