[meta content='0;url=http://www.sportsbetedge.com' http-equiv='refresh'/> SportsBetEdge: September 2011

Welcome to SportsBetEdge's blog!

This is the blog for SportsBetEdge, where you will find many of our picks and results on sports, such as the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and even soccer. Due to recent conflicts with our website domain, we were forced to create a blog while our company and the domain host construct a compromise. As our website has been shortly discontinued, we have been providing our clients and investors with many other values. SportsBetEdge has been posting superior picks on sports forums for no cost, and we also gave our new customers a 20% discount!

Contact us for more information about our winning picks! SportsBetEdge@gmail.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAVE $250 on NFL Season Package!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Friday, September 30, 2011

Terry Francona Expected to Leave Red Sox

Terry Francona met with Red Sox management on Friday morning, and the expected resolution is that he no longer will be the team’s manager, major league sources say.

Shortly after the meeting, which The Associated Press reported, Francona, owner John Henry, and chairman Tom Werner left in separate cars. Francona left first, at 11:55 a.m. No announcement was made.

While Francona’s departure is not certain, it is the likely outcome, in part because he is pressing for a resolution, sources say. He would not be fired; the Red Sox would simply decline their club options on him for 2012 and ’13.

At that point, Francona would be free to pursue long-term contracts with other clubs. The White Sox’s position currently is open, and Francona managed five seasons in their minor-league system in the early 1990s.

The Cubs could be another possibility for Francona once they hire a new general manager and proceed with the expected dismissal of manager Mike Quade. Francona played for the Cubs in 1986.

Or Francona — after eight years under intense scrutiny in Boston — could decide not to manage at all in 2012.

Francona, 52, led the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and ‘07 — the franchise’s first two championships since 1918 — and took the team to the playoffs five times.

His departure would come in the wake of the Red Sox blowing a nine-game game lead in the American League wild-card race, the biggest ever held by a team in September that failed to make the playoffs.

Francona and general manager Theo Epstein met in Boston with reporters on Thursday, one day after the Red Sox were eliminated by a stunning turn of events — a walk-off loss to the Orioles and the Rays’ walk-off victory over the Yankees.

Epstein said that club officials already had been meeting to discuss how the team crumbled, and that, “nobody blames what happened in September on Tito.”

"That would be totally irresponsible and shortsighted,” Epstein said. “As an organization we have to look at our successes and failures, and what happened in 2011 — we take full responsibility for it. All of us collectively look at it as a failure. I'm the general manager, so I take more responsibility than anybody.

“But I know we don't believe in scapegoats, particularly blaming Tito for what happened in September. We all failed collectively. We're all together in this; we've got to live with that. We're not pointing fingers at any one person in particular.”

Epstein, however, may not have the final say. Ownership could conclude that Francona, after eight seasons of leading the Red Sox, has simply run his course as manager.

Francona managed the Phillies from 1997 to 2000. He was a special assistant to the GM with the Indians in 2001, then the bench coach for the Rangers in 2002 and Athletics in ‘03 before taking over the Red Sox in ’04.


__________________________________________________________________________________
www.foxsports.com | Read Original

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Baseball Playoffs Set After Wild Ride

Baseball's wildest wild-card races ever came down to the final minutes of the final day of the regular season Wednesday.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays both earned playoff spots right around midnight, finishing off two of the most spectacular comebacks ever.

St. Louis beat the Houston Astros 8-0 earlier in the night and then watched the Philadelphia Phillies rally in the ninth inning and beat the Braves 4-3 in the 13th, eliminating Atlanta, which had led St. Louis by 10 games for the National League wild card on Aug. 25.

Meanwhile, the Rays clinched the American League wild card by beating the New York Yankees 8-7 in 12 innings after trailing 7-0 in the eighth. Their win came four minutes after the Boston Red Sox blew a one-run lead in the ninth to the Baltimore Orioles and lost 4-3. The Red Sox had held a nine-game lead over the Rays on Sept. 3.

Both races were tied at the beginning of the night. Boston and Atlanta could have forced one-game playoffs with wins, but both lost because closers Jonathan Papelbon and Craig Kimbrel couldn't hold ninth-inning leads.

St. Louis will face Philadelphia in the NL Division Series. Tampa Bay will play the Texas Rangers.

Cardinals roll

In Houston, Chris Carpenter (11-9) struck out 11 and allowed two hits in his 15th career complete-game shutout as St. Louis finished its improbable September charge.

"We had nothing to lose. We were already out of it," Carpenter said. "People were telling us we were done. We decided to go out and play and not embarrass ourselves and do what we can. We played ourselves back into it."

The Cardinals poured onto the field after Carpenter fielded J.D. Martinez's weak grounder for the final out. The celebration was brief and muted, as the team raced into the clubhouse to watch the end of the game in Atlanta.

"It was exciting, there's no doubt about it," Carpenter said. "The way these guys have played the past month and a half has been amazing, every single night grinding, playing their butts off, not giving up.

"We continued to give ourselves an opportunity, and now we are here."

Atlanta's game started an hour earlier, but the Cardinals virtually took away any hope for a Houston victory in the first inning of their contest, jumping to a 5-0 lead against Brett Myers (7-14).

Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman drove in runs with singles, and David Freese doubled to left-center before Myers even recorded an out. Berkman scored when Skip Schumaker's hard grounder ricocheted off Myers' glove for an infield hit, and Freese came home on Nick Punto's single to right.

Carpenter handled the rest.

Rays rally

In St. Petersburg, Fla., the Rays overcame a 7-0 deficit with six runs in the eighth and one in the ninth, and then beat the AL East champion Yankees on Evan Longoria's home run in the 12th.
Longoria hit a three-run homer in the eighth that capped the six-run burst. Pinch-hitter Dan Johnson's two-out, two-strike solo homer in the ninth tied it.

Longoria won it with a one-out shot barely inside the left-field foul pole.

Sox collapse

In Baltimore, the Red Sox completed their September collapse in horrific and historic fashion, allowing two ninth-inning runs in a loss to the Orioles.

A 7-19 swoon had left them tied with Tampa Bay entering the final day. Even if Tampa Bay lost, the Red Sox faced the prospect of a quick turnaround following a long night at Camden Yards that included a rain delay of 1 hour, 26 minutes in the middle of the seventh inning.

The Orioles won the game in the ninth against Papelbon (4-1), who struck out the first two batters before giving up a double to Chris Davis. Nolan Reimold followed with a double to score pinch-runner Kyle Hudson, and Robert Andino completed the comeback with a single to left that Carl Crawford couldn't glove.

Boston became the first team to miss the postseason after leading by as many as nine games for a playoff spot entering September, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.


Press of Atlantic City | www.pressofatlanticcity.com

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Red Sox Playoff Hopes at Risk

The Red Sox at least temporarily halted their September slide but they’re still a win or two away from a postseason berth that seemed like a stone cold ‘lock’ just weeks ago. Now they find themselves in a must win situation.

Boston has only itself to blame for the predicament they find themselves in today. On September 4, they led the Wild Card race by nine games. 24 days later they are dead even with the Tampa Bay Rays for the final American League playoff spot.

It didn’t have to be this way and shouldn’t have been this way but it happens when you lose 19 of 26 games in the most important month of the regular season. It’s what happens when many of those losses come against the worst teams in your division. It happens when you realize that maybe you weren’t as good as that $161 million dollar payroll suggested.

Tonight Boston pins it's hopes on Jon Lester (15-9, 3.49 ERA) who is 14-0 lifetime against Baltimore but is also 0-3 with a 10.54 ERA in his last three starts. His recent struggles are one of the reasons that the Red Sox starting rotation has a combined 7.28 ERA this season.
Opposing Lester will be Alfredo Simon (4-9, 4.85 ERA) who is 0-1 this season and lifetime against the Red Sox.

MLB betting odds do favor the Boston Red Sox, having them listed at -215, but I see the Orioles holding a slight edge here while providing a great chance for MLB bettors to make some money on the Red Sox's failures.

Power plus

Boston kept its share of the wild card lead and control of its own destiny with a four home run performance in an 8-7 victory over the Orioles. Rookie catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who was only playing because Boston’s top two backstops, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek were hurt, was the unlikely hero hitting his first two major league home runs.

There’s also a rich bit of irony in the final day of the season. In order to make the playoffs or at very least force a tiebreaker on Thursday, the Red Sox need some help from their American League East rivals, the New York Yankees. To his credit, Yankee manager Joe Girardi says his starters will play and that he’ll treat this as he would any regular season game.

But does that mean that Teixeira or Granderson or Cano will give that little extra effort tonight. They should but there’s no guarantee they will. That’s why the Red Sox need to take care of business against the Orioles.

If the teams remain tied after Wednesday’s season finales, they will meet in a one-game playoff Thursday at Tropicana Field at 4:07 PM ET.

How hard can this be?

The Red Sox (89-71) are 7-19 in September, the second worst record for the club since the 1926 team went 4-18. Two of the setbacks came against Texas, a four apiece against the Orioles and Yankees, three were administered by Toronto, and there was the 0-6 stretch against the Rays. Boston hasn’t had a two-game winning streak since August 27, and tonight would be a great time for another one.

Trending poorly for Boston

The Red Sox are 0-8 following a win and 2-8 in their last 10 road games. However as a team Boston is 16-1 in Lester’s career starts against Baltimore.

Credit the Orioles. They’ve been tough against the contenders and pretenders down the stretch. The Birds hurt the Angels chances taking two out of three. They beat the Yankees, Rays and Tigers twice and haven’t rolled over for anyone.

Red Sox playoff scenario

If Boston wins the wild card, they’ll open the Division Series in Texas or Detroit on Friday.
The weather forecast for Camden Yards tonight is calling for a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms and 70 degree temps.



www.sbrforum.com | Bob Harvey

Nebraska vs Wisconsin Spread Opener

As we enter week 5 of the NCAA Football Season, we're approaching the best matchup of the year, and a historic one to go along with it. The Nebraska Cornhuskers visit Camp Randall Field to play the Wisconsin Badgers in Nebraska's first ever inter-conference game since joining the Big Ten Conference.

This game could have possible BCS Championship Bowl game implications

The Opening line

Sportsbooks have opened with Wisconsin as a 9.5 point favorite. When I first came across this line I was stunned that college football odds makers had listed the legendary and undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers as a double digit underdog.
Nebraska has an explosive offense, led by quarterback Taylor Martinez and running back Rex Burkhead. There was a lot of hype surrounding Nebraska when they decided to make the move to the Big Ten. Although Wisconsin had a great showing last year, Nebraska was immediately installed as the odds on favorite to win the Big Ten Conference this season.

Line Movement

It's still very early in the week but I expect NCAAF bettors backing Nebraska to get involved quickly, in fear of the line dropping. Thus far, the line has gone up to 10, fallen to 9.5, and has currently returned to 10.
Don't expect to see too many Wisconsin bettors to get involved early. The last thing that they want to do is lay double digits against a team like Nebraska that will be filled with adrenaline and looking to make a good impression in the conference and around the country. Therefore, I fully expect the line to drop as the week goes on.
Consistency

What has separated the Nebraska Cornhuskers from other schools has been their consistency. In 25 consecutive years the Cornhuskers have won 9 or more games each season, finished in the top 15 of the AP Poll 24 out of the 25 years, and have been ranked in the weekly AP Poll all but three times. In the 1990's alone, the Cornhuskers went on to win three national championships. These championship teams were known for their exceptional rushing games, and the ground attack remains a key component to the Cornhuskers' attack today.

The Wisconsin Way

When setting the lines, odds makers must examine the way that the team has performed in their recent outtings. Coach Bret Bielema is very proud of his players, and the first thing that he expressed after a 59-10 rout of South Dakota was "Bring on Nebraska!". It's a coach's job to keep his team focused on the task at hand and to not look too far into the future. Well, based on his reaction, it's safe to say that this game has always been in the back of his mind.
Let's face it, Wisconsin has disposed of it's opponents quite easily thus far, as all four of their games have been legitimate spankings. Nebraska, on the other hand, has played well but hasn't had as easy a time as the Badgers have had.

In fact, Nebraska's defense hasn't been anything better than ordinary. They rank 46th in points allowed while Wisconsin ranks 3rd in defense in the nation. We'll get into more statistical details as the week progresses and we dig deeper into this matchup.

Injuries are unavoidable

The Huskers have also had to deal with injuries. Obviously injuries play a major role in the opening line, and last second changes can cause quick line movements just before game time. Jared Crick, who is one of the best defensive tackles in the country, was injured two weeks ago against Washington, and Nebraska's defensive coordinator has refused to disclose the nature of the injury. Crick should be good to go against Wisconsin as Nebraska has been dealing with him cautiously.
Another Cornhusker who's been dealing with a quad injury is senior cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, who has missed the first three games of the season. Although these two key players should fit to play, if declared unable to take the field expect the line to move even higher.

Been there, done that

Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini is taking a different approach than that of his adversary coach, Bret Bielema. He's not concerned with the "average" defensive play by the Huskers. Pelini has confidence in his team and as I've stated earlier, this is a university that has winning in their blood.
Tomorrow we will begin to breakdown the game's 'Total' as well as each team's plan of attack. Stay tuned as I'll be updating you about this exciting matchup throughout the week.


www.sbrforum.com | Joe Catalano

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

SportsBetEdge is now on Facebook!

We are now on Facebook, and along with that we are offering great deals and discounts. If you "Like" us on Facebook, you could have a chance to receive a free week of NFL and NCAAF picks at ABSOLUTELY NO COST! In order to receive those winning picks, you have to "Like" us on Facebook and be the first to send us an e-mail approving you are the one who "Liked" our page. Good luck!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Receive a FREE Weekend of Football!

In recognition of our future customers, we have created a deal that will top anything else we have ever offered. If you subscribe with us before Monday, September 19, we will give you two weeks of NFL and NCAA football absolutely free! This is a special deal that will only be for a limited period of time, so act quickly to receive $150.00 worth of picks at no cost.

Currenly, our MLB picks are 188-103 (+98.42 units), our NFL picks are 12-6 (+7.25), and our NCAAF picks are now 4-1 (+2.80 units) after Boise State covers the 20 point spread yesterday. We also pick soccer occasionally, and we will supply a soccer pick sparingly just to increase the winnings. Our soccer picks are 5-2 (+5.85 units) on the year. The numbers don't lie, we make money and we are helping our clients in the process! SportsBetEdge will guarantee that you will earn profit when you play our picks with our money management process. Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you very soon.

--SportsBetEdge

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Tigers' Verlander going for 11th straight

Justin Verlander (22-5, 2.44) brings a 10-game winning streak into the game and can tie Hal Newhouser's mark off 11 set in 1946 with a victory. Coincidentally, the Tigers also bring a 10-game win streak into the game after pounding the White Sox in Monday's series opener.
That victory gave Detroit an 11-5 season series edge heading into Tuesday's contest.

The MLB odds like Verlander's chances of matching Prince Hal's club record and the Tigers extending their winning stretch. Detroit is a -180 favorite this evening when they face Chicago's Gavin Floyd (12-10, 4.35). The game total is seven.



There's no debating Verlander's overall performance this season. Clearly the front-runner for Cy Young Award, he could become just the 10th different pitcher to win the AL MVP and first since Dennis Eckersley in 1992.

If there's one little glitch in his numbers, it's a road ERA that is creeping up and a propensity for giving up the long ball away from Comerica Park.
Verlander has allowed 15 homers in 118.1 road innings, and a 4.17 ERA over his last six away assignments. Still, Detroit is 6-0 in those games and 12-4 when Verlander takes the bump on the road.
The last time Verlander didn't win a start was July 15 at home against Floyd and the White Sox. Chicago got to the Detroit righty for five runs (4 earned) in six innings while Floyd pitched into the eighth giving up just one earned run for the win. The Tigers were -200 chalk in that contest.

Floyd also pitched in Detroit just 10 days ago, leaving after five innings with an 8-4 lead. He wound up with a when the Tigers rallied for a 9-8 win punctuated by a walk-off homer by Miguel Cabrera.

US Cellular Field has not been kind to Floyd in 2011, his ERA here approaching 6.00 while he sports a 3.28 mark away from home. The White Sox are 6-6 in his 12 starts on the South Side diamond, opposing batters popping 9 HR in his 69.1 innings of work.

Floyd and his relievers should have a big stick back in their lineup for this game. Right-fielder Carlos Quentin was activated from the DL and he played part of Monday's game at DH. He'd been out since Aug. 21 with sprained shoulder and is 10 for 34 lifetime vs. Verlander with 3 HR.
The forecasters are calling for a cool evening in the Windy City, clear skies with a light breeze blowing out to center and temps dropping from the upper 60s at game time night (8:10 PM ET) into the 50s as the evening progresses.


www.sbrforum.com | Chance Harper

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Top 10 NFL Offensive Changes

There may have been a delay in NFL transactions this season due to the lockout, but the moves did come fast and furious the week after the lockout was lifted, so even with a briefer period than usual for personnel moves, fans still may have trouble identifying the players on their favorite teams this year without a scorecard.

On the offensive side of the ball, the big winners look like the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears, as each team added two players from our list of the top 10 offensive skill position player moves this off-season, with the Cardinals quickly transforming from potential also-rans to legitimate threats to win an NFC West Division that is the worst division in the NFL.

The Philadelphia Eagles look like the big winners on the defensive end, as they have assembled one of the best secondaries in league history with the additions of Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to incumbent Asante Samuel, but we will have more on defensive moves on a future date.

For now, here are the eight NFL teams that should benefit the most from the 10 biggest offensive player moves for 2011.

Arizona Cardinals
Kevin Kolb
– QB: Remember that the Cardinals went to the Super Bowl with Kurt Warner at quarterback following the 2008 season, and he then took Arizona to the playoffs the following year. He then retired though, and the Cardinals quickly discovered just how valuable he was last season when they were one of the worst teams in the NFL due to terrible quarterback play. Enter Kolb, who went from sitting on the bench backing up Michael Vick in Philadelphia to giving the Cardinals instant credibility as their starter, especially with one of the most talented receivers in football to throw to in Larry Fitzgerald. Yes, Kolb is unproven at the NFL level, but he had the Eagles’ starting job won before getting injured last season, and we think he is good enough to win games in this week division.

Todd Heap – TE: Heap is a great pass catching tight end that could become Arizona’s second leading receiver once he develops a rapport with Kolb. Granted, he has yet to score more than seven touchdowns in a season, and that came back in 2005, but that could change on a team with an All-World receiver like Fitzgerald, as he will get the opposing defenses’ full attention, opening things up for Heap and the rest of the receiving corps to get lots of touches, especially closer to the goal line. It also helps that Heap may actually be a better receiver than the rest of the Arizona wide-outs with the defection of Steve Breaston to Kansas City.

Chicago Bears
Marion Barber
– RB: We do not expect the Bears to challenge the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North this season, but Chicago does now look better with their upgrade at the offensive skill positions than they did a few weeks ago, when we projected them to finish behind the Detroit Lions in the division. Barber will be the Bears’ third down back, and he will get lots of touches near the goal line, which is where he is at his best. That is where Chicago will show improvement, as starter Matt Forte had trouble finishing drives last season due to his relatively smaller stature, and last year’s backup Chester Taylor was a bust.

Roy Williams – WR: Barber is not the only former Dallas Cowboy to move on to the Windy City, as Roy Williams followed after dropping to third on the Dallas depth chart behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. This is a nice move for Williams, as he will move right into the starting lineup for the Bears and get reunited with his former offensive coordinator Mike Martz and his pass happy offense. Williams is a big target that quarterback Jay Cutler should be able to find when he is under pressure, which unfortunately happens a lot with Martz’s intricate slow-developing passing schemes, and he also has the speed to stretch defenses. Remember that Williams still scored 12 touchdowns over the past two years despite falling out of favor for the Cowboys, so he is a major upgrade at receiver over what the Bears had last season.

Denver Broncos
Willis McGahee
– RB: New Denver head coach John Fox loved using two running backs when he was at Carolina, where DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart shared the carries, so the newly acquired McGahee should carry the ball a lot this season with the Broncos not sold on Knowshon Moreno as the every down back. It also looks like Kyle Orton is still the Broncos’ starting quarterback, so McGahee will get a lot of the goal line touches unless Denver brings in Tim Tebow specifically for those situations. McGahee is a much bigger back than Moreno and remember that he has scored at least five touchdowns in every year since 2004.

Miami Dolphins
Reggie Bush
– RB: Bush became expendable in New Orleans when the Saints drafted Mark Ingram, so the move to Miami makes sense, as he will get many more touches than he would have gotten on the Bayou, especially with the Dolphins recently losing Ronnie Brown in free agency. Bush will back up rookie Daniel Thomas for now, but who knows if Thomas can carry the load at this level at his young age, and regardless Bush will be the third down back with his great pass catching ability out of the backfield. Bush’s value this year rises even more when you factor in the instant upgrade he provides Miami as a kick returner.

Minnesota Vikings
Donovan McNabb
– QB: Granted, McNabb’s best days are probably behind him and the Vikings are still major longshots to do much of anything this season, but the veteran is still an improvement at the most important position on the field, as it saves Minnesota from having to choose between starting the unproven Joe Webb or rushing along the future of the franchise Christian Ponders more quickly than they would like. Having McNabb on hand to mentor Ponder is just as important than what Donovan does on the field, where he should still do better than he did in his one year in Washington, as he now has a game-breaker in Percy Harvin to throw to and a stud running back in Adrian Peterson to support him and help free up the passing game.

New England Patriots
Chad Ochocinco
– WR: Chad’s numbers have not been able to keep pace with his mouth during most of his career, but he could actually have a huge year while starting for the most prolific offense in football, and from a pure talent perspective, he could be the best receiver on the New England roster. Now that was also the case in Cincinnati many years and yet Ochocinco still disappointed, but if he cannot produce numbers in a Bill Belichick offense with Tom Brady throwing him the ball, then it should be time for him to retire. We think he could have one of the best seasons of his career though as long as he keeps his head on straight (which admittedly is not always a given).

New York Jets
Plaxico Burress
– WR: It was rather surprising that Burress landed with the Jets when all the speculation had him choosing between his two former teams, the New York Giants or the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Jets are still a good choice for him now that they have released former starter Jerricho Cotchery and lost Braylon Edwards to free agency. That makes Burress the immediate starter despite missing the last two years while doing his jail stint, and he is still young enough where it should not take that long for him to get back into football shape. He also has a nicely developing quarterback in Mark Sanchez to get him the football, and he is obviously a major upgrade as the number two receiver behind Santonio Holmes over all the other unproven receivers on the Jets’ roster.

Tennessee Titans
Matt Hasselbeck – QB: Hasselbeck would have had a decent season had he stayed with the Seattle Seahawks, but he could be better at Tennessee as he has more to work with at wide receiver and running back, assuming Kenny Britt does not get suspended and Chris Johnson does not have a long holdout. It was important for the Titans to get quality quarterback, as Rusty Smith was so horrid when given an opportunity last season that he made Vince Young look good. Hasselbeck fits that bill and he will now get to pass against a couple of the worst pass defenses in the NFL on a regular basis in the AFC South in the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.


www.sbrforum.com | LT Profits Sports Group

Thursday, September 8, 2011

NFL Preview / Review

The NFL begins playing for keeps on Thursday when the New Orleans Saints and reigning Super Bowl champs, the Green Bay Packers open up the regular season. What’s ahead? And what did the preseason tell us, if anything. For starters the NFL futures board changed ever so slightly. The Steelers are now co-favorites with the Patriots at 4/1 to win the AFC title with the Jets, Chargers and Colts right behind.

In the NFC, the Packers are 4/1 followed by the Saints (5/1), Falcons (5-1) and Cowboys (6-1). There’s still no clear cut favorite in the NFC West but Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers have the best odds at 20/1. Next comes the Rams (25/1), followed by Seattle (30/1) and Arizona (50/1). It sounds like the sportsbooks and public alike aren’t thrilled with the upcoming Kevin Kolb era in Phoenix. The Packers and Patriots at 7/1 remain the favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Love for the Lions

Tampa Bay opened as a -4-point pick over Detroit for its home opener at Raymond James Stadium but that number has dropped to -1 at several locations and some NFL odds makers believe that the Lions could actually be favored by the time kickoff rolls around. I’ve been saying it to anyone who will listen. The Lions season goes down the drain when Matthew Stafford gets hurt. They don’t have a proven running game unless you count Jahvid Best who is another serious concussion from having his NFL career cut short. After those two players, there’s not much left on the table.

The defense is another story. Ndamukong Suh who is rapidly earning a reputation as one of the league’s dirtiest players has brought a nastiness to the Lions but unless he can carry the football, throw it and catch it, Detroit is still a long shot to win the NFL title (30/1).

What we learned from the preseason

There were too many injuries again which means the NFL is still overdoing it with the exhibition games. If a player is going to lose his livelihood for a week, a month, the entire season or his career then at least let it happen in a meaningful game. Play an 18-game schedule. The owners wanted it, the players didn’t but maybe after another August filled with needless injuries the union will reconsider. I’m sure the NY Giants wouldn’t mind taking another vote.

Memo to the Packers, Patriots and any other NFL teams that used their starting quarterbacks in Week 4. You were lucky. There is no excuse for risking an entire season by playing your breadwinner in a game where a free-agent scrub from Wattsamatta U puts your guy out for the season. I would expect it from the Rams and maybe even the Patriots but I was stunned to see the Packers start Aaron Rodgers. It wasn’t even safe for the No. 2 QB’s. Just ask Vince Young. The last cut is the deepest Players were getting cut left and right, as teams got down to the 53-man rosters. However because one team didn’t need them, doesn’t mean they’ll be out of work long. Another team with needs specific to that player will grab them off the waiver wire. What’s that old saying, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure? Two teams went undefeated with the Rams and Lions finishing at 4-0. Three teams were winless; the Falcons, Chiefs and Raiders. Two of those teams won their divisions last year and the other team is still in a black hole. Atlanta should be okay but the Chiefs won’t catch anyone by surprise this year.

Mel Kuiper, draft expert

Which rookie QB had the best preseason and is ready to lead his respective team on opening day? How about first-rounder’s Cam Newton, Jake Locker and Christian Ponder? If you answered none of the above you were right. The two best first-year QB’s in the preseason were Andy Dalton of SMU who will start for the Bengals and Ryan Mallett of Arkansas who is Tom Brady’s heir apparent but could start right now for any number of teams. Starting in place of Newton will be Jimmy Clausen and that should tell you all you need to know about that NFL draft pick.


www.sbrforum.com