By JIMMY D / Wins in college football, losses in NFL betting | Jimmy's archive
There is old saying in sports betting circles that you win your money Saturday on college football, then give it all back on Sunday on the unpredictable NFL.
Jimmy was feeling pretty good Saturday night on the heels of a 5-1 ATS day, where he bet like a square and played the big favorites USC, Florida, LSU and Oklahoma. And he won with Utah as an 11-point home dog (they crushed UCLA 44-6) and lost with the trendy pick of Washington at home to Ohio State (they got hammered at home).
But then came Sunday and Jimmy gave it all back. Losses on Carolina (lost at home to Houston), Denver (failed to cover at home to Oakland), Indy (barely beat the Titans on the road) and Jacksonville left Jimmy 0-4 for the day.
For good measure, he lost on Cincinnati too (gave up 51 points at the Dawg Pound). Which brings us around to the point of Week 2 – more breakout players who can help fill holes on your fantasy roster.
Hands up everyone who snatched Cleveland QB Derek Anderson off waivers last week in Cleveland?
That’s what Jimmy figured. Well, he’s gone now after a 5-TD, 328-yard performance against the dreadful Bengal defense. He gets another chance next week at 0-2 Oakland.
There is no more Charlie Frye or wait-for-Brady-Quinn banter this week in Cleveland.
Any remaining Braylon Edwards doubters can take their seat facing the corner and was that really Jamal Lewis galloping 28 times for 215 yards and a score? Is the Cincy defense really that bad? If so, grab as many Seahawks as you can off the waiver wire, because they play in Week 3.
The 96 points in the Bengals/Browns game upstaged the crazy 45-35 game last week between the Giants and Cowboys that proved to be a fantasy motherlode. This week, six of the Top 10 performers came from that game, with Carson Palmer (401 yards and six TD passes) leading the way.
AJ tweaks his knee
Anybody NOT on the Andre Johnson bandwagon? It’s filling up fast for the Texans WR after two scores and 120 yards against a supposedly tough Panther defense. He was upstaged by Steve Smith’s TD trifecta, but Smith is no surprise to anyone.
Johnson tweaked his knee in the win at Carolina, but expects to play in Week 3. The 2-0 Texans opened as five-point home dogs to Indy, who struggled getting past Tennessee.
Brown down in Week 2
Jimmy cautioned everyone about stampeding to the waiver wire to grab Titan Chris Brown. He had a dynamite Week 1, but is not set up as a long-term proposition and he proved it in Week 2 with a limp 34-yard rushing effort. LenDale White looked better and he will be the main dude in Memphis.
Saints or the Aint’s?
OK, so losing at Indy was understandable. But getting whomped by Tampa Bay? It’s now time to start questioning the Saints and all those alleged fantasy studs there. They get their home opener on Monday night against Tennessee, so one more week riding Brees, Bush, Colston et al before you start making some tough decisions. Colston had a solid week, but milked most of it in garbage time.
Galloway still legit
Jimmy will admit he pushed Joey Galloway down his list of WRs on draft day. But with 135 yards and two long scores against New Orleans, he looks to still have it and looks to have some chemistry with Jeff Garcia. Jimmy admits he is wrong on those few occasions when he is….
NHL preseason
With baseball winding down (Jimmy’s Jackal pitching improved slightly last week, but not enough to make up much ground thanks to Ubaldo Jimenez’s incompetence) and NFL now off and running, it’s time to turn your fantasy attention to pucks.
NHL preseason games began late last week and you will begin to see names in boxscores and game reports that are worthy of draft-list investigation.
We’ll focus on some of the developments and potential breakout players in next week’s column. As always, any questions or comments can be relayed to JPoole@herald.ca and Jimmy will do his best to offer some sage fantasy advice.
Stay busy, stay lucky.
Jimmy D |
