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10/23/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After starting the season 0-4, the New Orleans Saints are treating every game like a must-win.
That's just fine for Reggie Bush, who ran for 54 yards and added five receptions for 19 yards and the game's biggest score as New Orleans outlasted Atlanta, 22-16, on Sunday.
The game wasn't pretty, but the Saints pulled it out. On the flip side, New Orleans looked bad enough for even the most optimistic fan to note that the Falcons have been utterly dreadful this season and the Saints still just barely got by them.
What does that say for a team which is now two wins shy of getting back to .500 at the midpoint of the season? Are these the real New Orleans Saints, now riding the momentum of back-to-back victories and getting the production out of Bush that they expected all along? And will they be content with the fact that, for now, they only have to be a little bit better than the other team?
Or is this the same team that looked nearly unrevivable a few short weeks ago, consistently trumped by the numbers on the scoreboard and plagued by the old mantra, "Everything that can go wrong will go wrong?"
"I think we have played better football and as a result we have won a couple of games," said head coach Sean Payton. "There is a lot to improve in without even looking at the tape. We have to be consistent on a number of things.
"I think it is a work in progress. The thing about this league is that you are what your record says you are. Fortunately, we have been able to get a couple of wins, but we have a long way to go. Our players understand that."
LATE GAME HEROICS
The Falcons, trailing by a point heading to the fourth quarter, took a 16-14 lead on Morten Andersen's 21-yard field goal with 10:22 remaining in the contest.
The Saints answered with an efficient 69-yard, 11-play drive, capped by a four-yard swing pass from Drew Brees to Bush with 5:04 remaining. Bush caught the ball at the two-yard line, shrugged off three defenders (and a would-be tackle by Falcons' cornerback Lewis Sanders) and dove across the goal line to put New Orleans back on top for good.
Bush wasn't done, however, as he swept around the right end and dove for the pylon to complete the two-point conversion, giving the Saints a 22-16 edge with about five minutes to play.
"We were just trying to catch the defense off guard," said Bush. "We ran it quick. We really didn't want to give them a chance to get set. They were bringing personnel when we were getting set. That obviously helped us out a lot. We caught them off guard. As far as the two-point conversion, it's a play we normally run quite a bit. We hadn't run it all game. It was the perfect call in the right situation."
Then, after the Falcons punted with less than two minutes left, Bush sewed up the victory with a seven-yard run that gave the Saints a first down and enabled them to run out the clock.
NEAR-DOMINANT "D"
The defense kept the Saints in the game for a third straight week, giving up only a couple of big plays while Atlanta managed just three field goals and one touchdown.
The Saints didn't blitz nearly as often as they did a week ago at Seattle, but they got enough pressure on Atlanta's Byron Leftwich and Joey Harrington, finishing with three sacks (credited to Charles Grant, Brian Young and Kendrick Clancy), while strong safety Roman Harper led the way with six tackles.
Leftwich went 15-of-23 for 145 yards and a touchdown but was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with a sprained ankle, while Harrington finished 12-of-18 for 128 yards.
The Saints defense also didn't force any turnovers, but the Falcons did lose some ground on three fumbles, and each time, they were eventually forced to punt.
"We knew it was a game that was going to come down to the wire," said Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, who finished with four tackles. "We expected it to be a tough game, one of those days where you come early and stay late. Our defense today stepped up and made plays when we had to. When it counted and we had to make plays we did. It starts with the guys up front, those guys played huge today, they put a lot of pressure in the quarterback's face, and that was something that we needed to get done."
WILL THE REAL DREW BREES PLEASE STAND UP?
After a strong performance against the Seahawks last week, Brees completed just 22-of-34 passes for 219 yards, with two TDs and one interception against Atlanta. He also failed to establish a rhythm throughout the game, as the Saints converted just 4-of-12 attempts on third-down.
While Brees' performance wasn't alarmingly bad, he has now tossed a league- leading 10 interceptions this season and has a QB rating of 69.1.
Still, Brees tried to accentuate the positives after Sunday's victory, including a 37-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson in the first quarter.
"That was big. Especially early on, it was a way to get this game started," Brees noted. "We got in great field position on the punt return and went three-and-out but then came back the next time and got into one of those situations where we expected them to be playing the coverage that they did and we were able to get Devery up through a hole. Obviously he made a nice catch and it was a great way to get the whole thing started. It was a big play touchdown that we've been talking about for the last few weeks and getting back to the big plays that we used to make."
UP NEXT
In a clash of two teams going in opposite directions, the Saints are heading to San Francisco to battle the 49ers, who won their first two games of the season but have dropped their last four.
This trip could be another step for New Orleans to get back in a mediocre NFC South race, but they need Bush to remain a prominent threat on the ground and through the air.
The last time these two teams met, the Saints were riding a three-game win streak that catapulted them into the playoffs. They also had the services of Deuce McAllister, who ran roughshod over the Niners then, but won't be a factor now.
This could be another ugly game for New Orleans, which looks to be in for a tightly-contested battle.
"They are coming off of a tough loss and going out to San Francisco to play is difficult," Payton added. "It's loud and they have a lot of history and tradition and have played well traditionally at home. The focus starts with us, and doing all the little things specifically that give us the best chance to win. We know we are playing a team that is hungry for a win. They started off fairly strong and have slowed down of late, but it is going to be a challenge for us going on the road, we will have our work cut out for us."
<< Rockford's Byfuglien wins AHL Player of the Week honors
Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American Hockey League announced today
that Rockford IceHogs defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has been named the Rbk/AHL
Player of the Week for the period ending October 21, 2007. Byfuglien recorded
one goal, f
<< Isles' Berard out with groin injury
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Islanders defenseman Bryan Berard
will miss 2-to-4 weeks due to a groin injury.
The injury happened on Saturday, in the second period of a 4-3 overtime win
versus the New Jersey Devils.
The
<< Broncos Defy Logic, Move to .500
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - On Sunday night the Denver Broncos faced one of the most
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<< 2007 World Series position-by-position breakdown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox will try for their second World Series
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Changes in store for 2008 NFL Draft >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Football League announced
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports
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Oceanport, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Post positions and the morning-line odds have
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CFB - When a push is not a push >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Check this out. Florida was a seven-
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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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