For betting purposes, think of the + or - as a head start. So the game starts with the underdog winning 0 to -17. That’s why the favored team has the negative number. The point is to try to get the same amount of money bet on each team.
I look at it this way:
Team A (-6.5) vs Team B.
To win the bet, Team A’s score minus 6.5 must be greater than Team B’s score. So, in theory, Team A’s score minus 6.5 is where the punters think the even money bet lies (or generates equal action on both sides.)
[AS AN ASIDE: It’s also possible to bet “the money line” which is which team will win outright. In that case, the payouts are based on the odds Team A or Team B will win. Team A’s payout would be less on a straight-up bet than Team B’s payout, of course. For a situation like this, and I’m making up approximate numbers, a money line bet of $100 on Team A will win $55 (so bet $100, and get paid $155), and a bet of $100 will win $160 for Team B (bet $100, get back $260).]
The Bears simultaneously won easily and looked sloppy. The Lions aren’t THAT bad, so it was a generally weird game to watch. The big one will be next week against the Vikes where the Bears look to maintain sole possession of first place.
Clang, clang, clang, clang went the Parkey.
Starting to look like the Lions will never win a playoff game with Matt Stafford as their quarterback. I know he’s only 30, but really doesn’t seem like the Lions are going anywhere, and the other 3 teams in the NFC North seem to be set for a while unless Rodgers actually leaves GB. Pretty remarkably wasted career.
Stafford looked pretty bad yesterday, too, though I suspect at least some of that was due to constant pass rush pressure (the Lions’ pass blocking is terrible) and lack of good receivers (particularly after Marvin Jones was injured). Stafford seemed to be off target a lot, and while accuracy isn’t necessarily his hallmark, he just looked off.
Someone suggested (not entirely tongue-in-cheek) on Facebook that there should actually be additional points awarded when a kicker strikes the upright. It would lead to more missed field goals and XPs, but make the game more interesting with kickers deliberately aiming for the vicinity of the uprights.
Stafford is part of the problem. You should be able to win with him, but he’s not one of those carry-a-franchise guys. Never has been. He’s been prone to turning the ball over more than a star QB should and he’s never been the kind of QB that makes great adjustments at the line to manage his protection.
And what a week! Patriots lose big, Browns win big, Bills win big.
Johnson and Golliday were both great. Everyone else on the offense was shit. Jones dropped several passes and I don’t even know who their other WRs are since no one else’s name got called. The pass blocking was average, not terrible, but the Bears got enough pressure while usually rushing just 4 to take advantage of good downfield coverage. Seems like the Bears decided early on that Stafford couldn’t pick them apart, so they played a ton of nickel and made sure they challenged every route, Stafford couldn’t make plays with his legs and the pass rush would get there eventually.
So the Bengals hire Hue Jackson back, in the capacity of special head coach assistant, presumably to help Lewis out while Marvin focuses on running the defense, as he’s assuming the role of defensive coordinator.
So the beat goes on. Marvin should have been the one fired, along with the DC Austin.
Gotta get that grooming time in for Hue to be your HC someday.
Fuckin Redskins. They have been so bad and so mis-managed for so long that I can’t get excited for them. My hopes have been dashed far too many times. They are leading the atrocious NFC East by 2 games and I won’t be surprised if they lose the next three games. Pretty miserable that I can’t enjoy watching them any longer. Though I do watch.
Nah, it’s much better than that:
LOL. I think it’s much simpler than that, he has been a coach for Lewis and the Bengals a few times before, dating back to 2004 and Hue is a personal friend of 'ol Marvin “Stone Cold Groove” Lewis Heck, Hue was the O-Coordinator here in 2014-15.
Plus, I’d take Hue over Lewis at HC any day.
Maybe Jeff Fischer is available to become the new DC 
(a nice, middle of the road coach that will stick around forever)
He’s also a record-winning coach!
(By that I mean he’s tied for having the most regular season losses all-time in the NFL.)
I think the Bengals owner thinks that Marv Lewis **deserves **to be around as long as it takes to experience a playoff win…some mentality like that.
It is kinda weird. Lewis is in his sixteenth season with the Bengals, and he’s the second-longest-tenured coach in the NFL, behind only Belichick. Seven playoff berths, seven one-and-done playoff runs.
Fun fact: only 22 men have been head coaches for longer than Lewis’s sixteen seasons, and of them, only six others (George Halas, Tom Landry, Steve Owen, Chuck Noll, Bud Grant, and Joe Gibbs) only coached one team.
Interestingly, Owen went on eventually to coach in the CFL, but coached three different teams in the space of four seasons. But he already had two NFL Championships under his belt with the Gints.
Of the others, only Bud Grant never won an NFL Championship.
Lewis should never have been a head coach this long, and I say that as someone who dislikes the idea of firing coaches without giving them a chance to prove themselves over the long run.