Bradford, Rams making red zone work a priority

Football Betting Lines

09/22/2011 -

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Sam Bradford had a very good day in Week 2, except for the scoreboard.

The St. Louis Rams' inability to finish drives is one of the biggest reasons they're 0-2 for the fifth straight season.

They've scored only two touchdowns over the first two games and were thwarted three times inside the 10 in their Monday night loss to the New York Giants, leading to a larger chunk of practice Wednesday devoted to red zone offense.

``The more we can do down there, the better,'' Bradford said. ``That's the one area you don't usually get a lot of work in during the week. So anytime we can steal a couple reps, I think it's going to help us on Sunday.''

Bradford, who passed for a career-best 331 yards against the Giants, said it's a matter of execution. He placed some of the blame on himself, mentioning some off-target throws that could have resulted in touchdowns.

The lone touchdown came on a 19-yard pass to Danario Alexander in the third quarter, the last score in a 28-16 defeat.

``I've got to be better,'' Bradford said. ``You get down there, it's just too important. When you get down to the 1, I don't care what they line up in, we should be able to score.''

He's not the only one who's frustrated.

``It's extremely disappointing,'' center Jason Brown said. ``I cannot tell you how upsetting and frustrating that is, and we're doing everything we can to make sure our preparation is perfect so we will not be denied.''

Wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker said little mistakes dragged down the offense.

``We easily could have walked into the end zone three times,'' Sims-Walker said. ``It's something that's very correctable.''

The Rams were particularly effective early in the no-huddle offense, gaining 89 yards on nine plays in their opening possession and 67 yards on 10 plays in the second possession, although both times they settled for short field goals by Josh Brown.

They used the no-huddle sparingly in the second half. Bradford didn't think it would work to stay in it the whole game. For one thing, a three-and-out would give the defense no rest, and for another, teams usually adjust to such tactics.

``Would I have liked to have us stay with it? Maybe a little bit,'' Bradford said. ``I think we got all we could out of it.''

The Rams believed the Giants' Deon Grant faked an injury to slow them down on their second possession, and Bradford said a second Giants player also fell down and then quickly got up after seeing Grant.

The NFL sent a memo Wednesday to all 32 teams warning of fines, suspensions and loss of draft picks if the league determines players faked injuries during a game.

``If the offense is in a no-huddle and it's fairly evident that the defense goes down just to slow the offense down, I think there's got to be some sort of penalty,'' Bradford said. ``That's the frustrating thing to me.''

Brown said Rams players were ``talking a lot of trash'' at Grant and said the rest of the Giants defenders were all grinning.

``The fans in the stands were all clapping, saying 'Oh, he got up. He's not really hurt,''' Brown said. ``And we're like 'We knew he wasn't hurt. I'm not clapping for him.'''

Brown noted that tactic or not, the Giants had time to regroup, adding ``their tongues were hanging out.''

``He just fell down, like a sniper shot him in the leg,'' Brown said. ``He knows. After he got up I chewed him out, and he just looked at me and smiled.''

Running back Steven Jackson did not practice Wednesday, casting doubt on his availability for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Backup Cadillac Williams also did not practice because of a hamstring injury, although coach Steve Spagnuolo said Williams could practice Thursday.

Jackson missed the Giants game with a strained right quadriceps and Spagnuolo said a determination would be made at the end of the week.

``It's one of those things that you push it now and you set him back, that wouldn't be real smart,'' Spagnuolo said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwbet365 Football Betting News

<< Report: Beebe out as Big 12 commish
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Beebe is reportedly out as Big 12 commissioner amidst more speculation of conference realignment. Beebe has been under fire recently for his perceived favoritism to Texas, and Oklahoma was

<< SF playoff hopes flickering after beating Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Christian went 3-for-5 with three RBI and fellow rookie Brett Pill had three hits and drove in a pair to keep the Giants pushing towards a playoff spot with an 8-5 win over the Dodgers. The Gi

<< Kinsler, Hamilton homer Rangers past A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton hit solo homers in the eighth inning off Grant Balfour, and Texas moved closer to its second straight AL West crown with a 3-2 triumph over the Oakland Athletics. The Rangers'

<< Stephenson helps 'Quakes claim a point in Portland
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Khari Stephenson's goal 20 minutes from time helped the San Jose Earthquakes snatch a 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field on Wednesday. The Timbers took an early lead through Kenny Cooper

<< V-Mart paces Tigers over Royals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Cabrera hit a go-ahead pinch-hit RBI double and Don Kelly added a two-run homer to cap a three-run eighth inning, lifting the Detroit Tigers to a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Royals to cap a two-gam

Bengals' WR Caldwell gets his chance to emerge >>
CINCINNATI (AP) - Andre Caldwell was delighted when he checked into the Cincinnati Bengals training camp in July and discovered he'd been assigned Chad Ochocinco's old room: No. 113.The receiver took it as a sign that he was finally going to get a c

In the FCS Huddle: Week 4 Preview >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last season, six teams posted 4-4 records in the Missouri Valley Conference. Whether you want to say those four teams tied for third - behind Northern Iowa and Western Illinois - or tied for eighth in the

Goerges, Martinez Sanchez advance in Seoul >>
Seoul, South Korea (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Julia Goerges of Germany and Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez were among the second-round winners Thursday at the Korea Open. The third-seeded Goerges notched a 6-4, 7-5 win over 2006 Seoul

The SEC takes center stage in Week 4 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida goes on the road to battle Kentucky in the first of two Three-Star SEC plays this Saturday. The Gators have destroyed the Wildcats the last three years by a combined score of 152-26 and the

Kirilenko rolls, Gajdosova beaten in Guangzhou >>
Guangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Maria Kirilenko of Russia rolled into the semifinals of the Guangzhou International tennis event on Thursday, while Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova was denied in her bid to repeat as champion. The top

NFL Football Office Pool Printable Sheets

NFL Office Pool Sheets

MySportsbook.com is considered one of the finest online sportsbook according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is offering a free printable NFL football office pool sheets. Run your own NFL Football Office Pool. Create your own pool, invite your friends to join. Compete with your with co-workers, friends or family for bragging rights every week. Exchange some hard hits without risk of injury. Trash Talk with your fellow co-workers.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your nfl football pool sheets needs.

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards