RECENT TRENDS
? KC is 0-3 ATS in three games played this season.
? KC is 6-1 ATS in their last seven played in Oct.
? Chiefs are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings.
? Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
? BAL is 5-2 ATS in their last seven played in Oct.
? Under is 6-1 in the Ravens last seven overall.
Kansas City enters this Monday Night tilt with a hard-to-believe 0-3 record both SU and ATS. They are coming off a shocking 24-21 defeat to the Texans as a heavy 7.5-point home favorite last Sunday.
But really and truly, the Chiefs had no business losing that game. They out-gained the Texans by 68 yards, held Houston?s explosive RB Domanick Davis to 12 yards on 10 carries and Priest Holmes piled up 134 yards rushing. But a 14-point swing when Green threw an interception that went 102 yards the other way for a touchdown completely altered the outcome.
This is not to say the Chiefs do not have problems, because they do. Chief among them is their defense, which had allowed more points through their first three games than any other team in the NFL. It doesn?t help either that KC had racked up the most penalty yards in the NFL through the first three weeks as well.
Kansas City also sorely lacks a prime time receiver, which is not good news going against a nasty Ravens defense that will stack the line to stop Priest Holmes and harass tight end Tony Gonzalez with one of their speedy linebackers. KC?s pointspread demise actually dates back to 2003 after their scorching hot start. The Chiefs are bleeding red at 2-9 ATS their past 11 overall and 0-5 ATS their past five away from
Despite all this, there is indeed a good case for Kansas City tonight. First off, their playoff hopes are done if they drop to 0-4, which creates a huge sense of urgency here. Head Coach Dick Vermeil is a master motivator and will without question impress upon his team the consequences of a loss.
We should also mention that the Ravens could be missing as many as five starters for this game - linebacker Peter Boulware, nose tackle Kelly Gregg, TE Todd Heap, center Mike Flynn and receiver Travis Taylor.
And perhaps most important as it pertains to our pocketbook, let?s not forget about the pointspread. KC has not been priced as a more than a field goal underdog in any game over the past two seasons. Now they are grabbing near a touchdown, in a proverbial must win situation no less.
This is the epitome of what we would call line value. In other words, has the news about the doom and gloom in Kansas City outpaced the reality of the situation? This is an all-too-often occurrence in the media-intensive NFL and one that should definitely be worked into tonight?s equation.
For their part, the Ravens improved to 2-1 both SU and ATS after silencing the Bengals 23-9 as a 3-point road favorite last week. After rushing for just over 100 yards combined in his team?s first two games, RB Jamal Lewis shredded Cincy?s woeful run defense with 186 yards on 18 carries.
Baltimore is also receiving some terrific back up work out of former Toledo star Chester Taylor (5.9 YPC in 2004), as he is the perfect change of pace compliment to the burly Lewis.
As noted on several occasions, Baltimore has an extremely one-dimensional offense. And yes, this singularly focused attack is a liability vs. defenses that can stop their ground game.
Note that the Chiefs were ranked 29th against the run heading into Week 4 and 30th against the run in 2003. No doubt they?ll need to step it up tonight, as the Ravens combination of a fierce defense and bruising ground game can tear apart teams that allow them to move the ball overland.
It is worth mentioning, however, that KC?s defense has played three teams that are relatively balanced on offense in Denver, Carolina and Houston. They will for the first time tonight be able to disregard the pass and stack the line of scrimmage to stop Lewis and Co. Whether they can or not is a totally different question.
? KC is 0-3 ATS in three games played this season.
? KC is 6-1 ATS in their last seven played in Oct.
? Chiefs are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings.
? Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
? BAL is 5-2 ATS in their last seven played in Oct.
? Under is 6-1 in the Ravens last seven overall.
Kansas City enters this Monday Night tilt with a hard-to-believe 0-3 record both SU and ATS. They are coming off a shocking 24-21 defeat to the Texans as a heavy 7.5-point home favorite last Sunday.
But really and truly, the Chiefs had no business losing that game. They out-gained the Texans by 68 yards, held Houston?s explosive RB Domanick Davis to 12 yards on 10 carries and Priest Holmes piled up 134 yards rushing. But a 14-point swing when Green threw an interception that went 102 yards the other way for a touchdown completely altered the outcome.
This is not to say the Chiefs do not have problems, because they do. Chief among them is their defense, which had allowed more points through their first three games than any other team in the NFL. It doesn?t help either that KC had racked up the most penalty yards in the NFL through the first three weeks as well.
Kansas City also sorely lacks a prime time receiver, which is not good news going against a nasty Ravens defense that will stack the line to stop Priest Holmes and harass tight end Tony Gonzalez with one of their speedy linebackers. KC?s pointspread demise actually dates back to 2003 after their scorching hot start. The Chiefs are bleeding red at 2-9 ATS their past 11 overall and 0-5 ATS their past five away from
Despite all this, there is indeed a good case for Kansas City tonight. First off, their playoff hopes are done if they drop to 0-4, which creates a huge sense of urgency here. Head Coach Dick Vermeil is a master motivator and will without question impress upon his team the consequences of a loss.
We should also mention that the Ravens could be missing as many as five starters for this game - linebacker Peter Boulware, nose tackle Kelly Gregg, TE Todd Heap, center Mike Flynn and receiver Travis Taylor.
And perhaps most important as it pertains to our pocketbook, let?s not forget about the pointspread. KC has not been priced as a more than a field goal underdog in any game over the past two seasons. Now they are grabbing near a touchdown, in a proverbial must win situation no less.
This is the epitome of what we would call line value. In other words, has the news about the doom and gloom in Kansas City outpaced the reality of the situation? This is an all-too-often occurrence in the media-intensive NFL and one that should definitely be worked into tonight?s equation.
For their part, the Ravens improved to 2-1 both SU and ATS after silencing the Bengals 23-9 as a 3-point road favorite last week. After rushing for just over 100 yards combined in his team?s first two games, RB Jamal Lewis shredded Cincy?s woeful run defense with 186 yards on 18 carries.
Baltimore is also receiving some terrific back up work out of former Toledo star Chester Taylor (5.9 YPC in 2004), as he is the perfect change of pace compliment to the burly Lewis.
As noted on several occasions, Baltimore has an extremely one-dimensional offense. And yes, this singularly focused attack is a liability vs. defenses that can stop their ground game.
Note that the Chiefs were ranked 29th against the run heading into Week 4 and 30th against the run in 2003. No doubt they?ll need to step it up tonight, as the Ravens combination of a fierce defense and bruising ground game can tear apart teams that allow them to move the ball overland.
It is worth mentioning, however, that KC?s defense has played three teams that are relatively balanced on offense in Denver, Carolina and Houston. They will for the first time tonight be able to disregard the pass and stack the line of scrimmage to stop Lewis and Co. Whether they can or not is a totally different question.
