In a match for the ages, Shogun Rua takes on Dan Henderson in a battle of MMA legends. Rua is the complete package – Muay Thai and very good jiu-jitsu while Henderson is a wrestler by trade who loves to utilize his insane right hand to end fights.
How many experts projected that after clinching the Wild Card in the final game of last season and peaking in the postseason on their way to a Super Bowl championship, the Green Bay Packers would be even stronger when they returned to the field this season?
It’s a battle of two teams fighting for the AFC North crown this Sunday in Baltimore. The Ravens were expected to be fighting for the top of the AFC North, but the Bengals have surprised the entire NFL this year.
Can Cincinnati go into Baltimore and pick up a key win or will the Ravens get a leg up on the upstart Bengals?
Time/Date: 1:00 PM EST, November 20, 2011
Venue: M&T Bank Stadium
Broadcast: CBS
Bengals vs. Ravens Gambling Odds from Bookmaker
Spread: Ravens -7
Moneyline: Ravens (-300) Bengals (+250)
Over/Under: 40.5
Andy Dalton was a second round draft pick, but he is a legitimate contender for rookie of the year in the NFL. Dalton has thrown 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions so far this year. His job will be tougher this weekend, because it appears he will be without star wide receiver A.J. Green. Green is listed as doubtful due to a knee injury. Tight end Jermaine Gresham is also listed as questionable for this one. Cedric Benson will be expected to a carry a heavier load this weekend. It will be a tough task for the Bengals offense as they face one of the best defenses in the league.
Cincinnati’s defense is the reason this team is 6-3 right now. The Bengals rank fifth in the NFL in total defense, and they are only allowing 18 points per game this year. Last weekend the Bengals suffered a major loss when Leon Hall tore his Achilles tendon. Hall was the Bengals best cover corner, and he is now out for the season. Adam Jones should step into the cornerback position this weekend. Will injuries start to catch up to this unit?
Baltimore’s defense has been stout all year. The Ravens defense really doesn’t seem to have any weakness at this point. One problem this week will be that Ray Lewis will likely be on the sideline for the first time since 2007. Lewis is listed as doubtful because of a toe injury. Haloti Ngata is a beast in the middle of the defensive line, and the opposition generally has to double-team him. Terrell Suggs leads the team with six sacks. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense has been up and down all year long. Flacco is completing just 55% of his passes so far this season. He did come up with a huge drive to beat the Steelers two weeks ago at Heinz Field, but the offense struggled mightily last week in Seattle. Ray Rice is having another very good season in the backfield. Rice averages 4.1 yards per carry.
He also leads the team with 46 receptions. The Ravens really need to start establishing the run better than they have of late.
This is a team that would be better suited to run to set up the pass rather than the other way around.
The Bengals are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games. They are also 4-0 ATS in their last 4 against the Ravens. Since I’m getting a full touchdown, I’ll take the Bengals here.
Free NFL Pick: Bengals +7
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When an established NFL contender loses consecutive games, there is a sense that a specific aspect of their game has gone wrong and that once that problem is corrected the team will carry on as a true Super Bowl threat.
This is the Tigers’ last tune-up game before a big end of season showdown with #6 Arkansas. Perhaps that takes some of the mystique away from this game preview, but with all due respect to Ole Miss, that’s really the only way you can look at this game.
It has been a circuitous route but with just 7 games to play the Raiders are on the top of the AFC West. They don’ have a huge lead but with Carson Palmer starting to show some signs of getting it and Darren McFadden eventually coming back they have to like their chances from here on out.
The oddsmakers tab the Cardinals vs. 49ers game on Sunday to be the biggest mismatch on the board. 9 ½ points is a big spread for a divisional game – or is it? The Arizona Cardinals come into the game on a two game winning streak.
Two teams heading in opposite directions meet in Chicago on Sunday with a pair of four game streaks on the line. For the Chargers, they have lost four straight games while the Bears have won four straight.
The Seattle Seahawks hope to build on what was a very impressive win against the Baltimore Ravens last week when they travel to St. Louis to take on a Rams team that is coming off a win of their own – a 13 -12 thriller in Cleveland last week!
Two disappointing teams will meet in Cleveland this Sunday. The Jaguars have picked up a couple nice wins, but the team has been very inconsistent. The Browns started 2-1, but they have lost five of their last six.
The fans in Cleveland are begging for something to cheer for, but the Browns simply haven’t played well offensively. Which team gets back on track this Sunday?
Jaguars vs. Browns
Time/Date: 1:00 PM EST, November 20, 2011
Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium
Broadcast: CBS
Jaguars vs. Browns Gambling Odds from BetOnline
Spread: Browns -1
Moneyline: Browns (-111) Jaguars (+101)
Over/Under: 34
Jacksonville decided to put Blaine Gabbert right into the lineup early on in his career. Gabbert has a poor completion percentage of just 48 percent, but he has shown signs of improvement as the season moves along. He has thrown only five interceptions, and he seems to be learning the system quickly. Maurice Jones-Drew is having a good season, especially when you consider that teams are stacking the box and trying to force the Jaguars to throw. Jones-Drew is averaging 4.5 yards per carry, but he only has four touchdowns this season. The Jaguars offense averages just 12.8 points per game.
Jacksonville’s defense ranks fourth in the NFL in total defense. This is the unit that absolutely shut down the Baltimore Ravens a few weeks ago on Monday Night Football. Daryl Smith and Paul Posluszny are the leaders of a strong group of linebackers. Dawan Landry has been a great addition at the safety position. The Jaguars are allowing only 18.4 points per game.
Colt McCoy hasn’t been bad this year, but the Browns just don’t have enough weapons around him for the offense to be as dangerous as they need to be. Peyton Hillis is expected to miss his fifth straight game this weekend, and the lack of a running game has really hurt the Browns this season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Cleveland is averaging only 87 yards per game on the ground. The Browns wide receivers have struggled to get open all year. Joshua Cribbs is a great return specialist, but he has struggled in his time as a wide receiver. The Browns haven’t scored more than 12 points in a game since more than a month ago. Can the Browns find a spark on offense this week?
The Cleveland defense has been pretty solid this year. The secondary has been fantastic. In fact, Cleveland ranks first in the NFL in pass defense. Joe Haden is quickly turning into one of the best cover corners in the league. Sheldon Brown has given the Browns a second reliable corner who keeps the ball in front of him. The rushing defense hasn’t been good, and they’ll need to better in this one because MJD will get a lot of carries for the Jaguars in this one.
These are two of the worst offenses in all of football right now. Neither offense has many weapons at all to work with. Jones-Drew should get some yards, but I think both teams will settle for field goals frequently in this matchup.
Free NFL Pick: Under 34
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The Carolina Panthers were the darlings of the football betting world for the first part of the season. With Cam Newton leading the charge they were bombing away resulting in a 5-1 ATS run from weeks 3-8.
The Philadelphia Eagles square-off against the New York Giants this Sunday night in front of a prime-time audience at MetLife Stadium in one of the best rivalries in the NFC East. Kick-off is slated for 8:20 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
The Sooners (9-1) got some luck last week with Stanford and Boise State falling from the ranks of the unbeaten and OU still has an outside chance to play in the BCS title game.
Venue/ Stadium: Kyle Field, COLLEGE STATION, TX
Time/Date: 12 PM EST Saturday, November 19, 2011
NCAA Odds From: BetOnline
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Texas A&M -30.5
Over/Under: 66
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas A&M Aggies Preview
Texas A&M (5-5) has lost 3 straight games and 2 of those losses came in OT, but they have a good chance to become bowl eligible with their 6th win this Saturday facing a Kansas (2-8) team that has lost their last 8 games and is 0-7 in Big 12 play. NCAAF lines has Texas A&M as HUGE 30.5-point home favorites with a total of 66.
Last week Kansas lost a tough 31-30 game in OT to the Baylor Bears and Texas A&M also lost in OT, 4 of them no less, 53-50 to Kansas State.
It is no surprise why the Aggies as such big favorites, as they have a solid offense ranking 16th in the nation in both passing and rushing yards per game. On top of that Kansas only ranks 113th in the nation defending the pass and 2nd to last in all of college football defending the run.
A&M QB Ryan Tannehill passed for 210 yards with 3 TD and 1 INT last week and RB Cyrus Gray rushed for 218 yards with 2 TD. Is there any way the Jayhawks can stop these guys? I would say no chance.
The reason Kansas almost upset Baylor last week was that they rushed for nearly 300 yards with freshman RB Darrian Miller rushing for 147 yards. However, they were facing a Baylor run defense that ranks 112th in the nation while Texas A&M ranks 20th. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Aggies are not a great team defending the run so for the Jayhawks to have any chance in this game they will need Jordan Webb to play well. Easier said than done since the Jayhawks only rank 97th in the nation in passing yards per game and last week Webb only passed for 108 yards with 1 TD and 3 INT.
As you can tell this is not a good match up for the Jayhawks and to add more to the pile the Aggies have the most sacks in the nation this season.
Last season in Kansas the Aggies crushed the Jayhawks 45-10 and Kansas has not beaten A&M since the 2007 season.
Betting Trends
This season Kansas is 5-5 ATS and has an O/U record of 6-4 and Texas A&M is 2-8 ATS and has an O/U record of 6-4.
Kansas is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games and has an Under record of 4-1 in their last 5 games.
Texas A&M is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite, 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games, and has an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 games as a favorite.
Jason’s Pick: Yeah, the Aggies have not been a good ATS team this season and they are giving 30.5 points in this game, but they will come out and crush the Jayhawks in a blowout and easily cover the spread. Take the Under in this match up, as while the Aggies will light up the scoreboard Kansas will have a hard time scoring.
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Kansas State (8-2) snapped their 2-game losing streak with a big win last week and now face a Texas (6-3) team that had their 2-game winning streak snapped last week.
There will be no shortage of red hair and freckles to witness the classic match-up between the Boston College Eagles and the Irish of Notre Dame.
