December 27 , 2006 HOME - SPORTS NEWS

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NFL PICKS & NFL FREE PICKS NFL PICKS & NFL FREE PICKS NFL PICKS- (covers.com) saints looking good t osharp bettors in playoff game vs eagles. During their run of four straight NFC championship games, the Philadelphia Eagles became part of a growing trend that saw only four teams lose a divisional playoff game after having a bye in the first-round of the playoffs. How things have changed. The Eagles are now on the flipside of that trend and will attempt to shrug off history like the many naysayers who didn`t think the Eagles would make the playoffs, let alone move onto the second round against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday. Home teams coming off a bye week in the first-round of the NFC playoffs are more than twice as likely to cover the spread compared to teams that played the previous week, which is part of the reason sharp bettors like the New Orleans Saints in Saturday’s divisional playoff game. “This is the week in the NFL to bet favorites,” says Covers Expert Ted Sevransky. “Teams tend to be overvalued coming off first-round wins over sub-par opponents from the previous week.” The Eagles, winners of six straight, opened as 4-point road underdogs to the Saints but early wise guy action quickly moved the line to +5. Since the NFL introduced its current playoff format in 1990, the team coming off a bye holds a 28-4 record and is a solid 21-10-1 against the spread. The added rest gives teams more time to prepare and rest injuries. In the case of the Saints, it will allow veteran wide receiver Joe Horn to play on Saturday. Horn has missed the last four games with a groin injury and should play an important role in what sharps see as another pitfall for the Eagles – their secondary. “Issue No. 2 for the Eagles is that you cannot underestimate the loss of Lito Sheppard,” says Sevransky. “There are matchup problems for Philadelphia and I think those are the two biggest factors for the early money.” Philadelphia’s Pro Bowl safety dislocated his elbow in last week’s win over the New York Giants and will not play against the Saints. Backup Rod Hood will take his place. Although Hood is a capable replacement, Sheppard’s injury leaves Philadelphia’s nickel defense thinner than it would like. The Eagles love to blitz but the pressure often leaves their secondary in man coverage or in a two-deep zone. A quarterback like Drew Brees can take advantage of this. Brees, who was sacked just 18 times all year, threw for more than 4,400 yards and completed 64.18 percent of his passes.
NFL PICKS : (covers.com): early superbowl betting shifts in favor of new england. Last weekend`s wild-card winners have quickly become bettors` darlings for Super Bowl futures, while those teams that had a bye during the first round of the NFL playoffs seem to have been forgotten. With the games fresh in the minds of bettors, the like of the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and even the Philadelphia Eagles are seeing an increase in prop bets to win this year’s big game in Miami. Although the San Diego Chargers continue to be the odds on favorite at +245 to take the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 4, wins by the Patriots (+800) and Colts (+700) in their respective AFC wild-card games have been drawing the attention of futures bettors heading into the divisional playoffs. “The Pats handled the Jets pretty easily on Sunday so people believe the Brady thing again,” says an oddsmaker from Sportsinteraction.com. “The Pats started seeing a little better action because their payout is a little better. People like getting them at +800 compared to say +400 or +500 at midseason or in the past because if they get through San Diego, then there’s a good chance they could make it through the Super Bowl.” New England has won three Super Bowls over the last five years but they are a 4 ½-point underdog in San Diego on Sunday. The Chargers earned a first-round bye after finishing atop the NFC West with a 14-2 record and have drawn the most overall Super Bowl futures action. Another AFC powerhouse, the Indianapolis Colts, are also seeing their share of action. Indy’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday helped, but the Colts are still a legitimate threat in the minds of many bettors, who like the value they see with Indy at +800. Bettors also like the value with the defending NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks. Their +2500 price may be the largest of any remaining playoff team, but the payoff is still five times that of Sunday’s opponent, the Chicago Bears. But the biggest mover was surprisingly the Philadelphia Eagles. Their congenial win over the New York Giants Sunday night helped boost Philadelphia’s stock, although the Eagles remain a long shot at +1000. FREE NFL PICKS. (associated press): horn questionable for saints. Four-time Pro Bowl receiver Joe Horn sat out significant portions of the New Orleans Saints` practice Tuesday, still bothered by the groin injury that caused him to miss the last four games of the regular season. Saints coach Sean Payton said Horn, who had a pair of big touchdown catches in the victory over Philadelphia earlier this season, is questionable for the rematch Saturday night in the second round of the NFC playoffs. Oddsmakers have the Saints as 5-point favorites with the total set at 49. I was disappointed he wasn`t able to practice, Payton said. I think he`s doing everything he can to get ready. The Saints worked out Monday and Horn participated then. Payton said Horn has done some things that are encouraging, since returning to practice last Friday. Today there was some soreness that came back, Payton said. There`s still enough soreness that keeps him from going full speed. Horn, who had 37 catches for 679 yards and four touchdowns during the regular season, smiled when reminded that his best game of the season came against the Eagles, when he had six catches for 110 yards and touchdowns of 14 and 48 yards. I`m trying to get on the football field, you know? That game was the past, Horn said. Horn remained adamant that he`s doing everything he can to play. You win or you go home, and I don`t want to have to sit on the sideline and witness that, Horn said. I want to play in that football game and give everything I have. I want to be able to play, to help this organization and this city win a football game. Horn has been with the Saints since the 2000 season, the last time they made the playoffs. The 11-year veteran has a strong bond with fans and has been one of the faces of the Saints since he arrived in New Orleans. Payton, however, was determined not to let emotion be a factor in whether he includes Horn among the 46 who dress for the game. You`ve got to separate that. When you`re looking at 46 on a roster and all of a sudden, that guy can`t play and you were hoping he could, all of a sudden now you`re down to 45, Payton said. And so you had to put someone else inactive that may be able to help on special teams or might be able to help in another area. Several of Horn`s teammates, however, seemed convinced the veteran receiver was going to be ready to play. Just being around him, I know he`s ready to get back, running back Reggie Bush said. He`s a playmaker. He`s a fighter and I know once he gets on that field it`s going to be all out.
FREE NFL PICKS- (associated press) seattle star reciver now ready to play. Seattle Seahawks leading receiver Darrell Jackson just might play Sunday against the Chicago Bears after all. Oddsmakers have Seattle listed as a 9 1/2-point underdog for the game. The total is set at 37. Although Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren worried about Jackson`s turf toe ligament strain Monday morning during his weekly KIRO radio show in Seattle, by afternoon Jackson had convinced his coach he could play in the NFC divisional playoff game at Chicago. I`ve got to see how productive (he can be), Holmgren cautioned. Monday afternoon, Holmgren said Jackson aggravated a turf toe ligament strain on his left foot during Saturday`s win against Dallas, an injury that had caused him to miss the previous three games. When Jackson reported to team headquarters Monday, he told his coach he was much better than when he asked out of Saturday night`s game early in the third quarter. Jackson ran 14 plays in the first quarter, but he had only five in second period and one in the third. Darrell Jackson probably will play, Holmgren said. He aggravated his foot in our game and had to come out. But actually, he is feeling better now that he did on Monday last week. He`ll probably get to practice a little bit at the end of the week. That`s my hope. The uncertainty of whether guys can play though, in your planning - particularly in your wide receivers when you have three- and four-(wide receiver) packages and everything - you want to try to get the guys who are going to be running the plays in the game to practice them. On his radio show, Holmgren responded to a question on whether Jackson re-injured his toe Saturday and if he can be expected to play against the Bears with: We`ll I`m afraid he did. Jackson, who saw two passes come his way Saturday without a reception, led the NFL in touchdown catches before he was injured Dec. 10. He started against the Cowboys, despite missing all of last week`s practices. Holmgren also said receiver D.J. Hackett sprained an ankle injury Saturday night and is less likely than Jackson to play in Chicago. Hackett caught two passes for eight yards.

NFL PICKS- (associated press): eagle to play without lito cb sheppard. Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard will miss Saturday`s second-round playoff game against New Orleans with a dislocated right elbow.

Oddsmakers have the Eagles listed as 5-point underdogs and the total is set at 48. Sheppard was injured going for a tackle on a running play in the fourth quarter of Sunday`s 23-20 victory over the New York Giants. He was replaced by Rod Hood. William James, who was inactive against the Giants, will take Sheppard`s roster spot and join Hood, Sheldon Brown and Joselio Hanson in the secondary. Should the Eagles advance, it`s possible Sheppard could return to the lineup. It`s a little tricky, coach Andy Reid said Monday. This week for sure he won`t be back. We`ll see down the road, if there is a down the road. Sheppard missed three games with an ankle injury in September, but had six interceptions and earned his second trip to the Pro Bowl. The Eagles already are without five-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb and three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Jevon Kearse. McNabb (knee) went down in Week 11 and Kearse (knee) has been sidelined since Week 2.

FREE NFL PICKS (espn.com) giants may retain coughlin. The New York Giants are likely to retain embattled head coach Tom Coughlin, but a conference call originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to discuss his status was postponed as organizational meetings continued.

Coughlin will enter the final year of his contract in 2007 at a salary of $3 million, but speculation is that Giants ownership will extend his deal by at least one year to keep the veteran coach from being a lame duck. A source close to Coughlin told ESPN.com on Tuesday that he is "cautiously optimistic" the coach will be retained and that his contract will be extended. Clayton's take

The fact that the decision-making process has dragged on is a good indicator for Tom Coughlin.
Read more of John Clayton's Quick Hits.
But the postponement of the Tuesday conference call signaled there are still some elements to be resolved, possibly with the contract extension and also probably with staffing issues. One assistant coach acknowledged Tuesday night that the staff remains in the dark about its future. Coughlin dismissed offensive coordinator John Hufnagel before the team's final regular-season game. Quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride assumed the play-calling chores for that contest and Sunday's wild-card game defeat at Philadelphia. There are almost certain to be further staffing changes in the offseason. In three seasons with the Giants, Coughlin has compiled a 25-23 record in the regular season and 0-2 record in playoff appearances. But New York suffered through a tumultuous 2006 campaign, losing six of its final eight games after starting the season 6-2 and barely earning a wild-card berth. The season was marked by a crippling spate of injuries but also by open criticism of Coughlin and some assistant coaches from several of the team's highest profile veterans. Still, retaining Coughlin would provide stability to a team whose co-owners, Wellington Mara and Bob Tisch, died within weeks of each other in late 2005 and which will lose general manager Ernie Accorsi to retirement next week. Meanwhile, the Giants' general manager position remains open after the retirement of Ernie Accorsi. One person who won't be filling Accorsi's job, however, is Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, who reacted angrily Tuesday to a report that he he reached out to the Giants about the position. "There is absolutely nothing to it," Parcells told the New York Daily News from Dallas. "Absolutely nothing. There has been no contact, either directly or through an intermediary. Whoever said it is a liar." FREE NFL PICKS - (associated press): despite dolphins owners effort carroll likely to stay at usc. Though coach Pete Carroll says he's committed to staying at Southern California, he seems intrigued by the ideas of Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga. Carroll said Tuesday that he met with Huizenga for about four hours in Costa Rica over the weekend. The Dolphins have been without a head coach since Nick Saban left to take the Alabama job last week. Clayton's take

Pete Carroll would likely need complete control and a lot of money to make a move to the NFL.
Read more of John Clayton's Quick Hits.
"This was the one instance I've come in contact with that has all the elements I have talked about," Carroll said at a news conference on campus. "[Huizenga] has structured a program where the head coach has the entire say, from top to bottom. "It's a one-voice program. I don't think there are any other situations like that in the NFL." Carroll said he was not offered the Miami coaching job, and stressed that he has never thought about leaving USC since arriving after the 2000 season. "I'm thrilled to be here," he said. "As I've been the whole time, I haven't wavered. I know that being curious about it has helped me appreciate what we have here. "I absolutely expect to be here." The 55-year-old Carroll formerly coached the New York Jets and New England Patriots before coming to USC, and has often said he preferred coaching in the college ranks because he had complete control. "It was a major statement he made finding me out there," Carroll said regarding the meeting. "In a situation where you have an alternative, it's worth finding out what it is. "This was the only time I've even thought about talking with anybody [from the NFL]. Here's a situation where a guy would give a head coach the opportunity to do anything he wanted to do. He's an awesome guy." Carroll also said: "I love the Trojans. I love being here -- we're in the middle of something that's really special. I don't want to take any steps away from it." Huizenga met with Carroll in Costa Rica on Sunday. The Dolphins' owner initiated contact, leaving messages on Carroll's cell phone, and the USC coach said he felt obligated "to at least listen." Carroll said had no idea as to the progress of the Dolphins' coaching search and didn't know if or when he would speak with Huizenga again. "I've got to tell you that I'm always chasing a challenge," Carroll said. "I'm teased by all challenges." Carroll returned Tuesday from Costa Rica, where he had been vacationing since No. 4 USC beat No. 8 Michigan 32-18 in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. The Trojans have won 56 of their last 60 games and figure to enter the 2007 season as one of the nation's top-ranked teams. Only four USC players who started in the Rose Bowl are seniors, although there's a good possibility leading receiver Dwayne Jarrett will pass up his final year of eligibility to turn pro. Jarrett, a two-time All-American, will announce his future plans at a news conference Wednesday. Carroll has coached the Trojans to an unprecedented five straight Bowl Championship Series appearances. USC is 59-6 in the past five seasons, and 65-12 in his six years as head coach. The Trojans beat Oklahoma 55-19 in the BCS title game following the 2004 season and lost to Texas 41-38 in the championship game the following year. USC was bypassed for the title game following the 2003 season before beating Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl to win The Associated Press national championship. Carroll coached the Jets to a 6-10 record in 1994, and New England to a 27-21 mark and two playoff appearances from 1997-99 before being fired and replaced by Bill Belichick, who has coached the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships. However, they were 5-11 in 2000 before Belichick turned them around. Carroll took the 2000 season off before being hired to replace the fired Paul Hackett, who coached the Trojans to a 19-18 record in three seasons. Carroll is one of the highest-paid coaches in college, but Huizenga last week said: "I don't care what it takes, what it costs, what's involved. We're going to make this a winning franchise." The Dolphins have failed to make the playoffs the past five seasons, a team record. Carroll said he left a message for USC athletic director Mike Garrett after agreeing to speak with Huizenga.

NFL FREE PICKS- (espn.com) broncos fire defensive coordinator.

The collapse of his unit over the second half of the season has cost Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer his job, as the veteran assistant was informed Tuesday morning by head coach Mike Shanahan that he will not return to the team in 2007. Coyer, 62, served the past four seasons as the Broncos' defensive coordinator and coached the linebackers in Denver for three seasons before that. "I have the highest regard for him [Mike Shanahan] and have no choice but to accept his decision and do so with as much dignity and grace as I can muster," Coyer said in a prepared statement. It is not yet known if Shanahan has already targeted a successor, possibly an assistant already on staff, or will conduct a search for a new defensive boss. The dismissal of Coyer, a coach in the pro ranks since 1984, was not totally surprising, given the performance of the Denver defense in the final 10 games of the regular season. Over the first six outings, the Broncos surrendered only 272.0 yards per game and allowed only 44 points, the fewest points permitted in the first six games since the adoption of the 16-game scheduled in 1978. In the final 10 games, however, the Broncos allowed 26.1 points and 359.2 yards per contest. Part of the unit's problems could be traced to injuries, but Shanahan's decision to fire Coyer suggests there were also philosophical differences between the two men. Denver relied heavily on the blitz in 2005, but was exposed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC Championship Game defeat, and Coyer reworked the scheme to go with sounder and less risky techniques for 2006. In the revamped design, the Broncos struggled to create pressure on opposition quarterbacks. Coyer and Shanahan met Monday and Tuesday and the decision was reached to part ways. The Denver defense ranked No. 4 in the league overall in Coyer's first two seasons as coordinator, 2003 and 2004, then slipped to 15th in 2005 and was 14th in 2006. Before joining Shanahan's staff in 2000, Coyer worked with the New York Jets (1994) and with the Michigan Panthers (1984-85) and Memphis Showboats (1986) of the USFL. He has extensive experience as well at the college level.
NFL FREE PICKS- (associated press) : louisville's patrino named falcons head coach. Bobby Petrino wasted no time in finding his defensive and offensive coordinators.
A day after being introduced as Atlanta's head coach, Petrino reached agreements Tuesday with Dallas defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Cincinnati receivers coach Hue Jackson to be his right-hand men with the Falcons. The hirings were confirmed by an official in the league Tuesday night, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they hadn't yet been announced.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported the agreement between Petrino and Zimmer on Tuesday. Petrino said Monday he wants the Falcons to run a 4-3 defense.
"One of my critical hires will be my defensive coordinator," Petrino said Monday. "It's certainly going to be very important to me. I want to be able to play the game very aggressive and be able to come after the quarterback. Obviously, you have to stop the run first."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the discussions with Jackson, who was the Bengals' receivers coach.
Petrino plans to call the plays during games, but Jackson is expected to run the offense in practice and help coordinate the offensive game plans.
Jackson, 45, has been with the Bengals for three years. He was the Washington Redskins' running backs coach in 2001-02 and the team's offensive coordinator in 2003.
Jackson was a college assistant for 14 years, including Southern California's offensive coordinator from 1997-2000.
Zimmer will replace Ed Donatell, who served as defensive coordinator under Jim Mora Jr. Jackson will replace Mora's offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp.
Petrino plans to retain two assistants from Mora's staff, quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave and running backs coach Ollie Wilson, according to the Journal-Constitution.
Zimmer, 50, has worked with the Cowboys for 13 seasons and took over as defensive coordinator in 2000. He has agreed to a two-year contract, according to the Dallas paper. His contract with the Cowboys was expected to expire this offseason, and his future in Dallas was uncertain with coach Bill Parcells' status unknown.
Zimmer worked with Petrino at Weber State in 1987 and `88. Zimmer's Dallas defense led the NFL in 2003.