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The Dallas Cowboys are settling into their new $1.15 billion dollar home stadium, but much of the talk in the NFL preseason has been about the massive video screen hanging directly over the field of play. In the opening game in the facility, Tennessee Titans punters hit the screen several time in practice and once during the game. That set off a bit of a controversy about the height of the video screen, with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones rebuffing suggestions that the board was hung too low.

On Friday, the NFL Rules Committee sided with Cowboys owner Jones, indicating that the board was of adequate height. It also clarified the procedure for kicks that hit the board during play, and will revisit the issue in the off-season based on what happens during the 2009 campaign.

Jones has maintained that much of the concern is due to the sheer size of the board, which was hung 90 feet off the field of play”5 feet higher than NFL mandated guidelines.

The NFL has ruled that if a ball hit the display during play, the clock will be reset and down will be replayed. The replay official will have the authority to review plays to determine if the board came into play during the last two minutes of a half, and the coaches will be able to challenge a play involving the video screen at other times during the game by throwing the red flag. This is similar to rules that already exist for live balls that hit skycams or scoreboard components.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell commented on the situation:

“We will continue to address the particular circumstances in Dallas, giving full consideration to the competitive, safety and fan experience issues involved. The Cowboys have been fully cooperative as we have addressed this subject, and we will continue to work closely with the club on a longer term resolution.”

On his weekly radio show, Cowboys owner Jones gave his take on the NFLs ruling:

“I don’t see it as ultimately an issue. You can anticipate the ball hitting the board from time to time. There’s no reason why this can’t be something for punters to deal with very similar to the way you’d deal with the wind in your face or with elements; rain, sleet or snow.”

Jones is hesitant to move the screen for, among other reasons, the huge cost of the engineering project”estimates suggest that it could cost as much as $40 million dollars to raise the screen. Former Cowboys coach Jimmie Johnson also weighed in on the video board issue:

“If there’s anything wrong, it’s that people are going to watch the video board and not the game. It is so dominating, but I think it’s so cool. I think it’s great.”

The Cowboys play their final preseason game at the new stadium this Saturday as they host the San Francisco 49ers.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Kyle Orton’s debut as the Denver Broncos starting QB didn’t go quite as planned. Orton, who was acquired from Chicago in the off-season, threw interceptions on each of his first three offensive series. San Francisco’s offense did just enough to eke out a 17-16 NFL preseason victory before their home fans.

Despite his three interceptions and a solid backup performance by Chris Simms. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels has been steadfast in his support of Orton. Orton appeared thankful of this fact in his postgame comments:

“That’s great. That’s certainly what you need in this league is the support of your coach. I’m not worried about it. I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself. I think my team has a lot of confidence in me. … I don’t want to make those decisions and throw three interceptions.”

Orton was acquired after McDaniels relationship with NFL pro bowler Jay Cutler soured due to his effort”and subsequent denial”that he was trying to move the quarterback. Its been a rough start to Ortons tenure in Denver”he was even booed during a public scrimmage after throwing an interception.

McDaniels, to his credit, put the fact that it was only the first preseason game into perspective:

“I feel very confident in where we’re at. There’s no reason to start tailspinning into this and that when we’ve only had one preseason game.”

San Franciscos rapidly improving defense made life miserable for Orton all afternoon. Even when he got decent pass protection, they were able to disrupt the passing lanes. Niners’ cornerback Nate Clemens in particular was a huge factor, hauling in one of Ortons three miscues. After the game he commented on the play:

“I saw the route and played my responsibility and he threw it. I like seeing all of our defensive backs get interceptions and just making plays because we’re game breakers.”

The Niners have yet to name a starting quarterback and both Shaun Hill and Alex Smith played solid, if unspectacular, football. Hill spoke of his first preseason action:

“We were able to move the ball and we had a big conversion on third down. That last sack kind of hurt us. That was completely on me. The offensive line did a great job out there. So I’d like to have that play back and I feel like we could have gotten seven out of that.”

Smith was just glad to be back on the field after missing the entire 2008 season due to injury:

“Obviously, I was raring to go when I got out there. It’s been a long time for me, so I was pretty amped up.”

Denver will head to the Pacific Northwest for a game against the Seattle Seahawks next Saturday night. San Francisco, meanwhile, will host their local rivals the Oakland Raiders.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Even when the games don’t count and the starters play little, if at all, the Baltimore Ravens hate to lose. Despite the Atlanta Falcons starting QB Matt Ryan playing only one series and with the Ravens third string signal caller John Beck playing the entire game it was apparent that Baltimore wanted the victory more. The former BYU standout threw for 232 yards and a pair of touchdown passes as the Ravens easily beat the Atlanta Falcons 20-3 at the Georgia Dome. The victory gave the Ravens an undefeated NFL preseason mark at 4-0, while the Falcons finished the exhibition campaign with a 2-2 record.

Sports enthusiasts who bet on NFL preseason action were rewarded for their investment in the Ravens, as Baltimore won outright as +3 road underdogs. Baltimore also finished the NFL preseason with a perfect 4-0 mark against the spread, while Atlanta finished 2-1-1 against the number. The 23 combined points went UNDER the posted total of 35. It was the Ravens third UNDER in four preseason games, while the Falcons split their O/U results at 2-2.

Ravens QB Beck hasnt had much playing time in the NFL since his ill fated rookie year in Miami in 2007. After the game, he expressed how pleased he was to showcase his skills for the entire game:

“He (coach John Harbaugh) told me a few days ago that I would play the whole game. It was very exciting to get to play the whole game.”

Beck made the most of his opportunity, finishing with 232 yards on 16 of 28 passing and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions. The Ravens defensive reserves did their part by holding the Falcons to just 175 yards of total offense.

Despite the loss, Falcons coach Mike Smith was nonplussed:

“You’ve got to understand in these games, you’re going to call things defensively and offensively to put players in certain situations to evaluate them. You’re not game-planning in a game like this. You’re going to put players in certain situations to see how they handle certain techniques and coverages.”

Falcon cornerback Chris Houston was a little more concerned:

“We’ve got to work on everybody getting to the ball. We’ve got to try to be more aggressive in our techniques. We made some plays tonight, but other than that, we still have a lot to work on as a defense.”

The Ravens will get the 2009 NFL regular season underway at home, hosting the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, September 13th. The Falcons, meanwhile, will welcome the Miami Dolphins to the Georgia Dome to get their campaign started. Baltimore will head west to San Diego for a game against the Chargers in week 2, while Atlanta will remain at home for a key NFC South matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The San Diego Chargers bounced back nicely from their Monday Night Football loss to Denver last week, opening a 20-0 halftime lead before coasting to a 37-7 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Chargers’ quarterback Phillip Rivers passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Running back Ladanian Tomlinson ran for a season high 71 yards.

The Chargers easily covered the NFL pointspread as -6 road favorites. It was only the second pointspread cover of the year for San Diego, who moved their ATS record to 2-4. Kansas City dropped to 2-5 against the spread. The 44 points pushed against the posted total.

After the game, QB Rivers suggested that the loss to Denver was a turning point for his team:

“Last week, we felt like we made progress. We had the attitude we were looking for, focus, but we didn’t win. But we knew we got better.”

Tomlinson broke off one of his most impressive runs of the year on the Chargers first touchdown drive, a 31 yard pickup that he said lifted the team’s spirits and led to the easy victory:

“It kind of got us going. It was something we needed and it was a big play for us. It was a staple of our offense. It’s been around for years, old power. It was perfectly blocked and was just a great job of execution.”

The Chiefs continued to struggle on their home field, which at one point was considered one of the toughest venues in the league for visiting teams. Kansas City has now lost ten straight at Arrowhead Stadium, and 29 of their last 32 games. Chiefs’ nose tackle Ron Edwards lamented this home field struggle:

“We want to win for the home fans, for us, for everyone out there watching,” nose tackle Ron Edwards said. “It’s real painful.”

Rivers pointed to the Chiefs’ legacy of home field dominance in celebrating the win:

“Any time you come to Kansas City and win, it’s good. We talked about getting on a roll and you’ve got to win one first before you can. Hopefully, this is something we can build on.”

The Chargers return home to take on their hated rivals, the Oakland Raiders. Next Sunday’s game has San Diego listed as a -16′ home favorite with the total set at 42′. They’ll travel to play the New York Giants the following week before returning home to face the Philadelphia Eagles on November 15. Kansas City will enjoy a bye week before returning to action on November 8 on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

It wasn’t a game for the ages by the Buffalo Bills, as they blew much of a 17 point lead to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, they did what they had to do and put some offense on the board en route to a 33-20 National Football League victory. The Bills shot out to a 17-0 first quarter lead before Tampa Bay answered with 14 of their own in the second quarter. After a scoreless third quarter they outscored Tampa 13-6 in the final stanza to seal the win.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Bills as -4 home favorites cashed their tickets with the pointspread cover. Despite a 1-1 straight up record, Buffalo improved to 2-0 against the spread. Tampa Bay has lost both of their 2009 NFL games straight up and against the number for a 0-2 mark in both categories. The combined 53 points put on the scoreboard went OVER the posted total of 41.

Terrell Owens capped the game with a long touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Trent Edwards expressed his excitement and seeing his team’s new deep threat:

I was excited and he was excited. I don’t really recall what was said, but I’m honestly hoping that that continues to happen. I think that’s why we have him.”

“We learned our lesson from last week and it’s a valuable lesson we’re going to need throughout the season. We have to finish games and that’s what we did today.”

Lee Evans also praised his quarterback:

“It comes down to opportunities. I think Trent wasn’t afraid to take any chances. You always have to have that threat of the deep play. I think we put it on the table today that we would.”

Tampa Bay has struggled to stop opposing offenses in the first two NFL regular season games under new head coach Raheem Morris. The Bucs allowed over 900 yards of offense this season, a fact that defensive stalwart Ronde Barber stressed was unacceptable:

“They dialed up some things on us that we should have stopped but we didn’t. Ask the coaches that. I’m not willing to make a statement on that. It’s really unacceptable. Good defenses are good tackling defenses.”

Morris, meanwhile, tried to project an aura of calm:

“I’m not worried about their confidence but these guys got to play better.”

The Bills now host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, with Buffalo installed as +6 home underdogs. The total for the game has been set at 52. Buffalo will travel to Miami the following Sunday to play the Dolphins before returning home on 10/11 to take on the Cleveland Browns. Tampa Bay faces three tough NFC East opponents in the coming weeks, beginning with a Sunday home game against the New York Giants. The Bucs are +6 home underdogs in that game with the total set at 44.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and college football handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.