Opening line report: Big Ben issue could mean big swing
There wasn?t a controversial fourth-down call to highlight the weekend, but last Sunday?s games supplied a bevy of exhilarating finishes.
A pair of contests were decided in overtime, two underdogs of nine points or more won outright and a couple of 1-8 teams provided the most exciting matchup of the afternoon.
Week 12 action in the NFL commences with a trio of games on Thanksgiving. Green Bay meets Detroit in the early afternoon affair, followed by Oakland at Dallas while the Giants and Broncos close out the holiday lineup.
Turkey day appearances from the Cowboys and Lions have become as American as apple pie and bettors have sided with the gravy train in recent years.
?Usually the way it works is that bettors bet against Detroit and with the Cowboys,? said John Avello, Race and Sports Director at Wynn Las Vegas. ?That?s kind of been the standard over the last few years. Detroit hasn?t had a particularly good team so it?s a ?bet against-bet for? type of thing.?
The new Cowboys Stadium will get its first gobble as Dallas (7-3, 5-5 ATS) hosts Oakland (3-7, 5-5 ATS) in a matchup dubbed the AFL Legacy game.
If Dallas? offense continues to sputter, post-stuffing sedation is going to be induced by Tony Romo and the ?Boys and not the tryptophan in the turkey.
The Raiders upset the Eagles earlier in the year as two-touchdown underdogs, and are coming off another heavy dog shocker over Cincinnati where Oakland scored 10 points in the final minute of the game.
Oakland is 1-0 under its new starting quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. The former Toledo Rocket isn?t going to put any team on his shoulders and win ballgames, but he will limit turnovers and won?t single-handily lose games like JaMarcus Russell.
Avello said the Wynn released the spread for this game at 14 in favor of Dallas with a total of 40. The total appears low, but the Cowboys recent struggles to move the ball and the Raiders offensive game plan have affected the number.
?I don?t expect it to be a shootout,? Avello said. ?I don?t believe the Raiders are coming into this game thinking, ?let?s go head-to-head with the Cowboys in a shootout.?
?I think their strategy is going to be, ?let?s not make mistakes and see if we can hang around with this team and maybe win this game late.??
New Orleans is the first NFC team since the 2001 Redskins to start the season 10-0. The Saints (10-0, 7-3 ATS) will put their unblemished record on the line against the Patriots (7-3, 6-4 ATS) in what will be the biggest Monday Night Football game of the year.
The league?s most prolific offenses collide with New Orleans averaging 36.9 points per outing and New England posting 29.0 ppg. Both teams have registered at least 30 points in four of their last five games.
Avello and the Wynn sent out an opening total of 55, the highest of the season, with a spread of 3 in favor of the Saints.
?I opened this game at 3-even which means if you want the Patriots you lay the double juice,? stated Avello, who expects Reggie Bush to be back after sitting out last week. ?This is a similar game to the Patriots-Colts that I opened at 3-even last week. This game could make the same move the Patriots-Colts game made where we had to get off the 3 and go to 2.5.?
Avello also predicted the total could drop with sharp money during the early part of the week, but some shops currently have the number listed as high as 56.5.
For the first time since 2002, every team from the AFC North was defeated on Sunday.
Fortunately for the division-leading Bengals, Carson Palmer was not injured in their loss, but the second-place Steelers were not so lucky.
Ben Roethlisberger sustained a head injury during Pittsburgh?s (6-4, 3-7 ATS) overtime loss to the Chiefs and head coach Mike Tomlin said the setback was ?concussion-oriented?. Roethlisberger is labeled as questionable for the game against Baltimore (5-5, 6-4 ATS).
Second-string quarterback Charlie Batch replaced Roethlisberger in the game, participating in a total of four plays, but suffered a wrist injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Pitt?s third-string signal-caller on the depth chart is Dennis Dixon who may be in line for his first NFL start on Sunday. It has been reported that the Steelers are also talking with free agent Cleo Lemon.
?If Big Ben is in this game and close to 100 percent then Pittsburgh should be favored small,? Avello said. ?If he is not in the game at all, Baltimore could be a field goal or more (favorite). Roethlisberger is worth a lot. The total on this game without Ben might be 34.?
Other Week 12 NFL lines: New York Giants at Denver Broncos (+6.5); Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals (-14); Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings (-10.5); Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles (-9); Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (+3.5); Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams (+3); Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (-11.5); Carolina Panthers at New York Jets (-3); Jacksonville Jaguars at San Francisco 49ers (-3.5); Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers (-14).
Pointspreads for the Packers-Lions, Colts-Texans and Cardinals-Titans games have not been released.
There wasn?t a controversial fourth-down call to highlight the weekend, but last Sunday?s games supplied a bevy of exhilarating finishes.
A pair of contests were decided in overtime, two underdogs of nine points or more won outright and a couple of 1-8 teams provided the most exciting matchup of the afternoon.
Week 12 action in the NFL commences with a trio of games on Thanksgiving. Green Bay meets Detroit in the early afternoon affair, followed by Oakland at Dallas while the Giants and Broncos close out the holiday lineup.
Turkey day appearances from the Cowboys and Lions have become as American as apple pie and bettors have sided with the gravy train in recent years.
?Usually the way it works is that bettors bet against Detroit and with the Cowboys,? said John Avello, Race and Sports Director at Wynn Las Vegas. ?That?s kind of been the standard over the last few years. Detroit hasn?t had a particularly good team so it?s a ?bet against-bet for? type of thing.?
The new Cowboys Stadium will get its first gobble as Dallas (7-3, 5-5 ATS) hosts Oakland (3-7, 5-5 ATS) in a matchup dubbed the AFL Legacy game.
If Dallas? offense continues to sputter, post-stuffing sedation is going to be induced by Tony Romo and the ?Boys and not the tryptophan in the turkey.
The Raiders upset the Eagles earlier in the year as two-touchdown underdogs, and are coming off another heavy dog shocker over Cincinnati where Oakland scored 10 points in the final minute of the game.
Oakland is 1-0 under its new starting quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. The former Toledo Rocket isn?t going to put any team on his shoulders and win ballgames, but he will limit turnovers and won?t single-handily lose games like JaMarcus Russell.
Avello said the Wynn released the spread for this game at 14 in favor of Dallas with a total of 40. The total appears low, but the Cowboys recent struggles to move the ball and the Raiders offensive game plan have affected the number.
?I don?t expect it to be a shootout,? Avello said. ?I don?t believe the Raiders are coming into this game thinking, ?let?s go head-to-head with the Cowboys in a shootout.?
?I think their strategy is going to be, ?let?s not make mistakes and see if we can hang around with this team and maybe win this game late.??
New Orleans is the first NFC team since the 2001 Redskins to start the season 10-0. The Saints (10-0, 7-3 ATS) will put their unblemished record on the line against the Patriots (7-3, 6-4 ATS) in what will be the biggest Monday Night Football game of the year.
The league?s most prolific offenses collide with New Orleans averaging 36.9 points per outing and New England posting 29.0 ppg. Both teams have registered at least 30 points in four of their last five games.
Avello and the Wynn sent out an opening total of 55, the highest of the season, with a spread of 3 in favor of the Saints.
?I opened this game at 3-even which means if you want the Patriots you lay the double juice,? stated Avello, who expects Reggie Bush to be back after sitting out last week. ?This is a similar game to the Patriots-Colts that I opened at 3-even last week. This game could make the same move the Patriots-Colts game made where we had to get off the 3 and go to 2.5.?
Avello also predicted the total could drop with sharp money during the early part of the week, but some shops currently have the number listed as high as 56.5.
For the first time since 2002, every team from the AFC North was defeated on Sunday.
Fortunately for the division-leading Bengals, Carson Palmer was not injured in their loss, but the second-place Steelers were not so lucky.
Ben Roethlisberger sustained a head injury during Pittsburgh?s (6-4, 3-7 ATS) overtime loss to the Chiefs and head coach Mike Tomlin said the setback was ?concussion-oriented?. Roethlisberger is labeled as questionable for the game against Baltimore (5-5, 6-4 ATS).
Second-string quarterback Charlie Batch replaced Roethlisberger in the game, participating in a total of four plays, but suffered a wrist injury and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Pitt?s third-string signal-caller on the depth chart is Dennis Dixon who may be in line for his first NFL start on Sunday. It has been reported that the Steelers are also talking with free agent Cleo Lemon.
?If Big Ben is in this game and close to 100 percent then Pittsburgh should be favored small,? Avello said. ?If he is not in the game at all, Baltimore could be a field goal or more (favorite). Roethlisberger is worth a lot. The total on this game without Ben might be 34.?
Other Week 12 NFL lines: New York Giants at Denver Broncos (+6.5); Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals (-14); Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings (-10.5); Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles (-9); Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (+3.5); Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams (+3); Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (-11.5); Carolina Panthers at New York Jets (-3); Jacksonville Jaguars at San Francisco 49ers (-3.5); Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers (-14).
Pointspreads for the Packers-Lions, Colts-Texans and Cardinals-Titans games have not been released.
