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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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