Lee Kostroski
10* NFL Total of the Month - 83% run!
Cleveland vs. Philadelphia Under
Cleveland’s offensive struggles are the main reason we are taking the UNDER on this game. With Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn both sidelined with injuries, the Browns will start Ken Dorsey at quarterback for the second straight week. Last week in a 9-28 loss to the Titans, Dorsey was a mere 22/43 for 150 yards and 1 interception. We don’t see his production improving this week vs. a stingy Eagles defense. Even before Dorsey was handed the starting job, the Browns were struggling to score points. They have totaled just 21 points in the past three weeks (just 7 points per game). Their total yardage numbers the last three games are 240, 192 and 178. The Cleveland offense has been horrendous and now they face off against the 4th ranked defense in the NFL. The Eagles stop unit has completely shutdown two of the best offenses in the NFL the last two weeks. They held Arizona to just 20 points and 260 total yards two weeks ago. Last Sunday they topped the Giants 20-14. New York put together only 211 yards of total offense against this red hot defense. Not only that, their 14 points were even a bit deceiving as they scored one TD on a 71-yard blocked field goal return and the other TD came with just 20 seconds remaining in the game.
Back to the Browns and their defense which has actually been playing fairly well. Before giving up 28 points last week to the Titans, the Browns held Houston to just 16 points and Indianapolis to just 10 in back to back weeks. Cleveland is actually 3rd in the entire NFL in defensive efficiency allowing just one point for every 17 yards gained by their opponent. They have allowed 17 points or less in six of their last ten games. This team is decent on defense and really bad on offense. That combination leads to low scoring games.
The Eagles were in shambles after their 29 point loss to the Ravens, but as we mentioned, they bounced back nicely with big wins against the Cardinals and the Giants the last two weeks. Philly has been riding on the back of Brian Westbrook for the last two weeks as he has totaled 240 yards rushing. Eagle coach Andy Reid has really decided to lean on the run down the stretch and that has amounted to 81 rushes in the last two games. Don’t expect him to change his philosophy which has led to two straight wins. With the Browns ability to stop the pass (Cleveland has allowed an average of 185 yards passing the past three weeks, allowing just 3 touchdowns and forcing 6 interceptions), we will get an over abundance of the Philly ground game here.
Philly doesn’t have the strongest receiving corps to begin with, and they will have to use Westbrook a lot to consistently move the ball in this game. Running the ball will speed the game up and keep the score low. Last week, the Titans ran the ball 43 times for 235 yards in their 28-9 win. Both teams are a combined 11-2 UNDER in their last 13 games in December and we see that trend continuing on Monday night. Look for Philly to grab a lead and just sit on it using their running game. Go with the UNDER.
SIXTH SENSE
Opinion
PHILADELPHIA –14 Cleveland 38.5
Cleveland has lost its top two quarterbacks this year and had to go with Ken Dorsey last week at Tennessee. The result was they were beaten badly. Tennessee out gained Cleveland 5.9yppl to 2.8yppl, including being out passed 6.7yps to 3.2yps and being out rushed 5.5ypr to 1.8ypr. Philly played a great game at the Giants last week in their 20-14 win. They out gained the Giants 4.6yppl to 4.1yppl, including out passing them 6.0yps to 4.6yps. Cleveland averages just 5.0yps against 5.7yps and 4.5yppl against 5.0yppl. They allow 4.5ypr against 4.1ypr, 7.1yps against 6.2yps and 5.7yppl against 5.2yppl. I don’t have any situations on this game. Numbers favor Philly by just 10 points and predict about 42 points. Cleveland has been disgustingly bad over the past three weeks, scoring just 6, 6 and 9 points. Philly should be able to pressure Ken Dorsey into plenty of mistakes, which should limit the amount of points Cleveland can score. Philly has scored at least 27 points in each of their last three home games. If they get to 27 in this game I can’t see Cleveland covering the spread because I don’t see them scoring more than 10-13 points in this game.
PHILADELPHIA 27 CLEVELAND 13
Allen Eastmen
$400.00 Cleveland (+14) over Philadelphia
Even though the Eagles beat the Giants they have still been one of the streakiest teams in the NFL this year. They have games at Washington and against the Cowboys on the other side of this Monday nighter and I can see a flat spot. The Browns are 2-0 ATS this year on MNF – including a road outright win and a victory over the Giants. I think they come to play again and give us the cash.
Tom Stryker
32-9 ATS System Play
Eagles
ASA
7* GOY
Browns/Eagles Under
Brandon Lang
20 Dime Philadelphia Eagles
Free Pick- Eagles-Browns Under
Dataman
TOP - Cleveland
LARRY NESS
Las Vegas Insider
Cleveland State at Syracuse
PICK: Syracuse
Cleveland State fans will always have 1986, when head coach Kevin Mackey's team beat Bob Knight's Indiana team in the first round of the "Big Dance" and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing 71-70 to Navy, led by "The Admiral." Last year's accomplishments pale in comparison but it's not often that a school goes from 10-21 one season (2006-07) to 21-13 the following year (2007-08). Head coach Gary Waters is in his third season with the Vikings and four starters return from last year, as the Vikings only lose senior guard Watson (averaged just 5.2 PPG). The 6-5 Bullock, a four-year starter, again leads the way, averaging 13.5 PPG and 6.9 RPG. He's joined in the starting lineup by the 6-9 Moore (5.1-3.6) and three guards, Cole (11.4), Jackson (9.4-5.1-5.1) and Brown (8.9-6.0). The 6-8 Tandy (4.0-4.5) is the team's top reserve. CSU is 6-4 but has topped 70 points just one time this year, averaging a modest 61.8 PPG. The team is allowing only 55.8 PPG but it had better play good 'D' as the Vikings are shooting a poor .411 from the floor, including just 25.7 percent on threes. That does not spell good news when heading into a game with Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse failed to get an invite to the "Big Dance" for the second straight year last season and Boeheim's team seems intent on that streak ending right there! Syracuse suffered through numerous injuries last year and by Jan 1, Boeheim was starting three freshman and two sophomores. The Orange did win 21 games last year, led by 6-10 freshman Greene (17.7-7.2) and fellow freshman, PG Flynn (15.7-5.3 APG). Greene left for the NBA but Flynn is back, averaging 18.3 PPG and 5.0 APG in the team's 9-0 start. He's joined on the perimeter by vets Devendorf (14.0-3.3) and Rautins (9.4-3.8 APG), who have both recovered nicely from last year's injuries. Harris, a 6-4 swingman is off to a terrific start (13.7-8.6) and the 6-9 Onuaku (13.3-7.6) is no Greene, but he's not bad. The 6-8 Ongenaet (1.6-4.3) regularly starts but is little more than 'window dressing.' Two new freshman, the 6-6 Jones (6.0) and the 6-7 Joseph (5.4-3.3) have shown early promise while 6-9 sophomore Jackson (4.2-5.7) continues to fight for playing time. Syracuse looked a little 'rusty' on Saturday, having not played for a week. Still, the Orange recovered to beat Long Beach State, 79-55. Devendorf, who could be in some trouble because of an off-the-court issue, showed no signs anything was bothering him, scoring 13 points and adding five assists, while Onuaku held the team with 17. Harris had just five points (1-of-5 on FGs) and Flynn just seven points (2-of-7) but I hardly expect them to repeat those performances here.Syracuse averages 83.4 PPG and is shooting 50.3 percent as a team, dwarfing the offensive capabilities of Cleveland St. Syracuse last opened 10-0 back in 1999-2000 (that team opened 19-0!) and I surely don't see this CSU team standing in its way tonight. Cleveland State is 0-7 on the road vs ranked opponents since the 2002-03 season, losing by an average margin of 21.3 PPPG. That sounds about right, here! Las Vegas Insider on Syracuse (8*).
Matt Fargo
Cleveland State at Syracuse
Prediction: Cleveland State
Syracuse enters this game off a big win against Long Beach St. on Saturday and now turns right around to play a much better opponent and one that matches up very well. Syracuse looks to go 10-0 for the first time in nine years and it is being asked to lay a very sizable number again. The Orange covered that game against the 49ers but they are just 1-3 ATS on the season when laying double-digits as the first three games resulted in victories but only by an average of just six ppg.
Cleveland St. is also coming off a win on Saturday at Marist and it wasn?t even close as the Vikings rolled to a 19-point victory. Cleveland St. was voted as the preseason pick to win the Horizon League and it has gotten off to a solid 6-4 start by playing a schedule ranked 65th in the nation. The Vikings feature two of the best players in the conference in forward J?Nathan Bullock, the Horizon Preseason Player of the Year and guard Cedric Jackson, who was voted on the All-Horizon First Team.
The Vikings rely on a strong defense and that has been the case all year as they are allowing 56.4 ppg on 37.1 percent shooting. They have an 84.4 percent defensive efficiency rating which is easily best in their conference and 20th in the nation. Syracuse is right there as well with an 87.5 rating but that has come against a schedule that is ranked 225th so the numbers are no doubt skewed. Cleveland St. forces turnovers on 27.8 percent of possessions which is 9th in the country.
For playing such a soft schedule, Syracuse turns the ball over way too much and it is giving it up on 20.7 percent of its possessions. The assist/turnover ratio is at 1.33 which is good but the defense allows a ratio of 1.27 which is horrible. The Orange are forcing just 12.5 turnovers per game and they are forcing turnovers only 18.7 percent of the time. Those percentages are not going to get it done in the Big East and they aren?t going to aide in trying to cover this huge number. 5* Cleveland St. Vikings
NSA
20* Cleveland +16
10* Browns/Eagles UNDER 39.5
10* Cleveland St +13
10* USC -25.5
10* Utah +9
10* Nuggets/Mavs OVER 209
RAS
UC Davis -1
RON RAYMOND’S BROWNS VS. EAGLES WINNER!
Pick # 1 Cleveland Browns (15.5)
Larry Ness
Western Conf Game of the Week
Dallas Mavs
Las Vegas Insider-CBB (30-16 run)
Syracuse
7* MASSIVE MISMATCH-NBA
Miami Heat
Computer Crushers Guaranteed Selections
7000* COLLEGE HOOPS CRUSHER MEGA WINNER
Syracuse -13
9000* NFL COMPUTER CRUSHER TOTALS PLAY OF THE YEAR
Cleveland and Philadelphia UNDER 40
WinningAngle
Play on Philadelphia (-14) over Cleveland
Philadelphia has won 2 consecutive games and they have also won 9 of the last 11 games when playing in the month of December. Philadelphia has won 11 of the last 13 games as a home favorite of 10 points or more and they are averaging over 29 points a game on offense at home this season.
Play on Philadelphia minus the points on Monday