Week 11 ATS Recap: That's So Ravens

It figured that the difference in gaining a game, or losing one, to Dre this week would hinge on the result of the Steelers-Ravens Sunday Night matchup. This was a shoo-in for the Ravens, of course, since Pittsburgh was starting Byron "The Statue" Leftwich at QB. It had all the makings of a Baltimore squoosh. Funny thing about those Ravens, though, is their ability to play down to the level of their competition and come up small against a team they needed to beat.

Picks We Both Won (3)

• Bills (-1) 19, Dolphins 14 - The Fins tried to make it interesting late, but two late Ryan Tannehill picks doomed the Miami comeback. Easy Thursday wins to start a week are always nice.
• Bucs (-1) 27, Panthers 21 (OT) -  The Josh Freeman renaissance continues, making me glad I stayed on as President and Original Member of the Josh Freeman Fan Club. Tampa has positioned themselves nicely to make a playoff push, while Carolina is such a hard team to take as a cover right now. I could hear the pain in Dre's voice as he picked Tampa, as Cam Newton is inspiring so little confidence that it's really tough to go with the Panthers in any situation.
• Bengals (-3½) 28, Chiefs 6 - The Chiefs switched from Matt Cassel to Brady Quinn at halftime, and I doubt anyone noticed. They're both so awful right now that they could probably wear each others jersey.

Picks We Both Lost (6)

• Redskins (-3½) 31, Eagles 6 - Methinks that Nick Foles isn't the answer in Philly, nor was firing Juan Castillo. What a mess.
• Texans 43, Jaguars (+15) 37 (OT) - So Blaine Gabbet gets hurt and the Jags turn into the '98 Vikings offense? That's more an indictment of Gabbert than the Texans defense, who I'm sure were completely taken unaware by the Jags passing attack. Houston rallied from down two touchdowns in the 4th quarter to steal the Jags second win away from them. And as with Atlanta the week before, the Texans allowing the Jags to hang with them has many talking heads doubting their credibility, despite their 9-1 record. Incredible.
• Saints (-4½) 38, Raiders 17 - Dre informed me that he had picked up Interception Santa to helm his fantasy team this week. All I asked for from Santa was a pick-6 for Malcolm Jenkins. Palmer delivered, so thanks Santa!
• Patriots (-9½) 59, Colts 24 - Where was the inspiring postgame speech from Chuck Pagano after THIS? He better stay focused on the daughters weddings, cause raising that Lombardi looks a little farther off after the whoop-ass unleashed by Tom Brady.
• Broncos 30, Chargers (+8½) 23 - We were done in by the dreaded Garbage Time Touchdown. Happens to all of us. Watch out for these Broncos, their remaining schedule is surprisingly light, and 12 wins look within reach. But 12 wins a season is old hat for Peyton Manning, so let's see what Denver does in the postseason. The AFC West race is over.
• Niners (-6) 32, Bears 7 - So much went wrong for the Bears, and most of it had to do with the stellar play of Colin Kaepernick and the Bears horrendous offensive line. Aldon Smith and the Niners D-line were unstoppable against the Bear front and handed Jason Campbell his lunch all night long. Where are all the people calling Jay Cutler a pussy now? It looks like San Francisco might have a little healthy QB controversy on their hands, and while I hate most of them as pure fan/media fabrications, the product the Niners displayed for all to see Monday Night even had me thinking a QB change was at hand. We'll see.

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (2)

• Falcons 23, Cardinals (+9½) 19 - The Texans of the NFC, the Crap Falcons, survived 5 Matt Ryan picks to escape with a win, becoming the first team to accomplish that in something like 70 years. As with Houston, I contend that good teams find ways to win even when things are going to shit around them, but apparently we have two 9-1 teams, and no trust in either.
• Jets (+3½) 27, Rams 13 - The Jets pull one off like this once in a while, everyone gets off their backs for a week, and then they get destroyed the next week and it's all back to normal. Oh look who the Jets play in Week 12....New England. Good luck with that.

Picks I Won Head to Head (3)

• Packers (-3) 24, Lions 20 - It certainly wasn't convincing, but it was a cover. As with Atlanta and Houston, the Packers did what they needed to do and toughed out a win on a day they didn't bring their best stuff. After the Monday night massacre the Bears endured, the Packers moved into a first place tie with Chicago. For all that early season handwringing about the Packers, things look to be back on track toward the playoffs.
• Cowboys 23, Browns (+9½) 20 (OT) - The Dallas Cowboys: still the stupidest team in football. Yet things might work out in Big D, because if the Giants can't get their shit together, the Cowboys might just sneak out a division win. They'll need it to make the postseason, because it doesn't look like a Wild Card is coming out the NFC Least.
• Ravens 13, Steelers (+3½) 10 - Letting me sneak out a cheap win on a hook? That's So Ravens!