BTSC Survivor Pool Update: Getting ready for Week 1

Entry into the Behind The Steel Curtain survivor pool is coming to a close. Over 500 people have entered the contest to see if their skills at picking NFL games can earn them a signed David DeCastro football. Personally, I have two major questions leading into the competition: how many are going to be eliminated in Week 1, and how long is the contest going to take?

Reminder of Important Rules:

Here are the rules of play, which are outlined in the Commissioner’s note on the league's main page:

There are also some additional rules all contestants need to be aware of and consider when making your picks:

• If any players complete the NFL regular season and a winner has not been determined, the availability of choosing teams will be reset for the playoffs. Therefore, you do NOT have to save your desired Super Bowl champion throughout the regular season.
• If you choose, you can get e-mail reminders to make your picks. Additionally, picks can be made for the entire season and changed each week before the deadline. Even though the deadline is 1:00 P.M. EST on Sundays, the Thursday night game can be used as a pick as long as it is selected before kickoff. If using a Thursday night team, once the game has started the pick cannot be changed. Selecting a valid entry is completely up to the determination of Yahoo! Sports. Please do not ask us to override a selection if you did not make it properly because we do not have the power to do so.
• If all remaining teams are eliminated the same week, and if this occurs in Week 15 or later, the winner will be determined by all remaining contestants picking the entire slate of NFL games the following week. The person who picks the most correctly will win the prize. In the event of a tie, the following weeks games (even if it’s the playoffs) will be used for a tiebreaker. If no winner is established going into the Super Bowl, a final tiebreaker will be determined and announced at that time.

Weekly Update:

Each week I will be posting an article to update the status of each league and the number of contestants remaining. Additionally, I’ll be giving some commentary about the choices, both good and bad, and the outcomes which affected the most people. I’ll also highlight some of the upcoming games for the week ahead. For example:

Upcoming Week 1 Games of Note:

• Most heavily favored: Philadelphia (-9.5) at home over Washington
• Closest match up: Tampa Bay (EVEN) at home vs. San Francisco, Oakland (EVEN) at home vs. Denver
• The Steelers match up: New England (-5.5) at home over Pittsburgh

(all lines are courtesy of oddshark.com as on 9/3)

So there you have it! Make sure you check back at Behind The Steel Curtain to stay updated on the contest. Even if you did not enter or have already been eliminated, feel free to check in and see how you would have fared each week.

Let’s get ready for some football!