Raiders' nightmare season continues
Football Betting Lines
12/20/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With all the possible playoff scenarios catching everybody's attention, let's not forget about the battle for the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft, the only race that currently involves the Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders (2-12) dropped their seventh straight game this Sunday and are still tied with Detroit for the worst record in the NFL. The Lions hold the tiebreaker currently, as they have a worse opponents' record, but that race is still very much in the air.
If the Silver & Black do finish with the coveted No. 1 pick, they may wind up picking Notre Dame's Brady Quinn, who would be the first QB selected by the Raiders in the first round since they took Todd Marinovich in 1991. For the record, Marinovich's short stint with the Raiders was not a shining moment in the franchise's history.
But before moving on to Quinn's tenure in Oakland, we should first take a look at the current regime of hapless Raiders.
Oakland was at home this past weekend, but was still handed a 20-0 loss by the St. Louis Rams. It was another example of sloppy Raiders' football, as Oakland wound up turning the ball over five times.
Head coach Art Shell also created controversy by pulling starting quarterback Aaron Brooks early in the fourth quarter in favor of Andrew Walter. Both quarterbacks have been terrible this season, and that trend continued in Sunday's game against the Rams.
Brooks completed 11-of-19 passes for 98 yards with no TDs and one interception. Walter threw for 131 yards on 14-of-20 passing, but was picked off twice without throwing a touchdown.
The move was made with Oakland down 13-0, and was obviously a feeble attempt to see if Walter had any fourth-quarter magic in him. Instead, he tossed an interception on his first drive, and St. Louis used that miscue to force a 20-0 lead.
So on top of not working in the game, the benching of Brooks also left the QB with a bad taste in his mouth.
"I can't make miracles happen," Brooks said. "Right now, it seems like we need a miracle to make something happen offensively."
Shell and Brooks are obviously frustrated at the way this season has gone, considering it was a big second chance for both. Shell was given another shot at head coaching after spending over a decade in various offensive line coaching and league office positions. His only previous job as head coach was with the Raiders from 1989-94.
Brooks, meanwhile, was signed by the Raiders after getting released by the Saints after the 2005 season, his fifth straight campaign as New Orleans' starter.
It's clear the fresh starts haven't worked for Shell and Brooks, but at least Oakland fans have some new faces to attach to this terrible era in Raiders history.
It's just sad to see a team with such a large and passionate fan base like the Raiders become a laughing stock.
MOSS IS LOST
Once upon a time, being without wide receiver Randy Moss for a game would have been a pretty tough obstacle to overcome, but the Raiders can hardly blame this week's loss on Moss' injury.
Moss missed his first game in his two seasons with Oakland, as he was forced to sit out the test against St. Louis with a sprained left ankle.
The five-time Pro Bowl receiver is on the way to his worst season in the NFL. Moss has 42 receptions for 553 yards and three touchdowns.
When Oakland acquired Moss in a trade with Minnesota after the 2004 season, the move was supposed to energize this Raiders offense and give his new club a better shot at executing the "vertical offense".
Instead, Moss has become just an overpaid component of an overall broken unit.
DUBIOUS RECORD ALERT
The Raiders are in the midst of the worst stretch in franchise history, as they are nearing the close of their fourth consecutive season with double- digit losses.
In fact, the team needs to win its final two tests of the year to avoid the club's worst post-merger record. The Raiders set the franchise mark with 4-12 season in 1997, 2003, 2005.
Oakland is also in danger of having its fewest wins in a season since going 2-12 in 1961, the second year of the franchise's existence.
UP NEXT
The Raiders play their final home game of the season next Saturday night, when they host the Kansas City Chiefs at the Coliseum
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Jazz visit Atlanta >>
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the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets this evening at TD Waterhouse Centre.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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