(Image credit: Kevin Hickey/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Week 8 is officially in the books and hopefully you have survived and are now looking at who to pick Week 9 of the regular season for your survivor pools.
Again, I would like to remind everyone about What a survivor pool is and its rules. A survivor pool is a weekly contest where people select one team straight up per week to win their game. If a team that a participant in the Survivor pool chooses wins like the New England Patriots did last week against the New York Jets then the participant in the survivor pool advances to the next week. But, now you can't choose the New England Patriots anymore for the rest of the season. But if the team that the participant in the Survivor pool chose the team that lost like the Carolina Panthers did against the New York Giants then the participant is eliminated from the pool.
Now that we know the rules in a survivor pool, here are the Top 5 options, A trap Survivor pick, and a survivor pick that I would have gone with if I was not eliminated in survivor (Again, Why is Mike Tomlin still the head coach for the Steelers again?) for week 9 of the 2021 NFL season.
Week 9 Top 5 Survivor Options
Overall Record (24-7)
1. Indianapolis Colts vs New York Jets
Many including myself are less confident in this move since the Jets surprised us all when they beat the Cincinnati Bengals. But the Colts will be well prepared to win this game after a heartbreaking loss to the Tennessee Titans and they have a competent coach in Frank Reich running the Colts. No TY Hilton in this game but I think his career could be done at the end of the season due to the injuries and all the talks that he may retire he with former QB Andrew Luck had before playing this season. But Michael Pittman Jr and Jonathan Taylor are players for the future in Indianapolis. He has been excellent this season. Jonathan Taylor has also been fantastic but will face a struggling Jets run defense this season. The Jets are awful on the road as well and they will be in this game and the Colts are the top pick to make this week.
2. Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars The Buffalo Bills were not good the first three quarters against the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have a better coach than the Jaguars do with Urban Meyer. Who has made awful coaching decisions since being hired to the NFL? By the way, This Jaguars team could not stop Geno Smith in this game. I doubt they will stop this Bills offense. I won't be shocked if the Jaguars get dominated this week as this game is a complete mismatch. By the way, the only reason why the Bills are not number one on this survivor list is that they are not the home team in this game. Jacksonville is but yeah If you want to use the Buffalo Bills this is the week to do it.
3. Dallas Cowboys vs Denver Broncos
You have to have a caveat in here as I have no clue if Dak Prescott will play this game. If he does absolutely take the Dallas Cowboys in survivor if you have not yet this season. Yes, Cooper Rush was fantastic last week but I wonder how well he will perform when teams have recent footage of him. Then again this is the Broncos who are a complete Mess this season. Teddy Bridgewater is still hurt and the team refuses to put in Drew Lock. To add to it they have a coach who is such a defensive mastermind that he lost to a Browns Offense that did not have their starting Quarterback, Running backs and starting tackles. I would not sweat taking the Dallas Cowboys but If Dak starts I would move this over the Buffalo Bills ranking in Survivor.
4. Baltimore Ravens vs Minnesota Vikings
I really like the Baltimore Ravens this week. The Minnesota Vikings are extremely overrated and Mike Zimmer has not made great coaching decisions this season. If the Vikings don't make the playoffs he is absolutely on the hot seat. The Vikings defense is a mess too and they just lost Danielle Hunter which is a big blow to this declining Minnesota Vikings defense. To add to why I like the Ravens is that they are the home team and are coming off their bye week so they should be well prepared and a lot healthier in this game against the Vikings. The Baltimore Ravens also play Thursday Night against Miami but I doubt they overlook this game especially as they are in the AFC North and every loss will hurt their chances at playoffs and winning the division.
5. Miami Dolphins vs Houston Texans
It is the riskiest choice to make this season. Both teams in this game are absolutely horrible. But there are a few reasons why I will take Miami in this game. The first involves that the Dolphins will be the Home team and it is a big advantage to have in games. The second involves coaching because I think Brian Flores (Despite the record) Is a good coach and NO he should not be fired once this season is over. I am sick and tired of people saying he needs to be fired due to how bad they are record-wise. Keep in mind Flores coached this team up during his 1st and 2nd season as the Dolphins head coach. The blame is on Chris Grier who has still been the GM for the Miami Dolphins here during the Adam Gase Era. As of now, I have no clue who the Texans will have at QB but I ask you now: Is the risk worth the reward?
Trap Survivor Pick: Las Vegas Raiders at New York Giants
The Raiders can’t catch a break with the distractions going on with them this year. First involved the disgraceful emails made by former Head Coach Jon Gruden resulting in his resignation and fall from grace. Now with the Henry Ruggs fiasco. They could be distracted but luckily they face the New York Giants. The problem is the Giants will be the home team and be very careful taking a west coast that goes to the east coast and plays. Yes, they did the same thing vs the Steelers and won but the Giants played tough and don’t play down to competition like the Steelers do. Remind me Why is Mike Tomlin still the head coach for the Steelers again? Anyway, The Giants are also banged up on offense but should be healthier in this game and have a QB in Daniel Jones that I have no idea what to think about him if he is good or bad. I think he will be good in this game though. The Giants defense is good and will face an offense that is banged up and I doubt Henry Ruggs plays this game. I won't be shocked to see the Giants win this game.
UPDATE: Henry Ruggs has officially been released from the Las Vegas Raiders.
Record 3-4 (Week 1: Jax, Week 2: Cin, Week 3: Dal, Week 4: Ten, Week 5: Bal, Week 6: Pit, Week 7: Cle, Week 8: Atl)
Who I would of went with for my Survivor Pick for Week 9: Indianapolis Colts vs New York Jets
So I will get this out of the way by saying that I can’t use the Bills as they were my survivor choice last week. I want to wait on the Cowboys as there are plenty of weeks to utilize them Week 10 against the Falcons, Week 14 & 16 against Washington, and Week 15 against the New York Giants. I don't want to risk taking the Dolphins this week and I want to save them against the Jets 15. This choice came down to the Indianapolis Colts or the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens may be coming off a bye but I don't know what to think of the Vikings and I will wait next week against Miami or Week 11 against Chicago to take the Vikings. I will take the Colts against the New York Jets this Thursday Night in survivor.
Teams Used: (Week 1: 49ers, Week 2: Steelers, Week 3: Panthers, Week 4: Bengals, Week 5: Vikings, Week 6: Buccaneers, Week 7: Patriots, Week 8 Bills)