CFL West Report: Roughriders cream of the early crop
Football Betting Lines
07/14/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just two weeks into this young CFL season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are already living up to their billing as the best of the west. After a brilliant offensive performance in a 54-51 double- overtime win over the Montreal Alouettes, the Riders proved they can step up defensively, spoiling the Lions' home opener at their "new" field. Sure, Calgary kept pace with a win of its own to go 2-0, but Riderville has to be pretty pleased with the way their team is looking. On to the breakdown:
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
It was supposed to be all about the BC Lions and the first game at their temporary new field. Instead, the Roughriders came in and spoiled the homecoming party with an impressive 37-18 showing.
The name of the Lions' 2010 home, Empire Field, has a great ring to it, but unfortunately the moniker best describes the Saskatchewan defense for now. BC had trouble marching down the field against a dominating defensive line and secondary.
Saskatchewan allowed just 89 total rushing yards in the game, unsurprising after giving up similar numbers in its first game.
What truly made the Riders' night so special was their ability to force fumbles, limit BC's scoring opportunities, and of course get to the quarterback. Lions starter Casey Printers was forced out of the game thanks to a tackle by defensive standout Brent Hawkins.
Printer's replacement, Travis Lulay, clearly felt the pressure with two fumbles.
Darian Durant went 18-for-29 and 252 yards in the game. Solid numbers to be sure, but made more impressive by his ability to share the wealth amongst his receivers.
Durant looked like a surgeon practicing his craft, dissecting the Lions' pass defense by utilizing all his tools. Four different receivers recorded more than 50 yards.
Key offensive performer: Darian Durant. In addition to a touchdown pass, Durant ran one in the end zone for yet another great performance.
Key defensive/special teams performer: Brent Hawkins. Forget Durant, Wes Cates, and the stellar receiving corps. The best Rider player of the night was Hawkins, who had two sacks, one of which knocked Printers out of the game. He also forced a fumble and ran one in for a 47-yard TD.
Next Game: Edmonton Eskimos (0-2). A home game against a struggling Eskimos side. Put your money on the Green Nation, because the Riders appear just too powerful at this stage.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Saskatchewan may be grabbing all the attention out west, but the Stamps showed their resiliency in a tight 23-22 win over Hamilton.
With 10 seconds to go, down 22-20, it was a rookie that stole the show from veteran teammates Henry Burris and Joffrey Reynolds, while turning the page on the era of the CFL's most accurate field goal kicker Sandro DeAngelis.
Rob Maver, a 2010 draft pick who replaced DeAngelis after he signed with the Ti-Cats in the off-season, kicked a 23-yard winning field goal to steal one for his squad.
The 24-year-old helped overshadow a rather sloppy night from Burris. The Stamps quarterback did throw two touchdowns to go along with 257 yards, but also fumbled the ball and gave up an interception that was returned for 52 yards.
Key offensive performer: Nik Lewis. In a game where there were few real standouts on offense, credit has to go to the player who made the fewest mistakes. Lewis caught for 68 yards and a touchdown that gave the Stamps a 20-19 lead late in the third quarter.
Key defensive/special teams performer: Maver. Lots of options for this one: Deon Murphy with a 105 yard missed field goal return, or maybe Tom Johnson with five tackles and a forced fumble. But Maver's 3-for-3 night, capped off by a dying-seconds field goal was the difference in a game determined by special teams.
Next game: Toronto Argonauts (1-1). Calgary's light schedule would seem to continue with a trip to Toronto for a rematch of week one, though the Stamps shouldn't sleep on the Argos, who are coming off an unlikely win in week 2. If the Stamps can clean up some mistakes from their match against the Ti-Cats, expect another Calgary win.
EDMONTON ESKIMOS
The most disappointing team in the west is Edmonton, which is now 0-2 after an unsurprising 33-23 loss to Montreal.
What did come as a surprise was how close Edmonton came to actually defeating the defending champs.
Leading 23-18 after three quarters, Ricky Ray did his best to deliver Christmas early to Montreal with two costly interceptions in the final frame.
The Als, thankful for the gifts, turned both into touchdowns to ultimately spoil what was a decent defensive performance by Edmonton.
Edmonton had some big stars on offense. Ray threw for 340 yards and a touchdown pass, while Arkee Whitlock continued to shine, narrowly missing the century mark with 99 rushing yards. Receivers Kelly Campbell and Fred Stamps caught for 170 and 119 yards, respectively, to do their part.
Yet these numbers don't tell the whole story. Specifically, Edmonton's inability to get the ball into the end zone.
The Esks had to settle for five field goals as the Montreal defense kicked in at the most important times.
Best offensive performer: Fred Stamps. Yes, Stamps caught the lone TD for Edmonton, but Campbell was the most dynamic receiver and was magic whenever the ball came close to him.
Best defensive/special teams performer: Derek Schiavone. The kicker, replacing the injured Noel Prefontaine, scored 17 of Edmonton's 23 points including five field goals in six attempts.
Next Game: Saskatchewan (2-0). Poor Edmonton. As if the Alouettes weren't tough enough, the Eskimos now have to travel to the harshest environment in the CFL, Mosaic Stadium. Avoiding a fourth quarter meltdown would surely help, but it's going to take a more balanced offense to squeeze out a first win. If Edmonton can draw confidence from anything, it's that they managed to win twice in Regina last season.
BC LIONS
When Casey Printers went down late in the first half, you just had a feeling Saskatchewan would ride that momentum to a decisive victory. The Riders certainly did, and the Lions were left feeling snake-bitten in a case of pure bad luck.
Travis Lulay did his best to pick up where Printers left off, getting a touchdown and nearly 200 yards in just two quarters of play. But he had trouble holding onto the ball, giving up two fumbles.
While the offense sputtered, BC's defense drowned in a sea of green as Saskatchewan took advantage of some poor discipline from the Lions.
BC was called for 16 penalties that resulted in 116 yards for the Roughriders, a bonus for a Saskatchewan team that doesn't need help with their offense.
Best offensive performer: Geroy Simon. Caught for 169 yards and both of BC's touchdowns. He had two long TD's from two different quarterbacks - 98 and 92 yards, respectively - proving that no matter who's throwing it to him, he's going to make the big play to help spark his team.
Best defensive/special teams performer: Korey Banks. The defensive back had the biggest game against the ball for the Lions, dishing out seven tackles and forcing a fumble.
Next Game: Montreal (1-1). BC generally does well when hosting the Alouettes, but how does playing at Empire Field affect the home advantage? The Lions have the weapons to continue history as Montreal has shown some weaknesses from a pass defense point of view this season. If Printers can return from injury and play to his full capabilities, a win is not out of the question.
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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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