Bucs Squander an Opportunity In Jags Loss

Football Betting Lines

10/30/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the 2007 NFL season ends and the post-mortems are written, this one is going to stand out for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And not in a good way.

The Bucs' 24-23 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday was a game Jon Gruden's crew had to have. Teams that have playoff aspirations, and beyond, don't lose home affairs to first-time NFL starters who finish with all of seven completions.

Teams with staying power don't relinquish chances to acquire control of the division, and they don't blow opportunities to draw nearer to the conference field entering the season's second half.

But Tampa committed all of the above sins on Sunday, dropping its third game in the last four, and remaining a game behind first-place Carolina (4-3) in the NFC South with resurgent New Orleans (3-4) tailgating quite closely.

It was an uncharacteristic game for Tampa Bay on several fronts.

Quarterback Jeff Garcia, lauded for his efficiency and an aversion to mistakes in each of his first seven starts in a Tampa uniform, was neither efficient nor mistake-free against Jacksonville. Garcia completed just 19-of-41 passes in the loss, also throwing his first three interceptions of the year after entering the day with 189 pass attempts and no picks in 2007. Two of the INTs were absolute killers, the first going the other way for an Aaron Glenn touchdown in the second quarter, and the final coming on 4th-and-10 on Tampa's ill-fated final drive.

Garcia's 45.5 passer rating was his worst of the campaign to date.

Defensively, where the Buccaneers should have been able to set the tone against an opponent that everyone knew was going to have to run the ball to survive, clammed up at all the wrong times.

After going ahead 23-17 on a Matt Bryant field goal late in the third quarter, Tampa Bay allowed Jacksonville quarterback Quinn Gray to engineer his best drive of the day, an eight-play, 53-yarder that culminated in a brilliant one- handed touchdown catch by Matt Jones.

Later, on a critical 3rd-and-6 play from the Jacksonville 7-yard line with 3:17 left, the Bucs allowed Gray to complete an 18-yard dump-off to fullback Greg Jones, a conversion that moved the chains in the clock in ways that proved fatal to the Tampa cause.

After finally re-acquiring the football with 1:43 left, the Bucs nearly stole the game back when Ike Hilliard broke free on a go route along the ride sideline. But Garcia overthew him, tossing his game-ending pick on the next play.

All in a bad, and potentially very damaging, afternoon for Gruden and company.

"Obviously, I'm very disappointed in that game," said Gruden. "I felt we had a number of chances to get it done tonight...I thought we had 10 or 12 plays, big plays, big opportunities to make them. I didn't think we cashed in on some opportunities that we normally do. That's the difference between winning and losing. They're making one-handed catches for touchdowns. Unfortunately for us, we were not able to come up with several big plays."

SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE

An ankle injury to wide receiver Michael Clayton suffered in last week's loss to Detroit allowed second-year-man Maurice Stovall to crack the starting lineup for the first time this season. Stovall opened the game on the field along with Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard in the club's three-receiver set, and finished with career-highs of five receptions and 47 yards. Stovall had scored his first career touchdown against Detroit the week before.

Clayton is not expected to return this week, meaning more time for Stovall, a third-round selection out of Notre Dame in the 2006 Draft.

AT THIS JUNCTURE

The loss to Jacksonville meant that the Buccaneers reached the season's midway point at 4-4, perhaps a bit of a disappointment given the team's 3-1 start but still a vast improvement over last year's 2-6 mark at the halfway pole.

The Buccaneers are no stranger to 4-4, having opened with that first-half record 10 times since the schedule went to 16 games in 1978. The bad news for Tampa Bay fans is that the last time it happened, 2003, the Bucs finished 7-9 and out of the playoff money. The encouraging news is that Tampa Bay has used 4-4 as a springboard to the postseason five times, including in three straight years under Tony Dungy (1999-2001).

The best Tampa Bay ever finished after opening 4-4 was 11-5, which the franchise achieved during a 1999 season in which it reached the NFC Championship game. The worst mark the Bucs ever posted after beginning 4-4 was 4-11 during the strike-altered season of 1987, a year that saw the team finish with an eight-game losing streak under head coach Ray Perkins.

NEXT UP

The Buccaneers can right the pirate ship this week when the 3-4 Cardinals visit Raymond James Stadium.

Arizona has an 8-7 edge in its all-time series with Tampa Bay, breaking a deadlock in the series with a 12-7 home win when the teams last met, in Week 17 of the 2004 season. The Buccaneers won the previous meeting, a 19-18 nail- biter in Florida in 1997. The Cardinals are 0-2 in Tampa Bay since last winning there in 1988.

Gruden is 1-2 against Arizona in his career, including 1-1 while with Oakland (1998-2001). The Cardinals' Ken Whisenhunt will be meeting both Gruden and the Bucs for the first time as a head coach.

Wwdaum Football Betting News

<< Indiana assistant coach Senderoff resigns
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indiana assistant basketball coach Rob Senderoff announced his resignation Tuesday in the wake of reports he was involved in improper telephone calls to recruits. "Rob Senderoff has decided it

<< T-Wolves Foye out with knee injury
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that guard Randy Foye suffered a stress reaction of his left patella and will be out indefinitely. An MRI and a CT Scan on Monday revealed the injury. Foye,

<< Nebraska QB Keller out for season
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, head coach Bill Callahan said. Keller sustained the injury during the fourth quarter of Saturday's 28-25 loss to

<< Second-Guessing Has Begun for Woeful Bengals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When you're a 2-5 football team, the little things get magnified. And this was a little thing, which promptly turned into a big thing, in the Bengals' 24-13 home loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. Trailing 14-3 with 2:21 to

<< Brazil, Germany chosen to host World Cups
Zurich, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brazil was chosen as the host country of the 2014 Men's World Cup, while Germany was given the same distinction as the home of the 2011 Women's World Cup. FIFA president Joseph Blatter made the

Red Sox roll through Boston to celebrate >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox celebrated their second title in four years with a rolling rally on Tuesday. Closer Jonathan Papelbon, dressed in a kilt and dancing on top of a duck boat along with fellow relievers Hide

This Week in Auto Racing November 1 - November 4 >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With IndyCar and Formula One seasons over and the Champ Car Series decided and irrelevant, it will be all NASCAR all the time until the end of the racing season. NASCAR Nextel Cup Dickies 500 - Texa

Mavs waive C Mbenga >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks requested waivers on center D.J. Mbenga Tuesday. The 7-foot Mbenga played three seasons in Dallas and holds career averages of 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds in 79 games with the Mav

Cowboys extend Romo's deal through 2013 >>
Irving, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Cowboys announced a six-year contract extension for quarterback Tony Romo at a Tuesday afternoon press conference. The deal, which will keep Romo in a Cowboys uniform through the 2013 season, is re

Titans' Amato done for season >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tennessee Titans long-snapper Ken Amato is out for the remainder of the season with a torn right ACL. Amato, a seven-year veteran out of Montana State, suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Sund

American Idol Betting Odds: Season 6  

The online gambling websites are in the process of deciphering each American Idol contestant and his or her chances of winning Season 6 to come up with the early American Idol betting lines.

Tim Dalton of MySportsbook.com has been locked away in a soundproof room coming up with all the latest tallies, we are told. "American Idol has become one of the most significant betting events of the year," claims Jack Black of MySportsbook.com.  "Last year, millions were bet during the season across the globe, not just in America.

It's tough early on since we really do not have a glimpse as to how well each of these individuals will perform solo on a week-to-week basis.  It's like Week 1 of the NFL.  Pre-season means nada!

We do know the 24 finalists however.

Sanjaya Malakar is the young man whose sister failed to make it into the Top 24.  He's very low key but - unless he totally flubs - will probably win over the young girlie vote for a few weeks anyway.  He's too young to go all the way, according to Payton O'Brien. 

Brandon Rogers - Who?

Phil Stacy is the military guy who missed his daughter's birth because of the Memphis audition.  He should go a good distance.

Chris Sligh - He's got the humor and in many ways he's the Anti-American Idol much like last year's winner Taylor Hicks was.  And this is why he'll probably get pretty far in this competition.  He's chubby, white with a big curly afro....but more importantly, a great voice!  People love "real", not "real cute" to go all the way. 

"Blake Lewis should go far because of his uniqueness and looks.  He's the boy next store with a twist - he beat boxes.  But on top of this, he's a great singer, and I adore him," Payton O'Brien relayed.

A talented beat-boxer Blake Lewis was a hit during the group sing in Hollywood but Simon explained that this is a singing contest just before he told him he was “in.”

Paul Kim has caught our own roving reporter, Jenny Woo's eyes. 

"I love the fact that there is a Korean American on the show and he is bound to get more Asians tuning into the show," Woo said from her Miami Beach estate.  "There has never been a major presence of Asian-Americans on American Idol in the past.  He's a hottie with a nice voice so that should help to take him far.  Expect heavy betting action from the Asian community."

Sundance Head - He's not perfect, but he's got the personality that will take him through a few weeks, plus he's got the lineage (son of Roy Head - whose 1965 single, "Treat Her Right," hit No. 5 in the charts) 

And the others:

Rudy Cardinas
AJ Tabaldo - the 5th time is the charm
Nicolas Pedro
Chris Richardson
Jared Cotter

The girls

"Melinda Doolittle has one of the best voices," says MySportsbook.com Reporter and an acclaimed dancer in her own right, Destiney Lewis.  "It is great to see a back up singer step out like she has.  The girl needs to gain more confidence but that can also be a positive.  I think she will go far."

Alena Alexander - Those tears (she never seems to stop bawling) should get her far.

"Single mom Lakisha Jones I suspect will be a pretty big favorite entering Week 1 of the competition," says Destiny Williams.  Jones is an excellent singer and down to earth.  "She'll have a wide appeal," echoed O'Brien.

Nicole Trellis - Seems to exert confidence.

Amy Krebs - a powerful singer.

Antonella Barba
Gina Glocksen
Hailey Scanardo
Jordan Sparks
Stephanie Edwards
Leslie Hunt
Sabrina Sloan

MySportsbook.com is offering a 20% signup bonus with an initial deposit (i.e. open your American Idol betting account with $300, receive another $60 in which to bet with). 

Last two contestants will be?

1 Male/1 Female +100 (a $10 bet pays $10 plus your initial $10)

2 Males +170 (a $10 bet pays $17 plus your initial $17)

2 Females +130 (a $10 bet pays $13 plus your initial $10)

MySportsbook.com is an online sportsbook accepts Visa Credit Cards and online sportsbook accepts Mastercard Credit Cards for easy American Idol betting lines.