NFL Weekly Picks: MHR Staffers and Readers Get Ready to Pick

     A couple of weeks ago, I published an article that included an invitation to an MHR contest. The contest was a random drawing to select seventeen MHR readers to go head-to-head (one each week of the 2011 NFL season) in picking the winning teams each week. At stake, bragging rights and some Broncos swag.

     These weekly predictions will be posted each week, prior to the start of the first game of the week. The staffer and the reader will each post their choices of winners along with a reason for their picks.

After the jump -- the seventeen lucky winners

     What we're going to do at MHR is have a different staffer each week go head-to-head with a reader. Both sets of predictions will be posted each week prior to the start of the first game of the week. It will also include a running tally of how the staff has done as a whole compared to how the readers have done as a whole. 

Forty-one readers submitted their names for consideration. I took each of those names and:

1)Wrote each one on a post-it note.
2)Folded the notes so the names could not be seen.
3)Put the notes in a bowl.

4)With my eyes closed and my faithful dog, Bandit, standing guard, stirred the notes and carefully withdrew seventeen of them.

     I emailed each of the winners to let them know that their name had been drawn, along with the week/teams they would be predicting and some other necessary instructions.

     Should the MHR member do a better job of predicting the winners in his/her given week (that is, has more correctly picked winners than the staffer), the member will receive a Broncos hat with player autographs. These hats were graciously donated by Kirk Davis (Kaptain Kirk) who not only bought the hats but stood in long lines of fans to get them autographed during training camp.

Now, without further ado, here are our lucky seventeen (& their staffer):

Week	MHR Reader	MHR Staffer
1	azbroncomaniac	Chris Doll
2	whidby bronco	Tim Lynch
3	bronco-mojo	Kirk Davis
4	broncoboy326	Rich Kurzman
5	Mark Riggs	Jeremy Bolander
6	MDeeSh	Troy Hufford
7	nolie	Jess Place
8	desertbroncofan	Colby Mueller
9	steadyeddy87	John Bena
10	idaho nate	Matt Dierking
11	BroadwayBroncoFan	Matt Worthington
12	polyid_fan	Brian Shrout
13	mikebirty	Sayre Bedinger
14	blackhillsbronx	Ian Henson
15	broncoPH	Kirk Davis
16	Wayne Turner	Luke Clementson
17	Nick Cast	Tim Lynch

Please note: there were more weeks than staff so the extra slots were filled by a random drawing of staff names.

Good Luck and GO BRONCOS!!!!!!