Once upon a time, in a much smaller RotB universe, the stalwart faithful two dozen participants tossed around the idea of starting a Revenge of the Birds Pick'em League at the start of the magical 2008 Super Bowl-bound season.  Flash forward four years, the Cardinals are still our beloved team though the make up of the roster is much different than that '08 squad.  Pick'em is also a beloved activity (okay, maybe not beloved but still a fun diversion!) and the roster of participants will look much different this year as it has every year since '08.  If you're new(er) to RotB and haven't played our version of Pick'em, check out the rules.  If you've played before and plain forgot, read the rules!!!  There are no changes from last year's format...I think the loopholes have been sorted out and closed off finally.

THE RULES

1)  To qualify for any given week of picks the entire selected slate of games for that week must be predicted before the earliest kick-off date/time.  Each week will have eight games to pick from and can include the Thursday game (if scheduled), the Cardinals game, the Sunday Night game, and Monday Night Football game.  The remaining games will be chosen for their competitive unpredictability.  

• Thursday games happen regularly in today's NFL, be sure to have your eight picks in that week if a Thursday game is on the Pick'em schedule.  Your posts are time stamped and any posts/alterations after the listed official start time for a particular game will not be tallied for that week.
  
• You may change your picks after the initial submission but not after that particular game's kick-off.  So if you're adjusting your fantasy football roster just before kick-off, you may consider your Pick'em selections too.
• There will be no slack on omitting a pick.  If you forget to pick one of Sunday's games the entire week's picks are thrown out.  So double check your picks versus the slated games.

2)  To qualify for the Standard Pick'em championship a total of nine weeks of the NFL regular season must be picked; it is mandatory that picks are made for Week 16 and 17.  To win the Iron Man Pick'em championship, all seventeen weeks of the season must be picked!

• Here is where the Pick'em strategy can come into play, as weeks with tough match-ups can be skipped entirely to maintain a good winning average.
• The last two weeks of the season must be picked to create an interesting finish to the league.  It is conceivable that someone can jump to a commanding lead after nine weeks of picks and just ride out the rest of the season with that winning percentage.  Picking the last two weeks of the season when starters are potentially getting rested on a playoff run gives the greatest potential to "mix it up" on the Pick'em leader board.  For Week 17, the entire sixteen game schedule is picked.
  
• Those that participate for the entire 17 week season are eligible for the Iron Man Pick'em championship.  If you can remember to submit picks all season and do so with consistent results, you deserve some additional recognition!  If you win the Standard and Iron Man Pick'em championships, can you tell me who the Super Bowl winner will be next season so I can call in a bet to Vegas?  StuckinColorado?  Since you won both last year, who's the Champion this year?!
  

3)  Individuals' rankings are based on a correct vs. wrong percentage with the leader having the highest percentage correctly picked.

• For example, Bezekira and hevchv picked fourteen winners correctly for 2009 Week 17.  Fourteen of sixteen gives them a 0.875 winning percentage which would be a great finish to the season for anyone (won them the Standard and Iron Man championships thatt year respectively).  A poor performance any given week isn't the end of your Pick'em hopes either; there is plenty of time to make a comeback.
• In case of winning percentage ties, the tie breakers are Weeks Won Points then Weeks Picked followed by number of times the Cardinals were picked to win, with the last tie breaker being SBNation tenure.  Hopefully a tie doesn't go that far!
• Speaking of ties, in case the NFL has a tie (like the Bengals and Eagles three years ago) unless you predicted a tie, it counts as an incorrect pick.  If you predict a tie and one actually happens besides getting a correct pick you'll having bragging rights forever with RotB Pick'em League.
  

Whoever has the best record any given weeks earns one Weeks Won Point.  In the case of ties, that point is split between all the tied participants.  This "Weeks Won Point" total is the first tie-breaker and is only used for that.

Last year's final standings and the Week 1 Pick'em schedule are after the jump...

2010 RotB Pick'em Final Standings

Week 1 Pick'em Selected Games