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10/09/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At this very moment, they're obsessing about the running back situation in Tampa Bay.
In the wake of a serious ankle injury suffered by Michael Pittman in Sunday's 33-14 loss to Indianapolis, fans are scanning the free agent wire, dreaming up intricate trade scenarios, making panic-stricken calls to local radio talk show hosts.
Media types are pointing to Pittman's injury, drawing a line from it to previous season-enders suffered by Cadillac Williams and Mike Alstott, and trotting out their doomsday scenarios.
Easy there.
Since when was this the Ground Chuck offense? Heck, this running game hasn't even run with anything resembling Martyball efficiency since Warrick Dunn left town.
Pittman was a nice third-down back who had proven long before he reached his current age of 32 that he couldn't deliver as an every-down player.
Williams had not seemed to regain his 2005 Rookie of the Year form at any point before tearing his ACL against Carolina in Week 4.
Alstott, whose career is likely over due to a neck problem, was never much of a factor in Gruden's offense anyway.
The offensive line that all of these backs would have run behind is a young, thin, work in progress.
So let's not pretend that the Buccaneers were ever going to ride their running game to a division crown and playoff glory. The situation for Tampa Bay remains the same as it ever was, and the fortunes for the 2007 edition of this team will continue to be about three similar-sounding words: Defense, defense, and defense.
It was that side of the ball that got Tampa Bay to 3-1 in the first place, and it is the department run by legendary coordinator Monte Kiffin that will need to play up to its dominant capabilities if the Bucs are to win the division, which frankly, they still should.
To be certain, the Buccaneers defense was not a strength in Sunday's loss, but that's no big deal.
Because you can't pressure him, Peyton Manning (29-of-37, 237 yards, 2 TD) carves up the Cover-2. Always has, always will. Gruden's team is not going to see another quarterback with anything resembling his skill set for the rest of 2007, so they can put their Week 5 loss away. The 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns someone named Kenton Keith rumbled for against the defense were simply a by-product of the focus on Manning and the passing game. Former Hardcastle and McCormick star Brian Keith could have run for 121 under those circumstances.
Moving forward, the defense will look more like the one that had its way with the Saints, Rams, and Panthers, than the one that struggled in Indianapolis.
Thanks to Manning, the Tampa Bay offense only had the ball for 21-plus minutes in Week 5, so you can't use that game as evidence that the lack of a running game has sunk the Buccaneers. Earnest Graham, who will now become the every- down ball-carrier, only got six carries (totaling 11 yards) because the Bucs fell into a 13-0 hole and were forced to try to pass their way out. Quarterback Jeff Garcia couldn't match Manning's production (who could?) but was an efficient 18-of-23 for 143 yards and capped off a couple of long drives with TD passes.
There is every reason to expect that this offense will run at a capable level over the next 11 games, even if it fails to score in bunches.
And let's face it, 9-7 will be enough to win an NFC South title in 2007, so it's not as if the Buccaneers (3-2) have to win out. New Orleans can't get out of its own way offensively, Carolina just turned its season over to the immortal David Carr, and Atlanta is quite possibly the worst team in the NFL.
Even if it's by default, the Buccaneers are still the team to beat in this division.
In other words, Bucs fans, you can come in off the ledge. Leeman Bennett is not coming back to town, and your prospects for '07 remain very much intact.
THE NEW NO. 2
The Buccaneers are expected to make a move to obtain a veteran back later this week, but until that player can learn the offense, the top two players on the depth chart at the position will be Graham and rookie Kenneth Darby.
Darby has made a meteoric and somewhat unlikely rise to prominence after being released when the team made its final cuts Sept. 1. Shortly after being dumped, the 2007 seventh-round draft pick out of Alabama was signed to the practice squad. He was moved to the 53-man roster after Williams was injured against the Panthers, and was active but did not play against Indianapolis last Sunday.
Darby, a 5-foot-10, 211-pound runner, received extensive action in the preseason when he posted team-highs in carries (33), yards (135), and rushing touchdowns (1). Darby also caught five passes for 36 yards out of the backfield.
The Huntsville, AL native is the third player in Alabama history to rush for more than 3,000 yards in a career (3,324), joining Shaun Alexander (3,565 yards, 1996-99) and Bobby Humphrey (3,420 yards, 1985-88).
STILL NO PICKS
Garcia couldn't lead the Bucs to a win on Sunday, but did manage to go interception-free for the eighth consecutive game dating back to last season. Garcia last threw a pick on Christmas night 2006, in a win for the Eagles over the Cowboys.
Of NFL quarterbacks to start every game for their team this season, only Garcia and Jacksonville's David Garrard have yet to fire an INT.
In his past two seasons, including a pair of playoff games, Garcia has 16 touchdown passes against just two interceptions.
NEXT UP: TENNESSEE
The Buccaneers will return home this week to try to get well against Vince Young and the 3-1 Tennessee Titans.
The Titans have a 7-1 edge in the all-time series with the Buccaneers, including a 33-13 home win when the teams last met, in 2003. Tennessee also won the most recent meeting between the squads in Tampa Bay, a 31-22 victory in 1998. The Bucs are 0-5 in the series since scoring their only win, at home against the then-Houston Oilers, in 1983.
Titans head coach Jeff Fisher is 4-0 in his career against the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers' Gruden is 0-3 all-time against both Fisher and Tennessee, including an 0-2 mark while with Oakland (1998-2001).
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The Bills blew second-half leads of 17-7 and 24-13 t
New Orleans fails to halt skid, falls to 0-4 >>
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The Saints had 23 first downs to the Panthers' 12. They held a huge 35:13 to
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Patriots' mettle called into question again >>
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Time has come to pull the plug on Pennington >>
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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