Dolphins Top Panthers In NFL Preseason Action

The Miami Dolphins unveiled their version of the wildcat single wing offense for the first time in the NFL preseason and it worked like a charm. Starting QB Chad Pennington went 8 of 11 for 105 yards and a touchdown pass as the Dolphins first team offense played well in a 27-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers. While it is only preseason action, a victory is still a victory and no team likes to go down to defeat in back to back weeks. Carolina will have to pick up the pace if they wish to avoid a substandard NFL season that could result in their quarterback contemplating retirement.

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said that there weren’t any big secrets with his teams ‘wildcat’ single wing offensive set:

“There are really no secrets there, but it’s good homework for us — a chance to see what people have been studying during their offseason, and how they want to defend this.

Pennington was also pleased with the effectiveness of the offense:

“The wildcat went well. Anything we can do to get an edge, I’m all for it.”

Ronnie Brown caught Penningtons TD pass and gave his positive assessment:

“We made some strides. We’re going in the right direction.”

Carolina coach John Fox sounded nonplussed, a surprising tone with a 0-2 team:

“Our first unit looked a little sharper. We’re not there yet, but I thought it was an improvement.”

Defensive end Julius Peppers was also notably absent of any concrete criticism of his teams play:

“We’ve got to work on everything. That’s what the preseason is for.”

After a rough opening week, Panthers starting QB Jake Delhomme was also upbeat in his postgame comments to the media:

“We did better things tonight. It’s a process, but we’re doing all right.”

Miami will head to the northwest coast of Florida for their next preseason contest, taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Thursday night. Carolina will host the Baltimore Ravens in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday. The Panthers will begin the NFL regular season on Sunday, September 13th at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Dolphins will face the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome to get their regular season slate underway.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer specializing in travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

NFL Flashback: Colts Survive Jets To Advance To Superbowl

Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes as the Indianapolis Colts rallied from an eleven point first half deficit to beat the New York Jets and advance to the Superbowl for the second time in four years. New York held their own in the early going but had no answer for Manning and company in the second half as the Colts scored 17 unanswered points to take the 30-17 victory. It’s the fourth trip to the big game in franchise history and, ironically, all four previous appearances have also been in Miami.

The Colts also rewarded NFL football betting enthusiasts who had laid the -7′ points with the pointspread victory. Including the playoffs, Indianapolis has covered 12 of their 18 games this season. The Jets finished their campaign with an 11-8 record against the NFL pointspread. The 47 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 40.

Manning and the Colts didn’t have much to say in the week prior to their confrontation with the Jets, which the four time NFL MVP insisted was by design:

“I thought we just kept our mouths shut and went to work this week. We talked about being patient against these guys. We knew it would be a four-quarter game.”

Linebacker Gary Brackett added these thoughts:

“We’ve been here before, we had seven comeback wins this year. I think the guys were a little rattled at first, I think we took their best shot, but we came back. I think we did a great job of being the hunters and imposing our will today.”

Indy head coach Jim Caldwell was pleased with his team’s resolve despite their slow start:

“The guys have always been a very confident bunch and they do a great job of hanging in there. Peyton had just an outstanding game. He’s one of those guys that can adjust to different situations. … A real champion.”

Jets’ coach Rex Ryan sounded a philosophical note in defeat:

“Today wasn’t our day. There’s no question. You have to give credit to the Colts. Obviously they’re the cream of the crop right now.

Ross Everett is an widely published freelance writer specializing in sports handicapping, harness racing, fencing, clogging and fantasy role playing games. He is a staff handicapper for Oddsbay and is responsible for providing free sports picks to a variety of broadcast media outlets. He lives in Southern Nevada with three dogs and a retired racing wombat.

A Basic Guide To Playing The Ponies

One of the reasons that the popularity of sports gambling has skyrocketed in recent years is its accessibility. It’s easy to bet on most major sports because everyone understands the basics, which teams are good and why they win. Horse handicapping, on the other hand, is a completely different and somewhat arcane discipline. Where there are some shared concepts, success at sports betting doesn’t guarantee the same playing the ponies. Legendary sports handicapper Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder was famous for killing the books with his sports plays–and giving it all back with his inept horse bets.

Were not going to suggest that the information here even scratches the surface of what you need to know to become a serious horse handicapper. There are countless books, DVDs and other media that you should check out if this is your goal. If you’re interested in simply knowing the basics so that you can enjoy a day at the track, here are some basic concepts of horse handicapping:

Do your reading: When you arrive at the horse track you should purchase a copy of the Daily Racing Form (DRF for short) and the track program. The DRF is basically the ‘bible’ of horse race handicapping, and offers morning line odds, horse, trainer, jockey statistics and information on each race at every major track across the country. The track program offers similar information for that individual venue, often in more ‘user friendly’ form.

You’re playing against other bettors, not the racetrack: A big difference between sports wagering and horse betting is the function of ‘the house’. In horse racing, you’re not playing against the track–instead, you’re betting against the other patrons. The track simply serves as a ‘banker’, accepting money and paying bets. For this service, they take a percentage of the money bet on each race (called the ‘takeout’). The odds on a horse aren’t set by the track, but rather by the amount of money bet on each entry.

So where do odds in the newspaper or program originate? These are known as the ‘morning odds’ or ‘morning line’ and is basically an educated guess as to where the betting will go. They can be helpful as a handicapping tool, but may or may not reflect what will happen in the actual betting.

The Basics of Handicapping: Even expert handicappers approach the sport differently and, like his sports gambling counterpart, may place greater emphasis on the importance of certain data than other handicappers. Some handicappers place a great deal of weight on a horses past performances, including the quality of opposition hes run against. Others place greater value on recent workouts, and still others go to the paddock to eyeball the horses and try to determine which ones are ready to run.

Once a bettor reaches a conclusion about what he thinks will happen in a given race, it is still subject to the odds that are available when betting. This is similar to sports gambling, where an underdog may be more attractive due to an excessively high payback potential than he would ordinary, or, conversely, a clear favorite becomes an unattractive wagering proposition due to a prohibitively high price. Its all a matter of the math–if I could speak to the teenagers of America, I’d try to impress upon them the importance of doing well in math for no other reason than its importance in all forms of gambling.

Horses and Trainers: Some handicappers place a great deal of importance on the horses breeding lineage”the quality of his parents and grandparents “as an indication to his performance potential. This may be particularly important early in a horses career, but after a half dozen or so races what hes done on the track becomes more important than his pedigree. Trainers, like Bob Baffertt, can also be an important consideration much in the same way that coaching can play an important role in sports wagering.

The horse’s jockey: Jockeys are free agents, meaning that they get paid on their performance. In theory, this means that they’ll do their utmost to win in every given race. While there are a few exceptions, many serious horse handicappers downplay the importance of the jockey. Assuming the horse’s ‘mount’ is competent, there are much more salient factors to consider when handicapping a race than the jockey.

Don’t Go Overboard, and Try to Find What Works For You: As with any new betting discipline, its always sound advice to not go overboard with the amount of money you wager. These are just the basics of how to bet a horse race and what some of the salient factors are in determining who will win or lose a race, and doesn’t even to begin to scratch the surface of successfully handicapping the sport. If you want to learn more, Id suggest starting with the Daily Racing Form website, after which a simple Google search can expand your options from there.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Cowboys Spoil Vikings Perfect Preseason With Late Game Comeback

For the first half of their NFL preseason contest against the Dallas Cowboys it looked like the Minnesota Vikings would wrap up exhibition play with a perfect record. After spotting Dallas the first 7 points of the game, the Vikings scored three unanswered touchdowns to head to the locker room at halftime with a 21-7 advantage. After the break, however, Dallas reserves took over the game and rallied with 28 second half points. When the smoke cleared, Dallas had beaten Minnesota 35-31.

Minnesota had been set as a -3 home favorite, so NFL bettors who favored the Cowboys cashed their tickets with the outright victory. The two offenses were working overtime, eventually putting a combined 66 points on the scoreboard. This point production sent the O/U result sailing OVER the posted total of 35.

Despite the eventual meaninglessness of the result, Vikings coach Josh Childress wasnt happy that his team blew a big lead at home:

“At times it was embarrassing. I’ll end up putting that on myself, not having them ready to come out of the locker room at halftime. All the quarterbacks I’ve ever coached have some regard for the football and you can’t throw it to them.”

Sage Rosenfelds and John David Booty were the real targets of Chidress anger, with each throwing a second half interception that helped facilitate the Cowboys comeback. Tavaris Jackson played only a quarter and a half and didnt put up impressive numbers. Still, he didnt throw an interception and that may have been enough to secure one of the two roster spots behind Brett Favre. After the game, Jackson talked about his situation:

“I’d love to be here, it’s the only thing I know and I’ve been here for going on my fourth year. If I stay here, I’d love it. But I understand that it’s a business. I’m not going be mad or cry over spilled milk, I’m just going to move on.”

Rosenfelds, meanwhile, was smart enough to take the blame for his miscue in post game interviews:

“It always seems like you want to take back one play and I wish I could take that one back. It was just a bad play by me. I felt real comfortable out there and I thought I did a pretty good job executing the offense other than that one play. I’m going to keep firing and that’s what I did.

Dallas’ Pat Watkins may have earned a roster spot with his all around effort. Playing on defense and special teams, he made several key tackles, returned an interception for a touchdown and blocked a field goal. He said that text messages from well wishers served as motivation:

“I had a feeling like I was going to have a good game, and I had a couple people send me text messages with predictions. Someone predicted six tackles and an interception. Somebody else predicted eight tackles. So after that maybe I need more predictions to help me out.”

The Vikings will open the season on the road against the Cleveland Browns. Minnesota has been set as a -3 road favorite, with the O/U posted at 40. Dallas will start their 2009 NFL campaign on the road as well, playing at Tampa Bay. The Cowboys are a -4 road chalk in that contest, with the total set at 39. Dallas will host the New York Giants in their second game, while the Vikings will head to Detroit’s Ford Field for a week 2 game against the Lions.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Cutler Stars As Bears Rip Giants In NFL Preseason Play

The New York Giants weren’t the only losers in their NFL preseason game against the Chicago Bears. The Denver Broncos and their fans had to watch as their former franchise QB Jay Cutler carved up the Giants defense and think of what might have been. After a rough opening week, Cutler looked to be in regular season form and the Chicago Bears went on to win 17-3. Both teams are now 1-1 in NFL preseason action.

Cutler completed 8 of 13 passes for 121 yards, led drives of 80 and 92 yards and passed for a touchdown. After the game, he tried to maintain some perspective after hearing the criticism last week:

“It’s preseason. Everyone got a little excited last week when we didn’t produce but we looked OK tonight. There’s still room for improvement, so we’re going to go back to work. We’re coming together as an offense. We’re not quite there yet.”

“We’re kind of coming together, myself and the line, you know, with how I can move in the pocket, and when I can step up, when I can take off. It doesn’t happen overnight. We’ve got some new linemen, new receivers, a new quarterback. We’re all trying to figure it out.

Chicago’s new starting QB badly outplayed the Giants Eli Manning, who dismissed suggestions that the Giants struggled due to their short practice week:

“That’s no excuse. We were prepared and we looked at everything. We just didn’t execute. Too many negative plays.

The Bears have long prided themselves on their tenacious defense, and this game was no exception. Afterwards New York coach Tom Coughlin wasnt in the mood for serious analysis:

“We got beat. We have no excuses.”

The value of a solid passing game in Chicago should be obvious to any NFL fan”with the long absent passing threat, opposing defenses can no longer put 8 or 9 men in the box to stop the Bears productive rushing attack. This opens opportunities for the run game, and as any football strategist knows a productive rushing attack opens the field up for the passing attack. The addition of Cutler transforms the Bears offense from predictable and one dimensional to perfectly balance and extremely dangerous.

New York begins the NFL regular season traveling to play the Washington Redskins on September 13th, while the Bears also start their schedule on the road playing against traditional rivals Green Bay.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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