After three weeks of Pickem play, we are tightly bunched. Following are the year to date standings:

4X4hokies...31
ken d....31
Bigtexnole...30
CollegeCard..30
lumberpack4..30
Ole Blue...30
Wilkie01...30
otacon...29
samandrea..29
Buckminster Fuller..28
ga_tech_swagger..28
army56mike...27
Lenvillecards..27
ChrisLords...26
vandiver49...26

At this point in the season, it's still anybody's game. Several players' records include a bye week. I remind those who have already skipped a week (including the first one) that we are only allowed one bye to remain eligible for the season championship.

With three weeks under our belts, I have one more procedural change to make, and some other options for us to collectively consider.

The first change is how we submit our picks. Instead of posting a reply to the thread that lists the schedule for each week, I would like everyone to send me your picks by PM. There are a couple of reasons for this.

Some players post their picks early in the week, and some wait until nearer the start time. This could give the late pickers a subtle advantage. If you are on the fence about a particular game, knowing that everybody else (or nobody else) picked a particular team could cause you to follow suit, rather than risk losing a game to the entire field. Early pickers don't get that choice.

Late in the season, when first place is on the line, those in contention might make their picks based on who their main competitors are. The leader, for example, could make exactly the same picks as the guy in second place to insure that he doesn't lose his lead. Not knowing how your nearest competitors have picked makes you choose your winners on their merits, not on your place in the standings.

In the interest of transparency, I will post my own picks publicly.

A second change I wanted to toss out there for discussion is a big one.

Instead of just picking winners straight up, it is no more difficult for me logistically to have everyone pick against the point spread. This week, there were 6 games out of 15 where every player picked the same team. For all practical purposes, it was as if 40% of the games on the schedule weren't even played, since they had zero effect on the standings.

Also, some games on the card might not be especially interesting if we only had to pick the winner. How many of us spent a lot of time pondering whether Va Tech was going to beat Old Dominion? But it was on the card because it was an ACC team vs an FBS opponent. If we had to take into account the 24 1/2 point spread, maybe somebody would have picked ODU (or Syracuse getting 23 1/2 points, or BC getting 32 1/2).

The season standings right now are pretty close. We could change to using point spreads in mid season. Or, we could say it's too late to change now, and just continue with the present system.

A third option is to continue picking straight up, and have a season winner for that contest, and also make a second pick for each game using the point spreads and have a second, slightly shorter, season for that contest. Both picks could be submitted in the same PM and I'll just keep track of the second contest on a separate spreadsheet.

This isn't a decision I want to make unilaterally (a Czar should only have so much power). So let me know what you think.

If you want to drive separation (which seems like a good idea), then all picks should be straight up or ATS. Then there is more risk/reward for picking upsets in the case of the former or it is just way harder in the second case.