NFL week 3: Hellz Yeah addition

Week 3 is usually around when the perception of teams starts to transition from the preseason hype to the reality of the regular season. Nothing is set in stone yet and fortunes can change quickly, but time starts to expose the pretenders. The media darlings that wilt under the hot lights of the regular season (Carolina, Houston, Tennessee, Miami) begin to sag and their fan bases can feel the desperation. Then there are the teams that are winning, but have more questions than answers (Dallas, Chicago, New England) and those that look solid but have fan bases waiting for the other shoe to drop (Minnesota, San Francisco, NY Jets, Denver). Only a few teams charge out of the gate as true powerhouses that legitimately strike fear in the hearts of other teams (Ny Giants, New Orleans, Baltimore, Indy).

Is the Science Blog NFL pool mirroring the league? Well, Candid Engineer entered the pool with a lot of fan fare and was hounded by the media for weeks as they pestered her for projections on the season that quickly wound up in USA Today. Despite the hype, she has hung a pair of 8-win weeks on the board so far (the league automatically drops 1 lowest score). Equally consistent have been Ambivalent Academic, Chall and Damn Good Technician, who each have a pair of 9-win weeks. Can they keep up the pace or are they going to fall apart once injuries start to pile up? Former weekly winners Tom@Microworld and Mad Hatter are looking strong, and Genomic Repairman and Prof. in Training had a statement weeks with 11 wins. But only two sit atop the leader board with 21 wins after 3 weeks and commanding 12 win week 3s. Myself and Odyssey tied this week, but I pulled out the win on the tiebreaker. This week, you need not look any further to find the trophy.