New Orleans Stays Unbeaten With Win Over Miami

With an offense that can strike as quickly as the New Orleans Saints’, they’re never out of a game. The Miami Dolphins found that out the hard way on Sunday as the Saints came roaring back from a 21 point deficit to win going away 46-34. Drew Brees threw for 298 yards and a touchdowns, though gave up three interceptions. Miami dropped to 2-4 on the year.

Adding insult to injury for NFL betting enthusiasts who backed Miami as +6 home underdogs, the Saints continued their rampage against the pointspread with a late game interception return for a touchdown to cover. New Orleans is 6-0 against the number this season, while Miami dropped to 2-4 against the spread. The 80 combined points sailed OVER the posted total of 47′.

After the game, Brees said that his team never lost confidence:

“There was no doubt on our sideline we would come back and win. They had given us their best shot, and we had played about as bad as we could play. All we had to do was string together a few drives and gain the momentum back. We knew it was going to happen, and it did.”

Following a rushing touchdown that gave his team their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter, Brees dunked the football over the goal post crossbar:

“There are times in the game when a team just needs an emotional lift. I felt like I had to do something to get everybody hyped. The first thing that came to mind was to dunk it.”

Saints’ linebacker Scott Shanle suggested that the game could portent good things to come:

“It can be a season-defining win. This was a test we hadn’t faced yet, and we couldn’t be happier with the way we responded.”

A dejected Ricky Williams explained how his team had lost:

“This was our game to win. We fought and we fought. They just fought harder at the end.”

Dolphins’ QB Vonte Davis said the defense was aware that with Brees in the game even a 21 point lead was tenuous at best:

“With Drew Brees, it’s like the score is 0-0. We knew they would come back and that it would be a tough game.”

The Saints will now host the Atlanta Falcons next Monday night. New Orleans is a -9 home favorite with the total set at 53′. They’ll then face two struggling teams, taking on the Carolina Panthers at home the following Sunday and playing against the Rams at St. Louis on November 15. The Dolphins will play on the road against the New York Jets this Sunday, with Miami a +3′ road underdog and the total set at 40′. They’ll play at New England the following Sunday before returning home on November 15 to take on the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup 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 energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Tar Heels Upset Hokies In College Football

The University of North Carolina used a 21 yard field goal on the final play of the game to pull a big college football upset over #13 Virginia Tech on Thursday night, winning by a final score of 20-17. The Tar Heels’ #8 ranked defense proved as tenacious as their high national status would suggest, and gave the Hokies fits throughout. North Carolina led for most of the game, but withstood a late game Virginia Tech comeback bid to take the win. Both teams are now 5-3 on the college football season.

College football betting enthusiasts who took North Carolina as +16′ road underdogs were never in serious doubt about the eventual payday they’d receive as the Tar Heels never trailed by more than three points. The Tar Heels improved to 3-4 against the college football pointspread, while the Hokies dropped to 3-5 versus the money.

Tar Heels’ QB T.J. Yates was in a state of disbelief after the narrow road victory:

“I’ve never really had this feeling before. Kicking it at the last second? It just sends chills down your spine.”

Running back Shaun Draughn spoke of the team’s priority to bounce back quickly after they blew a big lead in a loss to Florida State last week:

“We knew we had to get back to the drawing board. To come back and play the way we did definitely speaks volumes about our team.”

In the Hokies’ locker room, linebacker Cody Grimm spoke of his team’s need to regain their focus:

“I think the motivation is to come out here so you don’t feel like this again. Ten wins is one thing, but I don’t want to feel like this any more and the only way to do that is to win.”

Running back Ryan Williams felt doubly bad about the loss, as his late game fumble cemented the victory for North Carolina:

“As of right now, there probably isn’t really anything they can say to lift me up because regardless of what anybody says, personally I feel like I kind of took the game away from us today. It was on the line, it was in my hands and I fumbled.”

The Hokies will play against next Thursday night, heading to Greenville, NC to face the Skip Holtz coached East Carolina Pirates. They’ll play at Maryland on Saturday, November 15 before returning home a week later to host North Carolina State. North Carolina plays their next two at home, starting a week from Saturday against Duke. Miami will come in the following week before the Tar Heels hit the road to play at Boston College on November 21.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on World Cup 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.

UFC 85 Flashback: Alves, Bisping Win

A day after failing to make weight for his fight against Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves dominated the former UFC welterweight champion en route to a 2nd round TKO victory. The main event at UFC 85 in London was somewhat anticlimactic to the fans at the O2 Arena who considered the semifinal matchup between Manchester’s Michael Bisping and Jason Day the biggest fight on the card.

Hughes didn’t make any excuses following his one sided loss, saying simply that hes a good fighter and he got me. The longtime king of the UFCs welterweight division also gave notice that his career as an active fighter was drawing to a close, suggesting that he had one fight left and challenging Matt Serra in what presumably would be his retirement match. Hughes had no answer for Alves from the opening horn, as he was stuffed on several takedown attempts early on. When he did finally get his opponent to the ground he was unable to do much damage. Alves, conversely, scored effectively with his striking including several damaging knee strikes. He also did considerable work on the ground, with an elbow strike opening up a large cut on Hughes forehead.

The end came early in the 2nd round as Hughes was caught coming in by a devastating knee strike. He fell to the canvas in a heap and referee Herb Dean was jumping in to stop the contest before Alves could follow up with any punches. As the ringside physician entered the ring to check on the fallen fighter, Hughes gave an indication that his knee was injured.

Michael Bisping simply overwhelmed Jason Day en route to a lopsided TKO victory. Bisping built upon the improved boxing skills he demonstrated at UFC 83 by unveiling an impressive ground and pound attack. Day never really got anything going and by the last minute of the fight was simply trying to cover up to prevent damage from Bispings elbows and hammer fists. Between his move down to the middleweight division and his improved technical striking skills, Bisping looks like a different fighter. His post UFC 83 suggestion that he wanted a fight with Anderson Silva seemed premature at the time, but following another devastating performance its starting to look much more realistic.

In other action, Mike Swick used an array of high kicks and a 7 reach advantage to coast to a unanimous decision over Marcus Davis. Davis, a former professional boxer, was unable to get inside against his lanky opponent and was never really in the fight.

A controversial point deduction for a strike to the back of the head cost Nate Marquardt his match against Thales Leites. Marquardt was solidly in charge for the entire fight, but suffered a point deduction for an illegal knee strike in round one. While that infraction was valid, replays of the 2nd round deduction for the strike to the back of the head gave the impression that he was penalized for a legal strike to the side of the head. The 2 point deduction changed the outcome of the fight, with Leites winning a split decision by the scores of 28-27, 28-27, 27-28. Marquardt was obviously disappointed in the outcome, but to his credit handled the loss with class despite the questionable nature of the outcome.

In the opening PPV match, another controversial ending saw Fabrico Werdum defeat Brandon Vera by 1st round KO. The fight had been evenly contested up until the stoppage, with Werdum scoring a couple of takedown and Vera countering with some effective punching. Late in the first round, Werdum got a full mount and began to fire a series of punches. Vera was clearly defending himself and didnt appear to be hurt at all when the referee jumped in to stop the fight.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He 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.

Penguins Late Game Heroics Lead To Win Over Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets learned a valuable lesson about NHL hockey on Friday night-it’s dangerous to ’sit on a lead’ and particularly against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Down 3-1, Pittsburgh tied the game late in the third period as Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski each lit the lamp with less than three minutes remaining. After a scoreless overtime period, Sidney Crosby scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Penguins an improbable 4-3 victory. It was the 9th win in ten games for Pittsburgh, who are a perfect 6-0-0 on the road.

NHL hockey betting enthusiasts cashed wagers on the road underdog Penguins, but on the moneyline at +117 and the puckline. Pittsburgh has gotten off to a great start this year, going 11-2-0 in the first month of the season. Columbus is struggling to stay above .500 at 6-5-1. The 7 combined goals scored went OVER the posted total of 5′. The Blue Jackets have gone OVER in 7 of 12 games this season.

Crosby’s game winning score in overtime wasn’t exactly the stuff of highlight reels, with the puck barely trickling over the line:

“It was kind of a fluky. The puck kept going. I don’t know if he lost it or he didn’t know where it was or whatever. I just tried a quick shot. I thought he had the save there. It just trickled in.”

Jackets’ goalie Steve Mason gave this version of events:

“It hit my stick and I didn’t get it settled until it was over the line. It just trickled over and I was too late on it.”

Penguins’ left winger Chris Kunitz scored a shorthanded goal and praised the leadership abilities of team captain Crosby:

“It shows a lot of character from our captain. He goes out and he’s never quitting on anything. Sometimes a team goes packing, down by two with 3 minutes left. But he goes out, he’s on the bench, he’s saying, ‘Let’s get the next one.’ So we go out there and he finds himself the puck and he gets it to Goligoski, he gets a great shot and puts it in the net to get us to overtime.”

Columbus’ Rick Nash suggested that his team is having trouble ‘closing out’ games:

“We’re not closing games. We got the lead in a lot of the games already and just can’t seem to close it out. They are the defending Stanley Cup champions. You can tell why they’re such a good team. We are a team that needs to learn how to play with the lead.”

Pittsburgh will host Minnesota on Saturday night before heading to southern California next week for games against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Columbus will play at Washington on Sunday before hosting the San Jose Sharks next Wednesday. That’ll be followed by a game in Atlanta against the Thrashers the next night.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected 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 an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Understanding The Differences Between CFL Canadian Football And The NFL

Its that time of the year again–Americans are getting ready for football. In a few months NFL teams will be opening training camp and college football teams starting practice. Up north, however, the footballs are already flying as pro football is in full swing up in Canada with the Canadian Football League (CFL).

The CFL is almost as old as the NFL, coming into existence in’30. The league’s Grey Cup championship trophy is even older, having been awarded to the best Canadian professional football team since’09. There have been a number of NFL stars who got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Randall Cunningham and Jeff Garcia.

The CFL is a very professional and highly competitive league, but its important to understand some important differences between it and the NFL:

The most obvious difference is the football itself–the CFL football is longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL still has their goal posts on the goal line, which the NFL moved to the back of the end zone years ago. The field is 10 yards longer and 12 yards wider than the NFL field, and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep instead of the NFL’s 10 yards.

Teams have 12 players on the field at once as opposed to 11 in the NFL. On offense, the extra player is a receiver, on defense a defensive back. And unlike the American game, where teams have 4 downs to move the ball ten yards the CFL has only 3. Maybe the hardest thing to get used to when listening to CFL broadcasts is the frequently references to teams going two and out. There are a few other subtle differences as well”teams only have 1 time out per half, only 20 seconds between plays, and all backfield players can be in motion prior to the snap (as opposed to only one in the NFL).

There are also differences in the scoring of the game. The first time I saw a CFL score tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter I thought I was hallucinating. A major rule difference between the CFL and NFL is the fact that teams can score a single point, which those clever Canadians call a single. Basically, a team is awarded a single point for a missed field goal or a punt that lands in the end zone.

Of all the rule differences between the NFL and CFL the one that has the most significance on the game isnt enforced on the field; its enforced in the GMs office. Canadians are big on laws and rules to protect their national identity–thats why their TV and radio stations are required to devote a certain percentage of their airplay to Canadian content. That has led to a number of Canadian-only media stars both good (The Tragically Hip, Sloan) and bad (Avril Lavigne, early 90s white rapper Snow). The CFL has a similar rule which requires that’ of the 40 players on a roster must be Canadian born. This keeps the CFL from becoming a de facto NFL developmental league, and helps maintain its unique identity.

Despite the rule differences that suggest a higher scoring, more wide open style of play than in the NFL it really doesn’t work out that way. Most games end up with a final score in the 40’s and have a similar pace to their NFL counterparts. There may be a few individual rule differences, but a strong rushing game and defense are tickets to success in the CFL as in the NFL.

The requirement of native born players making up 50% of a CFL roster also results in a much more even distribution of talent across the league. Certainly there are good teams and bad teams, but the end result is greater parity than is found in the NFL.

Considering the 21 non- Canadians on the team, its also important to remember that the CFL doesnt get the pick of the litter of American football talent. Certainly those who have the ability are in the NFL, or on an NFL practice or developmental squad. While some players are uniquely suited for the CFL game–former Clemson University QB Nealon Greene, for example, who couldnt make the NFL but has had a lengthy career in Canada–most of the Americans in the CFL are players whose ability just isnt up to NFL levels. Remember Vince McMahon’s failed XFL experiment? That gives a good indication of the type of American player that ends up in Canada.

The bottom line is that despite the rule differences and personal quotas the CFL game is still football and can be enjoyed the same way. Once you understand the unique attributes of the Canadian game youll start to enjoy it almost as much as the NFL.

You wont see CFL news on ESPN, since theyre more interested in featuring spelling bees and lumberjack competitions and letting their personalities like Stuart Scott show how clever they are than covering sports. The good news is that the CFL receives extensive coverage in the Canadian press and all you need to do is visit a couple of websites to stay up to date. Each CFL city has their own sports media, and most have pretty good websites. The best one stop shopping can be found at the leagues own and Slam! Sports, which is roughly the Canadian equivalent of ESPNs website and has extensive CFL news, opinions and statistics.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He 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 energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Rio De Janerio Wins 2016 Summer Olympic Games

South America will host the Summer Olympic Games for the first time in 2016, as Rio De Janeiro, Brazil was awarded the honor on Friday. Rio beat out the US choice of Chicago, Illinois along with Tokyo, Japan and Madrid, Spain to earn the right to host the games. Despite a high pressure effort from the American power elite–including President Barack Obama and TV gabfest queen Oprah Winfrey–Chicago was the first city eliminated from contention.

Bookmakers offered odds on the host city choice, with Rio listed as second favorite at +200. Chicago had been the wagering favorite at most books, particularly after President Obama got involved personally in the US bid effort. Chicago was bet as high as a -300 favorite, while Madrid and Tokyo were priced in the +250 range. Some suggest that Tokyo didnt deserve to have such short odds, but was the beneficiary of regional pride from the notoriously enthusiastic betting population of Japan.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, got the better of his US counterpart with a passionate speech that stood in marked contrast to Obamas typically baleful collection of talking points. The Brazilian leader stressed the unfairness that South America had never hosted the games in his speech to the committee;

“It is a time to address this imbalance. It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country.”

The Olympic committee was apparently swayed by this presentation and paid no mind to Rios many downsides. It is without a doubt the most dangerous of the finalist cities, where drug cartels and armed bands of thugs roam without impunity. Well do to Rio citizens are used to removing watches and jewelry before they drive anywhere lest they be targeted by carjacking brigands. Rios murder rate is also one of the highest in the world. Brazilian bid officials have stressed that security will be a priority at the games and it better be lest the Olympics turn into a bloodbath.

Some IOC members suggested that the summary dismissal of Chicagos bid was more of a rebuke of the notoriously corrupt USOC. The last two Olympics held in the US were tainted by crime and corruption. The’96 Atlanta Olympics were disrupted by a terrorist bombing, while the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games were marred by a well known bribery and corruption scandal.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected 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 interior secretary James Watt.

Lamar Odom Signs Contract To Return To NBA Champs

After a month long free agency soap opera, both Lamar Odom and the Los Angeles Lakers got what they really wanted all along. The Lakers retained the services of their valuable sixth man, and Odom will return to the team after an intense recruiting pitch from the Miami Heat. Odom officially signed his new contract with the NBA Champions and along with the addition of Ron Artest the Lakers may actually be stronger than last years title winning squad.

Terms of the deal werent immediately released, but both player and team appeared relieved that things had worked out. In early July, negotiations broke down after some miscommunication between Odom’s agent and Lakers’ owner Dr. Jerry Buss. While Odom worked to mend fences”including several personal phone calls to Dr. Buss”his agent was receiving interest from a number of teams. Miami, in particular, was extremely interest bringing out some heavy hitters including Dwayne Wade and Pat Riley to make a recruiting pitch.

When it was all said and done, Odom didn’t want to leave Los Angeles At the official signing ceremony, he hinted that a dynasty could be in the making:

“I guess basketball-wise, I feel complete. I want to feel it again. It’s kind of an overwhelming feeling. I get goose bumps when I think about it, and as long as I continue to play professional basketball, I want to always feel that. The way I feel during the summer, I always want to feel that. If we can win six, seven, eight, nine, 10 championships in a row, I want to experience that.”

The only significant loss to last years NBA title winning team was Trevor Ariza, but the teams signing of Ron Artest is likely an upgrade. Artest brings not only his infamous swagger and intensity, but an element of toughness and versatility that Ariza lacked. Such was Odoms commitment to the Lakers is that even during his free agency, he helped recruit Artest to sign with the team:

“I spoke to Ron two days before he signed, and I told him how important I think it is for him to come here. Because I know how hard he works, he needs to experience basketball at its best, at the highest level, and he needs to become a Laker. Two days after that, he signed.”

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was understandably elated at Odom’s return:

“Three or four months ago, I didn’t think it could be possible that we could basically bring this team back in whole. Lamar had a wonderful season that ended on the best possible note you could have, and Lamar had a lot of options. … Here it is, July 31, and we have brought back everybody that we wanted to bring back.”

Odom noted that Los Angeles was home to his family, and he never really wanted to play elsewhere:

“I didn’t want my kids to have to change schools — just the little things. I’m comfortable here. I’ve been here since I was’ years old. I’m proud to be playing for what I think is the most popular brand in sports.

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 betting odds portal 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.

Football Flashback: Cards Outlast Packers In Wild OT Shootout

The Green Bay Packers entered the NFL playoffs as one of the league’s hottest teams, and mounted a 21 point second half comeback to force overtime against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Things looked good when Green Bay won the toss, but only moments later their season was over after an Aaron Rodgers fumble that Karlos Dansby returned 17 yards for the game winning score.

Arizona sent much of the NFL football betting public home unhappy as well with their 6 point outright victory. The Cardinals had opened as -2′ home favorites but public sentiment favoring Green Bay had moved the line so significantly that Arizona was a +2′ home underdog by kickoff. With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 5-4 both SU and against the NFL pointspread at home this season. Obviously, the 96 points the two teams put on the board went well OVER the posted total of 48′. In fact, NFL totals players had already cashed their ticket long before the end of the third quarter.

Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner improved his postseason record to 9-3 SU with one of the most impressive performances in league history. Warner finished with 379 yards passing and 5 touchdowns with no interceptions. Amazingly, Warner had more TD passes (5) than incomplete passes (4). After the game, he reflected on his performance:

“We knew how tough it was going to be on our defense with all the weapons they have offensively and how they’ve been playing. It was just one of those games where I felt great. I loved our playing. I felt like I was seeing everything well and it accumulates to 51 points.”

Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers might be remembered more for the game ending fumble than his own impressive performance, but he matched Warner play for play in what will certainly go down as one of the best quarterback duels in NFL playoff history. Rodgers finished with 422 yards and four touchdowns against one interception. Not surprisingly, the entire Packers’ team along with head coach Mike McCarthy took the loss hard:

“It’s clearly one of the toughest losses I’ve been a part of. I’m very proud of our football team and fight. This is a hard game to swallow.”

Quarterback Rodgers was in no mood to reflect on his excellent numbers, but was instead focused on reliving the decisive final play:

“I was trying to unload it. I should have held on to the ball. I was looking at the front side for Driv [Donald Driver]. It looked like he was getting grabbed a bit. Then I was looking for James [Jones] and they were driving in on him as he was running a little in cut, so I kind of pulled the ball back and someone hit my arm.”

Arizona will head to New Orleans to face the Saints at the Superdome next Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals are a +7 road underdog with the total set at 57. The two teams haven’t met since 2007, a game won by the Saints 31-24 on their home field.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in NFL football betting, auto racing, donkey basketball and model railroading. He is a consulting handicapper for Oddsbay and provides daily free sports picks to a number of Internet and broadcast media outlets. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a retired racing wombat.

NFL Has No Problem With Cowboys’ Video Screen

The Dallas Cowboys are settling into their new $1.15 billion dollar home stadium, but much of the talk in the NFL preseason has been about the massive video screen hanging directly over the field of play. There’s been a bit of a controversy about the height of the video screen, with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones rebuffing suggestions that the board was hung too low.

On Friday, the NFL Rules Committee sided with Cowboys owner Jones, indicating that the board was of adequate height. It also clarified the procedure for kicks that hit the board during play, and will revisit the issue in the off-season based on what happens during the 2009 campaign.

Jones has maintained that much of the concern is due to the sheer size of the board, which was hung 90 feet off the field of play”5 feet higher than NFL mandated guidelines. Hes also suggested that Tennessee punters were intentionally trying to hit the board, requiring an effort to kick the ball almost straight up.

The NFL has ruled that if a ball hit the display during play, the clock will be reset and down will be replayed. The replay official will have the authority to review plays to determine if the board came into play during the last two minutes of a half, and the coaches will be able to challenge a play involving the video screen at other times during the game by throwing the red flag. This is similar to rules that already exist for live balls that hit skycams or scoreboard components.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell commented on the situation:

“We will continue to address the particular circumstances in Dallas, giving full consideration to the competitive, safety and fan experience issues involved. The Cowboys have been fully cooperative as we have addressed this subject, and we will continue to work closely with the club on a longer term resolution.”

Cowboys owner Jones then voiced his opinion on the NFLs ruling:

“I don’t see it as ultimately an issue. You can anticipate the ball hitting the board from time to time. There’s no reason why this can’t be something for punters to deal with very similar to the way you’d deal with the wind in your face or with elements; rain, sleet or snow.”

Jones is hesitant to move the screen for, among other reasons, the huge cost of the engineering project”estimates suggest that it could cost as much as $40 million dollars to raise the screen. Former Cowboys coach Jimmie Johnson also weighed in on the video board issue:

“If there’s anything wrong, it’s that people are going to watch the video board and not the game. It is so dominating, but I think it’s so cool. I think it’s great.”

The Cowboys play their final preseason game at the new stadium this Saturday as they host the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas will make their regular season debut at the venue on Sunday, September 20th as the New York Giants provide the opposition.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Colts Rip Eagles In NFL Preseason Action

The Indianapolis Colts offense was in high gear as Peyton Manning threw two TD passes in three series of action, leaving backup Curtis Painter with a 14-0 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles before exiting the game. The Colts would eventually depend as much on their defense as their offense over the course of the subsequent NFL season but on this day the Colts went on to win 23-15 in NFL preseason action at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Manning hadn’t been happy with the offense’s lethargic opening game performance, and was in much better spirits after this game:

“I think everybody wanted to be in there. The entire offense felt hungry after last week. Sure, there were some mistakes we can learn from, but there were some good things we can learn from.”

“I don’t think anybody offensively was really happy with what happened last week. It started with me and the entire offensive starting unit. Overall I thought everybody came back and did a better job tonight.”

Colts head coach Jim Caldwell was also happy with the performance:

“They [the starters] had a couple of real good solid drives in there, performing pretty well. We were pleased with what we saw.”

Eagles coach Andy Reid, meanwhile, wasnt the least bit enthused with what he saw from his team:

“All in all, that was an embarrassing performance and way too many penalties, not enough intensity all the way around, starting with me. It was a poor performance.”

The Eagles were missing a number of starters and aside from a nice touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb early in the game looked nothing like a team expected to contend for a Superbowl berth. The Eagles would go on to choke mightily in the playoffs, an obvious karmic payback for signing unrepentant dog abuser Michael Vick. Vick was ineffectual all year, which made the hubris of bringing him into the fold even less understandable.

Philadelphia will host the Jacksonville Jaguars next Thursday night looking for their first win of the NFL preseason. The Colts will continue their NFL exhibition slate as they travel to Detroit for a game against the Lions a week from Saturday.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer specializing in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

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