Well, hopefully we didn't have anything to do with this...

Michael Silver, NFL Network's roving reporter and general 'insider', has retired from picking games publicly in an eloquent message to his fans on Facebook. Silver, who began covering the NFL in 1989, was considered by many fans to be one of the better sports broadcasters when it came to predicting winners, however in a long statement, he admits that the repercussions of making picks were too great to continue, particularly in his current role at NFL Network:

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Here's Silver's full statement:

"__Many of you have asked about my game picks for 2014. After conferring with my NFL Network bosses and giving it some thought, I have an answer--and some of you may not like it. I'm not picking games this year. I realize that I've been reasonably good at doing so for the past several years, and I'm flattered that many of you have relied upon those picks--in part or in full--in making your own predictions. That's cool, and I'm happy to have helped. That said... I've decided to make a change.

When I started covering the NFL in 1989, there were many elements of my job that were held up as important: acquiring information; gaining access to people throughout the pro football universe and learning how to earn their trust and draw them out with effective questions; telling compelling stories and giving readers a glimpse beyond the obvious. That, to me, is good journalism, and even as I segue into a more-TV-focused career path, it remains my preeminent calling. Seeing the future--or, in this case, acting as though I can see the future--was never something I valued, took seriously or was expected to do on a constant and conspicuous basis.

Certainly, things have changed, and I know that making picks falls into the "entertainment" category--and that there's no law that says good journalism can't also serve this purpose. Yet I also believe that, as viewers and readers continue to take these picks more seriously, the original spirit of the act has been lost. I never sold predictions as some sort of confirmation of my vast football knowledge. It's a game. I'm making an educated guess. And if I were that good at guessing, I suppose I could move to Vegas, start picking against the spread and pick out a few beach houses in Kauai and other glorious locales.

It's depressing when, based on having picked a certain game, fans accuse me of a) clearly knowing nothing about football (because I got one wrong) and/or b) having a clear and obvious bias against the team I picked to lose. As you've heard me say many times, I honestly don't care who wins--32 babies, love 'em equally, some give me more trouble than others. It's far more troubling when people that I actually cover--coaches, players, executives and their family members--react negatively based on a prediction I've made. I once had a player (Patriots linebacker Chris Slade) call me on the MORNING OF THE SUPER BOWL to complain that I'd picked against his team, which he took as a sign that "we're not boys." To which I replied: "Chris--what the f--- does me thinking the Packers will win have to do with you trying to win a championship?" (He laughed. The Packers won. Life went on.) I've gotten more of this as time has gone on, and as someone who relies heavily upon relationships to do his job, I've reached the point where it just doesn't seem worth it.

My bosses aren't clamoring for me to make picks, probably because they've decided that it's more important for me to continue to appear unbiased (which I am) and to avoid potentially awkward conversations with those I'm trying to cover than it is to entertain. For now, at least, I am not going to try to talk them out of this.

I hope you'll understand. Thanks."

Michael Silver

We're fans of Mike, but we acknowledge that we have known about his reticence when it comes to picking games for some time. He was one of the main reasons we published our 'Constitution' for experts to follow when making their picks, because last year he expressed regret that fans were only bothered about his picking percentage over the 'serious' journalism that makes up the majority of his job

It would be hypocritical in the extreme to say we don't care about his win/loss ratio, but we will reiterate what we said in the above article: It's ok to not win, and we don't mind when people get things wrong, as long as they make their picks honestly, and to the best of their ability. We'd rather someone quit picking completely than simply phone in picks they don't believe in, so in many respects, Mike has made the right choice.

We hope that experts don't see Mike's decision out of context either. For many NFL reporters and media personalities, that conflict of interest will never arise, and hopefully they understand that the ugly messages that appear beneath some picking pages don't reflect the views of the majority, who simply want the opinions of those who have access to far greater analysis tools than most of the public.

A disappointing day for the picking community, but where one falls, another will rise to take his place. We hope you will join us in wishing Mike well as he leaves the Pickwatch spectrum, or something. I just felt like I had to add some kind of weird sign off.

Er. Bye? Don't forget to check us on Facebook and Twitter by the way. DO IT. We'll be back with our weekly preview later today.