2009 NFL ATS Pick 'Em: Week Six Standings

By: Luke Florence

Take a deep breath everyone. It's been a fast and furious six weeks, but more than ten weeks remain. Plenty of time to sink or swim.

Instead of going the traditional route in showcasing our standings, let's get creative for once.

Enjoy. (The week six QOTW, awards standings, etc. will be updated tomorrow afternoon)

The JaMarcus Russell Division -
We may be good ... but not this year.

26) Devin Frank 37-53 (5-9) - Hard to blame D-Frank for his lousy record. This man is overseas, studying like crazy to obtain his Masters in just one year. Give him credit for staying with us. Sadly, he has nothing to look forward to sports wise ... unless he wants aboard the Pittsburgh Penguins bandwagon, we'd love to have him.

25) Bart Borer 42-48 (9-5) - Bart had exactly 42 wins at this point last year, showing us that consistency and mediocrity often go hand-in-hand. Bart does have one of the best special sections this season ... and arguably the greatest entry of all-time with his Las Vegas tale from two weeks ago.

24) Andrew Reinhart 43-47 (7-7) - At least his Denver Broncos are 6-0. Something would tell me that Chewy would take that trade-off every day of the week. A couple Chew On This segments would be nice though. Especially since his Broncos just keep on winning.

The Jason Campbell Division -
We feel like we are average, but compared to everyone else, we are well below average.

21) Corey Taylor 45-45 (9-5) - After finally getting his money in this past week, karma worked in Taylor's favor with a league-best 9-5 week six record. That got him to .500; where he goes from here is anyone's guess. And considering no one knew his whereabouts during Homecoming weekend, it's a familiar position for CT.

21) Brian Boesch 45-45 (8-6) - Winning nine games in two weeks will land you here. Fortunately for Boesch, the Indians need a new manager (please not Manny Acta), the Athens Bulldogs football team are looking good (although not playoff bound), and he gets to spend this beautiful time of the year in A-Town.

21) Josh Florence 45-45 (7-7) - Might be the only guy with the potential to go 16-0 one week and just bypass everyone. When you don't watch football, it gives you that slight advantage. However, the defending champion needs lots of ten win-weeks to get back in to the money.

The Matt Cassel Division -
We still might have time to turn it around ... but the deck is stacked against us.

18) Andrew Braverman 47-43 (7-7) - Braves is now in Denver, Colorado which has got to be beautiful this time of the year. Throw in the Broncos thriving success (and considering he left Nashville - Titans 0-6), and it's safe to say Braves traded-up. The countdown to the 2009 AJB Holliday CD is right around the corner.

18) Matt Barnes 47-43 (5-9) - Barnes has a legit chance of winning both the Bill Walton and Gus Johnson Award, which would be historic. His comments week in and week out have been nothing short of outstanding. He is the only league member to legitimately pick a theme each week and carry it out. Three years ago I created league comments mainly because of Barnes, and we are finally seeing the fruits of that decision today. I can not wait until Christmas, because the only thing I want Santa to bring me is a Matt Barnes NFL Holliday Poem ... PLEEEEASE!!

18) Jake Young 47-43 (5-9) - Had a semi-controversy surrounding Jake's picks last week. He sent me a text at 12:23 saying he would take all the favorites. Then, at 1:02, he made some corrections. Then, at 1:13, he made some more. I hate to be a stickler, but the deadline for picks without comments is one hour before kick-off. Obviously it's not that big of a deal if you are a couple minutes late on that ... but making picks after games have kicked off won't fly. Sorry Jake, I hate to do it to you, but your original picks have to stand. Don't worry, your Packers smoking my Browns this Sunday should provide some justice.

The Tony Romo Division -
No we are not homo ... we could be good, but we fail to put it together when it counts the most.

15) Kevin Hunt 48-42 (9-5) - Fitting that the original creator of the "Romo Is Homo," line winds up in this division. Hunt has put some great weeks together ... and some poor weeks. Which can be safely said for the rest of this group. He has 11 weeks left to try and make up some ground ... both in the standings, and in his defense of Gus Johnson. SPEEEED!

15) Luke Florence 48-42 (5-9) - Had 51 wins at this point last year. Two weeks with nine losses have killed the KOA, but fortunately, he is only four games out of the money, which is nothing with all the games left to pick. If there were no more games after 1:00 on Sunday, the KOA would probably be in first place. The 4:00 games have hurt me, while the Sunday and Monday (1-5) night games have killed me.

15) Chris Rapking 48-42 (3-11) - There are two members in the race for the Katy Perry, Hot N' Cold Award. One of them is Chris Rapking. Here are his four previous weekly records - 12-4, 5-9, 9-5, 3-11. It means Rapking has the potential to finish anywhere from 20th to 1st. Justin Whelan would be the first person to tell you that the award is cool-looking, but not nearly as satisfying as an in-the-money finish.

The Matt Ryan Division -
We are on the cusp ... just waiting for the top tier to fall.

11) Eric Hug 49-41 (9-5) - Huggy Bear has been consistently average thus far, but he showed some promise last week with his 9-5 record. Add in an Oakland Raiders victory and an Athens reunion, it would be safe to say he had a great weekend.

11) Shane Kline 49-41 (8-6) - The preseason odds-on favorite was terrific in the early weeks, but finally buckled under the weight of expectation with 11 wins combined in two weeks. However, he has rebounded a bit as of late, which should be expected. Shane Kline doesn't quit ... he fights to the very end. Which makes him dangerous in this format, and nearly unstoppable come December for the 2009 F'd Up Tourney.

11) Jason Fazzone 49-41 (6-8) - Fiz has written the most special sections to date, and the content is well-written but highly controversial in this group (mostly Browns fans). But that is what makes this league so unique. Everyone has an opportunity to write whatever they want, and one of the Pittsburgh Steeler fans takes the chance and runs with it. I love it. Go Penguins!

11) Jeff Schaffer 49-41 (5-9) - Well, several missed weeks have probably done in Schaf's bid to obtain Gus Johnson, but he's right in the hunt for the money. Spider also has a Quote Of The Week to hang his hat on, which could turn into the Quote Of The Year at our Season Ending Awards Banquet. And yes, I did purposefully put Schaffer in the Matt Ryan division. You are welcome Spider.

The Eli Manning Division -
We have several great weeks, but we don't have enough to make any money ... yet.

8) Ryan Polito 50-40 (7-7) - He's always around the money, but has yet to take any home. Not gonna lie, despite Polito and I having rival teams in EVERY sporting league (sans hockey), I hope he either wins it all or flames out during the pursuit. Finishing just outside the money in 2008 was heart-breaking for Polito. It reminded me of Phil Ivey finishing 10th during the World Series Of Poker's Main Event a few years back.

8) Luke Polito 50-40 (7-7) - Polito's younger brother is doing just as well as his older - and more experienced ATS - brother. Luke must be feeling pretty good right now, mostly due to his Houston Texans guarantee last week (his only comment thus far). Time will tell if Luke continues his assault towards the top, but with a first name like that, odds say he will.

8) Jamie Reamer 50-40 (7-7) - Some may be surprised by Reamer's consistence in picking winners ... but I'm not. When money is on the line, this guy does not go down quietly. He was always among the top NFL pickers back in high school, always gave me fits on the poker table, and defeated me in the playoffs of our quarter-sliding game back in Calvert's cafeteria. The kid is like a shark, always on the hunt for fresh money.

The Drew Brees Division -
Show us the money.

4) Erik Smith 52-38 (9-5) - Chris Rapking has been streaky, but Smitty might be even streakier. 12-4, 7-9, 11-5, 5-9, 8-6 and 9-5. Katy Perry couldn't be prouder. Smitty is also an active member of this league with regards to new ideas. He wanted to incorporate Bill Simmons' record on here, in hopes of obtaining a link on the Sports Guy's web-site. The KOA hasn't figured out the best way of doing so, but it shows that Smitty is a passionate ATS league member.

4) Chris Woodard 52-38 (9-5) - Slow and steady wins the race. It describes the turtle in the Tortoise and the Hare book, but it also describes Woody in this league. He continually puts together solid weeks and continually moves up the leader-board. I hate to use the Aaron Rodgers analogy, but it's staring me directly in the face. Last season, Rodgers' first as a starter, he guided the Packers to a 4-3 record. After the bye week, the Pack only won two more games, losing seven of their next eight. Sorry Woody, your justice will be when your Packers destroy my Browns on Sunday. You are welcome.

4) Anthony Tynan 52-38 (8-6) - He came in surrounded by an aura of confidence. He broke ATS records the first few weeks. He has continually been in the money throughout. He is Anthony Tynan ... aka All Day. Baseball may be his expertise, but he has shown a tremendous amount of football knowledge the first month and a half of the season. He will probably be right around the top for the remainder.

4) Justin Whelan 52-38 (7-7) - If Shane Kline was my odds-on favorite to win, then Justin Whelan would have been my 2nd choice. I'm still not sure how Whelan ended up 10th last year (probably his back-to-back 6-10 records the last two weeks of the season), but he has shown resiliency to climb back into the money in 2009. My hope is to continue this league throughout the remainder of my life-time, and it wouldn't surprise me when I finally "retire", that Justin has multiple ATS championships hanging in his room.

The Peyton Manning Division -
We are good ... really good.

3) Jeff Normand 53-37 (8-6) - Hard not to root for Jeff. He was a late addition, but a welcome one. After struggling to maintain a .500 record the first two years of this league, Jeff has had a resurgence of monumental proportions. He is sitting alone in third place in a 26-member league. Being a Cleveland Browns fan in Cincinnati ... it's safe to say Jeff finally deserves to have the NFL reward him. Here's to hoping he continues to prosper.

1) Nick Lay 55-35 (9-5) - Matt Barnes may have a chance to win the Gus Johnson and Bill Walton, but Nick Lay has a chance to win the Triple Crown (Johnson, Walton, AND this league). The KOA was correct in their pre-season predictions of Lay's success in this league, both with his picks and with his comments. It is early, but the front-runner for the Free Agent Acquisition of the Year (Brian Boesch won last season), would have to be Nick Lay. They may nick-name him wheel-barrow during the Awards Banquet at this pace. Well deserved though.

1) Billy Wakefield 55-35 (4-10) - What Billy was doing through the first five weeks was nothing short of remarkable. He was 51-25 (a 67% clip) and had a five game lead on 2nd place. If Billy were to maintain that 67% for the 17-week season, he would have ended up with 171 wins, a staggering 21 more than the 150 record put up in 2007 by yours truly. That being said, it's not surprising that Billy dropped back down to earth in week six. Despite only picking up four wins, he still holds a share of first for the fourth consecutive week.

Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."