Blog Archives

Houston Texans – The Texans knew they had to address their defense in the draft. They were abysmal at stopping the opponent, which cost their high powered offense several victories. The team did go after defense in the draft, taking a lineman, linebacker and defensive back with each of their first three picks.
The defensive backfield is definitely not set though, especially at safety. Both starters played poorly in 2010 and may not be back this year. There are no other qualified starters on the roster, so they will have to work on this in free agency.

16) Jacksonville Jaguars – Ryan Kerrigan, Defensive End, Purdue

The Jaguars greatly improved the inside of their defensive line in last year’s draft and will look to fix the edges this year. Kerrigan was a three year starter and an Academic All-American who was very productive on the field. Jacksonville managed almost no pass rush down the stretch and Aaron Kampman is coming off his second ACL tear in two years.

17) New England Patriots – Aldon Smith, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker, Missouri

Houston Texans: Defense is the name of the game for the Houston Texans this year after fielding an extremely porous unit in 2010. The shift to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips adds to the need to focus on that side of the ball. The team has no true nose tackle and may need help at outside linebacker as well. The secondary has been perennially weak, so another corner or safety to assist last’s year first round pick Kareem Jackson would help.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) can clinch the AFC South with a win here when they visit the Indianapolis Colts (7-6), who are not used to playing for their playoff lives after not missing the post-season since 2001.

The NFL betting spread for this contest is Indianapolis -5 at home, with the total set at 48.5 at -110 odds.

The reason that a win would clinch the division is that the Jacksonville Jaguars won the first meeting between these clubs this season, so although a victory would give them a two-game lead in the division, the sweep would essentially make it a three-game lead with two games left.

We are getting in to the home-stretch of the NFL season where the teams that can truly win under pressure separate themselves from the talented teams that can’t function under pressure (ahem, Dallas). With that said, if you are going to bet on Super Bowl futures, you can get some pretty good deals if you think you know which teams have the right make up to win in high-pressure situations.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have suddenly won two straight games including an upset of the Colts after looking like the worst team in the NFL for a few weeks, while the Tennessee Titans are coming off of a road upset of the Dallas Cowboys.

The bookmakers have set the NFL betting spread for this contest at Tennessee -3 with odds of -105 on the road, with the betting total set at 45.

What makes this a tough game to predict is the fact that it pits two of the most inconsistent teams in the league against one another!

The Indianapolis Colts have now had two straight covering wins since their bad opening week loss at Houston, including a 14-point road win at Denver last Sunday, while the Jacksonville Jaguars have lost their last two games by a combined total of 50 points.

The NFL odds have the point spread on this contest at Indianapolis (-7) on the road, with the betting ‘total’ set at 46.

The Indianapolis Colts have been simply unstoppable on offense this year, which is nothing new for them. Last week, they were without both Pierre Garcon and Anthony Gonzalez, while Reggie Wayne had the misfortune of being blanketed by a great cover corner in Champ Bailey.

The Philadelphia Eagles held on to the beat the Lions 35-32 last week after nearly blowing an 18-point fourth quarter lead, while the Jacksonville Jaguars got routed in San Diego by a Charger team that usually gets off to slow starts and did not play well opening week.

The NFL Week 3 odds list Philadelphia at -3 on the road at odds of -105, with the betting total set at 44½.

The most significant factor in this game though is that despite repeatedly stating last weekend that Kevin Kolb would start this game, Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid did a complete about-face and named Michael Vick his starting quarterback.

A Look Back – Once is a mistake. Twice is a trend. If there’s a third straight season below .500 for the Jacksonville Jaguars, there will be heads rolling on the ground. There are a ton of problems in the Jacksonville market as a whole, and if the team doesn’t start selling its games out on a regular basis, not only might this team be missing its head coach next year, but it might be in a whole new city.

Winners

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Gerald McCoy is perfect for them and they got him exactly where he should go.

Kansas City Chiefs: Eric Berry is exactly what they needed. They might have been able to trade down a few spots and still pick him, but Berry is exactly what they needed.

Seattle Seahawks: Russell Okung probably shouldn’t have fallen to Seattle, so great for them to pick him up. Earl Thomas is another great pick at 14. The Seahawks probably did the best of anyone on Day 1.