Conf. Finals '23

Sincere apologies, the Sunday podcasting threw me completely off and I forgot to post our picks. You should have been listening live to the show. Jay is choosing to mirror my picks so that I have to pick the Big Game correctly in order to win the handicapping contest. I'd have done the same thing, choosing between these close games. Here are the picks, and I know Philly won the first one already:

 

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL Conf. Finals 2023: "See Y'all At Burrowhead Stadium"

Conf. Semis '23

The NFL Divisional Round is this weekend, and Jason and I see it going the same in every game but one. I had to talk my way through the Giants-Eagles pick, but we both came to the same conclusion. The Chiefs and Bills are destined to roll through and meet next week in Atlanta. I went all chalk and finished the round with my man crush Kyle Shanahan and the Niners, but Jay is actually siding with the annual contenders for Dumbest Team in the League, the Cowboys. Sunday evening will be a ball. Here are the picks in print:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL Conf. Semis 2023: Hurts So Good?

Wild Card '23

Playoff football is upon us, and so is our annual tradition at In Much Less Detail: Me going on too long on the podcast with too many stats, causing paralysis by analysis and leaving us no time at the end of the live portion. As always, I'll try to do better next time. We also had a weird connection issue which ate into our time. But we navigated through and got our stuff in. Jay and I will take on each other on the last three games of Super Mega Wild Card Weekend. With the new scoring system putting much more emphasis on the later rounds, this makes the first weekend of NFL playoffs more for fun and getting into postseason mode. We'll really challenge each other next weekend. Here are our picks:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL Wild Card 2023: All Backups On Deck

2022 What I Learned About Each Team In One Sentence

Cowboys--That mix of Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, and Mike McCarthy is perfect to achieve above-average play and guaranteed failure at the exact wrong time.

Giants--Brian Daboll brought out the best in Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, but their ceiling is capped by lack of deep weapons.

Eagles--One of several offenses that soared to new heights with coaching and top WR acquisitions, their veteran defense is key to taking the next step.

Commanders--Ron Rivera has run his course, and so has the shit owner.

Bears--They shockingly pushed Justin Fields to one of the greatest QB rushing seasons ever while trading enough defenders to tank the season and achieve the top draft pick.

Lions--Ankle Biters have something brewing as they try to match the attitude with the talent level and schemes.

Packers--Predictably struggled to mount a consistent passing game after trading their All-Pro WR and still came a game away from sneaking in to the playoffs.

Vikings--Can't beat any decent team by more than one possession due to awful defense, yet still pose a threat to anyone thanks to stud skill players.

Falcons--Arthur Smith is king of coaching around the QB position and not through it, which stunts any growth for the offense.

Panthers--The owner quit on the team but the team didn't quit on interim coach Steve Wilks, providing some tough games when they should have been rolling over.

Saints--Tough year thanks to key injuries on both sides of the ball and the decision to put QB Jameis Winston on ice.

Buccaneers--So odd to see Tom Brady look more and more impotent all season and then break out game-winning drives to save the day.

Cardinals--Total dissolution of any union between Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray, and that was just a symptom of organizational dysfunction.

Rams--The unluckiest, injury-riddled season for a defending Super Bowl champion that one could imagine may send the architect Sean McVay running for the nearest TV gig.

49ers--Kyle Shanahan continues to build a culture of high-quality football in all phases regardless of who's under center.

Seahawks--Geno Smith and the Hawks were written off, but they didn't write back, and his career season propelled them to the playoffs, though they fell off late.

Bills--Josh Allen's ability to be the best player on the field regardless of style or conditions puts Buffalo in prime position to win it all for Damar.

Dolphins--Dramatic career turnaround for Tua Tagovailoa to the good--Mike McDaniel's coaching--and to the bad--Miami's inattention to Tua's concussion predilection.

Patriots--May be Bill Belichick's biggest career misstep--trusting Joe Judge and Matt Patricia to guide Mac Jones and the upstart New England offense through the wilderness.

Jets--If not for the collapse of Zach Wilson and injuries to other position players, the young D may have led Gang Green to the postseason.

Ravens--As smart as the organization is, there's only so much they can work around between another year of defensive injuries and the star QB "healing up."

Bengals--Dangerous squad seemed to follow last year's blueprint of taking the regular season to figure out how to best proceed despite lack of pass protection.

Browns--Aside from Nick Chubb's excellence, the unholy marriage between the Haslams and Deshaun Watson came to fruition and didn't produce a lot of good football.

Steelers--Strange season between the QB carousel and Franco Harris keeling and Najee Harris finding his groove afterwards, they somehow rallied to 9-8 for Mike Tomlin.

Texans--Save for a few late efforts, the team was the worst in the league, deficient in all phases, and have exactly one bright spot on the entire roster, rookie RB Dameon Pierce.

Colts--The laughingstock of the league thanks to Jim Irsay's appointing Jeff Saturday as HC and watching Indy blow multiple 33-point leads on the way to hell.

Jaguars--They all took a step forward after jettisoning Urban Meyer and bringing in Doug Pederson, proving a difficult matchup especially as QB Trevor Lawrence leveled up.

Titans--Winnin' Ugly wasn't enough with the barrage of hurt defenders, the slight decline of RB Derrick Henry, and the liquefying of the QB position.

Broncos--Rode with Russell Wilson as long as they could, but his terrible play contributed to the axing of coach Nate Hackett before his 1st year could end.

Chiefs--Point spread bettors can't stand Kansas City's lack of killer instinct, but they're unquestionably one of the best teams in football and posted the top passing game sans Tyreek Hill.

Raiders--Josh McDaniels didn't get off to a good start running a franchise again, poisoning the gift-wrapped Davante Adams-Derek Carr connection and wasting a powerful year by RB Josh Jacobs.

Chargers--Tremendous toughness shown by QB Justin Herbert kept the Bolts afloat and make them a threat in the playoffs, even as they consistently field an atrocious run defense.

2022 Week #18

Jay and I will go head-to-head on seven games to finish up the last week of this season. It felt like we agreed on more because the guest picker, Coin, was opposing us so much. That's usually a bad sign. Historically, if the coin picks against Jay and me when we agree, the coin comes out on top. We shall see how it goes for this week's games. Oh, and Jay flipped the coin for the Saturday games after the games were over, just to see if Coin would have beat us anyway. The coin, like us, split the two games...a coin flip, if you will. Here are our picks for NFL Week 18:

 

All of our thoughts and opinions can be heard here (except mine, I had a bad wifi connection):

NFL 2022 Week #18: Heart-Stopping Television