|
||
HANDICAPPING WEEK ONE......ALREADY? By CHARLES JAY, Editor/Publisher, TotalAction.com June 16, 2000 |
||
To show how crazy we are about our football, and how willing Las Vegas is to accommodate us, it's the beginning of June and there are ALREADY pointspreads posted for the first weekend of the NFL season - September 3-4. And believe it or not, there has actually been enough action on these numbers to cause significant movement in some of the lines. Of course, it's speculative action at best, considering there are still player moves yet to be made, and draft picks yet to be signed, not to mention the fact that we're more than a month away from the beginning of training camp. But I'll play along. Last year I brought you Charles Jay's Pick Six. For this week, at least, I'll offer up Charles Jay's "Sweet 15", taking a special look ahead at all the games scheduled for Week One. As long as you allow me to change my mind before the season starts. Fair enough? Oh by the way, all information for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY, if you are indeed entertained by such things. Odds presented are from the Imperial Palace Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas. ARIZONA (+4) at NY GIANTS -- The Cards have not had a lot of success, historically, at Giants Stadium. This will give us a good chance to see if Thomas Jones is able to bring some much-needed ground power to the Arizona offense, as he duels fellow rookie Ron Dayne. Cards are suffering on defense, and they don't usually get off to very good starts. JAY'S PLAY: NY GIANTS BALTIMORE (-2) at PITTSBURGH -- Ravens will certainly have more offensive weapons in their repertoire this year. And many people are anticipating a tremendous improvement. This line shows a little disrespect for the Steelers; I think Pittsburgh will come up lame in the end, but they have a history of being pretty tough as the home underdog. They won't roll over until later in the year. JAY'S PLAY: PITTSBURGH CAROLINA (+8.5) at WASHINGTON -- This line opened up at 10! And Washington is still adding useful players to its roster. The buzz on Washington is big, and there may not be many opportunities to get any real value with them, at least early in the year. But they can score, and Carolina can't put a finger in the dyke. JAY'S PLAY: WASHINGTON CHICAGO (+4) at MINNESOTA -- This is another number that moved downward, opening at Minnesota -6. The Bears could create a threatening presence on offense. They seemed to move the ball with all of the three QB's they had in the game. Cade McNown effectively has a year's head start on Daunte Culpepper. JAY'S PLAY: CHICAGO DETROIT (-2) at NEW ORLEANS -- Thirty-three years have taught us not to expect very much out of a New Orleans Saints season. Maybe the Lions, with James Stewart running the ball, get off to another good start this season. JAY'S PLAY: DETROIT INDIANAPOLIS (-2.5) at KANSAS CITY -- There will be a tendency for the public to overrate the Colts a little early in the season. But keep two things in mind - Indianapolis is playing on an "opposite" surface here (natural turf), and Kansas City is the all-time greatest home underdog in NFL history, registering a 17-1 record the last 18 in that role. JAY'S PLAY: KANSAS CITY JACKSONVILLE (-11) at CLEVELAND -- Whichever way you slice it, it's still just the 17th game of Cleveland's "rebirth". Tom Coughlin still not above making "statements". JAY'S PLAY: JACKSONVILLE SAN FRANCISCO (+7.5) at ATLANTA -- This is kind of a bold number, since we don't know whether Steve Young will be under center or not for the Niners. And it will be Jamal Anderson's first regular season action since the injury. I'm not sure I wouldn't like the points even with Jeff Garcia (or whoever) playing QB for San Francisco. JAY'S PLAY: SAN FRANCISCO TAMPA BAY (-3) at NEW ENGLAND -- This is my gripe with the Bucs - I think even if Tony Dungy had all the offensive toys in the world at his disposal, he might still wind up conservative. That's the kind of philosophy that makes it difficult to spot points on the road to any .500-or-better team. JAY'S PLAY: NEW ENGLAND PHILADELPHIA (-7) at DALLAS -- I don't know. Can Philadelphia score? JAY'S PLAY: DALLAS SAN DIEGO (+7) at OAKLAND -- This is a matchup between a team that always seems to be underrated by the public (San Diego) and a team that is perennially OVER-rated by the public (Oakland). We like to see value. JAY'S PLAY: SAN DIEGO SEATTLE (+1) at MIAMI -- Dolphins likely to take on something of a different personality with Huard or Fiedler at QB. But likely it's going to be a conservative game plan. That actually may play to Miami's advantage, since Seattle is the type of team that will beat itself a lot. And they could also get beat by the heat. JAY'S PLAY: MIAMI NY JETS (+4) at GREEN BAY -- With new head coaches, you don't know exactly what to expect from either team. But I can see some value getting more than a field goal with the visitor. The Jets are more solid overall on defense and have a better running game. JAY'S PLAY: NY JETS TENNESSEE (+3) at BUFFALO -- Obviously this will be The Game in which The Bills will try to get The Payback for The Return. And they'll no doubt be chomping at the bit. But not so fast with the "revenge" angle. Bills go into this season minus some of their veteran leaders - Smith, Thomas, Reed. And Tennessee is the one team I'd want in a foxhole with me - the most mentally tough group in the NFL. They can win on the road. JAY'S PLAY: TENNESSEE DENVER (+7) at ST. LOUIS -- I've got to believe Denver has got things "together" a lot more than they had them last year. Remember, the Broncs are just a year removed from their Super Bowl win. And last season they ended things on a pretty good note, overcoming a lot of the adversity and discontent they had experienced early in '99. St. Louis makes sense as a Super bowl favorite this year, but perhaps Mike Shanahan borrows a little from Tampa Bay's game plan and makes this one a tussle. JAY'S PLAY: DENVER |
||
| COPYRIGHT 2006 TOTAL ACTION INC. |
