Argos start season on right foot, blow out Tiger-Cats
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07/01/2009 - Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kerry Joseph threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns, as the Toronto Argonauts got the CFL season started with a 30-17 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a battle of 2008 also-rans.
Joseph completed 14-of-29 passes for Toronto (1-0), which snapped a nine-game losing streak, dating back to last season, and won in new head coach Bart Andrus' debut with the club. Jamal Robertson added 124 yards on the ground with a touchdown, while Arland Bruce caught five passes for 73 yards and a score.
Toronto and Hamilton were the only two teams that didn't qualify for the Grey Cup playoffs last season, as the Argonauts finished with a 4-14 record while the Tiger-Cats were 3-15.
Quincy Porter went 26-of-40 through the air for 229 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Hamilton (0-1), which has lost five straight, dating back to 2008, and 11 of 12 overall. Prechae Rodriguez hauled in seven balls for 55 yards and a score, while Terry Caulley scored Hamilton's other touchdown through the air.
Toronto jumped out to a big lead with 20 points in the first quarter.
Four minutes into the game, Joseph found Bruce from 21 yards out for a touchdown for an early 6-0 lead after a missed PAT attempt.
With 4:43 left in the quarter, Joseph hit Reggie McNeal on a seven-yard touchdown pass to cap a 10-play drive, and the extra point made it 13-0.
Then, on the final play of the opening frame, Robertson ran from five yards out to finish a three-play, 39-yard drive in just 44 seconds to give Toronto a commanding 20-0 lead.
Hamilton finally got on the board, as Caulley hauled in a three-yard touchdown reception from Porter a little over two minutes into the second period, cutting the team's deficit to 20-7.
The Tiger-Cats added three more points on Nick Setta's 18-yard field goal with three minutes left until halftime, but Eddie Johnson answered for the Argonauts with a 25-yard field goal 43 seconds later, accounting for the 23-10 halftime score.
Toronto restored its 20-point cushion early in the second half, as Joseph tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Matt Lambros two minutes into the quarter.
Hamilton added a touchdown late, as Rodriguez caught a 21-yard scoring pass from Porter with just over a minute to go in the fourth. The Tiger-Cats, though, were stopped from that point, and Toronto went home victorious.
Game Notes
Robertson also caught three passes for 53 yards...Porter was Hamilton's leading rusher with 61 yards on nine attempts...Hamilton went 2-1 last season against Toronto, accounting for 67 percent of the Tiger-Cats' wins.
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Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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