NFL Week 2

[Barkis_is_Willin]

Here’s this week’s slate. I think the odds are from Monday.

Thursday
Denver Broncos +3 at Kansas City Chiefs (O/U is 42)

Sunday
New England Patriots -1 at Buffalo Bills (O/U is 45)
Arizona -2.5 at Chicago (O/U is 44.5)
Houston +3.5 at Carolina (O/U is 40.5)
49ers +6.5 at Pittsburgh (O/U is 45)
Detroit +3 at Vikings (O/U is 44.5)
Atlanta +2.5 at New York Giants (O/U is 50.5)
Tampa Bay +10 at New Orleans (O/U is 47.5)
Tennessee +2 at Cleveland (O/U is 41.5)
San Diego +3.5 at Cincinnati (O/U is 45.5)
St. Louis -3.5 at Washington (O/U is 41)
Miami -6 at Jacksonville (O/U is 41.5)
Dallas +5 at Philadelphia (O/U is 55)
Seattle +3.5 at Green Bay (O/U is 49)

Monday
New York Jets +7 at Indianapolis (O/U is 47)

I think that TEN @ CLE line has moved. Can’t believe the Browns would be giving points to anyone, especially with how Tennessee looked last week.

[Enginerd]

Not listed: Baltimore at Oakland

Odds are off the board because of the Raiders’ uncertainty at QB.

[Barkis_is_Willin]

My bad, didn’t notice they were missing. Too late to edit now, obviously.

Dare I say the Lions might be the best bet of the week. Getting 3 points against a Vikings team that looked far behind expectations on a short week. Also just confirmed TEN is now -1 @ CLE.

[Telemark]

Pats-Bills is the closest line of the week (now tied with Browns-Titans). That says a lot about the AFC East. Not sure about the Bills QB yet, but he looked serviceable enough in Week 1.

[Barkis_is_Willin]

Hard to tell how real that romp over Indy was for the Bills. Are they that good? Are the Colts that bad? Was it an anomaly? But let’s not forget that the Pats looked pretty damn good, too.

[Zyanthia]

How exactly do you interpret that? The Houston +3.5 at Carolina. Does that mean that the bet makers are saying we’ll give you 3.5 points to pick Houston because we think Carolina will win by at least 3.5 points?

[ElvisL1ves]

At least with the Pats, you don’t know how good they are until after 4 games, when the latest set of DB’s (it’s different every year) get their act together. At that point, the D either gels or … OK, it gels. But it’s a little worrisome before then.

[Enginerd]

@Barkis_is_Willin

Hard to tell how real that romp over Indy was for the Bills. Are they that good? Are the Colts that bad? Was it an anomaly? But let’s not forget that the Pats looked pretty damn good, too.

The Bills match up perfectly against the Colts. Indy puts damn near all their investment into their passing offense - it’s been this way all the way back to Manning’s time there - with the rest of the team pretty close to an afterthought. The result is a powerful passing attack, but they’re regularly exposed against teams that can generate pressure. The Bills front four are strong pass rushers on their own, and Ryan added to that pressure with frequent blitzes. If Indy’s passing game doesn’t click, they’ve got nothing else.

Sepcifically, they don’t have much of a defense, so it’s hard to say from that game whether Tyrod Taylor is a viable quarterback. Overall, Brady’s going to handle the pressure much better than Luck did, and the Pats defense will offer a bigger challenge to Taylor than Indy did. That line looks about 3 points too low to me.

[Enginerd]

@Zyanthia

How exactly do you interpret that? The Houston +3.5 at Carolina. Does that mean that the bet makers are saying we’ll give you 3.5 points to pick Houston because we think Carolina will win by at least 3.5 points?

Yep. Carolina can’t win by half a point, obviously, so you win your bet on Houston if Carolina wins by 3 and you lose your bet if Carolina wins by 4.

[ElvisL1ves]

The oddsmakers aren’t actually predicting the game result at all - they’re predicting how people will bet on it. The point spread is chosen to try to get roughly equal amounts of money bet on both teams, so the casinos will pocket their “fee” no matter what.

[dalej42]

Ugh! Friend visiting this weekend and I can’t make it to the Cardinals game here in Chicago as I’ll be playing tour guide.

[VarlosZ]

As you probably saw if you read Deadspin, an Australian sportswriter did an entertaining live blog of Jarryd Hayne’s first official NFL game. It’s actually a lot of fun to view football through the eyes of someone almost totally new to the sport. It turns out he spends a lot of time bewildered by the stoppages of play. A few selections:

@Matt Cleary

Righto … something of a break here in the Big Monday Night Football game between 49ers and Vikings, there was a timeout, I think. Anyway, the 49ers have the ball on their 34 yard line. Kaepernick goes backwards and flings it forwards a long way but to nobody. Good long throw. But not accurate. Second and 10.

Fair catch by a Viking. Means you can catch it and don’t have to run. Seems to be a fair few rules in American football. It’s quite a long way from games at Parramatta Stadium.

Righto, nil-all still in the Big One, 49ers vs Vikings. And there’s another timeout. Vikings with the ball. They make four yards. They have to get another six to make a first down, it’s the laws of the game. But Niners defence belts the running man. And then several of them head off the field. Funny game, National Football League. A sack! The Niners D-people celebrate like they’ve invented penicillin! The Vikings are deep and will punt, meaning…

Here’s the Hayne Plane! His first touch in the NFL. And… he drops it? Oh my goodness me, he drops it! His first touch is a fumble! He’s grassed it. Oh my.

Vikings … throw to Ellison in the middle, another massive human, he grasses it. Straight at his chest. Dropped it colder than tea. The Vikings will punt. Which means … Jarryd Hayne! He catches the punt and runs for a bit… and he’s tackled. And there are flags everywhere again. And … the ref is explaining his actions again. And … I dunno, think it’s the Vikings who are going to lose some yards. No – the punter gets another kick. And they’ve brushed the Hayne Plane … So old mate gets another kick … and Ellington goes all the way for 85 yards but there are flags on the play again… we’ll have a look, the refs are talking to each other, there are a lot of them, it’s a committee meeting, and … first down? Who knows. Illegal block? We’re going to have another break. But I’d say: no touchdown. Exciting stuff, however.

Righto. Where are we? Having another break. Is it half-time yet? Do they need it? No one’s sweating. OK. Niners kick off … and the ball sails over the endzone and into the ether. And the Vikings have the ball. And … there’s another break. Top stuff.

Vikings ball. They’re on their 20 yard line, as is legislated in the rules of the game. OK … Vikings have a first down through a tidy pass. Cameras focused on Adrian Peterson. Good shiny head on him. The Vikings are first and 10. Bridgewater throws a fine spiral to … a man. Brettling. Easy take on his knees, and it’s another first down. Teddy Bridgewater calls the play in a huddle. Lays down the law. Lot of pointing. And … oh, Tomsula, how many timeouts do you need? What can you tell these people? We’re going with Play No.284? Not 193? Okay … Vikings ball. 12 seconds to half-time … there’s a flag. A holding one against the Niners … five yard penalty. And auto first down. And … Tomsula looks like he’s eaten an onion sandwich.

Anyway, I rather enjoyed it.

[VarlosZ]

Also, can we adopt “he’s grassed it” as another term for fumbles/drops? I feel like we need more options here to keep repetition down.

[JSexton]

@VarlosZ

Also, can we adopt “he’s grassed it” as another term for fumbles/drops? I feel like we need more options here to keep repetition down.

Change approved!

[It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery]

Wow. I think we are witnessing the end for Peyton. He just can’t get enough velocity on his passes.

[wolfman]

@It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery

Wow. I think we are witnessing the end for Peyton. He just can’t get enough velocity on his passes.

Just thinking the same thing.

[Enginerd]

That’s true, but his o line is also terrible. With any kind of protection he’d be having a much better night.

[chizzuk]

A couple of these passes by Manning have looked like something that I, a 100 lbs. female whose hands are too small to grip a football properly, would throw.

Andy Reid’s clock management strikes again. Why would you call timeout there?

[The_Tof]

What a gut punch for KC. Crappy way to lose a game.

I also agree Manning looked very pedestrian tonight. He made a few good throws, but some really terrible ones and missed a lot of throws he used to make in his sleep. Anything over 10 yards is an adventure, and a lot of times I was able to get up grab a cup of coffee and hit the head while the pass was en route.

Of course, a pedestrian Peyton is still light years better than a full strength Osweiller.

[The_Tof]

@chizzuk

A couple of these passes by Manning have looked like something that I, a 100 lbs. female whose hands are too small to grip a football properly, would throw.

Andy Reid’s clock management strikes again. Why would you call timeout there?

The clock was already stopped from the incomplete pass. If he didn’t like the look of the D vs the O or they had the wrong personal or whatever, there was no penalty in terms of the clock for calling the TO