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Just Saying, Is All: The End of the Road for Tom Brady

Rubell — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:59:40 +0000

The grass is always greener in yesterday’s garden.

Tom Brady is a miracle of modern medicine. He’s also a victim of ancient circumstance. After a remarkable return from reconstructive knee surgery, the New England Patriots quarterback very nearly regained his old form this season—which would be better news if “very nearly” met the exacting standards of seasons now long past.

Resilience means turning lemons into lemonade.

Realism, on the other hand, means admitting that all fruit tastes bitter compared to the sweetness of your first apple.

I’m not suggesting that Brady is washed up. His 2009 performance speaks for itself, and he’s likely to be a top Fantasy pick in 2010. But let’s not confuse Fantasy stats with actual facts. In a league where success depends so heavily on self-confidence, there’s no injury more devastating than the one that reminds a QB of his self’s expiration date.

You can’t unbreak a bone.

You can’t unburden a brain.

If there’s a moral to Brady’s story, it’s simply that mortal knowledge begins where physical innocence ends.

An athlete’s body is both his temple and his tomb. Wind sprints, weight sessions, weekly supply runs to GNC—they’re sacred rituals, rites by which jocks preserve their earthly grace. The catch, alas, is that altars of dust aren’t made to stand the test of time. Optimists will argue that Brady still has years of life in his legs. I’d counter that he should be far more concerned with the eons of death in his blood.

Stardom is good.

Stoicism is better.

Brady may never recapture his boyish magic, but at least he’s old enough to have lost his youthful illusions.

A mature man makes peace with his own perishability. To be young is to strive for masterful dominance; to grow up is to settle for managed decline. Tom Brady reached the end of the road 16 months ago, when he died to what he was and was born to what he’d always been. Every gimpy veteran longs for the dawn of a never-blemished Eden. The one who’s scheduled to sleep with a supermodel may yet learn to love the dusk of a not-so-blighted eve.

Bob Dylan never tore an ACL, but he does know a thing or two about limited recoveries:

Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay
You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way

Which is a fitting dirge for a fallen hero.

Because some wounds are beyond healing, and any Son of Adam who claims otherwise is either on the business end of an arthroscope or only just saying, is all…

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Patriots Vs. Bills NFL Betting Preview Sunday NFL Matches

Rohith — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:29:58 +0000

On Week 15 NFL Betting Matches New England Patriots Vs. Buffalo Bills will takes place at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, Sunday, Dec. 20

The New England Patriots avoided a three-game losing streak with a win last week, and could use another one to cement their hold on the AFC East. And if they’ve got to play on the road, what better place to do that than Buffalo, where they play Sunday, against a Bills teams they’ve beaten 12 straight times, including five in a row there. NFL Football Betting : Receive upto 295% in total Bonuses Sign Up Now

Most online betting outlets opened New England at -7 for Sunday’s game over Buffalo, with a total of 40 ½ or 41.And as of Thursday morning those numbers had held steady.

The Patriots are also being offered at right around -325 on most moneylines, with the Bills getting upwards of +280 as underdogs at home.

New England may still be considered a threat to win the AFC, but all is far from well in Patriotland. In what is a rarity in the Belichick era, uninspired play and disciplinary problems are making news in New England. The Pats are 2-3 in their last five games, after beating Carolina 20-10 last Sunday, although they couldn’t cover the pointspread as 13-point home favorites.

So the Patriots, at 8-5, lead the 7-6 Dolphins and Jets by a single game in the AFC East. And they trail 10-3 San Diego by two games in the battle for the only remaining AFC wild-card weekend bye. If the playoffs started today New England would be the fourth seed in the AFC, hosting a wild-card game.

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After a 1-4 start to this season, Buffalo got to 3-4, but lost three straight, which cost head coach Dick Jauron his job. After winning in Kansas City last week 16-10, the Bills are 2-2 straight up and 3–1 against the pointspreads in their four games under interim head coach Perry Fewell.

Buffalo, at 5-8, isn’t mathematically out of the AFC playoff race, but they might as well be.

The Patriots have beaten the Bills a dozen times in a row, including in this season’s opener, 25-24 in Foxboro. But the Pats needed a miracle in that one, and got it, scoring two touchdowns in the last two minutes to rally from 11 points down.

New England swept the two games from Buffalo last year by scores of 20-10 and 13-0. So barring those last two minutes of that earlier game this year, the last three games in this series should have gone under the totals.

In their last 10 games vs. the Patriots, the Bills have scored a total of 103 points.

New England QB Tom Brady is nicked up and has missed some practice time this week. But of course he’ll go Sunday. On the season Brady has completed 65% of his passes for over 3,800 yards, with 23 TD passes and 11 interceptions, for a 95.4 passing rating.

On the other side of this QB match-up, Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick, who took over for former starter Trent Edwards in mid-season, has put up worse numbers than Edwards, completing just 53% of his passes, with five TDs and nine INTs, and a 60.2 rating. But he has added a bit of a spark to the Bills offense with his mobility.

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New England ranks second in the league this season in total offense, averaging 412 YPG, and 14th in rushing at 119 YPG. On the other side of the ball the Pats rank 11th in total defense at 321 YPG and 16th vs. the run at 109 YPG.

Buffalo ranks 29th in offense at 276 YPG, 17th in rushing at 113 YPG, 26th in defense at 362 YPG and dead last in the league vs. the run, allowing 171 YPG.

Also, the Patriots lead the league in average time-of-possession at 33:48, while the Bills rank last at 26:50.

New England’s shortcoming have been very apparent on the road this season, where they are 0-5 straight up – excluding their win over Tampa in London – and 1–4 against the pointspreads.

On the injury front the Patriots are banged up on the defensive line, with NT Vince Wilfork and DE Ty Warren both listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.

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Vikings Vs. Panthers NFL Betting Week 15 Picks

Abu — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:41:11 +0000

Minnesota Vikings Vs. Carolina Panthers, NFL Week 15, 8:20 p.m. EST, Sunday Night Football, December 20, 2009, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte.

The Minnesota Vikings have already clinched an NFC playoff birth in quarterback Brett Favre’s second stint out of retirement, so now they’ll go for another NFC North Division crown when the travel to Charlotte to play the reeling Carolina Panthers in Bank of America Stadium on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

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With one more win, or a Green Bay loss, the Vikings will lock up a second consecutive NFC North title and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. Minnesota got some of the mojo back they lost in the Arizona game two weeks ago by beating one if the AFC’s best teams last Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals, 30-10.

Meanwhile, the Panthers season keeps fading into oblivion. They played a strong game against the New England Patriots last Sunday only to fade at the tape and lose, 20-10, adding one more frustrating game to the list of what has become one giant frustrating season for Carolina.

The Panthers will obviously be looking to play the role of the spoiler this week, but they’ll have to do it without starting quarterback Jake Delhomme again as he’s listed as doubtful on the injury report. This means that Matt Moore will get his third start this week against the Vikings and Favre, the quarterback who has started more consecutive games than any other player in the league.

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After getting bottled up by Arizona two weeks ago, Vikings stud Adrian Peterson got back on track last week (97 yds., 2 TD) against a Bengals defense that came into the game in the top-five against the run. When A.P. is getting yards and drawing defenders into the box, Favre and the Vikings go deep on play-action and the result is the Vikings are the league’s top scoring unit at 29.9 points per game.

The Panthers also rely heavily on the run, which makes the play calling in last week’s loss to New England even more suspect. With a quarterback making just his second NFL start, against Tom Brady and the Pats, and the Panthers only ran the ball with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart 20 times and let Moore take 30 pass attempts.

The Panthers will need to get back to their season average (149.4 ypg – 4th) if they hope to keep the Vikings strong pass rush away from Moore. But with a raw quarterback and virtually no passing game to speak of (28th – 169.6 ypg), against the “Williams Wall” known as the Vikings run defense no less, the Panthers will have a hard time accomplishing that task.

Plus, the Panthers lost right tackle Jeff Otah to a season-ending knee injury last week, so now they’ll be missing both of their bookend tackles since Jordan Gross is already on the I-R.

The Vikings beat the Panthers at home last year in week four, 20-10, when the Vikings rallied for 10 points in the second half behind quarterback Gus Frerotte. It was the Vikings second win in a row over the Panthers (other one was 16-13 OT win in 2006), their second cover versus the number (series is 4-4 ATS though), and it also gave them a 5-3 SU all-time record versus Carolina.

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NFL Week 15 Predictions for NFL Betting

Ramesh — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:48:13 +0000

Much Awaited for the NFL Betting People, This Week on NFL its more complicated games, crucial games. Nobody knows how it goes. But here are my picks for the NFL Week 15 Betting. These are based on the current players, teams. Player injuries may effect the picks. Check out regularly for the updates.

THU, DEC 17 TIME (ET) TV
NFL Betting Picks :
Indianapolis Vs. Jacksonville : The big question is how much will Peyton Manning and other veterans play before Jim Caldwell decides to rest him. I’m glad I don’t have him on my fantasy team.
SAT, DEC 19 TIME (ET) TV
NEW ORLEANS Vs. Dallas : Hard not to like the Saints here. They find ways to win and the Cowboys find ways to lose in December. NFL Football Betting – Signup Now Receive $100 Bonus
SUN, DEC 20 TIME (ET) TV
Green Bay Vs.Pittsburgh : How can Pittsburgh be favored after the Packers continue to have one of best defenses in the league and the Steelers are coming off a brutal loss to Cleveland?

Tennessee Vs. Miami : This could be a good game with two teams fighting for their playoff lives. At the end of the day, Chris Johnson might be the difference.

Buffalo Vs. New England : The elements might be a factor here. Tom Brady could be affected by the cold, and the Bills secondary has played well. The Bills played the Pats tough earlier in the season. They might do it again.

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Arizona Vs Detroit : Kurt Warner has a history of bouncing back from bad losses. The Lions seem like the perfect candidate for a comeback game.

Philadelphia Vs. San Francisco : The Eagles are starting to look dangerous. Their offense is clicking and Andy Reid hasn’t cost them a game in a while.

NY Jets Vs Atlanta : The Jets have won three in a row and the Falcons are still riddled with injuries.

Baltimore Vs. Chicago : Will Jay Cutler continue to be the NFL leader in interceptions? Something tells me that the Ravens will make sure that happens.

Cleveland Vs. Kansas City : Cleveland has showed some life as of late. They should be able to take the struggling Chiefs.

Houston Vs. ST. Louis : The Texans are clinging to playoff hopes and the Rams are down to their third-string quarterback.

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San Diego Vs. Cincinnati : Could the Bengals finally be breaking down? The team got crushed by the Vikes and are now facing a streaking Chargers team.

Oakland Vs. Denver : The Raiders are hardly world beaters, but they’ve managed to hang in tight several times this year.

Seattle Vs. Tampa Bay: It’s hard to pick Josh Freeman to win anything. Playing in the din of Qwest Field won’t help the young QB.

Minnesota Vs. Carolina: The Vikes have an advantage at just about every key positon. Hard to see them losing to the Panthers.

MON, DEC 21 TIME (ET) TV

Washignton Vs. NY Giants : It’s hard to pick the Giants over anyone considering how porous their defense has been. The Redskins aren’t champs, but Jason Campbell and Quinton Ganther will likely put up a decent fight against the Giants. NFL Football Betting – Signup Now Receive $100 Bonus

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Panthers vs Patriots NFL Week 14 Picks For Betting

Abu — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:55:58 +0000

New England Patriots have never recovered from their crushing loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 15. New England forfeited more than momentum in that 35-34 loss. On that night, the Patriots saw their confidence slip away.

The team that used to bury its opponents and leave the rest of the league cowering in fear is now a shell of its former self. New England got blasted at New Orleans on Nov. 30, and this past Sunday in Miami, the Pats blew a 21-10 third quarter lead by getting shut out in the final 27 minutes.

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An alarming absence of late-game offense doomed quarterback Tom Brady, whose team fell, 22-21, on a Dolphin field goal with 1:02 left in regulation.

Carolina Panthers beat the Bucs 16-6, improving to a 5-7 season record. The Panthers 2009 team leaders include; quarterback Jake Delhomme completing 178 passes on 321 attempts for 2015 yards with eight touchdowns, DeAngelo Williams leads in rushing with 197 carries for 1022 yards with seven touchdowns and Steve Smith leads in receiving with 49 receptions for 682 yards with four touchdowns. The Carolina Panthers finished the 2008 season first in the NFC South conference, clinching a playoff berth with a 9-7 regular season record.

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New England Patriots lost 22-21 to the Patriots. They have the a 7-5 season record. The Patriots 2009 team leaders include; quarterback Tom Brady completing 301 passes on 458 attempts for 3638 yards with 22 touchdowns, Laurence Maroney leads in rushing with 144 carries for 560 yards with eight touchdowns and Randy Moss leads in receiving with 68 receptions for 1058 yards with nine touchdowns. The New England Patriots finished the 2008 season second in the same AFC East conference with an 11-5 regular season record.

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Monday Night Football Live: Patriots Vs Saints

Abu — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:13:50 +0000

The Monday Night game has all the makings of a classic shootout as the New England Patriots take on the New Orleans Saints. These two teams feature two of the premiere quarterbacks in the NFL and offenses that can score points in a hurry. New Orleans opened up as a 3 point home favorite earlier in the week but sharp wise guy action has come in on New England plus the points.

New England ranks second in the NFL in total yards per game and 3rd in the league in points per game. They are averaging 416 yards of offense per contest and a whopping 29 points a game. Their passing attack is dangerous as ever now that Tom Brady is back playing at a very high level.

He has two great weapons in Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Also, New England is starting to run the ball much more effectively with Laurence Moroney playing well, making this team even more explosive. Statistically, New Orleans is a middle of the road defense.
They rank 17th in total yards and 13th in points allowed. Furthermore, their secondary is giving up 214 yards a game through the air. The Saints’ defense has been hampered with injuries in recent weeks, particularly in the secondary. They are expected to get some key players back for Monday night’s game but they will have to play much better in order to win this game.

As for the New Orleans offense, they are the best in the NFL both in total yards and points per game. Drew Brees can beat you with his arm and the plethora of weapons he has at the wide receiver position or the Saints can pound the rock with Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell.

They are an extremely balanced team and opposing defenses can’t seem to find a way to stop an offense that is being compared to the St. Louis Rams of the early part of this century. If there is one team that contain the Saints playmakers it is the New England Patriots. New England is allowing just 296 yards a game and are also ranked second in the NFL in points allowed.

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NFL Picks Week 12 Matches

Rubell — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:44:57 +0000

New England (+1.5) at New Orleans
Wonder if Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden appreciate the work of Drew Brees and Tom Brady? I expect you’ll have to parse their every word extremely carefully on Monday night to find out.
Pick: New England

Indianapolis (-3.5) at Houston
The Colts’ schedule after this: Tennessee, Denver, at Jacksonville, N.Y. Jets, at Buffalo. Will they go 16-0? Bold prediction: No.
Pick: Indianapolis

Seattle (-3) at St. Louis
Kyle Boller, the backup-turned-starting quarterback for St. Louis, is apparently dating Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California most notable for her stance against gay marriage, her sudden heroism among American conservatives, and apparently as many as eight sex tapes. And the NFC West still isn’t terribly interesting.
Pick: Seattle

Kansas City (+13.5) at San Diego
Last week, during pre-game warmups, rookie Denver coach Josh McDaniel apparently talked trash at various Chargers, including shouting, “We own you!” San Diego won 32-3. Which is too bad, because otherwise you can totally picture rookie Chiefs coach Todd Haley doing the same thing.
Pick: San Diego

Jacksonville (+3) at San Francisco
The Jaguars, who lost a game to Seattle by a score of 41-0 this season, would be in the playoffs if they began today. Of course, so would the Eagles, and they lost to Oakland.
Pick: Jacksonville

Chicago (+10.5) at Minnesota
It’s Jay Cutler! Interceptions ahoy!
Pick: Minnesota

Carolina (+3) at N.Y. Jets
One ad for next week’s Jets-Bills game in Toronto includes the line, “You can watch it on TV, or you can be on TV.” It doesn’t mention, of course, that there is a much better third option.
Pick: Carolina

Cleveland (+14) at Cincinnati
Cleveland’s points per game this year: 20, 6, 3, 20, 6, 14, 3, 6, 0, and 37. Guess which game was against the Lions.
Pick: Cincinnati

Tampa Bay (+12) at Atlanta
One more gripe about the Thanksgiving games: The first one featured Detroit, and was announced by Joe Buck. The second featured Oakland, and was announced by Jim Nantz. Thanks for nothing, NFL.
Pick: Tampa Bay

Miami (-3) at Buffalo
From this space’s own Twitter: Mike Shanahan on seven-hour meeting with Buffalo Bills: “We had an excellent meeting.” Bills: “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.”
Pick: Miami

Washington (+9) at Philadelphia
Teams that score fewer than Washington’s 14.6 points per game: Cleveland, St. Louis, Oakland. That is all.
Pick: Philadelphia

Arizona (+3) at Tennessee
Since Vince Young was put back at QB, the Titans have won four straight. As Bud Adams would say, it’s flippin’ true.
Pick: Tennessee

Pittsburgh (off the board) at Baltimore
Oh, this won’t be pretty.
Pick: Pittsburgh

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Sunday Night Football Week 10 NFL Picks

Venu — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:23:07 +0000

The game of the week is in Indianapolis as Peyton Manning and the undefeated Colts host Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at 8:20PM ET.

Bet On NFL Week 10

The Patriots beat the Dolphins 27-17 as an 11-point favorite in Week 9, while the combined score fell under the posted total of 47. Tom Brady threw for 332 yards with a touchdown and an interception for New England, while Randy Moss hauled in six passes for 147 yards and a touchdown in the victory.

The Colts beat the Texans 20-17 as a 7.5-point favorite in Week 9, as the combined score fell under the posted total of 50.5. Peyton Manning threw for 318 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Indianapolis, while tight end caught a whopping 14 passes for 119 yards in the win.

New England is 15-2-1 against the spread in its last 18 games when playing on the road against Indianapolis and 15-6 staight up in its last five games playing the Colts. The under has hit in four of Indianapolis’s last six games when playing the Patriots and in four of the Colts’ last five games at home.

The Colts have failed to cover the past two weeks at home and while they remain undefeated, they’ve flittered with suffering their first loss all season the past two games. What better team to knock Indy off than New England, which has owned the Colts for most of the decade.

Bill Belichick just has an affect on Manning and we love getting points with the Patriots. As long as New England can establish a running game, we like the Pats’ chances of winning outright.

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NFL Week 10 Betting Odds & Picks

Ramesh — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:24:55 +0000

Week 10 in the NFL is highlighted by a huge matchup in the AFC North, an old school NFC rivalry and a matchup of great quarterbacks on Sunday Night Football.

NFL Week 10 Betting Tips

The game of the week is in Indianapolis, as the undefeated Colts host the 6-2 New England Patriots at 8:20PM ET. Tom Brady has been on fire recently and will look to trade blows with Peyton Manning and the seemingly unstoppable Indianapolis’ passing attack. Oddsmakers from online sports book Sports Interaction have made the Colts 3-point favorites over the Patriots in Week 10.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to avenge a tough road loss in Cincinnati a couple weeks ago when they host the Bengals at 1:00PM ET. It’s a huge matchup in the AFC North and one that could determine which team is crowned division champion. Oddsmakers have yet to release odds for this game.

The struggling Green Bay Packers will look to get back on the right track when they host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. The Packers had already lost twice to the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings when the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated them in Week 9. Now, with their backs firmly pressed against the wall, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers take on a Cowboys team that has been playing very well of late.

Check out Full NFL Week 10 Betting Odds & Start NFL Betting Week 10

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NFL Week 4 Betting

Rubell — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:46:55 +0000

NFL betting sometimes comes down to answering previously improbable questions, but that is the nature of the beast in pro football handicapping.

Take the Patriots’ Week 4 battle with the Ravens: The biggest issue for bettors heading into the game is getting a handle on whether Tom Brady is going to outplay Joe Flacco.

Seriously? Two years ago, Brady had arguably the best season of any quarterback in NFL history, while Flacco was kicking ass and taking names with the college pigskin powerhouse of Delaware. Things change quickly for NFL cappers.

Baltimore at New England (-2, 44.5) – 1 PM ET

Bettors are fading the Patriots (2-1, 1-2 ATS) heading into their showdown with the Ravens (3-0, 3-0 ATS) on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

Why shouldn’t they? Baltimore is undefeated both at the window and on the scoreboard this season, as Flacco has solidified himself as a top-flight NFL quarterback. Flacco comes into Sunday ranked fifth in the league in passer rating, while Brady ranks 22nd in the same category following New England’s 26-10 victory against Atlanta last week in Foxboro as 4.5-point chalk.

Oddsmakers opened the Pats as 3.5-point favorites for Sunday’s game, but public pressure has forced an adjustment on the line. On top of the Ravens’ strong performance to start the season, bettors are concerned that Wes Welker (knee) and Laurence Maroney (thigh) are both considered questionable for New England. On defense, Vince Wilfork (ankle) is considered questionable, while Jerod Mayo (knee) is out for the Patriots.

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