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NFL PICKS & NFL FREE PICKS
NFL PICKS- (covers.com) are bettors adjusting to seattle alexander's broken foot.
Call it the ‘Madden curse', call it bad luck or call it what you like. Chicago backers are calling it a payday.
What happened to Shaun Alexander last weekend is causing bettors to pound the Chicago Bears when they host the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday as 3-point home favorites.
We started to see twice the normal action coming in on Chicago once bettors got news of Alexander`s injury, said a bookmaker at newbodog.com. Bettors are slightly overreacting to it.
The rush of Chicago money started when Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren addressed the media at Seattle's practice facility on Monday. Holmgren said Alexander's injury was a small crack in a bone in the left foot, perhaps caused by a deep bone bruise suffered in Week 1.
This lingering injury could be the reason the record-setting running back has seen a dropoff in production this season, rushing for only 2.9 yards per attempt for 187 total yards.
You lose the MVP for a while, it`s a hit," Holmgren told reporters. "Because he`s the most valuable player in the league, it will get noticed. But as a team, you only have one way to handle it, and that`s to just keep going."
Seahawks backers can rest a bit easier knowing that the pass game has flourished despite the team's running woes. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has proven to be one of the league's top passers this season, throwing for 658 yards and six touchdowns with a QB rating of 88.1.
The addition of receiver Deion Branch and the return of the injured Darrell Jackson have given Seattle legitimate weapons downfield.
Seattle is 3-0 with an ineffective running game, says the newbodog.com bookmaker. Bettors are starting to realize that the Seahawks are a versatile team not forced to rely solely on the output of last year`s MVP. Even though Hasselbeck has always been slightly underrated, over the past few seasons he is definitely proving to be a key factor in Seattle`s success.
The Seahawks will turn to backup Maurice Morris and fullback Mack Strong to fill the huge hole left in Alexander's absence. Morris and Strong have combined for only 131 yards on the ground this season and will not demand the same respect from the Bears defense that Alexander would. The threat of a solid ground attack is key for Seattle if they hope to move the chains against a stingy Bears defense.
It looks like a difficult situation for Seattle this week, says professional handicapper David Malinsky. [The Seahawks] have got to be able to get something going on the ground to set up their pass game. The Seahawks rely on play action and without Alexander in the backfield it just won't work. His impact goes far beyond the stats.
The loss of Alexander allows the Chicago defense to key in on Hasselbeck, ignoring the run game and apply a barrage of pass rushes. The Bears have the fourth best defense in the NFL this season, giving up just 82 yards on the ground while holding opponents to 184 yards through the air.
NFL PICKS : (covers): bettors not scared off by chiefs huge chalk.
The Kansas City Chiefs are not supposed to play must-win games during Week 4 in 70-degree weather.
But that`s exactly what the 0-2 Chiefs are facing as they prepare to host the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
They are all big, but this one for me becomes real big for us on how we're going to attack the rest of the season, head coach Herm Edwards told the Kansas City Star. I think that the players understand that. It's early drama now all of a sudden for us in our third game.
Of course, the 0-2 start isn't all that surprising given K.C.'s dynamic offense has become decidedly one-dimensional following the loss of starting quarterback Trent Green in the team's 23-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.
This was apparent in their 9-6 Week 2 loss to the Denver Broncos in which the Chiefs ran the ball 34 times versus only 23 passing plays against the Broncos. Compare these numbers to last year, when the Chiefs averaged 35 passes against 31 runs, and one sees just how different the K.C. offense is at this point in the season.
Still professional handicapper Tom Stryker thinks oddsmakers got the line right for Sunday's game despite K.C.'s troubles, setting the Chiefs as 7-point home favorites against the 49ers.
First, Stryker likes the fact the Chiefs are playing at Arrowhead, one of the toughest road dates at any point during the season, and they need a win.
Secondly, the capper likes a Kansas City defense that held the Broncos without a touchdown in Week 2 in Denver and held the vaunted Bengals offense to only 236 total yards in Week 1.
Defensively, they should have no problem shutting down a banged up San Francisco offense, say Stryker. I definitely think they can control the battle for field position and hopefully force a turnover or two. I don't feel overly comfortable laying these points with the Chiefs but I think the side is right and I'm not surprised at the line.
FREE NFL PICKS. (associated press): police say owens tried suicide.
Flamboyant Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens attempted suicide by overdosing on pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after fire rescue personnel arrived.
A Dallas police report released Wednesday morning said Owens told rescue workers ``that he was depressed.`` The report was first released by WFAA-TV.
The rescue worker ``noticed that (his) prescription pain medication was empty and observed (Owens) putting two pills in his mouth,`` the police report said.
The worker attempted to pry them out with her fingers, then was told by Owens that before this incident he`d taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he`d emptied. The worker then asked Owens ``if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time (he) stated, `Yes.```
FREE NFL PICKS- (associated press) : chargers safety arressted on drug charges.
Chargers strong safety Terrence Kiel was arrested Tuesday for investigation of drug-related offenses, ESPN.com reported.
Kiel was booked and released after posting $150,000 bond, the Web site reported Tuesday night, citing sources it did not name. He was arrested for investigation of possession, possession for sale and transportation of a controlled substance, ESPN.com said.
In a statement, team spokesman Bill Johnston said: ``We`re aware of an off-the-field situation involving Terrence Kiel and we`re monitoring the situation. Due to the personal nature of the ongoing legal investigation, the Chargers are withholding further comment until the matter is resolved legally.``
Chargers general manager A.J. Smith and coach Marty Schottenheimer did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press on Tuesday night. DEA spokesman Dan Simmons didn`t return a call placed to his cell phone.
It was the fourth run-in with the law by a Chargers player since April.
Outside linebacker Steve Foley was shot outside his suburban home by an off-duty Coronado police officer on Sept. 3. Foley will miss the entire season and forfeit at least $775,000 in pay.
Foley and linebacker Shaun Phillips were each arrested for scuffling with San Diego police officers a week apart in April. Neither was charged.
NFL PICKS- (associated press): chargers sticking with warner.
Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said Tuesday.
Green`s comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday`s game at Atlanta. The Falcons are 7-point favorites and the total is set at 39.
``Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do,`` Green said. ``However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We`re disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed.``
Warner threw three interceptions, two of them with Arizona inside the opponent`s 14-yard line, and fumbled a snap at the St. Louis 18 with 1:46 to go in the Cardinals` 16-14 home loss to the Rams last Sunday.
At his regular Monday news conference, Green declined to confirm Warner would remain as a starter.
FREE NFL PICKS (associated press) eagles westbrook sits out practice.
Brian Westbrook has spent more time in the end zone than on the practice field lately.
Despite missing practices most of the past two weeks because of a knee injury, Westbrook has been in the starting lineup for the Philadelphia Eagles each of the last two Sundays. His totals in those two games: 185 yards rushing, 103 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
Maybe 76ers star Allen Iverson was right when he ranted about the merits of practice four years ago. Westbrook doesn`t seem to need it.
``It`s one of those things when you`re in the offense for a number of years,`` Westbrook said after scoring three TDs in a 38-24 victory at San Francisco on Sunday. ``I know pretty much all the plays. I go to meetings. I watch tape.``
Westbrook ran for 117 yards on eight carries, including TD runs of 71 yards and 8 yards against the 49ers. He added four receptions for 47 yards, including a 4-yard TD on a shovel pass. His 12 touches were his fewest in three games after totaling 47 in the first two.
In Philadelphia`s 30-24 overtime loss to the New York Giants last week, Westbrook had 68 yards rushing on 19 carries, including a 12-yard TD run. He caught seven passes for 56 yards.
Westbrook left practice on Thursday before playing the Giants because of some swelling in his knee. He again missed two practices last week before playing against the 49ers, but coach Andy Reid said Westbrook felt fine after the game.
``Hopefully we are getting to the end of it, to where he is feeling a little bit better here,`` Reid said. ``We`ll just see in the next couple days where exactly he is at with it. He wants to practice and we want him to practice, but at the same time be smart with it.``
Westbrook has more time to heal this week because the Eagles have an extra day off before returning to work Thursday to prepare for Monday night`s game against the Green Bay Packers. The Eagles are 11-point favorites and the total is set at 47 1/2.
``I want it to be 100 percent,`` Westbrook said. ``I don`t want to keep doing this.``
A third-round pick from Villanova in 2002, the versatile Westbrook has become Philadelphia`s primary weapon on offense. He had a breakout year in 2004, when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl, finishing with 812 yards rushing, 73 catches for 703 yards and nine TDs in 13 games.
Westbrook ran for 617 yards, had 61 receptions for 616 yards and scored seven TDs in 12 games last year. He missed the final four games with a foot injury.
NFL PICKS- (associated press): chiefs quarterback out sunday.
Trent Green will not play in the Kansas City Chiefs` game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Oddsmakers have the Chiefs set as 7-point favorites for Sunday`s game. The total is set at 40 1/2.
Green, 36, suffered a severe concussion in the Sept. 10 season opener against Cincinnati and has been replaced by journeyman Damon Huard.
Coach Herm Edwards said Monday that Green was ``doing better`` and might even visit the team sometime this week, but Edwards said Green was definitely out for Sunday`s game.
Kansas City has declined to speculate when the two-time Pro Bowler will rejoin the team.
The Chiefs (0-2) had their bye last weekend.
FREE NFL PICKS (covers.com): week 4 top nfl money teams.
1 CIN 3-0-0
2 IND 3-0-0
3 NO 3-0-0
4 MIN 3-0-0
5 SD 2-0-0
6 BAL 2-1-0
7 CHI 2-1-0
8 SEA 2-1-0
9 ATL 2-1-0
10 JAC 2-0-1
FREE NFL PICKS - (associated press): 49ers gore to play but davis out.
The San Francisco 49ers got good news about running back Frank Gore and confirmed bad news about tight end Vernon Davis on Monday.
Gore is expected to be in the 49ers` lineup at Kansas City on Sunday despite bruised ribs that sidelined him in the third quarter of their loss to Philadelphia. Davis, the sixth overall pick in the draft, will be out four weeks with a broken bone in his right leg.
Oddsmakers at bet365.com have the 49ers listed as 7-point underdogs in Kansas City.
The 49ers` two young offensive stars were hurt on the same play last Sunday in their 38-24 loss to the Eagles.
Gore, who rushed for 266 yards and three touchdowns in the 49ers` first three games, was hurt while trying to stretch over the goal line in the third quarter. He fumbled in the process, and defensive lineman Mike Patterson returned it 98 yards for a score.
The 49ers initially said Gore strained an abdominal muscle, but changed the diagnosis to bruised ribs Monday afternoon.
``I`ll be on the field,`` Gore said. ``I`m kind of sore, but I`ll be all right.``
Improbably, Davis was hurt trying to chase down Patterson.
Leaning on crutches in the 49ers` locker room Monday, Davis lamented the first major injury of his football career. He never had more than a bruised shoulder in college at Maryland.
``These ain`t me right here,`` Davis said, indicating his crutches. ``I try to work so hard to prevent something like this. ... I still think I`m invincible. This can`t stop me. I`m just going to keep working hard in the weight room and hit the playbook.``
Davis scored the first time he touched the ball in a regular-season game, but has just five catches for 37 yards and that one touchdown this season - all coming in the season opener at Arizona. He failed to make a catch against St. Louis or Philadelphia in the last two weeks, missing two catchable balls when he attempted acrobatic one-handed grabs.
Eric Johnson, who had 92 catches in 2004 but missed last season with a foot injury, will start in Davis` place. Though Johnson is working on his chemistry with quarterback Alex Smith in their first three games together, the veteran tight end caught seven passes for 87 yards against the Eagles, culminating in a 15-yard TD catch with 6 seconds to play.
``I felt like we really had a good connection,`` Johnson said. ``He was fitting some balls in tight to me, and I had a really good sense of what he was trying to do out there.``
Rookie tight end Delanie Walker, who showed promise in the preseason, will return to practice this week after missing the first three games with a right shoulder injury.
Gore, who leads the 49ers with 14 receptions, went to a hospital after the game for X-rays, that came up negative. The second-year pro`s frustration showed after he watched film of his mistake.
``I`m very upset,`` said Gore, who rushed 16 times for 52 yards. ``I just have to come back to work hard in practice and do my best against Kansas City. It was real upsetting that I couldn`t finish, and I also fumbled again in a critical situation and hurt the team.``
Rookie running back Michael Robinson will also get significant playing time for the 49ers after scoring two touchdowns against the Eagles. Coach Mike Nolan said Robinson might replace Gore as the 49ers` short-yardage back after Gore`s second straight game with a goal-line fumble.
``Whatever Coach Nolan wants to do, I`m fine with it,`` Gore said.
The injuries tempered another strong performance by Smith, who went 27-of-46 for 293 yards and one touchdown. Smith hasn`t thrown an interception in his three starts, and he even rushed for 39 yards against the Eagles - including a 22-yard scamper for a first down.
Though the 49ers are 1-2 for the second straight year under Nolan, the players` attitudes are markedly changed, Smith said.
``There were times last year when I was guessing too much instead of playing the play and reacting to it,`` Smith said. ``It comes from just actually playing and reacting to things. I can just take off and do things now. There were times last year when you kind of doubted yourself.``
FREE NFL PICKS- (associated press): tampa bay quarterback out of intensive care.
Tampa Bay quarterback Chris Simms was moved from St. Joseph's Hospital's intensive care unit to a medical recovery floor on Tuesday, two days after having his spleen removed.
Simms was injured during Sunday's 26-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Doctors expect a full recovery.
The quarterback's family issued a statement through the hospital, thanking well-wishers for their support and adding that Simms' condition is improving daily.
"He is expected to stay in the hospital for several more days, allowing him needed rest while his recovery continues to be closely monitored," the statement said.
The 26-year-old son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms took several hard hits during the game. It's not clear which one ruptured his spleen.
NFL FREE PICKS- (espn.com) dolphins traylor facing discipline.
Dolphins defensive tackle Keith Traylor faces disciplinary action from the NFL for violating the league's personal conduct policy, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday.
Traylor is serving a one-year probation sentence for two misdemeanor charges stemming from a May 16 arrest in Oklahoma on charges of driving under the influence and possession of a controlled dangerous substance.
Traylor also was charged with a felony for ripping a smoke detector off a jail wall, but Tania Bible, legal secretary for the Mayes County, Okla., district attorney, told the newspaper the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor when he was sentenced to a one-year deferred sentence on July 19.
Bible told the newspaper that Traylor paid $100 to replace the smoke detector and received probation for the DUI charge. The controlled substance charge was dropped. If Traylor completes his probation, both charges will be dropped.
However, Traylor is still subject to NFL discipline. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the Sun-Sentinel that "it will be reviewed under the appropriate league policy."
According to the policy, if a player is convicted or pleads guilty to a crime, he is subject to discipline at the discretion of the commissioner.
Traylor, 37, had two sacks in the Dolphins' first win of the season last Sunday, a 13-10 victory over the Titans.
NFL FREE PICKS- (associated press) : giants defensive coordinator takes blame for teams definsive struggles.
Instead of pointing the finger elsewhere, as the Pro Bowl tight end did last weekend, the New York Giants' defensive coordinator took the blame for the team's current position as one of the worst defenses in the NFL.
"I can't screw it up, and right now I am screwing it up," Lewis said in a bye week interview, one of the rare times coach Tom Coughlin allows his assistants to talk to the media. "I am trying to do something that they are not doing well."
Three weeks into the season, the only thing the Giants (1-2) are doing well on defense is stopping the run. They are allowing an average of 89.3 yards a game and 2.9 yards per carry.
Everything else is a disaster.
Despite having Pro Bowl defensive ends Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, who combined last season for 26 sacks, New York is last in sacks with two.
They are next to last in scoring defense (30.7 points) and third-down efficiency (58.7 percent), 30th in first downs allowed (71) and average passing yards allowed (281) and 27th in overall defense, allowing 370.3 yards.
Coming into the season, the Giants felt that they had upgraded their defense by getting linebackers Antonio Pierce and Carlos Emmons healthy and adding four free agents -- cornerbacks Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters, safety Will Demps and linebacker LaVar Arrington.
It looked great in the preseason but little went right playing against Peyton Manning and the Colts in the opener, Donovan McNabb and the Eagles in Week 2 and then Matt Hasselbeck and the NFC champion Seahawks this past weekend.
"I know from a responsibility standpoint, it's my defense," Lewis said. "When I got hired here to coordinate the defense, that's exactly what I got hired to do, coordinate it and put it together. From a communication standpoint, if they're not coordinated, if there are people running free -- which you all, I'm sure, have noticed -- it's my responsibility to get it corrected. Not necessarily just to find the fault, but to get it corrected."
That's what Lewis is trying to do with the Giants on their bye week after being torched in Seattle.
The statistics in the 42-30 loss were atrocious. Hasselbeck matched his career best with five touchdown passes. Seattle scored the first 35 points, led 35-3 at halftime and 42-3 in the second half.
The 32-point halftime deficit was the largest in the 82-year history of the Giants, while the 35 first-half points were the most they have allowed in a half since 1967. The 39-point deficit was the team's largest in the regular season since the 42-0 loss in Oakland in 1973.
The Giants secondary blew the coverage on four of the five touchdown passes on Sunday, leaving a receiver wide open.
Lewis took the blame again, saying he is not getting his message to secondary coaches Pete Giunta and Dave Merritt so they can get it to the players.
"I can't screw it up, and right now I am screwing it up."
-- Tim Lewis
"It's a long football season," Lewis said. "We have time. I don't feel like the noose is there. If about Week 10 we're still doing that, we're in trouble."
One thing that Lewis can do to help the secondary would be to put more pressure on the quarterback. That was supposed to be a given this season with Strahan and Umenyiora up front, but opponents have been helping out their tackles and getting rid of the ball quickly to neutralize them.
Even blitzing a little more has not resulted in more pressure, Lewis added, noting that New York has blitzed just under 40 percent this season, a little more than usual.
Despite his lack of big plays, Lewis insists Arrington, the $49 million free agent, is playing better. Lewis says that he still is trying to find out what Arrington does best.
Over the bye week, Lewis probably will cut down on the number of things he is asking the defense to do.
Overall, Lewis said the defensive problems are not being caused by one player, scheme or thing. It's a combination, which is something he experienced when he was the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive coordinator.
"Fortunately, we were able to fight our way through some things and get into some playoffs, get into some championship games when it looked fairly bleak early," Lewis said. "So I'm not surprised. I'm disappointed that we're not better than we are at this point." |
