Analyze the Analyst: Who's 2007 NFL Preview Is More Accurate: Playboy or Sports Illustrated? Based on 2006 Results the answer is...
With the NFL season about to kick off, an interesting question you thought may never be asked, has to be asked. Who knows more about the NFL, Playboy or Sports Illustrated? A no-contest right? Are you serious? While Playboy may be an institution in America, with good reason, for its blondes, bombshells, and centerfolds, it clearly deals with sports as an afterthought...doesn't it? Almost a gimmick in a way. I mean, 'I read Playboy for the articles,' is about the oldest joke there is...who believes that? How about, 'I read Playboy for the NFL insight.' How would that fly with your wife or girlfriend. Well, maybe not too well, and you might be in the doghouse for a little while, but you also might be telling the truth - sort of.
In order to gauge who was a better prognosticator of the pigskin, our News From the Nosebleeds staff researched the picks by both publications by first diving deep into the Nosebleeds Library, and then devising a scoring system to compare the accuracy of the 2006 NFL predictions, by both the Sports Illustrated analysts and the Playboy bunnies...I mean analysts.
Scoring System
Correctly identifying the actual Super Bowl Champion = 20 points.
Correctly identifying the actual Conference Champions (AFC/NFC) =10 points.
Correctly identifying the actual Divisional Champs (i.e. AFC north, NFC east, etc.) = 6 points
Correctly identifying the actual Wild Card teams = 3 points (for each of 4 teams)
If you correctly identified a ‘playoff team’ (but incorrectly identified them as either the Divisional Champ, or Wild Card qualifier) = 2 points.
Scoring Results
Under this scoring system Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Magazine, beat Peter King’s NFL Preview by a score of 37-26. Playboy correctly picked 7 of the 12 actual playoff teams versus Sports Illustrated’s 5 of 12. Playboy also correctly picked 1 of the 2 conference champions (the AFC’s Indianapolis Colts who actually won the Superbowl) versus Sports Illustrated’s 0. Neither magazine correctly identified the actual Superbowl Champ, both magazines selecting the Carolina Panthers.
How they Scored
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated earned 12 points with their AFC selections picking the Colts and Patriots to win their division (6 points per pick). They misfired by selecting the Steelers and Broncos as the other Divisional Champs, and missed on both Wild Card by selecting the Bengals, and Jaguars.
In the NFC Sports Illustrated scored 14 points by selecting the Bears and Seahawks as Divisional Winners. (6 points each) They misfired by selecting the Panthers to win their division, and earned partial credit (2 points) by selecting the NY Giants to win their division (they got in as a Wild Card). SI earned nothing by selecting Redskins and the Falcons as Wild Card teams.
SI earned nothing as well the rest of the way out by pitting the Broncos verse Panthers in the Super Bowl.
Total: 26 points
Playboy
Playboy earned 10 points in the AFC. Six came by selecting New England to win the AFC East (6 points). Four came by selecting the Kansas City Chiefs to win the AFC West (they were a Wild Card = 2 points) and Indianapolis to earn a Wild Card berth (they were a Divisional Winner = 2 points). In the AFC Playboy picked and missed scoring opportunities with Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and Miami.
In the NFC Playboy scored 17 points. They nailed Chicago, and Seattle down as Division winners (6 each) and earned 3 points by selecting the New York Giants accurately as a Wild Card representative. They also earned 2 points by identifying Dallas as a Division Winner (actually were the other Wild Card Representative).
Playboy would go on to add 10 points by accurately prognosticating that Indianapolis would represent the AFC in the Superbowl. They earned nothing for their selection of Carolina as the NFC rep, and no additional points for the fact that Indy actually did win the game. Playboy selected Carolina as the Superbowl champ.
Total Score: 37
Further Scoring Breakdown
With only the scoring the Playoff Qualifiers, Playboy beat Sports Illustrated by a score of 27-26. However, Playboy would go on to seal the deal, by adding 10 points with the selection of Indianapolis to represent the AFC. Indy did, and Playboy wins. Playboy 37 - Sports Illustrated 26. Who would have thought that...maybe Pamela Anderson does know her football after all.
