NFL Sunday Re-cap: “No Tom Brady? No Problem for the Pats!”
The New York Jets must be kicking themselves. How could the Jets, fresh off of a terrific victory over the Miami Dolphins with their hall-of-fame off season acquisition, Brett Favre, leading the way fall to a New England Patriots’ squad without Tom Brady and a banged up Randy Moss? Because the Patriots are the Patriots, that’s how.
Without a doubt NFL betting fans had a feeling that the Pats were going to come through in their Sunday afternoon slugfest versus the New York Jets. The online betting line opened at Patriots +3.5. By Thursday afternoon, the online wagering line had dropped a full point to Patriots +2.5. What did Matt Cassel and the Pats do on Sunday afternoon? They rewarded their NFL betting backers by beating the New York Jets 19-10. Maybe Patriot quarterbacks are really a product of Bill Belichick’s steady hand.
But the Patriots won’t be the big story in the following days. The big story will be how referee Ed Hochuli, one of the most capable referees in the NFL, screwed up a call towards the end of the Denver game when the ball slipped out of Jay Cutler’s hand. Hochuli called it an incomplete pass. The San Diego Chargers, who recovered what looked to be an obvious fumble, were dumbfounded. What did the Broncos do on the very next play? They scored a touchdown. Then, Denver coach Mike Shanahan decided to go for two points. The Chargers dropped the game and dropped to 0-2 on the season.
Now, anybody who reads any football betting articles that I write knows I am not a Chargers fan. From an online betting point-of-view, the Chargers usually never offer value, but Hochuli’s call was atrocious. The Chargers are once again off to an 0-2 start. I actually feel bad for this team who was missing both Shawne Merriman and LaDanian Tomlinson but still managed to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. To lose the game on such a terrible call from a such terrific referee has to hurt. It also must have hurt online betting fans backing the Chargers who looked to be on their way to a mild upset when Cutler suddenly lost the ball.
Unlike the Chargers, the Carolina Panthers will be starting out this season 2-0 instead of 0-2. They beat the Chargers last week and then came back this week to rally past the suddenly resurgent Chicago Bears. Both teams played very well in this game but the Panthers had Jonathan Stewart, the rookie from Oregon, who took to it to the Bears in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers’ NFC South brethren, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, gave Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons a humility sandwich on Sunday when they beat the Dirty Birds 24-9. Ryan wasn’t very sharp at all in this game and the Falcons’ offensive line, so spectacular in week one when opening holes for Michael Turner, were absolutely manhandled by that terrific Bucs’ front seven. Turner was held to 42 yards on the ground.
Another 2 and 0 team that could keep the good times rolling for online sportsbook betting fans are the Buffalo Bills. The Bills have been terrific in their two victories this season. They beat the overrated Seattle Seahawks in week one and then beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road in week two. The Bills are just a professional looking team – – no flash, just great decisions from quarterback Trent Edwards and a stout defense. This team could continue to line the pockets of online betting fans with dollars.
Finally the Indianapolis Colts beat the Minnesota Vikings in an ugly game between two pre-season favorites, the Arizona Cardinals won their second game in a row when they throttled the Miami Dolphins, the Seahawks lost again, this time to the San Francisco 49’ers, the New Orleans Saints dropped their game against the Washington Redskins, the Giants showed that the NFC East is really that good by destroying the St. Louis Rams 41 to 13, Aaron Rodgers garnered another shout-out from me by guiding the Packers to a victory over the Detroit Lions (great job Aaron!), and the Oakland Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs.
Don’t get too excited Raiders fan you only beat the Chiefs. But, yes, that Darren McFadden is a playa!
Until next week, good luck!
