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12/20/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finally, for the first time in a month, New England played the elusive near-flawless game. The 40-7 blowout may have come against the four-win Texans, but the NFL will allow Bill Belichick's team to list the game in the left column nonetheless.
The last time the Pats won a game like this was when they pasted Green Bay, 35-0, on November 19, and let's face it, the Packers aren't the cream of the NFL crop either.
The opponent may not have been impressive, but the fact that New England thoroughly dominated an NFL team minus its most explosive running back Laurence Maroney (back), its leading pass-catcher, Benjamin Watson (knee), and the center spot of its vaunted defensive line, Vince Wilfork (ankle), was something about which to marvel.
Houston was never in the game, as the Patriots won the turnover battle, picking off David Carr four times, highlighted by Asante Samuel's eighth interception of the season in the fourth quarter, tying him with Denver's Champ Bailey for the league lead.
New England, which didn't turn the ball over after coughing it up 11 times in the three previous games, scored 16 points off Texans turnovers. The Pats were only penalized two times for 10 yards, which was the fewest amount of penalties since the Week 1 Buffalo win, when they were flagged only once for five yards.
"That was a real good, solid team victory for us today," said Belichick. "We're real happy to win. Happy at the way we played. I thought, field position wise, it was kind of the reversal of what we saw last week where [today] we had the ball pretty much of their side of the 50 the whole first half. That was a lot different from what we saw down there in Miami."
Tom Brady completed 16-of-23 passes for 109 yards with a pair of touchdowns, while Kevin Faulk made two trips to the end zone, including a screen pass that went 43 yards for a 17-0 margin. Ellis Hobbs also returned a kickoff 93 yards for a TD, and picked off a pass.
"He was constantly in practice putting pressure on us to prepare well, to ask questions in front of the entire team and make sure we know the opponent we are playing," said Brady referring to Belichick's approach after getting shut out by Miami. "We haven't played these guys in a while. The execution in practice has to continue to pick up. He is very tough on us, especially after a loss. This team responded to it and we will see where we go from here."
After giving up only seven points to the Texans, New England foes are averaging just 13.79 points per game. The Patriots are making a run at eclipsing the franchise single-season record set in 2003, when they allowed 14.88 points per outing.
New England put 17 quick points in the board in the opening frame, which tied its highest single-quarter total of the season. The Pats scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of a 38-13 win against Cincinnati on October 1.
"We started off fast and we kind of finished strong," continued Brady. "We played for 60 minutes. That was really what we needed. That is a pressure defense and I think our offensive line really handled it and ran the ball well. I wish we had had a few more plays in the passing game, but when you are up by however many points it was, I think everyone enjoyed it."
The Patriots' 27 first-half points were their most since scoring 28 points in the first half of a 35-28 victory over the Bengals on December 12, 2004. They also put together their fourth first-half shutout of the season, and recorded their seventh half of scoreless football.
"We definitely needed a win," said linebacker Tully Banta-Cain, who had two of the four New England sacks. "It's a confidence thing but we're not satisfied yet. We're still not where we want to be. We're going to keep working."
They reached the 40-point plateau for the first time since besting Pittsburgh, 41-27, in the 2004 AFC Championship on January 23, 2005. The last time they scored at least 40 in the regular season was against Cleveland in a 42-15 victory on December 5, 2004. This was only the second time New England put 40 points on the board at Gillette Stadium, after tallying 41 points in a 41-38 overtime victory over Kansas City Chiefs on September 22, 2002.
Bottom line is that the Pats reversed a growing trend of making mistakes, but they still need to do it against a respectable team. They'll get that chance when they play Jacksonville on Sunday.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Pats have a two-game lead over the New York Jets for the AFC East top spot, and still hold the No. 4 seed in the AFC with two games to play. They can clinch their fourth straight division title with a win against Jacksonville. The Patriots would have to win out and Indianapolis and Baltimore would both have to lose their final two games to reverse positions. Indy plays at Houston and versus Miami, while the Ravens finished the campaign at Pittsburgh and home for Buffalo. The Colts hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, and if Baltimore and New England are tied, the team with the best conference record gets the high seeding (currently 8-2 for the Ravens compared to 6-4 for the Pats).
PATS TIDBITS
-The victory was the 16th in Patriots history by at least 33 points, and was the largest in the brief history of Gillette Stadium (2002).
-The Patriots are 4-1 when wearing their silver jerseys.
-Stephen Gostkowski was 4-for-4 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra points, becoming the first Patriots kicker to make eight combined kicks in a game since Adam Vinatieri accomplished the feat on November 7, 2004.
-In the Bill Belichick era, the Pats are 21-6 in December, including victories in 14 of the last 16 contests. Brady is 19-4 in the final month of the year.
-The last time the Patriots had scored 17 points in the first quarter of a game was on Dec. 8, 2002, in a 27-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium.
-New England has won 10 or more games in four straight, five of the last six and eight of the last 13 seasons since Robert Kraft bought the franchise in 1994. The Patriots are the only team in the NFL to win nine or more regular- season games in each season since 2001.
NEXT UP: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
The Patriots close out the regular-season with a pair of road games, and that stretch begins in Jacksonville (8-6), where the Jaguars are fighting for a playoff berth. New England will return to the site where they won Super Bowl XXXIX, 24-21, against Philadelphia.
These two teams meet for the first time since a 28-3 blowout win in last season's AFC Wild Card game. New England leads the all-time series, 5-1, with the Jaguars' lone win coming in the 1998 AFC Wild Card game (25-10).
<< Clippers, Raptors meet at Staples Center
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tonight at the AT&T Center.
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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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