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Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme struggled on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and was fortunate that his running backs bailed him out. Delhomme threw for only 65 yards with two interceptions, but D’Angelo Williams (152 yards) and Jonathan Stewart (110 yards) kept the chains moving as the Panthers won their second straight game defeating the Bucs 28-21. Tampa Bay has now lost ten straight dating back to last season and are 0-6 for the first time since’85. Carolina improved to 2-3 with the victory.

NFL sports bettors were faced with a choice between two teams with dismal ATS records in this game, and those who had the guts to take a 1-3 team as a -3 road favorite were rewarded with the cover. It was Carolina’s first NFL pointspread cover of the season and left them with a 1-4 record against the number. Tampa Bay has covered one of their six games this year. The 49 points scored went OVER the total of 40′.

Delhomme attempted only seven passes in the second half, but the way Williams and Stewart were running there was no reason to put the ball in the air. Williams said that even though Tampa Bay knew what was coming they couldn’t stop the Panthers’ running game:

“I’m sure everybody in the stadium knew what we were going to do. There were times they had nine in the box and we were still getting 7 or 8 yards.”

There’s been little impatience locally with Bucs’ rookie head coach Raheem Morris, but his weekly habit of explaining the obvious to rationalize yet another loss is starting to wear thin:

“We got overpowered at the end, and really throughout the game.”

Carolina safety Dante Wesley was ejected after clobbering Bucs’ return man Clifton Smith after a fair catch call. After the game, Wesley gave this defense for his actions:

“I was just trying to make a play. You can check my record. I’ve never really tried to hurt anybody. I’ve never tried to take a cheap shot on anybody.”

Wesley could face a possible fine or suspension from the NFL but, in all fairness, it did appear to be a momentary mental lapse as he was trying to make a big play and not a deliberate attempt to injure Smith.

Tampa’s schedule has the look of them going from ‘the frying pan into the fire’ as they host the New England Patriots next Sunday-fresh off of their 57 point drubbing of Tennessee. Carolina has an easier draw, hosting the Buffalo Bills next Sunday. The game is currently off the board pending the status of Bills’ QB Trent Edwards who suffered a concussion in Sunday’s win over the New York Jets. The Panthers will then play on the road the following two Sundays, traveling to Arizona and New Orleans.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme is having a season he’d like to forget, and things got even worse on Sunday at home against the Buffalo Bills. Despite dominating the Bills on the stat sheet, Delhomme threw three interceptions that allowed Buffalo to take a 20-9 victory over the struggling Panthers. Delhomme threw for 325 yards, though without any touchdowns. The Panthers dropped to 2-4 while the Bills improved to 3-4.

Buffalo rewarded NFL pointspread players with the outright victory as +7 road underdogs. The Bills have covered four of their seven games this season, while the Panthers have an awful record against the spread-they’ve only covered once this season for a 1-5 ATS mark. The 29 combined points went UNDER the posted total of 37. Buffalo has gone UNDER in 4 of 7 games this season while Carolina evened their NFL totals mark at 3-3.

The Bills’ Terrell Owens was again a non-factor, but gave credit to the defense for earning the victory:

“You can’t really complain about a win. Defensively, those guys are keeping us in ballgames.”

Buffalo defensive end Chris Kelsay commended his team’s performance on the road:

“Never once on the sidelines was there any doubt that we were going to win the game. Regardless if it’s an ugly win over not, it’s hard to win in this league.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick started at QB for Buffalo in place of the injured Trent Edwards and was solid, if not spectacular. Coach Dick Jauron observed:

“He made the plays when we had to make them.”

Panthers’ coach John Fox has said he’s going to’re-evaluate’ whether the struggling Delhomme should continue to start, and even the quarterback himself couldn’t make an emphatic case that he should keep his job:

“In my heart, yeah, but I mean let’s be honest, I don’t think I’m a dummy. When you’re not playing well offensively, you always have to look at the quarterback.”

The Panthers’ schedule doesn’t get easier this week as they head west for a game against the improving Arizona Cardinals. Carolina is a +9 road underdog with the total set at 43′. They’ll head south the following week to face the red hot New Orleans Saints before returning home on November 15 to take on the Atlanta Falcons. Buffalo will host the Houston Texans this weekend, with the game currently off the board due to injuries on both teams. They’ll have their bye week after that and will return to action on November 15 against the Tennessee Titans.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Former Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson got revenge on the team that let him go in the best possible way. Benson amassed 189 yards rushing and led his new team, the Cincinnati Bengals, to a 45-10 rout over the visiting Bears on Sunday. Carson Palmer threw for five touchdowns with no interceptions in the blowout victory. Cincinnati improved to 5-2 with the win while Chicago dropped to 3-3 on the NFL season.

The Bengals also made short work of the NFL pointspread, easily covering as +1′ home underdogs. Cincinnati improved to 4-3 against the number while Chicago evened their ATS mark at 3-3. The 55 combined points sailed OVER the posted total of 42′. The Bengals have gone OVER in four of seven games this year while the Bears evened their NFL totals mark at 3-3.

A smug Benson described his feelings after the win:

“Everybody knew it was going to be an emotional day. Everybody knew. What a wonderful day and a wonderful thing, to go out there and strut your stuff.”

Despite the evidence to the contrary, Benson downplayed the motive of revenge:

“I continue to be as graceful as I can be. I’m not shoving anything in anybody’s face. Like I say, it wasn’t a revenge day for me. I just wanted to take advantage of the opportunities.”

He said his biggest problem was trying to keep his emotions in check:

“There were a few times where I may have gotten a little too hyped up, a little too antsy. A couple of drives, I found myself having to calm myself down and gather my emotions to stay poised. Once I got past that, we were good to go. Keep it rolling.”

Bengals’ receiver Chad Ochocinco had 10 catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. He shared his thoughts postgame:

“I don’t understand why it went this way today and why it didn’t go that way last week or the week before that. The offensive line played unbelievable. For Ced to run the way he did today and for us to be able to throw, we could have done what we wanted to do.”

Chicago gave up more points than in any game all season, a fact that left defensive end Alex Brown looking for answers:

“That was pretty embarrassing. It’s embarrassing to come out and play like that. I tip my hat to their whole team. Cedric ran the ball like crazy. They did whatever they wanted to do.”

The Bengals will enjoy a bye week before hosting the Baltimore Ravens on November 8. They’ll then play two games on the road at Pittsburgh and Oakland. Chicago will try to get back on track this Sunday as they host the Cleveland Browns. They’ll host the Arizona Cardinals the following Sunday before heading west for a Thursday night game against the San Francisco 49ers on November 12.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer specializing in casino gambling, fine dining and sports betting. He has appeared on a number of TV and radio programs offering strategies for successful NFL football betting. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet llama. He is currently writing a biography of former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf.

The Miami Dolphins are coming of one of the greatest one season turn around’s in NFL history, 1-15 in 07′, 11-5 in 08′ with a AFC East Division title. Things seem a bit different so far this year.

Things didn’t look too much brighter entering the 2008 season, nor did they look much better for Chad Pennington. Regardless, the Dolphins somehow pulled it together and became the Cinderella football team of 2008.

With Chad Pennington out the rest of the season, the Dolphins season seems to be over before it really began. It’s hard to win in the NFL when you have uncertainties at the QB position.

The Dolphins rode the wave of enthusiasm into the 2009 season and expected big things out of an improved offense that would look to enjoy another successful football season.

Unfortunately, things started out on a discouraging note for the Dolphins. Having lost by 12 points to the Falcons in Atlanta was a tough blow to the team, despite the fact that Atlanta was the favorite to win the game. The Dolphins had still hoped for a better result. No team wants to score 7 points in its season opener.

The Dolphins are in a very tough division when you consider they have to play the New England Patriots and New York Jets twice a season. However, this division is up for grabs, even with Tom Brady back in action.

Furthermore, every team in the AFC East is looking good, which makes things all the more competitive for Miami this season. The Jets, Bills, and naturally, the New England Patriots, have all made bold statements and look strong in regular season play.

The Dolphins’ Week 2 match-up wasn’t much better, as a disheartening loss during the last minutes of the game dropped the team to 0-2. The Colts are a tough opponent, but the Dolphins needed that win badly. Better luck next week perhaps?

For more Dolphins chatter, check out the Dolphins forum and create your own sports polls all at RootZoo Sports.

The 08′s season for the Seattle Seahawks was an utter disappointment finishing 4-12. The Seahawks caught the injury bug and no one was able to stay healthy, thus the bad record.

Much of the reason for the team’s horrible 2008 season can be assigned to the fact that Matt Hasselbeck, the team’s long time quarterback, was lost for much of the season due to injury. Doesn’t look like he’ll be able to stay healthy throughout this season either.

Matt Hasselback has played ok but suffered a rib injury. It is yet to be determined if this will be a lingering injury that will hurt his entire 09′ season. If the team expects to improve on their 4-12 season, Hasselback must start more then 7 games, as he did in 08′.

The NFC West isn’t the strongest division the NFL has ever seen. The Arizona Cardinals haven’t yet found themselves yet, the St. Louis Rams are one of the bottom feeders in the league, the San Francisco 49ers are a young team on the rise though.

Since their Super Bowl appearance in 05′ – between 06′-08′ – the Seattle Seahawks have a record of 23-25 in the regular season and 2-2 in the playoffs. The Seahawks need to improve a great deal on offense if they hope to contend for the NFC West title – the Seahawks are in the bottom third in offense in the NFL.

The Seahawks looked great in an easy week 1 victory against the visiting St. Louis Rams, blanking them by a score of 28-0. Let’s keep in mind that the Rams were one of the worst teams in the league last season, so this doesn’t prove much.

Week 2 wasn’t as kind to them, as the team lost in San Francisco to the 49ers, a fellow NFC West team. Not only did they lose the game, but Hasselbeck took a serious shot.

Hopefully, the injuries that wrecked the Seahawks 08′ season can be avoided in 09′. If they can stay healthy, they’ll at least be able to put up a fight in plenty of games.

Enjoy an awesome Seattle Seahawks forum and the most active NFL forum online, all at RootZoo Sports.