08/15/2007 08:52 AM
By: Chance Harper
Tired of the Bow Wow Boy making the NFL headlines? Week 2 of the NFL Preseason offers up some nice matchups as a diversion to the Michael Vick drama, though you might not know it from the headlines. First up on Thursday is a Chiefs-Dolphins battle in Kansas City, a homecoming of sorts for Miami QB Trent Green.
The numbers are in, and NFL preseason football is a hit. Sunday night’s game between the Seahawks and Chargers on NBC drew a 5.1 rating, while Saturday’s regional baseball coverage on FOX drew a 2.0 -- in the thick of pennant races, no less.
Dolphins, Chiefs set for Thursday battle
Week 2 should be even more interesting. It starts with Thursday’s matchup between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs. This is quarterback Trent Green’s first crack at his former team, but the Chiefs are currently 3-point home favorites with a total of 34½. Green was actually booed by fans in Miami Saturday night after playing the entire first half against the Jaguars and going just 6-for-15 with one interception and no touchdowns.
There should be plenty of motivation for Green and the Dolphins’ offense to get it right Thursday. The fickle fans in Miami are already waiting for the John Beck Era to begin; they cheered when he entered last week’s game in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, coach Cam Cameron blamed Green’s numbers on the offensive line, which he says will be "squared away." We should see some of that improvement as the exhibition games get closer in composition to what we’ll see during the regular season.
Regardless, Miami won and beat the spread, while the Chiefs fell to the Browns in Cleveland and failed to cash in. QB Brodie Croyle had some mixed results in his NFL debut, going 5-for-8 with a pick and no TDs with occasional flashes of brilliance. Not having either Larry Johnson or Priest Holmes available at running back didn’t help Croyle’s cause...or Damon Huard’s, for that matter. Neither Johnson (reportedly on the verge of signing a contract) nor Holmes is expected to suit up until next week.
Here are the four games on tap for Friday.
Atlanta at Buffalo (-3)
The Bills appear to be getting the lion’s share of betting action at press time. This is their preseason home opener, while the Falcons are playing their second game on the road after getting drubbed 31-16 by the Jets on Friday. Joey Harrington and Chris Redman both played well, but Atlanta has a number of injuries, while Buffalo played to a vanilla and entirely uneventful 13-10 upset victory over the Saints. Dull and conservative has a good shot over wounded and scattershot.
Carolina at Philadelphia (-3)
The Eagles were embarrassed 29-3 by Baltimore in their Monday nighter. We’re used to seeing Philly abandon the run, so perhaps there won’t be too much concern that fourth-string tailback Ryan Moats was lost for the year to a broken ankle. But depth counts in the preseason. At least Donovan McNabb is expected to make his debut for the Eagles. Carolina is looking for its second road upset in a row after all three QBs -- Jake Delhomme, David Carr and Brett Basanez -- looked sharp in a 24-21 win over the Giants. Bettors were understandably pounding the Panthers in the early going.
Tennessee at New England (-5½)
This is the biggest spread of the week. Both teams lost SU and ATS in Week 1 while easily driving the Under to the pay window; the total for this matchup is 34½. However, Titans starting QB Vince Young was benched last week after violating a team rule. It’s a minor incident, so Young will start against New England. Watch for Tom Brady to get extended playing time from here on in, as he did in last year’s preseason for the Patriots.
Minnesota at N.Y. Jets (-4½)
The Jets certainly looked like another 10-win team against the Falcons, with former Oregon standout Kellen Clemens playing nearly the entire game and tossing three TDs with no picks. However, starting RB Thomas Jones was injured the next day in practice, so expect to see plenty of Leon Washington on Friday. The Vikings got some good results out of starting QB Tarvaris Jackson despite losing 13-10 to the Rams. If only they had a pass defense to match their league-best run stuffers.
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Dolphins, Chiefs set for Thursday battle
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