Week 8 ATS Recap: The Brown Fever

Gonna change things up a little here in the recap segment after taking last week off.

Picks We Both Won (5)

• Browns (+3) 7, Chargers 6 - Brown Fever indeed. It was enough to cause the painful, flaming shits, this picking the Browns week after week business. But, oh my god, was that an awful game. Trent Richardson scored the only TD early on, and the Brownies hung on for life the rest of the way. After the Monday Night Meltdown two weeks back, this could not have been the way the Chargers wanted to respond.
• Lions (-1) 28, Seahawks 24 - This was a surprisingly even contest, and both teams are who we thought they were. The Seahawks ran the ball well and got just enough from Russell Wilson, while the Lions flung the rock all over the place, and Titus Young seems to be the beneficiary of all the Megatron triple teams.
• Raiders (+1) 26, Chiefs 16 - When Brady Quinn and Matt Cassell are under center, you need more than 4 yards from Jamaal Charles. In fact, Charles was the sixth leading rusher in the game for the Chiefs, even behind Quinn, who was KTFO'd in the first quarter.
• Broncos (-6) 34, Saints 14 - The Peyton Manning Experiment in Denver is starting to look like a stunning success. As long as the Broncos can keep 18 healthy, they look poised to make a serious postseason run. The Saints, meanwhile, appear to be running as hard as they can FROM the postseason. It looks like the best the Saints can be this season is a spoiler.
• Niners (-7) 24, Cardinals 3 - Did I see correctly some stat that the Cardinals have gone something like 48 games without a 300 yard passer? That's insane. In this state of the NFL, where guys throw for 400 like it's nothing, the Cards have gone THREE YEARS without a 300 yard passer. John Skelton put up a fight with 290 against the Niners, but most of it was in garbage time. Might be time for Arizona to see what they have on that bench.

Picks We Both Lost (4)

• Buccaneers (+5½) 36, Vikings 17 - I'm kicking myself for this one. I've been talking for a while now about my lack of faith in the Vikings, even going so far to say they'll still wind up the last place team in the NFC North. So here's my chance to prove it, and I pick the Vikes to cover against an improving Bucs squad. Can't blame anyone but myself here.
• Packers 24, Jaguars (+14½) 15 - It looked late like the Packers would find a way to out and out lose this one, but they toughed out a win against a surprisingly game Jags squad. If not for a crazy number of drops, the Jags may have won. Blaine Gabbert blows, but his wideouts aren't doing him any favors.
• Patriots (-7) 45, Rams 7 - Was that "London Balling?" It's all I got for that one. I'll be here all the week.
• Falcons (+3) 30, Eagles 17 - So much for that Andy Reid is perfect after the bye nonsense. Week by week, this Falcons team impresses me a little bit more. That explosive offense even looked good on grass and in the rain. The Eagles offense mounted a few charges, but when the only move a team with offensive troubles makes is to fire the DEFENSIVE coordinator, there's much bigger problems at hand.

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (3)

• Colts (+3½) 19, Titans 13 (OT) - The Colts look poised for a 7 or 8 win season, which by all measurements, will be a success after the Brown Fever fest they went through in 2011.
• Steelers (-4) 27, Redskins 12 - A hunt should be commenced immediately by the Department of Homeland Security to track down all game film, cell phone pictures, DVR recordings, and other pictures, descriptions, and accounts so that nobody has to see those Pittsburgh throwback (more like throwup) abominations EVER AGAIN. The Redskins probably lost because they couldn't stop laughing.
• Giants (-1) 29, Cowboys 24 - This is why I love the NFL. The difference between losing a game in the picks, or in reality, literally came down to a dudes fingertips touching the end line on a potential game winning score. The Cowboys had no business even being in a position to win the game after the Turnover Extravaganza put on by the Dallas offense. This is as much an idictment of the Giants, who I'm still not sold on. That whole NFC East reeks.

Picks I Won Head to Head (2)

• Dolphins (+1) 30, Jets 9 - I've stated in the past that you only need to see how many passing attempts Mark Sanchez has for a game to know the end result. The higher the attempts, the worse the Jet loss. Number of dropbacks for Sanchez against Miami? 58 (54 pass attempts and 4 sacks)
• Bears 23, Panthers (+7½) 22 - Cam Newton channeled his inner Neil O'Donnell on a straight up hookup with Bears DB Tim Jennings that led to the Bears overcoming a 12 point deficit in a matter of 8 seconds. Carolina needed to be in clock killing mode in a hostile environment and instead took a heartbreaking, and most likely season-ending, loss at Chicago.