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Tampa Bay and
Carolina both made the playoffs in 2005. Right
now those two teams are a combined 1-5, with the
Panthers getting their only win versus the Bucs
last week.
However, it’s not time
to panic for either of those teams. Ok, maybe
it’s just not time to panic in Carolina
– Tampa Bay fans are allowed to have a meltdown
after losing both the game and starting quarterback
Chris Simms on Sunday. Simms was beaten up so
badly by the Panthers’ defense that he had
to have his spleen removed after the contest;
he’ll be out for 2-3 months, and might not
play at all for the rest of the season.
That means the QB reins in
Tampa Bay have now been turned over to young Bruce
Gradkowski, and he’s already been named
the team’s starter for their Week 5 contest
against the Saints (the Bucs mercifully have a
bye in Week 4). Veteran QB Tim Rattay will serve
as Gradkowski’s backup, unless Tampa Bay
decides to make a deal for another QB over the
next two weeks. Maybe Chris’ dad could come
out of retirement?
Carolina, on the other hand,
has a chance to both move up to the .500 mark
and make a statement in the division this weekend
when they play host to the upstart Saints. The
Panthers started the year with back-to-back losses
versus the Falcons and the Vikings, before edging
the Bucs 26-24 last week.
And even though New Orleans
is unbeaten in 2006, and two games up on Carolina
in the NFC South, the linesmakers currently have
the Panthers listed as big 7.5-point favorites
at home (with a total pegged at 42 points).
The Saints can thank their
strength-of-schedule for that big underdog status
– although they’re 3-0 on the year,
they opened with a win over
Cleveland, followed that up with a victory versus
Green Bay, and then blew out the Falcons 23-3
in an emotional return to the Superdome on Monday
night. Needless to say, the Saints still have
their doubters.
The Falcons have their doubters
as well, especially after their dismal performance
in New Orleans on Monday. Michael Vick completed
just 12-of-31 pass attempts for 137 yards in the
defeat, and he only ran for 57 yards. Even worse,
Warrick Dunn could manage only 44 yards on the
ground versus the Saints, after running for 132
and 134 yards in the Falcons’ first two
games (both wins) over the Panthers and the Buccaneers.
So if teams have figured
out how to stop Atlanta’s run game already,
they’ll either need Vick to suddenly become
a passing threat, or they’ll be watching
the losses pile up. Oddsmakers, though, like Atlanta’s
chances this week against a struggling Cardinals
team at Georgia Dome – the Falcons are listed
as 7-point favorites (with a total of 40.5).
And what of the big picture?
The Panthers were picked to win the Super Bowl
by several publications and media outlets in the
preseason, but they’re going to need to
show a little more to stay high on the lines list
for the big game.
Currently Carolina is listed
at 16/1 to win the Super Bowl, with Atlanta at
30/1, New Orleans now at 50/1, and Tampa Bay way
back at 200/1. Watch for those lines to shift even
further next week if the Saints manage to pull
off a big road upset over the Panthers on Sunday
afternoon.
For all NFC South betting
lines, please visit VIP.com
Posted by miker at September
28th, 2006 2:16 PM
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