Ravens need more from Flacco, Rice
Football Betting Lines
01/17/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Flacco and Ray Rice have been waiting three years to get back to this spot, and if the Baltimore Ravens hope to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2001, they'll need their dynamic duo to take their game up another level.
As a pair of rookies following selections in the 2008 draft, Flacco and Rice were a part of a Ravens club that was dealt a 23-14 setback at Pittsburgh in Baltimore's last trip to the AFC Championship Game. It was a forgettable day for Flacco, who was picked off three times and held to under 150 passing yards.
Rice, meanwhile, had just four touches in a reserve role to Willis McGahee as he was still in the process of making his mark on the team.
With much more experience under their respective belts, Rice and Flacco have transformed into premier players in the NFL. Rice is one of the top dual threats in the league, logging over 1,300 yards rushing with 76 receptions for another 704 yards while finding the end zone a total of 15 times during the 2011 regular season.
Flacco has been a consistent winner since coming into the league as a first- round draft pick, but has a reputation of not being able to come through in the big game thanks to Baltimore's losses in the Divisional Playoff round to end each of the previous two seasons.
The 27-year-old didn't shake that stigma in a 20-13 win over the Houston Texans in last weekend's AFC Divisional Playoffs. Though he threw a pair of touchdown passes, Flacco was sacked five times and held to 176 yards passing. He did play it safe with the football and didn't turn it over, but also got little help from Rice. The shifty back ran for just 60 yards on 21 carries while catching four passes.
With a date this weekend against the high-flying New England Patriots, the offense -- specifically Flacco and Rice -- will need to put up better numbers.
"As an offense, an offensive guy, I would think so." Flacco responded when asked after last week's win if the offense needs to put up more points this Sunday. "At the same time, we have a good defense. The way [the Patriots] played all year, the way they've played in the past, they put points on the board. So I think as an offense, you have to go in there and put points on the board too."
With linebacker Ray Lewis the face of the franchise, defense is what keyed the Ravens to their Super Bowl XXXV victory over the Giants over a decade ago. But Flacco needs to be wary about living in the past, especially in today's video game-like NFL, even if the Baltimore defense is coming off another solid effort.
Baltimore ranked third in both total and scoring defense in the regular season, but this Sunday will be going against the league's second-ranked offense and a proven winner in Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
The Ravens suffered an overtime loss in New England last season after beating the Patriots on their own field in an AFC Wild Card game the season prior. Rice had an 83-yard touchdown run just 17 seconds into that game and posted 22 of Baltimore's 52 runs on the day.
Flacco was allowed to throw the ball just 10 times, but will certainly see more action this weekend.
"We've gone out there and played before," said Flacco of this weekend's trip to Gillette Stadium. "We've gone on the road and played a championship game since I've been here. We didn't win that game. We have won in New England. They are one of the teams, just like us, that's tough to beat at home. They play very well up there, but we know how tough it is to go into a place like that, a place like here, and win a football game. So we're going to have to make sure we prepare well all week and bring our A-game up there."
Veterans such as Lewis and safety Ed Reed are always willing and able to shine come postseason, and Reed is one of those that isn't worried about his offense coming up shy in a big spot on Sunday. If anything, the duo will likely serve as just as big a motivator for the offense as the defense.
"We feel like we're the big brother so [to speak] of the team, but our offense will get going," said Reed.
"It takes a team effort. It's not just offense out there on the field or defense on the field or special teams. It took a team effort [to beat the Texans]."
The Ravens were the lone team to win in last weekend's playoff round while putting up less than 36 points. A similar outing isn't likely to be enough against a Patriots team coming off a 45-10 dismantling of the Denver Broncos.
Flacco will surely attempt more than 10 passes in this meeting, and a healthy number of those could find their way into Rice's hands.
If a Super Bowl berth is in the cards for the Ravens, they'll need Flacco and Rice to be more like Batman and Robin or risk looking like Jokers to Brady's Patriots.
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Football Betting
NFL Football Betting OnlineThe San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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