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NFL PICKS & NFL FREE PICKS
NFL PICKS- (covers.com) no line change as browns change qb.
What’s in a name? Apparently not a lot for a Cleveland Browns quarterback.
The possible starting debut of Derek Anderson under center for the Browns meant little to
oddsmakers when they opened Cleveland as 9-point underdogs to the Steelers in Pittsburgh
Thursday night.
Anderson may start in place of the injured Charlie Frye, who is questionable with a wrist
injury. The Browns have not yet announced a starter, the Akron Beacon Journal reports that
sources close to Frye consider it virtually impossible for him to play.
Either way, bookies don`t care who starts for the Browns, but they have moved them down to
+7 ½ at most sportsbooks.
“I don`t suppose it makes that much of a difference even if the Browns had Bernie Kosar to
put back there,” says a Sportsinteraction.com oddsmaker. “They`ll be doing well to say
within a touchdown of Pittsburgh.”
Kosar quarterbacked Cleveland from 1985 to 1993, or about the same time Anderson was
playing pee wee football.
Anderson, 23, looked like a seasoned starter as he led the Browns to a 31-28 overtime win
as 4 ½-point home dogs on Sunday. Anderson threw two touchdowns in the final nine minutes
and set up the game-winning field goal with a 33-yard run in overtime. He finished with 171
yards on 12-for-21 passing with only one pick.
The second-year player out of Oregon State, who had taken only one NFL snap before Sunday,
replaced starter Charlie Frye during the second half Sunday after Frye injured his wrist
midway through the second quarter. Frye left the stadium with his wrist in a cast but
X-rays taken Sunday were negative.
The Chiefs appeared to let up on their pass rush once Anderson stepped in, but Cleveland
knows the Steelers won’t do the same. Anderson’s lack of mobility was among his biggest
hindrances entering the 2005 draft.
"(The Steelers) are a blitz-zone team," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "They`re not going
to change it because of who the quarterback is. They may do more of it because of who the
quarterback is."
Facing the Steelers on a short week would be difficult for even a veteran, let alone a
young quarterback like Anderson. On top of learning how to handle the offense in a game
situation, the first time starter will need to study and recognize Pittsburgh’s complicated
blitzing schemes.
“It definitely could be a problem, especially considering the Steelers seemed to get their
defense back on track last week versus Tampa Bay,” says Covers Expert Pat Miller.
“I see this as a major letdown spot for the Browns coming off Sunday`s overtime win.
Anderson really caught the Chiefs off guard, but that`s unlikely to happen this week.”
Thursday’s total is 36 ½.
NFL PICKS : (covers.com): week 14 opening line report.
The Minnesota Vikings are a mess and this one you can’t blame on Mike Tice.
How bad are the Vikings? They are 3-point road underdogs to the Detroit Lions.
“I absolutely can’t see Detroit a favorite,” said Mike Seba, senior oddsmaker for Las Vegas
Sports Consultants.
Those betting early sure can, though. They bet the Lions up from pick.
We’re talking about a Detroit team that has dropped four in a row, which includes a home
loss to San Francisco and road defeat to Arizona.
“If the Vikings start Brad Johnson then they should be favored,” Seba said.
Vikings coach Brad Childress said he will name his starting quarterback mid-week. It
probably will be Johnson, but only by default. Backup Brooks Bollinger suffered a sprained
left shoulder and rookie Tarvaris Jackson said he’s not ready – now that’s confidence.
Those wagering on Detroit aren’t necessarily betting on the Lions. It’s more like wagering
against the Vikings.
Johnson, who happens to be older than Brett Favre, is clearly is washed up in this writer’s
opinion. Minnesota’s wide receivers are terrible and running back Chester Taylor has
bruised ribs. Ciatrick Fason is back on the fantasy football radar screen.
Take away a five-point home win against the Cardinals, and the Vikings would be riding a
six-game losing streak. They have failed to cover a game during this span, missing a push
by one point in each of their last two games.
The Vikings-Lions line may be a surprise to some, but the Houston Texans being -2 ½ at home
against the Tennessee Titans is downright shocking to Seba.
This matchup also opened as a pick’em. Early money has moved the Texans, a team that
generated negative passing yards against Oakland this past Sunday, up to being close to a
field goal.
“It’s hard to go against a Tennessee squad that is on such a roll,” said Seba, whose
company recommended the Titans -1 ½. Tennessee has covered seven of its last eight and is
5-3 since Vince Young became the starting quarterback.
Anybody still claiming Norm Chow isn’t a genius?
“The Titans are beating heavyweights,” Seba said. “They’re not just beating bad teams.
They’re beating good teams. They have a lot of confidence right now.” It has been three
years since Houston last won consecutive games.
Kansas City being a 3-point home favorite against Baltimore was the third line that brought
disagreement from Seba. He made the matchup pick’em.
“For me the Ravens being +3 is an automatic take,” he said. “They have three extra days to
prepare. Kansas City looked vulnerable Sunday (losing to the Browns).”
On Sunday a couple of Vegas sportsbooks put up Carolina -3 ½ hosting the New York Giants.
This was prior to Monday’s Panthers-Philadelphia Eagles game.
“You’ll see the whole world write off the Giants,” professional bettor Dave Malinsky said.
“But the Giants match up well to Carolina. They catch Carolina on a short week and their
injuries are finally healing.
“I’ll take 3 ½ or 4 points with the better team.”
The Atlanta Falcons-Tampa Bay Buccaneers line seemed small with the Falcons opening just
-3. By Monday afternoon books were listing Atlanta with added juice as high as -125,
meaning you had to lay $125 instead of the normal $110 to win $100 with Atlanta -3. So it
wouldn’t be surprising if the Falcons were soon to climb to -3 ½.
“The Buccaneers have nothing in their playbook to beat anybody,” Malinsky said.
Professional bettors got involved early on the Denver Broncos-San Diego Chargers
over/under, which opened 44. It was down to 42 at some books Monday afternoon.
Shawne Merriman, back from suspension, makes a huge difference for San Diego’s defense. The
Chargers surrendered an average of 26.7 points despite playing three weak offenses
(Cleveland, Denver and Oakland) during that stretch when Merriman was out.
Denver’s offense, meanwhile, is going through growing pains with Jay Cutler behind center.
This will be Cutler’s first road start.
FREE NFL PICKS. (associated press): delhome questionable vs giants.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme missed practice Wednesday because of a sprained
right thumb and is questionable for this weekend`s game against the New York Giants.
Oddsmakers have the Panthers listed as 3-point favorites and the total set at 41 for the
matchup.
Delhomme was injured Monday night when his throwing hand hit a helmet on his 9-yard
touchdown pass to Steve Smith in the first quarter. Delhomme kept playing, and coach John
Fox said he wasn`t aware of the injury until after the game.
Fox said X-rays after the game were negative and an MRI on Tuesday showed no serious
damage.
Backup Chris Weinke took the snaps with the first team Wednesday. If Delhomme can`t play
Sunday, Weinke would make his first NFL start since 2001.
Delhomme has come under fire lately. He threw two fourth-quarter interceptions against the
Eagles, the last coming in the end zone with 25 seconds left that preserved Philadelphia`s
27-24 win.
Fox was unsure if Delhomme`s thumb injury affected his play in the second half against the
Eagles.
Delhomme is at the top of a long injury report for Carolina. Safety Mike Minter (knee),
tight end Kris Mangum (hip), cornerback Ken Lucas (hamstring) and running back Nick Goings
(shoulder) all missed practice Wednesday and are listed as questionable.
Running back DeShaun Foster, who missed the past two games with a sprained elbow, practiced
Wednesday and is listed as probable. Fox said if Foster is healthy he`ll start ahead of
rookie DeAngelo Williams.
FREE NFL PICKS- (associated press) will vikings go to 3rd string qb.
Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress has a problem. Three, actually.
His starting quarterback is 38 years old, playing as if he`s 48, and coming off a
four-interception game against Chicago on Sunday.
His backup quarterback arrived at team headquarters on Monday with his left arm in a sling.
And his third option is a raw rookie who admits he`s still learning and is not totally
comfortable in the NFL just yet.
No wonder morale is low in Vikings Land.
It`s been a long time since the Vikings have been in such dire straits with their
quarterback, and Childress didn`t have many answers on Monday following a 23-13 loss to the
Bears.
``I have a few different options,`` he said. ``I think that the biggest thing that you ask
as we go is who is going to give us the best chance to win in the fourth quarter. We`ll
just look at that and see who we feel like that is.``
The first nine questions of Monday`s news conference centered on the quarterback, and
Childress grew testy as they kept coming.
``It`s not about the quarterback,`` Childress snapped.
In this case, it`s hard to find fault elsewhere.
The Vikings (5-7 SU and ATS) held the Bears to 107 total yards, forced five turnovers and
rushed for a season-high 192 yards, yet still lost for the fifth time in six games.
Starter Brad Johnson had a quarterback rating of 10.3, which despite being nine points
higher than counterpart Rex Grossman`s 1.3, still was nowhere near good enough to win a
game.
Johnson was yanked in the third quarter after throwing interceptions on two straight
passes, one of which Ricky Manning Jr. took 54 yards for a touchdown.
Backup Brooks Bollinger led the team to its lone touchdown of the game, but sprained his
left (non-throwing) shoulder when he was sacked by Adewale Ogunleye and is questionable for
this week against Detroit.
The Vikings are 3-point underdogs on the road against the Lions on PinnacleSports.com. The
total is set at 37 1/2.
Rookie Tarvaris Jackson, an untested second-round pick out of Division I-AA Alabama State,
was 3-for-4 for 35 yards, but lost a fumble and was wide-eyed when talking about his first
regular season action.
``It`s totally different from looking in your book,`` Jackson said Monday. ``Yes, I know
what to do, but it`s totally different when you have a defense out there moving around and
doing stuff, especially the No. 1 defense in the league. So it was a lot different than it
was when I went out there in the preseason against the twos and the threes and guys that
weren`t the starters.``
Childress said he has not made a decision on who will start against the Lions.
``I think you consider everybody and just need to see where you are at and what you think
you can accomplish here,`` he said.
Were it not for Bollinger`s injury, Johnson would likely be headed to the bench. He still
may be on his way there, but with the Vikings still mathematically in the playoff hunt in a
mediocre NFC, Jackson knows what he would do.
``I think we`re staying with Brad,`` Jackson said. ``We still have a chance to make the
playoffs, so we`re still trying to do that. So it`s obvious that Brad is still our
quarterback so we can stay on that.``
Well, not that obvious, Tarvaris.
Long revered as a heady player who rarely makes mistakes, Johnson has struggled for most of
this season. After throwing 12 touchdowns and four interceptions to help the Vikings finish
7-2 last season, the 15-year veteran has thrown one TD and 10 picks in their last five
losses.
And Childress` patience is wearing thin.
``We`ve got lots of things that we have to clean up on offense, primarily, No. 1, taking
care of the football,`` Childress said. ``I feel like that was a good defense yesterday. I
feel like we moved it at times, but you`ve got to have regard for the football and you
can`t create short fields.``
The Bears` only offensive touchdown of the game came after Johnson`s third interception
gave Chicago the ball deep in Minnesota territory.
The offensive ineptitude is threatening to fracture the locker room.
The defense put together another dominating performance against the Bears, and once again,
it went for naught. After the game, free safety Darren Sharper voiced his frustration and
typically vocal cornerback Antoine Winfield refused comment on Monday.
``It`s not a news flash that the offense needs to play better,`` center Matt Birk said.
``But at the same time, this is a team game and it`s all about winning, whether you win 2-0
or 51-50. That`s how it is.
``I and a lot of guys on offense know how those guys on defense probably feel right now.
For a long time, at least on this team, offense carried the day. It`s not about offense,
it`s about winning games. It`s about finding ways to win games no matter how you do it. And
we haven`t done it.``
NFL PICKS- (associated press): lions put dt or injured reserve.
The Detroit Lions will play their final four games without Shaun Rogers.
The defensive tackle was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, ending his season. He played
just six games this year.
Oddsmakers have the Lions listed as 1-point home favorites against the Minnesota Vikings on
Sunday.
Rogers was suspended for four games by the NFL in October for taking a banned substance to
help control his weight. He finished the season with 36 tackles and two sacks.
Rogers was selected to the Pro Bowl the past two seasons. He had a career-high 5 1/2 sacks
last year despite taking on more than one blocker on almost every play.
He missed just four games over five seasons after the Lions drafted him in the second round
of the 2001 draft, overlooking injury concerns some teams had about him coming out of
Texas.
Detroit (2-10) signed him to a six-year contract after the 2004 season, keeping one of the
few players to excel consistently for the struggling team in recent years.
Whether teams dared to block the 6-foot-4, 345-pound Rogers with one lineman or two, he
often got where he wanted to go with a rare combination of size, speed, strength and nimble
footwork.
``I think Shaun Rogers is the best defensive linemen in the game, not just the best
defensive tackle,`` Lions president Matt Millen has said. ``Some might be stronger, quicker
or bigger, but nobody has his combination of all those things in addition to being as smart
as he is.
FREE NFL PICKS (associated press) saints dt suspended for steroid use.
Saints defensive tackle Hollis Thomas was suspended for the final four games of the
regular season Tuesday for violating the league`s steroid policy.
Thomas, backed by the team, appealed the suspension, which he said was caused by using
asthma medication. He uses an inhaler daily and it apparently contained a banned steroid.
Thomas signed this year with New Orleans after playing nine seasons with the Eagles; he
missed the 2002 season in Philadelphia with a broken right foot. He`s had 43 tackles and
four sacks for the Saints and has been an integral part of their 8-4 record, which leads
the NFC South.
If New Orleans makes the playoffs, Thomas would be eligible to play. He can be added to the
active roster on Jan. 1, 2007, the day after the regular season ends.
The Saints are 6 1/2-point underdogs Sunday night against the Cowboys. The total is set at
48.
FREE NFL PICKS - (espn.com): 49ers release safety.
In need of help at linebacker, and apparently convinced that free safety Tony Parrish would
not regain the form that once made him one of the NFL's best players at his position, the
San Francisco 49ers released the nine-year veteran late Tuesday, making him a free agent.
Parrish
Foreman
San Francisco signed veteran free agent Jay Foreman, who has not played at all this season,
to help address a linebacker corps weakened by injuries.
The timing of Parrish's release was somewhat surprising, but the fact he became expendable
when the club needed to create a roster spot for Foreman was not altogether shocking, given
that he had not been active in any of the past three games. Parrish appeared in nine games,
with five starts, and had 17 tackles in 2006.
"I would have liked to finish my career here," said Parrish, a nine-year veteran. "But in
this league, you don't always get what you want, and you can't dictate the terms of how
things occur. So you just move forward. I still think I've got some good football left in
me. This isn't the end for me."
Indeed, on Wednesday morning, potential suitors had already begun contacting Parrish's
agent about the possibility of signing him. Parrish may elect to sit out the final month of
the season, allow his body to heal, and sign with someone for 2007. But if a team with
playoff potential calls, and offers him a chance to play, he will listen.
Among such possible teams are Dallas and Chicago. The Cowboys have struggled all season as
the free safety position. The Bears, with whom Parrish began his NFL career, are battling
multiple injures at safety.
"I still think I've got some good football left in me. This isn't the end for me."
--Tony Parrish
Parrish, 31, has played in 130 games and has 640 tackles, five sacks, 30 interceptions, 45
passes defensed, 10 forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries. The former University of
Washington star combined the deep range of a free safety and the hitting ability of a
strong safety. Five times in his career he registered three or more interceptions, and he
totaled 16 pickoffs in 2002-2003, including nine in 2003, when he tied for the league lead.
His problems began when he broke his right fibula in a Nov. 13, 2005 contest, his 121st
straight game. He missed the balance of that season after undergoing surgery that included
the insertion of several screws into his leg. In camp this season, San Francisco coaches
hinted that Parrish, despite diligent rehabilitation, wasn't up to his normal speed.
Parrish opened the season as the starter, then began splitting time with Mark Roman at free
safety, and then he eventually lost his starting job altogether.
If he is healthy, which Parrish claims he is, the veteran could be an intriguing
late-season addition for a team seeking experience in its secondary.
Foreman has played in 82 games in stints with Buffalo (1999-2001), Houston (2002-2004) and
the New York Giants (2005). With inside linebacker Derek Smith sidelined by a hamstring
injury, Foreman could be quickly pressed into service.
NFL FREE PICKS- (covers.com) top 10 nfl money teams ats as of 12/06/2006.
1 CHI
2 NO
3 NYJ
4 BUF
5 TEN
6 IND
7 SD
8 BAL
9 NE
10 DAL
NFL FREE PICKS- (associated press) : arrington supports former agent in congressional
testimony.
New York Giants linebacker LaVar Arrington is tentatively scheduled to testify before
Congress this week at a hearing involving his former agent.
Arrington, a three-time Pro Bowl player; NFL Players Association general counsel Richard
Berthelsen; and a law professor were on a "tentative witness list" e-mailed to The
Associated Press on Tuesday by House Judiciary Committee press secretary Terry Shawn.
Arrington did not immediately return a phone message left for him by the AP on Tuesday
night.
The Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law has scheduled an oversight hearing
for Thursday to examine the NFL Players Association's arbitration process. Lawmakers will
be looking into the NFLPA's suspension of Arrington's former agent, Carl Poston, stemming
from his handling of a contract the linebacker signed with the Washington Redskins near the
end of the 2003 season.
That $68 million, eight-year deal was closed in a rush because the Redskins wanted to beat
a deadline for salary-cap purposes -- and Arrington and Poston later said the team bilked
him out of a $6.5 million bonus.
In connection with that contract, the NFLPA's disciplinary committee recommended in March
that Poston be suspended for two years. After several hearings about the case were
postponed, the NFLPA suspended him.
Arrington showed his support for Poston in the past, appearing at a U.S. District Court
hearing in New York this year when Poston challenged the suspension.
Eventually, Arrington and the Redskins resolved the bonus dispute; he didn't receive the
money. Later, he paid Washington to let him out of the contract completely, and he signed
with the Giants as a free agent last offseason.
Arrington tore his left Achilles' tendon during a game in October and is out for the rest
of this season.
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