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So
far so good. Knock on wood now, but there hasn't been
a huge injury to speak of outside of Bears Camp. Another
year without Rex Grossman has Chicago throwing fists
and picking up old school slingers like Jeff Blake.
Mini camps across the league have ended and NFL Football
is as big as it's ever been. The football buzz is
back! The preseason gives hope to all, with an apology
to San Francisco fans everywhere. Let the rebuild
continue! Powerful teams like the Eagles and Patriots
have lost a little sting with key player "injury
problems" (TO's junk strain) and missing linebackers.
This hasn't caused last years Super Bowlers to be
left off the top of preseason ranking lists, but don't
ignore these early problems. New hopefuls have shown
some shine, even if it's been a quarter or two at
a time. This is the preseason, and what we see should
be taken with a grain of salt… That's why I'm
here. I'm here to separate the sea, sweat, and crackers,
those who will forever remain preseason heroes from
the possible playoff players, the rookies with game
from the same old newbie's. Let the games begin as
I let you in on what the preseason has whispered in
Lucky's ear.
Leave it to every single televised NFL broadcast to
give their two cents about Terrell Owens. If I had
a dime for every time I've heard some telecaster say,
"That's the half, and we haven't said one word
about TO yet…" Idiots! You know TO loves
that stuff. Owens is making the league the next reality
show, and every TV station seems to enjoy helping
him do so. Sick of this yet? Me too.
Tom Brady and Donovan McNabb each threw an interception
on their first throw of their respective games last
week. What does this mean? Nothing. This is just an
example of how meaningless and fickle the preseason
can be. McNabb and Brady will keep their respective
teams well within reach of the top spots in each division.
I think Corey Dillon, Edgerrin James, Ladainian Tomlinson,
and Shaun Alexander have combined for about 40 yards
in their first games of the year. In fact, it's all
but a guarantee that Ricky Williams has more yards
than those 4 combined. Another preseason note that
lacks importance? You betcha! Each of those 4 studs
will be well into 400 yards before Ricky is allowed
a jersey to wear on Sunday. But Ricky has looked pretty
good for a year off in Jamaica among other drug free
countries.
Randy Moss changed teams and he's already talking
about the drug deals going down in his new home town.
Oh, wait, he's talking about the drug deals he's been
a part of… yeah, everyone was right, the silver
and black won't influence Randy at all. This is Al
Davis' kind of player.
Chad Pennington is the happiest man in the world.
He's got Laverneus Coles back running routs, and he
hasn't looked better since Coles bolted for Snyder's
Redskin money two seasons ago. Look for big years
out of both Chad and Coles as the Jets have shown
immense improvement, especially with the signing of
the best corner in the league, Ty Law.
Overrated? The Dolphins and Niners. Yes, each team
has barely been picked to win a handful of games a
piece, but from the seat in my living room, five combined
seems like a running prayer. The Niners haven't improved,
and they were terrible. And although the Dolphins
offense should get a bit of a boost with Ronnie Brown,
Ricky Williams, and a healthy David Boston, but they
still have either AJ Feely or Gus Ferrotte throwing
the ball. Niether plan to join Marino in Canton. Their
defense has lost key players from Marlon Greenwood
to Patrick Sertain to Sammy Knight and more…
Who knows which side of the ball will lose more games
for the Fins.
I've recently made a bet with my good friend Zapper
McGrath on Ricky's role with the Dolphins his first
week back from suspension. Zap claims, on his heft
roll of cash, that Ricky will be starting his first
game back from suspension. There is no way Nick Saban
starts Ricky in his first game off of a drug suspension
after he abandoned every one of his teammates a year
ago… that said, there's no question in my mind
Ricky will be playing a significant role early and
often for the struggling Dolphins. That still leaves
me with my buddies money.
Whose starting at running back in Denver? Who knows?
I'd like to say Tatum Bell takes that job, but then
again, I might have invested in him on my fantasy
team. Either way, there will be a big rusher from
Denver… but who will it be?
Peerless Price might not make the team in Atlanta…
Let's say he gets cut… how many teams will be
fighting for the rights to sign Price? Does he end
up in Philly? Who takes a chance of the former Tennessee
Vol? Price still has the speed to help a team get
to the next level, don't bet him out of Atlanta. I
wouldn't be surprised if he's starting by week 3.
I've had a good friend in the hospital with knee problems
for the last week or so. He didn't have a room next
to Rex Grossman, but from the sounds of it, he'll
be up and around before Rex gets back on the field.
Initially said to be out up to three months, it's
said that the Bears are almost surely going to put
Rex on IR for the rest of the season. No one likes
to see injuries, and this is no exception, Rex's career
continues to be limited by freak accidents on the
field. Good luck on a speedy recovery Rex.
Is it possible that the Ravens have gotten better
on defense? It's not possible, it's a sure thing.
A switch to the 4-3 should have young players like
T-Suggs dominating the line, while Ray Lewis does
what Ray does. The secondary has gotten a huge boost
with the return of Old Man Deion and new signee Samarri
Rolle, where the line backing corps just jumped for
joy when Peter Boulware resigned. Look for the Ravens
to be the most complete team in football with Jamal
Lewis looking to prove himself while getting help
in the passing game from rookie Mark Clayton and former
Titan Derrick Mason. This is Boller's last chance
to shine.
Like most other first string running backs, Priest
Holmes had a measly 4 carries in his first of four
preseason outings. Unlike other first string backs,
Holmes rushed for 40 yards. They say he's only 75%.
He agrees with them. He's still the best back in football.
How about the methodical movements of my favorite
and yours, Drew "Hit Me Here" Bledsoe. With
a couple sacks, and four separate occasions where
he led his offense to 3 and out performances, Drew
ended his first preseason game as the leader of Bill
Parcell's Cowboys. Could this get any better? As if
I didn't enjoy watching the Cowboys fail week after
week last year, now I get to see Drew Bledsoe lumber
around like a fat kid in quicksand for a good chunk
of the season. This could be another great year to
bet against the 'Boys. Here's to my payroll.
That's it for now, I'll have another article up soon,
so stay tuned for more preseason action.
WAGERING
SMART MAKES WATCHING PRESEASON NFL GAMES FUN
Good
Luck with your NFL Football Wagering!
Lucky Lester
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