Ray carries Eskimos over Bombers; Lumsden hurts shoulder
Football Betting Lines
07/03/2009 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ricky Ray went 29-for-41 passing for 318 yards and a touchdown, as the Edmonton Eskimos edged the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 19-17, in the teams' season-opener.
Edmonton took the win after Winnipeg kicker Alexis Serna missed a potential game-tying field goal of 56 yards in the final seconds, giving new Esks head coach Richie Hall his first victory.
Andrew Nowacki caught seven passes for 79 yards and a score for Edmonton (1-0), which finished last season with a 10-8 record and defeated Winnipeg in the division semifinals before falling to Montreal in the division final.
Calvin McCarty ran for 27 yards on 12 carries in the win, but the Esks' running back corps took a hit when Jesse Lumsden left with an apparent shoulder separation. Maurice Mann had five catches for 87 yards for Edmonton.
Fred Reid rushed 13 times for 92 yards and a score for the Bombers (0-1), who played their first game under new head coach Mike Kelly.
Stefan LeFors threw for 174 yards on 14-of-31 passing in the loss, while Adarius Bowman caught five passes for 56 yards for Winnipeg, which went 8-10 and finished second in the East Division last season.
The Eskimos went ahead, 19-9, on Noel Prefontaine's 19-yard field goal with a little under eight minutes to play in the game. Mann helped Edmonton get into scoring territory after catching a 44-yard bomb from Ray while falling down.
But the Bombers came back, and scored just past the midway point of the quarter. Reid took a handoff and dashed around the right end, shedding a tackler before going into the end zone for the 16-yard TD. Serna's extra point brought Winnipeg within 19-16.
The teams traded punts, and Edmonton got the ball back with 2:40 to go just into Winnipeg territory. But an unsuccessful series led to a punt, as the Bombers took over with two minutes left on their own 20.
LeFors led Winnipeg downfield, and completed a 13-yard pass to Bowman with under half a minute to play, getting the Bombers to the Edmonton 42. Another short pass to Bowman got the Bombers to the 35 before a penalty moved them back five yards.
An Edmonton timeout set up the final kick, but Serna's boot sailed wide left and went for a single, leaving Winnipeg short at the clock ran out.
After neither team scored in the first quarter, each got a safety in the second. The Esks went up 9-2 at intermission after Ray's 19-yard TD pass to Nowacki in the final minute of the half.
The Bombers, though, pulled even after Tristan Jackson fumbled on a punt return. Shawn Gallant picked up the loose ball and ran it back for the score a little more than halfway through the third quarter.
But the Esks re-took the lead after Ray's one-yard TD run later in the quarter, making it a 16-9 game.
Game Notes
Kai Ellis had two sacks for Edmonton, while Don Oramasionwu had one for Winnipeg...Ray had one interception for the Esks...The Bombers had 162 rushing yards, compared to only 33 for the Eskimos.
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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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