Sports Betting Blog

For what we had heard and saw last week Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys were expected to fly into the Emerald City and simply dominate the Seattle Seahawks. There was really no doubt about this one. Romo was coming off perhaps the most notable regular season kickoff’s of his career, dominating the defending champions the New York Giants on the road. It looked as if they Cowboys would return from a the road trip with a 2-0 start. As a matter of fact the line makers at betias.com had made them a -3½ point favorite in the spread against the Seahawks despite the game been played at the Century Link Field in Seattle.

At the end, however the Seattle Seahawks not only defeated the Cowboys, they also managed to shake them down. On his second NFL start the rookie Russell Wilson guided the home team’s effort with 15 of 20 passing for 151 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions as the Seahawks took a 27-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

We were seriously expecting to see so much more coming from Tony Romo. I guess that he had had such a great game on week one that we couldn’t help but to imagine only how well thing could work out for Dallas last Sunday. But it just wasn’t there. I mean, Romo didn’t play badly; he finished the matchup completing 23 of the 40 passes he attempted for 251 passing yards with one touchdown and one costly interception. Now, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either, and considering just how fast the Seahawks defensive system runs its plays at home, it was a bit overwhelming for Romo and the Cowboys. The Seattle Seahawks special teams had a brilliant first quarter.

By the time Dallas figured out what had happened, the Seahawks already had a 10-0 advantage. In less than 5 minutes the Seahawks’ Michael Robinson forced Felix Jones to fumble on the opening kickoff that led to a short field goal. Minutes later Malcolm Smith blocked Chris Jones’ punt which Jeron Johnson returned for a touchdown to give Seattle (1-1) the early advantage.

The rookie Russell Wilson delivered in his second start. He had a good overall performance, making safe decisions while showing that he might just have what it takes to make it among the big guns. Among his highlight reel, we could mention the fabulous way in which he directed a 90-yard scoring drive in the third quarter capped by a 22-yard touchdown strike to Anthony McCoy to give Seattle a 20-7 lead. But it was not all about the quarterback effort. Seattle was playing with poise and determination. Size didn’t even matter at one point or another. Golden Tate circled back around and lined up Sean Lee with a crushing block that sent the burly Dallas linebacker flat to his back. It was a great play that got the fans on their feet. You could feel it in the air: this was a rue team effort. “We stuck with our game plan: Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, and eventually they’re going to get tired,” Tate said. “Our motto is play longer and harder than they can and then it started opening up in the pass game.”

This was perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend. The Arizona Cardinals managed to get back on track after it was announced that their regular starting quarterback, John Skelton would miss the game with a sprained right ankle. Even though it was uncertain whether Skelton would be back in time for this or next weeks game, the Cardinals knew they had plenty of talent to replace him. Perhaps what no one was expecting was to see Kevin Kolb play like he did. He guided Arizona’s effort with 15 of 27 passing for 140 yards and one touchdown pass. He also made a run for it and score another in a 5-yard dash early in the fourth quarter to make it 20-9.

Sure enough it would be up to the stellar Tom Brady to try to pull something off his hat in the last few minutes of the game. After all, the Patriots were playing at home against a team that they should have been able to control from the start. Brady played a little under the weather. And yet we can’t really blame this one on him. I mean, if you look at his numbers, he went 28 of 46 for 316 yards. That’s more then twice what Kolb delivered for the Cardinals in the passing game. Then again, he only completed one touchdown pass and he had one costly interception. But perhaps the biggest surprise of the match came in the last minute of the fourth quarter.

Stephen Gostkowski missed a potential winning field goal in the final seconds, and the Arizona Cardinals upset the New England Patriots 20-18 on Sunday. Here is the thing, I mean, we all know that this sort of things happen. But they don’t happen to Gostkowski. We are talking here about the most accurate kicker in New England Patriots history. It didn’t really matter. He sent a 42-yard attempt wide to the left on the next-to-last play. But when we say wide, we mean it. You could fit a large SUV, maybe two of them in the gap left between the ball and the post. Not only that but the miss came after making three longer field goals earlier in the game.

It really seemed as if the New England Patriots were going to be able to turn the 11-point deficit and win. It all started when Vince Wilfork recovered a fumble at the Cardinals 30-yard line with 1:01 left in the fourth quarter. A 30-yard run into the end zone by Danny Woodhead was nullified by a holding penalty against Rob Gronkowski. New England then moved to the 24 before Tom Brady spiked the ball to stop the clock with six seconds remaining. But Gostkowski sent a 42-yard try wide to the left, to the far left. And that was it, by the time the Patriots fans saw the ball flying off target, Kevin Kolb and the. The Patriots (1-1) los Cardinals were celebrating their second win of the season.

After the game was over, Kolb came out to talk to the press. You could really tell he was very excited about this win. “It’s not like we played the perfect game. So, we have a lot to improve on,” Kolb said acknowledging the Patriots effort to get back on the game. “If you can get those ugly wins checked off in the win column, that’s big.”

It is still uncertain what the future holds for Peyton Manning, but one thing is for sure, there are plenty of NFL teams out there willing to do whatever it takes to bring him on their squad. The Manning tour has had stops at Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins, and although he has yet to choose where he might finish his career, he has not eliminated any of the previous team with which he has already met. So far, the meeting with the Titans seems to have been the longest yet, and the organization as a whole is really keeping their hopes high that they could land the phenomenal quarterback. Titans coach Mike Munchak, general manager Ruston Webster and chief operating officer Mike Reinfeldt landed Wednesday afternoon at Nashville International Airport to pick up Manning and get going with the negotiations.

Several team officials apparently meet with Peyton Manning during the course of the meeting including the team’s chief doctor Burton Elrod, who spent about and hour and a half inside the team’s facility. This is all based on conjectures and well informed guesses, as the parties involved have been very zealous and secretive about the details of the negotiation. The offensive line coach, Bruce Matthews was also seen leaving the premises little after the doctor left the building. Even the Tennessee Governor, Bill Haslam, took a little time apart to call Peyton Manning and welcome him back to the city. In total, it seems that Manning spent over six and a half hours inside the team’s main offices and when he came out, some 50 fans were still gathered outside showing their support for the quarterback.

There was no real official comments made by the organization, but the team owner Bud Adams said he thinks Manning was very pleased with what he saw from the Titans. “He’s going to make his mind up fairly soon; hopefully, we’d be in the running,” he said. On a previous press conference, he had been recorded saying that he was willing to do whatever it takes to get Peyton Manning in a Tennessee Titans uniforms and considering the room he has in the salary cap, one could assume that the Titans could, in the long run, be a fairly good option for Manning. Adams went on to offer Manning a deal for life. He was careful enough to make sure that Manning understood that he would have his professional career secured if he opted to stay with the Titans. That is, not only as a player, but if in the future, once he retires, he wishes to stay active as a coach, or a consultant, or even a management position, that he would have a spot with the team.

According to one report we had access to, Some teams that have reviewed his medical records and observed extensive video of recent throwing sessions appear. Considering how often he has been reaches out by the hiring staff, it seems that the teams are satisfied with his physical status, both in neck stability and arm strength. It seems as if the teams are not going to require Peyton Manning to work out. However, Manning has no hesitation about putting his throwing skills on display for the teams he considers to be a serious option.

Sometimes they say it is all about the money, that’s what makes the world go round. And it seems that the love affair between quarterback Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints couldn’t escape that fate. Despite the rumors that said Drew Brees was a certainly going to stay with the Saints, it has become evident that the two sides of the deal have failed to reach a middle point in the negotiation for the player’s compensation. Considering the risks involved in losing Drew Brees as a free agent this season, the Saints have opted to use their franchise tag on Brees and secure his stay in the club. The franchise tag for a quarterback currently carries a $14.4 million salary cap hit. Still, that figure could easily change and increase significantly later on this off-season when the quarterback cap numbers are re-evaluated by the NFL.

Brees and the New Orleans Saints seemed to be at least $5 million dollars apart when it comes to reaching a price. Particularly for the first three years of the contract. According to the news reports we have gathered, Brees is seeking a contract that averages $23 million per season for the first three years of his deal. To put things into the right perspective, that’s the same amount the Indianapolis Colts are paying Peyton Manning in contract in average for the first three seasons. The Saints on the other hands are offering their quarterback a five-year contract that averages $18 million a year. It seems to be a good overall offer considering that’s pretty much what Peyton Manning and the New England Patriot’s own Tom Brady is making over the same span.

But it seems that for the better part of the negotiation, it is Drew Brees who holds the best hand. His performance since arriving to the Saints in 2006 have been nothing short of amazing. And it’s not just that he’s been putting good numbers, excellent numbers to be more precise. As a matter of fact, the Saints have reached levels of play that seemed unimaginable just a few years before he arrived. Then there is the whole Hurricane Katrina factor. Drew Brees came into New Orleans just a year after the hurricane struck the coast of New Orleans. It has helped to give some faith to the people of New Orleans that their team, formerly known as the Aint’s (because they hadn’t win a thing) went on to unimaginable heights. Not only that but with 28,394 yards, Drew Brees has passed for more yards than any other quarterback in the NFL since he joined the squad in 2006.

Brees was the heart of the 13-3 season with which the Saints moved into the conference finals last season. As if that was not enough, Brees set NFL single-season records with 468 completions, 5,476 yards passing and a completion percentage of 71.2. His prolific passing numbers helped the Saints set a new NFL high for total offensive yards in a season with 7,474. And that’s certainly what’s going to make him have the best hand.