Scott Norwood

Scott Norwood
Wide Right started it all.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Super Duper Bowl XLIX

Well, I had an advantage going into the conference finals, and I had to win one of the two games to put the season away, but I couldn't get it done.  So it had come to this.  I make my pick for a Pick-em Super Bowl, Jason gets the leftover team, and one of us takes the season title after Sunday evening.  Here goes nothing:

Fav Spread Dog Final Dre Jay
NE (14-4) Pk Sea (14-4) NE Sea


All of our thoughts and observations about the Big Game can be heard as a podcast at this link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail/2015/01/31/super-duper-bowl-xlix

Saturday, January 17, 2015

2015 Conf. Finals

And now the moment I've been waiting for...my chance to clinch and wrap up my first picks title in a couple of years and my first since the podcast started.  Jason has been almost embarrassing me by making better picks consistently since we started In Much Less Detail: The Podcast, but my perfect run ATS has me in position to win it all with these two games this weekend.  Jason feels so strongly about his picks that he is going against me on BOTH matchups, jeopardizing his chance to catch me in the Super Bowl because if he wins the first game but loses the second, he'll still be too far behind me to make it up in the Super Bowl.  What are those picks he loves so much, you wonder?  Well, here they are:

Fav Spread Dog Final Dre Jay
SEA (13-4) 8 GB (13-4) Sea GB
NE (13-4) Ind (13-5) Ind NE


All of our thoughts and observations, including an aftershow featuring a ten-second rant that lasted five minutes, can be heard here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail/2015/01/18/nfl-divisional-round-15-recap-conf-finals-2015

Saturday, January 10, 2015

NFL Conf. Semis '15

As I try to continue a perfect postseason, Jason took three of my picks, making the last game of the divisional round weekend a big one.  I would go up by nine points if Andrew Luck can keep the Colts within six points of my Super Bowl pick Peyton Manning and the Broncos, so split loyalties for me, certainly.  Here are our picks for the conference semifinals:

Fav Spread Dog Final Dre Jay
Saturday
NE (12-4) 7 Bal (11-6) Bal Bal
Sat. Nite
SEA (12-4) 11 Car (8-8-1) Sea Sea
Sunday
GB (12-4) Dal (13-4) Dal Dal
DEN (12-4) 7 Ind (12-5) Ind Den


All of our thoughts and observations, including an aftershow discussing the merits of the baseball Hall of Fame balloting, can be heard here:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail/2015/01/10/nfl-wild-card-15-recap-divisional-round-2015

Saturday, January 3, 2015

NFL Wild Card '15

Well, playoff time has arrived and we have a "specil" 90-minute episode of In Much Less Detail: The Podcast to break down the action for this Wild Card weekend as only we can.  First, our playoff system:  Take our season percentages, multiply by 200, and that's the number of points we each start with.  From there, it's 2 points for each Wild Card win, 3 points in the Conference Semis, 4 points in the Conf. Finals, and a big 5 points for picking the Super Bowl correctly.  I enjoy the slightest of advantages to start this year's playoffs:
                 Dre                              Jay
Season  119-128-9                   117-130-9
                   .482                             .474
                   x200                             x200
                 =96.4                            =94.7

Now, here are our picks, and notice Jason's contingency pick of Indy which switches to Cincy if A.J. Green can clear his head and take the field:

Fav Spread Dog Final Dre Jay
Saturday
CAR (7-8-1) Ariz (11-5) Car Ariz
Sat. Nite
PIT (11-5) 3    Bal (10-6) Bal Bal
Sunday
IND (11-5) Cin (10-5-1) Ind Ind?
DAL (12-4) Det (11-5) Det Dal


All of our thoughts and observations on these games, as well as an aftershow where Jason describes how I tried to kill both of us by poisoning years ago, can be heard here:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail/2015/01/03/nfl-2014-week-17-recap-wild-card-2015

Thursday, January 1, 2015

2014-15 What I Learned About Each Team In One Sentence

Cowboys--In coach Jason Garrett's last year of his deal, they suddenly became tougher and smarter than any of his previous seasons, which is certainly curious.
Eagles--Chip Kelly has to grow in his own head in order to adjust to circumstances and give his team its best chances to win all games.
Giants--They strengthened early in the season when they looked DOA, collapsed midway through due to injury and coaching, and showed promise late with the emergence of WR Odell Beckham.
Redskins--Their coach is overwhelmed and not cut out for this, and their 1st-round QB savior may be too, but the 12th-ranked pass offense can contend.
Bears--A total shitstorm on and off the field, but I think they need to stick with the offense-first coaching philosophy in order to compete in that division.
Lions--What a great job all year of being composed and professional under new coach Jim Caldwell until, like the crazy girl who's normal for the first few months of dating, they cracked up in the last couple of games.
Packers--Aaron Rodgers can relax to an MVP award, and Green Bay might relax to another Super Bowl if Clay Matthews can hold up as the "new" run-stopping force on defense.
Vikings--Teddy Bridgewater showed flashes at QB, the run game was solid despite no Hall-of-Famer Adrian Peterson, and rookie coach Mike Zimmer had them competing all year.
Falcons--Not a true title contender because the defense was beyond bad all season long.
Panthers--Very hard to judge due to continued inconsistency of the star QB Cam Newton and the added up-and-down nature this year of Ron Rivera's defense.
Saints--Extremely disappointing home performances doomed them along with Rob Ryan's terrible defense and what seemed to be the start of Drew Brees's decline.
Buccaneers--Coach Lovie Smith's personnel choice to pursue Josh McCown as starting QB and his refusal to tailor his Tampa-2 defense to his players made this Tampa Bay season crap from the start.
Cardinals--Never-say-die attitude pushed Arizona far beyond what they should have achieved, and if they keep it up in the playoffs with middling QB play, Bruce Arians should be up for sainthood.
Rams--Strange year saw St. Louis struggle to pressure the QB the first half of the season, then maraud with a ferocious front 4 the second half, all while badly scuffling on offense.
49ers--The Jim Harbaugh drama overshadowed them all year, and obviously the next coach will have to unlock Colin Kaepernick's full abilities or else find a new franchise QB.
Seahawks--Looked at times to have a Super Bowl hangover, but have stepped up the defense in the past month to a level that makes them the most dangerous team to start the playoffs.
Bills--Another squad that competed all year with not very much talent, their pass rush made them a bitch to play, but now Buffalo must adjust to a new coach.
Dolphins--Talented defensive front 7 ran out of gas in December, but they must be noticed due to the D and the development of RB Lamar Miller and QB Ryan Tannehill.
Patriots--2nd-best QB rallying of an organization after a tough start behind Rodgers, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick hustled and schemed their way to another division title but may lack the players to go all the way.
Jets--A team of extremes, they could focus on running the ball and stopping the run and dominate, or they could attempt to pass and defend the pass and get slaughtered.
Ravens--Got way more than they should have out of Justin Forsett and the run game, but seem to have fallen back on old habits of playing down to their opponents.
Bengals--Appear to have decided in the last two months to switch to a run-based attack, possibly taking pressure off of QB Andy Dalton and giving them a better chance in spotlight/playoff games.
Browns--The plan all year was to let Brian Hoyer play QB until he faltered and then get Johnny Manziel in, but coach Mike Pettine's grand plan didn't work because Manziel looks like he can't play.
Steelers--The defense is crumbling as Pittsburgh gears up for a playoff run, which will threaten to derail one of the most dynamic offenses in football.
Texans--New coach Bill O'Brien can coach up an offense, and with J.J. Watt holding things down on defense, Houston can compete once they find a real QB.
Colts--Top-ranked passing unit in the NFL thanks to the great QB Andrew Luck and the electric WR T.Y. Hilton, but they lost big games in their usual way, getting gashed in run defense.
Jaguars--Still not NFL-caliber talent, although they ran the ball as a team much better than they had any right to and could build on that.
Titans--Coach Ken Whisenhunt lost his team's best effort alarmingly early in the season, and needs not just a real QB to turn it around, but better defensive coaching, too.
Broncos--Like Cincinnati, they relied on the run in the last month of the year--not because they don't trust their QB, but rather to protect him for a long playoff appearance.
Chiefs--Barely missed the playoffs despite not throwing a single TD pass to a wideout, so Andy Reid's talents with a lackluster QB and pass-catchers are evident.
Raiders--Not much to feel good about for Oakland, as their rookie QB Derek Carr was mostly awful, the coaching staff stubbornly wouldn't try Latavius Murray at RB for most of the year, and the defense was nothing to sneeze at.
Chargers--Tremendous effort by QB Philip Rivers as he carried the offense with hardly any run game to complement him, but his health and that of his teammates caused San Diego to cough up a playoff spot.