10-13-08

Brandon Lang

MONDAY

20 Dime Giants

FREE - OVER Giants/Browns

[Mr. IWS]

Dr. Bob

Opinion

NY Giants (-7.5) 24 CLEVELAND 17

The Browns have not come close to resembling the high-scoring team of last season, as quarterback Derek Anderson has simply not been able to connect with his receivers down the field. Anderson has thrown the ball to star WR Braylon Edwards 30 times this season for a total of just 95 yards as Edwards is up against double and triple teaming. Getting Donte Stallworth in the lineup this week will help, as he has yet to play and will cause defenses to shade a safety towards his side, but Cleveland still is probably a below average offense that won’t have too many opportunities to score against a very good Giants defense that has allowed just 4.1 yards per play to teams that would combine to average 5.0 yppl against an average defensive team. The Giants are clicking on offense too at 6.8 yppl, but Cleveland’s defense has been solid since allowing 7.9 yppl to the Cowboys in their opener (they’ve now allowed 5.5 yppl for the season against teams that would average 5.4 yppl against an average team). My math model favors New York by 13 ½ points, but bad teams coming off their bye week tend to be very good bets as big home underdogs. In fact, teams with losing records (after 3 games or more) coming off their bye week are an incredible 24-3 ATS as home underdogs of 6 points. The Giants have covered 10 straight on the road, but I don’t want to mess with a 24-3 ATS situation so I’ll pass.

[Mr. IWS]

Big Al

Dodgers

Browns

[Mr. IWS]

Big Al Mcmordie

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox (MLB)
Play: Total: 8.5/102 Over

At 4:35pm our complimentary selection is on the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox 'over' the total. Lefthander Jon Lester has been the unlikely, undisputed ace of the Red Sox rotation over most of the second half of the season, and he has continued his dominance in the postseason. Lester has thrown quality starts in his last three outings and in seven of his last eight. Tampa on the other hand will go with young righthander Matt Garza who is in desperate need of a quality start of his own. Garza has not had a good outing in over a month (September 7th against the Blue Jays in Toronto) and so it's safe to say that with his team tied at 1 game apiece in this 7-game series, this is by far the biggest start of his young career. The best news for Garza is that the bats of his teammates really came alive in game 2 in Tampa and if they can carry that north to Boston and get some early runs, it should give the 24-year-old some confidence to go out there and use his power pitching to his advantage. There is no doubt that Garza has dominating stuff, but his Achilles' Heel has been grooving his 93+ MPH fastball and not mixing his pitches enough to keep hitters off-balance and off the bases. Garza is hoping for the kind of run support he received in his last start against Boston, a 10-3 win back on September 17. Look for these two teams to continue the home run derby they put on in Tampa in game 2. Take the 'over' this afternoon.

[Mr. IWS]

Root
Millionaire = Browns

[Mr. IWS]

Burns hockey- Blackhawks

[Mr. IWS]

ppp

3 giants

[Mr. IWS]

spreitzer
clev

[Mr. IWS]

Root tonite...

Chairman- Dodgers
Millionaire- Browns

[Mr. IWS]

BEN BURNS

I'm taking the points with CLEVELAND. The Giants have certainly gotten off to an impressive start. However, I don't believe that they should be laying this many points against a desperate Cleveland team which was 7-1 here last season and which is coming off a bye. Remember, that lines on Super Bowl champs are typically inflated to begin with and that's certainly the case now that the Giants have gotten off to an undefeated start. Keep in mind that the Browns posted a solid 8-point victory before their bye. While they still may not have Kellen Winslow back, the bye has helped the Browns get healthier, as they should get both receiver Donte Stallworth and linebacker Willie McGinest back in the lineup. Not that Cleveland should need any added motivation - after all, this is the defending Super Bowl Champs on National TV - but the Browns do also feel that they owe the Giants a little payback. That's because the Giants defeated them in the preseason two months ago, scoring 30 unanswered points in the process." Cleveland linebacker Andra Davis had this to say: "They embarrassed us. So that's going to give us a little extra fire." Davis added: "It could definitely turn the season around to beat the Super Bowl champs and do it on national television. We'll be ready to go." The Browns typically are "ready to go" when playing here at home. They did get blown out in Week 1 here against Dallas. However, they played Pittsburgh very tough in their most recent game here, losing by four in a game which they could have won. Including that cover, the Browns are 8-1 ATS their last nine games here. The Giants have only played one road this season and that was at St. Louis vs. a Rams team which was really struggling. This is a much tougher venue and I look for them to have their hands full. I'll take the generous points but won't be surprised to see the Browns rise to the occasion and score the upset. *Monday Night GOM