Joe Picks an NFL Team

Jeff can add another honorific to his already long list: Guest Podcaster. He has given you a bonus episode, scouring past episodes of Joe Picks to pick out the highlights. For part 1, here are the best clips from the non-mailbag portions of Joe Picks An NFL Team.

It all comes down to this. Just hours from the opening match of the 2018 World Cup, Joe works his way through the 4 remaining teams and fulfills the promise of the podcast by making his choice.

The second night of our three night finale focuses on the final 8 teams. If you want to get to the part where we talk about the 8 teams, skip ahead about an hour.

After months and months of exploring these various teams and countries, we're making it through the group stage in 2 hours. Finally the teams will be pitted against one another and Joe will be forced into making some of his toughest decisions yet.

The naysayers said we'd never finish all 32 teams, and they were only partially right! In our last regular season episode we finally give the defending champs their due, but undoubtedly this football powerhouse is going to have a much tougher path to Joe's knockout round than in the real tournament.

Our second to last episode also comes in as our longest ever! But we have so much to cover both going through the email bag and spending time with a special guest with some great inside info about Colombia.

We finally get to the land of Joe's father, and his father's father, but apparently not his father's father's father. Will this intimately close relationship help or hurt Egypt's chances of making it into Joe's knockout round.

We finish out the Asian Football Confederation with with some special guests and we finally learn the answer to a long running podcast mystery. And also we do the thing where Joe rates Japan in many different categories.

We're finally doing the second half of our "doubleheader", the up and coming Belgium team. After our usual deep analysis, is Joe going to move them on into the knockout round or will he waffle and perhaps leave them on the outside looking in.

We are back on track doing full country episodes, and what better place to visit than the birthplace of modern football. England should have so much going for it in Joe's ratings, but given that it's England, better not take anything for granted.

Some important business gets taken care of, live in San Francisco.

When you think of Saudi Arabia, you might think of oil reserves or sandy deserts, but how about the sport of football? This country has a surprising history of football success, at least within the middle east. But as they embarck on the World Cup they first have perhaps an even tougher test... Joe's rankings.

For the second half of our doubleheader we venture to Europe and look at another elite team, Spain. After our own Spanish inquisition, Spain's fate will be entirely in Joe's hands. Will they move on to the round of 16 or will Joe expell them from the competition?

Our neighbor to the south is also our biggest rival. But with the US out of the World Cup, what does that mean for the rivalry? Should Joe root for Mexico as the best hope from CONCACAF or root for our rival to fail? The Joe Picks system will be put to the test during this one-of-a-kind podcast.

No time to waste in this description for our first speed episode: Panama. We would have loved to spend more time analyzing this team that is playing in the US's spot, but unfortunately their long odds and our lack of time didn't allow for it.

This South American underdog is in the World Cup for the first time in a generation. But with this accomplishment comes the added scrutity of Joe's analysis. Will there be another Hollywood ending for Peru or will Joe's qualifying be harder than the brutal South American confederation?

After the long wait for the Soju shipment from South Korea, Dan and Joe break down this team live in Seattle. Having just hosted such a successful Olympic games, we'll see if South Korea can maintain their momentum and reach Joe's Round of 16.

Trying to predict how France will do in the World Cup is just as much of a fool's errand as trying to predict when this podcast would be released. But will Joe's rating of this top tier team will be a little more predictable, or are there some surprises in store for Les Bleus?

Back to Africa for the 2nd of the 5 African teams. As the only African team to qualify for both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, Nigeria has some momentum coming into the tournament. Will that carry over into Joe's ranking though?

For the second time we travel to Scandinavia, which depending on your definition of that term will either be our final or penultimate trip to the region. Not known as a footballing powerhouse, Denmark will need to hope for good scores in some of the other categories if they want to get into Joe's knockout round.

When you think of football brilliance, you think of Brazil. And for good reason, they've achieved more World Cup success than any other nation. In the real World Cup, it's been over 50 years since they finished in the bottom half of the tournament. But in this podcast series, they'll need a good showing to make Joe's knockout round.

In the first ever World Cup, this country competed as part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Eighty-eight years later, they'll compete for the 2nd time as the independent country of Serbia. Perhaps this year will be the first time Serbia qualifies for the Round of 16 in the actual World Cup, but we won't have to wait that long to see if they qualify for Joe's Round of 16.

Coming off a runner-up finish in 2014, and with their sights set even higher in 2018, Argentina are our first truly elite team of the podcast series. But perhaps for a nation this good at football, making the knockout stage in Joe's rankings will prove more challenging than doing it in the actual World Cup.

Other than the host nation, Poland has the longest odds to win the cup among the pot 1 teams. But they have one thing the other top teams don't have... an ancestral connection to Joe. Will this be enough to get them into knockout stage or will the odds catch up to them and leave them on the outside looking in.

The Ballon d'Or award for the best football player in the world has gone to Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese player, 4 out of the past 5 years. Will this star power help Portugal into Joe's Round of 16, or will Joe dismiss this top heavy team like the US (almost) did 4 years ago?

For all the latest World Cup episode, subscribe to the "Joe Picks A World Cup Team" feed. There are already two new episodes waiting for you after this one. For the fifth straight episode we look at a team from a different confederation, this time our first trip into the Confederation of African Football. Will Morocco make it into Joe's Round of 16 or will this inaugural visit into the CAF end in disappointment for them?

In this episode we cover the very controversial host nation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Will Joe will tear down this wall of anti-Russian propoganda and find a way to root for the host nation, or will he fall into line with the deep state and eliminate this geopolitical foe?

On our first trip into the South American confederation, we explore an often overlooked team that has an impressive history and a realistic chance at an impressive run in Russia. Is this the type of team that will score highly on Joe's scale, or will they be overlooked yet again?

For the first time we look at a team in the US's own confederation: Costa Rica. Will Joe find a rooting interest in this plucky fellow CONCACAF team, or will the 2 stinging defeats Costa Rica inflicted on the US during qualifying be too much to look past?

With the US absent, Australia became the only English speaking former British colony to qualify for the World Cup. With so much in common, will Joe find the Socceroos a familiar choice for his fandom, or will their hopes of moving on spin in the opposite direction into the rubbish bin?

This is the first episode of the "Joe Picks A World Cup Team" podcast, season 2 of the "Joe Picks" series. If you like it, search your podcast app for "Joe Picks A World Cup Team" and subscribe for more episodes.

A quick update on the fantasy playoffs, then we start planning the JPAWCT podcast and start assigning categories to the superfan volunteers.

A little past midway through the NFL season, we check in with Joe to see how his fandom has been going. Is he happy with his choice? We also open up the mailbag and see what both old and new superfans have to say.

It all comes down to this. In our longest podcast ever, every angle is analyzed, every detail examined, every fact scrutinized, and perhaps, if we are lucky, Joe will fulfill the destiny of this podcast series and pick an NFL team.

Four teams come in, and only two make it out of this episode. How can making two decisions take over two hours? Listen to find out...

For the second round of the playoffs, we add in new info to help make these tough decisions: A game of madden, the teams' celebrity fans and local pubs Joe might visit to watch his new team play. Part 2 of 2.

For the second round of the playoffs, we add in new info to help make these tough decisions: A game of madden, the teams' celebrity fans and local pubs Joe might visit to watch his new team play. Part 1 of 2.

After so much time and energy invested in each team and fanbase, Joe is finally forced to make hard choices as he hones in on his new team. Finishing off the sweet sixteen with part 2 of 2.

After so much time and energy invested in each team and fanbase, Joe is finally forced to make hard choices as he hones in on his new team. As per usual no detail was left uncovered so this is part 1 of 2.

In the final episode of our regular season we travel to the motor city to discuss the Lions. Will the King of the Jungle become the King of Joe's heart?

Joe's former team was a coastal city known for it's warm weather and beautiful beaches. Perhaps Miami, known for it's warm weather and beautiful beaches, might serve as an easy substitution.

Dan and Joe talk about the most pressing issue as the podcast nears the end: How the heck is Joe going to actually pick a team? We hear some ideas from the superfans and then hash it all out. Superfan Alert: The voting is open for the all-important *zombie team*. Get those votes in!

Turning Dan's local team into a lightning episode proved impossible, but will all that extra knowledge help or hurt Joe's chances of moving them into the Sweet 16?

All research supplied by Superfan Sean for the third of our four lightning teams. The Bears have a long and storied history, but have been a bit woeful in recent years. Will their legacy be enough for Joe to look past their mediocre past few seasons?

All research supplied by Superfan Riley "The Diabetic" for the second of our four lightning teams. The Rams now inhabit the very same city as Joe's former team. Will this help or hurt their cause in gaining his fandom?

All research supplied by Superfan Bez for the first of our four lightning teams. Our second big cat in a row! Will the Jags join their fellow feline mascots and find a way into the sweet 16?

Let's finish out another division: the NFC South! This team hasn't been around for too long but has already made the Super Bowl twice as many times as the Chargers ever did. Will Joe be a fan for their next Super Bowl run or will he reject his first feline mascot?

And we finish off the AFC west with *the* former division rival. Will Joe be open to trading out his powder blues for the silver and black, or will the old animus be too strong?

The Chiefs used to be a division rival, but when viewed with a clean slate, perhaps that means Joe won't have to look outside the AFC West to find his new team.

And Joe, back to rating, with Dan dictating, and fans awaiting. Thy Ravens he will presently ponder, hoping his fandom they will not squander. Quoth the Joe, "Sweet Sixteen?", or is this thy Ravens' final scene?

In the second half of our Music City Miracle double-header, we look at the losing team, the Bills. Fun fact: That was the last time the Bills made the playoffs. Come see how Joe ranks them and if they will find more success in Joe's heart than in the NFL standings.