OK kids, peruse the musings of an uninformed gambler ...
Thursday night
Buff @ Miami 2.5, 50.5
Bills off an uninspired win over the Cards, where they spotted Ari a 17-3 lead before waking up.
Statistically Buffalo outplayed the Cards, but they were sloppy in the process. Typical Bills game.
Fins had their hands full with Jax, and only won because Jags RB Etienne fumbled the ball when Jax was about to take a 17 point lead. Miami had better stats, highlighted by their 319-139 advantage in air yards. I still believe that T Lawrence is no better than a mid level QB.
Bills have won 10 of the last 11 games between these 2 teams.
Fins are 9-2 in their last 11 @ home.
This sets up as a shootout
LVR @ Ravens 9.5, 41.5
That’s a low total for a game with such a large spread.
Please do not mention the ol’ west coast team traveling east for an early kickoff angle as an argument for making a bet. I’m pretty sure the line makers have already taken it into account.
I will leave all talk of this game to our resident ‘know it all’, and resident ‘stay above the fray’ Raven fans.
SD 6, 39.5 @ Car
The SD Icons travel to Carolina to take on the hapless Panthers.
SD beat the Radah’s 22-10, but the score is not indicative of the closeness of the game. Chargers out rushed LV 176-71 and won the turnover battle 3-0. Is there any doubt who the HC is?
I almost have the Panthers as an auto fade, but Harbaugh is playing a style of football that is conducive to playing closer games.
NO @ Dal 6.5, 46.5
Saints blew out the aforementioned hapless Panthers. Color me unimpressed.
Meanwhile the Cowboys traveled to Cleveland and dominated a decent Browns team who has a really good defense and some weapons on offense, albeit with a shitty QB. (and now I will explain why this line is 6.5, or 7)
The story of the game was the Cowboys defense. They were everywhere, and Watson paid a physical price because of it. Unbeknownst to bigred, Dallas has added some quality pieces to their defense, and they showed up on Sunday. ALL Pro CB Blands injury was a concern when it happened, but 5th round rookie Caelon Carson was not only good filling in for Bland he was exceptional. He held Cooper to 2 catches for a few yards, almost had a few picks, and just played extremely tight coverage all game.
Many of the other Dallas rookies played very well, including DE Kneeland, LBer Liafau, and the 2 who started on the O-Line in Beeber and Guyton. Also of note was the play of LBer Overshown. He was tearing up Cowboys camp and preseason last year as a rookie, but got hurt in the last preseason game and missed the entire year. He was all over the field yesterday, and if you haven’t seen the replay of him sacking a running Watson, where Overshown ran by Micah as if he was in mud, then do yourself a favor and YouTube that play. This kid is a menace and was the fastest player on either team. Cowboys defense is very talented at all 3 levels.
Cowboys offense played well against a very good defense who had tight coverage most of the game. Zeke looked invigorated and ran with a purpose, although I was against him resigning and remain doubtful. Give their O-line with the 2 rookies some time to gel and they will be a top tier unit.
No report on Dallas is complete without mentioning FG kicker Aubrey. Simply the best. Their Special Teams are all solid, and Turbin is always a threat to take one to the house as he did yesterday.