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07/10/2010 - Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleo Lemon threw for 162 yards and ran for a touchdown as he helped lead the Toronto Argonauts to a thrilling 36-34 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium.
Also putting together a strong effort for the Argos (1-1) as they snapped a nine-game slide, was running back Cory Boyd who carried the ball 19 times for 109 yards and a score.
Winnipeg (1-1) quarterback Buck Pierce converted 25-of-35 for 366 yards and three touchdowns, adding a hefty 103 yards and a score on seven rushing attempts as well. Terence Jeffers-Harris reeled in seven of those completions, leading to a game-high 152 yards and two TDs in the setback as well.
Toronto controlled the action in the first quarter, forcing a pair of turnovers by the Blue Bombers and keeping the hosts off the scoreboard while kicker Grant Shaw booted through a trio of field goals.
Shaw, who knocked through a 28-yard attempt in his first game in the league last week versus Calgary, made good on a 29-yard effort to start things off just over three minutes into the opening period. Shaw followed that with a lengthy 52-yard effort, with a 35-yard conversion shortly afterwards to provide the squad with a 9-0 advantage.
Early in the second frame the Argonauts found themselves buried deep in their own end following a 49-yard punt by Mike Renaud that was returned six yards to the eight-yard line by Chad Owens. Despite having to drive almost the length of the field, Toronto took care of business as it pushed the ball all 102 yards on 12 plays, eating up close to six and a half minutes of the clock as Boyd lunged into the end zone on a one-yard run at the 7:52 mark of the period.
Boyd, who made the score 16-0, rebounded from a weak start to the season last week when he ran the ball just eight times for a total of 32 yards.
A swing in momentum came on the ensuing Winnipeg possession when Pierce gave his team a jolt with a 20-yard scramble, followed by a 10-yard run by Fred Reid and a major facemask penalty that advanced the ball even deeper into Toronto territory.
Pierce then capped the five-play, 70-yard drive with a 21-yard scoring strike to Terrence Edwards, marking the receiver's third TD grab of the young season.
On their next possession, the home team again turned to Pierce to provide the spark, which he did with a 43-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 16-14. The scoring run was the longest of Pierce's career and helped him reach a career-best 93 yards on the ground in the first half alone.
Following a two-and-out by Toronto, Alexis Serna gave the Blue Bombers a 17-16 advantage when he converted a 26-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the first half.
In the final moments of the half, Serna's kickoff was punted back into the end zone by Ejiro Kuale and, once Serna recovered the ball, the Argonauts were awarded a single after Winnipeg lost its challenge.
Toronto attempted to cool off the Blue Bombers as it took the second-half opening kick 62 yards on nine plays, with Lemon absorbing a hard shot by defensive back Brady Browne at the goal line to again put his team ahead at 24-17.
Serna then stepped up for the Blue Bombers and made good on a 43-yard field goal to make the score 24-20.
Lemon did not come out on the next possession for the Argonauts, as Dalton Bell instead made an appearance for the club. Bell, getting his first regular- season action in the CFL, completed one of his three pass attempts in the series for 28 yards before the ball was returned to Winnipeg.
With the ball back in the hands of the Blue Bombers, Pierce went to work as he ran out to his right and then threw a short pass over the middle to Jeffers- Harris who then shook off a tackler and raced 60 yards to the corner of the end zone, pushing Winnipeg back in front at 27-24.
Lemon did return to action later in the third quarter, but a quick pair of incomplete passes sent him right back to the sidelines and the ball back over to the hosts.
Serna aimed to provide the Bombers with a six-point edge early in the fourth quarter, but not only did he miss on his 45-yard field goal attempt, the ball was collected by Chad Owens who proceeded to race 117 yards untouched for the score to put Toronto back on top, 31-27.
"Today was a long day at the office," said Winnipeg defensive end Phillip Hunt who was on the field during the Owens run back. "We've got to put this game behind us and get ready for the next game."
Winnipeg head coach Paul LaPolice echoed the sentiment saying, "Momentum swung in their direction when we missed the 45-yarder. We can't do that and be able to beat teams in this league."
Buried deep in their own territory with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, the Blue Bombers opted to take a safety in the end zone rather than chance a punt, pushing the Toronto lead to 33-27 with 3:44 left in the period.
Toronto took advantage of a major penalty at the conclusion of the ensuing kickoff, putting the team in field goal range with the game hanging in the balance. After a couple of hard runs by Boyd moved the ball into the shadow of the goalpost the Argos had to settle for yet another field goal, pushing the lead to 36-27.
Refusing to go away quietly, Pierce again pushed the Blue Bombers 75 yards down the field, culminating with a 38-yard TD strike to Jeffers-Harris making the score 36-34 with Serna's converted PAT with 16 seconds remaining.
The teams lined up for an on-sides kick which was nearly claimed by Winnipeg, but after review the officials awarded the ball to the Argos who subsequently ran out the clock for their first victory since defeating Hamilton in double- overtime (25-22) back on September 11, 2009.
Game Notes
In the season-opening win over Hamilton, Pierce ran for 89 yards, the most for a Winnipeg quarterback since 1993...Winnipeg, which now owns a 48-47-2 advantage in the all-time series, entered the meeting having won two straight and four of the last five versus the Argos...Against the Stampeders in the season opener, Owens recorded a 90-yard punt return for a score...The missed field goal returned for a touchdown by Owens was the third of the season already, after the entire league recorded just two such plays all of 2009...Toronto finished the 2009 campaign with eight consecutive defeats and won just two games on the road all season, one of those coming against Winnipeg (19-5) in late July.
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines .
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