games
- Thread starter RAYMOND
- Start date
A trend suggests that Tampa Bay, the team with a game under its belt vs. the debuting Dolphins, is the eventual right side. That approach is a 7-5 ATS winner with the underdog, and unless something strange happens, the Bucs figure to be taking at least a point or two, maybe more. But how do you factor Tampa?s travel situation leading up to this ? a short week after trouncing the Jets in Japan last Saturday? Well, you probably don?t factor it. In addition to getting 60 minutes of reps and competitive contact vs. the Jets that Miami players have yet to receive, the Bucs have also had substantially more practice time. They opened camp on July 18; the Dolphins reported on July 24. Brian Griese and Jay Fiedler are competent veterans behind center for Miami, but one of them will be playing with a sub-par set of receivers, as the Dolphins are not deep in that department. Also, one of them, or both, will operate in a backfield that will not be churning out possession yards while Ricky Williams is watching on the sideline. It?s a little-known fact that several days before the Super Bowl last winter, the Bucs? offensive players were actually talking about things they could improve upon in training camp the next year, when they would have a year of Jon Gruden?s system in their systems. That time has arrived, and it?s time to capitalize on their exuberance and anticipation. When Bucs #1 QB Brad Johnson sat out some practices in late July, it gave Shaun King ? who knows the ropes ? a chance to run plays with the first-stringers.
Last edited:
Game-Under-the-Belt (GUB) amateurs have taken a 1-7 ATS soaking with favorites under the mistaken notion that chalk is good in this situation. The Chiefs, who played last weekend, would be a go-against according to that trend. But hey, stuff evens out in the long run, right? The 49ers haven?t taken pre-season results seriously since the days when they got good under Bill Walsh. QB Jeff Garcia was recently quoted as saying that he needs to ?pull back? at this time of year. When Garcia was NOT under center in the pre-season a year ago, the 49ers offense floundered noticeably. When their offense flounders, the defense is not capable of picking it up. Even without injured WR Sylvester Morris, the Chiefs have perhaps the deepest set of pass catchers in the NFL. In their third year of the Vermeil system ? a system that took the NFL by storm in his third year in St. Louis ? the KC offense can probably go zip-zip-zing up and down the field, unopposed by a San Francisco side playing for the first time under the new, Dennis Erickson-led coaching staff. Although the Chiefs scored only 14 points against the 49ers in a regular season meeting last year, the game was played on soggy grass and the 49ers ran the ball all afternoon. The 49ers? ball-control plan limited KC offensive possessions. It?s highly doubtful that San Francisco will go in with the same ?preventive? mindset with a new coaching staff in a game that doesn?t count. And since the Chiefs? defense ranked last in the NFL last season, they are on a mission to improve, beginning now, with five new starters to help it happen.
The Colts are all about Cover 2 and conservative offense. But last year, their quarterbacks turned the ball over way too many times with interceptions and it kept the Tony Dungy philosophy from being totally effective. Those kind of mistakes also made for point-spread disasters overall. Yet the Colts made the playoffs anyway. Now, they figure to tighten the screws both offensively and defensively in their second year under his system. Because the Colts ended the season by losing 41-0 in the first round of the playoffs, they are eligible to want to come out and make a big effort to wipe that game from their memories. And although Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison don?t figure to play much, it?s not like they ever have logged serious minutes in the pre-season. The Cover 2 is Bears QB Kordell Stewart?s worst nightmare. This guy hasn?t beaten a scheme since college, and he has the added burden of facing it while attempting to learn a new offensive terminology and personnel.
Tampa Bay at Miami
Under 32
The Bucs are returning from a trip to Japan with only five days' rest,
Brad Johnson's are is a little sore, they didn't practice twice this week,
and Miami's first-string QB Jay Fielder is out.
The Dolphins will not want to leave immobile second-string QB Brian
Griese out there too long against a quick defense that mauls QBs.
Under 32
The Bucs are returning from a trip to Japan with only five days' rest,
Brad Johnson's are is a little sore, they didn't practice twice this week,
and Miami's first-string QB Jay Fielder is out.
The Dolphins will not want to leave immobile second-string QB Brian
Griese out there too long against a quick defense that mauls QBs.
Last edited:
The Eagles have lost some key personnel, and for the first time in a while, will use the pre-season to evaluate and indoctrinate a bunch of key new people. In prior pre-seasons, Philly seemed to go through the motions in August road games before turning on the juice at home. Without veteran running backs Dorsey Levens and Cecil Martin in the mix, it might be even harder to move the ball in early weeks unless new fullback Jon Ritchie (Raiders) plays enough to pave the way for people. New Orleans has an experienced, speed-laden offense, special teams that make plays, and better defensive quickness this season
