Divisional Round Weekend: NFL Betting Recap, News, and Notes

Posted by Andrew Ryan on January 18, 2011 · Leave a Comment

The second round of the playoffs is in the books, and here at Bang the Book, we have all of the most important news and notes from across the league from the biggest weekend that the NFL betting campaign has had to date.

Big Ben A Hero Again: QB Ben Roethlisberger has officially added to his legacy. Facing a 3rd and 19 against one of the most vicious defenses in the league, he hooked up with WR Antonio Brown for a 58 yard pass that set up the game winning score and broke the tie once and for all for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the favor over the Baltimore Ravens. Though Big Ben really didn’t have the greatest game of his career, he overcame the odds and got the job done. Roethlisberger was sacked six times, and he only went 19-of-32 for 226 yards with a pair of scores and a lost fumble that was returned for a TD.

Dominating ‘D’ for the Steelers: It is really clear that S Troy Polamalu is really a tremendous difference maker for this Pittsburgh defense. Just like Big Ben, he wasn’t at his best either, but just the fact that he is out there really struck some fear into the Baltimore defense that was apparent all game long. The Ravens only mustered 35 yards on the ground on just 18 carries, and QB Joe Flacco was really under the gun the entire day. Flacco was sacked five times on the day, and he lost a fumble and threw an INT as a part of a disastrous second half that ended up costing Baltimore a trip to the AFC Championship Game. Though there were 24 points allowed, we know that this was a bit of a farce. Seven points came directly from the offense, while the special teams set up the final field goal of the game. There was really only one sustained drive in the game, and Baltimore only ended up mustering 126 total yards in an awful offensive display.

Jets Flying High in Foxboro: No one really thought that they had a chance to get the job done, but the New York Jets found a way to get past the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in one of the biggest upsets that we have seen in quite some time. But maybe we shouldn’t be so shocked. This was the fourth playoff game that the Jets have won on the road in the second season over the last two years, and the argument could already be made that Head Coach Rex Ryan might be the best coach in the history of this franchise.

Super Sanchez in Jets Lore: It’s hard to believe that before QB Mark Sanchez traded in his LA sunglasses to be in a New York state of mind, that the most wins in the history of the Jets was two. Sanchez broke the record held by Joe Namath, who won Super Bowl III in the biggest game in the history of the franchise. However, “The Sanchise” has now doubled his production from last year. He has four ‘W’s in the last two seasons, all of which have come on the road. Sanchez looked great last week in victory, and the argument could be made that he really outplayed the illustrious QB Tom Brady. Sanchez went 16-of-25 for 194 yards with three scores on the day, including a fantastic TD pass to WR Santonio Holmes that absolutely could not have been put in a better place.

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A+ For Aaron in Atlanta: In all of the years that the Green Bay Packers were led by some of the biggest stars that the game has had to offer, never before have they seen a game like this. QB Aaron Rodgers was absolutely perfect all day against the Atlanta Falcons against a quarterback that had only lost two games in his career in front of his hometown crowd. The former Cal Golden Bear went 31-of-36 for 366 yards with three TDs, and he added a TD on the ground to boot. All four of Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, and James Jones had at least 75 yards through the air, marking one of the rare times that you’ll ever see four receivers put up a game like that all at one time. Rodgers and the Green Bay offense accounted for 422 yards in an absolute blowout, a 48-21 win over the Falcons.

Tramon Provides the Turning Point: The Pack weren’t always in the greatest position in the world on Saturday night either. Green Bay was only up 21-14 in the NFC Divisional Round game, and things really could have gotten worse in the dying moments in the first half. However, instead of QB Matt Ryan getting the ship righted by putting points on the scoreboard just before the half, he was intercepted by DB Tramon Williams, his second pick of the half. Williams raced 70 yards in the other direction with no time left on the clock in the second quarter, for the game breaking TD. Right out of the locker room, the Pack marched 80 yards in over six minutes, scoring once again to blow the game wide open. Williams now has three picks in the playoffs, and he has clearly been the MVP on this side of the ball for a team that has been fantastic on defense all season.

Bears Bull to Big Lead Against Seahawks: Was there ever really a doubt where the NFC Championship Game was going to be held on Sunday? The Chicago Bears came right out of the gate and scored the first 28 points against the Seattle Seahawks, which really put the smack down on one of the worst teams that the playoffs have ever seen. QB Jay Cutler did just about everything that was asked of him on this day, as he went 15-of-28 for 274 yards and two TDs through the air and rushed for 43 yards and two TDs on the ground. He was really dominant in the first half, and he got a great contribution from RB Matt Forte, who rumbled for 80 yards. More importantly, the only turnover on the day came via a Forte pick on a trick play.

Seahawks Stifled on the Ground: The Bears did everything that they needed to do on defense, and though they allowed 258 yards and three TDs to QB Matt Hasselbeck, the mass majority of those yards and all of those scores came after the game was well out of reach and their sights were already set on the Green Bay Packers. The key was the ground defense, which is already one of the best in the game. Chicago ranks No. 1 in the NFC in rush ‘D’ at just over 90 yards per game, and it held the Seahawks to just 34 yards on 12 carries. If the defense comes up with that type of effort next week, the Monsters of the Midway will be heading back to the Super Bowl.

Brutal Beats for Under Backers: If you bet on the ‘under’ in any of the games this weekend, the NFL betting gods clearly weren’t on your side. Sure, there was no doubt that the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons were going past the number on Saturday night, but the other three games all really should have been low scorers. The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t even combine for 400 yards between them, and if not for two tremendous pass interference calls, a special teams gaffe, and a ridiculous defensive TD by the Steelers, this game wouldn’t have come anywhere near the number. However, the worst beats really came on Sunday. The Bears had the ball with a 28-10 lead and less than five minutes to play, and rather than try to run out the clock, they threw a TD pass that started a tirade of 21 points in the final five minutes of the game. The New York Jets and New England Patriots really had a dead nuts ‘under’ game going on, but all of a sudden, things fell apart in the last two minutes of the game. RB Shonn Greene had a chance to run out the clock and fall down inside the New England 5 yard line, which would have set up taking knees to end the game with just 35 points on the board. Instead, he ran into the end zone, and the Jets let QB Tom Brady and company score with less than 30 seconds left in the game to deliver the roughest break of the weekend.

Top Passers: There really weren’t that many passers of note on the day in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, but it was clear that the man of the hour was Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers was the only man to throw for more than 300 yards on the day, as he went 31-of-36 for 366 yards with three scores, and he added a TD on the ground. Chicago’s Jay Cutler matched Rodgers’ three passing TDs and one rushing TD, and he threw for 274 yards. The man that was probably lost in the mix was New England’s Tom Brady. Brady might have thrown for 299 yards, but going 29-of-45 with two TDs, one of which came in garbage time, and his first pick since October really wasn’t all that impressive.

Running All Over the Competition: Believe it or not out of eight teams that played on Saturday and Sunday, there were no running backs that had more than the 80 yards on the ground by Chicago’s Matt Forte. New York’s Shonn Greene ended up with 76 yards and a TD on the ground, and though LaDainian Tomlinson really didn’t come up with that big of a day as a rusher, he did have his first receiving TD in his postseason career. Green Bay’s James Starks rushed for 66 yards, but he had to run the ball 25 times to accomplish that.

Receiving the Top Prizes: Seven different players had at least 75 receiving yards this week, and three of them were members of the Packers. Greg Jennings had 101 yards and eight receptions on the night against the Falcons, and he was one of a foursome of receivers that had at least 75 yards on the day. Jordy Nelson, James Jones, and Donald Driver all reached this plateau as well. Though Santonio Holmes had the big catch for the Jets on Sunday, the man that did all of the big time dirty work was Jerricho Cotchery, who had 96 yards. The top receiver on the weekend was Greg Olsen, who really proved his worth with 113 yards, including a 58 yard TD pass that opened the scoring against the Seahawks.

Conference Championship Playoff Schedule and Opening Lines
New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers – 3:00 ET Sunday (Pittsburgh -3.5/38)
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears – 6:30 ET Sunday (Green Bay -3.5/43.5)

Trade a merger for more BROADBAND? ATT has been promising expanded broadband to rural areas if its merger with T-Mobile is allowed to proceed.(BUSINESS)

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) June 10, 2011 Byline: JEREMY HERB; STAFF WRITER WASHINGTON Bruce Kerfoot is tired of being stuck in the Internet slow lane.

Kerfoot, whose family has owned the Gunflint Lodge in Cook County, Minn., for decades, says he’s losing business because he can’t get a decent Internet connection. His guests demand connectivity, and with only dial-up and spotty satellite connections available, Kerfoot says he can’t do basic things like taking reservations online. website att uverse coupon code

“I cannot be competitive with my guests’ needs for hooking up or connecting while they’re here — even though I’d prefer they didn’t,” Kerfoot said.

Kerfoot is just the kind of person ATT Inc. has in mind as the telecom giant pushes expanding rural broadband as a major benefit of its proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. ATT officials say that the merger will allow the company to vastly expand its broadband network into rural areas, offering new customers access to high-speed mobile Internet for the first time.

ATT Minnesota President Bob Bass says that 1.2 million additional people in Minnesota will get broadband under ATT’s merger plan as part of a push to cover 97 percent of the population nationally.

But critics of the proposed merger, including cellphone competitor Sprint, say the promise of increased rural broadband is being offered as a mirage to entice regulators into allowing the megamerger to proceed. They say that nothing is stopping ATT from expanding now if it was willing to put the effort — and money — into rural broadband.

“There’s nothing in this merger that is going to naturally improve broadband build-out in rural America,” said Steve K. Berry, president and CEO of the Rural Cellular Association.

Like other telecom services, high-speed Internet and strong cell coverage have been slowest to reach rural communities. The proposed merger between ATT and T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom leaves some of Minnesota’s rural residents wondering if it could fix their dropped calls and Internet issues, or if they’ll still be left out of range as prices rise. The merger has generated a flurry of interest: The Federal Communications Commission has received 10,000 public comments.

Rural broadband blackmail?

Minnesota’s two Democratic senators are poised to play a major role examining the merger in Congress before the FCC and Justice Department decide next year whether to sign off.

The Senate’s first hearing on the merger last month focused on whether it would drive up consumer costs because of decreased competition, as the merger would leave two companies controlling 80 percent of the wireless market. site att uverse coupon code

Sen. Al Franken said he doesn’t think promising more rural broadband should be justification to allow the wireless market to inch closer to the “Ma Bell” telecom era.

“Doesn’t it seem a little bit like extortion?” Franken said in an interview. “There’s no reason for them not to be building it out now. It should be in their interest to do it, so that sounds like we’d be giving in to blackmail.” ATT says that it’s facing a “spectrum crunch,” where the volume of data is threatening to overload the system, and it needs T-Mobile’s spectrum to fully expand its latest generation 4G broadband network.

The telecom giant’s competitors counter that ATT already has more spectrum than any other company, and the “spectrum crunch” only affects highly trafficked urban areas, not rural ones.

“I’m skeptical for a few reasons,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is the only senator on both of the committees investigating the merger: Judiciary and Commerce. “They haven’t built it out in the past. Verizon actually has less spectrum, and it’s built out more [into rural areas].” ‘One piece of the puzzle’ As Washington debates, rural America waits.

Pamela Lehmann, executive director of the Lac Qui Parle County Economic Development Authority in western Minnesota, says that she has tried unsuccessfully to lure national wireless companies into investing in the area. “It’s really tough as an economic developer to get anyone from the cellular companies to respond to inquiries,” Lehmann said. “A very small rural county has limited coverage for them, so when you’re not a major player it’s tough to get them to carry on that conversation with you.” Lehmann feels it at home: Her 16-year-old teenage son is unhappy without Internet at the house. She doesn’t feel the price for a slow dial-up connection is worth it.

But Heidi Omerza, a City Council member from Ely, Minn., has publicly supported the ATT/T-Mobile merger because she says any help in expanding rural broadband is a good thing.

“Right now with all the fights going on for the limited dollars out there, it’s one more thing that can help rural America.” Omerza said. “This is one piece of the puzzle for Ely to continue to survive.” Rural broadband is elusive because of the economics: Building the infrastructure is expensive and gains few customers.

President Obama called for expanding wireless Internet to 98 percent of Americans in five years, and $7 billion was included in the stimulus for broadband. The FCC also has proposed shifting its Universal Service Fund, designed to bring telecom services to rural areas, toward expanding broadband.

Some money is starting to trickle down to Minnesota’s rural counties, though there have also been roadblocks converting dollars into Internet service.

But for Kerfoot, even if ATT’s merger leads to more rural broadband, he won’t reap the benefits. The company’s plan still doesn’t reach his neck of the woods in the northeasternmost tip of the state.

Jeremy Herb – 202-408-2723 Twitter: @StribHerb

Divisional Round Weekend: NFL Betting Recap, News, and Notes

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