Divisional Round '14 ATS Recap: The Dagger

It's been many years here at IMLD since our picks title has been determined before the Super Bowl. The point system Dre concocted many years ago made sure of that by compressing our point totals via win percentages and heightening the importance of the playoffs. Going in to the playoffs with a nice cushion helped, as my slightly better than mediocre 4-3-1 playoff record thus far is nothing special. The two points Dre coughed up in Wild Card weekend, thanks in no small measure to the Chiefs meltdown, made his comeback effort all the more daunting. So this week the mission was simple: give nothing back. All I needed to do was break even to take the title early and make sure our Championship Sunday and Super Bowl picks were for nothing more than shits n giggles.

That's exactly what happened.

Picks We Both Won (1)

• Broncos 24, Chargers (+10) 17 - Neither one of us had any faith in Peyton Manning covering a huge playoff number, but in reality he did. Manning did everything possible to put the Broncos up 24-7 midway through the 4th quarter. The Chargers then proceeded to go on two long scoring drives thanks an onside kick recovery, and instead of taking another onside attempt with just over three minutes left, the Bolts decided to kick it deep. It ended up being a mistake, as Manning converted two clutch long third down attempts to Julius Thomas and ensured the Broncos a spot in the AFC Championship game. The Chargers snapped out of their offensive coma in the 4th quarter, hurrying up the offense and getting the league worst Bronco D back on its heels. Sure Denver won, but Tom Brady wont take 3½ quarters to warm up like Philip Rivers did.

Smellin' Pushy (1)

• Seahawks (-8) 23, Saints 15 - Right there in the score is all you need to know about this game. The vaunted Saints offense put up a paltry fifteen points. 15?!?! The Seattle defense bent but didn't break until the Saints finally found the end zone to start the final quarter, but by then the mountain was too steep to climb. Marshawn Lynch ran all over the Saints D, with the capper being the clinching 31 yard TD run that all but put the game out of reach. The Saints, much like San Diego, went on a mad dash to come back, even also recovering an onside kick, but again falling behind big was costly.

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (1)

• Patriots (-7) 43, Colts 22 - This was one of the two games that Dre decided to let me pick so he could take the opposite. It was a good move as I totally misread the way THIS one would go. Dre picked his X-Factor to be New England RB Stevan Ridley, knowing that the Pats would need to run to glory in the windy conditions of Foxboro. He was oh-so-close as it turned out that it was stable mate LaGarrette "Punchy" Blount that went insane in the running game, tallying 166 yards and a ridiculous 4 touchdowns. In fact, the Pats ran it in 6 times, keeping the Colts off the field and Indy never got in rhythm. The Patriot running game was so solid that Tom Brady only needed to complete 13 passes on the day, which is scary considering that this is a team that usually needs Brady to dink and dunk them to victory.

Picks I Won Head To Head (1)

• 49ers (PICK) 23, Panthers 10 - This was the victory lap for me. The second and last of games Dre let me pick for the title, and only needing a split on the two to take the title, this was the one on the podcast I thought felt like a gift. I LOVED the Niners in this matchup all week. Not that Carolina was without merit, but a playoff tested team like San Francisco handled the moment much better than the newcomer Panthers. Carolina looked more like petulant children all game long, more interested in smack talking and intimidating San Francisco than, you know, actually trying to win the game. Once the Niners went into halftime leading, after Carolina's defense laid the lumber all over the Niner offense for 30 minutes, I knew it was over. Indeed, Carolina didn't even score in the second half, and the Niners did what any team with a solid defense and a lead does late in games: they pressured the shit out of Cam Newton, sacking him in bunches and picking him off late.

Now I just need Wayne Larrivee to give me a completely ridiculous, over-the-top "There is your In Much Less Detail 2013 Picks Championship DAGGER!!!!!"

Even though our picks competition is over, that doesn't mean we're going anywhere. Live show tonight at 10pm at:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

Subscribe to our show on iTunes for the full version. Live listeners miss out on the 15-minute VIP After Show. Minor milestone tonight: it's our 40th show! I know, how'd we make it this far?