The ATS Checkdown Week 8: Can Watson Stay Hot in Seattle?

As Sascha got his picks sorted out (5-3 in Week 7), Matt clearly wasn’t able to focus on the task at hand while in New York City with Antonio Pierce, posting a sub-.500 record for the first time since Week 2.

I’ll keep this short and sweet: Week 7 was painful for me. Going 3-5 against the spread isn’t the equivalent of falling off a cliff, but I still fell … and it hurt. So I’ve thrown some rubbing alcohol on my scraped knee, only whined a little, and am ready to get back to my winning ways.

Speaking of winning, my co-host (Sascha) is riding a 19-13 record over the last four weeks, and has his eyes set on perfection in Week 8 — no pressure though.

We’ve got a couple new segments for you this week, including Unsung Heroes, which is exactly what you’d expect, and Where’s the Flag?, which might not be. We delve into the most vulnerable division leaders, and debate whether the Rams, Saints, or Titans are going to hold onto their current perches. Then we finally get to the reason you came — we think — our Week 8 ATS picks.

As I mentioned last week, you will not be able to find our ATS Locks of the Week in a separate article anymore, meaning you’ll have to listen to find out which teams we love in Week 8. If the news upsets you in any way, please accept the following as our apology: Pepperoni is back for the second edition of Puppy Picks, after nailing a Miami cover over Atlanta in Week 6.