Lions crush Eskimos
Football Betting Lines
07/17/2009 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jarious Jackson threw for 362 yards with four touchdowns to lead the British Columbia Lions to a 40-22 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium.
Geroy Simon caught four passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions (1-2), who lost their first two games of the season but rebounded in this comfortable victory. Paris Jackson added nine receptions for 126 yards with a touchdown in the win.
Ricky Ray completed 17-of-27 passes for 166 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Eskimos (1-2), who have dropped two straight games by a combined score of 90-38 following their season-opening win over Winnipeg on July 2. Calvin McCarty scored two touchdowns in the losing effort.
Holding a 9-0 lead, the Lions increased their advantage to 16 points with a touchdown pass from Jackson to Simon less than four minutes into the second quarter. Simon ran a simple post pattern and Jackson threaded the needle perfectly into the middle of the end zone for the 33-yard scoring strike.
On the next British Columbia drive, Jackson, who finished the game 19-of-28, fumbled the ball while scrambling deep in his own territory and the Eskimos recovered. Several plays later, Ray connected with Maurice Mann for a 12-yard TD. Mann out-jumped BC defender Darren Toney and came down with control of the ball in the left corner of the end zone as the hosts drew within 16-7.
With under two minutes remaining in the first half, Edmonton scored again to close within two points. Ray led the hosts down the field and keyed the drive with passes of 15 and 16 yards to Jamaica Rector and Fred Stamps, respectively. Ray then passed to McCarty in the right flat on a screen pass. McCarthy darted for the near pylon and barely put the ball over the goal line for a 23-yard touchdown.
In the third quarter, over seven minutes into the frame, Jackson and Rufus Skillern connected on a 46-yard pass that gave the Lions a first down on the Edmonton 15-yard line. Moments later, a touchdown pass to Paris Jackson on the right side of the end zone gave BC a 23-14 advantage.
The quarterback Jackson struck again on BC's next offensive series. He took the snap, slipped on the turf, got up and threw off his back foot 40 yards into the end zone to Simon for 30-14 lead with 4:34 to go in the third quarter.
Two fourth-quarter scoring plays for the Lions -- a 26-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Emmanuel Arceneaux and a 23-yard field goal -- put BC ahead 40-14.
Ray threw interceptions on the next two Edmonton drives and essentially ended any threat the rest of the way. A one-yard TD plunge by McCarty -- plus a two- point conversion -- inside the final minute of play capped the scoring.
A conceded safety by the Eskimos and a one-yard touchdown run by Martell Mallet gave the Lions a 9-0 lead after the first quarter.
Game Notes
BC starting quarterback Buck Pierce left the game in the first quarter with an apparent head injury...Since the start of the 2004 season, BC now owns an 11-6 record overall against the Eskimos...The leading rusher for Edmonton was Arkee Whitlock, who gained 39 yards on six carries.
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Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.