Cowboys-Raiders
Oh boy, here we go again. It's like deja vu. For the forth straight week I'll look to go against the Cowboys. I'll look to go 4-0 on my call against them tonight when they face Gruden's crew (3rd week went against them SU via teaser).
I hope I'm not being too hard on Dallas or missing something profound, but to me, they seem really confused. The latest is the implimentation of an Option offense sure to be complete with draws, bootlegs, and the like--all for the express purpose of centering their offense around Quincy Carter, a rookie.
Two things stick out. One, it's a very speculative and risky move in my opinion and could mean huge (defensive) plays for opponents with even average defenses (much less the Bad Boys), and all the more against a rookie QB.
Two, in my twenty years of doing this capping thing, it seems every time an OC or HC decides they will center the Offense around one player, it just dont' seem to work unless it's a strong RB. Kordel, Randall, Marino. It just doesn't seem to work.
Maybe it'll work out for them. But the Cowboys seem to be grasping for something that will work overnight. And tonight we'll get a look at that. The only problem is that they will be attempting to establish something via experiment against a well-established, Superbowl contender now in their 3rd week of pre-season.
That would be the Raiders. They are superior in depth at QB, running back, and they are off an overtime loss vs. intrastate rival San Francisco. Gruden also is a decent Pre-season coach. Compare that with some of the Cowboys pre-season records:
*Dallas is 7-31 ATS all games the last 8+ years
*In their last 3+ campaigns, they are 1-17 SU and 2-14 ATS
*In their last 6 head-to-head in pre-season, the Raiders are 5-0-1 ATS
Pokes will reluctantly start Emitt Smith under pressure from fans in Mexico who have never seen him actually play there as he's always sat the bench. However, don't expect him to be in the game for long. It's a pacifier thing.
Raiders Tim Brown and Jerry Rice will see some action. They are deep at RB, and while Gannon is scheduled only for the 1st Quarter, they have ample backups in Peete and Hoying--both veterans. The 4th quarter will go the Tuiasosopo who stole the show the first time these guys met 3 weeks ago.
Dallas got the narrow cover last week against Saints, but I dont' look for them to keep this one a single-digit game. In fact, the feeling here is that Oakland comes out strong off 49er loss vs. Cowboy team who played about as good as it gets for them last week and will crumble the way they crumbled against the Broncos.
As you'll remember, Denver crushed them in virtually every area statistically in a 20-6 win that wasnt' as close as the score indicated.
With all the apparant confusion in the Dallas camp and the speculative move to the Option, I'll stick with the well established blue chip Raiders with superior depth and looking to turn it up a notch in week three.
The total is 34 on this game. I think the Raiders get 27 or more tonight. Emitt may break for a big one for the fans and then sit down. I like the Over as well.
Let's make it a triple threat:
2* Raiders -6
2* Over 34
2* Tease: Oak even, Over 28
dave
Oh boy, here we go again. It's like deja vu. For the forth straight week I'll look to go against the Cowboys. I'll look to go 4-0 on my call against them tonight when they face Gruden's crew (3rd week went against them SU via teaser).
I hope I'm not being too hard on Dallas or missing something profound, but to me, they seem really confused. The latest is the implimentation of an Option offense sure to be complete with draws, bootlegs, and the like--all for the express purpose of centering their offense around Quincy Carter, a rookie.
Two things stick out. One, it's a very speculative and risky move in my opinion and could mean huge (defensive) plays for opponents with even average defenses (much less the Bad Boys), and all the more against a rookie QB.
Two, in my twenty years of doing this capping thing, it seems every time an OC or HC decides they will center the Offense around one player, it just dont' seem to work unless it's a strong RB. Kordel, Randall, Marino. It just doesn't seem to work.
Maybe it'll work out for them. But the Cowboys seem to be grasping for something that will work overnight. And tonight we'll get a look at that. The only problem is that they will be attempting to establish something via experiment against a well-established, Superbowl contender now in their 3rd week of pre-season.
That would be the Raiders. They are superior in depth at QB, running back, and they are off an overtime loss vs. intrastate rival San Francisco. Gruden also is a decent Pre-season coach. Compare that with some of the Cowboys pre-season records:
*Dallas is 7-31 ATS all games the last 8+ years
*In their last 3+ campaigns, they are 1-17 SU and 2-14 ATS
*In their last 6 head-to-head in pre-season, the Raiders are 5-0-1 ATS
Pokes will reluctantly start Emitt Smith under pressure from fans in Mexico who have never seen him actually play there as he's always sat the bench. However, don't expect him to be in the game for long. It's a pacifier thing.
Raiders Tim Brown and Jerry Rice will see some action. They are deep at RB, and while Gannon is scheduled only for the 1st Quarter, they have ample backups in Peete and Hoying--both veterans. The 4th quarter will go the Tuiasosopo who stole the show the first time these guys met 3 weeks ago.
Dallas got the narrow cover last week against Saints, but I dont' look for them to keep this one a single-digit game. In fact, the feeling here is that Oakland comes out strong off 49er loss vs. Cowboy team who played about as good as it gets for them last week and will crumble the way they crumbled against the Broncos.
As you'll remember, Denver crushed them in virtually every area statistically in a 20-6 win that wasnt' as close as the score indicated.
With all the apparant confusion in the Dallas camp and the speculative move to the Option, I'll stick with the well established blue chip Raiders with superior depth and looking to turn it up a notch in week three.
The total is 34 on this game. I think the Raiders get 27 or more tonight. Emitt may break for a big one for the fans and then sit down. I like the Over as well.
Let's make it a triple threat:
2* Raiders -6
2* Over 34
2* Tease: Oak even, Over 28
dave
