Week 4 ATS Recap: The Revenge of Glennon

This is typical. Dre devoted an entire stat shout out to the......mediocrity(?) of Mike Glennon, calling out those who thought that the Bucs had a shot to be relevant now that they'd benched Luke-Cade-Josh McClown in favor of Glennon. When will we learn that isolating one single player for their ineptitude means said player will proceed to shove it up our asses that week? So, of course, Glennon led the hapless Bucs to a cover at Pittsburgh and then put the cherry on that shit sundae by winning the game in the closing seconds. Just perfect.

Picks We Both Won (2)

• Packers (-2) 38, Bears 17 - Aaron Rodgers decided to have one of his MVP-type days at a bad time for the Bears, who seemed to concentrate mightily (and successfully) at stopping Lacy and the Packer run game. Rodgers shredded the Bears depleted (inept) secondary, while Jay Cutler got pick-happy in the second half, ruining any comeback attempts for the Bears. All is not rosy for the Packers, though, as they couldn't mount much of a running game against a woeful Bears run-D.
• Colts (-7.5) 41, Titans 17 - All history will ever need to know about this cover: Charlie Whitehurst started for the Tennessee Titans.

Picks We Both Lost (5)

• Giants (+3.5) 45, Redskins 14 - Kirk Cousins picked a bad day to look like a backup quarterback. After looking GREAT in his previous two appearances, Cousins decided it was a good time to commit FIVE turnovers en route to a 31 point drubbing by the Giants. No amount of Eli Manning suck could have overcome what Cousins puked all over the field this day.
• Ravens (-3.5) 38, Panthers 10 - Perhaps we underestimated the motivations of one Steve Smith Senior Citizen? Smith snagged two TDs (only one was intended for him) and got revenge on the team that let him go. Worry for the Panthers, this is two drubbings in a row now against teams (Baltimore and Pittsburgh) that aren't exactly Murderers Row.
• Lions (-2.5) 24, Jets 17 - The Lions keep winning games they used to lose. Maybe they have exorcised the Schwartz? Calls in New York, however, are going out for Rex Ryan to bench Geno Smith in favor of the vastly more talented and proven Mike Vick. Ryan is sticking with Smith, so basically Ryan wants to be fired.
• Buccaneers (+7.5) 27, Steelers 24 - See above. Oh, and fuck the Steelers. I'm guessing many a survivor pool ended this day.
• Dolphins (-3.5) 38, Raiders 14 - On a neutral site, it's playing out that the better team has a huge advantage. So we picked the Raiders. Because we are dumb.

Smellin Pushy (1)

• 49ers (-5) 26, Eagles 21 - Can we have moral victories at IMLD? Dre totally nailed this pick. On this field, the Niners were the vastly superior team. Oh, except for allowing a defensive touchdown and TWO (count 'em) special teams TDs. This game should have never even been close, yet the Eagles still afforded me a push and allowed me to slightly pad my lead for the season against Dre. He can keep that moral victory!

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (2)

• Chargers (-13.5) 33, Jaguars 14 - The Jags hung tough into the third quarter, but the result was as it should be. The Chargers are pretty damn good. Did we overlook them coming into the season? I know I did.
• Vikings (+3) 41, Falcons 28 - It's official: the Falcons suck balls on the road. The Falcons allowed themselves to be violated by Matt Asiata and a QB starting his first ever game in Teddy Bridgewater. While I liked Bridgewater coming out of college, an opponent can't let him have a field day like he did in his FIRST NFL START. Atlanta will be tough to take to cover on the road against anybody the rest of the way.

Picks I Won Head to Head (3)

• Texans (-3) 23, Bills 17 - The Bills played a tougher game than I thought they would, but never seemed to recover from a crushing 80 yard pick-6 by J.J. Watt. Never let a D-lineman go 80 on a pick, no matter how freakishly talented he is.
• Cowboys (+3) 38, Saints 17 - The stat line will make it look like the Saints exposed the Dallas defense. That was true.....mostly in garbage time. The Cowboys were up 4 touchdowns before the Saints found the end zone, capitalizing on sloppy Saints play in what seems to be a recurring nightmare for the Saints. We commented on the podcast that we were a bit worried about the Saints, and their only saving grace may be that the allegedly tough NFC South looks like total shit right now.
• Chiefs (+3.5) 41, Patriots 24 - That is about as outclassed as you will ever see the Patriots be. The Chiefs could do anything they wanted offensively to the New England defense all night, making the most of runningbacks Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis, who both almost topped the 100 yard mark. Alex Smith even decided to look like a good NFL quarterback for the night, compiling a 20-for-26, three touchdown performance. It might be time for the Pats to panic, but they are in the same boat as the Saints: their allegedly tough division is completely up in the air at the moment. For New England, I will say this: is there a team with a WORSE stable of wide receivers and runningbacks as the Patriots? Tom Brady has done a lot with very little in his career, but he's not getting any younger. The guy needs help.

Jason 5-7-1

Dre 4-8-1

2014 Week #4

It's coming up on the first quarter's end, and you know what that means!  Yes, bullshit London games that don't need to be played overseas because they don't give a fuck.  And if you listen to our podcast this week, you know that we said things a lot more controversial than that.  Bill Simmons ain't got shit on us.  Now, our picks.

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
	Thu. Nite
WASH (1-2)	3½	NYG (1-2)	NY 45-14		Wash	Wash
	Sunday
GB (1-2)	2	CHI (2-1)			GB	GB
HOU (2-1)	3	Buf (2-1)			Buf	Hou
IND (1-2)	7½	Tenn (1-2)			Ind	Ind
BAL (2-1)	3½	Car (2-1)			Car	Car
Det (2-1)	1½	NYJ (1-2)			NY	NY
PIT (2-1)	7½	TB (0-3)			Pit	Pit
Mia (1-2)	3½	Oak (0-3)		London, ENG	Oak	Oak
SD (2-1)	13½	Jack (0-3)			SD	Jack
SF (1-2)	5	Phi (3-0)			SF	Phi
Atl (2-1)	3	MIN (1-2)			Min	Atl
	Sun. Nite
NO (1-2)	3	DAL (2-1)			NO	Dal
	Mon. Nite
NE (2-1)	3½	KC (1-2)			NE	KC

All of our thoughts and observations, including choice opinions on race relations, can be heard right here:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail/2014/09/26/nfl-2014-week-4

Week 3 ATS Recap: This Is More Like It!

We were really worried here at IMLD. We agreed on 12 games this week, which almost never ends well. In a nice change of pace for us, we both managed to pull out good weeks! Dre even managed to pick up a couple games on me, so hopefully this will be the end of all the woe on the show.

Picks We Both Won (8)

• Falcons (-6) 56, Buccaneers 14 - What was that? We did our picks show live during this game on Thursday night, and I still can't believe the thrashing that Atlanta unleashed upon the hapless Bucs. Tampa was never in the game, getting destroyed in every facet of the game. This could have been worse, Atlanta gave the ball up several times on offense, the only thing that stopped them from scoring 70.
• Cowboys (+1) 34, Rams 31 - Yep, even if you spot Austin Davis a 3 touchdown lead, you can still cover, Dallas. Congrats.
• Eagles 37, Redskins (+6.5) 34 - In a week where we see Matt Stafford go head to head with Aaron Rodgers, of course the Kirk Cousins-Nick Foles matchup would turn out to be the QB shootout of the week. Of course it would. Philly came back from a double digit deficit for the third straight week, but until they can play a full 4 quarters, they don't look like more than a one-and-done come January. Their defense reeks.
• Saints (-10) 20, Vikings 9 - Is it possible to continue to be underwhelmed by a team that managed to even cover a 10 point line? Well, color me unimpressed with the Saints, then. Playing a Viking squad missing it's best player, the Saints had to tough out a win, only scoring 20 when they should have doubled that number in an effort to reassert themselves.
• Bengals (-6.5) 33, Titans 7 - The anti-Saints, the Bengals continue to impress each week. This is providing that they haven't exactly been tested in their schedule yet, but beating inferior opponents like a drum is what good teams should do.
• Lions (-2.5) 19, Packers 7 - This wasn't as close as the score indicated. The Lions dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage, making Aaron Rodgers look human, and would have won by 30 save for some Stupidest-Team-In-Football-esque antics. The Jim Schwartz Lions would have gagged on this one.
• Cardinals (+3) 23, 49ers 14 - So the Cards followed up going to NY and winning by hosting a "tough" Niners squad and dominating....with Drew Stanton starting both games! The real story here is how the retooled Cards defense hasn't missed a beat and looks every bit as dominant as it was last season. The Niners are a mess, and I'll have trouble giving points with them until they show something...ANYthing.
• Seahawks (-5) 26, Broncos 20 (OT) - I'll chalk this up to Seattle not playing out the string against a very good team. The Hawks looked to take the foot off the gas after dominating their way to a 17-3 4th quarter lead. Never sleep on Peyton Manning, who brought the Broncos all the way back to tie it. Seattle had enough of that, and took the opening drive of overtime all the way to give Dre and I a rare 5-point overtime cover. We'll take it.

Picks We Both Lost (3)

• Giants (+2) 30, Texans 17 - The Giants weren't going to go 0-16 and the Texans weren't going to go 16-0. Should have seen this one coming.
• Chiefs (+3.5) 34, Dolphins 15 - Since dominating the Patriots in week 1, the Dolphins have folded like cheap lawn furniture.
• Steelers (+3.5) 37, Panthers 19 - OK, so if I can see that all Big Ben does is read how far off the corners are playing and either: A) throw a quick out to a WR OR B) lob it over the top of the corner, why couldn't the Panthers D? Clearly, the way to confuse the Steeler passing offense  is to mix up coverages, or show what you're really NOT going to do.

Smellin Pushy (1)

• Ravens (-2) 23, Browns 21 - Dre and I both had the Brown Fever this week, and it almost came through. In the end, the Ravens experience won out over the Browns grit and fight. I'm impressed by the efforts the Browns have put forth so far, but they need to finish games if they want to get over the hump. Also, where's that supposed "good" Browns defense?

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (3)

• Chargers (+2.5) 22, Bills 10 - The Chargers followed up beating the champs by traveling cross country and beating an improved Bills squad. Impressive.
• Colts (-7) 44, Jaguars 17 - Blake Bortles looked good for the Jags in garbage time. Fortunately for Bortles, all Jags games are garbage time.
• Patriots 16, Raiders (+14) 9 - When it takes a Vince Wilfork interception to seal a win over the lowly Raiders, you know you might not be as good as the betting public thinks you are. The Pats used to roll up teams like this at Foxboro, and after this game all I can say is the AFC East looks WIDE open.

Picks I Won Head to Head (1)

• Bears (+3) 27, Jets 19 - I said it last week: Don't Fuck With the Bear Whisperer!!!!!!!!!

Dre 11-4-1

Jay 9-6-1

Recap show tonight at 930 central time: Show Page

2014 Week #3

We're a little early with our prognostications this week, but I'm going out of town and Jay's under the weather.  So if our picks are more off than normal, there's our excuses.

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
	Thu. Nite
ATL (1-1)	6	TB (0-2)	Atl 56-14		Atl	Atl
	Sunday
BUF (2-0)	2½	SD (1-1)			SD	Buf
STL (1-1)	1	Dal (1-1)			Dal	Dal
PHI (2-0)	6½	Wash (1-1)			Wash	Wash
Hou (2-0)	2	NYG (0-2)			Hou	Hou
NO (0-2)	10	Min (1-1)			NO	NO
CIN (2-0)	6½	Tenn (1-1)			Cin	Cin
Bal (1-1)	2	CLE (1-1)			Cle	Cle
DET (1-1)	2½	GB (1-1)			Det	Det
Ind (0-2)	7	JACK (0-2)			Ind	Jack
NE (1-1)	14	Oak (0-2)			Oak	NE
SF (1-1)	3	ARIZ (2-0)			Ariz	Ariz
SEA (1-1)	5	Den (2-0)			Sea	Sea
MIA (1-1)	3½	KC (0-2)			Mia	Mia
	Sun. Nite
CAR (2-0)	3½	Pit (1-1)			Car	Car
	Mon. Nite
NYJ (1-1)	3	Chi (1-1)			NY	Chi

All of our thoughts and observations, as always, can be found on our podcast: blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

2014 Week #2

It's starting to get serious for my credibility.  I'm already six games down to Jason after Baltimore crushed Pittsburgh on Thursday night, meaning I have to root for a sweep of these six games that we differ on for Sunday just to get back to even.  I need to start searching for rosary beads or holy water or something.  Here's the rest of Week 2:

Fav

Spread

Dog

Final

Dre

Jay

	Thu. Nite
BAL (0-1)	2½	Pit (1-0)	Bal 26-6		Pit	Bal
	Sunday
BUF (1-0)	Pk	Mia (1-0)			Buf	Mia
WASH (0-1)	6	Jack (0-1)			Jack	Jack
TENN (1-0)	3½	Dal (0-1)			Dal	Dal
Ariz (1-0)	2	NYG (0-1)			NY	NY
NE (0-1)	5½	MIN (1-0)			Min	NE
NO (0-1)	6½	CLE (0-1)			NO	NO
CIN (1-0)	5½	Atl (1-0)			Cin	Atl
CAR (1-0)	2½	Det (1-0)			Det	Car
TB (0-1)	5½	StL (0-1)			TB	TB
Sea (1-0)	5½	SD (0-1)			Sea	SD
Hou (1-0)	3	OAK (0-1)			Oak	Oak
GB (0-1)	7½	NYJ (1-0)			GB	GB
DEN (1-0)	13	KC (0-1)			KC	Den
	Sun. Nite
SF (1-0)	7	Chi (0-1)			Chi	Chi
	Mon. Nite
IND (0-1)	3	Phi (1-0)			Ind	Ind

All of our thoughts and observations on these games, as well as the latest on the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson controversies, can be heard on our latest radio show:  blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

2014 Week 1: What I Learned

In the name of brevity, I will try to break down the best and worst executions of each team for this first week of the season instead of listing everything I observed.  A few games will be missing because I didn't care enough to watch their highlights:

• Packers-Seahawks:  Tremendous play-calling by Darrell Bevell leads Russell Wilson and Seattle to another impressive spotlight win.  GB BEST:  Aaron Rodgers effortlessly flinging accurate 50-yard bombs running away from pressure showed why he's special.  GB WORST:  Run and pass blocking was light in the cakes, and RT Derek Sherrod was especially abused.  SEA BEST:  Russell Wilson is developing into one of the best game managers in football, which is nothing at all to be ashamed of.  SEA WORST:  I still think not using Marshawn Lynch more is a mistake, although I get trying to keep him fresh.
• Saints-Falcons:  Another pair of Matty Ice fire drills earn Atlanta points at the end of both halves, then they create a turnover to win in OT.  NO BEST:  Basically everything.  They thoroughly outplayed Atlanta in the 1st half.  Drew Brees is a master of Sean Payton's offense.  NO WORST:  Their Cover-2 defense tried to contain the Falcons' comeback attempt, but they just gave up too many big plays underneath for Matt Ryan to exploit.  ATL BEST:  Matty Ice surviving and pulling off another big come-from-behind effort.  That offense will be a headache for all 16 opponents.  ATL WORST:  They got no pass rush on Brees in the 1st half, and the blitz in the 2nd half wasn't all rainbows--Brees made some big plays and could have put the game away if not for Robert McClain's INT in the end zone.
• Jaguars-Eagles:  From down 17-0 to a 34-17 victory, Philly comes out on the ultimate rollercoaster.  JACK BEST:  Chad Henne took what the Philadelphia D gave him, including two early TDs to someone named Allen Hurns.  JACK WORST:  Major blown coverage in the 2nd half spoiled not just a Jacksonville upset win, but the spread as well.  Lucky for Jas and me.  PHI BEST:  Once the offense got on track in the 2nd half, Nick Foles was a shining star just like last season, and Darren Sproles was a fearsome X-factor.  PHI WORST:  Wait, you fell behind the Jags 17-0?  The Jags???
• Bengals-Ravens:  When crunch time arrived, Cincy went back to the Dalton-to-Green combo, and it worked yet again.  It's like an addiction, you want to kick it but you just can't do it.  CIN BEST:  They're said to have one of the best defenses in football, and they played like it for about half the game.  CIN WORST:  I had a problem with Jay Gruden's Polecat and read-option plays for Andy Dalton last year, and unfortunately, the new OC Hue Jackson had them in there as well.  Dalton's gonna get killed doing that shit.  BAL BEST:  It may be more a Bengal problem than a Raven strength, but holding Cincinnati to 5 FGs in the 1st half kept Baltimore in the game.  The defense bent frequently but didn't break, at least until the last TD.  BAL WORST:  Joe Flacco's decision making sucked before the busted-coverage TD toss to Steve Smith.  Truly some bad throws throughout the game.
• Bills-Bears:  Old defensive issues once again blocked Chicago from taking advantage of their high-powered offense and permitted Buffalo to get a rare road win.  BUF BEST:  E.J. Manuel looked like a NFL quarterback.  No major mistakes, no panic attacks, just take what the crappy Bears defense is giving you.  BUF WORST:  They let Chicago drive for a TD on the first drive of the season, and it looked so easy you thought the Bills D had missed their flight and were being replaced by scabs.  CHI BEST:  I know Jay Cutler threw two INTs, I know he had his usual bad mechanics, but he's still a franchise QB leading a very good offense, and he still had a good day overall (349 yards and two TDs).  CHI WORST:  The revamped, retooled Bears defense gave up 193 rushing yards, including two different sprints over 35 yards.  Absolutely pathetic.
• Redskins-Texans:  Houston returns to their spot as an AFC force, for one game anyway.  WASH BEST:  Robert Griffin III playing pitch-and-catch with Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson (18 combined receptions) was encouraging, although they couldn't find the end zone.  WASH WORST:  Pass blocking did the Skins in ultimately.  RG3 was sacked three times and coughed up a fumble, and if not for that, he could have found the end zone eventually and gave Washington more than six lousy points.
• Titans-Chiefs:  Kansas City is going to be in trouble all year if their offense looks this anemic and their defense keeps getting injured.  TENN BEST:  Jake Locker and new coach Ken Whisenhunt were in sync in the 2nd half, exploiting the Chiefs' defensive shortcomings.  Locker showed nice poise in putting the game away.  TENN WORST:  Still don't like the Titans in a shootout situation, which this definitely was not.  Kansas City opened up the offense a bit in the 2nd quarter, and initially, Tennessee couldn't keep up due to lack of protection for Locker.  KC BEST:  That hint of sunshine when Alex Smith made some big plays in the 2nd, until they realized they had no playmakers.  KC WORST:  As terrifying as their offense was once they were behind and needed quick points, Andy Reid's fake punt whiffed of desperation.  And it failed, on top of that.
• Patriots-Dolphins:  New England fails the way they normally fail, with Tom Brady and his blockers and receivers not on the same page.  NE BEST:  The 1st half, where they scored all 20 of their points and took advantage of Miami's comedy of errors resulting in three straight turnovers.  NE WORST:  The 2nd half, where Brady got dumped by two different sack-strips by Cameron Wake, the defensive backs played very unsound football, and the Pats surrendered 23 unanswered points.  MIA BEST:  Ryan Tannehill stayed focused under new OC Bill Lazor's offense and led a nice comeback, and RB Knowshon Moreno for the second year in a row started the season 2nd on a depth chart and thoroughly outplayed the starter.  MIA WORST:  That offense had some kinks in it in the 1st half, to say the least.
• 49ers-Cowboys:  San Francisco outplayed Dallas from the opening whistle, and they didn't even play that well.  SF BEST:  Colin Kaepernick still plays all-or-nothing football, making big plays or making none at all.  His first throw of the game saw big Dallas pressure but no pass coverage, his second saw the same and resulted in a wide-open TD to Vernon Davis, his next possession was another Davis TD, and the rout was on.  SF WORST:  Those missing pieces on defense did result in big runs for Dallas, which would have mattered in a close game.  DAL BEST:  DeMarco Murray scampered for 118 yards and looked impressive when not fumbling.  DAL WORST:  Tony Romo made some throws that were so inaccurate he looked like he shouldn't be playing.  His track record is such that you can't tell if he was rusty, hurt, or just his normal self, but it was a tough watch, whatever his issues were.
• Colts-Broncos:  New rule:  I ain't picking against Andrew Luck ever again as an underdog of seven or more points.  Indy was no match for Denver for most of the game, but Luck still rallied them back for a backdoor cover.  IND BEST:  Luck is just amazing.  I'm stunned he made this game as close as it was.  Most guys would pack it in down 24-0 on the road, but not him.  IND WORST:  They could have scooted past Den and been up by several touchdowns had they not dropped so many passes.  DEN BEST:  As always, the maestro, Peyton Manning.  I really liked how the Broncos started the game with Emmanuel Sanders, hitting him early and often not just to break him into the lineup, but to make Indianapolis adjust.  Peyton would have thrown to Sanders on every throw if the Colts would have let him.  DEN WORST:  They had a lot of drops as well.  They started the 3rd quarter with a pair of wide open drops, and I felt that was enough to give Luck hope and allow him to lead the comeback that came up short but covered the number.  Focus, boys, focus.
• Giants-Lions:  Detroit didn't go Schwartz!  The Lions showed their stuff on a national stage and didn't cough up the lead, stifling New York from open to close.  NYG BEST:  At least the Giants left some bruises on the Lions.  Detroit took some hard licks on their catches, and a lesser team lets that affect them as the game wears on.  NYG WORST:  Eli.  Inaccurate, miscommunication, running the gamut of bad QB play.  Seriously, he was one of the worst individual players all weekend.  he was THE DRIZZLING SHITS.  DET BEST:  Very crisp execution on offense by Matthew Stafford and the Lions offense.  Oh, that Calvin Johnson guy is good too.  Those acrobatic TD catches?  Are you serious, bro?  He was THE SHIT.  DET WORST:  The defense gave the Giants some running room and let Eli get into an actual rhythm in the 2nd quarter, but that was about the only misstep for the Lions all night.
• Chargers-Cardinals:  I guess this is what San Diego does--get big leads on Monday Night Football and give them away to lose the game.  A shame too, because they played so well for most of the game.  SD BEST:  Philip Rivers did an excellent job of climbing the pocket and delivering accurate throws in the face of a ferocious Arizona D.  He held his poise until the end of the game, which is something he has trouble doing.  SD WORST:  Their back 7 on defense really dropped back too far in the 2nd half, allowing big plays underneath, facilitating the Cards comeback.  ARIZ BEST:  That defense came out all kinds of fired up.  Those replacement parts filled in very well for the most part.  The bad snap by the center for SD took them out of FG range in the 4th, and it was forced by the blitz threat.  ARIZ WORST:  Carson Palmer was a little off early, throwing a handful of potential INTs that could have put the Cards away if the Chargers could have come up with them.  But he put it together on that final drive.

Not very brief, huh?

Week 1 Results--Dre 4-11-1, .267; Jay, 9-6-1, .600

Don't Forget The IMLD Podcast

NFL 2014 Week #1 09/05 by In Much Less Detail The Podcast | Football Podcasts


Year 2 is underway. Here's the Week 1 pick show. Relive Dre's misery! Join us tonight at 10pm CST. Yeah, back to our regular time so Dre can go bowling. I'm sure he's imagining the pins are the Kansas City Chefs.



In Much Less Detail: The Podcast - Link to tonights recap show.



For the full show, which features the VIP Lounge portion of the show (usually an extra 15-30 minutes of content), follow us on iTunes. Just look for In Much Less Detail: The Podcast.

Week 1 ATS Recap: Back In the Saddle Again

It seems that I should just pick games week 1 every year, especially against Dre. We have disagreed on 18 games the last two NFL week 1s and I'm now 15-1-2 in those games. Something tells me this year wont be as easy as last because, at some point, Dre is going to get sick of being behind me in the picks and just GO OFF! For now, I'll enjoy the fact that he hasn't been ahead of me in the overall standings since he won the pick for the Ravens/Niners Super Bowl. That's a LONG time ago, folks.

Picks We Both Won (3)

• Falcons (+3) 37, Saints 34 (OT) - Atlanta shredded the Saints newly "improved" defense to the tune of 568 yards of total offense. Matt Ryan set the Falcons single game passing record, completing balls to NINE different receivers in the contest. Yet it took some late game Ryan heroics and two long Matt Bryant field goals to seal this one for the Falcons. Because, really, that Falcon defense still stinks. Can't rush the passer, can't stop the run, can't much stop the pass, either. Look for a lot of Falcon games to go like this. The Saints should be fine. Atlanta just had an all-time game. I was impressed with the Falcon running backs though, which I plan on hitting on tomorrow night on our recap show.
• Eagles (-10) 34, Jaguars 17 - There was a theme in many of the games this last week. That theme was teams getting killed in the first half, and completely turning it around in the second. This was a case of Philly majorly underestimating their opponent, allowing the Jags to get out to a 17 point lead at the half. The Eagles then remembered they were playing the Jacksonville Fucking Jaguars and scored 34 unanswered in the second half. The only people worried about this game were degenerate gamblers and survivor pool players.
• Cardinals 18, Chargers (+3) 17 - The second half of the Monday Night opening doubleheader is always a snoozefest. Literally. I fell asleep. Maybe it was the crazy sleep schedule of having a newborn, but I don't think I've ever made it through the nightcap game in Week 1 since the NFL went to this format. Arizona made a nice comeback, but we still got the cover. It made up for the cheap Indy cover on Sunday night.

Picks We Both Lost (5)

• Seahawks (-6) 36, Packers 16 - Seattle set the bar high for the rest of the league Thursday night with the throttling of a sloppily coached Packer squad. Green Bay made some out of character decisions, especially on special teams, and the Seahawks opportunistic offense responded with touchdown drive after touchdown drive. Aaron Rodgers never got going, and if that happens, the Packers don't have a chance.
• Vikings (+3½) 34, Rams 6 - We severely overestimated the Rams chances with Shaun Hill at quarterback. We also neglected to anticipate that Cordarrelle Patterson would turn into Percy Harvin-lite and abuse the Rams defense and special teams to a combined 176 yards. 67 of those yards came on a dazzling play-of-the-year type play, where he made almost the entire Viking D miss him en route to the end zone.
• Bills (+7) 23, Bears 20 (OT) - Wow, I just can't wait to hear Dre's take on this game on the Wednesday recap show. The Bears showed you how maddeningly frustrating they can be, and how supremely talented the offense is, but could never put it all together. Jay Cutler threw two hideous picks and Fred Jackson went full on Beast Mode on Poor Chris Conte on his very own play-of-the-year style play, setting up the Bills at the Bear 1 in overtime. A quick Dan Carpenter boot later, and the Bills stunned the Bears in Chicago. Is E.J. Manuel one of those players that's just better in games and horrible when it doesn't count? After a disastrous preseason, Manuel acquitted himself well in a hostile environment. Maybe he's not so awful afterall?
• Titans (+3) 26, Chiefs 10 - Dre picked the Chiefs. Sunk them and took me right down with him. A lot of people were down on the Chiefs after so much went their way in 2013. A lot of people look smart right now.
• Broncos 31, Colts (+7½) 24 - Ugh, I warned Dre on the show that this was the pick that would come back to bite us in the ass. Sure as shit, Andrew Luck pulled off a Sunday Night comeback, just like he did last year in Houston, to get a cheap-ass cover. Sure, the Colts didn't win this time, but if they had shown up at all in the first half, they very well could have.

Smellin Pushy (1)

• Jets (-5) 19, Raiders 14 - It took a James Jones circus catch to earn Dre the push on this one, or this week could have been even worse for him. He better be sending James Jones a thank you note or following him on twitter, or whatever people do these days to show their appreciation in a non-stalkerish way.

Picks Dre Won Head To Head (1) - Hey that's 1 more than week 1 last season. Just sayin'.

• Texans (-3) 17, Redskins 6 - This game was seriously ugly. Neither team seemed to want to score, as both teams decided to trade off red zone turnovers for most of the game. The Redskins D decided not to cover DeAndre Hopkins on a 76 yard bomb that ended up being a backbreaker. It may have only made the score 7-6 at the time, but as inept as the Redskins were in the red zone, it felt like game over. Maybe the Skins should stop and the 21 and just kick field goals? Jay Gruden, call me!

Picks I Won Head To Head (6)

• Steelers 30, Browns (+7) 27 - Once again it was A Tale of Two Halves as the Steelers looked to have the Brown Fever routed until Brian Hoyer and the Cleveland D decided it was time to get their shit together. Without many offensive weapons, Hoyer was efficient enough to put down the Johnny Manziel talk at least for one more week. This game left me wondering about the Steelers. Which team are they? The team that looked unstoppable in the first half, or the team that looked old, slow, and done (like I think they are) in the second half? They get a Raven squad dealing with the Ray Rice fallout on a short week, so if they wanted a juicy opponent, here it is!
• Bengals (Pick 'Em) 23, Ravens 16 - The Bengals seemed ready to shit the bed after dominating the Ravens, albeit with field goals, for nearly three full quarters. After Steve Smith Senior Citizen got loose for a Joe Flacco miracle bomb straight out of Denver, it looked like the Ravens would escape with a win. That is until Andy Dalton decided to one up Flacco by throwing a Tecmo Bowl Blake to Pickens bomb of his own to A.J. Green, who danced around a befuddled Ravens secondary to recapture the lead, and the Bengals get out of Baltimore with a hard fought win. They will need wins like this come January.
• Dolphins (+3½) 33, Patriots 20 - Why do I not remember Knowshon Moreno being such a tough runner? The Pats had no answers for the Miami run O at all. Miami took a 23-20 lead into the 4th quarter and proceeded to go on a tough, manhandling drive that featured Moreno running the same play over and over again. New England couldn't stop it, and the Fins showed they might be over their 2013 drama filled debacle.
• Panthers (+2½) 20, Buccaneers 14 - OK, first off, what is up with those hideous new Tampa uniforms. My alarm clock wants it numbers back. Second, I hope this game and the next several shut up all the Luke Cade Josh McClown lovers out there. He's abysmal. Deal. Lovie Smith may someday improve this Tampa team, but it wont be this year. This team allowed Derek "Steaming Pile of Horse Manure" Anderson (quoting Dre) to throw for 230 yards. two TDs, and no picks. Good luck in Tampa, Lovie!
• Niners (-4) 28, Cowboys 17 - The entirety of the second half was garbage time for Dallas, who dug themselves a 28-3 halftime hole and then played against a loose Niner D for most of the rest of the way. DeMarco Murray got stripped on his way to the turf for a 49er fumble return TD and then Tony Romo went all Tony Romo all over the place, throwing three of the ugliest picks west of Eli Manning. There needs to be a serious discussion in Dallas about their ability to win with Romo. It's doubtful it will happen, as the apologists all lined up to say he was doing too much to compensate for a shitty defense. Hey Tony, look what Matt Ryan did. Do THAT!
• Lions (-6) 35, Giants 14 - Sure, the Lions did their usual Lion stuff by allowing the Giants their first TD on a penalty strewn drive, but this time it all looked different. These didn't look like the Stupidest Team In Football Lions I have gotten used to. Looking for more proof, I got it late in the game after the Giants went on a long march to close the gap to 27-14 and you started to wonder if the Lions would implode. Nope. Detroit went on a bruising, time chewing, 12-play, 80-yard TD drive that heavily featured Joique Bell toughing his way through the Giants D line and Matt Stafford converting third down after third down. It didn't look like the Lions, it looked like......a real, actual, GOOD football team. The NFC North is in trouble.

Jason 9-6-1 (.600)

Dre 4-11-1 (.267)

2014 Week #1

Ah yes, the season has finally started!  Jason and I started last year taking the road team and the points and getting skunked, and we did it again.  On to the rest of Week 1:

Fav

Spread

Dog

Final

Dre

Jay

	Thu. Nite
SEA	6	GB	Sea 36-16		GB	GB
	Sunday
NO	3	ATL			Atl	Atl
STL	3½	Min			StL	StL
PIT	7	Cle			Pit	Cle
PHI	10	Jack			Phi	Phi
NYJ	5	Oak			Oak	NY
BAL	Pk	Cin			Bal	Cin
CHI	7	Buf			Chi	Chi
HOU	3	Wash			Hou	Wash
KC	3	Tenn			KC	KC
NE	3½	MIA			NE	Mia
TB	2½	Car			Car?	Car
SF	4	DAL			Dal	SF
	Sun. Nite
DEN	7½	Ind			Den	Den
	Mon. Nite
DET	6	NYG			NY	Det
ARIZ	3	SD			SD	SD

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard on our hourlong podcast: blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail