Alouettes head to Edmonton to take on Eskimos
Football Betting Lines
07/07/2010 -
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The lone meeting between winless teams in week
two of the 2010 CFL season takes place at Commonwealth Stadium as the Edmonton
Eskimos and the Montreal Alouettes square off.
The defending Grey Cup champion Alouettes, who ran the table in all nine of
their regular season home games last season and lost just three times on the
road, were immediately challenged in this year's opening game when they
replayed last year's title game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in
Regina. In what eventually turned into the third-highest scoring game in CFL
history, the Als found themselves on the outside looking in at a 54-51 double-
overtime loss.
Now a three-time winner of the league's most valuable offensive player award,
Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo refused to let his team go quietly as he
completed 28-of-42 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns, yet even he could
not stop a determined Roughriders group that nearly relived the drama that
cost them the trophy last year when they were flagged for having too many men
on the field during a crucial point in the title game. Receiver Kerry Watkins
emerged as the primary go-to guy down the field for Calvillo and the Als,
catching five balls for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while S.J. Green
also recorded a pair of receiving scores in the decision.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the offense for the Als was that of
their rushing attack, a facet of the game which had been a strong suit of
Montreal last season when it placed second in the league with an average of
119.9 ypg on the ground. The opener saw Avon Cobourne, one of the most
aggressive and exciting running backs in the league, post just 39 total yards
and a score on 10 attempts. In 2009, Cobourne not only finished sixth in the
league in rushing with 1,214 yards, he also led all players during the regular
season with 13 rushing scores. The team as a whole managed just 91 yards on 18
carries in the first game of the season.
As for the other half of this meeting, the Eskimos had the weakest opening to
the season of any program, falling to British Columbia at home by a final of
25-10. If not for a four-yard touchdown run by Arkee Whitlock in the second
quarter, the offensive effort for the Eskimos would have appeared even more
dire. Whitlock finished with 116 yards on 16 carries, responsible for the
lion's share of the unit's 139 rushing yards, while quarterback Ricky Ray
managed to convert 27-of-40 passes for another 229 yards, yet he was sacked
five times and failed to record a single passing score.
On a positive note, Edmonton's defense didn't exactly roll over versus the
Lions, instead limiting BC to just a single touchdown and forcing the visitors
to kick their way to a victory with six field goals. Permitting BC to generate
a lofty 395 yards of offense might appear to be a bit unsightly for the
Eskimos, but at least the Lions were held out of the end zone for almost the
entire outing.
However, with just a single sack of Casey Printers, Edmonton showed the same
form at the line of scrimmage that it did in 2009 when it ranked last in the
league in sacks with a mere 32 during the regular season. Failure to get to
the opposing QB left the Eskimos exposed in the secondary at times last
season, resulting in 26 passing touchdowns allowed.
Montreal was an offensive beast last season and again showed that same prowess
in the 2010 opener, so expecting the Eskimos to grind the Als to a halt would
be asking quite a bit. Calvillo threw a league-best 26 touchdowns last year
and could have easily done even more damage had the team not called off the
dogs in several lopsided decisions. Chances are Cobourne is going to come out
of his shell for this meeting as well, which means the matchup between he and
Whitlock (1,293 yards, 12 TDs in 2009) should be something of great interest.
Considering how dominant Calvillo has been in the last couple of seasons, it
is easy to see how Ray might get lost in the shuffle, even at home in front of
a favorable crowd. In the last two seasons, Ray has thrown for more than
10,000 yards and has connected on 48 TDs, yet it seems like forever since he
tossed a remarkable 35 touchdowns for the Eskimos in 2003. Staying in the
pocket and getting the job done will be paramount for Ray, having already been
tabbed for a pair of fumbles thus far.
These teams met twice last season, with both meetings coming before the end of
July. At Montreal on July 9 the Als completely crushed Edmonton in a 50-16
final, yet three weeks later the Eskimos made things more respectable and in
fact handed Montreal one of only three losses on the season in a 33-19 final.
As a result of those two outcomes, the all-time regular season series between
the clubs now stands at 37-21-2 in favor of Edmonton, dating back to the 1961
campaign.
The passing defense for the Eskimos is going to be put to the test by Calvillo
and Montreal, a test that Edmonton is almost certain to lose given that the
Als are having to play from behind just to keep up in the division standings.
<< Lions welcome Roughriders to Empire Field
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having avenged their difficult loss to
Montreal in last year's Grey Cup meeting, the Saskatchewan Roughriders now
turn their attention to the British Columbia Lions for the lone contest
between undefeated progra
<< Hamilton hopes to find offense in clash with Calgary
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After logging just 290 yards of total offense
in the season opener last week, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats try to put together a
more collective offensive effort this weekend as they host the Calgary
Stampeders at Ivo
<< Toronto visits Winnipeg in week two of 2010 CFL campaign
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As the only team in the Eastern Division to
get off on the right foot in the first week of the 2010 CFL season, the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers try to make it two in a row on Friday night as they
entertain the Toronto
<< Yanks shoot for sweep of A's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez is
approaching another milestone in his career and will try to lead his team to a
three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics tonight at the Coliseum.
Rodriguez is comin
<< Improving Royals try to finish off sweep of Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have been playing very well lately
and are aiming for their first road sweep of the Seattle Mariners since the
1995 campaign tonight in the finale of a three-game series at Safeco Field.
The last tim
LeBron to announce decision on TV >>
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -LeBron James has confirmed on his relaunched website that he will end his free agency with an announcement Thursday night on ESPN.James' business manager, Maverick Carter, said Wednesday that James will say where he's playing next
Alabama State gets transfer from Auburn >>
Montgomery, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cornerback D'Antoine Hood has transferred
from Auburn to Alabama State.
The Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Ga., first reported that the cousin of former
Auburn and current Tennessee Titans cornerback Roderick
Durant reaches five-year extension with Thunder >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forward Kevin Durant has reached an
agreement on a five-year contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Durant made the announcement on Wednesday via Twitter. There was no
confirmation from the Th
Pennetta, Dulko reach Bastad quarters >>
Bastad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta and fourth-
seeded Argentine Gisela Dulko were among Wednesday's second-round winners at
the $220,000 Swedish Open.
The Italian Pennetta blew past 17-year-old American wil
RSL puts unbeaten run on line at Chicago >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake puts its nine-game unbeaten
run on the line when it travels to Chicago to take on the Fire in Major League
Soccer action at Toyota Park on Thursday night.
RSL (8-3-3) is coming off a 5-0
Why Sports Betting is so much fun?
Betting Sports
The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)
But you could also simply bet on the money line, or straight-up winner of the game. Oddsmakers use the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite or expected winner and less money on the underdog to balance the action on both sides. While money line gambling is an attractive option for football and basketball bettors who only care about picking a winner, it is the primary option for those bettors who enjoy wagering on MLB baseball and individual sports like boxing, tennis, golf and racing events such as NASCAR. ( More details on playing the Money Line)
Points (or Runs) Scored
Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.
The final score of Super Bowl XXXIX was 24-21; the scoring of both teams added up to 45, which means the game went Under . So Under bettors won, and Over bettors lost.
Future Bets
Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The main advantage of futures is that you can get appealing odds by betting far in advance. For example, with NFL futures you often can get much higher odds on a team by betting before the season even starts. A NFL future bet on a team to win the Super Bowl odds might be 20/1 in the preseason; but by midseason, their odds might decrease to 10/1 if they turn out to be legitimate championship contenders.
Proposition Bets (or Prop Bets)
Proposition bets , also known as prop bets, focus upon the more exotic aspects of a game and are generally reserved for events that are widely televised. Prop bets are extremely popular when it comes to wagering on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Imperial Palace Casino’s sportsbook is well-known for the enormous number of prop bets offered. For example, you can bet on:
- What team will win the coin toss
- What player will score the game’s first touchdown
- What will be the exact margin of victory
Types of Bets
Straight Bet
Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.
A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.
Standard payoffs on a two-team parlay are 13/5; while a three-teamer pays 6/1; and a four-teamer 10/1.
Parlay cards are also fairly common in sportsbooks and popular with bettors, as they are released early in the week with set odds that do not change in return for a slightly lower payoff.
Round Robin Betting
Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.
Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.
These are the main types of sports bets available today. But as sports betting continues to grow, sportsbooks will continue to develop new and creative ways to bet. We’ll continue to track these changes to the sports gambling landscape, so check back often and we’ll tell you all about it!
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
|