The NFL has a packed schedule on Saturday with nine tilts on the card. Major League Baseball won't be happy to see that as they are already struggling for the precious TV ratings that are so important in taking Madison Avenue greenbacks. But football fans and bettors seem more than pleased with the current schedule.
Baseball has jumped the shark. Not only is it getting crushed in the ratings by preseason football; the NFL powers that be are also loading up on Saturday games, planting their flag on what used to be MLB territory.
Giants, Ravens cap off busy NFL weekend
We’ve got nine matchups for Saturday and one for Sunday -- too many to cover in this space, so let’s boil down Saturday’s action to the two games where the home team is the underdog, and take a look at the Sunday nighter.
Pittsburgh at Washington (+2)
The Steelers already have a couple of games in the bag, having played in the Hall of Fame contest in Canton. That advantage fizzled last week, though, when the Green Bay Packers came to Heinz Field and pulled out a 13-9 win as 6-point puppies. Pittsburgh has tremendous depth at quarterback, but Green Bay featured eventual No. 1 QB Aaron Rodgers, while the Steelers had third-stringer Brian St. Pierre run the bulk of the offense. Advantage: Green Bay.
It had yet to be announced at press time how much St. Pierre would play against Washington, but coach Mike Tomlin has stated his preference for carrying three quarterbacks and appears willing to give St. Pierre every opportunity to prove himself worthy of inclusion on the 53-man roster.
Washington also won as a road dog last week, but had the benefit of facing a Tennessee squad without Vince Young. It also took a last-minute Byron Westbrook fumble recovery in the end zone to secure an ugly 14-6 victory. Preseason or not, that kind of effort won’t get it done against a Steelers team expecting to see running back Willie Parker make his preseason debut. The total for this matchup is 33.5 points; both teams went Under in Week 1.
San Diego at St. Louis (+2½)
The Rams won their first exhibition game while the Chargers lost theirs, but San Diego was drawing the bulk of the action at press time. That mad rush forced the line to move from St. Louis -1 at the open. The total remains at 38½, tied with New Orleans at Cincinnati for the biggest total of Week 2.
The frenzy to support the Chargers seems entirely reasonable after both Philip Rivers and backup Billy Volek posted 100-plus passer ratings in their 24-16 loss to the Seahawks. Seattle stormed back with 17 points in the fourth quarter, with No. 2 pivot Seneca Wallace doing most of the heavy lifting against the Chargers defensive leftovers.
St. Louis quarterbacks, meanwhile, combined for zero TDs and three picks in a brutal 13-10 win over the brutal Vikings. Once again, it was a defensive TD that saved the day for the Rams. The team has been brutalized at camp by coach Scott Linehan, who ran a grand total of eight two-a-days out of the first 23 practices since camp opened on July 27. It’s difficult enough to breathe the 100-degree air in St. Louis these days, let alone run a training camp. At least they’ll be inside the Edward Jones Dome for this matchup.
N.Y. Giants at Baltimore (-3½)
Take an informal (and anonymous) straw poll among the Giants, and they’d probably be more than happy to sweat it out with Linehan. The atmosphere in Jersey is even more toxic than usual these days, thanks to coach Tom Coughlin. However, with the spread eclipsing the magic number of three, sharps appear to be split on whom to support in this matchup.
The Ravens were brilliant in last week’s 29-3 thumping of Philadelphia, although to be fair, the Eagles were without Donovan McNabb and a number of other players. Still, Steve McNair and former UCLA standout Drew Olson were both flawless at quarterback, and the defense put the kibosh on the Eagles, allowing just 11 first downs.
There are signs of hope, though, for the Giants. Eli Manning held up quite nicely in a narrow 24-21 loss to the Panthers and their tough defense, while southpaw Jared Lorenzen has already won the No. 2 QB job. We’ll see if the 'Pillsbury Throwboy' rises to the occasion Sunday night. The total is a low, low 33.5 points despite both teams going Over in Week 1.
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Giants, Ravens cap off busy NFL weekend
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