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In a NFL preseason game characterized by rainy weather, sloppy field conditions and a quick exit for both teams starters, the Miami Dolphins outlasted their in-state rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars by a 12-9 score. Only one touchdown was scored in the game, which was a battle of field goal kickers until the third quarter. Miamis game winning score came on a 33 yard touchdown strike from Chad Henne to tight end Ernest Wilford.

Miami’s Ernest Wilford recently converted to tight end from wide receiver, and gave the football an emphatic spike after his game winning touchdown reception:

“There’s a sense of urgency for me. I want to play well this year. It’s a good start. That was a lot of frustration right there. I didn’t play that much last year, so I had to let it out.”

Dolphins QB Henne, who is being groomed as the heir apparent to starter Chad Pennington, was happy with his performance in his first action of the preseason:

“Overall I thought I played pretty well. I got some points on the board and had us moving.”

Jacksonville QB David Garrard gave a by the book assessment of his teams opening game performance:

“We have to get better at some of the protection issues. I have to make sure I get everybody lined up in the right spots.”

Newly acquired Jaguars wide receiver Tory Holt was happy with his only reception of the game:

“I had been anticipating this day for a long time. I enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to many more.”

Despite not scoring a touchdown, Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio was generally upbeat about his teams effort:

“We are going to be physical up front. I liked what we did up front.”

The most heated battle for a starting spot was between the Dolphins placekickers. Current PK Dan Carpenter made a 48 yard fieldgoal and a PAT, while his challenger Connor Barth hit a 28 yard FG.

Jacksonville will host their other NFL rival from the state of Florida on Saturday as they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to town. Miami will remain at home as they take on the Carolina Panthers.

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 an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Despite dominating the winless St. Louis Ram on the stat sheet, the Jacksonville Jaguars needed overtime to eke out a 23-20 home field victory over arguably the worst team in the NFL. Based on their statistical superiority, the Jags should have made mincemeat out of the hapless Rams-they had 33 first downs to 13 for St. Louis, held a 492-262 overall yardage edge and had possession of the ball for 42:12 compared to 24:48 for the Rams. They did have three turnovers to only one for St. Louis, including an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

Those who bet on NFL football would argue, however, that while Jacksonville may have ‘won the battle’ the Rams won the financial ‘war’ as St. Louis easily covered as +9′ road underdogs. It was only the Rams second NFL pointspread cover of the season (2-4 ATS) while Jacksonville evened their record against the money at 3-3. The 43 points put on the board just managed to go OVER the posted total of 42.

The catalyst behind the Jags offense was running back Marcus Jones-Drew who churned out 133 yards and three touchdowns. He’d gone public the week before saying that the Jags needed to run more and he explained the motives behind the comments after the game:

“I just wanted to show people my frustration of losing/ I feel we are on the verge of being great, but we just have to feel the same way about frustration. I lashed out a little bit. I think I went overboard, but the coaches understood after I talked to them and told them what it was about.”

Jags’ QB David Garrard said that the win was a confidence boost:

“This offense can battle even when the situation looks kind of bleak. To have that composure, that poise … that was huge for us. That was a good test for us to be able to move forward.”

There was immediate second guessing of Rams’ coach Steve Spagnuolo’s decision to go for the tie with the team had the ball on the nine yard line with seven seconds remaining. Some suggested that a team with a 0-6 mark should have gone for the win at this point. Spagnuolo responded all but saying that this team wasn’t playing to win but ‘playing not to lose’:

“It was too close. We never wanted something bad to happen and we just couldn’t take the chance. I think it was the right thing to do.”

The Rams won’t have an easy task earning their first victory next weekend as they host the Indianapolis Colts. The Rams are a +13 home underdog with the total set at 45′. They’ll play another one of the NFL’s bottom feeders on the road the next week, facing the Detroit Lions before a bye week. Jacksonville will now have a bye week before returning to action on the road against the Tennessee Titans on November 1st.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks 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.

The day after his 40th birthday, the Minnesota Vikings’ Brett Favre threw for 232 yards and a touchdown against one interception as his team easily beat the pitiful St. Louis Rams by a final score of 38-10. The Vikings are now 5-0 for the first time in six years and Favre is 5-0 for the first time in his Hall of Fame career. The Rams, who’ve scored only 4 offensive touchdowns in five games this season, dropped to 0-5.

Minnesota had no trouble covering the NFL pointspread as -10 road favorites. The cover improved the Vikings to 4-1 against the spread, while the Rams slumped to 1-4 versus the number. The 48 points scored went OVER the posted total of 44′. The Rams have gone OVER in four of five games this season, while the Rams have gone UNDER in three of their five NFL totals.

After the contest, Favre talked about the great start at his advanced age:

“I hope there’s many more to come. I’d be lying if I said I thought I’d still be playing at 40 and not miss a game at this point. I just hope I can lead this team to bigger and better things.”

For the Rams, things can’t get much worse. St. Louis guard Richie Incognito surveyed the carnage:

“This is extremely tough. It wears on you, but to be a professional, you don’t let it show. You just keep preparing hard to go out and get a win.”

St. Louis is almost definitely the worst team in the NFL at this point. They’re averaging 6.8 points per game while giving up an average of 29.2 points per game. They’ve allowed more than 35 points in each of their last three games, they’ve committed seven turnovers in their past two games.

Minnesota will try to extend their undefeated start this weekend as they host the Baltimore Ravens. The Vikings are a -3 home favorite with the total set at 43′. They’ll then face two tough games on the road, starting with the following Sunday at Pittsburgh against the defending Superbowl champion Steelers. A bigger game may loom a week later, as the Vikings will head to Lambeau Field in Green Bay for a rematch against Favre’s old team. The Rams will try to put one in the win column as they head to Florida to face the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend. St. Louis is a +10 road underdog with the total set at 42. They’ll host the Indianapolis Colts the following Sunday before traveling to Detroit on November 1.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers 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, falconry and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

The NFL preseason got underway on Saturday with the annual Hall of Fame Game, and the Tennessee Titans earned the victory as they built a 21-3 first half lead before holding off a late Buffalo Bills comeback to prevail 21-18. The Titans offense looked sharp in the first half, while the Bills never really got anything going in their offensive efforts. Buffalo didn’t score an offensive touchdown, and thats not going to get it done in the NFL regular season.

Tennessee starting QB Kerry Collins and backup Vince Young both looked sharp as they combined to lead the Titans offense to three first half touchdowns. Collins, who signed a two year $15 million contract during the NFL off season, sounded optimistic about his teams prospects this year based on the opening game results:

“I’m encouraged. It doesn’t take as long to get ready, but I’ll take advantage of the work I’m going to get.”

Young struggled early and after the game admitted that getting back in the groove was just the nature of the beast in the NFL preseason:

“It happens, man. I know everybody wants me to go out and be perfect, but it’s not happening like that. You can’t just jump into it.”

The only memorable offensive production for Buffalo came courtesy of Terrell Owens. T.O. was only on the field for one possession, but had two catches for 27 yards from Trent Edwards. After the game, Owens shrugged off talk of it being a statement:

“It was just what was open, Trent saw it and threw it to me. Whether or not it was a statement remains to be seen. I feel comfortable with the offense. I like it in Buffalo, but we all have a lot of work to do.”

Bills QB Edwards focused on the positives he saw in his team’s opening offensive series:

“We can build off that one opening series. Preseason is about getting comfortable. You make mistakes, then work on them. But you can take a good drive like that and go with it, too.”

The NFL preseason continues for both teams this weekend. Buffalo will play host to the Chicago Bears while the Titans will play a home game against the Tampa Bay Bucs.

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 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.

The Houston Texans have won consecutive games for the first time this season by virtue of a hard fought 24-21 victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers. The Texans led 21-0 at halftime but fought themselves in a ball game after the Niners scored the first 14 points of the second half. The rally fell short, however, and Houston improved to 4-3 on the NFL season.

Players that bet on NFL football found the game completely irrelevant, however, as it landed right on the pointspread for a disappointing push. After covering their first four of the season against the NFL pointspread, the Niners have a loss and a push in their last two games to leave their record at 4-1-1 versus the number. Houston is now 3-3-1 ATS on the season. The 45 points scored managed to go OVER the total of 44′ by a half point. The 49ers evened their NFL totals record at 3-3, while the Texans have gone UNDER in four of seven.

Despite losing a big lead, Houston coach Gary Kubiak was pleased with the outcome:

“We get down, they get up and they all of a sudden grabbed the momentum of the game. But we made some big plays late and defensively Eugene made a big play so it was a big, big win.”

Niners’ coach Mike Singletary benched quarterback Shaun Hill after a terrible first half and replaced him with Alex Smith. Smith responded by throwing three touchdown passes and getting San Francisco back in the game. After the contest, Singletary explained his move:

“I just thought it was time to make the switch. It was as simple as that. No long, drawn-out thought process. But let’s make the change.”

Smith explained that he caught the Texans’ defense playing passive football in the second half:

“Starting the second half, down three scores, you’re seeing some stagnant looks from the defense, they’re not throwing as much at you.”

Top draft choice Michael Crabtree finally made his San Francisco debut after a lengthy holdout and described what the experience was like:

“I was kind of calm. I practiced on getting calm and coming into the game, knowing what I was supposed to do and executing my plays. I think I did a good job, but I’ve got some more work to do.”

San Francisco will travel east to face the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday. They’ll return home for their next two games, hosting the Tennessee Titans the following Sunday and facing the Chicago Bears off a short week the next Thursday, November 12. Houston will play their next two on the road, beginning with a game at Buffalo on Sunday. That game is currently off the board. They’ll play at Indianapolis the following week before a bye week.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected 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 Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Despite losing to the New Orleans Saints in their NFL preseason opener 17-7, the Cincinnati Bengals had a lot to be happy about. Most significantly, they were elated over the return of QB Carson Palmer after he’d missed most of the last NFL season with an elbow injury. His return elated the city of Cincinnati, which led to mass celebration in the streets that their NFL football franchise once again had a serviceable quarterback.

New Orleans had their share of offensive highlights, with QB Drew Brees hooking up with tight end Jeremy Shockey for three completions including Shockey’s first touchdown reception in a Saints uniform. It was a harbinger of things to come, as Shockey would later catch a touchdown pass in the Saints’ remarkable Superbowl victory over the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts. Many suggest that Bayou ‘root doctors’ have more to do with the win than the team’s actual play.

Saints fans were well aware that their QB would produce after hanging over 5,000 yards on the board last year, but Palmers return brought a sigh of relief from Bengal backers. Palmer missed 12 games last season because of a partially torn ligament and tendon in his passing elbow. His passing highlight was a 55 yard play to Chad Ochocinco.

After Shockeys TD staked the Saints to a 7-0 lead, the Bengals tied the game before halftime when Palmers backup J.T. O’Sullivan hit Chris Henry on a 14 yard touchdown pass.

The Bengals will continue their NFL preseason this Thursday as they travel to Foxboro, Massachusetts for a game against the New England Patriots. The Saints will also play away from home, heading over to Houston for a game against the Texans on Saturday. Both teams will kick off the NFL regular season on Sunday, September 13th with the Bengals hosting the Denver Broncos and the Saints welcoming the Detroit Lions to New Orleans.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks 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.