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08/12/2010 -
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) -The Detroit Lions don't have many good memories of the Matt Millen era.
They are hoping that Cliff Avril turns out to be one.
Avril, a third-round pick in 2008, has 10 1/2 sacks in his two seasons, but has struggled against the run and never given Detroit a consistent pass rusher.
This season, the defensive end will have to improve his performance against the run in order to earn a regular role on the Lions' revamped defensive line.
``I've got a lot of work to do,'' Avril said. ``We've got a lot of new guys here, and I know I've got to get better.''
Lions coach Jim Schwartz thinks Avril is off to a good start, and has made good progress toward becoming a consistent, full-time player.
``Cliff is still a young guy, and at times last year, he played like that,'' Schwartz said. ``But he's taken a step forward in that department. He has had a very, very consistent camp.''
Schwartz is most pleased that Avril is showing versatility on the field.
``We know the skills he has as a pass rusher, but we're seeing more from him this year,'' he said. ``He's doing a better job at the point of attack in the run game.''
Avril says that the improvement is a combination of several factors, starting with hard work.
``I know that I've got the talent around me that I should be able to take a big step forward this year, so I'm working hard at it,'' he said. ``I've got a better understanding of what I'm doing out there, and of what the whole defense is doing.''
Avril has also picked up valuable lessons from newly acquired veterans like Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams.
``It's great to be able to pick those guys' brains,'' he said. ``It's been awesome to be on the field with two guys like that, and with a young kid like Ndamukong (Suh). We're all learning from each other, and we're starting to mesh as a unit.''
Avril, though, knows that Saturday's preseason opener against Pittsburgh will be the biggest test of the new unit.
``We're ready to get out there and hit someone other than our own offensive linemen,'' he said. ``We know what they can do, but we need to work against someone else for a change.''
Schwartz is equally ready to see how well Avril and his linemates handle someone other than the Detroit offensive line.
``At this point, our defensive linemen know all of the offensive line's blocking schemes, and the offense knows every defensive lineman's pass-rush moves,'' he said. ``That's not going to be the case on Saturday.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
<< Bear Pascoe holding fort at tight end for Giants
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -Watching the New York Giants tight ends at training camp these days is pretty simple - there's Bear Pascoe.With four of the five tight ends at camp sidelined by minor injuries, Pascoe has gotten almost all the work. Whether it's o
<< Gonzalez leads Padres over Pirates
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adrian Gonzalez reached base all five
times he came to the plate, finishing with four hits, two runs scored and two
RBI, as San Diego jumped out to a big early lead, en route to an 8-5 victory
over Pi
<< Burrell's homer lifts Giants over Cubs
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pat Burrell hit the tie-breaking solo
homer off Jason Berg leading off the bottom of the eighth inning, lifting San
Francisco to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Burrell, who had the game-winning R
<< Report: Mets' Rodriguez in custody after punching family member
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez was
reportedly taken in custody by police at Citi Field following Wednesday
night's 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Multiple reports say Rodriguez was acc
5 arrested in All-Star protest at baseball meeting >>
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Police arrested five protesters outside the quarterly meeting of Major League baseball team owners in Minneapolis.They were among 100 people who gathered outside a downtown hotel Wednesday, trying to deliver petitions to commission
180-year sentence in death of NBA player's brother >>
CHICAGO (AP) -A judge in Chicago has handed down a 180-year prison sentence for a man convicted of killing the brother of NBA player Quentin Richardson.Thirty-one-year-old Lee Richardson Jr. was shot to death during a robbery in December 2005.Author
Marlins try for fourth straight win, sweep of Nationals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The chances of the Marlins matching their longest winning
streak of the season and completing a three-game sweep of Washington tonight
just got stronger with Ricky Nolasco set to take the mound.
Nolasco has won five straig
D'Backs go for first-ever sweep in Brew City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona's four-game series with Milwaukee has certainly
featured some exciting moments for the club, but there is one more thing left
to do.
The Diamondbacks, who have already secured their first series win at Miller
Pa
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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