Sports Betting Blog

Last season the Philadelphia Eagles made some fantastic signings during the preseason. Before they had even played their first game, the fans and the media alike were already calling them a dream team. Suddenly, Eagles fans were already dreaming of an incredible playoffs run and the third franchise trip to the Super Bowl. Soon the bubble was going to burst, and the so-called dream team would prove to be nothing short of a nightmare.

The Eagles kicked off the season living up to the astronomical expectations defeating the St. Louis Rams 31-13. But they would then drop four consecutive games against rivals that included the Giants, the Falcons, the 49ers and the Bills. They would recover a bit with two consecutive wins against the Cowboys and the Indians, but soon it would all go south with yet another 4 game losing streak. The Eagles would eventually finish the season with an 8-8 record for the season.

Plaxico Burress, on the other hand, managed to get his career back on the winning track after spending some time in prison. At 6-5 and 232 lbs the 34-year-old wide receiver believes that he’s still got a lot to give as a professional athlete. Burress is now a free-agent after the wide receiver finished a one-and-done run with the New York Jets. Plaxico is really hoping that the Eagles will find a spot for him in the squad. He is hoping to join his childhood friend Micheal Vick, the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback. “I really believe he can bring a championship to Philadelphia, and I’d love to be part of that,” Burress said about joining Vick and the Eagles. He really believes that he sure has a special ingredient that could pump up the Eagles offense. As of press time the Eagles offensive lineup includes the likes of DeSean Jackson (a free agent) and Jeremy Maclin.

Like Vick, Burress restarted his NFL career after a prison sentence. On November 28, 2008, Burress suffered a self inflicted gunshot in his right thigh in a New York City club. On August 3, 2009, prosecutors announced that Burress had been indicted by the grand jury on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and a single count of reckless endangerment in the second degree, both felonies. He would plea guilty and spent the next two years in prison.  Two months after being released, Burress signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the New York Jets. He would immediately become one of the team’s starters.

Burress would kick off the season with a good performance that would help him record 45 catches throughout the season (third best among the New York Jets’ players) for 612 yards and eight touchdowns. Burress was one of the most productive red-zone receivers in the league, but it seems that he lost some of his touch as the season came to it’s end. Still, despite what many can could consider a good performance, taking into account he had spent two years in prison, the Jets opted not to sign him again for the next season. 

It’s been a while since the Seahawks have been a dominant force in the NFL. It’s been a while since any Seattle professional team has really dominated a professional sport. Then again, things are starting to look a bit brighter for the Seahawks as the NFL regular season goes for the home stretch. Making the most out of their home field advantage Seattle took advantage of a mistake prone Philadelphia Eagles for a 31-14 victory, that improves the Seahawks season to 5-7 and keeps their playoffs dreams alive.

The Seahawks relied heavily on their powerful and aggressive running back Marshawn Lynch who consistently ripped apart the Philadelphia Eagles defense to clinch 148 yards and a pair of first half touchdowns that build up the momentum for Seattle. The Seahawks took advantage of the error prone Eagles offense and even managed to convert one of Vince Young four game interceptions into a 77-yard dash for a score via the talented David Hawthorne.

Lynch was happy to be the guy on the prime time stage. Ha managed to escape pass a massive pileup for a 15-yard touchdown early in the game and then made a quick swerving move for a 40-yard score on the first play of the second quarter. Suddenly that Seahawks were 14-0 and rolling and they weren’t going to look back. Lynch has been finding his game recently and that has really helped Seattle. Consider for a moment that he had never before had consecutive 100-yard games before his latest stretch but including the latest win over the Eagles, Lynch has pass the 100-yard rushing mark in 4 of his last 5 games. That one time he didn’t make it pass the mark, he was fairly close as he ran for 88 yards while the Seahawks defeated the St. Louis Rams.

Regardless of what you think of the Seahawks, credit must be given to Lynch who has certainly chosen a great time to get his game together. After working his way past the 4-8 Philadelphia Eagles, Lynch managed to score yet another touchdown, making this the eight consecutive game he’s had a chance to score.

The Seahawks had to get their game plan ready and even thought the Philadelphia Eagles weren’t much of a match, at the end, Seattle couldn’t really secure the game until late in the fourth quarter. With little under five minutes to go, Hawthorne was able to intercept Vince Young’s pass to DeSean McCoy. This is Young’s third appearance as a starter since Michael Vick got sidelined with two broken ribs. It seems that Young hasn’t been able to find his game, or at least shine like he did while playing for the Texas Longhorns in college. Young finished 17 of 29 for 208 yards. For the Seahawks this was a fairly good way to get back in track after they blew up a 10-point advantage and lost 23-17 to the Washington Redskins. This is the Seahawks third win in four games. Now they’ll take advantage of the long week to get some extra rest and prepare for their December 12^th match against the Rams once again.

Vince Young came in filling for the injured Michael Vick and managed to turn things around for the Philadelphia Eagles. At 4-6 for the season, the Eagles are very far away from been the dream team that many had announced at the beginning of the season. Quite the contrary, they have been quite an utter disappointment so far, but one thing is evident: they know how to break down the New York Giants and what’s more important, they’ve now done it with a undermanned team. The young quarterback who had only thrown one pass before this match (an interception, by the way) not only managed to fill in for Vick, he also orchestrated a diligent 4^th quarter 9 minute play that covered 80 yards to take the go ahead point and defeat the New York Giants 17-10 on Sunday Night.

As if this wasn’t enough of a challenge for the Eagles, they also relied on a young receiver, who hadn’t had a catch all season long. The 24-year-old Riley Cooper was had 5 catches for 75 yards and one touchdown. He lived up to the expectations and finished just a hint behind DeSean Jackson who had 6 receptions for 88 yards. As a matter of fact, it was this trio of players that made that turnaround possible. Philadelphia converted six third-down plays with including one in the final winning drive when DeSean Jackson made the first-and-goal with a 10-yard catch to the 10. Vince Young would put final touches with his second touchdown pass of the game to a wide-open Riley Cooper.

The New York Giants on the other hand are starting to look a bit too much like their in-state rivals, the New York Jets. At 6-4 for the season, the Giants are showing some signs of weakness and their playoffs chances could seriously be jeopardized unless they close the season with some consecutive wins. Eli Manning had a very irregular night, completing only 18 of 35 passes for 264 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Sure enough, his 24-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz was enough to bring back the Giants into the game and tie it at 10 a piece with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but they still manage to lose a game against a rival that threw three interceptions.

And that’s what’s got to be bothering the younger Manning brother. Eli knew he had a very bad night, but on the other hand, so did Vince Young. The fill-in quarterback finished the night with 23 of 26 passing for 258 yards with two touchdowns and 3, yes 3 interceptions, including the one that would set up Cruz’s touchdown to tie it at 10. Then again, it was a very week performance from the Giants. Consider that Eli Manning had very little, none we could actually say, help from the rushing department. It’s like if the Giant’s runners never got going. They only threw in 29-yards for this match.

The Giants will now face the New Orleans Saints at the Super Dome on Monday Night Football. The Eagles will have to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon at home. Stay tuned for more NFL betting news.

Maybe if the Chicago Bears were playing anywhere else in the nation, they would be leading their division. At 5-3 so far this season, the Chicago Bears are currently third in the NFC North behind the Super Bowl defending champions, the Green Bay Packers and their 8-0 flawless season, and the Detroit Lions who at 6-2 are having the best start in over a decade. They had a tough Monday Night Football match against the Philadelphia Eagles, and before the kickoff, the Bears were a 7-point underdog in the spread. But Jay Cuttler and the Bears knew that they had to fight till the end, and pull off another come from behind win in the fourth quarter for a 30-24 win over the Eagles and clinch it’s third consecutive wins.

Michael Vick suffered a bit on this game. Like it has been the usual case this season, his defense has failed to protect him and he has constantly been hit. For a moment there, particularly in the third quarter, it really seemed as if Vick and the Eagles were getting it done right. They came back from a 17-10 deficit before the halftime break and were ahead 24-20 by the beginning of the fourth quarter. Then, as it has usually happened this season, it all went south in the last period. For the fourth time this season, the Eagles blew up a fourth quarter lead. With a 3-5 record for the season, the Eagles, the team that during the preseason was called upon to have it’s most successful season ever, has failed to live up to its expectations. This was supposed to be a dream team: it’s been nothing but a cruel nightmare for the squad and its fans.

The Philadelphia Eagles were the defending NFC East champions but after 8 weeks of football, the Eagles are now three games behind Division leader, the New York Giants (6-2). The Philadelphia Eagles fourth quarter performance this season has been so weak they now lead the NFL with the worst fourth quarter points difference this season with a minus-36. That is including the Bear’s outscoring the Eagles 0-10 on Monday’s night game. Vick finished the night with 21 of 38 passing for 213 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. The Chicago Cubs got a smoother performance from their quarterback Jay Cutler who finished the night with 18 of 32 passing for 208 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.

The thing here is that the Cubs have realized they needed to take better care of their quarterback. Since the Bear were crushed 24-13 on Monday October 10^th against the Detroit Lions, Chicago has doubled it efforts to protect Cutler and it has paid out. In Chicago’s last three games, Cutler has been sacked only three times, that is a NFL best this season. He’s also rushed an average 153 yards per game which is far better than the numbers Cuttler had given his team in the first five games of the season. Consider for starters that he was sacked 18 times and rushed 101.4 yards per game in that first span.

The Bears will now face the Detroit Lions while trying to avoid a season sweep by their division rivals. The Philadelphia Eagles on the other hand are going to face the 2-6 Arizona Cardinals. Both squads are urged to win their games. It’s possible that this would be the last chance the Eagles have to fight for a spot in the Playoffs.