Packers keep blitzes under wraps for preseason
Football Betting Lines
08/21/2010 -
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -As far as the Green Bay Packers are concerned, bland is the new blitz - at least when it comes to the preseason.
Entering their second year in defensive coordinator Dom Capers' 3-4 scheme, the Packers are facing a far more gentle learning curve to get ready for the regular season.
So unlike last year, when the defense was new and Capers felt players had to practice everything under game conditions, he's now keeping his most exotic blitzes under wraps and off of game film.
Capers said he intentionally went conservative in the Packers' first preseason game, a loss to Cleveland. He expects to do more of the same in Saturday's game at Seattle.
``I think your first four teams you're playing, you're giving them a lot of things to work on in practice,'' Capers said. ``So you'd rather not do that, I think.''
Not every team played it that way in its first preseason game. According to reports out of Chicago, the Bears pulled quarterback Jay Cutler out of their game at San Diego earlier than planned because the Chargers were blitzing so aggressively.
But as much as defensive players would like to run wild and get after the quarterback every game, Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews said saving their best stuff for the regular season is a smart play.
``Obviously you don't want to show too much with the initial opponents we're going to face the first half of the season,'' Matthews said. ``You don't want to put too much on tape. But we're running our base defenses and a few pressures here and there.''
With Matthews sitting out because of a hamstring injury and the Packers keeping most of their pressure packages in their back pocket for now, it wasn't time to panic when Green Bay's defense didn't look particularly sharp against Cleveland.
Still, the Packers did give up three first-half touchdowns to the Browns.
``We have to do a better job of getting pressure, and that falls on everybody,'' Matthews said. ``It's not just outside linebackers or D-linemen. We can't rely on the blitz to bail us out, especially this early in preseason (when) we're trying not to show our cards right now. We do need to put emphasis on getting pressure. That's how it is.''
Vanilla defense or not, the Packers still want better results against the Seahawks.
``To me, that's part of the evaluation process,'' Capers said. ``Those are the things you have to find out right now in preseason. Like I say, you might be able to camouflage some things by blitzing every down, but that isn't going to work. Once you get into the regular season, that can catch up with you in a hurry.''
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he would prefer to use the preseason as a chance for players to show sound fundamental play than use it to experiment with the most complex portions of the playbook.
The Packers only brought a lot of pressure in the preseason last year because they felt they had to.
``Last year was a totally different mindset for us because we were going from a totally different defensive scheme to more of a pressure scheme,'' McCarthy said. ``It wasn't the schematic volume that was important in preseason, it was the ability to play pressure football in live game. That's why we pressured as much as we did last year.''
Capers said he doesn't want to blitz all the time in the regular season, either, making the preseason a valuable platform for the defense to show what it can do without really turning up the heat.
``If you go into the season feeling you've got to rely on the blitz all the time, sooner or later it catches up with you,'' Capers said. ``I think now's a time we can see how well we can play base fundamental football.''
And as always, the Packers' defensive philosophy starts with stopping the run.
``The most helpless feeling is if you're trying to play your base defense and they're running the ball for 5 or 6 yards a crack in there,'' Capers said. ``If we can stop the run, people are going to try to spread us out, and we have to be able to put a group out there where we can match up and play good football that way. I don't worry about the blitz stuff right now as much as I do us playing sound fundamental football and get a basis to build on.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.
The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.
MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.
Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.
Stanley Cup Odds
| Ottawa Senators Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes San Jose Sharks Anaheim Ducks Philadelphia Flyers Calgary Flames New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres Dallas Stars New York Rangers Nashville Predators Vancouver Canucks Colorado Avalanche Minnesota Wild Tampa Bay Lightning Boston Bruins Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens Atlanta Thrashers Toronto Maple Leafs Edmonton Oilers Phoenix Coyotes Los Angeles Kings New York Islanders Columbus Blue Jackets St. Louis Blues Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Chicago Blackhawks |
7-1 10-1 10-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 12-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 15-1 20-1 20-1 25-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 30-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 80-1 80-1 100-1 100-1 |
NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games
| Team Ottawa Senators Anaheim Ducks Detroit Red Wings Nashville Predators San Jose Sharks Calgary Flames Philadelphia Flyers New Jersey Devils Buffalo Sabres Carolina Hurricanes Dallas Stars New York Rangers Minnesota Wild Atlanta Thrashers Montreal Canadiens Team Los Angeles Kings Tampa Bay Lightening Vancouver Canucks Boston Bruins Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Phoenix Coyotes Toronto Maple Leafs Florida Panthers Columbus Blue Jackets New York Islanders Chicago Blackhawks St. Louis Blues Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Penguins |
Over/Under 108.5 106.5 104.5 104.5 103.5 101.5 100.5 99.5 97.5 97.5 97.5 95.5 94.5 93.5 92.5 Over/Under 91.5 91.5 91.5 89.5 89.5 88.5 88.5 86.5 84.5 82.5 80.5 72.5 72.5 72.5 71.5 |
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