Saints Rout Texans In NFL Preseason Action

Backup Mike Bell made the most of his opportunity, starting in place of Reggie Bush and helping the New Orleans Saints romp to a 38-14 road victory over the Houston Texans. Bush was held out of the game with a strained calf, and Bell filled in admirably rushing for 100 yards in the easy victory. New Orleans improved to 2-0 on the NFL preseason, while Houston evened their record at 1-1.

Bell is a former Denver Broncos starter who has produced only 45 yards rushing in the past two seasons. After the game, he talked about his big afternoon:

“I just wanted to show the team that I could come here and be a consistent running back. This kind of game was great because it reminds me that I can still play running back. Just to get the carries, and to make the most of this opportunity, that was a real confidence builder.”

Saints coach John Payton commended the effort, but said that it wasn’t a surprise due to Bells solid performance in training camp:

“He really has done a really good job. I was encouraged again to see him playing so well.”

Texans starting QB Matt Schaub moved the ball fairly well in limited playing time, but couldnt put points on the board. Houston head coach Gary Kubiak put the loss into perspective:

“It’s a humbling game. You can walk out of the stadium one week and feel good about yourself, and then walk out the next week and wonder what the heck is going on. We got pushed around. We have to play better than that up front in order to be successful.”

Linebacker DeMeco Ryan concurred:

“We take too much pride in what we do to go out and perform the way we did today. That’s not who we are.”

For the Saints, Drew Brees split time at QB with Mark Brunell.. Brees was 9 of 14 for 87 yards and a touchdown, while Brunell was 5 of 6 for 96 yards. Brees had missed three days of practice last week to attend his mother’s funeral. Clearly the Saints have a deep and versatile offense, but need to execute more soundly than they did last year. Talent isn’t the problem for the Saints; mistakes, however, are.

New Orleans will continue their NFL preseason run next Saturday against the Raiders at Oakland. Houston will host the Minnesota Vikings next Monday night. The Saints will get the NFL regular season underway on Sunday, September 13th as they host the Detroit Lions. Houston will start their schedule at home on the same day, hosting the New York Jets.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on World Cup 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 an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Broncos Avoid Winless Preseason With Win Over Cards

The Arizona Cardinals haven’t looked anything like a Superbowl team in the NFL preseason. They entered their final exhibition contest against the Denver Broncos looking for their first win. The Broncos controlled the contest on both sides of the ball en route to a 19-0 shutout victory over the struggling Cards. Denver managed to improve their preseason record to 1-3, while Arizona ended the exhibition campaign winless at 0-4.

Arizona was installed as -3 road favorites, but NFL preseason bettors who backed Denver ended up collecting the money with the outright win. The 19 points also went UNDER the posted total of 36.

Denvers biggest issue has been injuries, with their starting QB Kyle Orton and backup Chris Simms both out of action. That provided a great opportunity for rookie Tom Brandstater, and he may find himself playing next Sunday for real. Brandstater moved the team well as the Broncos managed to avoid the dubious fate of the first winless preseason in nearly 50 years (1960). Afterwards, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was full of praise for his young signal caller:

“For a rookie quarterback, and I’ve had a chance to coach a number of them, he’s really done a nice job. It’s not too big for him, the game’s not too big for him, the huddle’s not too big for him. He operated with that first unit pretty good.”

Brandstater is keeping it all in perspective:

“Things happen — just last week alone with the Kyle injury. That’s a pretty freak accident that no one can predict at all. I’m glad I got my shot and hopefully I did some good with it. I’m trying to make this team. I still haven’t guaranteed myself a spot in this team and I’m trying to do everything I can to make it just like every guy on the team is.”

Arizona played starting Kurt Warner and their first string offense for several series, but they were again ineffective. Cards head coach Ken Whisenhunt tried to put a positive spin on a winless preseason:

“We’ll clean it up. I still feel good about our football team and the way we’ve been working.

QB Kurt Warner, meanwhile, was much less enthusiastic:

“I never really felt like I got into a rhythm today for whatever reason. I’m looking forward to game-planning a team, putting in some plays and some things we’ve done in the past that we really haven’t done in preseason. I’m looking forward to all of that. But you still don’t leave preseason extremely excited about what we’ve accomplished.”

Arizona will try to put their dismal preseason behind them when they kick off the 2009 NFL campaign at home against the San Francisco 49ers as a -6′ point home favorite. Denver will play on the road against the Bengals at Cincinnati in their regular season opener, priced as a +4 road underdog.

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

Detroit Beats Washington To End Losing Streak

The Detroit Lions nineteen game losing streak is over. On Sunday afternoon at Ford Field in Detroit the Lions held on for a 19-14 win over the Washington Redskins. The Lions hadn’t won a game since December 23, 2007 and had already tied the second longest losing streak in NFL history. Their run of futility included a 0-16 mark in 2008, the first winless season since the NFL expanded its schedule to sixteen games. It may not have been pretty, but the streak is now over and the Lions wont have to worry about comparisons to the 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost a record 26 games in their first two seasons as an NFL expansion team.

If you were going to bet on a NFL football game this past weekend, the Lions may not have been the most attractive position. Sports betting enthusiasts who took Detroit as a +6 home favorite were rewarded with the outright victory. It was the Lions first pointspread cover of the 2009 NFL season, while the Redskins have yet to get the money for their backers this year. The 33 points went UNDER the posted total of 39. It was the second UNDER in three regular season games for both teams.

Lions owner William Clay Ford said in postgame comments that he hopes the end of the streak signals a new winning tradition in the Motor City:

“We not only got the monkey off our back, we got King Kong off our back. I’m hoping that this gets us over that hump and gives us a winning attitude.”

Longtime Lion Dominic Raiola has played in Detroit for his entire nine year career, and he too expressed his relief that the streak had come to an end:

“I’ve always watched, but I’ve never been in this situation before. No team has been in this situation before. No one has gone 0-16 and then had to try to win a game the next year.”

Rookie QB Matthew Stafford had the best game of his young career, throwing for 241 yards on 21 of 36 passing with a touchdown and no interceptions. He gave his thoughts on the late game anticipation that preceded Detroit finally putting one in the win column:

“I’m having fun. It’s a great game we get to play. I figured I’d just let the crowd noise tell me what happened. When it got really quiet, I couldn’t take it, so I looked up, and saw them running, and then the tackle, and then I saw the clock was at zero.”

Detroit will try to start an actual winning streak next weekend as they take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Bears are 11 point favorites in that contest. Detroit will host the Pittsburgh Steelers the following weekend before a road trip to Green Bay and game against the Packers on October 18th. Washington will host Tampa Bay next Sunday, with the Redskins a -7 home favorite.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks 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.

NFL’s Richard Seymour No-Shows After Trade To Raiders

While NFL players may not always be happy with a trade to a new team, more often than not they willingly accept their new assignment and try to make the best of it. That’s apparently not the case with the Oakland Raiders newly acquired defensive end Richard Seymour. Seymour was acquired by the Raiders on Sunday and as of yet has not reported to his new team.

The trade surprised NFL observers, with the Patriots sending Seymour to Oakland for a 2011 first round draft pick. There is some speculation that hes doing a de facto hold out in hopes of getting the Raiders to re-work his contract but this hasn’t been confirmed by anyone involved.

For the time being, Raiders coach Tom Cable is being vague about the situation. He informed the media that hed spoken to Seymour earlier in the week then added:

I really have nothing to report on that. Nothing has changed at this point.”

He also declined to comment on questions about a potential new contract, which makes it more likely that money is likely the sticking point:

“I don’t want to comment about anything of that until we have something that’s done and concrete.

Seymours former coach in New England, Bill Belichick also gave his version of a no comment but praised him as a player:

“Because we don’t have rights to Richard, there really isn’t anything I can say about him or his situation. So I’ll have to pass on those questions at this time. There’s a lot of things that Richard did well but that’s the way it is and we’re moving forward and our team’s moving forward.”

Pats defensive coordinator Dean Pees also gave a ‘no comment’:

“This is not going to be an interview about Richard. It’s really about Buffalo and whoever we have here to face the Bills.

As did NFL spokesman Greg Aiello:

“Any comment at this time would have to come from the teams.

Most NFL observers think that the Patriots made the move in order to free up money to negotiate with defensive lineman Vince Wilfork. That has raised concern that New Englands defense has quickly become very young and more problematically without a strong leader on that side of the ball. Belichick isnt concerned:

“We have a lot of good leaders on our team and especially on the defensive side of the ball. No doubt about it, it’s different, but I think it’s good.”

The Patriots open their 2009 NFL regular season on Monday night at home against the Buffalo Bills. The Raiders will also kick off their campaign on Monday night as they host their hated rivals the San Diego Chargers. Regardless of how the Seymour situation shakes out, its unlikely that anything will be resolved in time for him to play in the Raiders’ season opener.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer experienced in travel, poker and NFL football handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Palmer Returns In Bengals NFL Preseason Loss To Saints

Despite losing to the New Orleans Saints in their NFL preseason opener 17-7, the Cincinnati Bengals had a lot to be happy about. Most significantly, they were elated over the return of QB Carson Palmer after he’d missed most of the last NFL season. His solid performance gave them even more to be happy about despite being on the wrong end of the final score. When you live in Cincinnati, however, you’re used to having to take what you get so Palmer’s serviceable performance led to mass celebration in the streets of ‘The Queen City’.

New Orleans had their share of offensive highlights, with QB Drew Brees hooking up with tight end Jeremy Shockey for three completions including Shockey’s first touchdown reception in a Saints uniform. It was a harbinger of things to come, as Shockey would later catch a touchdown pass in the Saints’ remarkable Superbowl victory over the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts. Many suggest that Bayou ‘root doctors’ have more to do with the win than the team’s actual play.

Saints fans were well aware that their QB would produce after hanging over 5,000 yards on the board last year, but Palmers return from injury brought a sigh of relief from Bengal backers. Palmer missed most of last season because of a partially torn ligament and tendon in his passing elbow. His passing highlight was a 55 yard play to Chad Ochocinco.

After Shockeys TD catch boosted the Saints to a 7-0 lead, the Bengals tied the game when Palmers backup J.T. O’Sullivan hit Chris Henry on a 14 yard touchdown pass. OSullivan also produced solid numbers, completing 9 of 11 passes for 100 yards.

The Bengals will continue their NFL preseason this Thursday as they travel to Foxboro, Massachusetts for a game against the New England Patriots. The Saints will also play away from home, heading over to Houston for a game against the Texans on Saturday. Both teams will kick off the NFL regular season on Sunday, September 13th. The Bengals will host the Denver Broncos, while the Saints welcome the Detroit Lions to The Big Easy.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup 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 an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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