Week 1 ATS Recap: The Next Phase

Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback to the podcast, our latest iteration of In Much Less Detail. Apologies for the inconsistent audio quality thus far on the podcast. Stick with us, it will improve! It's hard to believe we started doing this in 7th grade, over the phone (as Dre and I attended separate junior highs) on pen & paper. Originally, the picks were straight up, but evolved to against the spread when we weren't challenged by .800 winning percentages any more. The In Much Less Detail blog started in 2010, and Dre and I started that season off with dual 12-4 records for the week 1 picks. It was a great start to the next step in the evolution of our little picks extravaganza. Now, 4 seasons later, we've taken the next step to podcasting our picks. So it was no doubt a great moment of pride when I found our little show on iTunes today. It was an even greater moment of pride for one of us starting off our show in fine fashion with a 12-3-1 week 1 of picks. The other one? Well, let's just say there's nowhere to go but up!

Picks We Both Won (3)

• Lions (-4) 34, Vikings 24 - After allowing Adrian Peterson a 78 yard touchdown on the very first offensive play of the game, the Lions D held Peterson to 15 yards the rest of the game. Reggie Bush made his presence known all throughout the game, and will add a great dynamic to the Lion offense as long as he can stay on the field. Dre likes the Lions to make a playoff push this year, but they will have to overcome their Stupidest Team In Football tendencies before that can happen.
• Colts 21, Raiders (+10) 17 - We nailed this one, as neither of us thought the Colts capable of blowing the doors off any team. Dre even questioned the Colts ability to continue to mount come from behind wins. So, of course, Indy came from behind late and ruined a great start by Oakland QB Terrelle Pryor.
• Niners (-4½) 34, Packers 28 - It wasn't the blowout I thought it would be, but the Niners showed they are more than capable of putting up big points when teams take away the read-option offense. Kaepernick torched the Packers secondary, still their weak link, which makes one wonder why the Packers wanted to see Kaepernick throw all game. Clearly, their intention was to get hits on the San Fran QB, but instead let him sit in the pocket and shred them the whole game long. Still, I was impressed by the Packers passing offense. Even without a clear #1 wideout, Aaron Rodgers can still get the job done. The Packer run game, though, is a disaster.

Picks We Both Lost (3)

• Broncos (-7½) 49, Ravens 27 - We started our week off in dismal fashion, with our Ravens getting shredded by Peyton Manning and his Most-Touchdowns-Since 1969 routine. If only "Football On Your Phone" was as good.
• Patriots 23, Bills (-10) 21 - This one hurt, as both Dre and I WANTED to pick the Bills but just couldn't see E.J. Manuel doing enough to the Pats D to cover a big number. What we underestimated were the losses to the Pats offense of Gronk and "alleged" murderer Aaron Hernandez. Tom Brady made the most of his slow, white wideouts, and the Pats won ugly.
• Saints (-3) 23, Falcons 17 - I loved the under on this one, and the Saints and Falcons delivered a low scoring affair as ordered. Matt Ryan had a chance at the end of the game eerily reminiscent of the end of the Falcons NFC Championship loss. Again, Ryan wilted under the pressure and couldn't deliver the game winning score. Until Ryan proves he can deliver more than just field goal drives to win games, the Falcons wont be able to take the next step. Dre mentioned this might be an indictment of the Falcons should they lose, I see it as more of a resurgence of the Saints. Both these teams will be there in the end of the NFC South race.

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (ZERO)

• Bears (-3) 24, Bengals 21 - PUSH - I'll put the push here since it was the closest thing Dre came to winning a head to head pick this week. This game delivered a little of both what Dre and I expected, which is perfect for a push. A.J. Green torched the Bears secondary, and Charles Tillman did just enough to keep the Bengals off track early. Neither team did much of note in this game, but I'll say that I think the Bengals have a more dangerous team than Chicago.

Picks I Won Head to Head (9)

• Titans (+7) 16, Steelers 9 - The Steelers have looked old and slow to start seasons, but this one felt different. It felt permanent. The Pittsburgh offense looked anemic the entire game, only scoring their first offensive points in garbage time with less than 2 minutes to go in the game. They can't run the ball, and then lost their star offensive lineman in Maurkice Pouncey (that's a fun name to type, too bad I wont be doing it anymore this year), so until I see otherwise, I consider the Steelers done. Brady Quinn done.
• Jets (+3½) 18, Bucs 17 - Look out! It's the new Stupidest Team In Football. Last year, we got to watch the Bucs and Greg Schiano try to blow up kneel downs. Now the Bucs blow up quarterbacks just trying to scramble out of bounds to stop the clock so that they can get penalized 15 yards to put the other team in game winning field goal position they wouldn't have been in without the penalty! Holy shit that's stupid! I picked the Jets straight here, so thanks for the stupidity, guys.
• Chefs (-3½) 28, Jaguars 2 - The only thing of note in this game is that it was the first 28-2 final in NFL history. This, also, is the only way these shitbag Jags can get into the history books. Dre had the Jags here, so this one felt like stealing candy from a baby.
• Seahawks (-3) 12, Panthers 7 - Looks boring as hell on paper, but the Seahawks went cross country to steal a win against a game Panther squad. In the race for home field advantage (yes I'm bringing this up in Week 1) every win Seattle can get on the road will make them tough to beat. Let's be honest, if Seattle can get the #1 seed, they will be almost unbeatable.
• Dolphins (PICK) 23, Browns 10 - This game was fairly competitive until the Browns miscues (like having Bradon Weeden starting for them) caught up with them.
• Rams 27, Cardinals (+4½) 24 - There is nothing sweeter than getting cute on a pick (picking a team to lose AND cover a small number) and having the pick go precisely as planned. I'm relishing this more than most of the wins this week simply for that fact. These just don't come through that often.
• Cowboys (-3½) 36, Giants 31 - OK, the Giants turned the ball over 6 times and figured out after one game that their running back situation is radioactive, so props to them for only losing this game by 5 points. However, another game or two like this, and the calls for Tom Coughlin's job will begin. Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen (Star Wars shoutout!!!!!)
• Eagles (+3½) 33, Redskins 27 - RGIII looks so uncomfortable in the pocket that I'm not sure about his health. On the other side, Mike Vick will play stellar for another game or two before he hits Injured Reserve with a tear/pull/blowout of some kind. Pretty much what we expect, so far.
• Texans 31, Chargers (+4) 28 - San Diego blew a 21 point lead like only they can, but the last second Texans field goal put the icing on the cake of my weekend. I'm not fond of either one of these teams, and I had even gone so far as to lump the Texans into the same category of dislike that I reserved for the Steelers. Houston has much more talent and fight in them than Pittsburgh, but I still see this as a team on the decline.

Jason 12-3-1
Dre 3-12-1

We mentioned on the podcast that we can't remember a week in our 24 years where we differed on 10 games. We certainly can never remember a week where the picks went so lopsidedly in one direction either. Hell of a start to 2013. I can hear Dre already with his "no excuses" mantra now that I have a 9 game lead after one week.

Our next podcast is Weds 9/11 at 10pm Central time. Recap of week 1 (can't wait to hear Dre's take on this) and our Thursday night pick. Condensed 15 minute format.

Podcast direct link

We're also on iTunes (it's so awesome to say that). We're labeled under Sports & Recretaion - Professional (boy we fooled them!)