Tom Brady returned to NFL action and looked good in limited playing time as the New England Patriots opened their preseason schedule with a 27-25 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Brady played into the second quarter, moving well and showing no lingering effects of his knee surgery. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 100 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

The Patriots also rewarded their NFL preseason financial backers by winning outright as a +2 road underdog. The combined 52 points scored shattered the posted total of 32 for an easy OVER. With the Pats and Eagles putting 27 points on the board in the first half, the total had almost been surpassed by the halftime break.

Brady had little to say after the game on the specifics on his performance:

“I need the work, we all need the work. You can’t duplicate this on the practice field.”

Instead, Brady focused on the less tangible aspects of being back under center:

“There’s no place I’d rather be. This is the place where I probably have the most fun and enjoy it the most. Preseason game doesn’t have quite the feel of a regular-season game, but to be out there on the field with my teammates and celebrate after a win, and the bus ride home … those are the things you probably enjoy the most.”

Tight end Chris Baker was more effusive in discussing Bradys comeback effort:

“I thought he was sharp. He went out there and moved us up and down the field and put some points on the board.

New England took a 21-6 lead into the locker room at halftime, but would have to hold on for the victory after Philadelphia responded with a 16 point third quarter. The Eagles had a shot to win the game late, but David Akers missed a 43 yard field goal with just under a minute remaining.

Brady, the two time Superbowl MVP, sat out the entire 2008 preseason with an undisclosed foot ailment. Hes expected to get a significant amount of playing time in exhibition games this year, however, as he tries to regain his regular season form.

Next up for New England in preseason action will be the Cincinnati Bengals, who come to town on Thursday, August 20th. Philadelphia will play at Indianapolis against the Colts on the same night. The Patriots will open the regular season on Monday, September 14 as they host the Buffalo Bills. Philadelphia will begin their regular season campaign on the road in Charlotte, NC against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, September 13.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

LaDanian Tomlinson is still not fully recovered from a sprained right ankle, and as a result hell miss his second consecutive NFL regular season game this Sunday. Tomlinson was hurt in the San Diego Chargers season opening victory over the Oakland Raiders and didn’t play last week. The Chargers are slated to host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.

After playing in eight consecutive regular season games last year, the superstar running back has missed three of the Chargers last four games. Most significant was last January, when a groin injury kept LT out of the Chargers AFC playoff loss to the eventual Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tomlinson refused comment when asked about the specifics of his injury:

“I don’t have a comment about it. It is what it is.”

Until his recent bouts with injury, Tomlinson had been one of the most durable running backs in the league. Prior to last season, the only start hed missed in his career was the season finale in 2004 when then-coach Marty Schottenheimer rested Tomlinson and other starters in advance of the NFL playoffs.

Chargers’ coach Norv Turner spoke about Tomlinson’s injury:

“It’s hard because you’d like to have all your guys. It’s crazy, because on Sept. 1, when people were asking me what I thought about camp, I said it was great that we were healthy and had all our guys, because that’s something we haven’t had in a while.

“I think we’re doing the right thing with L.T. Obviously he couldn’t play this week, you know, but he’s getting better and hopefully he’ll be able to go next week. if not, he’ll be ready to go when the bye’s over.”

The Chargers also have a half dozen players listed as questionable due to flu like symptoms. Turner spoke about their prognosis:

“I think we’re beyond the guys who had it. I obviously have a concern that they’re not too drained, but I think we have a couple days to get them back. My concern is what’s going to pop up tomorrow morning or Sunday morning because obviously it’s going through the building.”

Darren Sproles started in LTs place last week, and has performed well this season. Sproles, who also returns kickoffs and punts, had 524 all purpose yards in two games this season. Hes not as powerful a back as Tomlinson, but is a heady player who uses his speed and elusiveness to pick up yardage.

The Chargers are a -6 home favorite against the Miami Dolphins this Sunday, with the total set at 44. The first half line on the game is San Diego -3 with the total set at 21. San Diego will travel to the Steel City of Pittsburgh next Sunday to face the Superbowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, and then enjoy a much needed bye week.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

It wasn’t a game for the ages by the Buffalo Bills, as they blew much of a 17 point lead to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, they did what they had to do and put some offense on the board en route to a 33-20 National Football League victory. The Bills shot out to a 17-0 first quarter lead before Tampa Bay answered with 14 of their own in the second quarter. After a scoreless third quarter they outscored Tampa 13-6 in the final stanza to seal the win.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Bills as -4 home favorites cashed their tickets with the pointspread cover. Despite a 1-1 straight up record, Buffalo improved to 2-0 against the spread. Tampa Bay has lost both of their 2009 NFL games straight up and against the number for a 0-2 mark in both categories.

Terrell Owens capped the game with a long touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Trent Edwards expressed his excitement and seeing T.O show some of his ability to be a deep threat for the team:

I was excited and he was excited. I don’t really recall what was said, but I’m honestly hoping that that continues to happen. I think that’s why we have him.”

“We learned our lesson from last week and it’s a valuable lesson we’re going to need throughout the season. We have to finish games and that’s what we did today.”

Lee Evans also caught a touchdown pass from Edwards, and after the game praised his quarterback:

“It comes down to opportunities. I think Trent wasn’t afraid to take any chances. You always have to have that threat of the deep play. I think we put it on the table today that we would.”

Tampa Bay has struggled to stop opposing offenses in the first two NFL regular season games under new head coach Raheem Morris. The Bucs allowed over 900 yards of offense this season, a fact that defensive stalwart Ronde Barber stressed was unacceptable:

“They dialed up some things on us that we should have stopped but we didn’t. Ask the coaches that. I’m not willing to make a statement on that. It’s really unacceptable. Good defenses are good tackling defenses.”

Morris, meanwhile, tried to project an aura of calm:

“I’m not worried about their confidence but these guys got to play better.”

The Bills now host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, with Buffalo installed as +6 home underdogs. The total for the game has been set at 52. Buffalo will travel to Miami the following Sunday to play the Dolphins before returning home on 10/11 to take on the Cleveland Browns. Tampa Bay faces three tough NFC East opponents in the coming weeks, beginning with a Sunday home game against the New York Giants. The Bucs are +6 home underdogs in that game with the total set at 44.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Two weeks after being thoroughly outplayed by the New York Jets, the New England Patriots have won two straight and on Sunday ended the Baltimore Ravens undefeated start to the NFL season with a 27-21 victory. They needed a little luck along the way”usually sure handed receiver Mark Clayton dropped a wide open fourth down pass in the final minute to kill a potential game winning drive deep in New England territory. Both teams are now 3-1 on the season.

The Patriots got the NFL pointspread victory as well, covering as -2 home favorites. It was Baltimore’s first ATS setback on the season, while New England evened their pointspread record at 2-2.

After the contest, Clayton didnt make any excuses about his rare miscue:

“Flat out drop. It was a perfect ball. Joe put it on the money. To not come up with it is tough. It cost us the game.”

Ravens safety Ed Reed said it should have never gotten to that point, blaming the officials for giving the team bad spots:

“The spots were terrible.

Defensive stalwart Ray Lewis complained about what he felt were inappropriate roughing the passer penalties:

Without totally going off the wall here, it is embarrassing to the game. Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play.”

Pats running back Sammy Morris was glad to have come out on top of the tough battle:

“We thought we had them down, but they started coming back. It was just one of those tough slugfests.”

Pats’ coach Bill Belichick shared those sentiments:

“That was quite a finish,” . Stop them on fourth down twice in the fourth quarter, that’s when you’ve got to be there. Luckily, we were.”

Despite the victory, Pats safety Brandon Meriweather wasnt happy with the performance of the New England defense:

“We gave up too many big plays and couldn’t get off the field on third down. We did a lot of things that good defenses don’t do.”

The Patriots will face another tough challenge from an undefeated team this Sunday as they travel to Denver to face the surprising Broncos. New England is a -3 road favorite with the total set at 41. Theyll return home the following week for a game against the Tennessee Titans before traveling to Tampa Bay to face the Bucs on October 25th. The Ravens will host the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday, with Baltimore a -9 home favorite. The total in the game has been set at 42.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Detroit Lions nineteen game losing streak is over. On Sunday afternoon at Ford Field in Detroit the Lions held on for a 19-14 win over the Washington Redskins. The Lions hadn’t won a game since December 23, 2007 and had already tied the second longest losing streak in NFL history. Their run of futility included a 0-16 mark in 2008, the first winless season since the NFL expanded its schedule to sixteen games.

If you were going to bet on a NFL football game this past weekend, the Lions may not have been the most attractive position. Sports betting enthusiasts who took Detroit as a +6 home favorite were rewarded with the outright victory. It was the Lions first pointspread cover of the 2009 NFL season, while the Redskins have yet to get the money for their backers this year.

Lions owner William Clay Ford said in postgame comments that he hopes the end of the streak signals a new winning tradition in the Motor City:

“We not only got the monkey off our back, we got King Kong off our back. I’m hoping that this gets us over that hump and gives us a winning attitude.”

Dominic Raiola has played in Detroit for his entire nine year career, and he too expressed his relief that the streak had come to an end:

“I’ve always watched, but I’ve never been in this situation before. No team has been in this situation before. No one has gone 0-16 and then had to try to win a game the next year.”

Rookie QB Matthew Stafford had the best game of his young career He gave his thoughts on his performance and the late game anticipation that preceded Detroit finally putting one in the win column:

“I’m having fun. It’s a great game we get to play. I figured I’d just let the crowd noise tell me what happened. When it got really quiet, I couldn’t take it, so I looked up, and saw them running, and then the tackle, and then I saw the clock was at zero.”

Detroit will try to start an actual winning streak next weekend as they take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Bears are 11 point favorites in that contest. Detroit will host the Pittsburgh Steelers the following weekend before a road trip to Green Bay and game against the Packers on October 18th. Washington will host Tampa Bay next Sunday, with the Redskins a -7 home favorite. They’ll play at Carolina on October 11th and then return home for a game against Kansas City the following weekend.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Brett Favre may get all of the headlines for the Minnesota Vikings, but NFL insiders are well aware that running back Adrian Peterson is the key to the teams offensive success. Peterson’s threat alone is enough to open up options for the passing game. Hes definitely more than a decoy, however–after winning the NFL rushing title last year hes already off to a great start with 272 yards and four touchdowns in only two games. His threat on the ground has been a large part for Favre’s solid play with his new team.

There’s been a good deal of concern this week in the Twin Cities media about Peterson’s health. Specifically, there are questions about the severity of a back injury suffered last weekend. Peterson has been limited in his practice activities all week as a precaution, though both he and QB Favre as listed as probable on the NFLs official injury report. Favre is dealing with a minor finger sprain.

Peterson minimized the significance of his injury in comments to reporters:

“God willing, I will be out there playing. Not a big deal at all.”

He turned into a standup comic when asked for details on the injury. Asked when the injury occurred, Peterson quipped:

“It happened, like, a week back. But that’s all behind me now.”

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell didnt sound too concerned, but he wasnt cracking jokes either:

“I’m comfortable with where he’s at. I know he’s been working hard to rehab. … Right now, I think he’s going to be OK, but we have to continue to go throughout the week with that.”

Peterson ran for 92 yards and a touchdown against the Detroit Lions last weekend. His presence alone makes things much easier for the Vikings passing attack”opposing teams often put 8 or 9 men along the line of scrimmage to try and stop him, giving QB Brett Favre a great opportunity to get the ball downfield to his receivers in single coverage. Without Peterson in the game, Favre’s passing opportunities don’t come quite as easily.

The Vikings host a team known for their own potent running game this weekend, as the San Francisco 49ers come to town. The Vikings are a 6 point home favorite with the total set at 39. The line for the first half is Vikings -3, with a total of 20. Theyll remain at home the following week as the Green Bay Packers pay a visit for a game on Monday Night Football. A road game will follow, as the Vikings will head to St. Louis to face the lowly Rams on October 11th.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

In a matchup between two of the worst offenses in the NFL, someone had to win. Despite producing only 9 first downs and’3 yards of total offense, the Cleveland Browns got a late game field goal from Billy Cundiff to defeat the Buffalo Bills 6-3 and win their first game of the season. The Bills had the more productive afternoon statistically, with- first downs and 288 yards of offense but were undone by three costly turnovers. Both teams are now 1-4 on the 2009 NFL season.

To successfully bet on the NFL, one needs to find opportunities to play underdogs”this is particularly true in games where neither team is expected to put many points on the board. Such was the case here, as Cleveland easily covered the pointspread as +6 road underdogs. Both teams are now 2-3 against the number on the season. The Browns have now won and covered the last three head to head matchups between the teams. The 9 points scored came nowhere near the total of 41 for an easy UNDER.

It was a game without many highlights. The Browns got on the board first with a 24 yard Cundiff field goal in the second quarter, and took that 3-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Buffalo would tie the score in third on a Rian Lindell 36 yard field goal. That would set the stage for Cundiff to nail the game winner from’ yards out with: 23 left to play. Despite todays victory, Cleveland is averaging a woeful 11 points per game this season. Buffalos PPG numbers are slightly better thanks to decent scoring output in their first two games of the season–theyre averaging just over 15 points per contest.

The real loser in Sundays contest may have been Buffalo head coach Dick Jauron. Many were surprised that he was retained after the Bills third straight 7-9 season last year and things have gone from bad to worse so far in the 2009 NFL season. Buffalo has lost to winless teams in back to back weeks, part of a three game losing streak. Overall, the Bills have wound up losers in 12 of their last 15 games. Not that Cleveland has done much better–the win today ended a 10 game losing streak, one short of the all time franchise record.

Cleveland will have a tough road assignment next Sunday, heading to Pittsburgh to face the World Champion Steelers. Theyll return home for a game against the Green Bay Packers on October 25th before playing the Chicago Bears in The Windy City the following week. Buffalo will play the next two on the road, heading to the Meadowlands next Sunday for a game against the New York Jets followed by a trip to Charlotte, NC to take on the Carolina Panthers. Theyll return home on November 1st to face the Houston Texans.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Rumors of the New England Patriots demise are clearly premature. Two weeks after being thoroughly outplayed by the New York Jets, the Pats have won two straight and on Sunday ended the Baltimore Ravens undefeated start to the NFL season with a 27-21 victory. They needed a little luck along the way”usually sure handed receiver Mark Clayton dropped a wide open fourth down pass in the final minute to kill a potential game winning drive deep in New England territory. Both teams are now 3-1 on the season.

The Patriots got the NFL pointspread victory as well, covering as -2 home favorites. It was Baltimores first ATS setback on the season, while New England evened their pointspread record at 2-2. The 48 points scored barely exceeded the posted total of 45. The Ravens have now gone OVER in three of four games this season, while the Patriots evened their NFL over/under record at 2-2.

After the contest, Clayton didnt make any excuses about his rare miscue:

“Flat out drop. It was a perfect ball. Joe put it on the money. To not come up with it is tough. It cost us the game.”

Ravens safety Ed Reed said it should have never gotten to that point, blaming the officials for giving the team bad spots:

“The spots were terrible.

Defensive stalwart Ray Lewis complained about what he felt were inappropriate roughing the passer penalties:

Without totally going off the wall here, it is embarrassing to the game. Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play.”

Pats running back Sammy Morris was glad to have come out on top of the tough battle:

“We thought we had them down, but they started coming back. It was just one of those tough slugfests.”

New England coach Bill Belichick shared those sentiments:

“That was quite a finish,” . Stop them on fourth down twice in the fourth quarter, that’s when you’ve got to be there. Luckily, we were.”

Despite the victory, Pats safety Brandon Meriweather wasnt happy with the performance:

“We gave up too many big plays and couldn’t get off the field on third down. We did a lot of things that good defenses don’t do.”

The Patriots will face another tough challenge from an undefeated team this Sunday as they travel to Denver to face the surprising Broncos. New England is a -3 road favorite with the total set at 41. Theyll return home the following week for a game against the Tennessee Titans before traveling to Tampa Bay to face the Bucs on October 25th. The Ravens will host the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday, with Baltimore a -9 home favorite. The total in the game has been set at 42.

The Cincinnati Bengals were able to withstand a last minute Green Bay Packers comeback bid, and held on to win their first game of the NFL regular season 31-24. The Packers last drive stalled on the Bengals ten yard line, the victim of a false start penalty in the waning seconds. Both Cincinnati and Denver evened their 2009 record at 1-1. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco scored the eventual game winning points on a 13 yard pass from Carson Palmer, after which he did his own version of the fabled Lambeau Leap into a sea of less than hospitable fans.

NFL football betting devotees who took the Bengals as +9 road underdogs easily cashed their ticket with the outright victory. Both teams are now 1-1 against the spread on the 2009 NFL season. The 55 combined points scored easily went OVER the posted total of 41.

After the game, Ochocinco talked about his Lambeau Leap he performed after the game winning touchdown catch:

“It was fun. I had a little indecision on where to jump at first. I didn’t want to disrespect their tradition, so I was asking as I went along the line. I saw some Bengals fans that said it was OK.”

While the Packers late game penalty sealed the victory, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis insisted that his team deserved it due to their performance:

“We didn’t do enough to win the game last week and you get what you deserve. Today, we were able to make one or two more plays and win the football game and that’s what counts. I think our football team understands that.”

Cedric Benson suggested that the Packers might have been a bit overconfident:

“Maybe a little, but you can’t blame them. They beat a very stout Bears team last week at home and I think they were feeling pretty good. But we’re men on this side of the football as well.”

Bengals QB Palmer gave the defense credit for the victory due to their performance on the last drive of the game:

“I kind of felt like it couldn’t happen again. It wasn’t a feeling of ‘here we go again’ at all. I know our defense is too good. They have too much pride and weren’t going to let that happen again.”

The Packers take to the road for their next two games, beginning this Sunday in St. Louis against the Rams. Green Bay is a -6 road favorite in the contest, with the total set at 41. Theyll face the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night the following week, and then enjoy a bye week. The Bengals now face a rough scheduling stretch, beginning with the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Sunday. The Bengals are a +4 home underdog against the Steelers, with the total set at 37. Theyll then head across state to face the Cleveland Browns in their traditional rivalry the following week before heading to Baltimore for a game against the Ravens on October 11th.

New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez has been a crucial factor in the teams 2-0 start, showing a poise and head for the game very rare for NFL newcomers. Still, there wasnt much worry at the revelation that hes suffering from tendinitis in his right knee. The Jets announced Sanchezs injury on Thursday, and hes listed as probable on the official NFL injury report. Based on comments from the quarterback and team officials, the prognosis sounds more optimistic than that.

Sanchez practiced on Thursday, and though he was seen stopping to stretch and rub his right knee on a few occasions didnt seem to suffer any impairment in his mobility. He participated in the entire practice, and there didnt appear to be any sort of effort to prepare Kellen Clemens to assume the starting role. Clemens took his usual snaps with the team, though not any additional work that would indicate a concern that Sanchez wouldn’t be able to start.

In his comments to the media, Jets head coach Rex Ryan confirmed the injury while downplaying its significance:

“It’s not that big a deal. He has something. I don’t know how to describe it than just to say its a little tendinitis. But, he’s fine. I mean, he fully participated and moved around great, I thought.”

Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was even more emphatic in his statement:

“Mark’s totally fine.”

Ryan then added a sarcastic note that brought laughs from the assembled media: “Make sure he’s on that list. I don’t mean anything by that.”

Ryan was referring to the Jets receiving a fine from the NFL for not properly disclosing injuries to then-QB Brett Favre late last season. Favre was suffering from a torn biceps tendon, though the team didnt list him on the official NFL injury report. The team was fined $75,000 while GM Mike Tannenbaum and former coach Eric Mangini were each fined $25,000 each.

The Jets are less optimistic about the condition of cornerback Donald Strickland, who is suffering from a sprained right ankle. Ryan didnt offer much hope that hed be able to see action on Sunday:

“I don’t think he’s going to be able to play this week. I’m not declaring him out right now, but I don’t think there’s any way he’s playing this week.”

The Jets host the Tennessee Titans at the Meadowlands this Sunday afternoon. New York has been installed as a -1 home favorite, with the total set at 37. The Jets have won five of the last nine meetings between the teams straight up, though Tennessee holds a narrow 5-4 advantage against the spread. After that, the Jets will take to the road for their next two games. Theyll play the New Orleans Saints on October 4th before heading to south Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins the following Monday night.