12/03/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, Minnesota Vikings defense end Jared Allen and Carolina Panthers return specialist Mark Jones have been selected as the NFC's top players for Week 13 of the 2008 NFL season.
Westbrook rushed for 110 yards and had three receptions for 20 yards, tallying four total touchdowns in the Eagles' 48-20 Thanksgiving night win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Pro Bowl running back became only the fourth player in NFL history and the first since Lydell Mitchell of the Baltimore Colts in 1975 to record at least 100 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns in a game. It marks the third weekly award of his career, including one other time on offense in 2007 and one time on special teams in 2003.
Allen recorded eight tackles and three sacks in the Vikings' 34-14 win over Chicago on Sunday night, helping Minnesota improve to 7-5 on the season. Allen also contributed by stopping Chicago on a key fourth-down play at the Vikings goal line, stopping the Bears' running back and keeping Chicago out of the end zone. This is Allen's second career Player of the Week Award, with the other coming in Week 6 in 2005 when he was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jones had a combined 201 kick-return yards in the Panthers' 35-31 comeback win at Green Bay. The 201 yards mark the third-most in team history. Jones returned four kicks for 155 yards (38.8 average) and four punts for 46 yards (11.5 average).
Other players considered for the offensive award included Minnesota wide receiver Bernard Berrian, who hauled in a 99-yard touchdown pass in the win over Chicago; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who threw for 305 yards with a touchdown in a 23-7 win at Washington; and Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who threw four touchdown passes against Arizona only a few days after being benched.
Defensive nominees included Tampa Bay safety Jermaine Phillips, who had 10 tackles and an interception in a 23-20 win over New Orleans; and San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis, who notched 14 tackles with a forced fumble in a 10-3 victory over Buffalo.
Giants kicker John Carney was considered for the special teams award after connecting on each of his three field goal tries against the Redskins.
<< Slaton, Mathis, Leggett earn AFC weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Texans running back Steve Slaton,
Indianapolis Colts defensive end Robert Mathis and Kansas City special teamer
Maurice Leggett have been selected as the AFC's top players for Week 13 of the
NFL sea
<< Bayern keen on Hoffenheim's Ibisevic
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bayern Munich president Frank Beckenbauer
has admitted that his club may try and purchase Hoffenheim's star striker
Vedad Ibisevic in the near future.
Ahead of the meeting of the two title rivals
<< Menez discusses Roma exit
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roma's French midfielder Jeremy Menez has
dropped a major hint that he will seek a move away from the Italian capital in
a bid to secure regular first-team football.
The 21-year-old has struggled to mak
<< Nashville assigns Ortmeyer to Milwaukee
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators assigned Jed Ortmeyer
to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, it was
announced on Wednesday.
Ortmeyer, who had to clear waivers to go down, has not play
Mariners come to terms with Branyan >>
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners have signed infielder
Russell Branyan to a one-year deal. Per club policy, financial terms of the
deal were not released.
"Russell gives us a veteran left-handed bat with power a
Coughlin addresses Burress situation >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin
addressed the situation with suspended wide receiver Plaxico Burress on
Wednesday, but would not divulge the reasons behind the club's decision to
place t
Sakic out at least six weeks >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Colorado Avalanche center Joe Sakic will miss at
least the next six weeks while receiving treatment for a herniated disc in his
back.
Sakic sustained the injury on his first shift of the November 28 game a
Coyotes acquire Lindstrom from Anaheim >>
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Coyotes have acquired forward
Joakim Lindstrom from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Logan
Stephenson.
Lindstrom, a second-round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets, has fou
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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