Ben Burns
"Monday Night Game of the Month"
Bengals
Lang
25 Dime:
on the NEW ENGLAND patriots
and Free Play:
THE OVER
Chris Jordan
300♦ OVER Patriots/Bengals - Analysis by 3 p.m. eastern
100♦ ROCKIES -
100♦ PATRIOTS -
ACCUPICKS
3* MLB San Diego/Colorado UNDER
Jimmy The Moose
Game: San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies
Oct 1 2007 7:35PM
Prediction: Colorado Rockies
Reason: The Padres have lost their last 2 games to be in this position. In their last 5 games following a loss they are 1-4. San Diego is 1-6 in their last 7 playoff games. The Padres have lost 3 of Peavy's last 4 starts vs. Colorado. The Rockies have been great down the stretch posting a 20-7 record over their last 27 games. The Rockies are 11-1 in their last 12 games as an underdog. In their last 53 home games the Rockies are a money making 38-13. The momentum will carry them into the playoffs tonight. Play on the Rockies +.
Guaranteed Pick: Lenny Del Genio
Game: San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies Oct 1 2007 7:35PM
Prediction: Colorado Rockies
Reason: Play on the Rockies at 7:35 ET. The Padres may have MLB's best pitcher (arguably) on the mound in Jake Peavy but the Rockies own all the momentum. The Padres were one strike away from clinching the NL's wild card Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee and blew it, They then scored three first-inning runs in Sunday's game (a win would have clinched again!) and lost that game, 11-6. Now, instead of heading to Philadelphia to meet the Phillies, the Padres must fly to Colorado to take on MLB's hottest team. The Rockies ended September by winning 13 of their last 14 games and the team's 71-46 mark since May 22 is the best in the NL, with only the Yankees doing better in all of MLB (Yanks went 74-45 in that time span). I won't repeat Peavy's incredible pitching stats from '07 (especially his road numbers!), because they are awesome. However, I will add that Fogg has been very solid for the Rockies down the stretch, going 3-0 with a 3.25 ERA over his last five starts (team is 4-1). Peavy's a right-hander and the Rockies are plus-$2,940 versus righties this year, going 37-19 against them here at Coors. Take Colorado as a 15* play.
Guaranteed Pick: Nick Parsons
Game: San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies Oct 1 2007 7:35PM
Prediction: under
Reason: This game features Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.36 ERA) of the Padres vs. Josh Fogg (10-9, 4.79) of the Rockies. San Diego could have nailed down a postseason spot outright by winning either of its last two regular-season games. The Padres were one strike away from wrapping up a victory Saturday at Milwaukee, but all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman gave up a game-tying triple to Tony Gwynn Jr. in an eventual 4-3 loss in 11 innings. San Diego also fell 11-6 on Sunday to the Brewers, and Colorado took advantage with a 4-3 victory over NL West champion Arizona. It was the Rockies' 13th in 14 games, and left them needing one more win to secure their first playoff berth since 1995. With a 10-1 record and 2.20 ERA in his last 13 starts, Peavy is a front-runner for NL Cy Young Award. He's also the majors' best pitcher on the road, going 10-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 14 outings. Peavy has no record and a 1.29 ERA in two starts against the Rockies this year. Fogg has been pitching very well lately; he is 3-0 with a 2.94 ERA in his last six outings, including wins over San Diego's Chris Young and Arizona’s Brandon Webb. The veteran right-hander is 3-2 with a 5.48 ERA in his career against San Diego, including 1-1 with a 6.28 ERA in three outings this season. The last five times these teams have met, the total has gone ‘under’ the number; with so much on the line, and considering how well these pitchers have performed recently, my NL West Total of the Month is on the UNDER!
Guaranteed Pick: Lenny Del Genio
Game: New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals Oct 1 2007 8:30PM
Prediction: under
Reason: Play on the Pats/Benagls to go Under at 8:30 ET. Everyone is anticipating a shootout in tonight's game but here's a take you may not have heard? The last thing either team wants is a shootout. Both teams have explosive offense stars, meaning both defenses will be guarding against the big play. Brady (79.5%) and Palmer (64.0%) are both very accurate passers and when passes get completed, the clock doesn't stop! With both teams playing a little deeper, expect some long, 'clock-eating' drives! I also like Cincinnati RB Kenny Watson, who will be replacing the injured Rudi Johnson. Expect the Bengals to allow him to establish the run. In two of the Pats' first three games, they have benefited from injuries to the other team's starting QBs (Pennington and Losman). In those two cases, the replacements were not able to sustain drives, giving New England more possessions than usual, plus often starting with excellent field-position, as well. That WON'T be the case here! NE/Cin Under is my 20* MNF Total of the Month
Mike Rose
New England Patriots @ Cincinnati Bengals o53.0 (-110) OVER
Mon Oct 1 '07 8:30p
I don’t think they can set a number high enough in this one for me not to back the ‘Over’ in this spot. The Patriots offense has been simply unstoppable to start the season, and it doesn’t look to me like the Bengals have the defensive horses to hinder their play this evening.
QB Tom Brady already has 10 TD passes on the year, and that numbers certain to go up tonight when he looks to dissect a Bengals defense that’s allowing opponents to score a tad under 32 PPG. It’s amazing to me that a Marvin Lewis coached defense can give up these types of numbers, but it is what it is, and I expect NE fantasy owners to be very happy after this ones all said and done.
New England’s offense is a machine. It doesn’t sleep. It doesn’t eat. Heck, it doesn’t even look like it enjoys itself. However, what it does best is move the ball and put points up on the board at a very rapid pace. The Pats have totaled 38 points in each of their first three games, and they cut through those defenses (NYJ, SD, BUFF) like a warm knife through butter. QB Tom Brady and WR’s Randy Moss and Wes Welker are in such a groove right now that nobody can stop them. Especially not this Bungles stop unit that’s been thrown on to the tune of 258 YPG. It did a better job at Seattle last week, but the Seahawks have nowhere near as good a WR corps as the Patriots.
Also aiding this position tonight is the fact that Cincinnati won’t be able to do much on the ground. Their feature back, RB Rudi Johnson, will sit this game out with a hamstring injury. This will make the Patriots job on defense a bit easier with the Bengals being more one-dimensional, but I still believe Palmer, Johnson, & Houshmandzadeh are good enough to carry the offenses burden on their backs. As bad as their defense is, the offense is that much better and the Bengals only shot of winning this game is by partaking in a shoot-out. Look for the Bengals to be very pass happy, and try to mix in a run every once in awhile to keep the Pats “D” honest. I’m not sure this attack will be good enough to help them win the game, but it should aid our position on the ‘Over’.
Mike Lineback
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4.5* N. E./ Cinci over Monday night
2-1 yesterday +5.5*
Frog Town Sports
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3-1 yesterday
Johnny Tailgate's Monday Night
Cincinnati +7 vs. New England
This is going to be a hell of a match up. This game may become an instant classic and have a couple of ESPY nominations. Both of these teams know how to score, and on paper right now, it looks like New England should win this game through the air against Cincy’s secondary. But against popular demand, I think David (Cincy's Secondary) will triumph over Goliath (Patriots Receivers) and cover the spread this weekend. Both these teams have a high powered offense but at home against a team like New England, the Bengal’s will play well above their numbers in the sport pages. I think this game will come down to a field goal win for which ever team is holding the ball last. Play against .800> NFL Road Favorites who has won and covered each of their previous 3 games. Play on any NFL team that has scored over 90 points in their last 3 match ups.
Paul Leiner
Monday, October 1, 2007
Sport: NFL
Game: New England/Cincinnatti
Prediction: 5* Bengals +7.5
Will Cover
Rating 1,2,3,4,5 Star
3-Star: Cincinnati/New England OVER the TOTAL!
COVER STORY: The Bengals stand 1-2 SU on the season and are coming off back to back road losses, so this becomes a critical game for host Cincinnati. If they hope to beat the NFL's best team, they simply have to put points on the board as the Pats average 38 PPG in their three games and have scored in all 12 quarters so far this season. We look for QB Palmer to go to the air early and often to WR's Johnson and Houshmandzadeh as the Bengals' running game is limited without stud RB Rudi Johnson who is very doubtful for this one. Cincy's offense is ranked #5 in the NFL, but their swiss-cheese defense is ranked 29th with a secondary that has trouble covering anyone and a suspect group of LB's. The pedestrian offense of the Cleveland Browns hung 51 points on them two weeks ago! Expect Pats' QB Brady and his outstanding group of WR's (Moss, Welker, Stallworth, et al) to have big nights with Moss going for his fourth 100 yard receiving game in a row! New England's #1 ranked offense has only had to punt "four times" in three games. Don't be surprised to see some scoring opportunities presented by the special teams of both clubs. Last year in the Queen City, the Pats pounded the Bengals 38-13, easily going OVER the TOTAL and feel this NE edition is far superior to last year's squad, especially on offense with their free-agent additions. The Bengals are 7-3 to the OVER on MNF last ten games while the Patriots are 8-1 to the OVER last nine games and 8-3 to the OVER last 11 times on MNF! Bombs away in Cincy this evening. 3-Star: OVER THE TOTAL!
Bryan Leonard
Padres over Rockies
Padres at Rockies: San Diego ace Jake Peavy is 10-1 in his last 13 starts with a 2.20 ERA and has a 1.29 ERA in two starts against the Rockies this year. Colorado is 3-4 in the last 7 starts made by Josh Fogg, who has a 4.79 ERA. Opponents are hitting .314 off him in Coors Field.
PLAY THE PADRES
Van Winkle Sports
NFL 10/1/2007
NEW ENGLAND atCINCINNATI
Over 53.5