Random NFL Thoughts :
Miami @ Buffalo :
- As a reminder back in Dec '03 the Phins with Jay Feidler @ QB went to Buffalo in 35 degree weather and 3 pt dogs leaving with a 20-3 win. The had 169 total yards of offense that day and 12 penalties. Just for the theory of the warm weather team playing in a cold weather venue in Dec angle. As well as the recent Miami MNF game in Pitt with the terrible weather and worse field.
- Miami is 0-6 AWAY with 4 losses by 3 points and 2 losses by 10 points. If they converted 1st goal from the 1 yd line @ Philly it would have been 5 of the 6 losses by 3 points ( they didn't I know coulda, woulda, shoulda). You could include the London game in this discussion which they lost 13-10 which would make 5 of 7 by THREE points. The funny part and I would attribute it to better opposition and more pressure to win is they have been smoked at HOME with only 1 LOSS by three points , against Buffalo . Dallas 17 , NE 21, NYJ 27, and Oakland 18 have traveled to Miami and smoked them by at least 17 points!!
- Miami is down to 3rd string QB Rookie John Beck . Who being he played @ BYU could be moe prepared for the weather the Buffalo Rookie Trent Edwards of Stanford. Just a thought. Remember it supposed to rain which I guess could be snow if Temps permit but remember Becj just played in rainy weather @ Pitt and did fairly well. The Phins if Chatman is unavailable or limited could be down to 4th and 5th RB's in Samkon Gado and Lorenzo Booker. Both got there 1st Miami carries last week. Gado burst onto the scene in 05 with three 100+ games in the 5 which he saw at least 20 carries. They have lost most of there passing leaders when Chambers was dealt and Ronnie Brown went down with injury. Ted Ginn Jr has stepped it up some in recent weeks. Basically the Phins have been left without playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. If thats not enough Marty Booker appears to be a gametime decision. Who starts Hagan & Ginn ?? Lots of two TE sets??
- For Buffalo Trent Edwards is 4-1 as a starter actually 1 point and 1 late FG short of being undefeated. He defeated NYJ and Balt narrowly at home will winning @ NYJ( with help from Losman) and Wash last week. I finally think the chinks in the defense have shown in recent weeks more so the pass defense. They did keep Wash in check especially on the ground but Wash also was 1 of 4 in the red zone settling for 3 short FGs ( the longest being 33 yds) and also were 1-2 in goal to go situations. So the opportunity was there to score against them. The previous weeks Jax had 36 but 17 fourth quarter points and NE had 50 ++ . However again vs Jax the Jags managed 1-5 in the red zone and 0-2 in goal to go situations! They allowed TWO 50+ YD TD plays. Also with Edwards in there instead of Losman Lee Evans cannot be the big play WR he is. Edwards just doesnt throw it as well deep and probably wont be asked to do it much.
- Buffalo could have Lynch back running the ball but A-Train is still OUT leaving Fred Jackson again in a position of need.
- On paper you look at this and ask how can Miami score ? How is Buffalo just -7 when they were small favs as much as -3 in Miami with Lemon and Chatman healthy. Wouldnt -10 make more sense?? I think partially with poor teams its just not as cut and dry as home field is worth 3 or 3.5 pts. Some HOME teams have ZERO Home value and thats what looks like what is going in Miami. The last meeting was basicaly dominanted by Miami and they lost ! Most players felt that was the TOUGHEST close loss of all although the Pitt game didnt take place at the time of those comments.
The Dolphins committed no turnovers, allowed Buffalo to convert only two third downs and benefited from a big day by journeyman Jesse Chatman, who rushed for a career-high 124 yards. Still they lost.
He then ran for the 2-point conversion, spinning across the goal after he was hit to make it 10-all.
Miami's Ted Ginn Jr. returned the kickoff 86 yards for an apparent touchdown, but the score was negated by a holding penalty on Greg Camarillo."I wish that could have been the play to take us into a victory," said Camarillo, his voice shaking with emotion half an hour after the game. "I thought it was a fair play, but the refs called it, and I'm guilty. I'll take the blame for it."
The Dolphins made two first downs before punting, and Roscoe Parrish returned the kick 40 yards to midfield with 4:37 left. Buffalo converted two third-down situations to move to the 16 and set up Lindell's field goal.
- Miami lost Cameron Worrell being replaced by Lance Schulters in the starting lineup and CB Michael Lehan did not practice on Friday.
-NO matter how you look it at the Dolphins are one of the worst teams on paper I can recall in 20 years.
So my feeling is this again a game where the weather neutralizes the offenses. On paper Buffalo laying just 7 seems cheap versus this Miami lineup. However if the weather is what it appears to be then we could be looking at another bore fest !! And my gut seems to think Miami plays well here after the SHIT FEST last Sunday. The KEY is watching the weather in the AM and early afternoon
Rams @ Bengals :
- Somehow the RAMS should be winners of 5 straight. However losing Jackson to injury vs Cle lead them to blow an early big lead and followed suit a few weeks later when Bulger went down vs Seattle . Still they are 3-2 L5 with two road wins. The problem here is not only is Bulger OUT but Frerotte is UNABLE to start as well . Leaving Brock Berlin in his NFL debut.....on the road , in bad weather , and on grass!
Berlin has been on the practice squad all year and hardly even worked with the Rams' wide receivers in practice this week.The smallish, weak-armed former Florida Gator and Miami Hurricane knows Scott Linehan's system, but that's about it. Berlin's addition signals the Rams could be preparing to be without Marc Bulger (head) in Week 13 oh BOY!!!
- One would think Stephen Jackson and the running game will see alot of action. This could be troublesome though if you look at Cincy vs the RUN past few games. They did a solid job @ Pitt vs Willie Parker , at home Tenny and then Edge did very little. Even McGahee @ Balt was slowed 17c 60yds. So being they can stop the RUN suddenly it seems STL is in for along tough day as Berlin is in a terrible SPOT! Remember there OL has been an issue all season! There defense has some injuries as well.
- Outside of the game @ NO when all were healthy the Rams OFFENSE has been non existant on the road.
While the RAMS defense concerns along with the possibility of Berlin giving a potent offense short fields you have to like UND 45.5 , Under 17.5 Rams team (guessing) and I may have to tease Cincy to EVEN with something else....
Oakland @ GB :
This will be GB at it's FINEST ! Weather that is...15 to 20 degrees!!!! GB can CLINCH a playoff game and HOME playoff game as well as the CENTRAL with a home win.
- This really sets up as an interesting game for a few reasons. First you wonder if now that GB has lost (again) if the air is out of there bubble?? Sort of a flat period ..?? Not sure just wondering and think it's highly possible. The cold weather with warm weather OAK coming to town. Very interesting !! Luckily its a 1 PM game when the sun should be out still and not be as miserable as later start would be. Still pretty rough situation. However the STORY is Brett Favre !! Folks he didnt return vs Dallas ...not a good sign , Rodgers is OUT with Nall as backup...not a good sign , inconsistent reports on his injury....not a good sign ...seperated left shoulder Or his elbow ?? Worse is if his left shoulder is seperated think what being slammed down to the ground ..uhm Frozen Tundra will do to that !!!
- The GB run defense has been somewhat subpar of late allowing 4.3 YPC past 3 games. You can't be to excited by the WINS vs Carolina w/o Steve Smith and Minny with Bollinger @ QB . They do have the benfit of some exra rest here. As well as probably seeing KGB and Woodson return although you dont know how the extreme cold factors into this.
- OAK playing better and relatively healthy are traveling for 3rd time in 4 weeks and into a different time zone. The Raiders are playing better even winning consecutive divisional games!! However they have been shredded on the ground on the road allowing all opponents starting RB in excess of 100+ yards actually Travis Henry had the low of 128!!!!!! Grant has been solid running the rock but Justin Fargas has been just as good probably better past few games. OAK is 4-2 ATS away this year....
Based mainly on my belief that Favre is less then 100% and could see limited action the +10.5 / +11 is the play with a possible UNDER sprinkled in .
Still looking at the OTHER 5 early starts ! Though really seem to like Car +11 and Over 38 -120 , Philly and the Lions.....Good Luck
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Monday, December 03, 2007
Monday NBA:
Charlotte @ Toronto :
The Bobcats have decided to start Jared Dudley in place of Primo Brezec. Which should slide Okefor over to the middle and put Dudley @ PF. Brezec really had not done much and seen a considerable dropoff from a few seasons ago. Basically Char is going smaller and you would think they may be play a bit faster pace. Raptors will be w/o Bosh , Bargnani and Ford it looks like on Monday. Which leaves Delfino , Calderon , Moon , Nesterovic , Kapono and Parker. With Dixon , Baston , Humphries , Graham and Martin . Now in the loss @ Wash the Raps got next to nothing from Ford and Bargnani.
Cats are searching for answers losing 5 straight including two tough losses in OT vs Wash and Boston. They have lost 8 of 10 in the series vs Toronto. You would expect a faster paced game.
The OVER 189 and due to value a play on Char +4 and / or ML. Just think how they struggled with Cle at home when Lebron was absent ....Bargnani played well that night ...
Atl @ Philly :
Sixers have won 8 of 10 in the series. Here are two teams you can't figure out. They are models for inconsistency despite being poor to begin with. Philly looked good for most of there past 5 games but they tend to play 1 good half and follow it with one awful half. A great team if leading at HALF to fade. On paper ATL is the better team but there PG issues keep them medicore at best.
I would have suspected more of a PK line so I would prefer ATL +3. Even though my 1st intinct was Philly wins this game. The total is spot on at 180 cause offense woes are obvious for both. ATL has played 6 straight unders and they have only cracked 180 once(181). This game looks to be played in the 80's...
Portland @ Memphis:
The Blazers have been terrible of late especially on the offensive side of the ball. However this game smells of OVERREACTION. The Grizz did smoke Minny who was short a few bodies off a tough home loss to SA. Remember when they were outscored by a TON in the 4th quarter. Portland looked terrible yesterday but did beat Memphis earlier in Portland. I would have expected more like -6 here...while the pace should be fast wouldnt take an over @ 204 when they continue to score about 85 points. Now being terrible on the road is one thing to consider as Dallas was one of there first ATS covers that were NOT a SU win.
Dallas @ Chicago :
With the struggles they are facing it is hard to back Dallas at this point. On the other hand can we be happy with CHI after consecutive wins?? Type of game it may be better to watch a Half before getting involved. The total seems low to me but has moved lower. I would have expected this game to be around 190 . The games in Chicagotend to be around 190 pts so no value either way but a higher total 194 ish would have put me on the UNDER...
Miami @ Utah :
Miami has stunk in most of there recnt games especially the past two. However they do own 7 straight wins against UTAH. The two times that Miami caught big numbers they covered this season. However Utah has laid some beatdowns in Utah and Miami is coming off a game in Denver. The Heat havent scored much on the road and they need to play in the low 90's to keep it a game. The problem with Utah is they have scored a ton at home and there ercnt games have played OVER despite few times where they allowed even 95 points.....
Orl @ GSW :
One of the game sthat a situational / professional bettor loves to see. Two hot teams squaring off but the Magic ending a 5 game Western swing coming off tough games in Pho and LAL. Orl is 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS when most teams fail to be able to cover an entire trip .
GS is simply playing excellent balland to me is the hottest team in the NBA. Couped with the situational aspect youhave to like the home squad. I would guess professional bettors jumped on GSW -1 and pushed it to -3.....
The total seems high so would lean UNDER....
Charlotte @ Toronto :
The Bobcats have decided to start Jared Dudley in place of Primo Brezec. Which should slide Okefor over to the middle and put Dudley @ PF. Brezec really had not done much and seen a considerable dropoff from a few seasons ago. Basically Char is going smaller and you would think they may be play a bit faster pace. Raptors will be w/o Bosh , Bargnani and Ford it looks like on Monday. Which leaves Delfino , Calderon , Moon , Nesterovic , Kapono and Parker. With Dixon , Baston , Humphries , Graham and Martin . Now in the loss @ Wash the Raps got next to nothing from Ford and Bargnani.
Cats are searching for answers losing 5 straight including two tough losses in OT vs Wash and Boston. They have lost 8 of 10 in the series vs Toronto. You would expect a faster paced game.
The OVER 189 and due to value a play on Char +4 and / or ML. Just think how they struggled with Cle at home when Lebron was absent ....Bargnani played well that night ...
Atl @ Philly :
Sixers have won 8 of 10 in the series. Here are two teams you can't figure out. They are models for inconsistency despite being poor to begin with. Philly looked good for most of there past 5 games but they tend to play 1 good half and follow it with one awful half. A great team if leading at HALF to fade. On paper ATL is the better team but there PG issues keep them medicore at best.
I would have suspected more of a PK line so I would prefer ATL +3. Even though my 1st intinct was Philly wins this game. The total is spot on at 180 cause offense woes are obvious for both. ATL has played 6 straight unders and they have only cracked 180 once(181). This game looks to be played in the 80's...
Portland @ Memphis:
The Blazers have been terrible of late especially on the offensive side of the ball. However this game smells of OVERREACTION. The Grizz did smoke Minny who was short a few bodies off a tough home loss to SA. Remember when they were outscored by a TON in the 4th quarter. Portland looked terrible yesterday but did beat Memphis earlier in Portland. I would have expected more like -6 here...while the pace should be fast wouldnt take an over @ 204 when they continue to score about 85 points. Now being terrible on the road is one thing to consider as Dallas was one of there first ATS covers that were NOT a SU win.
Dallas @ Chicago :
With the struggles they are facing it is hard to back Dallas at this point. On the other hand can we be happy with CHI after consecutive wins?? Type of game it may be better to watch a Half before getting involved. The total seems low to me but has moved lower. I would have expected this game to be around 190 . The games in Chicagotend to be around 190 pts so no value either way but a higher total 194 ish would have put me on the UNDER...
Miami @ Utah :
Miami has stunk in most of there recnt games especially the past two. However they do own 7 straight wins against UTAH. The two times that Miami caught big numbers they covered this season. However Utah has laid some beatdowns in Utah and Miami is coming off a game in Denver. The Heat havent scored much on the road and they need to play in the low 90's to keep it a game. The problem with Utah is they have scored a ton at home and there ercnt games have played OVER despite few times where they allowed even 95 points.....
Orl @ GSW :
One of the game sthat a situational / professional bettor loves to see. Two hot teams squaring off but the Magic ending a 5 game Western swing coming off tough games in Pho and LAL. Orl is 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS when most teams fail to be able to cover an entire trip .
GS is simply playing excellent balland to me is the hottest team in the NBA. Couped with the situational aspect youhave to like the home squad. I would guess professional bettors jumped on GSW -1 and pushed it to -3.....
The total seems high so would lean UNDER....
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Jusr horrible effort , gameplan and coaching by everyone associated with Miami Ohio except there defense. Bewteen the vanilla play calling and lack of touch by the QB the offense sputtered in th 1st H. Mix in shitty kicking from the FG who decided the gam by missing an easy straight ahead mid 30's FG down 14-3. Then why go for an onside down 21-10 with 9 minutes left when you just had consecutive drives where you moved the ball quickly...stupid play but worse execution.....probably should have played BC and that inflated number. Like everyone you just expect VaTech to win here but how on a neutral field does this game see anything other VT -1.5 ???At least I didnt play the hokies....
Watching the beginning of the RU/Ville game I continually asked myself where was this RU offense coming from? Teel can play the QB position fairly well but all season long its been either his bad thumb causing inconsistencies Or his talented WR's dropping easy catches. Early on the RU offense looked like a well oiled machine. I felt they were playing over there head. However I was asking myself what I did I miss when capping this game?? Once it got 21-3 there was obvious concern that was somewhat mentally downplayed by the fact that I knew WVU jumped out to a big lead and the Cards were able to come back. Helping matters was that was @ WVU and this was home. So once 21-3 came I was basically waiting for that 1 play or drive that iced the game whether it be on offense or defense. It never came. If your watching that game you had to feel pretty good about Lville winning it after the Cards scored right before half. It did a number of things for the Ville. It instilled some confidence , some life in the fans that were left , it cast some doubt in the RU defense and it showed how quick the Louisville O could change the game if the defense could slow RU. I felt all along that while the Cards defense had not played fgood all season the past month it had shown great improvement and the 2nd H it showed. Once the held RU to a FG when they were inside the 5 yd line it became a question of could Ville sustain momentum. Could they score and cut it to 7? Well they did rather easily and quickly. Then they got another stop and could they do it again. The momentum just built and really if you sit back and think about it was the exact same thing that happened in last years meeting. It was like the UNIVERSE evening out....so tough PUSH hopefully for the RU backers and a nice win that should have been easier by Ville....So while it looked very lucky for Ville backers I would simply ask what made you BET RU in the 1st place ?? What advantage did they have ?
More NCAAF :
11AM start : MAC Championship CMU vs Miami Ohio:
Miami Ohio +3.5
After looking at these teams I have decided one thing . While CMU is extremely talented on OFFENSE it's overalll team effort is very average. There defense is poor and they are prone to penalties. Miami has played very sound defense and we know defense wins championships.
What I find concerning is that while Miami lost last week it had 5 FG's including 3 that were kicked inside the 5 yard line. They also won the time of possession and held Ohio to 200 yards of total offense!! Where CMU lost the TOP , had more turnovers , more penalties and yet had a 2-1 yardage advantage. Look at CMU lately. They got smoked @ Clemson , beat a 3rd string Frosh QB by 9 @ Kent State , edged WMU by 3 , lost at home to EMU by 3 and won @ Akron by 3 .
To me the best thing CMU did all year was win convincingly @ Ball State. However they were really under the radar due to shabby play and were catching 12 that day cause Ball State had been on somewhat of a roll and CMU had lost to North Dakota State at home. However Miami Ohio also won @ Ball State in the opener 14-13 catching only 4 points....
So basically what I am getting at is minus the Akron game the Miami Ohio Offense has been able to move the ball. I believe Brandon Murphy played last week and got 4 carries which would be a huge lift if he is available. CMU pulled two wins out of its ass on the road @ WMU and @ Akron. They just dont impress me as a TEAM and there schedule hasnt done much for me either......plus they fact they coasted the past two weeks doesnt help either IMO.....
C-USA :
Despite believing that UCF is the much better team I think 7.5 is to many here. Tulsa run defense isnt that bad its there pass defense thats horrendous. Which means you need more from Israel then previously IMO. No doubt Smith will get his but Israel will have to play well and for me he is to inconsistent. So small lean to Tulsa covering the 7.5 with senior Paul Smith at the gun. Really the Houston win was so impressive where as UCF was beating up bottom dwellers . Naturally there defense vs Rice and Army is alarming ....which means Over 74 looks low....42-38 Final?
Army vs Navy:
Army is not a very good team. However Navy's defense especially its pass defense is poor. I did notice that carson Williams played well vs a similiar bad Tulsa defense and even versus another bad pass defense in CMU. Navy is 0-5 ATS laying 7 or more and there wins have been by 11 3 times and twelve once. so they havent won a game allseason by two TDs. While Army played a very tough schedule littered with solid defenses. BC , GT , Wake from the ACC and even RU and AF sport above average power conference defenses IMO. So if you believe Army will score then take the points...navy should get there 38-42 which tells you why the total is 65 cause they expect Army to score at least 24....thinking about taking the points in the rivalry game cause Army should be able to score and Navy hasnt stopped anyone.....Also Army did a sound job vs the triple option last year and they prepare for it and are feeling confident they have a legit shot in this game if the defense performs like it did last season vs Navy and the offense builds off the Tulsa performance......plus anytime a team has 3 straight wins that 4th year the senior class always wants that one real bad....
GL
More NCAAF :
11AM start : MAC Championship CMU vs Miami Ohio:
Miami Ohio +3.5
After looking at these teams I have decided one thing . While CMU is extremely talented on OFFENSE it's overalll team effort is very average. There defense is poor and they are prone to penalties. Miami has played very sound defense and we know defense wins championships.
What I find concerning is that while Miami lost last week it had 5 FG's including 3 that were kicked inside the 5 yard line. They also won the time of possession and held Ohio to 200 yards of total offense!! Where CMU lost the TOP , had more turnovers , more penalties and yet had a 2-1 yardage advantage. Look at CMU lately. They got smoked @ Clemson , beat a 3rd string Frosh QB by 9 @ Kent State , edged WMU by 3 , lost at home to EMU by 3 and won @ Akron by 3 .
To me the best thing CMU did all year was win convincingly @ Ball State. However they were really under the radar due to shabby play and were catching 12 that day cause Ball State had been on somewhat of a roll and CMU had lost to North Dakota State at home. However Miami Ohio also won @ Ball State in the opener 14-13 catching only 4 points....
So basically what I am getting at is minus the Akron game the Miami Ohio Offense has been able to move the ball. I believe Brandon Murphy played last week and got 4 carries which would be a huge lift if he is available. CMU pulled two wins out of its ass on the road @ WMU and @ Akron. They just dont impress me as a TEAM and there schedule hasnt done much for me either......plus they fact they coasted the past two weeks doesnt help either IMO.....
C-USA :
Despite believing that UCF is the much better team I think 7.5 is to many here. Tulsa run defense isnt that bad its there pass defense thats horrendous. Which means you need more from Israel then previously IMO. No doubt Smith will get his but Israel will have to play well and for me he is to inconsistent. So small lean to Tulsa covering the 7.5 with senior Paul Smith at the gun. Really the Houston win was so impressive where as UCF was beating up bottom dwellers . Naturally there defense vs Rice and Army is alarming ....which means Over 74 looks low....42-38 Final?
Army vs Navy:
Army is not a very good team. However Navy's defense especially its pass defense is poor. I did notice that carson Williams played well vs a similiar bad Tulsa defense and even versus another bad pass defense in CMU. Navy is 0-5 ATS laying 7 or more and there wins have been by 11 3 times and twelve once. so they havent won a game allseason by two TDs. While Army played a very tough schedule littered with solid defenses. BC , GT , Wake from the ACC and even RU and AF sport above average power conference defenses IMO. So if you believe Army will score then take the points...navy should get there 38-42 which tells you why the total is 65 cause they expect Army to score at least 24....thinking about taking the points in the rivalry game cause Army should be able to score and Navy hasnt stopped anyone.....Also Army did a sound job vs the triple option last year and they prepare for it and are feeling confident they have a legit shot in this game if the defense performs like it did last season vs Navy and the offense builds off the Tulsa performance......plus anytime a team has 3 straight wins that 4th year the senior class always wants that one real bad....
GL
Thursday, November 29, 2007
NBA Thoughts :
Two quick comments. First is message boards seen rampant with comments about fading the public , line movement , reverse line movement , etc. When looking at lines two things should be considered before all else. First is the line proper ? Bad lines always lose . You need to then ask yorself if you feel a line is off why is it adjusted ? Whether it be higher or lower. Perfect example is last night with Cle @ Det. If you are a situational capper you should have been HUGE on the Pistons last evening. First the Cavs were in an awful spot. Playing 4th in 5 nites and off OT. The OT game was a huge matchup facing the Celtics but they had played earlier close games vs Tor on Sat and @ indy on Sunday. So combine tough games with travel , B2b off OTand youhave a very limited BENCH!!! Devin Brown , Ira Newble and damon Jones is basically all Then factor you have DET getting healthy with two days rests off ahome loss. Plus possible some payback in mind after Det was ousted by CLE in the playoffs. Everything was against CLE. You think they opened the game -9.5 for a reason? I sure did . Clearly LeBron has carried Cle of late and there are just some spots when its to muck to ask from a player especially when DET plays tough defense. As high as theline seemed we did de see -6 throughout the playoffs so I knew why the line was asjusted. Then bet accordingly. The other part is there is just to much emphasis on fading line moves and the betting public w/o capping the game. You want to be contrarian thats fine but pick your spots every game doesnt have some sort of mystery to it. I am guility at times as well of this but traps are caused by situations and misunderstanding of teams and lines not so much a design by the oddsmakers even though there job is to trap bettors into betting bad lines.
Also when teams are COLD dont lay heavy chalk with them cause funks last several games. Right now we have DAL , LAL , Den off the top of my head as teams who lay heavy lumber but are playing poorly. Right now GSW is on fire and after winning vs PHO in the WORST SPOT I made a mistake of jumping the gun and fading them in Sac. when truth be told chances are the HOU game was the situational tougher one. The Rockets have won 3 games now in somewhat impressive fashion which makes them look like they are getting hot. GSW played on the EAST , came home beat PHO , now traveled to Sac and won with a game vs Hou here .
Very tough to fade GSW right now but that is a possibility here cause Hoiuston could be in the midst of what GSW was a week ago.....Same with Bos actually. They are slumping abit where as NYK has put together two solid games now. Why run and lay -13 ??
be back later......BOL
Two quick comments. First is message boards seen rampant with comments about fading the public , line movement , reverse line movement , etc. When looking at lines two things should be considered before all else. First is the line proper ? Bad lines always lose . You need to then ask yorself if you feel a line is off why is it adjusted ? Whether it be higher or lower. Perfect example is last night with Cle @ Det. If you are a situational capper you should have been HUGE on the Pistons last evening. First the Cavs were in an awful spot. Playing 4th in 5 nites and off OT. The OT game was a huge matchup facing the Celtics but they had played earlier close games vs Tor on Sat and @ indy on Sunday. So combine tough games with travel , B2b off OTand youhave a very limited BENCH!!! Devin Brown , Ira Newble and damon Jones is basically all Then factor you have DET getting healthy with two days rests off ahome loss. Plus possible some payback in mind after Det was ousted by CLE in the playoffs. Everything was against CLE. You think they opened the game -9.5 for a reason? I sure did . Clearly LeBron has carried Cle of late and there are just some spots when its to muck to ask from a player especially when DET plays tough defense. As high as theline seemed we did de see -6 throughout the playoffs so I knew why the line was asjusted. Then bet accordingly. The other part is there is just to much emphasis on fading line moves and the betting public w/o capping the game. You want to be contrarian thats fine but pick your spots every game doesnt have some sort of mystery to it. I am guility at times as well of this but traps are caused by situations and misunderstanding of teams and lines not so much a design by the oddsmakers even though there job is to trap bettors into betting bad lines.
Also when teams are COLD dont lay heavy chalk with them cause funks last several games. Right now we have DAL , LAL , Den off the top of my head as teams who lay heavy lumber but are playing poorly. Right now GSW is on fire and after winning vs PHO in the WORST SPOT I made a mistake of jumping the gun and fading them in Sac. when truth be told chances are the HOU game was the situational tougher one. The Rockets have won 3 games now in somewhat impressive fashion which makes them look like they are getting hot. GSW played on the EAST , came home beat PHO , now traveled to Sac and won with a game vs Hou here .
Very tough to fade GSW right now but that is a possibility here cause Hoiuston could be in the midst of what GSW was a week ago.....Same with Bos actually. They are slumping abit where as NYK has put together two solid games now. Why run and lay -13 ??
be back later......BOL
CFB:
RU @ Louisville
Crazy matchup IMO. First we have a HUGE REVENGE factor in this game. Some people will say this is an overused angle in capping. It is to a degree just cause one team beats another doesnt make the next meeting a so called revenge or payback situation. It's more about what made that game so emotional or along that degree of thinking that sets up a revenge spot IMO. Here we have the rematch of what was two undefeated teams who were battling for the Big East crown and possible BCS/ National Championship berth. With Louisville up big at half they fell to pieces and couldnt recapture the momentum. As Brohm put it a downward spiral they couldnt escape. I do not like Kragthorpe as a head coach as from what I have seen he has made many bad decisions and seems like a gambler. Back to the revenge aspect - If you dont believe me listen to Harry Douglas of Da Ville who is playing probably his last game. "I've definitely had this game circled all year," wide receiver Harry Douglas said. "That game broke my heart last year. It's probably the only thing that's ever broken my heart in my whole life. So I've been waiting for this one." Also OL Giacomini is from NJ and is putting huge emphasis on a good showing.
Some other factors are Louisville playing for Bowl eligibilty. They still will have an uphill battle to get a bowl but a impressive beating of RU should be helpful . Especially when you have a stud prospect in Brohm to use as a selling point. On the other hand RU appears headed to the INTERNATIONAL BOWL in Toronto. No , it has not been confirmed but appears very likely at the moment. You naturally have senior night , last home game and possibly last game for Brohm , and maybe some negative perception due to the USF beatdown. Plus the prospect of RU being flat if the players believe that win or lose its the INTERNATIONAL BOWL.
Looking at the entire season what has RU done to impress anyone?? Seriously please tell me. Factor in Teel's thumb injury which is supposedly getting better but also needs just one hit and its reaggravated( 3 big passes to Britt last week and nothing else). There best wins are Navy , Pitt and USF at home. All which could and maybe should have been losses. RU pulled out every trick in the book to beat USF at home which is two totally different teams Home and Away. Thank Navy for repeated turnovers near or in the end one and Pitt if the had any offense would have won. Still they had TD nullified at the end cause of offensive pass interference and then were picked off on the next play. They had a ton of drives starting in RU territory but often choose to just run the ball and settle for FGs. They even missed a short 31 FG . Now Pitt also played Lville well and could have tied it late. However I think they won @ Cincy and battled back to TIE WVU @ 31 in the closing minutes before Pat White made a play to end it. Where as Cincy probably undeservingly won @ RU and WVU smoked RU in the rain at home. Even look at the UConn game. Both traveled there and again Lville much better showing. They didnt put the Huskies away and lost where as RU was never really in the game. Louisville was down this year. The defense struggled vs Middle Ten and it carried over somewhat to Kentucy. Woodson made plays to defeat Lville in the 4th quarter. It was a coin flip game and how would RU fair @ Kentucky? I think knowing how bad Cuse was they came in flat after such a huge loss. They caught Utah when they were getting healthy and again what would RU do vs them?
See the RU offense has progressed with its passing game thanks to better WR's. Though they still suffer from drops. They did not replace Leonard and Clark @ FB and TE which hurts them in 3rd downs and red zone effeciency IMO. While the Cards have struggled to find a consistent running game and may use Powell more here in look to next year.
I understand Louisville defense is bad. I will point out that Slayton did not play well vs them and if Teel is less then 100% maybe they can contain Rice who seems to be to overly depended on to provide offense. Also I dont think RU defense is anywhere near as good as it looks statisically. Weak opponents do that. They played hardly any good offenses all season.
Remember that both started with high expectations leading to some huge numbers to cover.
At the end of the day I think this game has to much significance for Louisville bewteen stars playing there last home game and possible last game , bowl eligibilty and revenge. To boot they are the better TEAM IMO and Home with a line that you basically just need a win...the defense played fairly solid @ Cincy , @ UConn and vs Pitt. It struggled somewhat with WVU though 38 points isnt a bad showing @ WVU. It wasnt till USF where maybe they were caught in a fog did they look bad. They looked asleep allowing the opening kick which was fumbled for a TD. Maybe off a tough defeat and lookahead spot they werent properly focused and before they knew it they had a huge defecit to overcome.
Thinking about -140 but just may lay -2.5.....I think 60 points may be alot here cause RU will run alot rather then get in a shootout I believe...high end you might see 34-24 but thinking more like 31-20.....
Good Luck
RU @ Louisville
Crazy matchup IMO. First we have a HUGE REVENGE factor in this game. Some people will say this is an overused angle in capping. It is to a degree just cause one team beats another doesnt make the next meeting a so called revenge or payback situation. It's more about what made that game so emotional or along that degree of thinking that sets up a revenge spot IMO. Here we have the rematch of what was two undefeated teams who were battling for the Big East crown and possible BCS/ National Championship berth. With Louisville up big at half they fell to pieces and couldnt recapture the momentum. As Brohm put it a downward spiral they couldnt escape. I do not like Kragthorpe as a head coach as from what I have seen he has made many bad decisions and seems like a gambler. Back to the revenge aspect - If you dont believe me listen to Harry Douglas of Da Ville who is playing probably his last game. "I've definitely had this game circled all year," wide receiver Harry Douglas said. "That game broke my heart last year. It's probably the only thing that's ever broken my heart in my whole life. So I've been waiting for this one." Also OL Giacomini is from NJ and is putting huge emphasis on a good showing.
Some other factors are Louisville playing for Bowl eligibilty. They still will have an uphill battle to get a bowl but a impressive beating of RU should be helpful . Especially when you have a stud prospect in Brohm to use as a selling point. On the other hand RU appears headed to the INTERNATIONAL BOWL in Toronto. No , it has not been confirmed but appears very likely at the moment. You naturally have senior night , last home game and possibly last game for Brohm , and maybe some negative perception due to the USF beatdown. Plus the prospect of RU being flat if the players believe that win or lose its the INTERNATIONAL BOWL.
Looking at the entire season what has RU done to impress anyone?? Seriously please tell me. Factor in Teel's thumb injury which is supposedly getting better but also needs just one hit and its reaggravated( 3 big passes to Britt last week and nothing else). There best wins are Navy , Pitt and USF at home. All which could and maybe should have been losses. RU pulled out every trick in the book to beat USF at home which is two totally different teams Home and Away. Thank Navy for repeated turnovers near or in the end one and Pitt if the had any offense would have won. Still they had TD nullified at the end cause of offensive pass interference and then were picked off on the next play. They had a ton of drives starting in RU territory but often choose to just run the ball and settle for FGs. They even missed a short 31 FG . Now Pitt also played Lville well and could have tied it late. However I think they won @ Cincy and battled back to TIE WVU @ 31 in the closing minutes before Pat White made a play to end it. Where as Cincy probably undeservingly won @ RU and WVU smoked RU in the rain at home. Even look at the UConn game. Both traveled there and again Lville much better showing. They didnt put the Huskies away and lost where as RU was never really in the game. Louisville was down this year. The defense struggled vs Middle Ten and it carried over somewhat to Kentucy. Woodson made plays to defeat Lville in the 4th quarter. It was a coin flip game and how would RU fair @ Kentucky? I think knowing how bad Cuse was they came in flat after such a huge loss. They caught Utah when they were getting healthy and again what would RU do vs them?
See the RU offense has progressed with its passing game thanks to better WR's. Though they still suffer from drops. They did not replace Leonard and Clark @ FB and TE which hurts them in 3rd downs and red zone effeciency IMO. While the Cards have struggled to find a consistent running game and may use Powell more here in look to next year.
I understand Louisville defense is bad. I will point out that Slayton did not play well vs them and if Teel is less then 100% maybe they can contain Rice who seems to be to overly depended on to provide offense. Also I dont think RU defense is anywhere near as good as it looks statisically. Weak opponents do that. They played hardly any good offenses all season.
Remember that both started with high expectations leading to some huge numbers to cover.
At the end of the day I think this game has to much significance for Louisville bewteen stars playing there last home game and possible last game , bowl eligibilty and revenge. To boot they are the better TEAM IMO and Home with a line that you basically just need a win...the defense played fairly solid @ Cincy , @ UConn and vs Pitt. It struggled somewhat with WVU though 38 points isnt a bad showing @ WVU. It wasnt till USF where maybe they were caught in a fog did they look bad. They looked asleep allowing the opening kick which was fumbled for a TD. Maybe off a tough defeat and lookahead spot they werent properly focused and before they knew it they had a huge defecit to overcome.
Thinking about -140 but just may lay -2.5.....I think 60 points may be alot here cause RU will run alot rather then get in a shootout I believe...high end you might see 34-24 but thinking more like 31-20.....
Good Luck
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
You ever wonder what holds you back from going forward with one play(s) and pushes you onto another? In all seriousness anyone watching the downpour @ Heinz Field coupled with the knowledge of the new sod after the FRI & SAT games had to ask themselves how will anyone score ? In fact the game reminded me of one of Big Ben's first career starts in Miami during a storm where the Steelers won something like 13-3.
I thought you had to take Miami cause there probably wouldnt be 15 points scored in the game. You had to take the UNDER and the 1st Half UNDER. You could take every UNDER in each quarter. If you had FG PROP the approriate play was the UNDER in that. My book didnt have one cause they KNEW it was an easy under. That game should have been a CASH COW. You know what I took and maybe something I can use an excuse was having to be somewhere at 9 PM was an entire 1/2 unit on the 1st H under!! lets not forgot the team totals Under 12 Miami and Under 28 Pitt!!!! It really eats at me to no end.
Another subject is I have trouble making decisions. Part of the anxiety issue and possibly some ADD or other disorder. Though I havent had it confirmed yet. Anyway my point is I look at the game spend hours capping it and writing it up for nothing. I sad the KEY was the weather. Well not being in Pitt I needed to see some visual confimation of the field before making a decision. So again all that work done and the weather is so bad the ONLY way to play is it take the points +16 and the under...no capping required. So my point is I try to gather INFO to make the best decision possible before gametime. In my opinion there really are to many factors to bother worrying about early lines and the best line. You should cap a game to win/ lose by the closing line. Rarely does the difference in lines from OPEN to CLOSE make a difference on how your wager is graded.
Now due to limited time its impossible to write down my thoughts on the entire card and always seem to leave out some solid plays..Kings , Ov 1st H warriors , Over 1st H washington U .....Have ro do better to get my entire card out there cause it helps me cross the tee's and dot the i's....
And we move on.....
NBA:
Boston @ Cle :
Ray Allen is playing with a bum ankle and dont see 1 day off doing all that much to help it. Tony Allen looks doubtful for the bench but his role has been limited anyway. Cavs playing 3rd in 4 days and still pissed I didnt take them on Sunday cause I couldnt understand how they were +2?? No way Indy should have been favored...I cant see how Boston opened at -3 and went higher. I thought worst case we would see BOS -1.5. They havent played all that well on the road winning in OT @ Toronto , losing in Orl by 2 after a furious rally and barely defeating Charlotte at the buzzer. They whipped NJN w/o Carter and who didnt ? they beat up On Indy shortly after Diogu was lost and Daniels was OUT. depth is always an issue for Cle and with Hughes out of the lineup they tend to score more and allow more. Think Cavs ...
Memphis @ NJN :
The Nets look like a different team with the services of Vince and Nachbar playing like he did last year. Looking at the past few games and knowing MEMPHIS up-tempo style I would suggest an OVER here but remain cautious and want to see where this total ends up cause memphis is OFF a game where they exceeded 240..(a caution flag for me) What makes this a complicated game is NJN is playing its 1st game back after a West Coast Swing which ended pretty late on Sunday . So you wonder if they are flat here or if they have the legs to run with memphis. They have off till 12/1 after this and if they hadnt won 3 straight this would be an automatic fade. I did fade LAL on Sunday due to them returning from a west coast swing as well as the Struggling Hornets yesterday. I stayed off of GSW cause they were coming back from Philly playing a rested Suns team. That was a mistake clearly. The Grizzlies are NOT a good road team losing 5 straight and stand at 1-6 thanks to lowly Seattle which faded in the 4th quarter like they always do.
Charlotte @ Miami
Really dont have much of an opinion on this game. Thought the line would be -7 / -7.5 here since Wade has returned and he is worth 4 maybe 4.5 points in my estimation. Miami has NOT shown to play 4 quarters so laying points is a risky play IMO. Would prefer loking at the OVER 187. Basically the same total as when Wade missed the 1st meeting which finished 90-88(186 posted total). Heat offense looks better and they should get 95 or so points here but the question remains what does Charlotte score..think worst case 88-90...but that still leaves one short. I do think Miami will have REVENGE on there mind after the embarrassing game @ Charlotte when Riley called them out soon after.
Philly @ Milw
The question marks surround the availability of Mason and Mo Williams for Milw. The Sixers should have Korver back for action but a shooter being out so long would reasonable struggle for a game or two. You never know though. With te loss of your PG you would expect the offense to dropoff some. For the most part Philly has offensive issues and the Bucks have played some solid Defense at home to date. Like the Under 186.5 and may play the 1st H under 93 as well....Think this game doesnt get past 180....
As for a side its tough to pick with 2 starters possibly OUT for MILW. Philly has not been good on the road -7 was correct if they Bucks were at full strength. So with that I owuld have to pass. I do like the fact that MILW acknowledges this as a big game due to previous playing UP or DOWN to competition.
Atl @ Chi :
The Bulls return from a road trip and a loss on Sat and Sunday. I was pretty confident they would win on Sun but they played terrible in the 2nd and 4th quarters. Not really sure what to make of either team at the moment but 181 seems real low...
Pacers @ Nuggets :
Denver is short big men and banged up with melo and AI supposedly needing some rest. I think you have to see DEN's play as subpar past 3 games and would have to fade them until they show improvement and get healthy. I cannot rely on past DEN beatings at home as an indication. Should be uptempo game. As much as thi sshould be a run N gun game w/o Kleiza and martin the Den offense isnt as highpowered. 218 is alot of points.....if the over is intrugiung probably prefer the 1st H over...
Seattle @ LAL :
While on the surface 1 looks alot of points remember that SEA has been blownout often on the road and couldnt cover 10 at home Vs SA.....You would think LAL looks to rebound after letting the SUNDAY game get away. Another thing to remember is that like PORT in previous years Sonics have shown to either lose ATS or win SU as a road dog. So if you dont think SEA wins here SU then it probably pays to pass on the points. Small lean on 1st H over cause there will be alot of shots taken here and LAL -11...However recently LAL has played low scoring 1st H and that is a concern so maybe the game over is better...
I thought you had to take Miami cause there probably wouldnt be 15 points scored in the game. You had to take the UNDER and the 1st Half UNDER. You could take every UNDER in each quarter. If you had FG PROP the approriate play was the UNDER in that. My book didnt have one cause they KNEW it was an easy under. That game should have been a CASH COW. You know what I took and maybe something I can use an excuse was having to be somewhere at 9 PM was an entire 1/2 unit on the 1st H under!! lets not forgot the team totals Under 12 Miami and Under 28 Pitt!!!! It really eats at me to no end.
Another subject is I have trouble making decisions. Part of the anxiety issue and possibly some ADD or other disorder. Though I havent had it confirmed yet. Anyway my point is I look at the game spend hours capping it and writing it up for nothing. I sad the KEY was the weather. Well not being in Pitt I needed to see some visual confimation of the field before making a decision. So again all that work done and the weather is so bad the ONLY way to play is it take the points +16 and the under...no capping required. So my point is I try to gather INFO to make the best decision possible before gametime. In my opinion there really are to many factors to bother worrying about early lines and the best line. You should cap a game to win/ lose by the closing line. Rarely does the difference in lines from OPEN to CLOSE make a difference on how your wager is graded.
Now due to limited time its impossible to write down my thoughts on the entire card and always seem to leave out some solid plays..Kings , Ov 1st H warriors , Over 1st H washington U .....Have ro do better to get my entire card out there cause it helps me cross the tee's and dot the i's....
And we move on.....
NBA:
Boston @ Cle :
Ray Allen is playing with a bum ankle and dont see 1 day off doing all that much to help it. Tony Allen looks doubtful for the bench but his role has been limited anyway. Cavs playing 3rd in 4 days and still pissed I didnt take them on Sunday cause I couldnt understand how they were +2?? No way Indy should have been favored...I cant see how Boston opened at -3 and went higher. I thought worst case we would see BOS -1.5. They havent played all that well on the road winning in OT @ Toronto , losing in Orl by 2 after a furious rally and barely defeating Charlotte at the buzzer. They whipped NJN w/o Carter and who didnt ? they beat up On Indy shortly after Diogu was lost and Daniels was OUT. depth is always an issue for Cle and with Hughes out of the lineup they tend to score more and allow more. Think Cavs ...
Memphis @ NJN :
The Nets look like a different team with the services of Vince and Nachbar playing like he did last year. Looking at the past few games and knowing MEMPHIS up-tempo style I would suggest an OVER here but remain cautious and want to see where this total ends up cause memphis is OFF a game where they exceeded 240..(a caution flag for me) What makes this a complicated game is NJN is playing its 1st game back after a West Coast Swing which ended pretty late on Sunday . So you wonder if they are flat here or if they have the legs to run with memphis. They have off till 12/1 after this and if they hadnt won 3 straight this would be an automatic fade. I did fade LAL on Sunday due to them returning from a west coast swing as well as the Struggling Hornets yesterday. I stayed off of GSW cause they were coming back from Philly playing a rested Suns team. That was a mistake clearly. The Grizzlies are NOT a good road team losing 5 straight and stand at 1-6 thanks to lowly Seattle which faded in the 4th quarter like they always do.
Charlotte @ Miami
Really dont have much of an opinion on this game. Thought the line would be -7 / -7.5 here since Wade has returned and he is worth 4 maybe 4.5 points in my estimation. Miami has NOT shown to play 4 quarters so laying points is a risky play IMO. Would prefer loking at the OVER 187. Basically the same total as when Wade missed the 1st meeting which finished 90-88(186 posted total). Heat offense looks better and they should get 95 or so points here but the question remains what does Charlotte score..think worst case 88-90...but that still leaves one short. I do think Miami will have REVENGE on there mind after the embarrassing game @ Charlotte when Riley called them out soon after.
Philly @ Milw
The question marks surround the availability of Mason and Mo Williams for Milw. The Sixers should have Korver back for action but a shooter being out so long would reasonable struggle for a game or two. You never know though. With te loss of your PG you would expect the offense to dropoff some. For the most part Philly has offensive issues and the Bucks have played some solid Defense at home to date. Like the Under 186.5 and may play the 1st H under 93 as well....Think this game doesnt get past 180....
As for a side its tough to pick with 2 starters possibly OUT for MILW. Philly has not been good on the road -7 was correct if they Bucks were at full strength. So with that I owuld have to pass. I do like the fact that MILW acknowledges this as a big game due to previous playing UP or DOWN to competition.
Atl @ Chi :
The Bulls return from a road trip and a loss on Sat and Sunday. I was pretty confident they would win on Sun but they played terrible in the 2nd and 4th quarters. Not really sure what to make of either team at the moment but 181 seems real low...
Pacers @ Nuggets :
Denver is short big men and banged up with melo and AI supposedly needing some rest. I think you have to see DEN's play as subpar past 3 games and would have to fade them until they show improvement and get healthy. I cannot rely on past DEN beatings at home as an indication. Should be uptempo game. As much as thi sshould be a run N gun game w/o Kleiza and martin the Den offense isnt as highpowered. 218 is alot of points.....if the over is intrugiung probably prefer the 1st H over...
Seattle @ LAL :
While on the surface 1 looks alot of points remember that SEA has been blownout often on the road and couldnt cover 10 at home Vs SA.....You would think LAL looks to rebound after letting the SUNDAY game get away. Another thing to remember is that like PORT in previous years Sonics have shown to either lose ATS or win SU as a road dog. So if you dont think SEA wins here SU then it probably pays to pass on the points. Small lean on 1st H over cause there will be alot of shots taken here and LAL -11...However recently LAL has played low scoring 1st H and that is a concern so maybe the game over is better...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Problem with typing my thoughts it leaves less time for decisions. Quick decision on the 140 total in USF was a pass...hating myself for that now as well as passing on the Davidson over...only played 1/2 unit on Iowa 1st H as well...added Arky State though....and last minute after seeing the Temple total drop to 134 played a 1/2 unit on the over...didnt finish the late games yet had to do NBA ....
NBA :
Under 194 or Under 95 1st H not sure what has better value...
NYK has scored mid 80's in 4 straight , 5 of 6 and 6 of 8. With only the games versus Pho and Sac seeing more...sort of self explatanory..Utah been scored mid 90's to a 102....but playing solid defense making it apoint to keep teams under 100 pt....so if NY wasnts to win defense most beon the menu cause the offense is struggling......Some chatter that the Utah line is soft but I disagree as I expected 5.5 or 6 and we opened at 5.5....NY has to show me some consistency and Utah typical struggles on the road as medium chalk...
NBA :
Under 194 or Under 95 1st H not sure what has better value...
NYK has scored mid 80's in 4 straight , 5 of 6 and 6 of 8. With only the games versus Pho and Sac seeing more...sort of self explatanory..Utah been scored mid 90's to a 102....but playing solid defense making it apoint to keep teams under 100 pt....so if NY wasnts to win defense most beon the menu cause the offense is struggling......Some chatter that the Utah line is soft but I disagree as I expected 5.5 or 6 and we opened at 5.5....NY has to show me some consistency and Utah typical struggles on the road as medium chalk...
NCAAB :
like everyone out there trying to get a feel for some of these teams if not all. One thing that helps is I rely on determination of weak or strong lines combined with situational aspects....
Akron -4 -120: of course it went from -4.5 to -5.5 while I was typing
I think the sentiment with Akron is they aren't as good as years past. However we can't rely on the Alaska tournament to make this determination. They clearly didnt play well vs inferior competition but it was there first 3 games of the season. Now they have returned home and beat up on a cupcake squad. What has Temple done to date? Okay they beat BG as Pick tahnks in part to a huge second half where BG went cold. BG is a team with anew head coach off a 3-13 conference record who is not is the class of Akron..Hell Akron was -8.5 and -17.5 vs BG last season. Temple barely beat Marist a MAAC school , lost to Charleston and Providence in Hawaii. They have been traveling alot and at some point that will catch up to them....can Wood continue to play well and can Allen stay out of foul trouble...
So basically Akron has been tough at home , lost only 7 games last season , are facing a team who is on the upswing but not there yet and last if TEmple is a PK vs BG then shouldnt this be closer to 8 or so......?? Plus remember how Temple couldnt score vs providence late?? That would concern me vs a solid defensive squad....
Would have prefered the Under at 139 or better...thinking 71-63 game....so 136ish cuts it close..
Over 140 USF and FIU :{LEAN}
Would lean towards USF cause this is FU 1st quality opponent. Simply put I expect both teams to be in the 70s here and ....game should see 150's or better...USF should get to the line and I am hopefully they can combine for 70% from the lien despite high 60's avg to date...total drop has be looking at this more closely...
App St +6 :
Sure Davidson has revenge on its mind but getting revenge on the road isnt quite that easy. Especially when u have to win by 7 points on top of that. It seem sthat Davidson are the public darlings of the mid major ranks now. They hung with UNC in the opener after a great postseason last year. Problem is App State beat them on the road last year. App St has lost some qaulity players and Davidson is back seemingly in tack. However I think Davidson probably wins by 2-4 points in a close battle that Davidson pulls ahead in the final two minutes....thinking about the OVER 151 as well...
1st H Under and 1st H Iowa :
Simply put Wake's 1st true road game . Iowa could be tired after the Texas trip but its not a trip where they had to leave the country so I am not weighing that heavily. Iowa has offenive issues and if they play zone they force WF to shoot which has not been a strong point to date.....
Cant say I know a thing about Murray State or Ark St . However I think Murray State is about 6 pts better then E.ILL on a neutral court( ArK St last opponent). It appears Ark State is also about 6 points better then E.Ill on a neutral court..so I would make Murray St -1 on a neutral vs Ark St and ONLY -4.5 at home. They opened at -5.5 and went to -6.5 . So my guessestimates have this as a FAT Line but I have absolutely noknowledge to back it up and yet this line was driven higher.....this could be a public sentiment fade at +7 -120....not sure though a pure guess by me that this line is off....Ark St +7 -120...
Still working on later games.....GL
like everyone out there trying to get a feel for some of these teams if not all. One thing that helps is I rely on determination of weak or strong lines combined with situational aspects....
Akron -4 -120: of course it went from -4.5 to -5.5 while I was typing
I think the sentiment with Akron is they aren't as good as years past. However we can't rely on the Alaska tournament to make this determination. They clearly didnt play well vs inferior competition but it was there first 3 games of the season. Now they have returned home and beat up on a cupcake squad. What has Temple done to date? Okay they beat BG as Pick tahnks in part to a huge second half where BG went cold. BG is a team with anew head coach off a 3-13 conference record who is not is the class of Akron..Hell Akron was -8.5 and -17.5 vs BG last season. Temple barely beat Marist a MAAC school , lost to Charleston and Providence in Hawaii. They have been traveling alot and at some point that will catch up to them....can Wood continue to play well and can Allen stay out of foul trouble...
So basically Akron has been tough at home , lost only 7 games last season , are facing a team who is on the upswing but not there yet and last if TEmple is a PK vs BG then shouldnt this be closer to 8 or so......?? Plus remember how Temple couldnt score vs providence late?? That would concern me vs a solid defensive squad....
Would have prefered the Under at 139 or better...thinking 71-63 game....so 136ish cuts it close..
Over 140 USF and FIU :{LEAN}
Would lean towards USF cause this is FU 1st quality opponent. Simply put I expect both teams to be in the 70s here and ....game should see 150's or better...USF should get to the line and I am hopefully they can combine for 70% from the lien despite high 60's avg to date...total drop has be looking at this more closely...
App St +6 :
Sure Davidson has revenge on its mind but getting revenge on the road isnt quite that easy. Especially when u have to win by 7 points on top of that. It seem sthat Davidson are the public darlings of the mid major ranks now. They hung with UNC in the opener after a great postseason last year. Problem is App State beat them on the road last year. App St has lost some qaulity players and Davidson is back seemingly in tack. However I think Davidson probably wins by 2-4 points in a close battle that Davidson pulls ahead in the final two minutes....thinking about the OVER 151 as well...
1st H Under and 1st H Iowa :
Simply put Wake's 1st true road game . Iowa could be tired after the Texas trip but its not a trip where they had to leave the country so I am not weighing that heavily. Iowa has offenive issues and if they play zone they force WF to shoot which has not been a strong point to date.....
Cant say I know a thing about Murray State or Ark St . However I think Murray State is about 6 pts better then E.ILL on a neutral court( ArK St last opponent). It appears Ark State is also about 6 points better then E.Ill on a neutral court..so I would make Murray St -1 on a neutral vs Ark St and ONLY -4.5 at home. They opened at -5.5 and went to -6.5 . So my guessestimates have this as a FAT Line but I have absolutely noknowledge to back it up and yet this line was driven higher.....this could be a public sentiment fade at +7 -120....not sure though a pure guess by me that this line is off....Ark St +7 -120...
Still working on later games.....GL
What a great game to watch last night . I have to admit I really didn't see that coming. More so from the offensive standpoint though. I did think while Philly had some issues on defense if they hit hard( make NE know your there) and did not allow huge , quick passing plays they could make NE work for there points. I thought NE would be around 35 points but my concern was the Philly offense(10pts maybe?). I never thought Feeley could play so well. He made two huge mistakes that cost the game. The bright side is without his excellent play it never would have been a game.
It goes back to NE being a well oil machine and the rest of the league always trying to make something out of nothing. Like why throw that pass in the end zone ? You score you allow to much time for the NE offense. Why not continue to keep it small and grind it out? That's because most coaches and players get "lost" of situational play while the game is going on. The PATS simply do not. NE has played 5 opponents with defenses that hit hard enough to disrupt NE offense. SD , Dallas , Philly , Indy and maybe Cle. The Browns if not for bad turnovers played them MUCH closer then the final score. Think about Dallas led in the 3rd quarter but there secondary couldn't get it done , Indy led to start the 4th q , SD was never in it and Philly led in the 4th Q. NE will DESTROY inferior opponents but they are far from invincible. Plus you have the added motivation of being 3 TD Underdogs now...I think if Heap plays the Ravens if there defense is healthy can do the same. By the same I mean compete with NE....
MNF:
What a MNF game. The injury list is over flowing for these teams. The WEATHER sucks and Heinz Field not a great field to begin with is hosting its 3rd game since Friday night. They have put down new sod but it may be a moot point due to the rain , though the field is covered. We know Pitt will be minus two key players but in general there level of play should not drop much here. They pitched a shutout vs SEA @ home with there all-pro safety out and Holmes absence limits the er ability to stretch the field.
Miami :
1) John Beck starts @ QB in his 2nd career start on MNF no less...( more pressure and jitters). Last week he was 9 of 22 with 109 yds passing. The Phins had ONLY 8 plays of 10+ yards on offense and TWO of 20 + yds. They were 1 for 7 passing on 3rd down and 0 for 3 running for it. Beck did manage to gain 3 yds for a 1st Down on 3rd down early in the game( so 2 of 11). They clearly seem to have a tough time making plays on offense and Chatman who had 3 of the 10+ yd plays is OUT. Also Chatman a big back couldn't get short yardage 3rd downs on the ground so that is another era they will suffer.
2) Ronnie Brown done for the season was capably replaced by Jesse Chatman who will be absent tonight. That leaves Samkon Gado and former stud Ricky Williams who has not played in awhile and who hasn't been hit in how long?? Practiced one whole week with a new offensive system....just doesn't seem to be any positive in this situation. Especially cause there seem to be some expectations for Ricky Williams here cause he may get 20 touches....remember when Testaverde came in off the streets...there were NO EXPECTATIONS and he performed fairly well. That's a key difference.
3) Another LB done in Derrick Pope?? He did make the walk through yesterday and is in PITT supposedly. For the most part the Miami defense has held it together past 3 weeks though can you find 3 more struggling offenses then NYG , Buffalo and Philly having Donovan throw 2 costly picks only to be replaced by a QB who hadn't played this year.
4) With Miami WINLESS and a new young QB they will be trying very hard every week to WIN....
5) While the Miami defense played well...did it really ?? I didn't see the game last week. having three INTs inside Miami's 30 cost the Philly offense anywhere between 9 and 21 points ....on top of the 17 they scored....the second half Philly scored twice in four possessions. The last possession they basically up 10 pts milked the clock for 6 + minutes and gave Miami one final play....so they did what they had despite the boxscoe maybe not showing it...
6} While Pitt has smoked Balt , SF , and Buffalo at home while pitching a shutout vs Seattle people still seem to miss how good there defense can be. Yes they scored alot of points versus Balt but ONLY cause the Ravens offense is gross with McNair at QB and they had short after short field that day.....the browns managed a TD on the opening drive but little afterwards. The had a punt return for a TD , a kick return to the 5 yd line or so and INT deep in there own territory starting CLE at the 18 yd line...so keeping Ginn shut down is a key ...Teams in general though struggle to move the ball on vs the Pitt defense w/o help...The Cle game came after the brutal hitting Balt MNF game and after road games @ Denver and Cincy..so Pitt looked beat up heading into Cle and after surviving that game were flat @ NYJ who after all they were big favs over...
I dont think Pitt plays to its opponent as much as it just has a huge difference in play at home versus the road....they lost games late @ Denver , @ Arizona and @ NYJ...I wouldn't say they were beaten but they did lose.....
Now we have Pitt off a bad road loss on TV again. Monday Night has been good to them...I would say they have something to prove after the Jets loss and even NE struggle last night. The key though is the awful weather( and possible shit field conditions) that could neutralize alot of there dominance. How will Miami score ?? Last week they had a punt return and Ginn is dangerous and Pitt has shown special teams can be soft at times. They also had 4 shots at the 1 yd line and couldn't score....remember that AJ Feeley has long been in the Philly system and done this before...been great in relief of McNabb due to injury...John Beck doesn't fit that mold...so dont compare last night to here.....
I think Pitt should win 27-3 maybe 27-10...
Alot of points (-16) but I just didn't see anything from Miami last week to like them here. I was on SF cause they showed improvement vs STL falling basically a play short while showing there defense was still playing hard. They have an inconsistent offense which turns the ball over to much and settles for FGS often on long drives. There defense while solid is not a shut down defense....Pitts can be...Think about this the same Buffalo team that went down to Miami was blasted in Pitt as 10 pt dogs...at this point with Beck starting and Chatman OUT the Bills are probably a TD better on a neutral field( they were short favs in Miami) so now does -16 seem all that high.....???
If Pitt plays there "a" game and doesn't make mistakes they should easily cover the huge number.....one thing that NFL has taught me this year is that bad teams are bad this year week in and week out....
Right now all that is holding me back from Pitt is the weather and the playing field....if it was a normal day out I would be on the Steelers already...however the weather and field conditions are an unknown that can hurt Pitts ability to perform at peak performance and that's what you want when you have a big number..
It goes back to NE being a well oil machine and the rest of the league always trying to make something out of nothing. Like why throw that pass in the end zone ? You score you allow to much time for the NE offense. Why not continue to keep it small and grind it out? That's because most coaches and players get "lost" of situational play while the game is going on. The PATS simply do not. NE has played 5 opponents with defenses that hit hard enough to disrupt NE offense. SD , Dallas , Philly , Indy and maybe Cle. The Browns if not for bad turnovers played them MUCH closer then the final score. Think about Dallas led in the 3rd quarter but there secondary couldn't get it done , Indy led to start the 4th q , SD was never in it and Philly led in the 4th Q. NE will DESTROY inferior opponents but they are far from invincible. Plus you have the added motivation of being 3 TD Underdogs now...I think if Heap plays the Ravens if there defense is healthy can do the same. By the same I mean compete with NE....
MNF:
What a MNF game. The injury list is over flowing for these teams. The WEATHER sucks and Heinz Field not a great field to begin with is hosting its 3rd game since Friday night. They have put down new sod but it may be a moot point due to the rain , though the field is covered. We know Pitt will be minus two key players but in general there level of play should not drop much here. They pitched a shutout vs SEA @ home with there all-pro safety out and Holmes absence limits the er ability to stretch the field.
Miami :
1) John Beck starts @ QB in his 2nd career start on MNF no less...( more pressure and jitters). Last week he was 9 of 22 with 109 yds passing. The Phins had ONLY 8 plays of 10+ yards on offense and TWO of 20 + yds. They were 1 for 7 passing on 3rd down and 0 for 3 running for it. Beck did manage to gain 3 yds for a 1st Down on 3rd down early in the game( so 2 of 11). They clearly seem to have a tough time making plays on offense and Chatman who had 3 of the 10+ yd plays is OUT. Also Chatman a big back couldn't get short yardage 3rd downs on the ground so that is another era they will suffer.
2) Ronnie Brown done for the season was capably replaced by Jesse Chatman who will be absent tonight. That leaves Samkon Gado and former stud Ricky Williams who has not played in awhile and who hasn't been hit in how long?? Practiced one whole week with a new offensive system....just doesn't seem to be any positive in this situation. Especially cause there seem to be some expectations for Ricky Williams here cause he may get 20 touches....remember when Testaverde came in off the streets...there were NO EXPECTATIONS and he performed fairly well. That's a key difference.
3) Another LB done in Derrick Pope?? He did make the walk through yesterday and is in PITT supposedly. For the most part the Miami defense has held it together past 3 weeks though can you find 3 more struggling offenses then NYG , Buffalo and Philly having Donovan throw 2 costly picks only to be replaced by a QB who hadn't played this year.
4) With Miami WINLESS and a new young QB they will be trying very hard every week to WIN....
5) While the Miami defense played well...did it really ?? I didn't see the game last week. having three INTs inside Miami's 30 cost the Philly offense anywhere between 9 and 21 points ....on top of the 17 they scored....the second half Philly scored twice in four possessions. The last possession they basically up 10 pts milked the clock for 6 + minutes and gave Miami one final play....so they did what they had despite the boxscoe maybe not showing it...
6} While Pitt has smoked Balt , SF , and Buffalo at home while pitching a shutout vs Seattle people still seem to miss how good there defense can be. Yes they scored alot of points versus Balt but ONLY cause the Ravens offense is gross with McNair at QB and they had short after short field that day.....the browns managed a TD on the opening drive but little afterwards. The had a punt return for a TD , a kick return to the 5 yd line or so and INT deep in there own territory starting CLE at the 18 yd line...so keeping Ginn shut down is a key ...Teams in general though struggle to move the ball on vs the Pitt defense w/o help...The Cle game came after the brutal hitting Balt MNF game and after road games @ Denver and Cincy..so Pitt looked beat up heading into Cle and after surviving that game were flat @ NYJ who after all they were big favs over...
I dont think Pitt plays to its opponent as much as it just has a huge difference in play at home versus the road....they lost games late @ Denver , @ Arizona and @ NYJ...I wouldn't say they were beaten but they did lose.....
Now we have Pitt off a bad road loss on TV again. Monday Night has been good to them...I would say they have something to prove after the Jets loss and even NE struggle last night. The key though is the awful weather( and possible shit field conditions) that could neutralize alot of there dominance. How will Miami score ?? Last week they had a punt return and Ginn is dangerous and Pitt has shown special teams can be soft at times. They also had 4 shots at the 1 yd line and couldn't score....remember that AJ Feeley has long been in the Philly system and done this before...been great in relief of McNabb due to injury...John Beck doesn't fit that mold...so dont compare last night to here.....
I think Pitt should win 27-3 maybe 27-10...
Alot of points (-16) but I just didn't see anything from Miami last week to like them here. I was on SF cause they showed improvement vs STL falling basically a play short while showing there defense was still playing hard. They have an inconsistent offense which turns the ball over to much and settles for FGS often on long drives. There defense while solid is not a shut down defense....Pitts can be...Think about this the same Buffalo team that went down to Miami was blasted in Pitt as 10 pt dogs...at this point with Beck starting and Chatman OUT the Bills are probably a TD better on a neutral field( they were short favs in Miami) so now does -16 seem all that high.....???
If Pitt plays there "a" game and doesn't make mistakes they should easily cover the huge number.....one thing that NFL has taught me this year is that bad teams are bad this year week in and week out....
Right now all that is holding me back from Pitt is the weather and the playing field....if it was a normal day out I would be on the Steelers already...however the weather and field conditions are an unknown that can hurt Pitts ability to perform at peak performance and that's what you want when you have a big number..
Sunday, November 25, 2007
WOW! can you have worst LUCK??
Rams choke like I knew they would without Bulger. However the ball on the 4 yd line with 4 tries they cant get in. Inside the half yard line they fumble the snap....
Campbell throws NOT one BUT TWO picks inside the TB 25 in the final 5 minutes...
Losman throws a pick inside the red one down 22-14 in the final 1/2 of the 4th quarter....
At least fading CLE was just a stupid move.....
OAK and Minny win ouright.....
Mix in a Chi Bulls choke and AGGRAVATED is an UNDERSTATEMENT right now!
Rams choke like I knew they would without Bulger. However the ball on the 4 yd line with 4 tries they cant get in. Inside the half yard line they fumble the snap....
Campbell throws NOT one BUT TWO picks inside the TB 25 in the final 5 minutes...
Losman throws a pick inside the red one down 22-14 in the final 1/2 of the 4th quarter....
At least fading CLE was just a stupid move.....
OAK and Minny win ouright.....
Mix in a Chi Bulls choke and AGGRAVATED is an UNDERSTATEMENT right now!
NBA ...
Bulls +5.5 : Yesterday I had NYK in the afternoon delight. Today I flip back to da Bulls. Basically Chi wasruined by an awful 2nd quarter yesterday and won the OTHER 3 quaarters. They also made a late push but fell just short. The Raps are playing shorthanded with some key injuries and let one get away in Cle yesterday. Following the ones that got away in Dallas and vs GSW in the pas week. I think while Chi is on its last game of the trip they are desperate for a WIN. Deng should play and that is a HUGE offensive boost. Despite the long trip they havent had a horrible travel schedule with long rest before yesterdays game. Tor had a rough trip to Dallas , memphis and Cle playing 3 tough games...now 4th in 6 days with a short bench.. Chi plays defense and should wear on the home squad....not to mention CHI has some revenge for that embarrasment earlier.....
NFL:
Over 36.5 Jags -120( Mathis OUT @ CB)
Raiders +5
Skins +4 -120
Rams +4 -120
Texans +4 -120
Vikings +8 -120
Panthers +3 -125(small)
strong> Bills +10 -130
Still working.....GOOD LUCK
Bulls +5.5 : Yesterday I had NYK in the afternoon delight. Today I flip back to da Bulls. Basically Chi wasruined by an awful 2nd quarter yesterday and won the OTHER 3 quaarters. They also made a late push but fell just short. The Raps are playing shorthanded with some key injuries and let one get away in Cle yesterday. Following the ones that got away in Dallas and vs GSW in the pas week. I think while Chi is on its last game of the trip they are desperate for a WIN. Deng should play and that is a HUGE offensive boost. Despite the long trip they havent had a horrible travel schedule with long rest before yesterdays game. Tor had a rough trip to Dallas , memphis and Cle playing 3 tough games...now 4th in 6 days with a short bench.. Chi plays defense and should wear on the home squad....not to mention CHI has some revenge for that embarrasment earlier.....
NFL:
Over 36.5 Jags -120( Mathis OUT @ CB)
Raiders +5
Skins +4 -120
Rams +4 -120
Texans +4 -120
Vikings +8 -120
Panthers +3 -125(small)
strong> Bills +10 -130
Still working.....GOOD LUCK
NFL Thoughts :
Looking at the early starts the UNDERDOGS really stand out .
Buffalo Bills +8 :
Doesn't this spread look quite big ? I think I am in the minority of people who believed that last Sunday Buffalo had no shot in that game. For someone who hates to lay road chalk I didn't waiver at the -10 for the 1st Half. The Bills are a bend don't break type team in every sense. Facing a team NE who is loaded with offensive firepower and backed with a stud defense was a task they could not overcome. If you referenced the Dallas game there is one huge difference between Dallas and NE. That is NE NEVER EVER seems to beat itself. They don't make unforced errors. Why did Buffalo play Dallas tight and all you have to do is look at Tony Romo's play. The PATS are a well oil machined with a history of shutting down Lee Evans. How would Buffalo crack 14 points ??
Anyway that beating provides motivation for a 5-5 Buffalo team and creates negative public perception.
Lets remember that Jax has now lost Mike Peterson there self proclaimed defensive leader and possibly CB Rashean Mathis. This is addition to the loss of Marcus Stroud. Peterson loss puts another LB in his spot and puts a bench player in the other spot. Really creating 2 players in different positions then last week.
The Jags struggle vs the pass and flat out stop the run. Well the one thing Losman can do is throw deep balls to Lee Evans. If Mathis is OUT the advantage becomes even greater but still he figures to be less then 100%. Rivers looked like crap versus Indy then went for 300 yards vs Jax. So look for Buffalo to be able to put some points on the board here. Also note that Jags could be in look ahead mode with a game @ Indy the following week. This year Jags are 0-2 laying more then 7 and last year were 2-2 (0-2 as DD previous year). Not the greatest team laying big numbers sort of like how Carolina is. WHich is due to there history of being a solid defense who depends on running the ball.
Despite UNDER trends this seems like an OVER to me cause both defenses are overrated....something to consider could be the Bills team total...14 ??
Skins +3.5
Call me crazy but I don't see how TB in the eyes of oddsmakers is even or even slightly better then Wash? After all the Skins were -3 to Philly a few weeks ago , only +3 @ GB , -9 vs Zona and so on....now yes I will agree these were mostly bad lines I faded. They were off but not extremely off say with in 3 points of real value IMO.
Even with the Skins injuries I think this should be closer to -1.5 TB. After all Campbell has played TB as that was his 1st career start in 20-17 loss last year. The secondary is banged up but held up well outside of Springs performance in Dallas. Reportedly he just wasn't there mentally being in Dallas where his father is hospitalized among other things.
Outside of the Pats road game the Skins have been fairly solid in 4 road games and should have won in GB. Look at the QBs TB has defeated..Leftwich / Harrington , Warner , Kerry Collins and barely( actually lost to Quinn Gray ) , David Carr , Marc Bulger with bad ribs in a monsoon and Drew Brees early on as 5 pt home dogs.
Huge game for the 5-5 Skins and as maligned s the secondary is with injuries you have to take away one WR on TB and let Graham beat you..
Campbell has 5 TD vs 1 INT past 2 weeks and is spreading the ball around well. Thrash(still OUT) , McCardell , S.Moss , Randle El and Cooley all involved.
Rams +3.5
How can I not like a home dog playing a divisional game. First thing is the last meeting is way misleading. I believe Torry Holt dropped a pass that would have been a TD right after Sea's Burleson returned the 2nd H kickoff for a TD. They just fell apart after that. I wont knock the Rams for last week cause SF has been solid on defense nearly every week. Hasselback and Hackett don't look to be 100% and Alexander is still out. Rams are getting healthier each week and now Stussie returns. If not for Stephen Jackson re injuring himself in the CLE game they would be on a 3 game win streak.
Raiders +5 :
Lets see OAK's CBs are healthy again and they stink vs the run. Oh wait . LJ is OUT still and Holmes HAD TO retire! That leaves Kolby Smith with 10 carries and 17 yards as your featured back. Mix in the young Brodie Coyle and Dwayne Bowe and this is an awfully RAW offense.
People will get excited about the way the played INDY. Which was great but whats changed? They outplayed them and lost . Do they know how to win and can they kick FG's??? Serious questions to ask.
Culpepper found the deep touch again hooking up on some long plays. It's hard to believe but Oak has the better offense at this point and better kicker. To me the defenses are even but KC has home field but playing at Arrowhead is not such a big deal these days.....also look @ OAK schedule this may be the last winnable game for them.
Vikings +7.5
A game truly loaded with injuries. All world stud RB Peterson is almost definitely OUT . More intriguing to me is the fact Tony Richardson looks doubtful and that is quite the loss IMO. Also on defense Winfield figures not to play.
This would be more a play AGAINST NYG then on Minnesota. Sure they are a dome team in the cold but they won at CHI in 55 degree weather should be low 40s here. NYG will be w/o Ward and Jacobs at RB leaving Droughns who hasn't looked great in awhile. Plax has disappeared the past 4 games and to his actions are telling me his ankle is slowly getting worse if anything. Last 4 games he has no TDS and that's the way to beat Minny by throwing deep. NYG also lost Kiwaunka last week....
Texans +3.5
Now that HOUSTON is healthy offensively they to me are the equivalent of CLE. However I see a Browns team off 3 straight WARS and a defense continually losing bodies. They had the comeback versus Seattle in OT , the battle @ Pitt , followed by one of the luckiest wins in NFL history last week @ Balt. When Houston has had a healthy AJ and Schaub they have looked good. Just think this is the perfect situation where the lucky breaks catch up to them as the should have lost in STL a month ago as well.
The other games I don't see how we can look at Cincy or New Orleans. Tenny might have haynesworth back and he really seems to be the key to the defense. Cincy has banged WRs in CJ , Housmanzadeh and G.Holt. That's not a good sign. Tenny is definitely the better team if you focus on the fact that Cincy has just 3 wins vs Balt twice and NYJ and were smoked by Arizona !!! With the Saints Reggie Bush isn't looked so good health wise. The fact that Testaverde is probably OUT doesn't help BUT CAROLINA won in NO with Carr and Moore already. Some how the Panthers offense actually showed some life last week. The defense hasn't been that bad and if the offense would just protect the ball it would help the Panther defense out. Which by the way Caroina still looking for HOME WIN #1 and this looks like a great spot...so lean CAR and even Ten slightly
Later ....
49ers +10.5
The Niner offense is a concern but I think Dilfer is progressing and they almost pulled one out last week. Who is Zona to lay 10 points to anyone?? Sure if they limit SF to 10 or less points they can cover but I think SF could suprise. Some of which is due to Warner's propensity to fumble and make negative plays.
Last 7 meetings Zona 4-3 with 3 FG losses so usually competitive games.
Ravens @ SD
Tough game because BALT could show up flat here and if there defense isnt up to par then it could be ugly. We know Balt lost Pryce again and there CB situation is question mark. Heap and Williams appear OUT again. I think Boller gives them a much better chance of competing but he is mistake prone.
SD defense will make it hard on McGahee and leave it to Boller. Huge game for SD
Bears -1
Right now I cant be excited about Den play past 2 weeks. It has been better but I dont think they are better then Chi. The Bears I thought played well in Sea considering it was there second trip out there in as many weeks. Grossman playing decent and that could be a plus....like fading DEN off a MNF win especially when they allowed 28 1st downs and 400+ yards.......
Looking at the early starts the UNDERDOGS really stand out .
Buffalo Bills +8 :
Doesn't this spread look quite big ? I think I am in the minority of people who believed that last Sunday Buffalo had no shot in that game. For someone who hates to lay road chalk I didn't waiver at the -10 for the 1st Half. The Bills are a bend don't break type team in every sense. Facing a team NE who is loaded with offensive firepower and backed with a stud defense was a task they could not overcome. If you referenced the Dallas game there is one huge difference between Dallas and NE. That is NE NEVER EVER seems to beat itself. They don't make unforced errors. Why did Buffalo play Dallas tight and all you have to do is look at Tony Romo's play. The PATS are a well oil machined with a history of shutting down Lee Evans. How would Buffalo crack 14 points ??
Anyway that beating provides motivation for a 5-5 Buffalo team and creates negative public perception.
Lets remember that Jax has now lost Mike Peterson there self proclaimed defensive leader and possibly CB Rashean Mathis. This is addition to the loss of Marcus Stroud. Peterson loss puts another LB in his spot and puts a bench player in the other spot. Really creating 2 players in different positions then last week.
The Jags struggle vs the pass and flat out stop the run. Well the one thing Losman can do is throw deep balls to Lee Evans. If Mathis is OUT the advantage becomes even greater but still he figures to be less then 100%. Rivers looked like crap versus Indy then went for 300 yards vs Jax. So look for Buffalo to be able to put some points on the board here. Also note that Jags could be in look ahead mode with a game @ Indy the following week. This year Jags are 0-2 laying more then 7 and last year were 2-2 (0-2 as DD previous year). Not the greatest team laying big numbers sort of like how Carolina is. WHich is due to there history of being a solid defense who depends on running the ball.
Despite UNDER trends this seems like an OVER to me cause both defenses are overrated....something to consider could be the Bills team total...14 ??
Skins +3.5
Call me crazy but I don't see how TB in the eyes of oddsmakers is even or even slightly better then Wash? After all the Skins were -3 to Philly a few weeks ago , only +3 @ GB , -9 vs Zona and so on....now yes I will agree these were mostly bad lines I faded. They were off but not extremely off say with in 3 points of real value IMO.
Even with the Skins injuries I think this should be closer to -1.5 TB. After all Campbell has played TB as that was his 1st career start in 20-17 loss last year. The secondary is banged up but held up well outside of Springs performance in Dallas. Reportedly he just wasn't there mentally being in Dallas where his father is hospitalized among other things.
Outside of the Pats road game the Skins have been fairly solid in 4 road games and should have won in GB. Look at the QBs TB has defeated..Leftwich / Harrington , Warner , Kerry Collins and barely( actually lost to Quinn Gray ) , David Carr , Marc Bulger with bad ribs in a monsoon and Drew Brees early on as 5 pt home dogs.
Huge game for the 5-5 Skins and as maligned s the secondary is with injuries you have to take away one WR on TB and let Graham beat you..
Campbell has 5 TD vs 1 INT past 2 weeks and is spreading the ball around well. Thrash(still OUT) , McCardell , S.Moss , Randle El and Cooley all involved.
Rams +3.5
How can I not like a home dog playing a divisional game. First thing is the last meeting is way misleading. I believe Torry Holt dropped a pass that would have been a TD right after Sea's Burleson returned the 2nd H kickoff for a TD. They just fell apart after that. I wont knock the Rams for last week cause SF has been solid on defense nearly every week. Hasselback and Hackett don't look to be 100% and Alexander is still out. Rams are getting healthier each week and now Stussie returns. If not for Stephen Jackson re injuring himself in the CLE game they would be on a 3 game win streak.
Raiders +5 :
Lets see OAK's CBs are healthy again and they stink vs the run. Oh wait . LJ is OUT still and Holmes HAD TO retire! That leaves Kolby Smith with 10 carries and 17 yards as your featured back. Mix in the young Brodie Coyle and Dwayne Bowe and this is an awfully RAW offense.
People will get excited about the way the played INDY. Which was great but whats changed? They outplayed them and lost . Do they know how to win and can they kick FG's??? Serious questions to ask.
Culpepper found the deep touch again hooking up on some long plays. It's hard to believe but Oak has the better offense at this point and better kicker. To me the defenses are even but KC has home field but playing at Arrowhead is not such a big deal these days.....also look @ OAK schedule this may be the last winnable game for them.
Vikings +7.5
A game truly loaded with injuries. All world stud RB Peterson is almost definitely OUT . More intriguing to me is the fact Tony Richardson looks doubtful and that is quite the loss IMO. Also on defense Winfield figures not to play.
This would be more a play AGAINST NYG then on Minnesota. Sure they are a dome team in the cold but they won at CHI in 55 degree weather should be low 40s here. NYG will be w/o Ward and Jacobs at RB leaving Droughns who hasn't looked great in awhile. Plax has disappeared the past 4 games and to his actions are telling me his ankle is slowly getting worse if anything. Last 4 games he has no TDS and that's the way to beat Minny by throwing deep. NYG also lost Kiwaunka last week....
Texans +3.5
Now that HOUSTON is healthy offensively they to me are the equivalent of CLE. However I see a Browns team off 3 straight WARS and a defense continually losing bodies. They had the comeback versus Seattle in OT , the battle @ Pitt , followed by one of the luckiest wins in NFL history last week @ Balt. When Houston has had a healthy AJ and Schaub they have looked good. Just think this is the perfect situation where the lucky breaks catch up to them as the should have lost in STL a month ago as well.
The other games I don't see how we can look at Cincy or New Orleans. Tenny might have haynesworth back and he really seems to be the key to the defense. Cincy has banged WRs in CJ , Housmanzadeh and G.Holt. That's not a good sign. Tenny is definitely the better team if you focus on the fact that Cincy has just 3 wins vs Balt twice and NYJ and were smoked by Arizona !!! With the Saints Reggie Bush isn't looked so good health wise. The fact that Testaverde is probably OUT doesn't help BUT CAROLINA won in NO with Carr and Moore already. Some how the Panthers offense actually showed some life last week. The defense hasn't been that bad and if the offense would just protect the ball it would help the Panther defense out. Which by the way Caroina still looking for HOME WIN #1 and this looks like a great spot...so lean CAR and even Ten slightly
Later ....
49ers +10.5
The Niner offense is a concern but I think Dilfer is progressing and they almost pulled one out last week. Who is Zona to lay 10 points to anyone?? Sure if they limit SF to 10 or less points they can cover but I think SF could suprise. Some of which is due to Warner's propensity to fumble and make negative plays.
Last 7 meetings Zona 4-3 with 3 FG losses so usually competitive games.
Ravens @ SD
Tough game because BALT could show up flat here and if there defense isnt up to par then it could be ugly. We know Balt lost Pryce again and there CB situation is question mark. Heap and Williams appear OUT again. I think Boller gives them a much better chance of competing but he is mistake prone.
SD defense will make it hard on McGahee and leave it to Boller. Huge game for SD
Bears -1
Right now I cant be excited about Den play past 2 weeks. It has been better but I dont think they are better then Chi. The Bears I thought played well in Sea considering it was there second trip out there in as many weeks. Grossman playing decent and that could be a plus....like fading DEN off a MNF win especially when they allowed 28 1st downs and 400+ yards.......
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
NCAAF :
Akron travels to Miami - Ohio. Looking at this line can't see why Miami-Ohio is such big favs. Last game they couldnt cover -6.5 versus Buffalo who is a shade worse then Akron( despite defeating Akron). Akron has had struggles on the road scoring and there defense has been fairly poor. Not a good sign. On the other hand what has Miami Ohio done at home ? Sneak by Syracuse 17-14 blowout a bad Bowling Green team that they were actually home dogs versus , hang on vs Buffalo due to some quick , long TDs? Besides there poor road play what scares me about Miami Ohio is this is there 3rd game in 2 weeks and second game since Miami played there last. At home Miami has actually stopped the run 2.8 YPC which means the passing duo( QB and stud WR) must get it done @ Akron . Since I should have trusted my 'capping' yesterday and played ball State cause the line was way short opened -5.5 should have been at least -8.5 ...today I think we should have seen something like -5 and we opened at -9....now 7.5.....
NBA:
Indiana @ Wash : Last game Arenas seemed to focus on getting his teammates involved rather then try and dominant when he doesnt feel right. That 's a good sign and really why Deshawn Stevenson doesnt get an expanded role in the offense I'll never know. Since Ike Diogu has gone down INDY has looked like carp and gone 0-4 , nmere coicidence ?? Since the opener Indy has returned Murphy and S.Williams. Just like the opener we should see a TON of FT attempts and 3 PT attempts. It's hard to say but playing on REST right now could be huge for WASH. They had rest @ NJ and came out on fire and played well @ ATL . Now Boston is a world beater right now and despite some rest it was off an OT opener. Would have expected -4.5 here so based on a fat line I have to lean Indy but think WASH wins.
Char @ AtL: The Bobcats knocked down some jumpers last night and smoked Miami. Here we have two teams who tend to get low 70 something shots per game and about low 20 Ft attempts. So expecting 94-88 type game....1st H Under and Under 188....however what I am thinking is Charlotte finally got the offense going last night and it may carry over....thats holding me back..
NJ @ Boston : Like Bostons defense to date but there offense sputtered some last nite. Real low total but I dont think NJ cracks 85 here and not sure Bos covers...
Seattle @ Miami : Could be real interesting if Swift and Kurt Thomas are OUT . That would leave COllison at center to guard SHAQ...Ridinour also gametime decision putting West or Watson at the point. SEA has depth but would need alot from Durant , Green and Wally Z here....Have to think after yesterdat that even Miami gets a 100 pts here so thinking over but cant lay -6 with this team no matter how bad Seattle looked yesterday...
Memphis @ Milw: On one hand Mem was a big home dog at home vs Houston last night and played hard to pull out the upset. I hate when you switch venues( home to road) and have basically the same number ....I do think we could be giving MILW to much credit ofr there drubbings at home as DOGGIES....Thinking Over 206 here as well . Only concern is low scoring outputs from Tor and Chi in MILW...but MILW should score alot here...
Philly @ NO : Hornets LUCKED Out in NJ and now play 7th game in 9 days all in different venues....such a tough spot (again) . Do they take Philly lightily here? Not sure I am ready to lay 9 points here...
Sac @ Minny : Kings get back Artest which is huge defensively and should be big offensively but you never know. DEFENSE tends to be a given. Minny could be without Greg Buckner and Craig Smith but SEA is waiting on Kenny Thomas and Brad Miller as well. Depends onhow the INJURIES shake out but thinking UNDER ...
Lakers @ Houston : LA struggled in SA and Houston is a notch below the Spurs. If not for HOU playing 3rd in 4 days I would have been on the home squad. Remember opening night ? Okay Odom is back but people were running to lay 3,4,5,6 points with HOU @ LAL!!! If not for a miracle to 2 minute run to end it the Lakers had trailed by DDs for the most part......hate LAL UNDERS but looking at that here.
Por @ Den : The Nuggets are smoking HOT winning 3 straight blowouts. However Portalnd isnt far behind scrapping out wins vs Dallas and Det. Think DEN rolls here ..
NYK @LAC : Injury shuffle ...Mobley is DOUBTFUL , Randolph is DOUBTFUL , QRichardson is ?? , Marbury appears to be playing , M.Collins is probable , Balkman is questionable ....lots of talent on the sidelines....expecting Knicks to play hard and keep it close if not WIN SU and think its played in the 90s so UNDER
Det @ GSW : Rough spot for DET who hasnt looked especially good. GSW playing better losing tough ones to Cle and Dallas. The GSW bench is a concrn but DET also got banged up last night ..have to take this home dog off so much rest vs a veteran DET team who could be flat here..1st H over cause GSW lack of bench and fatigue on both sides scares me ....
Thinking ( not plays ):
GSW +3 -120 and ML
NYK +8 and ML(value)
Den -10
Houston -6.5 ( 3rd in 4 days a concern)
Totals :
1st H Over GSW ( long rest scares me for GSW in some ways)
Under LAC 198
Under 198.5 Houston
Under 193 Minnesota ( Injuries??)
Over 206 Memphis
Over 191 Miami or team over Miami
Under 182 Boston
Under 187.5 Atlanta
Akron travels to Miami - Ohio. Looking at this line can't see why Miami-Ohio is such big favs. Last game they couldnt cover -6.5 versus Buffalo who is a shade worse then Akron( despite defeating Akron). Akron has had struggles on the road scoring and there defense has been fairly poor. Not a good sign. On the other hand what has Miami Ohio done at home ? Sneak by Syracuse 17-14 blowout a bad Bowling Green team that they were actually home dogs versus , hang on vs Buffalo due to some quick , long TDs? Besides there poor road play what scares me about Miami Ohio is this is there 3rd game in 2 weeks and second game since Miami played there last. At home Miami has actually stopped the run 2.8 YPC which means the passing duo( QB and stud WR) must get it done @ Akron . Since I should have trusted my 'capping' yesterday and played ball State cause the line was way short opened -5.5 should have been at least -8.5 ...today I think we should have seen something like -5 and we opened at -9....now 7.5.....
NBA:
Indiana @ Wash : Last game Arenas seemed to focus on getting his teammates involved rather then try and dominant when he doesnt feel right. That 's a good sign and really why Deshawn Stevenson doesnt get an expanded role in the offense I'll never know. Since Ike Diogu has gone down INDY has looked like carp and gone 0-4 , nmere coicidence ?? Since the opener Indy has returned Murphy and S.Williams. Just like the opener we should see a TON of FT attempts and 3 PT attempts. It's hard to say but playing on REST right now could be huge for WASH. They had rest @ NJ and came out on fire and played well @ ATL . Now Boston is a world beater right now and despite some rest it was off an OT opener. Would have expected -4.5 here so based on a fat line I have to lean Indy but think WASH wins.
Char @ AtL: The Bobcats knocked down some jumpers last night and smoked Miami. Here we have two teams who tend to get low 70 something shots per game and about low 20 Ft attempts. So expecting 94-88 type game....1st H Under and Under 188....however what I am thinking is Charlotte finally got the offense going last night and it may carry over....thats holding me back..
NJ @ Boston : Like Bostons defense to date but there offense sputtered some last nite. Real low total but I dont think NJ cracks 85 here and not sure Bos covers...
Seattle @ Miami : Could be real interesting if Swift and Kurt Thomas are OUT . That would leave COllison at center to guard SHAQ...Ridinour also gametime decision putting West or Watson at the point. SEA has depth but would need alot from Durant , Green and Wally Z here....Have to think after yesterdat that even Miami gets a 100 pts here so thinking over but cant lay -6 with this team no matter how bad Seattle looked yesterday...
Memphis @ Milw: On one hand Mem was a big home dog at home vs Houston last night and played hard to pull out the upset. I hate when you switch venues( home to road) and have basically the same number ....I do think we could be giving MILW to much credit ofr there drubbings at home as DOGGIES....Thinking Over 206 here as well . Only concern is low scoring outputs from Tor and Chi in MILW...but MILW should score alot here...
Philly @ NO : Hornets LUCKED Out in NJ and now play 7th game in 9 days all in different venues....such a tough spot (again) . Do they take Philly lightily here? Not sure I am ready to lay 9 points here...
Sac @ Minny : Kings get back Artest which is huge defensively and should be big offensively but you never know. DEFENSE tends to be a given. Minny could be without Greg Buckner and Craig Smith but SEA is waiting on Kenny Thomas and Brad Miller as well. Depends onhow the INJURIES shake out but thinking UNDER ...
Lakers @ Houston : LA struggled in SA and Houston is a notch below the Spurs. If not for HOU playing 3rd in 4 days I would have been on the home squad. Remember opening night ? Okay Odom is back but people were running to lay 3,4,5,6 points with HOU @ LAL!!! If not for a miracle to 2 minute run to end it the Lakers had trailed by DDs for the most part......hate LAL UNDERS but looking at that here.
Por @ Den : The Nuggets are smoking HOT winning 3 straight blowouts. However Portalnd isnt far behind scrapping out wins vs Dallas and Det. Think DEN rolls here ..
NYK @LAC : Injury shuffle ...Mobley is DOUBTFUL , Randolph is DOUBTFUL , QRichardson is ?? , Marbury appears to be playing , M.Collins is probable , Balkman is questionable ....lots of talent on the sidelines....expecting Knicks to play hard and keep it close if not WIN SU and think its played in the 90s so UNDER
Det @ GSW : Rough spot for DET who hasnt looked especially good. GSW playing better losing tough ones to Cle and Dallas. The GSW bench is a concrn but DET also got banged up last night ..have to take this home dog off so much rest vs a veteran DET team who could be flat here..1st H over cause GSW lack of bench and fatigue on both sides scares me ....
Thinking ( not plays ):
GSW +3 -120 and ML
NYK +8 and ML(value)
Den -10
Houston -6.5 ( 3rd in 4 days a concern)
Totals :
1st H Over GSW ( long rest scares me for GSW in some ways)
Under LAC 198
Under 198.5 Houston
Under 193 Minnesota ( Injuries??)
Over 206 Memphis
Over 191 Miami or team over Miami
Under 182 Boston
Under 187.5 Atlanta
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
NBA :
Thoughts are :
Orl 1st H and Under then Seattle 2nd H and Over
Ind +7 ( 1st H over then 2nd H Under)
Houston +7 -120 and Over 200 -120
Dallas -7 1st H and Under 97 , Under 191
Lakers +8 and Under 99 1st H
(thinking about the late ones still)
Obviously the 7 pm starts are under way so some of my thoughts arent helpful . They are however followed up by 2nd H thoughts which might be. The italics are the ones I played so far.
So far no CBB...
NHL :
Fla +150
Tor -120 also Over 6
CFB
Toledo ML +250
Over 71
GL
Thoughts are :
Orl 1st H and Under then Seattle 2nd H and Over
Ind +7 ( 1st H over then 2nd H Under)
Houston +7 -120 and Over 200 -120
Dallas -7 1st H and Under 97 , Under 191
Lakers +8 and Under 99 1st H
(thinking about the late ones still)
Obviously the 7 pm starts are under way so some of my thoughts arent helpful . They are however followed up by 2nd H thoughts which might be. The italics are the ones I played so far.
So far no CBB...
NHL :
Fla +150
Tor -120 also Over 6
CFB
Toledo ML +250
Over 71
GL
Looking at this game in the MAC ....
Toledo is a team you will probably have to breakdown rather then take at face value. They started the season with Clint Cochran as there QB but that didnt last long. They lost at home to Purdue in the opener and traveled to CMU. They lost a shootout at CMU BUT Soph Aaron Opelt known more as a runner wound up 25/41 334yds and 2 TDs(9c 17 yds TD). They lost @ Kansas then won a squeaker at home to Iowa State. The thing about the out of conference teams they played is there defenses were not that bad . Ball State faced Nebraska and Navy early on who are absolutely awful( disgrace may be better phrasing) on defense. Recently they did face Illinois and Indiana and guess what they didn't score as much and after a slow start IU torched them. They did a nice job versus Illinois but remember they got a PICK 6 for 7 of there 17 points and Juice Williams didnt pass well that day.
Back to Toledo. They West Michigan game again MISLEADING. They were up 7-0 and about to go 14-0 when Opalt was picked in the end zone. Which in 5 starts vs MAC teams is his ONLY INT! In fact in the other 4 starts he has 9 TDs and 3 rushing TDS against no INTS. He also has been sacked just 3 times in his MAC starts and two were in the 1st game vs CMU. Now granted most of this was done at HOME so how heavy can we weigh this?? Back to the WMU game. The INT flipped momentum and fueled WMU. In the midst of there rally Opelt was injured midway through the 2nd Quarter and was done for the day. After restoring some momentum Parmalee fumbled the opening kick of the 2nd H and later Cochran in relief was injured. Seems like a day destined to NOT b Toledo's.
After the WMU game they used true Freshman DJ Lenahan for starts against Liberty and @ Buffalo. So lets be realistic how many teams will look good with a 3rd string true freshman and a poor defense ?? Not many. Opalt returned vs Ohio U and has led them to 3 straight wins. In the 4 completed MAC games his numbers are 1200yds 9TDS and 52 yds rushing and 3 TDs!! With no INTERCEPTIONS!
Looking at there 3 games on the road which where they supposed to win? The game @ CMU they were just switching QBs and wer only 3 pt dogs to a real solid CMU team who blasted Ball State. That line was way off at -12 considering the previous week they were only -14 to Buffalo! CMU is 5-0 in conference ! Huge difference in the teams.
Looking at Ball State they LOST at home to Miami Ohio and Ball State in conference. They beat West Kentucky and Buffalo at home nothing exciting. They squeaked by at West Michigan on a late TD and stomped EMU away. There claim to fame is there 4 out of conference games. The Neb game was also after the USC game so that has to play into NEB performance. They have shown they can hang around with teams who are weak defensively and Illini case inconsistent on offense. Toledo has not had the opportunity to show that due to injuries at QB.
My feeling is Ball State struggles vs the pass and will face a tough task with Parmalee and Collins running it . How will they stop Toledo's offense ?? How will Toledo slow Nate Davis ?? With only 9 sacks they dont pressure the QB at all. Even with the total soaring to 69 from 64 you have to like the OVER here. You have prolific offenses versus defenses who cant get off the field. With high totals its all about execution. If they dont give away points or settle for FGs deep inside the red zone we see at least 73 points IMO....if they do then 10 TDs is alot ! This is a huge game with both teams at 5-5 fighting for Bowl spots and Toledo has a nice history ON TV much of it probably at the Glass Bowl though. CMU vs MAC teams have scored 27 , 38 , 49 , 38 and only 13 in the opener.
Right now my problem is I think they may have opened this game SHORT at -5.5 . It now has been bought up to -7 though. Was thinking more like -8 .
My thoughts are OVER 69 ( expect at least 73 pts in this game)Always check weather with huge totals...
For a side I feel that if Ball State wins they do it by 10 + so if you like Toledo better to take the ML....
GL
Toledo is a team you will probably have to breakdown rather then take at face value. They started the season with Clint Cochran as there QB but that didnt last long. They lost at home to Purdue in the opener and traveled to CMU. They lost a shootout at CMU BUT Soph Aaron Opelt known more as a runner wound up 25/41 334yds and 2 TDs(9c 17 yds TD). They lost @ Kansas then won a squeaker at home to Iowa State. The thing about the out of conference teams they played is there defenses were not that bad . Ball State faced Nebraska and Navy early on who are absolutely awful( disgrace may be better phrasing) on defense. Recently they did face Illinois and Indiana and guess what they didn't score as much and after a slow start IU torched them. They did a nice job versus Illinois but remember they got a PICK 6 for 7 of there 17 points and Juice Williams didnt pass well that day.
Back to Toledo. They West Michigan game again MISLEADING. They were up 7-0 and about to go 14-0 when Opalt was picked in the end zone. Which in 5 starts vs MAC teams is his ONLY INT! In fact in the other 4 starts he has 9 TDs and 3 rushing TDS against no INTS. He also has been sacked just 3 times in his MAC starts and two were in the 1st game vs CMU. Now granted most of this was done at HOME so how heavy can we weigh this?? Back to the WMU game. The INT flipped momentum and fueled WMU. In the midst of there rally Opelt was injured midway through the 2nd Quarter and was done for the day. After restoring some momentum Parmalee fumbled the opening kick of the 2nd H and later Cochran in relief was injured. Seems like a day destined to NOT b Toledo's.
After the WMU game they used true Freshman DJ Lenahan for starts against Liberty and @ Buffalo. So lets be realistic how many teams will look good with a 3rd string true freshman and a poor defense ?? Not many. Opalt returned vs Ohio U and has led them to 3 straight wins. In the 4 completed MAC games his numbers are 1200yds 9TDS and 52 yds rushing and 3 TDs!! With no INTERCEPTIONS!
Looking at there 3 games on the road which where they supposed to win? The game @ CMU they were just switching QBs and wer only 3 pt dogs to a real solid CMU team who blasted Ball State. That line was way off at -12 considering the previous week they were only -14 to Buffalo! CMU is 5-0 in conference ! Huge difference in the teams.
Looking at Ball State they LOST at home to Miami Ohio and Ball State in conference. They beat West Kentucky and Buffalo at home nothing exciting. They squeaked by at West Michigan on a late TD and stomped EMU away. There claim to fame is there 4 out of conference games. The Neb game was also after the USC game so that has to play into NEB performance. They have shown they can hang around with teams who are weak defensively and Illini case inconsistent on offense. Toledo has not had the opportunity to show that due to injuries at QB.
My feeling is Ball State struggles vs the pass and will face a tough task with Parmalee and Collins running it . How will they stop Toledo's offense ?? How will Toledo slow Nate Davis ?? With only 9 sacks they dont pressure the QB at all. Even with the total soaring to 69 from 64 you have to like the OVER here. You have prolific offenses versus defenses who cant get off the field. With high totals its all about execution. If they dont give away points or settle for FGs deep inside the red zone we see at least 73 points IMO....if they do then 10 TDs is alot ! This is a huge game with both teams at 5-5 fighting for Bowl spots and Toledo has a nice history ON TV much of it probably at the Glass Bowl though. CMU vs MAC teams have scored 27 , 38 , 49 , 38 and only 13 in the opener.
Right now my problem is I think they may have opened this game SHORT at -5.5 . It now has been bought up to -7 though. Was thinking more like -8 .
My thoughts are OVER 69 ( expect at least 73 pts in this game)Always check weather with huge totals...
For a side I feel that if Ball State wins they do it by 10 + so if you like Toledo better to take the ML....
GL
Monday, November 12, 2007
NFL
The key to deciphering this game appears to be in the weather report. Looks like heavy rain producing sloppy conditions and the possibility of high wind gusts that would hurt the passing game and kicks ( whether kickoffs , punts or FG's). Side not e Coach Nolan 's father passed away and that may give the team further incdentive to win here. On top of there season being on the line.
If Seattle is unable to pass due to the weather and Frank Gore is healthy I would think SF +9 or +10 is very inviting. Gore tore up the Hawks last year and was solid in the 1st meeting this season. Problem with the 1st meeting was it became a real easy game when Smith went out cause Dilfer is a sitting duck back there. Where A.Smith has some mobility. They traveled to ATL w/o Gore and almost beat the Falcons. Which is not particularily impressive except it shows they are still playing hard and can sneak up on a team . Seattle will be w/o Alexander , Pollard and Branch which I think hampers there big play ability even further. On defense Hill and Kearney are questionable.
There is just not much to talk about here....if the weather is as bad as reported I would rather take a 1st H under rather then a game under. As well as SF 1st H +6....
The key to deciphering this game appears to be in the weather report. Looks like heavy rain producing sloppy conditions and the possibility of high wind gusts that would hurt the passing game and kicks ( whether kickoffs , punts or FG's). Side not e Coach Nolan 's father passed away and that may give the team further incdentive to win here. On top of there season being on the line.
If Seattle is unable to pass due to the weather and Frank Gore is healthy I would think SF +9 or +10 is very inviting. Gore tore up the Hawks last year and was solid in the 1st meeting this season. Problem with the 1st meeting was it became a real easy game when Smith went out cause Dilfer is a sitting duck back there. Where A.Smith has some mobility. They traveled to ATL w/o Gore and almost beat the Falcons. Which is not particularily impressive except it shows they are still playing hard and can sneak up on a team . Seattle will be w/o Alexander , Pollard and Branch which I think hampers there big play ability even further. On defense Hill and Kearney are questionable.
There is just not much to talk about here....if the weather is as bad as reported I would rather take a 1st H under rather then a game under. As well as SF 1st H +6....
MONDAY NBA Thoughts
Hornets @ NJN :
It's seems fairly obvious that Vince Carter will NOT be playing tonight. The real issue for me is this..this will be the Hornets 5th game in 7 days , a Back 2 Back spot and they started by traveling WEST , then returned home and went NorthEast ! Honestly , I thought that yesterday would be a problem spot for them in Philly since the Sixers had fought hard at home vs Tor , NJN and Charlotte while defeating the misera-BULLS in Chicago. Clearly I was mistaken. Though Philly came out strong but faded when the second unit hit the floor and could not score in the 2nd quarter while NO reigned threes! What was more relevant probably was the fact they were off a 2 game losing streak and if they played poorly would have posible lost 4 straight with this game. Looking at the schedule NO has won nice games @ denver and @ LAL but those teams are inconsistent and would not context them as high quality wins . After that they beat Port and Sac at home both teams who will win few road games , lost @ Portland in a tough travel spot and lost at home vs SA. Then they beat up on the offensively challenged Sixers.
You can bet that NJ will look to bounce back here for 3 reasons. First is they billed themselves as a TRIO (Carter , Kidd , RJ) just like the media has Boston (KG , Pierce and "Jesus"). I believe there EGOS were bruised in that loss. Second is all good teams like to step it up when a STAR player is OUT. This being his forst absence provides a great opportunity for NJ to rise to the occasion. Third is NO being a quality team defeating them adds some luster to there W/L rap sheet. It's incentive to prove themselves even further and NJ has lost by once past few years vs NO. When both RJ and Kristic were out but Carter did go off that night 46!
Situational speaking I think it all points to NJ as they have remained HOME really for the entire season except a quick ride down to Philly. I think we can agree Vince Carter had struggled to date espite a good showing vs Boston. He seems willing to take alot of jumpers and threes instead of attacking the rim. Antoine Wright has looked solid in limited minutes. Sean Williams opened some eyes versus Boston . While they havent shown it NJ has upgraded the bench and Boston Nachbar should benefit in increased minutes as well. Last night you could have had an 191 UNDER in Philly , so here 185 seems pretty tight. Possible 1st H under and 2nd H over .?
CLE @ DEN
Real interesting matchup : Melo vs Lebron , Cavs winding down a long west coast swing playing 5th in 7 days BUT Nuggs return home after an East Coast swing also playing 5th in 7 days! Denver returns home after two good performances to close the trip after a lackluster start in NYK and Boston. While Cle 3-2 on the trip lost at the buzzer in Utah and folded late in Phoenix. All in all a fairly solid trip.
I think you could argue alot of things here. First that Cle is tired here. Well every game on the trip has been tough and down to the wire but they still come out the next game w/o looking drained. Interesting was Big Z playing a season high in minutes and LeBron a season low. Seems like smart coaching to me if it was planned( King James did have foul trouble). You figure the BIG guy is sort of limited here with so much running up and down the court while you would want LeBron fresher. On the other hand maybe Z feels great cause he sure is playing alot more minutes then he has past few years..right now about 5 or 6 more on avg per game.
You would think DEN carries the momentum over from there 25 pt comeback @ Indiana but it could leave them drained. That was a 4th in 5th spot for them and both they and Pho shined in that spot as small road chalk on Saturday. Interesting to see how DEN holds up cause Nene and Atkins are OUT for awhile now. Putting some pressure on Kleiza , Diawara , Kenyon Martin returning from injury playing about 20 minutes per , JR Smith to show more consistency .
The Cavs BENCH has been scary ! HUGE UNDER THE RADAR INJURY was Sasha Pavlovic leaving early yesterday and not returning ! That leaves Devin Brown (playing real well) , Damon Jones and Ira Newble off the bench if he cant go.
This is also the highest total bewteen these two teams. With Hughes back they tend to play games in the 90's. Denver has actually played some defense lately. really interested in Pavlovic's injury status. This could get ugly...they havent had a correct line on a CLE game all trip....-6 @ Sac after +9 @ Utah , PK @ LAC w/o Mobley?? I owuld have guess more like 4.5 to 5.5 here but who knows....
Sac @ Utah :
I think the Kings are going to have issues on the road till they get Artest and Bibby back. They played fairly well at home with comeback wins vs Minny and Seattle again two teams who simply wont win many road games. Offense will be a challenge if you contain Kevin Martin. I would expect 88-94 points here for Sac. With how Utah looked vs Memphis they could wax Sac here especially since Ron Artest is back on WED. Basically looking at the UNDER 206 , Kings team UNDER , 1st H Utah ...I could be mistaken but on the road Sac looks overmatched....nice work by Salmons and garcia so far but Miller is struggling and the rest of the guys are limited offensively though Beno Udrih may help the second unit.
Hornets @ NJN :
It's seems fairly obvious that Vince Carter will NOT be playing tonight. The real issue for me is this..this will be the Hornets 5th game in 7 days , a Back 2 Back spot and they started by traveling WEST , then returned home and went NorthEast ! Honestly , I thought that yesterday would be a problem spot for them in Philly since the Sixers had fought hard at home vs Tor , NJN and Charlotte while defeating the misera-BULLS in Chicago. Clearly I was mistaken. Though Philly came out strong but faded when the second unit hit the floor and could not score in the 2nd quarter while NO reigned threes! What was more relevant probably was the fact they were off a 2 game losing streak and if they played poorly would have posible lost 4 straight with this game. Looking at the schedule NO has won nice games @ denver and @ LAL but those teams are inconsistent and would not context them as high quality wins . After that they beat Port and Sac at home both teams who will win few road games , lost @ Portland in a tough travel spot and lost at home vs SA. Then they beat up on the offensively challenged Sixers.
You can bet that NJ will look to bounce back here for 3 reasons. First is they billed themselves as a TRIO (Carter , Kidd , RJ) just like the media has Boston (KG , Pierce and "Jesus"). I believe there EGOS were bruised in that loss. Second is all good teams like to step it up when a STAR player is OUT. This being his forst absence provides a great opportunity for NJ to rise to the occasion. Third is NO being a quality team defeating them adds some luster to there W/L rap sheet. It's incentive to prove themselves even further and NJ has lost by once past few years vs NO. When both RJ and Kristic were out but Carter did go off that night 46!
Situational speaking I think it all points to NJ as they have remained HOME really for the entire season except a quick ride down to Philly. I think we can agree Vince Carter had struggled to date espite a good showing vs Boston. He seems willing to take alot of jumpers and threes instead of attacking the rim. Antoine Wright has looked solid in limited minutes. Sean Williams opened some eyes versus Boston . While they havent shown it NJ has upgraded the bench and Boston Nachbar should benefit in increased minutes as well. Last night you could have had an 191 UNDER in Philly , so here 185 seems pretty tight. Possible 1st H under and 2nd H over .?
CLE @ DEN
Real interesting matchup : Melo vs Lebron , Cavs winding down a long west coast swing playing 5th in 7 days BUT Nuggs return home after an East Coast swing also playing 5th in 7 days! Denver returns home after two good performances to close the trip after a lackluster start in NYK and Boston. While Cle 3-2 on the trip lost at the buzzer in Utah and folded late in Phoenix. All in all a fairly solid trip.
I think you could argue alot of things here. First that Cle is tired here. Well every game on the trip has been tough and down to the wire but they still come out the next game w/o looking drained. Interesting was Big Z playing a season high in minutes and LeBron a season low. Seems like smart coaching to me if it was planned( King James did have foul trouble). You figure the BIG guy is sort of limited here with so much running up and down the court while you would want LeBron fresher. On the other hand maybe Z feels great cause he sure is playing alot more minutes then he has past few years..right now about 5 or 6 more on avg per game.
You would think DEN carries the momentum over from there 25 pt comeback @ Indiana but it could leave them drained. That was a 4th in 5th spot for them and both they and Pho shined in that spot as small road chalk on Saturday. Interesting to see how DEN holds up cause Nene and Atkins are OUT for awhile now. Putting some pressure on Kleiza , Diawara , Kenyon Martin returning from injury playing about 20 minutes per , JR Smith to show more consistency .
The Cavs BENCH has been scary ! HUGE UNDER THE RADAR INJURY was Sasha Pavlovic leaving early yesterday and not returning ! That leaves Devin Brown (playing real well) , Damon Jones and Ira Newble off the bench if he cant go.
This is also the highest total bewteen these two teams. With Hughes back they tend to play games in the 90's. Denver has actually played some defense lately. really interested in Pavlovic's injury status. This could get ugly...they havent had a correct line on a CLE game all trip....-6 @ Sac after +9 @ Utah , PK @ LAC w/o Mobley?? I owuld have guess more like 4.5 to 5.5 here but who knows....
Sac @ Utah :
I think the Kings are going to have issues on the road till they get Artest and Bibby back. They played fairly well at home with comeback wins vs Minny and Seattle again two teams who simply wont win many road games. Offense will be a challenge if you contain Kevin Martin. I would expect 88-94 points here for Sac. With how Utah looked vs Memphis they could wax Sac here especially since Ron Artest is back on WED. Basically looking at the UNDER 206 , Kings team UNDER , 1st H Utah ...I could be mistaken but on the road Sac looks overmatched....nice work by Salmons and garcia so far but Miller is struggling and the rest of the guys are limited offensively though Beno Udrih may help the second unit.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
NBA :
Sixers +3 or ML
I see this as a bad spot ofr NO. The Hornets had a 3 game West Coast swing then came home to play SA but now back to the road @ Philly! All while has sat home and battled NJ and Tor in narrow defeats and spanked Char. Philly plays hard and plays defense.....
Also went Ov 186 Charlotte cause I think Rockets will score at will...
Sixers +3 or ML
I see this as a bad spot ofr NO. The Hornets had a 3 game West Coast swing then came home to play SA but now back to the road @ Philly! All while has sat home and battled NJ and Tor in narrow defeats and spanked Char. Philly plays hard and plays defense.....
Also went Ov 186 Charlotte cause I think Rockets will score at will...
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