LOOKING AT THIS GAME AS A POSSIBLE BET . PHIL IS LAYING 3 TO OAK WITH NEW QB BROOKS AND COACH SHELL , WITH A POSSIBLE QB BATTLE WITH WALTERS I EXPECT OAKLANDS STARTERS TO PLAY LONGER TO SEE WHAT THEY CAN DO IN THIS GAME . BACKUPS TUIAS. ALSO WITH THE TEAM LAST YEAR .
PHIL HAS A BUNCH OF WR's WHO ARE NOT PRACTICING MUCH BECAUSE OF MINOR INJURIES . BROWN AND FENNER WITH SORE HAMMY's , PINKSTON ACHILLES , BLOOM HAMMY PUP LIST , AVANT KNEE PUP LIST . I SEE McNABB BARELY PLAYING HERE AND A PERFECT GAME FOR THEM TO WORK ON THEIR RUNNING GAME. PHIL BACK UPS GARCIA AND CHANG ARE NEW TO THE TEAM AND SHOULD PLAY MORE LEAVING DETMER TO PROBABLY SIT THIS ONE OUT , THEY KNOW HIS CAPABILITIES .
POSSIBLE SMALL PLAY ON OAK +3 . ANY IDEAS HERE????
BLOOM AND AVANT ARE BACK PRACTICING . BUCKHALTER DID NOT PRACTICE TODAY(TUE) BECAUSE OF SWELLING IN HIS KNEE . FB DAVIS HAS SURGERY TODAY ON HIS HAND .
Art Shell is 1-4 in Week 1 preseason games. The Eagles may also be looking for a quick score or two from their starters to silence their critics. They did this last year when Owens came back against the Ravens in preseason Week 3. I'm expecting a few long throws from McNabb to a very young receiving corps during Philadelphia's first two drives.
Strong cases can be made for OAK +3 and PHI -3. I'm not betting this game. I think it's pretty much a toss-up.
I cant believe that you guys bet on the preseason! I wouldn't be able to do that. When the 2003 Cardinals went 4-0 in the preseason I realized that there is no possible way to predict how teams fare. That team was awful.
You can predict the outcomes. Check out the "Betting Trends" section of my site. I've done pretty well in the preseason the past few years. (16-9-1 against the spread last year).
I checked out the Betting Trends section. I think you and I discussed this earlier, but it seems like the better head coaches have the better preseason records, which is odd. Maybe preseason has a bigger impact than what meets the eye.
Well, not everyone. Andy Reid is 10-18 in the preseason, and I think we'd both agree that he is better than Dennis Erickson, who was 15-11 when he coached.
Well, I cant argue with that. But Parcells and other really good coaches have winning records in the preseason and Mike Martz and other crappy head coaches have crappy records in the preseason.
Andy Reid just doesn't care about some games. He doesn't care as much about regular season non-conference games either.
About the non-conference games... I was trying to argue that with someone I know, and he kept calling me crazy, shouting, "How can you say that an NFL head coach doesn't care about some games?"
The stats do support it. Reid is 1-7 against the spread vs. AFC opponents. The Eagles played poorly @DEN, @KC, vs. SD and vs. OAK last year. Reid just focuses more on conference games.
Does that person watch football? Coaches give games away all the time. That's why the Colts played crappy after their undefeated record went down the toilet and that's why Seattle lost to Green Bay last year, Cincinnati was blown out by Kansas City, New England lost to Miami at home, Chicago lost to Minnesota, and we lost to St. Louis after we knew we weren't going to make the playoffs. When you don't have anything to play for you don't try as hard.
One game that comes to mind is when the Chargers lost to the Dolphins at home prior to the Indianapolis game. So, they lose to the Dolphins at home, beat the undefeated Colts, and then lose to the Chiefs @KC.
If they would have beaten Miami, San Diego would have made the playoffs instead of Super Bowl champ Pittsburgh. In that case, Carson Palmer might not have gotten hurt. That means, the Bengals might have won the Super Bowl if San Diego didn't look past Miami.
As a fan, sometimes I kill myself with those scenarios. What if Santana Moss dropped that pass on Monday Night? What if Bledsoe didn't throw that interception in Seattle? What if Bledsoe had seen a wide-open Jason Witten in the endzone on the final play against Oakland? What if Jose Cortez had any kicking ability whatsoever? What if? What if? What if? What if? Sometimes I think that sometimes even before the players suit up for the game, one team is meant to win that day and one team is meant to lose. That's just the easiest way to cope with some of the crushing losses you face as a sports fan.
