2013 Week #13

It's another interesting week for Jason and me, as we go head-to-head on seven picks after that loony Thanksgiving.  Here are our selections for lucky #13:

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
	Thanksgiving
DET (6-5)	7	GB (5-5-1)	Det 40-10		Det	GB
DAL (6-5)	7½	Oak (4-7)	Dal 31-24		Dal	Dal
	Thanksgiving Nite
BAL (5-6)	2½	Pit (5-6)	Bal 22-20		Bal	Pit
	Sunday
IND (7-4)	3½	Tenn (5-6)			Ind	Tenn
CLE (4-7)	7	Jack (2-9)			Jack	Jack
CAR (8-3)	7½	TB (3-8)			Car	TB
MIN (2-8-1)	1	Chi (6-5)			Chi	Min
PHI (6-5)	3	Ariz (7-4)			Ariz	Ariz
NYJ (5-6)	2	Mia (5-6)			Mia	Mia
NE (8-3)	7½	HOU (2-9)			NE	NE
BUF (4-7)	3½	Atl (2-9)		Toronto, ONT	Buf	Atl
SF (7-4)	7½	StL (5-6)			SF	StL
Den (9-2)	5½	KC (9-2)			KC	KC
SD (5-6)	1	Cin (7-4)			Cin	SD
	Sun. Nite
WASH (3-8)	1	NYG (4-7)			Wash	Wash
	Mon. Nite
SEA (10-1)	4½	NO (9-2)			Sea	NO

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard at 10P Central tonight live.  You know the website:  blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

2013 Gobble Gobble

Here are the picks for Jason and me for this year's Thanksgiving games:

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
	Thanksgiving
DET (6-5)	7	GB (5-5-1)			Det	GB
DAL (6-5)	7½	Oak (4-7)			Dal	Dal
	Thanksgiving Nite
BAL (5-6)	2½	Pit (5-6)			Bal	Pit

All of our thoughts and observations will be heard on our podcast at 10P Central.  As always:  blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

Week 12 ATS Recap: Dookie-A-Nacho

Poor Michelle Tafoya. In her haste, she decided to change the name of Broncos DB Duke Ihenacho into "Dookie A. Nacho." This prompted both Dres wife AND my wife to comment on the hilarity of said name. My wife turned and asked me if the guys name was "Dookie Nacho" and I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably for the next several minutes, followed shortly by a Facebook post from Dres wife calling out the same gaffe. Maybe the SNF crew just like saying "Dookie Nacho" but I think the winner is still Al Micheals call of "Orlando Scaaaaaaaandrick."

Picks We Both Won (2)

• Bucs (+9½) 24, Lions 21 - After we got fooled into believing that the Lions would claim their rightful place atop the NFC North last week, we knew better to stick with the Lions for a second go-round. However, I didn't expect them to LOSE to Tampa IN Detroit. Tampa is going to get some Houston Texans Memoral Preseason Media Darling love here soon if they keep this up. The Thanksgiving Packers-Lions game has no business being compelling, but thanks to the Lions struggles, that's what it'll be.
• Cardinals (-3) 40, Colts 11 - How is this the same Colts team that beat the Seahawks, Niners, and Broncos? In yet another division race that has no right being close, the Colts are just two games up on the Titans with 5 games to go and, of course, host the Titans this week. Arizona is in prime contention for a wild card spot in the NFC, which is just as shocking as the fact that Interception Santa made it through this game with no picks.

Picks We Both Lost (3)

• Saints 17, Falcons (+10) 13 - In their last hurrah, the MASH unit that is the Atlanta Falcons pulled themselves off the scrap heap to give the Saints a much better game than they expected. It wasn't enough, as Rob Ryan dialed up the pressure all night on Matt Ryan, getting 5 sacks en route to an ugly win.
• Steelers (+1) 27, Browns 11 - By getting to 5-6, the Geriatrics (Steelers) are actually among a group of shitty teams still with a realistic shot at the last AFC wild card spot. That's just sad.
• Cowboys (+1) 24, Giants 21 - The Boys jumped out to a 21-6 lead before the Giants mounted a late attempt to rescue their season, but Tony Romo led Dallas to a game winning FG as time expired and turned the NFC Least into a 2-team race between Philly and Big D.

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (5)

• Jaguars (+10) 13, Toxins 6 - So how many of you out there thought the Jags and Texans would both be 2-9 after 12 weeks?
• Ravens (-3½) 19, Jets 3 - Both the Jets and Ravens are 5-6 and very much alive for the right to be one and done in the wild card round. It's hard to believe the Jets will make it as Geno Smith has gone from hot-shit rookie to doing his best Mark Sanchez impersonation. This will NOT save Rex Ryan's job, by the way.
• Rams (-1) 42, Bears 21 - We all knew the Bears run D was bad, but the effort (bad use of the word effort) put on the field Sunday was embarrassing. The Bears were gashed to the tune of over 10 yards per carry. When you average giving up a first down on EVERY run, you don't stand much of a chance of winning. As lopsided as the score was, this didn't get out of hand until very late in the 4th quarter, leaving the Bears with a very minor positive as they scramble with the Lions and Packers for the NFC North crown.
• Titans (-1) 23, Raiders 19 - The Titans won it on a last second Ryan Fitzpatrick TD pass. The winner of this game was set to reach the all-important 5 win plateau, which in the AFC playoff race is crucial at the moment. This is making me ill. At this moment, only the Jags and Toxins have NO shot of making the playoffs in the AFC.
• Niners (-5½) 27, Redskins 6 - The San Fran defense dominated this game from start to finish so the offense just had to not royally fuck up and all would be well. That's exactly what happened, as the sluggish Niners offense made good on their opportunities but not enough to make me think that they have overcome their woes. Also, I think we're officially on Shanny Watch.

Picks I Won Head to Head (4)

• Vikings (+4) 26, Packers 26 (OT) - Hey, a tie. Insert your Donovan McNabb jokes here____________________________. This game had no business even going to overtime, but Mike McCarthy got over his Scott Tolzien love and went to Matt Flynn, who led a 4th quarter comeback but couldn't quite seal the win for the Packers. Flynn might not be a star, but he looks incredibly comfortable in the Packers scheme, and gives them a fighting chance to get back in the race on Thanksgiving if Aaron Rodgers isn't ready for Detroit.
• Chargers (+4) 41, Chiefs 38 - Dre was spot on about the high scoring nature of this game, calling it 35-31 for the Chiefs on the podcast. That came real close to happening, except for the part where the Chiefs play defense. ANY defense. We know the Chargers can score, and of the shit 5-6 AFC teams, they have got to be the most dangerous.
• Panthers 20, Dolphins (+4½) 16 - Sure, I got a cheap cover on the hook. As bad as this week was shaping up for me, I'll take it. As for the Panthers I will say this: this win was more impressive than their last two. Why? Because this was a textbook letdown spot for them, and rather than folding, they gutted out a win on the road late. Carolina is for real.
• Patriots (-1) 34, Broncos 31 (OT) - I gave up on this one at halftime, when the Broncos were winning 27-FUCKING ZERO. The next morning I woke up to see I won this pick, and I just cannot wait to hear Dre's take on this one. Instead of giving back 3 picks to Dre for the week, I only lost 1.

Dre 7-7
Jason 6-8

2013 Week #12

Jason and I are heads up on nine games!  That's a lot.  And the number nine scares the hell out of me because that's the number of games he took from me in Week 1, and that's why I'm behind playing catch-up all season long.  Here they are, Week 12 picks in all their glory:

Fav

Spread

Dog

Final

Dre

Jay

	Thu. Nite
NO (8-2)	10	ATL (2-8)	NO 17-13		NO	NO
	Sunday
CLE (4-6)	1	Pit (4-6)			Cle	Cle
DET (6-4)	9½	TB (2-8)			TB	TB
GB (5-5)	4	Min (2-8)			GB	Min
HOU (2-8)	10	Jack (1-9)			Jack	Hou
BAL (4-6)	3½	NYJ (5-5)			Bal	NY
KC (9-1)	4	SD (4-6)			KC	SD
STL (4-6)	1	Chi (6-4)			StL	Chi
Car (7-3)	4½	MIA (5-5)			Car	Mia
ARIZ (6-4)	3	Ind (7-3)			Ariz	Ariz
Tenn (4-6)	1	OAK (4-6)			Tenn	Oak
NYG (4-6)	1	Dal (5-5)			NY	NY
	Sun. Nite
Den (9-1)	1	NE (7-3)			Den	NE
	Mon. Nite
SF (6-4)	5½	WASH (3-7)			SF	Wash

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard live tonight at 10P Central on our podcast:  blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

2013 Week 11: What I Learned

• Games in no detail:  Falcons-Buccaneers (Birds mailing it in); Cardinals-Jaguars (Jags just aren't good); Chargers-Dolphins (that San Diego defense is softer than used bubble gum); Packers-Giants (just another win for the hottest team in the league...wait, what?); Vikings-Seahawks (Minny outclassed all the way).
• This would have been my week by one game over Jason if the damn Titans could have stuck to what was working last Thursday against Indianapolis.  But no.  OC Dowell Loggains had to show his genius and back off using RB Chris Johnson after he stormed through the Colts for two early TDs.  Tennessee was in crossing pattern heaven when they threw, and that combined with CJ?K put the Titans in the driver's seat after one quarter.  As Andrew Luck can tell you, though, they play four quarters.  Despite falling prey to this recent epidemic of going with 5 wideouts on 3rd-and-1 which has infected the NFL, the Colts mounted yet another comeback victory.  What was infuriating was that Luck clearly trusted two guys and only two guys to catch the damn ball--WR T.Y. Hilton and TE Coby Fleener.  The Titans still couldn't stop the comeback.  Really?  They may have panicked after a muffed KO return and subsequent TD, but still, there was no reason to deviate from running and no reason to defend any receivers other than those two.  As a last kick to the groin, Titans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick clearly had marching orders to not throw deep and cost them the game, but then down two possessions, he lets it loose and gets the TD to pull them within three.  Only problem is, the Colts are still covering the number.  Maybe if they threw deep earlier, they could have had more time to come all the way back.  Sons of bitches.
• Why do we keep trusting the clown college that is the New York Jets?  And why do we keep assuming that the rookie QB Geno Smith will be consistent just because he's shown some flashes?  It took a few shots from that dangerous Buffalo defensive line to shake up Geno and make him start turning the ball over like flapjacks.  This game turned in the 2nd quarter when the Jets were forcing a Bills punt but stupidly jumped offsides, giving the Bills a 4th-and-1 that they decided to go for, and they got it, then E.J. Manuel flung a wild throw on 3rd down into the end zone which happened to be caught for a TD by T.J. Graham, then Geno fumbles it on the next drive, and that rush TD by Buffalo made it 17-0.  Game over.  Geno Smith, congrats--that football you played was THE DRIZZLING SHITS.  BTW, Jacksonville is the only team in the NFL with a worse points +/- than Gang Green.
• Detroit coach Jim Schwartz felt the need to show everyone how big's his dick against Pittsburgh.  Turns out it's really tiny.  Also, turns out he was just showing his ass.  So the Lions put up a 27-point 2nd quarter, exposing the slow-footed Steelers defense and having their way.  But early in the 4th up 27-23, they had a long drive stall, leaving them a chip shot FG attempt that would put them up 7.  Schwartz turned it down and had them run a fake FG on 4th-and-5 that failed miserably.  Pittsburgh took the subsequent drive for a TD and never trailed again.  Nice job, coach.  Their offensive philosophy until then was flawless--careful drives in the somewhat harsh conditions, then exploding with their best weapon Calvin Johnson when they fell behind and needed a spark.  They were behind because Ben Roethlisberger found his big weapon Antonio Brown for TDs in the 1st quarter.  But the way they scored with ease when they needed to, Detroit should have put that game away.  Plus, Detroit was starting to pressure Big Ben and would have teed off on him with that 7-point lead.  Instead, the Steelers got all the mo and the home crowd aroused, and the Lions shit the bed, as Jason warned might happen.
• It's starting to break down in DC, where Robert Griffin III said after the Redskins managed to lose to the Eagles in Philadelphia that the blame should go to the coaching staff, which didn't draw up confusing plays so therefore the Eagles knew what was coming.  The Shanahan Boyz don't seem to like any player who thinks for himself, so their unhappiness with RG3 should become evident as this lost season wears on.  They'll do subtle things to undermine him like take veiled shots in the media, as he just did to them, or deactivate his favorite player, which seems to be TE Jordan Reed, or something like that.  But Philly's offense running much smoother than Washington's despite a newer coach and starting QB than the Skins is an indictment of the coaching and the quarterback,and neither side is mature enough to admit that.  Losing Reed to injury early did seem to throw Griffin off, but ultimately, he's got to figure out how to make plays and win games and overcome his awful defense.  Now with a 3-7 record, though, he doesn't have to figure it out this year.  He can wait for a new coaching staff and be all in for Week 1 of 2014.
• Baltimore has more practice than anyone at overcoming lengthy and strange game delays, having to do it in last season's Super Bowl and this season's opener at Denver, and in Chicago, horrible weather that everyone knew was coming caused the Ravens-Bears game to be halted for almost two hours after Baltimore had an early lead.  The Ravens do not play well after these delays despite having that experience.  They came out dominating the Bears, running Ray Rice through large holes and defending Josh McCown and the Marc Trestman offense.  But one QB had much better feet in the sloppy field conditions, and he ultimately won.  That would be McCown, who moved in and out of the pocket much more adroitly than Joe Flacco.  In fact, it was Flacco's bad throw right to DE David Bass for a Pick-6 that first got the Bears in the end zone.  Flacco simply didn't move his feet well, and if he did, he probably holds on to the lead and Baltimore wins.  But he got picked off and sacked and gave Chicago some confidence on defense, allowing McCown to keep up his smart, solid play and lead the OT comeback win.  The national media is starting to seize upon McCown as the answer in Chicago, suggesting he should keep starting even when incumbent Jay Cutler is totally healthy.  This ignores three important points:  1, McCown's no youngster with tremendous upside, he was coaching high school football before this gig because he's not that good; 2, Cutler was playing fine before he got hurt, so it's not like the Bears need to find a QB who can handle the system, Jay was off to a 3-0 start, so he's fine; and 3, the media would want anyone to start over Cutler because they don't like Cutler because he doesn't kiss their asses.
• The weather threatened to be part of the story in Cincinnati, too, but instead it was a couple of questions that came to the fore:  Why is Andy Dalton playing like shit?  And can the Bengals D bail them out like this in big games?  Dalton answered any critics of his recent performances by throwing two INTs to Joe Haden, one for a TD, to put Cincy in a 13-0 hole to Cleveland.  The Bengals responded by posting a 31-point 2nd quarter that included a blocked punt TD and a fumble return TD.  Dalton threw two TDs as well, but he only got 27 passing attempts on the day for all of 93 yards as the Bengals coaches may have lost some trust in him.  They can't win with that lack of production from the QB position.  Can they?  The Browns fell to .500 and seem to be mediocre at best.  But the defense is a force with lots of upside.
• Houston's defense actually lost the game for them against Oakland.  They didn't play terrible overall against Matt McGloin and the Raiders, just bad at the worst possible times, like leaving receivers wide open in the end zone when McGloin threw, or getting trucked trying to stop Rashad Jennings from running them over.  Oakland got off to a lightning-quick 14-0 lead thanks to turnovers, but Case Keenum rallied his team into the lead at the half, which made it puzzling to me why Gary Kubiak pulled Keenum after Jennings's TD run made it 28-17 Oakland at the end of the 3rd quarter.  Keenum didn't get leveled by Jennings.  Enter Matt Schaub, who was booed so loudly that the Toxins had to go to a silent snap count.  Gotta make a new hashtag, #booschaub.  Schaub wasn't horrible, but his last pass was towards Andre Johnson into quadruple coverage, and when Schaub yelled at Johnson that he should have continued his route despite the coverage, Johnson yelled back at him and then walked off the field with a minute left in the game.  Yet thanks to Jim Schwartz, Kubiak's decision was only the 2nd-worst of the day.  I honestly didn't realize that this made it 8 losses in a row for the Toxins after their 2-0 start until I heard it on a show yesterday.  Another FedEx Mail-It-In candidate?
• A fun battle in New Orleans became mired in some ref controversy, and that's unfortunate.  The Saints were driving down 20-17 with under 4 minutes in the game when 49ers LB Ahmad Brooks got home on a blitz and laid into Drew Brees with a Clothesline from Hell, knocking the ball out and into a San Francisco teammate's paws, maybe sealing a SF victory.  But the referee flagged Brooks for contact to the neck of a QB.  The replays have been shown endlessly over the last few days, and I'm still not sure what I would have called.  The blow was somewhere in that collarbone zone, which can be a neck area or a chest area depending on what day it is, I guess.  If it's that close, you can't quibble with the call either way, but I get why they're angry by the Bay and not the Bayou.  As for the game, the noise and atmosphere made it so hard for Colin Kaepernick to operate, but as I figured, so long as he had his security blanket Vernon Davis, he would make enough plays to stay close.  Kaep may be the poster child for the young QBs who make one read and decide to run, but in this one, that's all he had time for, because Junior Galette and Cameron Jordan were making love to the SF O-line and harassing Kaep all day.  They even limited the Niners rushing attack.  If New Orleans starts consistently stuffing the run and rushing the passer, the NFC should beware.  Lance Moore might be in the doghouse after he dropped passes and muffed a punt for NO.  That and a Brooks INT were why SF had the lead, and also NO dropped a potential Pick-6.  The Saints were the better team, but it took a ref call to give them a shot at the win.
• Both defenses came out hard in the Kansas City-Denver brawl.  They both forced early fumbles.  It was clear that the better QB with more poise was going to have to make the difference, because the running attacks weren't going to make headway against the revved-up defenses.  And it came as no surprise that Peyton Manning turned out to be that QB.  His placement of the deep ball was impeccable, showing that he gets his arm ready to fire one or two deep ones when it's a big game.  We saw him try to do it in Indy, but he didn't have enough sauce.  Here, he got it done.  The game plan was to get the ball out quick and accurately before the Chiefs arrived at Peyton's Place to put a hurt on him.  He wasn't sacked once.  Props to Alex Smith and coach Andy Reid, though, because they finally put Dwayne Bowe to use in intermediate and deep routes.  It's like they figured they had to in this one.  They were losing 17-7 when Bowe started getting deeper balls thrown his way, so the Chiefs can open up the field out of necessity.  Didn't work for a win this time, but let's see if they go back to it again soon.  And I loved the fakes and reverses of well-scouted plays by both teams.  If you thought you saw a bubble screen getting set up, the QB stood up and launched a deep ball instead.  They came to play in this one, and I'm sure they will again in two weeks.
• Back to the zebras taking center stage, this time to decide the Monday night contest between New England and Carolina.  As everyone has seen, Tom Brady had one last throw into the end zone down 4 to win the game with no time left, and he threw for monster TE Rob Gronkowski, who looked to be held by LB Luke Kuechly as the ball was intercepted by someone else four yards in front.  A flag came out for defensive holding or interference or face-guarding, but the flag was picked up after a long chat between the officials, and the game ended.  I do have an opinion about this ref call:  Gronk didn't come back and fight for the pass, so Gronk didn't deserve the bailout call.  On every last-second heave, there's defenders holding receivers egregiously like that, and the great ones go up and make a play anyway, and if they don't, they draw the flag because it's so clear that they're trying to make the play if not for being impeded.  That's on Gronk for not trying hard enough to make a play and draw an uncontested flag.  Overshadowed by that call would be Cam Newton being THE SHIT, playing an almost flawless game, leading the comeback victory with a great TD drive that featured him running when necessary and throwing to the correct option when necessary.  He embodied the confidence and attitude the Panthers have as a team right now.  He got his man Steve Smith involved early, allowing him to clown Pats CB Aqib Talib and set a tone.  And he had an awesome run in the 3rd where he avoided 5 or 6 would-be tacklers with some sweet moves.  What's been the question about Ron Rivera's squad the past few years has been:  Will they keep it up and show consistency, or will they let down coming off two spotlight wins?  If they can keep it going, they're a top contender in the NFC.  New England matched the intensity for the most part.  They have nothing to be ashamed of.  I shook my head at Stevan Ridley deciding to be a fumble machine again now that Shane Vereen is back off of injured reserve; it was the fumbling that gave Vereen a chance to shine in the first game of the year, and he may get more chances again down the road.

Week 11 Records--Dre 7-7-1, .500; Jay 8-6-1, .533
YTD Records--Dre 75-83-4, .475; Jay 83-75-4, .525

2013 Week #11

Jason and I go head-to-head on seven games this week as I continue my season-long quest to catch him in the standings after his torrid Week 1.  Here are this week's selections:

	Thu. Nite
Ind (6-3)	2½	TENN (4-5)	Ind 30-27		Tenn	Ind
	Sunday
NYJ (5-4)	1	BUF (3-7)			NY	NY
TB (1-8)	1	Atl (2-7)			TB	TB
Det (6-3)	1	PIT (3-6)			Det	Det
PHI (5-5)	4½	Wash (3-6)			Wash	Phi
CHI (5-4)	3	Bal (4-5)			Bal	Chi
CIN (6-4)	5½	Cle (4-5)			Cin	Cle
HOU (2-7)	10	Oak (3-6)			Hou	Oak
Ariz (5-4)	9½	JACK (1-8)			Ariz	Ariz
SD (4-5)	1	MIA (4-5)			SD	Mia
SEA (9-1)	12	Min (2-7)			Sea	Sea
NO (7-2)	3½	SF (6-3)			SF	NO
NYG (3-6)	4	GB (5-4)			NY	GB
	Sun. Nite
DEN (8-1)	7½	KC (9-0)			Den	Den
	Mon. Nite
CAR (6-3)	3	NE (7-2)			NE	NE

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard tonight at 10P Central at our show page:  blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

2013 Week 10: What I Learned

• Two weeks in a row since Jay and I laughed at the pathetic record of the editor of a blog on Yahoo! Sports that the blogger has beaten me in picks ATS.  Grrr.  He won seven this week, although one was Arizona giving 2½ in their 3-point win over Houston, which would be an extra win for me with that line.  But no matter.  If I can't start winning weeks over a schlub thirty games under .500 on the year, then there's truly no chance in hell of catching Jason.
• Games in no detail:  Raiders-Giants (just two horrible teams with two horrible QBs making horrible mistakes and turnovers), Jaguars-Titans (inspired effort by Jags off the bye assisted by Ryan Fitzpatrick fumbling at the very worst time), Bills-Steelers (if Pittsburgh is going to use six offensive linemen in protection and injure the best playmaker on the other team every game, bet their unders the rest of the year).
• When two crappy defenses get together on Thursday night, the results can be predictable, and I did yell "Take the over!" when picking the Vikings to knock off the Redskins.  But how it happened was very weird:  Washington played classic Shannyball, gashing Minnesota on the ground relentlessly, and then stopped doing so late in the game and let the Vikes rush the passer and secure the win.  Both RBs--Alfred Morris and Adrian Peterson--gave clinics on how to hit the hole.  But in the 2nd half it was Christian Ponder who outplayed RG3, making quick decisions on throws and scrambles.  As I Tweeted, it figured that Ponder's two smart decisions with his feet got his arm crunched, and he had to leave the game.  But he still led the Vikings to a win.  Griffin had fun going downfield through the air on Minnesota, but he was still getting punished high and low on those read-options.  It's getting to where the Shanahan Boyz are going to have to consider taking that concept out of the playbook entirely.  Griffin still isn't fast enough to make the defense pay when he does keep it, so what's the point?
• Jason in his recap was incorrect in having Cincinnati go 3-and-out in overtime to give Baltimore the chance to drive and win.  I wish.  Cincy stubbornly went on 4th-and-short for the 5th time in that game, and it didn't work.  I'm not sure what got into Marvin Lewis, but he was adamant that his Bengals could convert any short-yardage situation against the Ravens front seven, and it did work three of the five times, but the two failures were very costly.  That OT decision was to go or kick a 50-yard FG into some wind with Mike Nugent, and call me an idiot, but I'd go for the three.  I know Giovani Bernard had success running around the Ravens, but he's not a hammer in short-yardage.  The Bengals and OC Jay Gruden tried to get cute by swinging the pass out to Bernard, who then (cue the Benny Hill theme) ran backwards trying to outrun the defenders to no avail.  Of all the options, even punting would have been better than that.  As for the rest of the game, Cincy fell behind because Andy Dalton was again very off, and I don't have a clue why he's been off lately.  Baltimore couldn't put them away because they still can't run vertically.  Their best run was an 18-yard end-around.  I still don't think Baltimore is a better team than Cincinnati.
• Congrats to Jay Cutler for finding his way into the Cowboy Club, and that's the club where guys get full of imaginary testosterone and try to play through some injury that they need to rest, like Robert Griffin III in the playoffs last season.  Cutler now has found himself on both sides of the coin, after being called a pussy for not playing through a knee injury in the playoffs a few years ago that turned out to be torn ligaments.  The guy can't win, I suppose, but he deserves some blame for trying to turn torn groin muscles into a one-week absence.  His coach Marc Trestman also deserves some blame for letting Cutler try to play hero.  Trust in Trest for on-the-field decisions, not off.  And any fan or player who criticized Cutler in that playoff loss to Green Bay also deserves blame, because I'm sure the pressure of that returning hot air made him decide to press his timeline.  The Lions-Bears game Sunday was close in the 1st half, then the team with more healthy athletes took over, meaning the team with Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, and Reggie Bush.  You know who else looked healthy out there?  Josh McCown.  Wonder how the outcome may have changed if he played the whole way.
• And speaking of athletes not being healthy and influencing games, Green Bay started the day with an experienced QB on the sideline and ended with two as Seneca Wallace checked out after the first series, leaving the Pack Attack to someone named Scott Tolzien.  That turned out as expected.  It was funny because both the Packers and the Eagles came out running their offenses with great pace, but one team's been doing that since the beginning of the season, and it showed.  That GB possession was disastrous.  Not only did Wallace get hurt, but Mason Crosby doinked the FG attempt off the upright giving Philadelphia great field position, then two plays later, Nick Foles flung a ball into double coverage that got tipped by both defenders into DeSean Jackson's hands for a TD, and the game was over.  Shady McCoy kept running laterally around B.J. Raji and Johnny Jolly to move the sticks, and Tolzien kept throwing with almost no accuracy.  RODGERS!!  DISCOUNT DOUBLE-CHECK YO ASS BACK SOON!!
• Indianapolis came home to continue their momentum from the miraculous win in Houston, and instead played host to The Tavon Austin Show.  Tavon was THE SHIT, sprinting to and fro on punt returns and long bombs that made Kellen Clemens look like a competent QB.  It was the outburst that people had been waiting for from Austin and his world-class speed.  In picking the Colts to win by 10, I and many others forgot how dreadful the Indy defense can sometimes be.  And in hoping that Andrew Luck would lead another comeback, we also overlooked the loss of Reggie Wayne and the lack of Colts weapons.  That Houston win was on the back of T.Y. Hilton, and whatever you think of him, he can't do that shit every week.  And Darrius Heyward-Bey isn't consistent either.  Indy will lose games against teams with offensive outbursts like what Tavon Austin did because the Luck miracles of last year had the consummate pro Wayne in common.  The Rams can be dangerous with Austin and that defensive line.
• I hate to use the term THE DRIZZLING SHITS on what the Atlanta Falcons did against Seattle, because it was so much worse than that.  They gave up points in the 2nd quarter on a FG and then a flea-flicker from their 43 when they know Russell Wilson throws into the end zone whenever he gets across midfield.  And they fucking quit right there.  Matt Ryan had little help from his beat-up receivers, he welcomed Roddy White back with one throw for 20 yards, and the defense lost interest after the flea-flicker.  So sad to watch.  I've seen teams quit before, and I'll warn you, eventually they get a 2nd wind and start playing better in the last few games of the year because of personal pride and maybe fear of losing jobs in the offseason.  But until you see a glimmer of heart, do not touch the Atlanta Falcons with a ten-foot pole.  And Seattle was the same plodding, deliberate offense in the 1st quarter that they have been on the road all year before Atlanta quit, so be careful about putting a lot of love on the Seahawks.
• And be careful about believing in the Carolina Panthers, too.  San Francisco led 9-0 before the radio silence on offense commenced, and yeah, Carolina gets credit for that, but look critically at that 49ers offense.  They came into the game dead last in passing yards per game, and then their best receiver, TE Vernon Davis, got concussed and missed the 2nd half.  Something's happened to the magic created last year when Coach Insane, Jim Harbaugh, got his hands on Colin Kaepernick.  And for that duo to not rediscover it during the bye week scares me greatly.  I thought they would have all kinds of wrinkles and fakes and reverses ready for this important game.  Maybe they underestimated the Panthers, just as Jason and I did.  On defense, the Niners got sliced by Cam Newton on passes when rushing four, but got hits and sacks when blitzing, which is how they held Carolina to 10.  The only big Panther plays all day were the DeAngelo Williams TD run and the Ted Ginn punt return which set up the game-winning FG.  Other than that, Carolina got excellent punts to place San Francisco in terrible field position, and they never overcame.  That's got to improve if SF wants to be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender.  Do they need Michael Crabtree back that badly?
• Allow me to bitch and moan about a play that cost me a pick, which I'm good at doing.  Arizona led Houston by 10 points in the 4th quarter when the Texans' Case Keenum underthrew a corner end zone pass for Andre Johnson that Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson had in his sights, to the extent that Peterson put two hands on the pass while positioned in front of Johnson.  The hand of God or something flicked the ball out of Peterson's grasp, and Johnson corralled it for a TD catch.  That's some bullshit, period.  Now that that's established, I'll admit that Houston's effort was very good and they looked like a team at least equal to Arizona, if not better.  No slick, athletic RBs (Arian Foster's having back surgery, ending his season) means more straightforward hammering between the tackles with Ben Tate when ahead and more creative chance-taking with Keenum when behind, and it almost worked out.  They fell behind on a Keenum fumble recovered for a TD, which is the same basic result as when Matt Schaub tosses a TD to the other team, so the Texans could have thrown up their hands and quit, but they didn't.  And I liked Arizona's effort too, especially the creativity with RB Andre Ellington, who didn't just catch swing passes in the Darren Sproles role but also played Wildcat QB and provided a spark in general.  Rashard Mendenhall responded to the competition by fumbling at his own 5-yard line in the 4th, setting up that bullshit Andre Johnson TD.  Nice job, dillhole.
• The Denver-San Diego game followed a linear line:  Both teams got much better pressure on the QBs than I expected, but Peyton Manning adjusted better and got rid of the damn ball quicker, and that's why the Broncos scored more than the Chargers.  They happened to score eight more and not seven, so that worked for my only winning pick of the week over Jas, but they weren't necessarily that much better.  The Chargers seemed to be in some kind of soft zone for all of those 2nd-quarter TD throws by Peyton, and once they cut that out in the 2nd half, Peyton was much less successful.  Huge sequence to end the 1st half:  Denver's up 14-6 and Philip Rivers and SD piece together a five-minute drive into the red zone only to watch Nick Novak flub a 37-yard FG, leaving Peyton Manning 1:38 to drive back and throw another TD to make it 21-6.  That's how you take advantage of an opponent's fuck-up.  Kansas City was taking notes, I'm sure.  They also noticed how sensitive Peyton's ankles seemed to be, as he hobbled around all day after every hit.  Think the refs will be on alert to watch Tamba Hali diving low this coming Sunday night?
• Boy, it was hard to watch Dallas get snowed under by New Orleans as someone who picked Dallas to stay close.  It started with the Cowboys not taking advantage of the muffed punt by Darren Sproles, only tacking on 3 points.  It continued with the baffling lack of offensive balance, following the shunning of running last week with the shunning of throwing to the best player this week.  Dez Bryant had one catch on two targets.  Unacceptable.  I don't care what defense Rob Ryan shaded towards Bryant, you have to take a chance and let him make a play, especially losing.  What the hell do you have to lose?  And the theme throughout, of course, was the Dallas defenders dropping.  Not just Sean Lee but fellow LB Justin Durant had to depart, not to mention DeMarcus Ware limping all around the field.  And as soon as Lee checked out, Drew Brees started using the middle of the field for throws, and you're screwed when Brees gets more area where he can operate.  Two other issues that doomed Dallas:  You can't give Brees that kind of time, and you can't miss tackles.  Between Brees and the running attack, there was no opportunity for the Cowboys to create momentum.  Just one of those nights.  Dallas will have more nights like that if the defense doesn't get healthy over the bye.
• So much fun to watch Miami get shit down their throat on Monday night, even if it meant the college coach Greg Schiano got his first win.  You could plainly see why Tampa Bay U. is so bad throughout that game, but they got the W.  The Bucs had school spirit from the start, helped by the Dolphins trying to pass block terribly on purpose as a new way to show love to Richie Incognito, or so it seemed.  Miami looked totally disinterested in all phases for the entire 1st half.  Distracted?  I think, but who really knows.  Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill started throwing quicker in the 2nd half, focusing on slot receiver Rishard Matthews, and lo and behold, Miami took a lead thanks to great field position and many Bucs penalties.  Then someone named Bobby Rainey had to come in at RB for Tampa, and his speed burst gave the Bucs the lead back, allowing the pass rush to charge one more time and bury Tannehill for good, fittingly.  Just a perfect O-line collapse by Miami to end the festivities.  It will be the season highlight for TBU, and that whole Miami organization deserves all the nausea this loss creates.

Week 10 Records--Dre 5-8-1, .385; Jay 7-6-1, .538
YTD Records--Dre 68-76-3, .472; Jay 75-69-3, .521