Headline: Defenses on Display – 49ers Host Bears on Monday Night
Two of the best defensive teams in the NFL meet on Monday Night Football with questions abound about the availability of the two starting quarterbacks for each club. Both Alex Smith and Jay Cutler are far-from-assured to suit up in this most intriguing affair. With the race for the top seeds in the competitive NFC heating up Monday’s showdown is as critical as it is intriguing.
Saints Continue Climb Toward Legitimacy – New Orleans vs. Oakland in Week 11
The Oakland Raiders will try to bounce back from one of the biggest shellackings of the season so far when they take on the red-hot New Orleans Saints – a team that was left for dead a few weeks ago but has arisen and has become one of the scariest outs in the NFL.
Jacksonville struggled against Indianapolis on a short week last week. The only good thing about playing last Thursday is that is gives them an extra few days to prepare for the best team in the league – Houston.
]Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-4) vs Carolina Panthers (2-7)
Sunday November 18
Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC
1:00PM
Moneyline: Off From GTBets.eu
Spread: Pick em
O/U: 48.5
ATS Matchup Stats | Gambling Insight! | Buy Ray’s Picks!
Tampa
The Buccaneers won again last week. That makes three in a row and 4 of their last 5. Due to this roll they enter Carolina as the slight favourite. To illustrate how things have changed throughout the course of the season Tampa was a 3 point dog to Carolina in the opener at home. Both of these teams were expected to improve this year but it has been Tampa that has taken the greater step forward.
Tampa may have won the last three, all by double digit margins, but this team is certainly no powerhouse. The game against San Diego could have gone either way until the Bucs opportunistic defense had a pick 6 to salt it away. This team is 3rd in the league in scoring despite being just above average in yards gained. They are also 30th in yards allowed but yet a respectable 18th in points against. At some point you would expect that something has got to give.
Tampa is 7-2 ATS this season including a perfect 4-0 as the visitors. This team is still a tough one to get a read on but there is enough talent to continue their winning ways against a team like Carolina that is already beginning to think about next season. It is hard not to like the Bucs in a situation where all they have to do is win the game.[soliloquy id=”82219″]
Carolina
Carolina got dumped last week by Denver unable to maintain any of the momentum from their win the week before against Washington. Its another lost season in Charlotte and it appears many are beginning to tire of the look at me antics of franchise face Cam Newton. This team has been dismal at home with 1-4 SU and ATS records. It is hard to find any real reason to get behind them this season after they were solid moneymakers last year.
If Cam is losing the team that is one thing but the other that is plainly clear is that the Panthers can’t afford to lose him. Newton is the top passer and rusher on a team struggling for point production. They prefer to move the ball on the ground but the Bucs are among league leaders in slowing down ground attacks so it may be on Newton to find a way to move the ball through the air. He will definitely have to be sharp to avoid the turnovers that killed San Diego last week.
Tampa seems to be able to frustrate teams while Carolina seems easily frustrated – that does not make for a great outcome for the Panthers. Another thing going against Carolina is that in each of the last three season one team has swept the other – Tampa took the first one this season. In fact they seem to be alternating that trend and it is Tampa’s turn to take two.
Spread Pick: Tampa Bay -1
O/U Pick: Under
Score Prediction: Tampa Bay 23 – Carolina 17
Things are pretty bad in Jetsland right now. At 3-6 they are pretty much out of the race for the playoffs this year and the way they are playing invites more questions than answers.
The Cincinnati Bengals bounced back with a big win over the New York Giants last week. Cincinnati still has a long ways to go to get back in the playoff picture, and they absolutely need to win this game.
The Packers (6-3) have won 4 straight, but they are really banged up and will miss a few players on both sides of the ball in this game. The Lions (4-5) had been playing well before last week’s game where they struggled on defense in the loss to the Vikings.
The Falcons (8-1) are coming off their first loss of the season and there is a good chance they will get back in the W column facing a Cardinals (4-5) team that has lost 5 straight.
The Cowboys (4-5) won a much-needed game last week against the Eagles and while the Browns (2-7) only have 2 wins on the season those 2 wins have come in their last 4 games.
The 2012 Sprint Cup series season comes to a close this Sunday with the running of the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. All the action is set to get underway at 2 p.m. (ET) and the race will be broadcast nationally ESPN.
The UFC heads north this Saturday for UFC 154 for the return from knee surgery of one of its biggest draws Georges St. Pierre. The fight card looks like one of the strongest in a while – for the first time in a very long time, injuries have not decimated the intrigue of an event.
This is a mismatch as the Bearkats are an FCS squad but at least when these games happen later in the season it doesn’t seem as crazy because as you can see Sam Houston State has 8 victories. For what it is worth they are tied atop the Southland Conference standings.
Sam Houston State Bearkats (8-2) vs #8 Texas A&M Aggies (8-2)
Saturday November 17
Kyle Field – College Station, TX
3:30PM
Moneyline: No line
Spread: No line
O/U: No line
Sam Houston State
Their two losses are to Baylor and Central Arkansas – their rival. They held Baylor to 48 points, a feat some FBS opponents haven’t been able to match.
In the Southland the Bearkats have been killing opponents. They have scored 57 TDs while giving up just 19 featuring a rushing attack that averages close to 300 yards per game. Running back Timothy Flanders has already topped 1000 yards this season and he is not your average FCS back having matriculated to Sam Houston State after starting his career at Kansas State. Perhaps he can be the one player who can make a big difference in this one.
No line currently listed on this one and there might not be until much closer to game time. I am sure the Bearkats are going to be pretty excited about getting to face the team that just knocked off the #1 team in the nation. If they play smart they just might be able to keep this respectable for a half against an opponent that might not be giving them that much respect.
Texas A&M
The weird thing about college football is that often the teams that tackle the giants, like A&M did last week in beating Alabama, don’t get the chance to continue up the mountain. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
With two losses already the Aggies are way out of contention for the Championship and might not even qualify for a BCS bowl game. Still their victory against the Crimson Tide will be one of the highlights of a season that has been a little underwhelming.
QB Johnny Manziel is making a push to become the first freshman to win the Heisman trophy. He is having a fantastic season but to me this looks like the kind of game that will hurt his campaign not help it. I envision an efficient game but it will be hard to top what we have seen recently. I also see the Aggies just dominating with their own running game featuring two offensive tackles that are going to be great pros and a nice stable of running backs.
Even though Sam Houston State is a solid FCS program this should be a blowout. We have already seen what Texas A&M can do and now they return home where hopefully the fans support will make sure they don’t do something stupid that kills all their current good feelings. If there is a line probably best to stay away though.
Spread Pick: No line posted
O/U Pick: No line posted
Score Prediction: Texas A&M 45 – Sam Houston State 14
The Minnesota Golden Gophers have been a pleasant surprise in the Big Ten this season. With 6 victories they have already matched their total for the last two season combined and it appears they will be going to a bowl for the first time since 2009.
The Demon Deacons have had some ugly losses but they are just one win away from becoming bowl eligible with two games to play. Neither will be easy but this week will be an extremely hard test as they visit Notre Dame.
The Florida State Seminoles are the 10th-ranked team heading into week 12, and if it weren’t for their one unexpected loss to North Carolina State in the middle of the season, they’d be a BCS contender at this point in the year.
The 11th-ranked Clemson Tigers have had an extremely successful season, which is why it’s unfortunate that their sole loss came at the hands of the ACC Atlantic division’s Florida State Seminoles. A win this week against the North Caronlina State Wolfpack would improve them to 10-1 on the year, but their division rival will likely be the ones in the ACC Championship game.
