The offensive madness continued in Week 2. Once again, Tom Brady and Cam Newton were the stars, as they each set new records for the most passing yards ever in the first two weeks of a season.
The Baltimore Orioles will do their best to play spoiler on Wednesday evening as the Boston Red Sox scramble to hold off the Tampa Bay Rays over the American League Wildcard lead.
MLB Betting – Orioles vs Red Sox Preview & Pick
Date: Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Venue: Fenway Park, Boston, MA
Broadcast: MASN, NESN
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox Betting Lines from Sportsbook.com
Money Line: OFF
Over/Under: OFF
Baltimore Orioles (63-90 through September 19)
Tommy Hunter (4-4, 4.81)
The Baltimore Orioles will do their best to play spoiler on Wednesday evening as the Boston Red Sox scramble to hold off the Tampa Bay Rays over the American League Wildcard lead. Through Monday, they’d won five of seven, all against the Rays, Angels and Red Sox, so they’ve been pesky for the contenders.
Tommy Hunter starts Wednesday. His skills are quite ordinary and it’s shown in his numbers since he arrived from the Texas Rangers earlier this season. Hunter has a 5.31 ERA and .300 opponents’ batting average since he became an Oriole. He’s allowed two or more homers in three of his last five starts, though he did throw seven shutout innings against the Angels his last time out.
Boston Red Sox (88-66 through September 19)
Josh Beckett (12-5, 2.50)
The Red Sox have to take advantage with the easy matchup against Baltimore this week since Tampa gets the Yankees. Through Monday, they’d lost seven of 10 and split the doubleheader to open the Baltimore series. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Josh Beckett returned last week after missing a start with an ankle injury and was fairly sharp against Tampa, allowing two earned runs and striking out seven over six innings. He’s slowed ever so slightly since the All-Star break but he’s still been very effective, going 5-2 with a 2.88 ERA in the second half. Boston needs him now more than ever with so many of its other pitchers injured and/or struggling.
The pick:
The Red Sox have had plenty of scares lately but nothing about Wednesday’s matchup looks scary. Beckett is comfy at home this season, going 6-1 with a 2.30 ERA over 13 starts. Also, Hunter has an awful track record against Boston. The Red Sox have smoked him for 16 runs and seven homers in just 17.1 innings over his four starts against them. Watch out for David Ortiz, who has tagged him for two homers in 10 career at-bats.
The Red Sox have a tough road ahead but they should hit a smooth patch on Wednesday.
Orioles vs Red Sox prediction: Red Sox 7, Orioles 2
Jonny “Bones” Jones defends his UFC light heavyweight title for the first time this Saturday at UFC 135. In Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, he faces the toughest, meanest, most experienced opponent of his career.
For the first time in what seems like an eternity, the Calgary Flame will enter the season not having to answer questions about the ridiculous roster moves that they made in the offseason.
He Colorado Avalanche recognized a need to make some wholesale changes in the offseason.
It seems an eternity ago that the Ottawa Senators were one of the NHL’s best teams, year-in, year-out. Now, wallowing in at the bottom of the Northeast Division, they look more like the laughing stock they were as an expansion team in the mid 1990s.
The Vancouver Canucks will hope to learn from adversity and ice an even better team that was at or near the top of nearly every defensive and offensive statistical category last season. Obviously wholesale change was not necessary for the Canucks.
This is our waiver wire pick-ups column. Dave B scours the free agent pools in fantasy land for the best available talent every week. Availability, of course, depends on the league. We’re using 12 team, 15 roster spot leagues as the median, but we’ll look for roster candidates for leagues of all shapes and sizes.
After all of the weekly games are finished be sure to check our cheatsheets, a who’s hot, and who’s not report plus more in our fantasy football guide.
Each week, the CappersPicks.com fantasy football guru Dave B brings you players you need to be paying attention to – Remember – fantasy football championships are often won by those who live eat and breath fantasy football.
After all of the weekly games are finished be sure to check our waiver wire column, cheatsheets, a who’s hot, and who’s not report plus more in our fantasy football guide.
Two teams looking for their inaugural win of the season do battle in an important NFC showdown on Monday night when the banged up St. Louis Rams head east to play the injury ravaged New York Giants.
Date: Sunday, September 18, 2011
Venue: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast: ESPN
St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies Betting Lines from Sportsbook.com
Money Line: OFF
Over/Under: OFF
St. Louis Cardinals (81-68 through September 15)
Chris Carpenter (9-9, 3.80)
They’ve flown under the radar of late but the St. Louis Cardinals still have potential to sneak into the National League playoffs through the back door. They’re 5.5 games behind Milwaukee for the NL Central lead and 4.5 games back of Atlanta for the NL Wild Card through Thursday night. The key was going 5-1 during a six-game stretch against both of those teams last week.
On Sunday Night Baseball, they’ll try and improve on their 40-34 road record with a tough trip to the City of Brotherly Love. Chris Carpenter handled the Phillies the last time he faced them, striking out seven over seven innings of one-run ball to get the win. He has a 4.66 lifetime ERA against the Phils but is 6-2 over 10 starts. He’ll hope to right the ship after a four-start stretch this season in which he allowed four-plus runs three times.
Philadelphia Phillies (97-51 through September 15)
Cole Hamels (14-8, 2.71)
The Phils clinched a playoff berth earlier this week and their magic number for the NL East sat at one game through Thursday, so they’ll probably have the division locked up by the time Sunday night’s game arrives.
Cole Hamels has been outstanding this season but his last few starts after a brief DL stint show a few concerning trends. A key to Hamels’ success in 2011 had been curbing his always-high homer rate but he’s allowed five long balls over his last three starts.
Hamels has a 3.00 lifetime ERA versus St. Louis. Switch-hitting Lance Berkman gives him the most trouble, batting .333 over 18 career at-bats. Despite his homer problems, it’s interesting that Hamels has only allowed two taters to current Cardinal regulars: one to Albert Pujols and one to Ryan Theriot.
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The pick:
I expect Pujols to play a major role on Sunday night. Even though he’s just a .150 hitter versus Hamels in his career, that stat is due to change based on each player’s recent trends. Pujols is batting .388 with 13 RBI in 13 games this month whereas Hamels is slumping. A power righty bat like Albert’s in theory should be a threat to Hamels’ gopher-ball ways.
Also considering that the Phillies may not keep Hamels in the game long with the division already clinched, and may throw some long relievers to the wolves, I believe the Cards can pull the road upset.
Sunday Night Baseball prediction: Cardinals 5, Phillies 3
Two teams that haven’t seen post season play in a very long time have found new hope after starting out their respective season with big wins in Week 1, and now will face each other when the Oakland Raiders head east to take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Raiders v Bills
Venue/Stadium: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Time/Date: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, September 18, 2011
NFL Odds From: 5 Dimes
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Bills -3 1/2
Over/Under: 41
The Raiders are looking to go 2-0 for the first time since they last made a postseason appearance, eventually losing to Tampa Bay in the 2002 Super Bowl.
After nearly making the playoffs a year ago, Oakland kicked off the Hue Jackson ear with a 23-20 win at Denver on Monday night.
Quarterback Jason Campbell led the Raiders’ offense, finishing with two touchdowns while Sebastian Janikowski kicked three field goals, including an NFL record-tying 63-yarder just before halftime.
Okay so the Raiders got Janny. But do they possess all the weapons and the discipline they need to end their playoff drought?
Well for starters, they did a good job of avoiding the mistakes that have been their undoing in the past. Avoiding costly turnovers and bad penalties , and Campbell was far from extraordinary in the teams opener, in fact he was closer to ordinary, completing just around 50 percent of his passes.
On the other hand, exalted receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey caught four passes and he looked noticeably improved over prior outings, and the ground game seemed to click, running away for 190 yards against the Broncos.
Once again, workhorse Darren McFadden, who after rushing for more than 1,100 yards last year, shouldered the bulk of the carries, handling the ball 22 times for 150 yards in his 2011 debut. Michel Bush also pitched in with gained 30 yards on nine carries. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Good for Oakland who will need all it can get from its backfield heading into Sunday’s contest against a Bills’ defense that had no trouble stopping Kansas City’s running backs.
Not only were the Bills good at stuffing the run– holding Kansas City to 108 yards– but they were pretty good at dishing it out as well, with premier running back Fred Jackson, who had 20 carries for 112 yards against the Chiefs, leading the way.
He will face his toughest challenge though in Week 2, facing a Raiders defense that shut down the Denver running game allowing just 38 yards on the ground.
That type of defense will force Buffalo to air the ball, something QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is more than capable of. Fitz looked composed under center against the Chiefs, completing 17 passes for just 208 yards but four of them going for touchdowns–two to Scott Chandler who caught five passes for 63 yards and four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown to Steve Johnson.
Matt’s Prediction: Buffalo 21, Raiders 17 – This will likely be a game of defense, and while the Raiders defense has been solid, the Bills, who ranked last against the run last season, have showed cosmic improvement. While I was impressed with the Raiders, I was more impressed with Buffalo’s stunning 41-7 rout of the defending AFC West champions. It isn’t going to take a lot of points to get the win here, as this one stays under the total with the Bills on top.
Metrodome – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sunday September 18 – 1:00PM
Moneyline: Minnesota -147, Tampa Bay +127
Spread (ATS): Minnesota -2.5
Over/Under: 41.5
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes
Tampa Bay
The Bucs lost their opener at home against Detroit setting off a slew of pundits who believed they wouldn’t be able to match last year’s success. That may turn out to be true but I wouldn’t leap to that conclusion after what I saw on Sunday. Detroit is a good team. Sure losing the home opener is not a great way to start the season but it is not time to run for the fire exits just yet.
Last year Tampa had great balance pounding the rock with LeGarrette Blount and Josh Freeman tossing it to an emerging set of wideouts. Last week the Lions stuffed the Bucs on the ground and then once the team fell behind they couldn’t stick with it. Freeman was forced to throw the ball more than they like and couldn’t make any big plays (long of 22 yards). They should find it easier sledding against Minnesota on the ground and in the air.
These teams used to meet twice a year but with realignment haven’t played each other since 2008. Tampa has won the last 4 meetings covering each time, spanning all the way back to 2001. The Bucs have also proven to be a great road bet of late on a 13-3-1 ATS tear. As an underdog they are a great play this weekend. Given preseason expectations and last week’s performance I would have installed them as the favourite on Sunday. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Minnesota
Many were predicting an embarrassing catastrophe last week when Minnesota visited San Diego. Sure they lost the game but San Diego had to shutout the Vikings in the second half and score 17 points of their own to beat them. The really bad news is not the loss but how bad new QB Donovan McNabb looked. The Christian Ponder era might be starting a little ahead of schedule.
If McNabb can’t get his act together it is going to be very difficult for this team to win. In Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson they have a couple of players who can take it to the house on every touch but they need balance for them both to be potent weapons. Blaming McNabb is easy but when you look closer you see a line that is not all that good and a receiving corps that relies too much on big plays – no reliable chain movers..
Despite the fact that Minnesota is the favourite I really don’t think they will challenge in this one. Even though they lost last week I am still bullish on Tampa and Minnesota didn’t show much after the first 20 minutes against San Diego. The only hope for Minnesota is if Peterson has a tremendous day but I don’t see him torching the Bucs.
ATS Pick: Tampa +3
Over/Under Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Tampa 30 – Minnesota 17
Time/Date: 4:15 PM EST Saturday, September 18, 2011
NCAA Odds From: BetOnline.com
Moneyline: Texans -155 / Dolphins +135
Spread (ATS): Texans -3
Over/Under: 48
Houston Texans vs. Miami Dolphins Preview
Is this the season the Texans finally unseat the Colts atop the AFC South? They got off to a good start by crushing the Manning-less Colts in their first game and while the Dolphins lost their first outing QB Chad Henne had a good game under center. NFL lines have the visiting Texans as 3-point favorites in this AFC match up with a total of 48.
In their last games the Texans killed the Indianapolis Colts 34-7 and the Dolphins lost to the New England Patriots 38-24.
I guess there is no place like home does not apply to the Dolphins, who have lost 5 straight games and 10 of their last 11 games in Miami. On top of that the Texans have beaten the Dolphins in all 5 games they have faced each other.
Houston has a lot of things going for them in the beginning of this season, as they played great D in the win over Indy, they have a solid QB in Matt Schaub, and they may get last season’s rushing leader back in Adrian Foster.
The big issue for the Texans for the last few years has been their defense, but in a new 3-4 scheme with first round pick DE J.J. Watt they totally shut down the Colts last week holding them to only 236 total yards (172 passing 64 rushing). Chad Henne, who passed for 416 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT in the loss to the Patriots, will likely test them this week. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Reggie Bush had a decent debut in a Miami uniform with 38 yards rushing and making 9 catches for 56 yards and a TD last week. He may be the key for the Fish in this game. Also, Houston had 3 sacks last week, 2 by Mario Williams, so look for them to come after Henne early and often.
Schaub played well in the easy win over the Colts with 220 yards with a TD and he was also picked off twice. He has Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones as his deep threats and even though Miami had a solid pass defense last season they were seriously lit up last week giving up 517 passing yards to the Patriots.
Miami gave up 622 total yards to the Patriots last week and they have to shore up their D or they are in for another home loss. Last season Adrian Foster led the league in rushing yards, but did not play in the home opener. Still, the Texans rushed for 167 yards with backup Ben Tate going for 116. Foster is slated to go in this game and the Dolphins have their work cut out for them.
Betting Trends
Houston is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games, 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games, and has an Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 road games.
Miami is e 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games, 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 0.5-3 points, and has an Over record of 12-4-1 in their last 17 home games.
Jason’s Pick: Miami has been terrible at home recently, Houston has an offense that can light up a scoreboard, and they may have a much improved defense with Wade Phillips as the new defensive coordinator. Yeah, go wit the Texans to win this game in South Beach and cover the 3-point spread and jump on the Over bet in this match up.
Louisiana Superdome – New Orleans, LA
Sunday September 18 – 1:00PMMoneyline: New Orleans -312, Chicago +245
Spread (ATS): New Orleans -7.5
Over/Under: 47.5
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes
Chicago
The Chicago Bears surprised by beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-12 in the opener. If you watched the game (it wasn’t pretty) than you know it wasn’t as lopsided as the final score appeared. With the exception of a defensive TD by Atlanta in the 4th quarter all the big plays in the game were made by the Bears. It is unreasonable to think that they can be that explosive the whole season….and it is different playing on the road than at home for sure.
Jay Cutler was pretty good in the opener throwing for more than 300 yards. A third of that yardage came on two plays as the Bears were more explosive than usual (I just couldn’t come up with another word for explosive). They didn’t do too much damage on the ground but were able to get yards when they needed them. The most encouraging thing to take away from last week was the play of the defensive line. Henry Melton and Julius Peppers both had two sacks. They will need to get pressure on Drew Brees to beat the Saints.
Winning at home against a top team from the NFC South is one thing but going into the Superdome and beating the Saints is something altogether different. The Bears may have won 4 in a row against the Saints but the last three have been at home and the fourth was back in 2005 when a guy named Aaron Brooks was the Aints quarterback. A lot has changed since then. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
New Orleans
Thrilling ending to the opener on Thursday night. I am still wondering why Coach Payton thought the smart play was taking the ball out of Drew Brees hands on the final play. It shows confidence in the line and rookie RB Mark Ingram but I think it was also a little bit of him outsmarting himself. Nevertheless they are back at home looking to get back to winning, although a little dinged up.
Last week’s game turned on Marques Colston’s lost fumble. The Saints had little trouble moving the ball but dug themselves too deep a hole to ultimately win the game. Drew Brees was very sharp and with Colston out he will rely even more on spreading the ball around. The running game was pretty ineffective against the Pack and it won’t get much easier against Chicago this week. They use it just to keep the offense honest though.
The Saints are in a great bounce back spot here. They are playing at home and have a couple of extra days to prepare after opening the season last Thursday. This is one of the most explosive offenses in the league and the defense is probably better than it showed against an amped up and very talented Green Bay team. The line is a little heavy at -7.5 but I think it is manageable though there are better bets on the board.
ATS Pick: New Orleans -7.5
Over/Under Pick: Over
Score Prediction: New Orleans 34 – Chicago 23
Ford Field – Detroit, MI
Sunday September 18 – 1:00PM
Moneyline: Detroit -357, KC +275
Spread (ATS): Detroit -9
Over/Under: 45
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes
Kansas City
Well those pundits who thought the Chiefs record was inflated last year certainly got what they were looking for in week 1 as the Chiefs were pounded by the Buffalo Bills 41-7. It was a sloppy game by Kansas City that felt pretty much over by halftime. The Chiefs did little in the second half to respond which is part of the reason the line on on this one has jumped since it opened. It kind of looked like they were just going through the motions.
There was some concern that QB Matt Cassell might not play last week but he started, he just didn’t have a very good game. He completed 22 passes for a shockingly low 119 yards. You have to move the ball deeper down the field with your passing game, especially if you want to give your running game a chance. Fortunately when the running backs did tote the ball they were pretty effective…the game against Buffalo got out of hand so fast they just couldn’t stick with it.
If you include pre-season the Chiefs have now lost 7 games in row and few are giving them a chance to bounce back this weekend at Detroit. These teams haven’t met since 2007 when their makeup was much different, more importantly they appear to be going in different directions right now and Kansas City’s is not a good one. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Detroit
It was a great win for the Lions at Tampa. With expectations building over the offseason it was important to their pysche that they play well with the win the icing on the cake. With the Chiefs coming to town this weekend they have a great opportunity to show that they are a real threat in the NFC. I hope they won’t regress now that they are actually in the conversation. With a win on Sunday they could easily be 3-0 after next weekend.
Everything went pretty much according to plan for Detroit. Stafford was solid with 300+ yards passing, Calvin Johnson hauled in a couple of TDs and Jahvid Best didn’t get hurt (canned laughter). To get to that next level they need Best to become more of a threat – his longest run was just 9 yards. On defense they did a great job shutting down the Bucs power running game which bodes really well for playing the Chiefs who want to gash opponents on the ground.
The line on this one has really run up throughout the week. It was Detroit – 3.5 to start and now it is as high as -9 in some places. At anything under -7 I was definitely behind the Lions but now it is a little too rich for my blood. The Lions are likely to get steam until they lose a game, then you should be able to get some serious value on them. Right now you might just want to enjoy as a fan.
ATS Pick: KC +9
Over/Under Pick:
Score Prediction: Detroit 31 – Kansas City 24
