Posts Tagged → football
Vikings’ Peterson Should Play Despite Minor Back Pain
Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre may get all of the headlines for the Minnesota Vikings, but NFL insiders are well aware that running back Adrian Peterson is the key to the teams offensive success. Peterson’s threat alone is enough to open up options for the passing game. After winning the NFL rushing title last year hes already off to a great start with 272 yards and four touchdowns in only two games.
There’s been a good deal of concern this week in the Twin Cities media about Peterson’s health. Specifically, there are questions about the severity of a back injury suffered last weekend. Peterson has been limited in his practice activities all week as a precaution, though both he and QB Favre as listed as probable on the NFLs official injury report.
The NFLs leading rusher tried to downplay the significance of his injury in comments to reporters:
“God willing, I will be out there playing. Not a big deal at all.”
He turned into a standup comic when asked for details on the injury. Asked when the injury occurred, Peterson quipped:
“It happened, like, a week back. But that’s all behind me now.”
Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell didnt sound too concerned, but he wasnt cracking jokes either:
“I’m comfortable with where he’s at. I know he’s been working hard to rehab. … Right now, I think he’s going to be OK, but we have to continue to go throughout the week with that.”
Peterson ran for 92 yards and a touchdown against the Detroit Lions last weekend. His presence alone makes things much easier for the Vikings passing attack”opposing teams often put 8 or 9 men along the line of scrimmage to try and stop him, giving QB Brett Favre a great opportunity to get the ball downfield to his receivers in single coverage.
The Vikings host the San Francisco 49ers come to town. The Vikings are a 6 point home favorite with the total set at 39. The line for the first half is Vikings -3, with a total of 20. Theyll remain at home the following week as the Green Bay Packers pay a visit for a game on Monday Night Football. A road game will follow, as the Vikings will head to St. Louis to face the lowly Rams on October 11th.
Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
Tar Heels Upset Hokies In College Football
The University of North Carolina used a 21 yard field goal on the final play of the game to pull a big college football upset over #13 Virginia Tech on Thursday night, winning by a final score of 20-17. The Tar Heels’ #8 ranked defense proved as tenacious as their high national status would suggest, and gave the Hokies fits throughout. North Carolina led for most of the game, but withstood a late game Virginia Tech comeback bid to take the win. Both teams are now 5-3 on the college football season.
College football betting enthusiasts who took North Carolina as +16′ road underdogs were never in serious doubt about the eventual payday they’d receive as the Tar Heels never trailed by more than three points. The Tar Heels improved to 3-4 against the college football pointspread, while the Hokies dropped to 3-5 versus the money. The 37 combined points scored went UNDER the posted total of 43′.
Tar Heels’ QB T.J. Yates was in a state of disbelief after the narrow road victory:
“I’ve never really had this feeling before. Kicking it at the last second? It just sends chills down your spine.”
Running back Shaun Draughn spoke of the team’s priority to bounce back quickly after they blew a big lead in a loss to Florida State last week:
“We knew we had to get back to the drawing board. To come back and play the way we did definitely speaks volumes about our team.”
In the Hokies’ locker room, linebacker Cody Grimm spoke of his team’s need to regain their focus:
“I think the motivation is to come out here so you don’t feel like this again. Ten wins is one thing, but I don’t want to feel like this any more and the only way to do that is to win.”
Running back Ryan Williams felt doubly bad about the loss, as his late game fumble cemented the victory for North Carolina:
“As of right now, there probably isn’t really anything they can say to lift me up because regardless of what anybody says, personally I feel like I kind of took the game away from us today. It was on the line, it was in my hands and I fumbled.”
The Hokies will play against next Thursday night, heading to Greenville, NC to face the Skip Holtz coached East Carolina Pirates. They’ll play at Maryland on Saturday, November 15 before returning home a week later to host North Carolina State. North Carolina plays their next two at home, starting a week from Saturday against Duke. Miami will come in the following week before the Tar Heels hit the road to play at Boston College on November 21.
Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
New Orleans Wins First Superbowl In Franchise History
The New Orleans Saints used a 14 point fourth quarter to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 on Sunday to win their first Superbowl in franchise history. Drew Brees broke open a tight game midway through the final quarter with his touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey, and Tracy Porter scored on a 74 yard interception return as the Colts were driving on the next series to secure the victory. Brees completed 32 passes in the game, tying New England’s Tom Brady for the all time record in that category.
After enthusiasts had come in early on the favored Colts, a good deal of buyback on the Saints had pushed the line to -4′ and the New Orleans backers were enriched by their team’s outright victory. The underdog has now covered three straight Superbowls and taken the money in five of the last seven games. The 48 points scored stayed well under the posted total of 57, which was the highest over/under number in Superbowl history. Five of the last six Superbowls have now played UNDER the total.
In his postgame interview, Brees gave much of the credit to the city of New Orleans:
“We play for so much more than ourselves. We played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for the entire Who Dat nation that has been behind us every step of the way. It means everything. We’re here because of their strength and everything they fought through here the last few years. They’ve given us so much support, so we owe it all to our fans.”
“Just to think of the road we’ve all traveled, the adversity we’ve all faced. It’s unbelievable. I mean, are you kidding me? Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening? Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back. We just all looked at one another and said, ‘We’re going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.’ That’s what we’ve done the last four years and this is the culmination in all that belief.”
Peyton Manning had little to say after the game particularly about the decisive interception return:
“Made a great play. Made a great play. Corner made a heck of a play. Certainly disappointing, very disappointing. Disappointing.”
Saints’ coach Sean Payton made a bold call at the beginning of the second half when he called for an onside kick. Saints linebacker Jonathan Casalis suggested it was a game changing play:
“We were really excited when he made the call. That changed everything.”
Payton explained the diva-like decision:
“We’re going to be aggressive. We’d seen the onside kick all week and guys executed it well. It turned out to be a big change of possession.”
The city of New Orleans will celebrate their team’s victory with a parade. With Mardi Gras celebrations already scheduled to begin shortly thereafter, it could be quite some time before New Orleans returns to business as usual.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
San Francisco Nips Denver In NFL Preseason Action
Kyle Orton’s debut as the Denver Broncos starting QB didn’t go quite as planned. Orton, who was acquired from Chicago in the off-season, threw interceptions on each of his first three offensive series. San Francisco’s offense did just enough to eke out a 17-16 NFL preseason victory before their home fans.
The good news for Orton is that despite his three interceptions Broncos coach Josh McDaniels remained steadfast in his support. Orton appeared thankful of this fact in his postgame comments:
“That’s great. That’s certainly what you need in this league is the support of your coach. I’m not worried about it. I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself. I think my team has a lot of confidence in me. … I don’t want to make those decisions and throw three interceptions.”
Orton was acquired after McDaniels relationship with NFL pro bowler Jay Cutler soured due to his effort”and subsequent denial”that he was trying to move the quarterback. Its been a rough start to Ortons tenure in Denver”he was even booed during a public scrimmage after throwing an interception.
McDaniels, to his credit, put the fact that it was only the first preseason game into perspective:
“I feel very confident in where we’re at. There’s no reason to start tailspinning into this and that when we’ve only had one preseason game.”
Even when Orton got decent pass protection, San Franciscos rapidly improving defense was able to disrupt the passing lanes. Niners’ cornerback Nate Clemens in particular was a huge factor, hauling in one of Ortons three miscues. After the game he commented on the play:
“I saw the route and played my responsibility and he threw it. I like seeing all of our defensive backs get interceptions and just making plays because we’re game breakers.”
Shaun Hill and Alex Smith are battling for the Niners’ starting QB job and both played solid, if unspectacular, football. Hill spoke of his first preseason action:
“We were able to move the ball and we had a big conversion on third down. That last sack kind of hurt us. That was completely on me. The offensive line did a great job out there. So I’d like to have that play back and I feel like we could have gotten seven out of that.”
Smith was just glad to be back on the field after missing the entire 2008 season due to injury:
“Obviously, I was raring to go when I got out there. It’s been a long time for me, so I was pretty amped up.”
Denver will head to the Pacific Northwest for a game against the Seattle Seahawks next Saturday night. San Francisco, meanwhile, will host their local rivals the Oakland Raiders. The Broncos open the NFL regular season on Sunday, September 13th against the Bengals at Cincinnati. San Francisco will get the regular season underway on the same day as they head to Tempe, Arizona to face the Arizona Cardinals.
Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
Ravens Go Undefeated On NFL Preseason By Thumping Falcons
Even when the games don’t count and the starters play little, if at all, the Baltimore Ravens hate to lose. Despite the Atlanta Falcons starting QB Matt Ryan playing only one series and with the Ravens third string signal caller John Beck playing the entire game it was apparent that Baltimore wanted the victory more. The former BYU standout threw for 232 yards and a pair of touchdown passes as the Ravens easily beat the Atlanta Falcons 20-3 at the Georgia Dome.
Sports enthusiasts who bet on NFL preseason action were rewarded for their investment in the Ravens, as Baltimore won outright as +3 road underdogs. Baltimore also finished the NFL preseason with a perfect 4-0 mark against the spread, while Atlanta finished 2-1-1 against the number.
Ravens QB Beck expressed how pleased he was to get the opportunity to showcase his skills for the entire game:
“He (coach John Harbaugh) told me a few days ago that I would play the whole game. It was very exciting to get to play the whole game.”
Beck made the most of his opportunity, finishing with 232 yards on 16 of 28 passing and a pair of touchdowns. The Ravens defensive reserves did their part by holding the Falcons to just 175 yards of total offense.
Despite the lackluster effort by his team, Falcons coach Mike Smith was nonplussed:
“You’ve got to understand in these games, you’re going to call things defensively and offensively to put players in certain situations to evaluate them. You’re not game-planning in a game like this. You’re going to put players in certain situations to see how they handle certain techniques and coverages.”
Falcon cornerback Chris Houston was a little more concerned after a poor showing by the Atlanta defensive secondary:
“We’ve got to work on everybody getting to the ball. We’ve got to try to be more aggressive in our techniques. We made some plays tonight, but other than that, we still have a lot to work on as a defense.”
The Ravens will get the 2009 NFL regular season underway at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Falcons will welcome the Miami Dolphins to the Georgia Dome to get their campaign started.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
Cowboys Open NFL Season With Win Over Bucs
Tony Romo passed for a NFL career best 353 yards and threw three touchdown passes as the Dallas Cowboys got their 2009 season off to a good start with a 34-21 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Raheem Morris went down in defeat in his debut as Bucs head coach, while the Cowboys answered a lot of questions about how their receiving corps would respond to the absence of Terrell Owens, now with the Buffalo Bills.
The Cowboys easily covered the pointspread as -4 road favorites, and improved to 16-12 over the last three years when laying points. Tampa Bay dropped to 17-17 over the same timeframe as an underdog. The 55 combined points went OVER the posted total of 39.
After the game Roy Williams couldn’t resist a wisecrack about T.O.:
“Career-high passing yards? Without T.O? “No, it’s good. It’s good for him. It’s good for this team. It was a team effort. Everybody contributed.”
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said he wasnt surprised at the the performance of his receiving corps:
“They are playmakers, and we knew that going in. But until you do it, the naysayers are going to say: ‘Hey. You don’t have this or that.’ But I think we do.”
Romo, meanwhile, preferred to focus on the victory:
“You don’t think about yards. You’re not judged off of yards. You’re judged off of winning and losing at this position.”
Raheem Morris was still upbeat despite going down to defeat in his regular season NFL coaching debut:
“Obviously, we’re disappointed. But there were a lot of good things on offense.”
Perhaps the brightest silver lining in the dark cloud of the loss was the performance of Cadillac Williams. Williams appeared fully recovered from serious knee surgery and rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber suggested that the final score didn’t convey that his team played well:
“We had our chances. The final score is definitely not indicative of how good we played at times. Those big plays absolutely destroy you football team.
The Cowboys will open their season at their plush new $1 billion plus stadium this Sunday, hosting the New York Giants. Theyll remain at home the following week as they welcome the Carolina Panthers to Texas. The Bucs will head to upstate New York to face T.O and his new team, the Buffalo Bills. Theyll return to Florida the following week to take their turn hosting the New York Giants.
Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
2008 SEC Championship: Gators Top Tide
The Florida Gators would go on to win the NCAA Football Championship, but it was a 31-20 victory over #1 ranked Alabama in the SEC championship game that got them there. The Gators scored– 4th quarter points to secure victory in a contest that was an epic struggle for three quarters with five lead changes and two ties.
The Gators struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a three yard Tim Tebow TD pass to Carl Moore. The Crimson Tide quickly counterpunched, tying the score on an eighteen yard run by Glen Coffee and taking their first lead of the game at 10-7 several minutes later on a 30 yard FG by Leigh Tiffin. Florida responded in the second quarter, tying the game on a Jonathan Phillips’ yard FG and taking a 17-10 lead into the halftime break on another Tebow TD pass, this one to David Nelson from five yards out. Alabama regained the momentum in the third quarter, tying the score on a 2 yard Mark Ingram touchdown run and then regaining the lead at 20-17 in the final seconds of the period on another Tiffin field goal. Florida put them down for the count in the fourth, however, on a 1 yard Jeffrey Demps TD run followed by Tebows third touchdown strike of the day.
As was the case more often than not during Floridas run to the BCS title game, Tim Tebow was the big star for the Gators. The junior QB had 216 yards passing with 3 TDs and no interceptions plus fifty seven yards on the ground. Florida head coach Urban Meyer wasnt hesitant about praising Tebow effusively in his post game comments:
“I’ve had some great players, and I’ve got some great players on this team. But I’ve never had one like this. Tim’s got something special inside him. I’m not talking about throwing. I’m not talking about running. I’m talking about making everyone around him better. That fourth quarter was vintage Tim Tebow.
Alabama coach Nick Saban agreed:
“He’s a great competitor. He takes his teammates on his shoulders a lot. They have a lot of confidence he’s going to make plays, and they play that way. They scored two touchdowns where we had them covered about as well as we could cover them.”
The conventional wisdom is that the Gators are a speed and finesse team, but according to cornerback Joe Haden make no mistake that they’re tough:
“Our team is a tough team. The only reason they look past our toughness is our speed. They said we were a speed team and they were a tough team. We’re just as tough. We can still be pretty and fast and tough at the same time.”
While Crimson Tide fans were no doubt disappointed by their late season loss, some perspective is necessary: the team was only two years removed from a 6-7 record in their last year under Mike Shula. In only two years at the helm, Nick Saban has amassed a’-7 record at Alabama with no signs of slowing down.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
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