CFL West: Eskimos fire GM; Rambo sparks Calgary offense
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08/05/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It didn't matter that Edmonton won its first game of the season, prevailing in a tight 28-25 affair over west rival BC Lions. The triumph wasn't enough for a team that was off to its worst start since 1965, and Danny Maciocia still lost his job as general manger of the Eskimos.
As tumultuous a season as it has been in Edmonton, the storyline doesn't compare to the long-awaited return of dynamic receiver Ken-Yon Rambo to the Calgary Stampeders. The former all-star returned from an injury that sidelined him for most of the 2009 season, putting together a great first game with 86 yards and a touchdown catch. The Stamps' fight for first place in the west was matched by another Saskatchewan win, and the teams share the same record at 4-1. It's now almost officially a two-horse race in the west.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
A 23-20 score was closer than it should have been as the Stamps came out strong against Winnipeg and certainly deserved to win.
It didn't take long for Rambo to make an impact, catching a 20-yard touchdown pass less than five minutes into the game.
Henry Burris had his most flawless game of the season, passing for 340 yards and two touchdowns and, best of all, no interceptions. The offense may have sputtered in the second half, scoring just six points off two field goals, but the defense more than made up for it.
Including its game versus Saskatchewan in Week 4, Calgary has now held two good offensive teams in a row to just 20 points. If trouble comes in threes, then the rest of the league best beware: A healthy receiving corps, an errorless Burris, and a fortified defense are strong ingredients for a legitimate Grey Cup contender in Calgary.
Offensive key to the next game: Calgary rides into BC for a date with the Lions this week riding a wave of positive momentum. The Lions have been struggling mightily on offense, but defense is a different story. BC has allowed the second-fewest points in the league this season behind the Montreal Alouettes, and in order for the Stamps to break the wall, they'll need Burris to hit his targets early and often. Whether Rambo can make improvements on his season debut remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Burris can rely on veteran receiver Nik Lewis to carry the load.
Defensive key to the game: How about stand still and wait for Travis Lulay to throw away the ball? BC has yet to find its footing offensively and fill-in quarterback Lulay struggled to make a positive impact in Week 5. The 27-year- old has tossed four interceptions in two starts this season.
Look ahead: Calgary has the best schedule in the league for the next few weeks. After a test with the offensively-challenged BC Lions, Calgary hosts the Eskimos in what could be a one-sided battle of Alberta. A bye the following week leaves Calgary with the best chance to go a commanding 6-1 in the standings.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
No team desires for its kicker to have to carry the offense, but when you put up 37 points and win by 13 despite a struggling quarterback, it's hard to voice your complaints.
Luca Congi was a perfect 7-for-7 on his field goal attempts, picking up on his QB's failed attempts to get into the end zone.
Darian Durant failed to dazzle in front of his home crowd at Mosaic Field, passing for 270 yards and an interception, but got close enough on dives for Congi to take over.
Perhaps more worrisome is the defense that allowed Hamilton's Arland Bruce to catch for 272 yards on 16 receptions. No receiver should be allowed that much space and considering all the weapons of their next opponent, the Montreal Alouettes, the Roughriders would do well to tighten up in the backfield.
Offensive key to the next game: The Roughriders clawed their way back to win one of the best season-opening game in Canadian football history against the Montreal Alouettes in Week 1. Putting up 54 points again is highly unlikely, but there's no doubt that this game will boil down to which quarterback dishes the most damage. Durant needs to shine again, but Wes Cates' versatility as a running back who can also catch, may prove to be an important cog in what would be an impressive road victory.
Defensive key to the game: Stopping Calvillo is perhaps the most cliched defensive strategy in CFL history, but Saskatchewan can't forget about Avon Cobourne. The running back has picked up his game incredibly over the past couple weeks, so look for the Alouettes to exploit his talent once again to offset the deep receiving corps. The defensive line will have the most important task of the night blocking Cobourne's lanes and putting pressure on Montreal's wily QB.
BC Lions
At least they have good defense.
The Lions have looked more like house cats with the ball this season and it doesn't look like a turnaround is in the cards anytime soon. Given some of their talented receivers - Geroy Simon, Paris Jackson - and a more-than-capable running back in Jamal Roberston, the Lions should be able to muster better than 100 total points over five games.
Lulay is a work in progress and has shown signs of talent, but BC better hope Lulay finds his game quickly because a meeting with Calgary in Week 6 may be a disaster, even if it is a home game.
Offensive key to the next game: Get the receivers involved. Geroy Simon led the entire team in receptions with four catches for 40 yards in Week 5. That won't win any football games, despite a stellar Lions defense that almost stole the game against Edmonton.
Defensive key to the next game: Force Burris to make mistakes, and keep the Stampeders out of field goal range. The Lions defense has the ability to really frustrate Burris, and if BC can be consistent and cut off long, momentum- shifting drives, keeping competitive is at least possible.
Look ahead: The bye week is just two weeks away and it couldn't be more welcome for the limping Lions. After facing Calgary, they head out to Regina and CFL's toughest crowds to take on the Roughriders. A win there is not in the Lions' favor, making this week's home tilt against the Stampeders all the more necessary to make a run at the top teams in the west.
EDMONTON ESKIMOS
It must feel great for Edmonton to finally get its first win, but a lot of work is still to be done.
Getting the team on the field to focus will be tough following the departure of their GM Maciocia and a head coach, Richie Hall, walking the tightest of ropes to get his team back on track.
Coming back from behind in the fourth quarter against the Lions is a great start, given the Eskimos' uselessness in the final frame over the previous four weeks.
Now the focus will be to put together a full four quarters of solid play, and what better way to start then with the league's biggest surprise, the Toronto Argonauts.
Offensive key to the next game: The Toronto d-line is formidable, as is its secondary. There is little for Ricky Ray to exploit, so mixing up his own passing with the skills of running back Arkee Whitlock is crucial to a second straight Edmonton win.
Defensive key to the game: The two best Toronto players all season offensively for the Argos have been rookie Cory Boyd and special teams Chad Owens. Both make Toronto's run game exceptional, so taking both out would aide in an Edmonton victory. It worked for Montreal in Week 5, and so it must for Edmonton if they wish to get back into the playoff picture.
Look ahead: The Esks need to carry the momentum forward and a matchup against Toronto allows for such a scenario to transpire. A road game against league- leading Calgary the following week has derailment written all over it, but you can never count out Ricky Ray, who can be the best in the league when he's on his game. Winning twice and achieving a 3-4 record is the only option for the Eskimos heading into their bye in Week 8.
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Online Sportsbook Football Betting
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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