NFL teams are absolutely obsessed with the defensive line. Finding players who can consistently provide pass rushing pressure is very hard to do, but teams use a lot of draft picks and spend millions on free agents in an attempt to do so. A team that can pressure the quarterback gets all sorts of attention form the public and the media. One that can stuff the run is a bit more under the radar, but no less valued by team management. The best way for a defensive front to provide apply pressure is a topic of much debate and contention, and there are about as many advocates of 3-4 schemes as those that back a 4-3.
Continue reading “NFL Handicapping: Defensive Fronts Covering Point Spreads”
Texas has won 13 of its last 16 games on the road and snapped an 11-game losing streak in Detroit with an 8-6 victory. Outfielder Nelson Cruz’s 14th inning home run allowed the Rangers to win their fourth in five games and extend their lead to five games in the AL West. The club is 7-9 in July (-1,100), but still carry the league’s third-best overall record and fifth in the Majors. Despite Monday’s victory, it’s important to note the team has still been outscored 90-35 in its last 12 games at Comerica Park. The Rangers have been a road favorite of -125 to -150 just seven times this season (4-3, Even) and 15 times over the last three years (8-7, -130).
Here is team #13 and the 2010 Georgia Bulldogs Football Preview from the Maddux Sports college football handicapping team. All part of our 31 teams in 31 days college football season preview highlighting the best college football teams for the upcoming 2010 NCAA football season.
Boston has dropped nine of its last 12 games and have fallen 6.5 games back of the New York Yankees in the AL East race. The Red Sox offense sputtered in the first series back from the All-Star break, scoring just 11 runs in four home games against the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. The lineup still leads the majors in runs despite the recent slump, which has been caused by having four regular contributors on the disabled list. The Red Sox are 22-20 on the road this season and are in a stretch of playing 14 straight games against the AL West division, traveling to Seattle and Anaheim after this series. Boston is 9-5 against Western opponents so far in 2010.
The arrests keep coming. After our last weekly recap featured several stories about arrests in the college football world, the theme seems to continue on into this week’s headlines. College Football weekly recap July 12 – 18
Colorado avoided being swept in its first series since the All-Star break, with a 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ball Park. It was the pitching staff’s 10th shutout of the season, which is strange for a club that had never talled more than eight in a year. Sunday’s result still didn’t cure the Rockies offensive woes on the road, as the team has the second-worst road average (.231) in the Majors behind only the Toronto Blue Jays. In fact, the team has failed to score more than three runs in three straight games for just the fourth time this season. Colorado is 5-1 in its last six games as a road favorite, with the team being a perfect 5-0 in that spot with tonight’s starter on the hill.
Texas had lost 11 of its last 14 games before this important series against the Boston Red Sox, including four straight to the Baltimore Orioles. The Rangers ended up taking three of four at Fenway Park with Sunday’s 4-2 victory. “We played well and we pitched well,” third baseman Michael Young said. The last few games, we’ve pitched especially well.” It doesn’t get any easier to start the week for the Rangers, heading to a place where they’ve lost 11 straight games. “It’s good to come back and take three of four here because we know our recent history in Detroit isn’t that good.”
