Week 15 ATS Recap: Special Ed Teams

2010 may wind up being remembered as the Year of the Special Teams Meltdown. Entire seasons for teams are hinging on their ability (or inability) to do the simplest things, like cover kickoffs to 300 pound lineman, or punt the ball out of bounds as time is expiring. The San Diego Chargers, with the leagues #1 offense AND defense may miss the playoffs entirely due to special teams implosions early in the season.

As for the picks, Dre and I pulled off an effort that would make the NFC West teams proud.

• Chargers 34, Niners 7 (Thurs) - Dre winner, Jason loser - The result was a portent of things to come for the dreadful NFC West this week. On the other side, Philip Rivers got a pro-bowl caliber receiver back just in time for the annual San Diego December Playoff Push. Vincent Jackson found paydirt three times as the Chargers put the final nail........oh wait, the Niners are STILL in playoff contention. Just kill me now.
• Bills 17, Dolphins 14 - Jason winner, Dre loser - The Dolphins simply stink at home, and the Bills continue to be the Lions of the AFC.
• Bengals 19, Browns 17 - Dre winner, Jason loser - Cedric Benson's name in a former life was Ponce De Leon. You can Wikipedia the reference.
• Lions 23, Buccaneers 20 (OT) - Both losers - The Bucs lived all season by winning the winnable games. To keep their playoff dreams alive, they needed to handle the scrappy Lions. They could not, thus proving that the former Best Team in the NFC is probably a year or two away from real contention.
• Colts 34, Jaguars 24 - Dre winner, Jason loser - Speaking of formers...the former First Place Jacksonville Jaguars pulled to within three late, and then went into Special Teams Meltdown mode, allowing a linebacker to pull off a play I've pulled off in Madden a few times, returning an onside kick attempt to the house to cover the number for Indy.
• Panthers 19, Cardinals 12 - Both losers - Picking every single game means having to pick dreck like this.
• Ravens 30, Saints 24 - Jason winner, Dre loser - I have to say I had my Falcons best interest in mind when making this pick, but the reality was that the Saints got very fat on some very bad opposition during their win streak. Baltimore, reeling from one of their patented Tough Losses, unleashed Ray Rice on a shaky NO defense and showed they can outscore an opponent. Easy to do when said opponent sucks on D.
• Eagles 38, Giants 31 - Both losers - Giants punter Matt Dodge was an easy scapegoat, and had Mike Shanahan been his coach, probably would have been cut right on the field after lining a laser beam of a punt to DeSean Jackson that went back to the house to end a game that should have gone to overtime. Credit to Tom Coughlin for NOT blaming his punter. Dodge had nothing to do with the Giants blowing a 21 point lead with 7 minutes to go. Sandwiched in between Eagles touchdowns was yet another Special Teams Meltdown, as the Giants were woefully unprepared for an onside kick that gave the Eagles momentum after their first of four straight touchdowns to win the game. The loss puts the Giants in a tough spot, headed to Lambeau to face a reeling Packer team desperate to make the playoffs.
• Chiefs 27, Rams 13 - Jason winner, Dre loser - Responding to the Chargers Thursday win, KC did what they had to do: win their last road game. The Chefs are headed home for two winnable games. Should the Chiefs win out, they would win the AFC West and the Chargers comeback will have been for naught. In other news, the Rams are still in first place, and need to win out to finish 8-8.
• Cowboys 33, Redskins 30 - Dre winner, Jason loser - So, Rex Grossman threw 4 TD's in a losing effort. Maybe Mike Shanahan knows what he's doing? Errr no, Shannys still a douche.
• Titans 31, Texans 17 - Both losers - Something is not going well in Houston. The annual Texans push to mediocrity seems to have derailed, and their players are getting flags for fighting EACH OTHER. Who will the talking heads pick as their darling team next year if the Texans don't finish strong? My guess: The Houston Texans. The media sucks that way.
• Falcons 34, Seahawks 18 - Jason winner, Dre loser - Unless the wheels fall off the wagon, the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC looks like it's gonna have to go through Atlanta. Uh oh.
• Jets 22, Steelers 17 - Both losers - The Jets scored an offensive TD, and ran back the opening kickoff back for the games opening score. Nice way to set the tempo, via Special Teams Meltdown, for the Steelers.
• Raiders 39, Jesus 23 - Both winners - In "Lock of the Century: Part Deux," the Raiders looked shaky early, giving up a long TD run and pass to Tim Tebow. One thing remained the entire game, and that was the relentless Oakland rushing attack. This could be a scary team down the road, as Darren McFadden is a complete monster. Listening to the media the next day, you'd have had no idea that the Broncos lost by 16. All the attention was on the early success of Tim Tebow, success that was short lived as the Raiders made all the necessary adjustments after the 1st quarter to keep Denver out of the end zone.
• Patriots 31, Packers 27 - Both losers - If Matt Flynn was 10% as effective against the Lions as he was against the Pats, the Packers wouldn't have been in such a desperate place to begin with. The GB staff coached up Flynn very well, but he looked utterly lost on the last drive with time expiring. That might not have needed to happen, as the Packers went into Special Teams Meltdown mode, allowing an offensive lineman to run 70+ yards on a squib kickoff that set up the Pats winning score. What a silly way to go out.
• Bears 40, Vikings 14 - Dre winner, Jason loser - Dre should be thanking Brett Favre for this one. His Favre rule saved him from a loser pick, as Joe Webb proved horribly inefficient and the Bears took a 17-7 score when Favre left to a 40-14 annihilation.

Two more weeks to go before the picking really starts.

Dre 6-10

Jason 5-11

We are the NFC West of picking games, this week anyways.