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Re: 1-3-10
Scott Delaney
Sunday...
Guys, be sure to check out my 5-Dime Pay-After-I-Win play as well ... if I don't win the game - you don't pay a dime!!!
60-Dime PITTSBURGH STEELERS ... Both teams need help to make the playoffs, I realize this. And both teams have had similarly frustrating seasons. But what this game boils down to is which team performs best under pressure. And with all due respect to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, haven't we seen some of the best pressure-cooking drives by Big Ben Roethlisberger? Even going back to the Super Bowl, and that last-minute drive against the Cardinals, he knows how to lead his team and knows how to win ball games.
So even though the Dolphins rank first in the NFL in sacks per pass attempt, they're just 23rd against the pass overall. And I don't think that is going to be good enough against the Steelers' seventh-best passing offense. Roethlisberger broke Terry Bradshaw's team record for passing yards in a season, and has recorded five games of 300 or more yards.
I fully expect coach Mike Tomlin to utilize running back Rashard Mendenhall effectively, to set up the play action and to soften up Miami's defensive line. And when the Dolphins send the troops after Big Ben, there will be plenty of opportunity to catch the Fins off guard with those delayed handoffs, or quick screen passes in the flat.
On defense, while safety Troy Polamalu is questionable with a knee injury that has caused him to miss 10 games, the Steelers' pass defense is still 16th against aerial games, and when you're facing a kid like Chad Henne, who is 7-5 as a starter, that'll do just fine. I know he's progressed nicely, but how in the world is he going to shoulder the burden today, since leading rusher Ricky Williams has a sore shoulder? There are too many key components that make up the fourth-ranked rushing game, dinged up for this one, and I don't believe it'll be effective enough to balance Henne.
With all things considered, I have to believe the Steelers have the overall edge in today's game and win this one by at least a touchdown.
20-Dime NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS ... I know Missouri State got a big win at home on Friday against Illinois State. But to have to travel to Cedar Falls to take on a deadly Northern Iowa team is too quick of a turn around for the Bears. I honestly don't believe they will have had enough time to prepare for this one and will get hammered early by a tenacious defense that is allowing just 56.2 points per game.
Northern Iowa now owns the fifth-longest win streak in the nation, at 10 games, trailing Kentucky, Purdue, Kansas and Texas (who happen to be the four remaining teams yet to suffer a loss). I've seen some highlight video on this team, and read up on the Panthers (as I do every season in this conference), and I can tell you the Panthers are not only defending well, they've been doing a better job of concentrating on both ends of the floor.
When you play well defensively, you lend yourself the chance to win every time you take the floor. And by defending hard, you open up opportunities on offense. NIU rolls today.
20-Dime L.A. LAKERS ... Kobe Bryant is red-hot and the Lakers are at home for a Sunday night affair. That spells doom for any visitor to Staples Center. Bryant - who is shooting a career-best 48.5 percent from the field this season, including 50.9 percent in his last four contests - has scored at least 34 points in six straight games, and the thought of lighting up the Mavs has to be inspiring enough for the Black Mamba.
And allow me the opportunity to remind everyone what Los Angeles does inside Staples Center when taking on the Mavericks. The Lakers, who are 17-2 at Staples Center, have won 37 of 42 at home against the Mavericks since the 1988-89 season. And one of those five losses came this season, on Oct. 30, when Bryant missed 13 of 19 shots in a 94-80 home loss.
Can you say revenge?
I'll lay the touchdown with no problem tonight in this one, as the Lakers roll by about a dozen.
Scott Delaney
Sunday...
Guys, be sure to check out my 5-Dime Pay-After-I-Win play as well ... if I don't win the game - you don't pay a dime!!!
60-Dime PITTSBURGH STEELERS ... Both teams need help to make the playoffs, I realize this. And both teams have had similarly frustrating seasons. But what this game boils down to is which team performs best under pressure. And with all due respect to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, haven't we seen some of the best pressure-cooking drives by Big Ben Roethlisberger? Even going back to the Super Bowl, and that last-minute drive against the Cardinals, he knows how to lead his team and knows how to win ball games.
So even though the Dolphins rank first in the NFL in sacks per pass attempt, they're just 23rd against the pass overall. And I don't think that is going to be good enough against the Steelers' seventh-best passing offense. Roethlisberger broke Terry Bradshaw's team record for passing yards in a season, and has recorded five games of 300 or more yards.
I fully expect coach Mike Tomlin to utilize running back Rashard Mendenhall effectively, to set up the play action and to soften up Miami's defensive line. And when the Dolphins send the troops after Big Ben, there will be plenty of opportunity to catch the Fins off guard with those delayed handoffs, or quick screen passes in the flat.
On defense, while safety Troy Polamalu is questionable with a knee injury that has caused him to miss 10 games, the Steelers' pass defense is still 16th against aerial games, and when you're facing a kid like Chad Henne, who is 7-5 as a starter, that'll do just fine. I know he's progressed nicely, but how in the world is he going to shoulder the burden today, since leading rusher Ricky Williams has a sore shoulder? There are too many key components that make up the fourth-ranked rushing game, dinged up for this one, and I don't believe it'll be effective enough to balance Henne.
With all things considered, I have to believe the Steelers have the overall edge in today's game and win this one by at least a touchdown.
20-Dime NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS ... I know Missouri State got a big win at home on Friday against Illinois State. But to have to travel to Cedar Falls to take on a deadly Northern Iowa team is too quick of a turn around for the Bears. I honestly don't believe they will have had enough time to prepare for this one and will get hammered early by a tenacious defense that is allowing just 56.2 points per game.
Northern Iowa now owns the fifth-longest win streak in the nation, at 10 games, trailing Kentucky, Purdue, Kansas and Texas (who happen to be the four remaining teams yet to suffer a loss). I've seen some highlight video on this team, and read up on the Panthers (as I do every season in this conference), and I can tell you the Panthers are not only defending well, they've been doing a better job of concentrating on both ends of the floor.
When you play well defensively, you lend yourself the chance to win every time you take the floor. And by defending hard, you open up opportunities on offense. NIU rolls today.
20-Dime L.A. LAKERS ... Kobe Bryant is red-hot and the Lakers are at home for a Sunday night affair. That spells doom for any visitor to Staples Center. Bryant - who is shooting a career-best 48.5 percent from the field this season, including 50.9 percent in his last four contests - has scored at least 34 points in six straight games, and the thought of lighting up the Mavs has to be inspiring enough for the Black Mamba.
And allow me the opportunity to remind everyone what Los Angeles does inside Staples Center when taking on the Mavericks. The Lakers, who are 17-2 at Staples Center, have won 37 of 42 at home against the Mavericks since the 1988-89 season. And one of those five losses came this season, on Oct. 30, when Bryant missed 13 of 19 shots in a 94-80 home loss.
Can you say revenge?
I'll lay the touchdown with no problem tonight in this one, as the Lakers roll by about a dozen.
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