Week 8 ATS Recap: Stopping the Bleeding

After running out to a 9 game lead in the picks over Dre after week 1, I've been bleeding that lead away in small increments over the last 6 weeks. This week, finally, I was able to notch a few wins under my belt and put a little distance between me and Dre AND improve on my slowly declining win percentage on the year.

Picks We Both Won (4)

• Panthers (-6½) 31, Bucs 13 - Yes the league is pass happy and in love with Tecmo Bowl offenses, but the trend seems to be skewing favorably for the teams that can still retain some semblance of balance. The Panthers turned Mike Glennon and the Doug Martin-less Bucs into a pass happy, one-dimensional team, while Carolina was able to mix in enough runs to move the ball effectively.
• Niners (-14½) 42, Jaguars 10 - It took the Niners all of 18 minutes to cover the spread on this game. There should have been an over/under on THAT.
• Giants (+5) 15, Eagles 7 - I'm still confused as to how the Eagles were 5 point favorites in this game. Sometimes, winning a pick just feels too easy. This was one of those games. Sure, the Giants only managed 5 field goals on the day, but the Vick-Barkley QB tandem for Philly just simply sucks balls. That whole division sucks balls.
• Bengals (-6) 49, Jets 9 - The Jets seem to be going through a bit of "Good Week, Bad Week" syndrome right now. Cincinnati delivered plenty of "Bad Week" in the form of way too much defense and Andy Dalton for the Jets to handle. The Bengals may be ready to take control of the AFC North.

Picks We Both Lost (4)

• Chiefs 23, Browns (+9½) 17 - The Chefs have parlayed a ridiculously easy schedule into an unbeaten season. While they will most likely be one-and-done come playoff time, they can still be proud of what they've accomplished so far, even if it's just barely beating also-rans.
• Patriots (-6½) 27, Dolphins 17 - Miami picked off Tom Bradys first pass of the game and turned momentum into a 17-3 halftime lead. They never scored again, and looked lost in the second half. The Patriots are never a good squad to appear weak to, and both Brady and a ballhawking defense made the Fins look not-ready-for-primetime. Ryan Tannehill has disappeared in a couple big games this season so far, so keep an eye on that.
• Raiders (+1) 21, Steelers 18 - Terelle Pryor ran for more yards (93) on one play than he passed for (88) on the day, catching the Steelers off guard and making a mockery of a defense that never would have allowed that to happen in it's heyday. So much for the Steelers resurgence.
• Seahawks 14, Rams (+11) 9 - Once again, it will be easy to discount Seattle after this horrid performance. If the Rams had not been quarterbacked by anyone other than Jeff Tuel, Matt Barkley, Brandon Weeden, Blaine Gabbert, or in this case Kellen Clemems, they would have easily handled the Seahawks. Seattle was not ready for the defense and running game of the Rams, perhaps caught up a little in reading their own press, and were ripe for the upset. The Rams, minus Sam Bradford, racked up 200 yards of offense more than the Seahawks, but just couldn't find the endzone in a truly painful game to watch. The ESPN broadcast team is starting to spend more time ragging on the quality of the shit MNF games than actual game analysis. It's quite amusing, actually.

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (1)

• Cardinals (-1) 27, Falcons 13 - Atlanta used to be a running team, didn't they? A team that prided itself on pounding teams to death with the ground game to open up the passing lanes has completely lost its identity. After beating the Bucs rushing for 18 yards, the Falcons took that show on the road to Arizona and rushed for 27 yards, led by Matt Ryan's 13. This forced Ryan to put the ball up 61 times (?!?!?!?!) in the air, which is all you need to know about why the Cards won. Arizona has been mediocre enough so far to squeak out 4 wins and could be in the wild card discussion down the stretch. Atlanta? Brady Quinn Done.

Picks I Won Head to Head (4)

• Saints (-11) 35, Bills 17 - Yep, I handed the reins of the Thad Lewis bandwagon over to Dre just in time to bail out and watch that thing go sailing right off the cliff. Lookout below!
• Lions 31, Cowboys (+3) 30 - The Dez Bryant meltdowns were where most of the chatter was after this game, but nobody really talked about how the Lions basically outplayed the Cowboys for most of this game, only allowing Dallas a lead by shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly with turnover after turnover. Detroit ran the ball much better and for damn sure passed it better, as Calvin Johnson decided to show he's the best WR on the planet instead of just in this game. I started the Calvin Johnson for MVP movement the week the Lions shit the bed without him in the lineup at Green Bay. Now I'm all in on it.
• Broncos (-13) 45, Redskins 21 - This pick, and game, looked in doubt for me and Denver about 4 minutes into second half, after a DeAngelo Hall Schaub put the Skins up 21-7. Denver then showed why they are the best second half team in football again, putting on a clinic over the last 26 minutes, scoring 38 unanswered to send the Shanahans back to DC 2-5. Sadly, 2-5 is only 2 games out of the NFC East lead. Did I mention that division sucks balls?
• Packers (-9½) 44, Vikings 31 - The entire 4th quarter of this game was completely meaningless. The Packers visibly quit playing defense, allowing Minnesota to scrounge up 2 late Garbage Time Touchdowns™ , which could have cost me the game had the Packers offense similarly given up. Aaron Rodgers again showed why he is the best QB in the league, as he continues to make stars out of complete nobodies. Jarret Boykin? Myles White? WTF? Also, quietly, Green Bay continues to flex their muscles in the run game. This team has legs (get it?).

Dre 5-8
Jay 8-5