The 2016 football season is upon us, and that means all sorts of options for exercising our skill as football prognosticators. People will take part in fantasy football and pick ‘em contests, but survivor pools are growing in popularity. For those new to the contest, a survivor pool involves picking one team each week that you think will win. If your team wins in Week 1, you can make a pick in Week 2. If your team wins in Week 2, you can make a pick in Week 3, and so on. The catch is that you cannot pick a team twice. You could use a heavy favorite in Week 1, but that precludes you from using them later in the season.
Football survivor pool strategy/picks, Week 11: A clear choice this week
NFL survivor pools are back as Week 11 gets going. We are here to provide some tips to stay alive all season.
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There is plenty of strategy in determining which team you will take each week, and SB Nation is here to help. We have experts providing rankings for each week, and then some thoughts on weekly strategy. First up, we have a consensus ranking of all teams in action this week, and which is most likely to win their game That is followed by each writer making a pick, some reasoning for the pick, and then some alternatives to consider.
| Rank | Team | Opp. | JG | ZS | DG | SK |
| 1 | New England | @ SF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | @ CLE | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | Kansas City | vs. TB | 4 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 4 | Dallas | vs. BAL | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 5 | NY Giants | vs. CHI | 3 | 14 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Seattle | vs. PHI | 9 | 9 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | Detroit | vs. JAC | 5 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
| 8 | Oakland | vs. HOU | 10 | 3 | 10 | 8 |
| 9 | Carolina | vs. NO | 11 | 5 | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Miami | @ LA | 6 | 13 | 6 | 13 |
| 11 | Arizona | @ MIN | 8 | 6 | 14 | 15 |
| 12 | Indianapolis | vs. TEN | 14 | 8 | 12 | 10 |
| 13 | Washington | vs. GB | 17 | 10 | 16 | 12 |
| 14 | Green Bay | @ WAS | 17 | 15 | 11 | 17 |
| 15 | Buffalo | @ CIN | 16 | 11 | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | Cincinnati | vs. BUF | 13 | 19 | 23 | 11 |
| 17 | Minnesota | vs. ARI | 21 | 25 | 15 | 14 |
| 18 | Tennessee | @ IND | 15 | 23 | 19 | 19 |
| 19 | New Orleans | @ CAR | 18 | 26 | 13 | 20 |
| 20 | Houston | @ OAK | 19 | 18 | 22 | 21 |
| 21 | Baltimore | @ DAL | 22 | 16 | 17 | 27 |
| 22 | Los Angeles | vs. MIA | 23 | 20 | 24 | 16 |
| 23 | Philadelphia | @ SEA | 20 | 21 | 20 | 22 |
| 24 | Jacksonville | @ DET | 24 | 24 | 21 | 23 |
| 25 | Chicago | @ NYG | 26 | 17 | 26 | 25 |
| 26 | Tampa Bay | @ KC | 25 | 22 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | Cleveland | vs. PIT | 27 | 28 | 27 | 24 |
| 28 | San Francisco | vs. NE | 28 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
Jeff Goldberg
Primary pick: New England Patriots over San Francisco 49ers
Secondary pick: New York Giants over Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers over Cleveland Browns
First off, if you’re reading this, it probably means your Survivor entry has made it to Week 11. If so, YOU ARE A GOD! Getting this deep into a season is no easy feat, and for many of you, it might be down to you and a very small number of opponents. White knuckle time. It’s also time to Break Patriots Glass In Case of Emergency.
If you have been hoarding New England all this time, your moment has come. Coming off a brutal loss on Sunday night to Seattle, the Patriots get to face a pitiful 49ers team that can only be in letdown mode after a near miss in Arizona last week. Losing to Seattle was probably the best thing to happen to the Pats, as it wiped out any chance they would be on cruise control this week in what, on paper, is a trap game. Now, I would expect them to win by 30 points, even without Gronk.
If you don’t have New England available to you, the Giants are in a great spot with Alshon Jeffery suspended and Jay Cutler still active. And speaking of picking on vulnerable QBs, if you didn’t use the Dolphins against Cleveland back in Week 3, unleashing them on Jared Goff and the Rams is probably a winning formula. Winning formula? Browns? If you still have the Steelers available, this is a great spot to use them, perhaps the best spot, coming off four straight losses and knowing that at any moment, Ben Roethlisberger’s season could be over with an injury and any future value goes out the window with him.
Scott Kaliska
Primary pick: New England Patriots over San Francisco 49ers
Secondary pick: Dallas Cowboys over Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
My pick this week is New England over San Francisco. New England will be looking to bounce back after a tough loss in Week 10. They are favored by almost two touchdowns on the road. I just can’t see how San Francisco will be able to beat the machine that is New England. Except for some unforeseen catastrophic injuries to the Patriots, this should be an easy win for New England. My secondary picks are Dallas and Kansas City. Dallas has been on such a roll and I can’t imagine them losing at home to Baltimore. It will be a tough game but the Ravens will not end the Dallas winning streak. Kansas City has also persevered and they get another sweet home matchup against Tampa Bay. The Chiefs defense will take them to victory once again.
Zach Senvisky
Primary pick: New England Patriots over San Francisco 49ers
My pick this week is the New England Patriots. Since 2003, the Patriots are 41-6 in the regular season following losses. Tom Brady is 41-10 in his career in games following a loss. The lowly 1-8 49ers will be running into this buzz saw and have nowhere near enough talent to keep this close. I see the Patriots hanging 40 or more on that terrible defense and the 49ers not standing a chance.
Derek Gordon
Primary pick: Kansas City Chiefs over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Secondary pick: New York Giants over Chicago Bears
Tampa Bay isn’t a horrible team. I simply don’t believe their defense will be able to stop Spencer Ware from running all over them and Arrowhead is still a tough stadium for opponents. The New York Giants are also a good pick this week. You always have to be careful of the Eli implosion game, but at least they are at home and facing the Bears without Alshon Jeffery.
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