09/21/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Griese, injured Jeff Garcia's replacement at quarterback for Tampa Bay, led a group of backups to big games in Week 3 action.
Griese led the Buccaneers to a 27-24 overtime victory by throwing for 407 yards and two scores. His favorite receiver on Sunday was another backup, Antonio Bryant (for Joey Galloway), who hauled in 10 passes for 138 yards.
First-time starter Gus Frerotte, led the Vikings to their first win of the season, a 20-10 win over Carolina. Frerotte, was 16-for-28 for 204 yards and one touchdown.
On the other hand, Tyler Thigpen (Kansas City) and Matt Cassel (New England) had tough days as both the Chiefs and Patriots went down to defeat.
Miami's Ronnie Brown, who started for the first time this week ahead of Ricky Williams, showed he was ready for the extra workload, running for 113 yards and four touchdowns and throwing a 19-yards pass for another score.
But Brown's yardage total was surpassed by Steve Slaton of Houston in his first start of the season as the former West Virginia star posted 116 yards on the ground, including a six-yard touchdown run.
Two running backs, Michael Bush and Chester Taylor, who were expected to have bigger roles as replacements for injured stars Darren McFadden and Adrian Peterson, never materialized as the starters managed to get themselves ready for the opening whistle.
Peterson had 77 yards on 17 carries while Taylor combined for 66 yards rushing and receiving. In Oakland's 24-23 last-second loss to Buffalo, neither Bush nor McFadden were particularly productive - Bush combined for 60 yards and McFadden had a total of 48 yards.
In the late-game starts, Robert Meachem's 86 yards helped fill the void of injured wide receiver Marques Colston, Correll Buckhalter had 87 combined yards and a touchdown after Brian Westbrook went down with a left-ankle injury and Billy McMullen led Seattle with four catches for 76 yards.
<< MacKenzie wins Viking Classic in playoff
Madison, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Will MacKenzie won a three-way playoff at the
Viking Classic on Sunday to pick up his second career PGA Tour victory.
MacKenzie birdied three of his last four holes to shoot a four-under 68 in the
final round,
<< D'Backs roll over Rox with post season in sight
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Young had three hits, including a homer
and three-run triple to drive in four runs, leading the playoff-hopeful
Arizona Diamondbacks to a 13-4 thrashing of the Colorado Rockies.
Adam Dunn had t
<< Angels finish off sweep of Rangers
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Lackey hurled six brilliant innings, and
Sean Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira both homered as the LA Angels of Anaheim
finished a three-game sweep of Texas with a 7-3 win.
Lackey (12-4) allowed just tw
<< St. Etienne edges PSG
Saint Etienne, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mouhamadou Dabo scored the only goal
in three games in France's Ligue 1 on Sunday, leading St. Etienne to a 1-0 win
over PSG.
Dabo scored in the 14th minute and St. Etienne held on for its second
Eagles grind out tough win over Pittsburgh >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Donovan McNabb threw for 196 yards and the
game's only touchdown on 24-of-35 passing to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a
tough 15-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
McNabb, who was intercepted once, a
Ravens smother winless Browns >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ed Reed highlighted an outstanding defensive
effort with a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown, as the Baltimore
Ravens used a dominant second half to upend the winless Cleveland Browns,
28-10 i
D'Backs roll over Rox with postseason in sight >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Young had three hits, including a homer
and three-run triple to drive in four runs, leading the playoff-hopeful
Arizona Diamondbacks to a 13-4 thrashing of the Colorado Rockies.
Adam Dunn had t
Moyer tops Marlins again, as Phils extend lead in NL East >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz each hit a two-run
home run as the Philadelphia Phillies took a 5-2 win over the Florida Marlins
to wrap up a three-game series.
Jimmy Rollins went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a ru
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
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