Super Bowl ATS Recap: Up In Smoke

It wasn't supposed to be like this. The capper to the best season ever by a quarterback wasn't destined to end with the silent thud of a botched snap bouncing into the endzone, or the lazily floating trajectory of yet another swatted pass into a waiting defenders arms. The pass happy NFL wasn't primed for a swarming defense to swallow up the best offense in football. Yet on a fairly mild February night in Joisey, that was precisely what millions got to watch. The Seahawks dismantled the Bronco offense with the skill of a surgeon wielding the power of a sledgehammer. After a dizzying first quarter which saw the Broncos held to 11 yards of offense, even the 8-0 Seattle lead felt insurmountable. As the game wore on, the only drama left was whether or not Denver would even SCORE. And, of course, since Dre took the Broncos to win fairly easily, it was glorious to watch.

Seahawks (+2) 43, Broncos 8

The score wasn't even that close. Here are some key points:

• My MVP - Percy Harvin, Seattle - No, it's just not because I had him as my X-factor either (but I'll take another huge X-factor call thank you), it was the fact that Harvin was the most explosive playmaker on the field for either team. Harvin didn't touch the ball often, but every time he did, he looked faster and more talented than everyone else. The second half kickoff return TD was the backbreaker and sealed the Bronocs fate. It was nice to see Malcolm Smith rewarded, as you almost felt someone from the Seattle defense should be MVP, but if there was ever a time for a group to share those honors, it was this defensive unit. Cliff Avril would have been my defensive MVP (or a better choice than Smith), it was Avril that swatted Peyton Mannings arm on both interceptions. The way Seattle attacked Manning left me wondering if affecting his throws and getting after his point of release was the gameplan more than outright putting him on the turf?
• My Goat - John Fox, Denver Head Coach - I'm no Peyton Manning apologist, but no quarterback was going to beat Seattle this day. Not as ill prepared as the Broncos entire team looked. They looked slow and had zero energy after the first play safety after an errant snap sailed by Mannings head. Also, not attempting a field goal at the end of the first half and failing on a 4th down conversion gave a Seattle team already teeming with confidence even MORE heading into the locker room. Sure 22-3 sucks almost as bad as 22-0, but at least it's SOMETHING!
• Pinball Wizard - If the Harvin kickoff return was the backbreaker, then the Jermaine Kearse TD late in the third quarter was the Soul Crusher. In the box score it simply plays out as a 23 yard TD pass from Russell Wilson to Kearse, but the Denver defense allowed it by going full-on Benny Hill and allowing Kearse to bounce off of 3 defenders, missing a total of 5 tackles. The rout was on at 36-0.
• Stats Are For Losers - Demayrius Thomas broke a Super Bowl record with 13 receptions. Hey, good for him.
• Hey, I Remember Him - Even Tarvaris Jackson got to play. Isn't that nice. He now has a Super Bowl ring, too. Just like Peyton Manning.
• L.O.B. as in Lower the Boom - Kam Chancellor set the tone on the Broncos second offensive drive, laying out Demayrius Thomas over the middle on a play that was clean as they come and left me totally shocked that it wasn't flagged for just how violent it was.
• Atonement - The refs let these guys play and called a fairly clean game. One clear PI should have gone Denvers way, but that wasn't a 35 point penalty, so I'll let it slide this time.
• The Legacy - I really have a hard time holding this one against Peyton Manning. The Denver offense was simply outclassed in every aspect from the line to the receivers getting open to the 27 yards rushing amassed by the running backs. Manning was never given the chance to shine or fold, he was simply a non-factor.
• The "Talent" - The Bruno Mars halftime was better than most of the football game, to the point that it was nice to see a non-geriatric, non-titty-showing Super Bowl halftime show. Until the Red Hot Chili Peppers showed up and sang song that was cool when I was in high school, or thereabouts. Stand on the merit of the band you wanted to bring in the first place, NFL. Bruno and his gang did just fine.

See you next season, folks. The SB recap show is tonight on the podcast at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

The show will go in to offseason mode now, but there will still be a shows after a brief hiatus for Dre and I to get this season out of our systems. Updates to the show schedules will follow.

Super Duper Bowl XLVIII

It's come to the final game of the season, but I still can't catch Jason for the picks championship.  So we're left to take sides in the Super Bowl however we want with no regard for our opponent's pick.  We'll be head-to-head for the last matchup.

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
Den (15-3)	2	Sea (15-3)			Den	Sea

All of our thoughts and observations are available on the podcast.  Subscribe to In Much Less Detail:  The Podcast via iTunes, or listen to any of our shows in the archive on our show page at www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

2013 Honors and Dishonors Media

The full unveiling of all of the 2013 IMLD Honors and Dishonors will be tonight (1/25/14) at 10pm Central Time LIVE at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail/2014/01/26/2013s-imld-honors-dishonors

Three of the categories are of the audio/visual variety, so here are the winners with accompanying videos. Forgive the Youtube hackjob quality of some of these. They weren't all that easy to find.

Play of the Year: Giovani Bernard Touchdown Run vs. Dolphins

Worst Play of the Year: Tampa Bay Kickoff End Around Attempt vs. 49ers, Which of Course Ends Disastrously for the Buckos. This is probably the play that cemented the end the Greg Schiano era. Poor quality video to match the poor quality of play.

Quote of the Year: As bad as I wanted to quote Dre again with "Fuck You Chiefs!!!!", it was too similar to previous winner "Fuck You Faggot Ravens!!!!" So naturally the winner needs to be the Richard Sherman interview with Erin Andrews just this last week. It is a sublime 25 seconds of TRUTH!

The rest of the winners will be announced at 10pm Central Time. Be there!

NFL Conf. Finals '14: What I Learned

• In Denver, the QB exhibition turned out to be a dud.  It was one-sided and deflating and as anticlimactic as a naked woman with genital warts.  Graphic, yes, but I can't describe how disappointed I was in this game.  One guy was as good as it gets, and the other kept responding with nothing.  Peyton Manning was THE SHIT, as impressive a single-game playoff performance as he's ever delivered.  Tom Brady was THE DRIZZLING SHITS, failing to advance the ball drive after drive, finally looking as helpless as we thought he would all season with those underwhelming weapons on offense.  I guess what I learned is, don't let the razzle-dazzle fool you, when weather's not a factor and it's all on the line, go with the better QB and better weapons, both belonging to the Broncos.  Home field didn't hurt, either.  What left an impression on me was how Denver took the pass rush off the table for New England by playing Peyton Manning in shotgun formation for almost every snap.  The one time he slipped under center was in the third quarter at the 3-yard line, so you'd think he'd snap it quick and hand it off, but he ran a play-action slant pass to DeMaryius Thomas for a TD that put the Broncos up 20-3, and that was basically ballgame.  Manning was on target on almost every throw, even the wobblers that hung in the air forever that never seem to get deflected or intercepted.  Brady's first long attempt was for a special teams bum named Matthew Slater.  Incomplete.  He had Julian Edelman wide open on play-action and overthrew him by five yards.  Incomplete.  And when Brady was able to lead nice drives, his interior pass blocking failed him and he got sacked.  Jay Tweeted that Peyton picked on the Pats secondary once Aqib Talib got eliminated from the game on a Wes Welker pick (which was not dirty, BTW), and he was right.  Logan Ryan, who amassed 5 INTs during the season as a nickel or dime, displayed why he's not a starting CB.  He provided nothing but holding penalties and terrible coverage.  And when NE's front seven adjusted and leaned back anticipating having to help Ryan, Peyton audibled to runs, and Knowshon Moreno got off.  That huge comeback win by the Patriots over Denver during the regular season, they had Rob Gronkowski.  This time, they had a whole lot of nothing.  A perfect game by Denver.  Hats off.
• In Seattle, a game thought to be physical, violent, emotional, and must-see TV actually exceeded the hype.  San Francisco's defense waited through the noise and the Ann Wilson national anthem and the anticipation to send a message on the first damn play, as Aldon Smith stripped Russell Wilson and recovered the fumble.  Then Seattle's defense sent a message back by stonewalling the 49ers and holding them to a FG.  Much brawling and hitting and trash-talking followed, and I learned that the two QBs are right where I thought they were in their development.  Wilson is still much more dangerous throwing while moving in or out of the pocket; his 51-yard bomb to Doug Baldwin was classic Wilson.  Colin Kaepernick has a Scottie Pippen-like first step and is the most dangerous QB running in the open field since prime Vick, and his throws in the pocket have great heat but no touch.  And Kaep's lack of touch is why the 4th quarter played out the way it did, and why Seattle not just won but covered the spread.  Seattle down 4 goes for it on 4th-and-7 and throws a 35-yard TD on a ballsy call by coach Pete Carroll, then Cliff Avril gets off like a bullet and strips Kaepernick to give the Seahawks the rock in FG position.  But SF's NaVorro Bowman stripped WR Jermaine Kearse at the 1, except the refs blew the play dead with Seattle retaining the ball, plus Bowman gruesomely blew out his knee on the play.  So karma stepped in, and Wilson fumbled the ball on 4th down, so instead of Seattle taking the FG and getting a free 3 points they didn't deserve, the Niners got the ball still down 3.  And then, oops, Kaepernick threw an INT to Kam Chancellor that was one of the worst picks I've ever seen.  Chancellor was standing right there in front of the intended receiver playing zone, and Kaep completely missed him, and I Tweeted out that no QB who throws that pick in a title game should win it.  So Seattle got the FG they could have taken on the last possession to go up 6, which means that Kaep has to get a TD on the last drive instead of a game-tying FG, and that's why he threw the INT that was tipped by Richard Sherman and set up the postgame entertainment.  That's on Kaep.  Not the throw to Sherman necessarily, although I wonder if a better QB with touch gets that ball over Sherman, but the INT to Chancellor is totally on Kaep.  He's not ready yet, just as I thought when I started picking against him in the Wild Card round.  Took a minute, but eventually he proved me right.  And it sets up the #1 offense vs. the #1 defense, and the ad world darling Peyton Manning vs. Public Enemy #1 apparently, Richard Sherman.  Doesn't get much better than that.

Dre--102.4 + 4 = 106.4 pts; Jay--117.2 + 4 = 121.2 pts

NFL Conf. Finals '14

Here they are, the picks for this weekend's awesome conference title games which should set up an awesome Super Bowl.  Since I didn't have to wait for Jason's picks and pick against him just to catch him in our picks competition, we got to break down and choose our favorites independently, and we came up with the same teams:

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
DEN (14-3)	5½	NE (13-4)			NE	NE
SEA (14-3)	3½	SF (14-4)			Sea	Sea

All of our thoughts and observations are available on the podcast by subscribing to In Much Less Detail:  The Podcast via iTunes, or by visiting our archive page at:  blogtalkradio.com/inmuchlessdetail

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?

NFL Conf. Semis '14: What I Learned

• Besides learning that catching Jason this year was never in the cards for me, I learned that Seattle wasn't going to be stopped in the Divisional Round with Beast Mode having a week of rest, but otherwise, they appear to still be vulnerable in the ways I thought before.  Russell Wilson still didn't impress me with his throws when standing still in a clean pocket; his longest pass of the day was 25 yards to Jermaine Kearse after avoiding the pass rush.  Now, the weather has to be cited as a factor because someone we know can throw with accuracy, Drew Brees, also saw his balls take off in weird directions.  And if you can't throw in the wind and rain and you're facing Beast Mode, the game's basically over, so props I guess to the Saints for even forcing a push on the spread.  They should have been destroyed by all rights.  New Orleans smartly played the Seahawks and the elements, using quick snaps to counter the 12th man noise and grinding it out with the run game.  Then Brees got into a throwing rhythm to start the 2nd half, only to get sacked to end the drive.  Every time Brees started to perform and bring the Saints back, he got sacked or pressured, and his big bomb, 52 yards to Robert Meachem, should have been picked off by two guys.  It was a very rough assignment for New Orleans, and they should feel no shame in losing.  Seattle tried to use Percy Harvin the right way, as a flea stretching the field horizontally to open up things for Marshawn Lynch up the middle, but Harvin's getting to be a China Doll, coming up hurt after a couple of different plays before being shut down for the day with a concussion.  If Seattle doesn't have him for the conference title game, they will need more plays from Wilson and Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin to make the defense loosen up.  Lynch is a marauder, but he can only do so much.
• The lack of offensive identity finally bit Indianapolis in the ass versus New England.  On their first drive, Trent Richardson, the bruising tailback the Colts needed so bad, checked in on 3rd-and-2, but since he can't be trusted, Andrew Luck threw and got picked off by Pats CB Alfonzo Dennard.  For shame.  As they've done all year, though, the Colts hung around after trailing by a lot early.  They could have tied New England late in the 3rd quarter if not for Jamie Collins, an unknown Patriots linebacker who seemed to sack Luck or pick him off every time Indy got close.  Collins was everywhere.  I may have never heard of him, but he was THE SHIT.  The Colts know they have a dangerous combination in Luck-to-Hilton, as in big-play WR T.Y. Hilton, so now they need to stabilize the run game and the playcalling.  Hilton was blanketed by Aqib Talib for the most part, but he still shook free for some big catches.  And Luck made some throws to Hilton and LaVon Brazill that made me say "Holy Luck!" a few times.  But the night belonged to the Patriots running backs, who absolutely ground the Colts into fine powder.  Don't let New England get in a goal-line situation, because they're going to run it in and you can't stop them.  I don't know how much I want to trust LeGarrette Blount to be that reliable in the future, but he was unstoppable on this night.  Add on Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley, and you have a RB corps that basically held up Tom Brady.  His big throws all came on play-action after the run game had been established.  It allowed Brady to conserve his energy for those handful of throws, some of which were gunned through the air in a manner we don't see from Peyton Manning.  Brady's arm strength isn't being questioned.  I think Brady may have one more title run in him if he draws an opponent that will stifle the run game, which should come in Denver.  His receivers aren't All-Pros, but they might be good enough.
• San Francisco continued their assault on the NFC, beating down Carolina and talking shit to them the whole way.  (That ref crew handled all the chatter terribly, randomly penalizing guys for headbutts and not penalizing others, and there was a total bullshit roughing-the-passer penalty late.  Those zebras almost ruined one of the most intense games I've ever seen.  They were THE DRIZLING SHITS.)  The first play of the game was Carolina DE Charles Johnson drilling the hell out of Niners RB Frank Gore, and the tone was set.  The Panthers looked like they were going to rise up to that level and beat the 49ers at their own game, but man, you gotta play a perfect game in order to do that, and they were far from perfect.  Cam Newton was sharp on his throws in the 1st half save for an interception that was a bit behind his receiver.  There were a couple of goal-line stands by SF that kept the Panthers from polishing off nice drives with TDs, and that may have affected Newton's confidence and his game in the 2nd half, but that's what happens with inexperienced players.  The first stand, where "Riverboat" Ron Rivera went for it down 6-0 on 4th-and-goal at the 1 and failed, wasn't a bad call I don't think because you make the Niners start a drive at the 1 if you don't get it and you blow the roof off if you do.  It didn't hurt them because they forced a punt, got a nice return by Ted Ginn, then threw a TD pass to Ginn.  The second stand came later in the 2nd quarter, when a penalty (beautiful flying bodypress by Ahmad Brooks) put the ball at the half-yard line and Carolina got stuffed and had to take a FG.  That one, Newton should have snuck it being so close to the goal line.  SF took advantage of defensive breakdowns and put up points to build pressure on the Panthers, and they weren't able to respond.  A long drive by the Panthers down 20-10 was shoved back by two sacks, forcing a punt and basically ending the game.  Jason Tweeted that he didn't know how SF was winning at halftime because Carolina was outplaying them.  I think it was a matter of experience.  The Niners stayed calm and executed when opportunities presented, and the Panthers stayed with them for a half, which isn't enough in the playoffs.  Seattle will stay with them for a whole game.  Count on that.
• That San Diego late comeback to lose by only seven was a complete backdoor cover that they didn't deserve.  I totally admit that, but Jay and I picked it, so we'll take the credit.  But Denver was much the better team.  The Chargers had been relying on a running game renaissance during their five-game win streak, but the lead back, Ryan Mathews, only lasted 5 carries before succumbing to a sore ankle.  The other big failure for the Bolts was RG Johnnie Troutman, who was a revolving door in the 1st half.  He alone stopped QB Philip Rivers from developing any kind of rhythm.  The Broncos didn't miss injured pass rusher Von Miller in this one, but they will miss him when they play a team that can block.  It was yet another careful run-heavy game plan, which was en vogue this weekend.  Denver didn't have Peyton Manning throwing much besides screens and short passes; one drive saw only two throws by Manning, but one was the TD throw.  But Peyton wasn't perfect--the first Broncos series should have ended with a terrible INT, but SD DB Shareece Wright has no hands, and the drive ended with a Denver TD.  Peyton only threw long a couple of times after that.  His best contribution was getting the city of Omaha trending on Twitter.  It drew the Bolts offsides five different times!  I noticed that every time he called the Omaha snap and drew San Diego offsides because they didn't actually snap it, the play clock had more than ten seconds on it.  I'm sure Bill Belichick noticed that if I did.  San Diego covered because they finally stopped the run down 17-0, forcing a missed Denver FG, and they pass protected for Rivers, allowing him to get yardage to his targets, mostly the awesome Keenan Allen.  An onsides kick factored in as well.  But it was Denver's day.  Peyton wins in the playoffs, and he wasn't bad, but he wasn't spectacular either.  Will that be enough against New England?

Dre--96.4 + 6 = 102.4 pts; Jay--111.2 + 6 = 117.2 pts