Originally published on PunditTracker.
Given that our last rankings were posted after Week 7, let’s take a look at how the NFL experts fared with their game picks over the past two weeks.
The results are day and night. The pundits had a stellar Week 8, with a collective 80% hit rate and $1.14 Yield. Week 9, meanwhile, was a disaster—53 percent hit rate, $0.82 yield—with the pundits striking out on the Bengals/Dolphins (only 2 of 27 picked Miami), Saints/Jets (also 2/27), Eagles/Raiders (1/27), and Packers/Bears (1/27).
Here are the full rankings, sorted by season-to-date Yield. Recall that Hit Rate is the percent of picks that were correct, while Yield is the average payout had your bet $1 on each of the pundit’s picks at Moneyline odds.
| Pundit | Record Wk 8 | Yield Wk 8 | Record Wk 9 | Yield Wk 9 | Record Season | Hit Rate Season | Yield Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pundit Average | 80% | $1.14 | 53% | $0.82 | 64% | 64% | $0.99 |
| Keyshawn Johnson, ESPN | 11-2 | $1.33 | 8-5 | $1.34 | 89-44 | 67% | $1.14 |
| Ron Jaworski, ESPN | 11-2 | $1.16 | 7-6 | $0.83 | 94-39 | 71% | $1.12 |
| Jamey Eisenberg, CBS | 11-2 | $1.31 | 8-5 | $0.96 | 90-43 | 68% | $1.06 |
| Tom Jackson, ESPN | 10-3 | $1.07 | 8-5 | $1.08 | 88-45 | 66% | $1.05 |
| Mike Golic, ESPN | 10-3 | $1.14 | 6-7 | $0.65 | 87-46 | 65% | $1.04 |
| Mike Ditka, ESPN | 11-2 | $1.27 | 7-6 | $0.83 | 86-47 | 65% | $1.04 |
| K.C. Joyner, ESPN | 10-3 | $1.03 | 8-5 | $1.02 | 87-46 | 65% | $1.03 |
| Seth Wickersham, ESPN | 10-3 | $1.15 | 7-6 | $0.84 | 85-48 | 64% | $1.01 |
| Ryan Wilson, CBS | 10-3 | $1.02 | 6-7 | $0.72 | 86-47 | 65% | $1.01 |
| Mark Schlereth, ESPN | 10-3 | $1.02 | 5-8 | $0.55 | 87-46 | 65% | $1.00 |
| Merril Hoge, ESPN | 10-3 | $1.02 | 6-7 | $0.68 | 85-48 | 64% | $0.99 |
| John Breech, CBS | 10-3 | $1.02 | 7-6 | $0.79 | 86-47 | 65% | $0.99 |
| Frank Schwab, Yahoo | 10-3 | $1.02 | 8-5 | $1.01 | 86-47 | 65% | $0.99 |
| Vegas Favorites | 11-2 | $1.16 | 7-6 | $0.79 | 89-44 | 67% | $0.99 |
| Dave Richard, CBS | 11-2 | $1.16 | 7-6 | $0.82 | 85-48 | 64% | $0.98 |
| Jason La Canfora, CBS | 11-2 | $1.29 | 7-6 | $0.79 | 83-50 | 62% | $0.98 |
| Cris Carter, ESPN | 10-3 | $1.02 | 6-7 | $0.65 | 86-47 | 65% | $0.98 |
| Les Carpenter, Yahoo | 11-2 | $1.26 | 6-7 | $0.68 | 83-50 | 62% | $0.97 |
| Chris Mortensen, ESPN | 12-1 | $1.33 | 7-6 | $0.85 | 83-50 | 62% | $0.96 |
| Will Brinson, CBS | 10-3 | $1.03 | 5-8 | $0.56 | 82-51 | 62% | $0.94 |
| Josh Katzowitz, CBS | 9-4 | $0.91 | 8-5 | $0.96 | 81-52 | 61% | $0.91 |
| Pete Prisco, CBS | 10-3 | $1.02 | 6-7 | $0.70 | 80-53 | 60% | $0.91 |
| Eric Allen, ESPN | 11-2 | $1.33 | 7-6 | $0.79 | 79-54 | 59% | $0.90 |
| Adam Schefter, ESPN | 11-2 | $1.19 | 7-6 | $0.83 | 78-55 | 59% | $0.86 |
Keyshawn Johnson suffered an early exit on Dancing With The Stars, but perhaps it had a positive impact on his game picking. Johnson surged to the No. 1 ranking based on Yield, with a $1.33 performance in Week 8 and a peer-drubbing $1.34 in Week 9. This strong showing was largely due to a trio of upset picks. Johnson was one of two pundits to pick the Bears to beat the Packers (Week 9; with Ditka, of course), one of the two to pick the Jets over the Saints (Week 9; Tom Jackson was the other), and one of a handful to pick the Giants over the Eagles (Week 8). Having been edged from the top spot, Ron Jaworski remains a close No. 2: to his credit, Jaws was the only one to pick the Eagles over the Raiders (Week 9).
We will update these rankings weekly for the rest of the season.
In the meantime, can you pick games better than these so-called experts? Join our Fantasy Pundit League now: start by making picks on all of this week’s football games using the ‘Vote Now’ buttons. Who knows… maybe you can become the next Nate Silver of Sports!
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