Armadillo Sports
Thursday’s 6-pack
College football teams who run the fewest plays per game:
56.4— Texas A&M
56.8— Iowa
56.8— New Mexico State
57.2— New Mexico
57.6— Kansas
58.0— San Diego State
Quote of the Day
“Disappointed but not surprised. I think it’s the fifth one this season, right? The toll has mounted. … It just dawned on me there’s two border states where there’s changes, and I hadn’t thought about it in those terms. You know, it’s the business we’re in, and we all know that. We all signed up for it. We all know that.”
Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz, talking about Wisconsin firing their coach. Badgers won five of their last six games against Iowa.
Thursday’s quiz
Who was the Phillies manager in 2011, last time they made the playoffs?
Wednesday’s quiz
Julius Erving (Dr J) played his first five seasons in the pros in the ABA; Milwaukee Bucks drafted him with the 12th pick in the 1972 draft.
Tuesday’s quiz
Julius Erving played his college basketball at UMass.
**************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
— Sunday in Baltimore, Bills-Ravens were tied 20-20 with 4:15 left; Ravens had the ball 4th-and goal on the 2-yard line. There was a light rain, Ravens have a very mobile QB.
Ravens started game TD-TD-FG-FG, but went scoreless in their next four drives. If you’re John Harbaugh, what do you do on 4th-and-2? Again, game is 20-20 with 4:15 left.
Baltimore went for it, but had Lamar Jackson throw the ball instead of run it; he threw an INT in the end zone, pretty much the worst case scenario. Buffalo got the ball at the 20 instead of being pinned near their goal line; they drove 77 yards over the last 4:09 and kicked a walk-off field goal, giving them an impressive come-from-behind 23-20 road win.
These days, whenever a football coach gets asked about a risky/reckless decision, he says the magic word that is supposed to make the issue go away: “Analytics” This is complete BS.
What the bleep has changed about football where kicking a FG to go ahead 23-20 with 4:00 left on a rainy day on your home field isn’t a good option? Obviously, if the Ravens scored the TD, that would be ideal, but not only didn’t they score, they had the mobile Jackson throw the ball; he threw for 144 yards in this game, ran for 73 yards. He runs way better than he throws.
Bottom line is this: Ravens have now lost five home games in a row, by a total of 11 points; they SUCK in close games!!! They lost their last six games last year, five of them by 3 or less points.
In their two losses this season, Baltimore led 20-3/35-14. At some point, the owner is going to get tired of losing by the skin of his teeth every week and heads will roll. The coaches’ heads. Maybe the coaches should save their jobs by sending the analytics people packing.
— Another part of the Ravens discussion is this: going back to last year, they’re 2-8 in their last ten games, with seven losses by 4 or less points. How much of this falls on Jackson’s shoulders? Do you give him $40M a year when he hasn’t been coming thru in close games?
— Miami’s backup QB is Teddy Bridgewater; in his career, Bridgewater is 24-6 ATS in road games, which is pretty amazing.
UCF 41, SMU 19
— SMU led this game 13-10 at halftime.
— Mustangs were minus-3 in turnovers; they got outscored 31-6 in 2nd half.
— UCF averaged 10.5 yards/pass attempt.
How do Super Bowl champs do the next season?
— Last five Super Bowl champs made the playoffs the next season.
— Last Super Bowl champ to miss the playoffs the next year was Denver in 2016, but that was after Peyton Manning retired. Broncos haven’t made the playoffs at all since then.
— Last team to repeat as Super Bowl champs? The 2004 Patriots.
— Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020, then lost the Super Bowl the next year, just like Seattle did in 2013-14.
— From 2005-12, the reigning Super Bowl champ went 0-4 in playoff games the following season; since then, they’re 9-7 in playoff games.
Bottom line in this: the NFL is a highly competitive business where teams survive by the thinnest of margins. Things can go sour pretty quickly.
— Major League Baseball doesn’t think much of the Tampa Bay-Cleveland Wild Card series; their series will be all noontime games, not ideal for the fans.
Not surprisingly, the San Diego-New York series will be in primetime; what did you expect?
— Cincinnati Reds lost 15-2 Wednesday and finished 62-100, first time they’ve lost 100 games since 1982. Reds were 83-79 last year, but they cut payroll and the bottom fell out this year.
— By my count, there are 13 players in this year’s playoffs who used to play for the Oakland A’s and that doesn’t count Bob Melvin/Terry Francona, who managed/coached in Oakland.
Would be nice if the rich person who owns the A’s would get off his butt and spend some money so the A’s players can play in the playoffs while wearing green-and-gold. Either that, or sell the team.
If the A’s move to Las Vegas and still run the franchise the way they do now, someone is going to wind up like Joe Pesci’s character in Casino. Not a good thing.
— Kanas City Royals fired manager Mike Matheny Wednesday, after three losing seasons; doesn’t seem possible that the Royals won the World Series only seven years ago.
— I was scrolling thru Amazon Prime tonight and stumbled across an old Odd Couple episode on PlutoTV— great stuff. Loved that show, watched it a ton when it was on in re-runs when I was a teenager. Oscar Madison was one of my heroes.
Back in those days, I used to go to the harness track in Saratoga a decent amount; in August 1980, Jack Klugman had a horse running in the thoroughbred meet during the day at the track down the street— they had him present a trophy to the winner of a race at the harness track.
There were probably 5,000 people at the harness track that night, but when Jack Klugman went to the winners’ circle to present the trophy, it seemed like all 5,000 people were jammed in near the winners’ circle, cheering for him. He seemed genuinely surprised by all the commotion.
— Colts’ RB Jonathan Taylor is out for Thursday night’s game in Denver.
—- Five college football teams haven’t played a game yet that went over the total:
Georgia, under 5-0
Virginia Tech, under 5-0
Colorado State, under 4-0
Michigan, under 4-0-1
Virginia, under 4-0-1
Thursday’s 6-pack
College football teams who run the fewest plays per game:
56.4— Texas A&M
56.8— Iowa
56.8— New Mexico State
57.2— New Mexico
57.6— Kansas
58.0— San Diego State
Quote of the Day
“Disappointed but not surprised. I think it’s the fifth one this season, right? The toll has mounted. … It just dawned on me there’s two border states where there’s changes, and I hadn’t thought about it in those terms. You know, it’s the business we’re in, and we all know that. We all signed up for it. We all know that.”
Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz, talking about Wisconsin firing their coach. Badgers won five of their last six games against Iowa.
Thursday’s quiz
Who was the Phillies manager in 2011, last time they made the playoffs?
Wednesday’s quiz
Julius Erving (Dr J) played his first five seasons in the pros in the ABA; Milwaukee Bucks drafted him with the 12th pick in the 1972 draft.
Tuesday’s quiz
Julius Erving played his college basketball at UMass.
**************************
Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….
— Sunday in Baltimore, Bills-Ravens were tied 20-20 with 4:15 left; Ravens had the ball 4th-and goal on the 2-yard line. There was a light rain, Ravens have a very mobile QB.
Ravens started game TD-TD-FG-FG, but went scoreless in their next four drives. If you’re John Harbaugh, what do you do on 4th-and-2? Again, game is 20-20 with 4:15 left.
Baltimore went for it, but had Lamar Jackson throw the ball instead of run it; he threw an INT in the end zone, pretty much the worst case scenario. Buffalo got the ball at the 20 instead of being pinned near their goal line; they drove 77 yards over the last 4:09 and kicked a walk-off field goal, giving them an impressive come-from-behind 23-20 road win.
These days, whenever a football coach gets asked about a risky/reckless decision, he says the magic word that is supposed to make the issue go away: “Analytics” This is complete BS.
What the bleep has changed about football where kicking a FG to go ahead 23-20 with 4:00 left on a rainy day on your home field isn’t a good option? Obviously, if the Ravens scored the TD, that would be ideal, but not only didn’t they score, they had the mobile Jackson throw the ball; he threw for 144 yards in this game, ran for 73 yards. He runs way better than he throws.
Bottom line is this: Ravens have now lost five home games in a row, by a total of 11 points; they SUCK in close games!!! They lost their last six games last year, five of them by 3 or less points.
In their two losses this season, Baltimore led 20-3/35-14. At some point, the owner is going to get tired of losing by the skin of his teeth every week and heads will roll. The coaches’ heads. Maybe the coaches should save their jobs by sending the analytics people packing.
— Another part of the Ravens discussion is this: going back to last year, they’re 2-8 in their last ten games, with seven losses by 4 or less points. How much of this falls on Jackson’s shoulders? Do you give him $40M a year when he hasn’t been coming thru in close games?
— Miami’s backup QB is Teddy Bridgewater; in his career, Bridgewater is 24-6 ATS in road games, which is pretty amazing.
UCF 41, SMU 19
— SMU led this game 13-10 at halftime.
— Mustangs were minus-3 in turnovers; they got outscored 31-6 in 2nd half.
— UCF averaged 10.5 yards/pass attempt.
How do Super Bowl champs do the next season?
— Last five Super Bowl champs made the playoffs the next season.
— Last Super Bowl champ to miss the playoffs the next year was Denver in 2016, but that was after Peyton Manning retired. Broncos haven’t made the playoffs at all since then.
— Last team to repeat as Super Bowl champs? The 2004 Patriots.
— Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020, then lost the Super Bowl the next year, just like Seattle did in 2013-14.
— From 2005-12, the reigning Super Bowl champ went 0-4 in playoff games the following season; since then, they’re 9-7 in playoff games.
Bottom line in this: the NFL is a highly competitive business where teams survive by the thinnest of margins. Things can go sour pretty quickly.
— Major League Baseball doesn’t think much of the Tampa Bay-Cleveland Wild Card series; their series will be all noontime games, not ideal for the fans.
Not surprisingly, the San Diego-New York series will be in primetime; what did you expect?
— Cincinnati Reds lost 15-2 Wednesday and finished 62-100, first time they’ve lost 100 games since 1982. Reds were 83-79 last year, but they cut payroll and the bottom fell out this year.
— By my count, there are 13 players in this year’s playoffs who used to play for the Oakland A’s and that doesn’t count Bob Melvin/Terry Francona, who managed/coached in Oakland.
Would be nice if the rich person who owns the A’s would get off his butt and spend some money so the A’s players can play in the playoffs while wearing green-and-gold. Either that, or sell the team.
If the A’s move to Las Vegas and still run the franchise the way they do now, someone is going to wind up like Joe Pesci’s character in Casino. Not a good thing.
— Kanas City Royals fired manager Mike Matheny Wednesday, after three losing seasons; doesn’t seem possible that the Royals won the World Series only seven years ago.
— I was scrolling thru Amazon Prime tonight and stumbled across an old Odd Couple episode on PlutoTV— great stuff. Loved that show, watched it a ton when it was on in re-runs when I was a teenager. Oscar Madison was one of my heroes.
Back in those days, I used to go to the harness track in Saratoga a decent amount; in August 1980, Jack Klugman had a horse running in the thoroughbred meet during the day at the track down the street— they had him present a trophy to the winner of a race at the harness track.
There were probably 5,000 people at the harness track that night, but when Jack Klugman went to the winners’ circle to present the trophy, it seemed like all 5,000 people were jammed in near the winners’ circle, cheering for him. He seemed genuinely surprised by all the commotion.
— Colts’ RB Jonathan Taylor is out for Thursday night’s game in Denver.
—- Five college football teams haven’t played a game yet that went over the total:
Georgia, under 5-0
Virginia Tech, under 5-0
Colorado State, under 4-0
Michigan, under 4-0-1
Virginia, under 4-0-1
FRIDAY
CLEVELAND is 71-49 SU (17.1 Units) against left-handed starters in the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS are 364-368 SU (-40.8 Units) in home games in day games since 1996.
TORONTO is 2-16 SU (-15.6 Units) at home when the total is 7 to 7.5 in the last 3 seasons.
SAN DIEGO is 457-371 Over (48.9 Units) on the road when the money line is +125 to -125 since 1996.
MLB
Dunkel
Friday, October 7
MLB
Friday, October 7
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland
Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games on the road
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games at home
Philadelphia @ St. Louis
Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Philadelphia's last 9 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of St. Louis's last 9 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
Seattle @ Toronto
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
San Diego @ NY Mets
San Diego
San Diego is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
San Diego is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
NY Mets
NY Mets is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Mets's last 6 games at home
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND is 71-49 SU (17.1 Units) against left-handed starters in the last 3 seasons.
ST LOUIS are 364-368 SU (-40.8 Units) in home games in day games since 1996.
TORONTO is 2-16 SU (-15.6 Units) at home when the total is 7 to 7.5 in the last 3 seasons.
SAN DIEGO is 457-371 Over (48.9 Units) on the road when the money line is +125 to -125 since 1996.
MLB
Dunkel
Friday, October 7
MLB
Friday, October 7
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland
Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games on the road
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 5 games at home
Philadelphia @ St. Louis
Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Philadelphia's last 9 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of St. Louis's last 9 games when playing at home against Philadelphia
Seattle @ Toronto
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
San Diego @ NY Mets
San Diego
San Diego is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
San Diego is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
NY Mets
NY Mets is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Mets's last 6 games at home
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armadillo Sports
Friday’s 6-pack
NFL leaders in receiving yards (thru 4 weeks):
477— Tyreek Hill, Mia
407— Stefan Diggs, Buff
404— AJ Brown, Phil
402— Cooper Kupp, Rams
393— Justin Jefferson, Minn
381— Jaylen Waddle, Mia
Quote of the Day
“We’re all excited. I think the reason I said I wanted to go over early was just to experience a little bit of that culture, to be able to get out and see some sights and interact with fans and … shoot, go to a pub and have a Guinness or whatever the local brew is. That’s what we all want to do, those of us that want to go over early.”
Aaron Rodgers
Friday’s quiz
When was the last time the World Series went seven games?
Thursday’s quiz
Charlie Manuel was the Phillies manager in 2011, last time they made the playoffs.
Wednesday’s quiz
Julius Erving (Dr J) played his first five seasons in the pros in the ABA; Milwaukee Bucks drafted him with the 12th pick in the 1972 draft.
****************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here……..
— Colts 12, Broncos 9 OT
Colts never led this game in regulation.
McLaughlin was 4-4 on field goals.
Underdogs covered all five Indy games.
All five Colt games stayed under the total.
Since 2018, Colts are 13-7-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Denver has had 14 red zone drives, scored only 3 TD’s.
Indy was 4-16 on third down, Denver 2-15
Denver is 3-7 ATS in last ten games as a home favorite.
Broncos are 4-7 ATS in last 11 games coming off a loss.
Four of five Denver games stayed under the total.
— Stumbled across some NFL Films stuff on Amazon Prime, including a series on the 2016 Rams, their first season back in Los Angeles. It was Jared Goff’s rookie season, and the last year for Jeff Fisher as head coach.
Rams were 4-5 when Goff got his first NFL start, a home game with Miami. Rams hadn’t had a .500 season since 2006, so the 4-5 record provided some optimism— if Goff was good, things would be looking up.
After three quarters against Miami, Rams led 10-0; not ideal, but they were up 10 with a solid defense. Then things imploded, Miami scored two TD’s and the Rams lost 14-10. No bueno.
I remember sitting here after the game, really mad about two things:
a) Obviously, was annoyed that they blew another close game; it was their 4th loss that season by 7 or less points.
b) I was mad at myself for caring; why get so mad when a team that always loses loses again??
Long story short, the Rams didn’t win another game that year, they fired the coach, and that winter, they hired a young coach, a guy named Sean McVay.
If the Rams had beaten Miami, they would’ve been 5-5 and probably would’ve finished 7-9 or 8-8 that year. Stan Kroenke later said that had the Rams finished 7-9 that season, he wouldn’t have fired Jeff Fisher, which would’ve been a complete debacle.
Every once in a while, losing can be a good thing.
— NFL Films’ series on the 2015 Arizona Cardinals was also really good; you realize that for most teams, their window to be a contender might not be open very long. Cardinals went 24-8 over a 2-year span with Carson Palmer at QB, then they lost the NFC title game to Carolina and went six years before they had another winning record.
— I like the idea of the best-of-3 Wild Card series in baseball, with higher seed the home team in all three games. Much better than the one-game Wild Card thing they had for a while, plus it gives the #1-2 seeds in each league a few days off.
— Freddie Freeman/Trea Turner led MLB in hits this season, first time teammates have done that since 1982, when Robin Yount/Cecil Cooper did it.
— Lebron James thinks the NBA should expand to Las Vegas and when it does, he wants to own the team. Would be he run the personnel end of things if he owned the ballclub?
NBA hasn’t announced any concrete plans to expand, but there are murmurs about Las Vegas and Seattle getting teams, when the league does expand.
— ESPN was showing couple G-League games this week; October is a bad month for mid-week TV. NBA uses the G-League to experiment with some rules; in overtime games this year, there will be no clock— first team to score 7 points wins. Curious to see how that plays out.
— In case you were wondering, Australia is having its rainiest year since 1950.
— Tennessee Titans on their first drive of a game this season:
4 drives, 31 plays, 227 yards, four TD’s.
— Green Bay Packers’ opponents’ first four drives:
4 drives, 37 plays, 253 yards, 2 TD’s, 2 FG’s.
— Arizona Cardinals’ first drive of a game:
4 drives, 15 plays, 38 yards, one first down, zero points.
Cardinal opponents’ first drive:
38 drives, 190 plays, 38 yards, 17 points.
— This week Texas Longhorns are a 9-point favorite over Oklahoma in their annual rivalry game; it is the first time since 2009 that Texas is favored over the Sooners.
— North Carolina Tar Heels visit Miami this week; UNC lost the last ten times they scored less than 34 points.
Friday’s 6-pack
NFL leaders in receiving yards (thru 4 weeks):
477— Tyreek Hill, Mia
407— Stefan Diggs, Buff
404— AJ Brown, Phil
402— Cooper Kupp, Rams
393— Justin Jefferson, Minn
381— Jaylen Waddle, Mia
Quote of the Day
“We’re all excited. I think the reason I said I wanted to go over early was just to experience a little bit of that culture, to be able to get out and see some sights and interact with fans and … shoot, go to a pub and have a Guinness or whatever the local brew is. That’s what we all want to do, those of us that want to go over early.”
Aaron Rodgers
Friday’s quiz
When was the last time the World Series went seven games?
Thursday’s quiz
Charlie Manuel was the Phillies manager in 2011, last time they made the playoffs.
Wednesday’s quiz
Julius Erving (Dr J) played his first five seasons in the pros in the ABA; Milwaukee Bucks drafted him with the 12th pick in the 1972 draft.
****************************
Friday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here……..
— Colts 12, Broncos 9 OT
Colts never led this game in regulation.
McLaughlin was 4-4 on field goals.
Underdogs covered all five Indy games.
All five Colt games stayed under the total.
Since 2018, Colts are 13-7-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Denver has had 14 red zone drives, scored only 3 TD’s.
Indy was 4-16 on third down, Denver 2-15
Denver is 3-7 ATS in last ten games as a home favorite.
Broncos are 4-7 ATS in last 11 games coming off a loss.
Four of five Denver games stayed under the total.
— Stumbled across some NFL Films stuff on Amazon Prime, including a series on the 2016 Rams, their first season back in Los Angeles. It was Jared Goff’s rookie season, and the last year for Jeff Fisher as head coach.
Rams were 4-5 when Goff got his first NFL start, a home game with Miami. Rams hadn’t had a .500 season since 2006, so the 4-5 record provided some optimism— if Goff was good, things would be looking up.
After three quarters against Miami, Rams led 10-0; not ideal, but they were up 10 with a solid defense. Then things imploded, Miami scored two TD’s and the Rams lost 14-10. No bueno.
I remember sitting here after the game, really mad about two things:
a) Obviously, was annoyed that they blew another close game; it was their 4th loss that season by 7 or less points.
b) I was mad at myself for caring; why get so mad when a team that always loses loses again??
Long story short, the Rams didn’t win another game that year, they fired the coach, and that winter, they hired a young coach, a guy named Sean McVay.
If the Rams had beaten Miami, they would’ve been 5-5 and probably would’ve finished 7-9 or 8-8 that year. Stan Kroenke later said that had the Rams finished 7-9 that season, he wouldn’t have fired Jeff Fisher, which would’ve been a complete debacle.
Every once in a while, losing can be a good thing.
— NFL Films’ series on the 2015 Arizona Cardinals was also really good; you realize that for most teams, their window to be a contender might not be open very long. Cardinals went 24-8 over a 2-year span with Carson Palmer at QB, then they lost the NFC title game to Carolina and went six years before they had another winning record.
— I like the idea of the best-of-3 Wild Card series in baseball, with higher seed the home team in all three games. Much better than the one-game Wild Card thing they had for a while, plus it gives the #1-2 seeds in each league a few days off.
— Freddie Freeman/Trea Turner led MLB in hits this season, first time teammates have done that since 1982, when Robin Yount/Cecil Cooper did it.
— Lebron James thinks the NBA should expand to Las Vegas and when it does, he wants to own the team. Would be he run the personnel end of things if he owned the ballclub?
NBA hasn’t announced any concrete plans to expand, but there are murmurs about Las Vegas and Seattle getting teams, when the league does expand.
— ESPN was showing couple G-League games this week; October is a bad month for mid-week TV. NBA uses the G-League to experiment with some rules; in overtime games this year, there will be no clock— first team to score 7 points wins. Curious to see how that plays out.
— In case you were wondering, Australia is having its rainiest year since 1950.
— Tennessee Titans on their first drive of a game this season:
4 drives, 31 plays, 227 yards, four TD’s.
— Green Bay Packers’ opponents’ first four drives:
4 drives, 37 plays, 253 yards, 2 TD’s, 2 FG’s.
— Arizona Cardinals’ first drive of a game:
4 drives, 15 plays, 38 yards, one first down, zero points.
Cardinal opponents’ first drive:
38 drives, 190 plays, 38 yards, 17 points.
— This week Texas Longhorns are a 9-point favorite over Oklahoma in their annual rivalry game; it is the first time since 2009 that Texas is favored over the Sooners.
— North Carolina Tar Heels visit Miami this week; UNC lost the last ten times they scored less than 34 points.
MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Wild Card Round
Friday’s games
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland
McClanahan was 12-8, 2.54 in 28 starts this year.
He is 3-3, 2.08 in ten road starts.
He’s allowed 10 runs in 10 IP in six career playoff games (1 start)
He allowed 5 runs in 4.1 IP, in one start vs Cleveland.
Rays went 8-18 in their last 26 games.
Tampa Bay is 35-46 on the road this year.
Rays are in the playoffs for the 4th year in a row.
Bieber was 13-8, 2.81 in 31 starts this year.
He is 5-5, 3.22 in 13 home starts.
He allowed 7 runs in 4.2 IP, in one playoff start.
He is 2-2, 3.22 in six starts vs Cleveland.
Cleveland went 23-6 in their last 29 games.
Guardians are 46-35 at home, 46-35 on road.
Cleveland is in playoffs for 4th time in six years- they missed LY.
Cleveland is 28-17 vs lefty starters this year.
Cleveland is 4-2 vs Tampa Bay this year, going 2-1 in each ballpark.
Philadelphia @ St Louis
Wheeler was 12-7, 2.82 in 26 starts this year.
He is 6-4, 3.84 in 13 road starts.
He’s never pitched in a playoff game.
He is 3-2, 2.65, in six starts vs St Louis.
Phillies went 4-8 in their last 12 games.
Phillies are 65-46 since they changed managers.
Phillies are 40-41 on the road this year.
Phillies are in the playoffs for first time since 2011.
Quintana was 13-8, 2.81 in 31 starts this year.
He is 4-4, 2.24 in 17 home starts.
He is 0-1, 5.40, in three playoff starts (2017 Cubs).
He is 0-1, 2.90 in seven starts vs Philly.
St Louis went 6-9 in their last 15 games.
Cardinals are 53-28 at home- they won NL Central by 7 games.
St Louis is in playoffs for 4th year in a row.
Phillies are 4-3 vs St Louis TY, with three shutout wins. Teams split four games in Busch Stadium.
Seattle @ Toronto
Castillo was 4-2, 3.17 in 11 starts for Seattle this year.
He is 4-5, 3.29 in 13 road starts.
He gave up a run in 5.1 IP, in one playoff start (2020 Reds)
He is 0-1, 3.00, in one start vs Toronto.
Mariners went 7-2 in their last nine games.
Seattle is 44-37 on the road this year.
Mariners are in the playoffs for first time since 2001.
Manoah was 16-7, 2.24 in 31 starts this year.
He is 7-4, 2.42 in 15 home starts.
He’s never pitched in the playoffs.
He is 0-1, 2.45 in one start vs Seattle.
Toronto went 5-1 in their last six games.
Blue Jays are 47-34 at home.
Toronto is in playoffs for 2nd time in last six years.
Seattle is 5-2 vs Toronto this year; home side won six of seven games, with Mariners 1-2 in SkyDome.
San Diego @ NY Mets
Darvish is 16-8, 3.10 in 30 starts this year.
He is 9-5, 3.50 in 17 road starts.
He’s allowed 10 runs in 10 IP in six career playoff games (1 start)
He is 5-0, 2.56 in eight starts vs New York.
Padres went 6-7 in their last 13 games.
San Diego is 45-36 on the road this year.
Padres are in the playoffs for 2nd time since 2006 (2020 other time)
Scherzer was 11-5, 2.29 in 23 starts this year.
He is 4-2, 1.67 in 10 home starts.
He is 7-6, 3.22 in 21 playoff starts.
He is 6-3, 2.88 in 17 starts vs San Diego.
Mets are 6-6 in their last 12 games.
Mets led NL East by 10 games June 1st, didn’t win the division.
New York is 54-27 at home.
Mets are in playoffs for first time since 2016.
San Diego is 4-2 vs New York this year, going 2-1 in each ballpark.
Armadillo's Write-Up
Wild Card Round
Friday’s games
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland
McClanahan was 12-8, 2.54 in 28 starts this year.
He is 3-3, 2.08 in ten road starts.
He’s allowed 10 runs in 10 IP in six career playoff games (1 start)
He allowed 5 runs in 4.1 IP, in one start vs Cleveland.
Rays went 8-18 in their last 26 games.
Tampa Bay is 35-46 on the road this year.
Rays are in the playoffs for the 4th year in a row.
Bieber was 13-8, 2.81 in 31 starts this year.
He is 5-5, 3.22 in 13 home starts.
He allowed 7 runs in 4.2 IP, in one playoff start.
He is 2-2, 3.22 in six starts vs Cleveland.
Cleveland went 23-6 in their last 29 games.
Guardians are 46-35 at home, 46-35 on road.
Cleveland is in playoffs for 4th time in six years- they missed LY.
Cleveland is 28-17 vs lefty starters this year.
Cleveland is 4-2 vs Tampa Bay this year, going 2-1 in each ballpark.
Philadelphia @ St Louis
Wheeler was 12-7, 2.82 in 26 starts this year.
He is 6-4, 3.84 in 13 road starts.
He’s never pitched in a playoff game.
He is 3-2, 2.65, in six starts vs St Louis.
Phillies went 4-8 in their last 12 games.
Phillies are 65-46 since they changed managers.
Phillies are 40-41 on the road this year.
Phillies are in the playoffs for first time since 2011.
Quintana was 13-8, 2.81 in 31 starts this year.
He is 4-4, 2.24 in 17 home starts.
He is 0-1, 5.40, in three playoff starts (2017 Cubs).
He is 0-1, 2.90 in seven starts vs Philly.
St Louis went 6-9 in their last 15 games.
Cardinals are 53-28 at home- they won NL Central by 7 games.
St Louis is in playoffs for 4th year in a row.
Phillies are 4-3 vs St Louis TY, with three shutout wins. Teams split four games in Busch Stadium.
Seattle @ Toronto
Castillo was 4-2, 3.17 in 11 starts for Seattle this year.
He is 4-5, 3.29 in 13 road starts.
He gave up a run in 5.1 IP, in one playoff start (2020 Reds)
He is 0-1, 3.00, in one start vs Toronto.
Mariners went 7-2 in their last nine games.
Seattle is 44-37 on the road this year.
Mariners are in the playoffs for first time since 2001.
Manoah was 16-7, 2.24 in 31 starts this year.
He is 7-4, 2.42 in 15 home starts.
He’s never pitched in the playoffs.
He is 0-1, 2.45 in one start vs Seattle.
Toronto went 5-1 in their last six games.
Blue Jays are 47-34 at home.
Toronto is in playoffs for 2nd time in last six years.
Seattle is 5-2 vs Toronto this year; home side won six of seven games, with Mariners 1-2 in SkyDome.
San Diego @ NY Mets
Darvish is 16-8, 3.10 in 30 starts this year.
He is 9-5, 3.50 in 17 road starts.
He’s allowed 10 runs in 10 IP in six career playoff games (1 start)
He is 5-0, 2.56 in eight starts vs New York.
Padres went 6-7 in their last 13 games.
San Diego is 45-36 on the road this year.
Padres are in the playoffs for 2nd time since 2006 (2020 other time)
Scherzer was 11-5, 2.29 in 23 starts this year.
He is 4-2, 1.67 in 10 home starts.
He is 7-6, 3.22 in 21 playoff starts.
He is 6-3, 2.88 in 17 starts vs San Diego.
Mets are 6-6 in their last 12 games.
Mets led NL East by 10 games June 1st, didn’t win the division.
New York is 54-27 at home.
Mets are in playoffs for first time since 2016.
San Diego is 4-2 vs New York this year, going 2-1 in each ballpark.
2022 MLB PLAYOFFS OPINIONS AND BEST BETS
10/07/2022....................3-5-0.........................37.50%.................. .......- 14.15
TOTALS........................3-5-0.........................37.50%.................. .......- 14.15
BEST BETS
10/07/2022...................2-4-0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,33.33%.................. ........- 13.65
TOTALS.......................2-4-0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,33.33%.................. ........- 13.65
10/07/2022....................3-5-0.........................37.50%.................. .......- 14.15
TOTALS........................3-5-0.........................37.50%.................. .......- 14.15
BEST BETS
10/07/2022...................2-4-0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,33.33%.................. ........- 13.65
TOTALS.......................2-4-0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,33.33%.................. ........- 13.65
Armadillo Sports
Saturday’s 6-pack
NFL leaders in passing yards (thru 4 weeks):
1,250— Justin Herbert, LAC
1,227— Josh Allen, Buff
1,126— Jared Goff, Det
1,125— Matt Ryan, Ind
1,120— Jalen Hurts, Phil
1,106— Patrick Mahomes, KC
Quote of the Day
“These guys are so resilient, I’ve been saying it all year long……It was a great ballgame. We just kept fighting.”
Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson
Friday’s quiz
Where did Patrick Mahomes play his college football?
Friday’s quiz
2019 was the last time a World Series went seven games, when Washington beat the Astros 4-3.
Thursday’s quiz
Charlie Manuel was the Phillies manager in 2011, last time they made the playoffs.
***********************
Saturday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……
Before we start tonight, if you like golf and you live in the Albany/Clifton Park area, there is a place you need to visit. Actually, four of them.
Friend of mine is part-owner of the The Bunker, golf simulators with food/drink on site.
There are Bunkers in Guilderland, Clifton Park, Loudonville, North Greenbush.
They’ve got good food, private areas for parties, good music and an excellent opportunity to work on your golf game. I highly recommend it.
In the world of sports tonight……
— Terry Francona’s managerial career:
1997-2000 Phillies 285-363, no playoff games
2004-11 Boston Red Sox 744-552, 28-17 playoffs, won 2 World Series
2013-22 Cleveland 845-671, 13-14 playoffs, won 2016 AL title
He was also the AA Birmingham Barons’ manager the year Michael Jordan played minor league ball, which had to be a fascinating experience.
Francona is a Hall of Fame manager, for sure.
— Guardians 2, Rays 1
Siri homered in the top of the 6th inning for Tampa. When he hit the home run, someone said “Siri hit a home run” and the guy’s phone started asking him questions. No, not that Siri.
Jose Ramirez hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 6th; hard to overstate how great a player he’s been— the last two years, he’s hit 65 homers, knocked in 229 runs.
Top three hitters in the Rays’ order went 0-12.
— Padres 7, Mets 1
Josh Bell homered in first inning for San Diego.
Scherzer allowed seven runs in 4.2 IP
Yu Darvish allowed one run in 7 IP.
— Peter Seidler is the Padres’ owner; he founded a private equity firm and became really, really rich. Seidler became the Padres’ largest stakeholder in 2020.
What makes this noteworthy is that Seidler’s grandfather was Walter O’Malley, the guy who used to own the Dodgers, the guy who moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
When I was a kid, I learned at a very young age to never say the name “O’Malley”; my dad grew up in New York City, was a huge Brooklyn Dodger fan. He disliked Walter O’Malley, and that is being kind. If my dad were alive today and watching his Mets play against a team owned by O’Malley’s grandson, well that would’ve been interesting.
— Phillies 6, Cardinals 2
Juan Yepez put St Louis up 2-0 with a 2-run homer in 7th inning.
Phillies scored six runs in ninth inning. Juan Segura had the go-ahead hit.
— Mariners 4, Blue Jays 0
Cal Raleigh hit a 2-run homer in first inning, the first 1st-inning runs Manoah allowed at home this season.
Castillo got 22 outs on 108 pitches; pretty good acquisition at the trade deadline.
— Atlanta Braves Dansby Swanson/Matt Olson were only major leaguers this season who played in all 162 of their team’s games.
— Houston 33, Memphis 32
Memphis led 20-7 after three quarters.
Houston scored a TD with 1:17 left, another one with 0:18 left.
Cougars recovered an onside kick to set up the winning score.
— Nebraska 14, Rutgers 13
Rutgers led this game 13-0 at halftime.
Nebraska scored game-winning TD with 8:54 left on a 27-yard drive after an INT
Cornhuskers won despite running the ball 29 times for only 72 yards.
— Denver Broncos had ball in red zone on four drives Thursday night, but scored only three points on those drives, which is really bad.
Broncos/Colts both acquired an aging star QB this off-season, much like Tampa Bay got Tom Brady two years ago, and Rams added Matthew Stafford last year. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Bucs/Rams both won a Super Bowl with their new QB’s.
So far though, Colts/Broncos are struggling on offense. Colts’ offensive line is a mess, which is really bad for an older, immobile QB. There are murmurs that Denver’s new head coach may be overmatched in his job- he is supposed to be an offensive guru. So far, not so much.
— Texas-Oklahoma play today; this is first time Longhorns are favored over Oklahoma since 2009, when I watched the game in Planet Hollywood’s sports book in Las Vegas.
Remember sitting there watching Sam Bradford getting tossed around like a rag doll by Texas defenders, and I laughed: “Some dumb team is going to draft Bradford next spring, and they’re going to regret it” Turns out I was right, unfortunately.
Six months later, I wasn’t laughing when the Rams took him with the first pick in the 2010 draft. He played four (injury-plagued) years for the Rams, going 18-30-1 in his starts.
Oy.
— Villanova’s top basketball recruit, Cam Whitmore hurt his thumb this week and had surgery on the thumb- he’ll miss the start of the season. Whitmore is expected to be the first one/done Villanova player, that’s how good he is supposed to be.
— Atlanta Hawks-Milwaukee Bucks played couple game in Abu Dhabi this week; the NBA uses its preseason schedule to promote their sport world-wide, and they’re really good at it.
Not sure traveling halfway around the world is the best way to prepare your team for an 82-game season but it helps the league make a boatload of money.
Saturday’s 6-pack
NFL leaders in passing yards (thru 4 weeks):
1,250— Justin Herbert, LAC
1,227— Josh Allen, Buff
1,126— Jared Goff, Det
1,125— Matt Ryan, Ind
1,120— Jalen Hurts, Phil
1,106— Patrick Mahomes, KC
Quote of the Day
“These guys are so resilient, I’ve been saying it all year long……It was a great ballgame. We just kept fighting.”
Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson
Friday’s quiz
Where did Patrick Mahomes play his college football?
Friday’s quiz
2019 was the last time a World Series went seven games, when Washington beat the Astros 4-3.
Thursday’s quiz
Charlie Manuel was the Phillies manager in 2011, last time they made the playoffs.
***********************
Saturday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but……
Before we start tonight, if you like golf and you live in the Albany/Clifton Park area, there is a place you need to visit. Actually, four of them.
Friend of mine is part-owner of the The Bunker, golf simulators with food/drink on site.
There are Bunkers in Guilderland, Clifton Park, Loudonville, North Greenbush.
They’ve got good food, private areas for parties, good music and an excellent opportunity to work on your golf game. I highly recommend it.
In the world of sports tonight……
— Terry Francona’s managerial career:
1997-2000 Phillies 285-363, no playoff games
2004-11 Boston Red Sox 744-552, 28-17 playoffs, won 2 World Series
2013-22 Cleveland 845-671, 13-14 playoffs, won 2016 AL title
He was also the AA Birmingham Barons’ manager the year Michael Jordan played minor league ball, which had to be a fascinating experience.
Francona is a Hall of Fame manager, for sure.
— Guardians 2, Rays 1
Siri homered in the top of the 6th inning for Tampa. When he hit the home run, someone said “Siri hit a home run” and the guy’s phone started asking him questions. No, not that Siri.
Jose Ramirez hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 6th; hard to overstate how great a player he’s been— the last two years, he’s hit 65 homers, knocked in 229 runs.
Top three hitters in the Rays’ order went 0-12.
— Padres 7, Mets 1
Josh Bell homered in first inning for San Diego.
Scherzer allowed seven runs in 4.2 IP
Yu Darvish allowed one run in 7 IP.
— Peter Seidler is the Padres’ owner; he founded a private equity firm and became really, really rich. Seidler became the Padres’ largest stakeholder in 2020.
What makes this noteworthy is that Seidler’s grandfather was Walter O’Malley, the guy who used to own the Dodgers, the guy who moved the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
When I was a kid, I learned at a very young age to never say the name “O’Malley”; my dad grew up in New York City, was a huge Brooklyn Dodger fan. He disliked Walter O’Malley, and that is being kind. If my dad were alive today and watching his Mets play against a team owned by O’Malley’s grandson, well that would’ve been interesting.
— Phillies 6, Cardinals 2
Juan Yepez put St Louis up 2-0 with a 2-run homer in 7th inning.
Phillies scored six runs in ninth inning. Juan Segura had the go-ahead hit.
— Mariners 4, Blue Jays 0
Cal Raleigh hit a 2-run homer in first inning, the first 1st-inning runs Manoah allowed at home this season.
Castillo got 22 outs on 108 pitches; pretty good acquisition at the trade deadline.
— Atlanta Braves Dansby Swanson/Matt Olson were only major leaguers this season who played in all 162 of their team’s games.
— Houston 33, Memphis 32
Memphis led 20-7 after three quarters.
Houston scored a TD with 1:17 left, another one with 0:18 left.
Cougars recovered an onside kick to set up the winning score.
— Nebraska 14, Rutgers 13
Rutgers led this game 13-0 at halftime.
Nebraska scored game-winning TD with 8:54 left on a 27-yard drive after an INT
Cornhuskers won despite running the ball 29 times for only 72 yards.
— Denver Broncos had ball in red zone on four drives Thursday night, but scored only three points on those drives, which is really bad.
Broncos/Colts both acquired an aging star QB this off-season, much like Tampa Bay got Tom Brady two years ago, and Rams added Matthew Stafford last year. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Bucs/Rams both won a Super Bowl with their new QB’s.
So far though, Colts/Broncos are struggling on offense. Colts’ offensive line is a mess, which is really bad for an older, immobile QB. There are murmurs that Denver’s new head coach may be overmatched in his job- he is supposed to be an offensive guru. So far, not so much.
— Texas-Oklahoma play today; this is first time Longhorns are favored over Oklahoma since 2009, when I watched the game in Planet Hollywood’s sports book in Las Vegas.
Remember sitting there watching Sam Bradford getting tossed around like a rag doll by Texas defenders, and I laughed: “Some dumb team is going to draft Bradford next spring, and they’re going to regret it” Turns out I was right, unfortunately.
Six months later, I wasn’t laughing when the Rams took him with the first pick in the 2010 draft. He played four (injury-plagued) years for the Rams, going 18-30-1 in his starts.
Oy.
— Villanova’s top basketball recruit, Cam Whitmore hurt his thumb this week and had surgery on the thumb- he’ll miss the start of the season. Whitmore is expected to be the first one/done Villanova player, that’s how good he is supposed to be.
— Atlanta Hawks-Milwaukee Bucks played couple game in Abu Dhabi this week; the NBA uses its preseason schedule to promote their sport world-wide, and they’re really good at it.
Not sure traveling halfway around the world is the best way to prepare your team for an 82-game season but it helps the league make a boatload of money.
MLB
Weather Report
Saturday, October 8
CLEVELAND is 13-5 SU (7.5 Units) in home games after a game with a combined score of 3 runs or less over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 10-1 SU (8.9 Units) in road games after having won 6 or 7 of their last 8 games in the current season.
NY METS are 10-1 Over (8.9 Units) in home games after a 2 game span where the bullpen threw 9 total innings or more in the current season.
ST LOUIS are 19-6 SU (12.4 Units) after 2 or more consecutive losses in the current season.
MLB
Dunkel
Saturday, October 8
MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Saturday, October 8
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland (Guardians lead 1-0)
Glasnow was 0-0, 1.35 in two starts this year (6.2 IP).
He threw 50-64 pitches in those two starts; he is coming back from injury.
He is 2-5, 6.56 in eight career playoff starts.
He is 0-2, 2.12 in three starts vs Cleveland.
Rays are 8-19 in their last 27 games.
Tampa Bay is 35-47 on the road this year.
Rays are in the playoffs for the 4th year in a row.
McKenzie was 11-11, 2.96 in 30 starts this year.
He is 5-3, 2.77 in 13 home starts.
He allowed two runs in 1.2 IP, in one playoff relief stint.
He is 0-0, 2.25 in two starts vs Tampa Bay.
Cleveland is 24-6 in their last 30 games.
Guardians are 47-35 at home, 46-35 on road.
Cleveland is in playoffs for 4th time in six years- they missed LY.
Cleveland is 5-2 vs Tampa Bay this year, 3-1 in this ballpark.
Philadelphia @ St Louis (Phillies lead 1-0)
Nola was 11-13, 3.25 in 32 starts this year.
He is 5-9, 3.00 in 16 road starts.
He’s never pitched in a playoff game.
He is 5-3, 2.69 in nine starts vs St Louis.
Phillies scored 6 runs in ninth inning to win Game 1.
Phillies are 5-8 in their last 13 games.
Phillies are 66-46 since they changed managers.
Phillies are 41-41 on the road this year.
Phillies are in the playoffs for first time since 2011.
Mikolas was 12-13, 3.29 in 32 starts this year.
He is 6-3, 2.38 in 14 home starts.
He allowed two runs in 12 IP in three playoff games (2 starts).
He is 1-1, 2.13 in two starts vs Philly.
Cardinals’ bullpen imploded Friday; doubtful Helsley (33 PT) is available here.
St Louis went 6-10 in their last 16 games.
Cardinals are 53-29 at home- they won NL Central by 7 games.
St Louis is in playoffs for 4th year in a row.
Phillies are 5-3 vs St Louis TY, with three shutout wins- they’re 3-2 in Busch Stadium.
Seattle @ Toronto (Mariners lead 1-0)
Ray was 12-12, 3.71 in 32 starts this year.
He is 6-6, 4.69 in 14 road starts.
He gave up six runs in 9.2 IP, in three playoff games (1 start)
He is 1-1, 3.50 in three starts vs Toronto.
Mariners are 8-2 in their last ten games.
Their bullpen was needed for only five outs Friday.
Seattle is 45-37 on the road this year.
Mariners are in the playoffs for first time since 2001.
Gausman was 12-10, 3.35 in 31 starts this year.
He is 4-7, 4.57 in 16 home starts.
He’s never pitched in the playoffs.
He is 1-3, 2.74 in seven starts vs Seattle.
Toronto is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Blue Jays are 47-35 at home.
Toronto is in playoffs for 2nd time in last six years.
Seattle is 6-2 vs Toronto this year, splitting four games in SkyDome.
San Diego @ NY Mets
Snell is 8-10, 3.38 in 24 starts this year.
He is 4-2, 3.06 in nine road starts.
He is 2-3, 2.83 in nine playoff games (7 starts, 35 IP)
He is 3-3, 2.73 in six starts vs New York.
Padres are 7-7 in their last 14 games.
San Diego bullpen got only six outs Friday
San Diego is 46-36 on the road this year.
Padres are in the playoffs for 2nd time since 2006 (2020 other time)
deGrom was 5-4, 3.08 in 11 starts this year.
He is 4-1, 2.52 in six home starts.
He is 3-1, 2.88 in four playoff starts.
He is 6-3, 1.28 in 10 starts vs San Diego.
Mets are 6-7 in their last 13 games.
Mets led NL East by 10 games June 1st, didn’t win the division.
New York is 54-28 at home.
Mets are in playoffs for first time since 2016.
San Diego is 5-2 vs New York this year, 3-1 in Citi Field.
MLB
Saturday, October 8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland
Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games on the road
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland's last 7 games
Seattle @ Toronto
Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing at home against Seattle
Toronto is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
San Diego @ NY Mets
San Diego
San Diego is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
San Diego is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 6 of NY Mets's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 10 of NY Mets's last 12 games
Philadelphia @ St. Louis
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Philadelphia is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing St. Louis
St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weather Report
Saturday, October 8
CLEVELAND is 13-5 SU (7.5 Units) in home games after a game with a combined score of 3 runs or less over the last 2 seasons.
SEATTLE is 10-1 SU (8.9 Units) in road games after having won 6 or 7 of their last 8 games in the current season.
NY METS are 10-1 Over (8.9 Units) in home games after a 2 game span where the bullpen threw 9 total innings or more in the current season.
ST LOUIS are 19-6 SU (12.4 Units) after 2 or more consecutive losses in the current season.
MLB
Dunkel
Saturday, October 8
MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Saturday, October 8
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland (Guardians lead 1-0)
Glasnow was 0-0, 1.35 in two starts this year (6.2 IP).
He threw 50-64 pitches in those two starts; he is coming back from injury.
He is 2-5, 6.56 in eight career playoff starts.
He is 0-2, 2.12 in three starts vs Cleveland.
Rays are 8-19 in their last 27 games.
Tampa Bay is 35-47 on the road this year.
Rays are in the playoffs for the 4th year in a row.
McKenzie was 11-11, 2.96 in 30 starts this year.
He is 5-3, 2.77 in 13 home starts.
He allowed two runs in 1.2 IP, in one playoff relief stint.
He is 0-0, 2.25 in two starts vs Tampa Bay.
Cleveland is 24-6 in their last 30 games.
Guardians are 47-35 at home, 46-35 on road.
Cleveland is in playoffs for 4th time in six years- they missed LY.
Cleveland is 5-2 vs Tampa Bay this year, 3-1 in this ballpark.
Philadelphia @ St Louis (Phillies lead 1-0)
Nola was 11-13, 3.25 in 32 starts this year.
He is 5-9, 3.00 in 16 road starts.
He’s never pitched in a playoff game.
He is 5-3, 2.69 in nine starts vs St Louis.
Phillies scored 6 runs in ninth inning to win Game 1.
Phillies are 5-8 in their last 13 games.
Phillies are 66-46 since they changed managers.
Phillies are 41-41 on the road this year.
Phillies are in the playoffs for first time since 2011.
Mikolas was 12-13, 3.29 in 32 starts this year.
He is 6-3, 2.38 in 14 home starts.
He allowed two runs in 12 IP in three playoff games (2 starts).
He is 1-1, 2.13 in two starts vs Philly.
Cardinals’ bullpen imploded Friday; doubtful Helsley (33 PT) is available here.
St Louis went 6-10 in their last 16 games.
Cardinals are 53-29 at home- they won NL Central by 7 games.
St Louis is in playoffs for 4th year in a row.
Phillies are 5-3 vs St Louis TY, with three shutout wins- they’re 3-2 in Busch Stadium.
Seattle @ Toronto (Mariners lead 1-0)
Ray was 12-12, 3.71 in 32 starts this year.
He is 6-6, 4.69 in 14 road starts.
He gave up six runs in 9.2 IP, in three playoff games (1 start)
He is 1-1, 3.50 in three starts vs Toronto.
Mariners are 8-2 in their last ten games.
Their bullpen was needed for only five outs Friday.
Seattle is 45-37 on the road this year.
Mariners are in the playoffs for first time since 2001.
Gausman was 12-10, 3.35 in 31 starts this year.
He is 4-7, 4.57 in 16 home starts.
He’s never pitched in the playoffs.
He is 1-3, 2.74 in seven starts vs Seattle.
Toronto is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Blue Jays are 47-35 at home.
Toronto is in playoffs for 2nd time in last six years.
Seattle is 6-2 vs Toronto this year, splitting four games in SkyDome.
San Diego @ NY Mets
Snell is 8-10, 3.38 in 24 starts this year.
He is 4-2, 3.06 in nine road starts.
He is 2-3, 2.83 in nine playoff games (7 starts, 35 IP)
He is 3-3, 2.73 in six starts vs New York.
Padres are 7-7 in their last 14 games.
San Diego bullpen got only six outs Friday
San Diego is 46-36 on the road this year.
Padres are in the playoffs for 2nd time since 2006 (2020 other time)
deGrom was 5-4, 3.08 in 11 starts this year.
He is 4-1, 2.52 in six home starts.
He is 3-1, 2.88 in four playoff starts.
He is 6-3, 1.28 in 10 starts vs San Diego.
Mets are 6-7 in their last 13 games.
Mets led NL East by 10 games June 1st, didn’t win the division.
New York is 54-28 at home.
Mets are in playoffs for first time since 2016.
San Diego is 5-2 vs New York this year, 3-1 in Citi Field.
MLB
Saturday, October 8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tampa Bay @ Cleveland
Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games on the road
Cleveland
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland's last 7 games
Seattle @ Toronto
Seattle
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Toronto
Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games when playing at home against Seattle
Toronto is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
San Diego @ NY Mets
San Diego
San Diego is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
San Diego is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 6 of NY Mets's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 10 of NY Mets's last 12 games
Philadelphia @ St. Louis
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Philadelphia is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing St. Louis
St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armadillo Sports
Sunday’s 6-pack
NBA’s leading scorers last year:
30.6— Joel Embiid, Phil
30.3— LeBron James, LAL
29.9— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milw
29.9— Kevin Durant, Brkn
28.4— Luka Doncic, Dal
28.4— Trae Young, Atl
Quote of the Day
“When we got through fall camp, we knew we had some talented players. We felt if we could figure things out we’re going to have a pretty good football team that can string some wins together.”
TCU coach Sonny Dykes
Sunday’s quiz
Tampa Bay Rays have played in two World Series, losing both; who did they play?
Saturday’s quiz
Patrick Mahomes played his college football at Texas Tech.
Friday’s quiz
2019 was the last time a World Series went seven games, when Washington beat the Astros 4-3.
********************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
— Seattle 10, Toronto 9
Blue Jays led 8-1 after five innings.
Carlos Santana homered, doubled for Seattle
Teoscar Hernandez hit two homers for Toronto.
Mariners win series, 2-0; they go to Houston next.
— Cleveland 1, Tampa Bay 0 (15)
Rays scored one run in 24 innings in this series.
Oscar Gonzalez ended series with a 15th-inning home run.
Cleveland moves on to the Bronx for their next series.
Tampa Bay went 8-20 in its last 28 games this season.
— Mets 7, San Diego 3
deGrom pitched six innings, got the win .
Mets broke game open with four runs in 7th.
Game 3 is tonight at Citi Field.
— Phillies 2, Cardinals 0
Harper’s 2nd inning home run put the Phillies ahead.
St Louis scored 3 runs in 18 innings in this series.
Nola got 20 outs on 101 pitches.
Phillies head to Atlanta for their next series.
— Alabama 24, Texas A&M 20
A&M was on Alabama’s 2-yard line when game ended.
Crimson Tide ran ball for 288 yards, threw for only 111.
Backup QB Milroe was 12-19/111 and 3 TD’s passing for Alabama.
— Pitt 45, Virginia Tech 29
Pitt RB Abanikanda ran ball 36 times for 320 yards, six TD’s.
He broke Tony Dorsett’s record of 308 yards in one game.
— Texas 49, Oklahoma 0
Sooners lost last three games: 41-34/55-24/49-0. Not good.
— Purdue 31, Maryland 29
Terps scored TD with 0:35 left, but failed on the tying 2-point play.
Purdue ran ball 34 times for a total of 13 yards.
Boilers turned ball over three times (-2) but converted 8-13 on 3rd down.
— TCU 38, Kansas 31
Kansas QB Daniels (shoulder) left in 2nd quarter.
Backup QB Bean threw for 262 yards, four TD’s.
TCU threw 24-yard TD pass with 1:24 left for the win.
Horned Frogs’ WR Johnston caught 14 passes for 206 yards.
— Upsets of the Week:
Texas State (+18.5) 36, Appalachian State 24
Arizona State (+13.5) 45, Washington 38
Ball State (+9.5) 17, Central Michigan 16
Miami OH (+5.5) 27, Kent State 24
Navy (+5.5) 53, Tulsa 21
South Carolina (+5) 24, Kentucky 14
North Carolina (+4) 27, Miami 24
Eastern Michigan (+4) 45, Western Michigan 23
— Georgia Tech 23, Duke 20 OT
Duke scored two TD’s in last 5:55 to force OT.
Tech outgained Blue Devils 412-278.
— Tennessee 40, LSU 13
Tigers fumbled away the opening kickoff; from there, it got worse.
Tennessee ran ball for 263 yards (5.4 yards/attempt)
Vols led 23-7 at halftime.
— Arizona State 45, Washington 38
Backup QB Bourguet threw for 182 yards, 3 TD’s off the bench.
ASU scored a defensive TD to take a 24-10 lead in 2nd quarter.
— Illinois 9, Iowa 6
Iowa has already lost games 10-7/9-6 this year; they beat a I-AA team 7-3.
Illinois is 5-1; they gave up 19 points in last three I-A games.
Sunday’s 6-pack
NBA’s leading scorers last year:
30.6— Joel Embiid, Phil
30.3— LeBron James, LAL
29.9— Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milw
29.9— Kevin Durant, Brkn
28.4— Luka Doncic, Dal
28.4— Trae Young, Atl
Quote of the Day
“When we got through fall camp, we knew we had some talented players. We felt if we could figure things out we’re going to have a pretty good football team that can string some wins together.”
TCU coach Sonny Dykes
Sunday’s quiz
Tampa Bay Rays have played in two World Series, losing both; who did they play?
Saturday’s quiz
Patrick Mahomes played his college football at Texas Tech.
Friday’s quiz
2019 was the last time a World Series went seven games, when Washington beat the Astros 4-3.
********************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports Saturday
— Seattle 10, Toronto 9
Blue Jays led 8-1 after five innings.
Carlos Santana homered, doubled for Seattle
Teoscar Hernandez hit two homers for Toronto.
Mariners win series, 2-0; they go to Houston next.
— Cleveland 1, Tampa Bay 0 (15)
Rays scored one run in 24 innings in this series.
Oscar Gonzalez ended series with a 15th-inning home run.
Cleveland moves on to the Bronx for their next series.
Tampa Bay went 8-20 in its last 28 games this season.
— Mets 7, San Diego 3
deGrom pitched six innings, got the win .
Mets broke game open with four runs in 7th.
Game 3 is tonight at Citi Field.
— Phillies 2, Cardinals 0
Harper’s 2nd inning home run put the Phillies ahead.
St Louis scored 3 runs in 18 innings in this series.
Nola got 20 outs on 101 pitches.
Phillies head to Atlanta for their next series.
— Alabama 24, Texas A&M 20
A&M was on Alabama’s 2-yard line when game ended.
Crimson Tide ran ball for 288 yards, threw for only 111.
Backup QB Milroe was 12-19/111 and 3 TD’s passing for Alabama.
— Pitt 45, Virginia Tech 29
Pitt RB Abanikanda ran ball 36 times for 320 yards, six TD’s.
He broke Tony Dorsett’s record of 308 yards in one game.
— Texas 49, Oklahoma 0
Sooners lost last three games: 41-34/55-24/49-0. Not good.
— Purdue 31, Maryland 29
Terps scored TD with 0:35 left, but failed on the tying 2-point play.
Purdue ran ball 34 times for a total of 13 yards.
Boilers turned ball over three times (-2) but converted 8-13 on 3rd down.
— TCU 38, Kansas 31
Kansas QB Daniels (shoulder) left in 2nd quarter.
Backup QB Bean threw for 262 yards, four TD’s.
TCU threw 24-yard TD pass with 1:24 left for the win.
Horned Frogs’ WR Johnston caught 14 passes for 206 yards.
— Upsets of the Week:
Texas State (+18.5) 36, Appalachian State 24
Arizona State (+13.5) 45, Washington 38
Ball State (+9.5) 17, Central Michigan 16
Miami OH (+5.5) 27, Kent State 24
Navy (+5.5) 53, Tulsa 21
South Carolina (+5) 24, Kentucky 14
North Carolina (+4) 27, Miami 24
Eastern Michigan (+4) 45, Western Michigan 23
— Georgia Tech 23, Duke 20 OT
Duke scored two TD’s in last 5:55 to force OT.
Tech outgained Blue Devils 412-278.
— Tennessee 40, LSU 13
Tigers fumbled away the opening kickoff; from there, it got worse.
Tennessee ran ball for 263 yards (5.4 yards/attempt)
Vols led 23-7 at halftime.
— Arizona State 45, Washington 38
Backup QB Bourguet threw for 182 yards, 3 TD’s off the bench.
ASU scored a defensive TD to take a 24-10 lead in 2nd quarter.
— Illinois 9, Iowa 6
Iowa has already lost games 10-7/9-6 this year; they beat a I-AA team 7-3.
Illinois is 5-1; they gave up 19 points in last three I-A games.
MLB
Weather Report
Sunday, October 9
MLB
Dunkel
Sunday, October 9
MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Sunday, October 9
San Diego @ NY Mets (series 1-1)
Musgrove is 10-7, 2.93 in 30 starts this year.
He is 7-3, 3.01 in 14 road starts.
He gave up 6 runs in 6.2 IP in seven playoff games for Houston in 2017 (all relief).
He is 1-5, 5.83 in six games (5 starts) vs New York.
Padres are 7-8 in their last 15 games.
San Diego is 46-37 on the road this year.
Padres are in the playoffs for 2nd time since 2006 (2020 other time)
Bassitt is 15-9, 3.42 in 30 starts this year.
He is 6-6, 2.95 in 16 home starts.
He is 1-0, 3.27 in two playoff starts.
He is 0-2, 6.60 in three starts vs San Diego.
Mets are 7-7 in their last 14 games.
Mets led NL East by 10 games June 1st, didn’t win the division.
New York is 55-28 at home.
Mets are in playoffs for first time since 2016.
San Diego is 5-3 vs New York this year, 3-2 at Citi Field.
MLB
Sunday, October 9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Diego @ NY Mets
San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Diego's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Diego's last 5 games on the road
NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 7 of NY Mets's last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 11 of NY Mets's last 13 games
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weather Report
Sunday, October 9
MLB
Dunkel
Sunday, October 9
MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Sunday, October 9
San Diego @ NY Mets (series 1-1)
Musgrove is 10-7, 2.93 in 30 starts this year.
He is 7-3, 3.01 in 14 road starts.
He gave up 6 runs in 6.2 IP in seven playoff games for Houston in 2017 (all relief).
He is 1-5, 5.83 in six games (5 starts) vs New York.
Padres are 7-8 in their last 15 games.
San Diego is 46-37 on the road this year.
Padres are in the playoffs for 2nd time since 2006 (2020 other time)
Bassitt is 15-9, 3.42 in 30 starts this year.
He is 6-6, 2.95 in 16 home starts.
He is 1-0, 3.27 in two playoff starts.
He is 0-2, 6.60 in three starts vs San Diego.
Mets are 7-7 in their last 14 games.
Mets led NL East by 10 games June 1st, didn’t win the division.
New York is 55-28 at home.
Mets are in playoffs for first time since 2016.
San Diego is 5-3 vs New York this year, 3-2 at Citi Field.
MLB
Sunday, October 9
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Diego @ NY Mets
San Diego
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Diego's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Diego's last 5 games on the road
NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 7 of NY Mets's last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 11 of NY Mets's last 13 games
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Armadillo Sports
Monday’s 6-pack
College football leaders in passing yardage
2,110— Will Rogers, Mississippi State
2,044— Michael Penix, Washington
2,040— Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
1,997— Frank Harris, Tex-San Antonio
1,944— Kurtis Rourke, Ohio U
1,931— Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern
Quote of the Day
“Winning helps, and losing doesn’t.”
Bill Parcells
Monday’s quiz
San Diego Padres have played in two World Series, losing both; who managed them in those two series (1984, 1998)?
Sunday’s quiz
Tampa Bay Rays have played in two World Series, losing both; they lost to the Phillies and the Dodgers.
Saturday’s quiz
Patrick Mahomes played his college football at Texas Tech.
**********************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday
Ravens 19, Bengals 17
— Tucker kicked a 43-yard FG at the gun for the win.
— Ravens’ last six home games (1-5) were decided by total of 13 points.
— Baltimore’s only TD drive was 50 yards; they kicked four FG’s.
— Lamar Jackson is 41-17 as an NFL starter.
— Ravens are 2-6 ATS last eight games as a home favorite.
— Bengals’ first four drives: 13 plays, 22 yards, 1 first down, no points.
— Bengals’ last five drives: 47 plays, 293 yards, 19 FD’s, 17 points.
— Ravens outgained Cincinnati 325-291.
— Cincy allowed only five TD’s on 55 drives this season.
— Last three games, Bengals converted 19-39 on 3rd down.
Chargers 30, Browns 28
— Ekeler ran ball for 173 yards, caught passes for 26 yards, scored 2 TD’s.
— 5 trips to red zone, Chargers scored 2 TD’s, kicked 3 field goals.
— Total yardage in game: LA 465, Cleveland 443.
— Chargers are 3-0 this year if they allow less than 37 points.
— Last 3+ years, Chargers are 5-8-1 ATS as a road favorite.
— Brissett threw awful INT in end zone with 2:44 left; Browns were set up for at least an easy go-ahead field goal.
— Browns missed FG’s of 45/54 yards, both wide right.
— Cleveland is 2-3, with losses by 3-1-2 points.
— Four of their five games were decided by 3 or fewer points.
— Cleveland has run ball for 192.4 yards/game this season.
Saints 39, Seahawks 32
— Seahawks’ four TD’s were all on plays of 35+ yards.
— In all, Seattle had six plays that gained 30+ yards.
— Seahawks had 12 penalties for 85 yards, Saints 6 for 57.
— Last four weeks, Seattle gave up 189-179-145-235 yards rushing.
— Last four games, Seattle gave up 27-27-45-39 points.
— Taysom Hill ran ball nine times for 112 yards, three TD’s- he also threw a TD.
— His 60-yard TD run with 5:22 left put New Orleans ahead for good.
— Seahawks were 1-9 on third down, Saints were 8-14.
— Last four games, Saints are minus-10 in turnovers (2-12)
— Saints won last four series games, by 3-6-5-7 points.
Titans 21, Commanders 17
— Washington had ball on 2-yard line in last 0:20, Wentz threw an INT.
— Tennessee is 3-2, but has been outgained by 112.6 yds/game.
— Titans won their last three games, scoring 24-24-21 points.
— Opponents have converted only 16-59 third down plays.
— Tennessee has outscored opponents 82-47 in first half.
— Washington scored 16 points in last seven red zone drives.
— Commanders converted 1-11 third down plays.
— Washington outgained the Titans, 385-241
— Last four games, Commanders have been outscored 77-17 in first half.
— Washington’s two TD’s were on big plays, of 75-30 yards.
— Last 3+ years, Commanders are 11-22-1 ATS coming off a loss.
Giants 27, Packers 22 (@ London)
— Giants have won games when trailing 13-0/20-10 at halftime.
— Giants have outscored opponents 60-39 in second half of games.
— Big Blue converted 6-11 third down plays.
— Giants gained 7.6 yards/pass attempt.
— NFC East teams are 9-5 ATS outside their division.
— Packers’ offense in first half: 38 plays, 228 yards, 20 points.
— Packers’ offense in 2nd half: 25 plays, 98 yards, no points.
— Green Bay led 17-3 with 2:00 left in first half.
— Packers gained only 5.0 yards/pass attempt.
— Packers are giving up 126.4 rushing yards/game.
Vikings 29, Bears 22
— Vikings’ first three drives: 32 plays, 232 yards, 21 points.
— Bears kicked 51-yard FG to go up 22-21 with 9:26 left.
— Vikings scored TD on 17-play, 75-yard drive with 2:26 left.
— Vikings won last three weeks, scoring winning points in last 2:26 all three games.
— Since 2015, Vikings are 14-9-1 ATS in NFC North home games.
— Bears have been outscored 80-39 in first half this season.
— Minnesota converted 12-15 third down plays.
— QB Fields had 47 of Chicago’s 78 rushing yards.
— Bears have converted only 21-60 third down plays.
— Last 3+ years, Chicago is 10-16-1 ATS coming off a loss.
Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
— Atlanta is only NFL team that is 5-0 ATS.
— Falcons in quarters 1-3: 39 plays, 140 yards, no points.
— They scored TD’s with 13:39/4:38 left for backdoor cover.
— Atlanta threw for only 110 yards (3.7 yards/attempt)
— Last 2+ years, Falcons are 11-6 ATS as a road underdog.
— Buccaneers led this game 13-0 at halftime.
— Tampa Bay converted 9-16 third down plays.
— Buccaneers outgained Atlanta, 420-261.
— With Brady, Tampa Bay is 5-2 ATS in NFC South home games.
— Tampa Bay is 11-5-1 ATS in last 17 games as a home favorite.
Bills 38, Steelers 3
— Steelers scored 13.5 ppg in losing last four games.
— Steelers were +5 in turnovers in their only win, in OT over Bengals.
— Pittsburgh has only six TD’s on 43 drives this season.
— Steelers missed field goals of 33-45 yards.
— Last 3+ years, Steelers are 8-12 ATS coming off a loss.
— Bills threw a 98-yard TD pass on third play of game.
— Early in second quarter, they threw a 62-yard TD pass.
— Bills outgained first five opponents by 180.2 yards/game.
— Only nine of Bills’ 54 plays came on third down (5-9)
— Bills outscored first five opponents 70-7 in second half.
Patriots 29, Lions 0
— New England kicked FG’s on four of first five drives.
— Patriots’ first TD was defensive score with 3:26 left in first half.
— NE’s only offensive TD came with 1:51 left in third quarter.
— Patriots ran for 176 yards, averaged 9.0 yards/pass attempt.
— Since 2013, NE is 40-25-3 ATS as a home favorite
— Detroit converted 4-12 on 3rd down, 0-6 on 4th down.
— Detroit gained 203 yards in 2nd half, lost ball on downs every drive.
— Lions had ball in red zone three times, didn’t score.
— Lions lost despite a 9-yard edge in field position.
— Detroit is now 4-17-1 SU with Campbell as head coach.
Jets 40, Dolphins 17
— Bridgewater got KO’d, 3rd-string QB Thompson was 19-33/166 passing.
— Dolphins gave up a safety on their first offensive series.
— Miami in 2nd half: 34 plays, 148 yards, 7 first downs, 3 points.
— Dolphins were minus-2 in turnovers (minus-5/last three games).
— Last three games, opponents were 24-44 on third down.
— Jets outscored Miami 21-0 in fourth quarter.
— Gang Green averaged 8.1 yards/pass attempt.
— Jets had 14-yard advantage in field position.
— Jets scored five TD’s on six trips to red zone.
— If playoffs started now (they do not), Jets would be a Wild Card team.
Texans 13, Jaguars 6
— Texans drove 74 yards for game-winning TD with 3:11 left.
— Pierce ran ball for 99 yards and a TD.
— Texans have now given up 29 plays of 20+ yards.
— Texans have been outgained by average of 124 yards/game.
— Houston won last nine series games (7-2 ATS)
— Jaguars’ average starting point; their own 17-yard line.
— Jaguars had seven plays of 20+ yards, scored only six points.
— Jacksonville outgained Texans 422-248, but was minus-2 in turnovers.
— Last 2+ years, Jaguars are 9-20-1 ATS coming off a loss.
— Last 2+ years, Jacksonville is 0-4 ATS as a favorite.
49ers 37, Panthers 15
— 49ers converted 7-12 on 3rd down, averaged 7.6 yards/pass attempt.
— Wilson ran ball for 120 yards (7.1 yards/carry).
— 49ers outscored first five opponents 65-12 in first half.
— 49ers are outgaining foes by 90 yards/game.
— QB Garoppolo is 39-17 as an NFL starter.
— Down 10-3, Mayfield threw pick-6 with 0:43 left in first half.
— Last three games, Carolina scored 4 TD’s on 43 drives (14 3/outs).
— Carolina has converted only 15-62 third down plays.
— Panthers are 3-9-1 ATS in last 13 games as a home underdog.
— Panthers are 3-11 ATS in last 14 games coming off a loss.
Eagles 20, Cardinals 17
— Eagles led 14-0 midway thru second quarter.
— Philly kicked 23-yard FG with 1:45 left for winning score.
— Last three weeks, Philly scored 82 points in first half, 15 points in 2nd half.
— Eagles outscored first five foes 106-45 in first half.
— Philly is 3-7 ATS last ten games as a road favorite.
— Cardinals tied game with 9:43 left with a 90-yard TD drive.
— Arizona’s first four drives: 18 plays, 50 yards, 4 first downs, no points.
— Arizona’s last five drives: 53 plays, 298 yards, 19 first downs, 17 points.
— Cardinals converted 8-14 third down plays.
— Cardinals have been outscored 80-26 in first half this year.
Cowboys 22, Rams 10
— QB Rush is 5-0 as starter, first-ever Dallas QB to do that.
— Dallas has allowed only five TD’s on 53 drives this season.
— Dallas is 5-1 ATS in last six games as a road underdog.
— Cowboys outscored last four opponents 51-23 in first half.
— Under is 4-0-1 in their games this season.
— Rams gave up a defensive TD on their first drive of the game.
— Second drive of the game, they had a punt blocked.
— Rams have scored one TD on their last 22 drives.
— LA’s only TD in this game was a 75-yard pass to Cooper Kupp.
— Last three games, LA scored 22 points on eight red zone drives.
Monday’s 6-pack
College football leaders in passing yardage
2,110— Will Rogers, Mississippi State
2,044— Michael Penix, Washington
2,040— Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
1,997— Frank Harris, Tex-San Antonio
1,944— Kurtis Rourke, Ohio U
1,931— Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern
Quote of the Day
“Winning helps, and losing doesn’t.”
Bill Parcells
Monday’s quiz
San Diego Padres have played in two World Series, losing both; who managed them in those two series (1984, 1998)?
Sunday’s quiz
Tampa Bay Rays have played in two World Series, losing both; they lost to the Phillies and the Dodgers.
Saturday’s quiz
Patrick Mahomes played his college football at Texas Tech.
**********************
Monday’s Den: Wrapping up an NFL Sunday
Ravens 19, Bengals 17
— Tucker kicked a 43-yard FG at the gun for the win.
— Ravens’ last six home games (1-5) were decided by total of 13 points.
— Baltimore’s only TD drive was 50 yards; they kicked four FG’s.
— Lamar Jackson is 41-17 as an NFL starter.
— Ravens are 2-6 ATS last eight games as a home favorite.
— Bengals’ first four drives: 13 plays, 22 yards, 1 first down, no points.
— Bengals’ last five drives: 47 plays, 293 yards, 19 FD’s, 17 points.
— Ravens outgained Cincinnati 325-291.
— Cincy allowed only five TD’s on 55 drives this season.
— Last three games, Bengals converted 19-39 on 3rd down.
Chargers 30, Browns 28
— Ekeler ran ball for 173 yards, caught passes for 26 yards, scored 2 TD’s.
— 5 trips to red zone, Chargers scored 2 TD’s, kicked 3 field goals.
— Total yardage in game: LA 465, Cleveland 443.
— Chargers are 3-0 this year if they allow less than 37 points.
— Last 3+ years, Chargers are 5-8-1 ATS as a road favorite.
— Brissett threw awful INT in end zone with 2:44 left; Browns were set up for at least an easy go-ahead field goal.
— Browns missed FG’s of 45/54 yards, both wide right.
— Cleveland is 2-3, with losses by 3-1-2 points.
— Four of their five games were decided by 3 or fewer points.
— Cleveland has run ball for 192.4 yards/game this season.
Saints 39, Seahawks 32
— Seahawks’ four TD’s were all on plays of 35+ yards.
— In all, Seattle had six plays that gained 30+ yards.
— Seahawks had 12 penalties for 85 yards, Saints 6 for 57.
— Last four weeks, Seattle gave up 189-179-145-235 yards rushing.
— Last four games, Seattle gave up 27-27-45-39 points.
— Taysom Hill ran ball nine times for 112 yards, three TD’s- he also threw a TD.
— His 60-yard TD run with 5:22 left put New Orleans ahead for good.
— Seahawks were 1-9 on third down, Saints were 8-14.
— Last four games, Saints are minus-10 in turnovers (2-12)
— Saints won last four series games, by 3-6-5-7 points.
Titans 21, Commanders 17
— Washington had ball on 2-yard line in last 0:20, Wentz threw an INT.
— Tennessee is 3-2, but has been outgained by 112.6 yds/game.
— Titans won their last three games, scoring 24-24-21 points.
— Opponents have converted only 16-59 third down plays.
— Tennessee has outscored opponents 82-47 in first half.
— Washington scored 16 points in last seven red zone drives.
— Commanders converted 1-11 third down plays.
— Washington outgained the Titans, 385-241
— Last four games, Commanders have been outscored 77-17 in first half.
— Washington’s two TD’s were on big plays, of 75-30 yards.
— Last 3+ years, Commanders are 11-22-1 ATS coming off a loss.
Giants 27, Packers 22 (@ London)
— Giants have won games when trailing 13-0/20-10 at halftime.
— Giants have outscored opponents 60-39 in second half of games.
— Big Blue converted 6-11 third down plays.
— Giants gained 7.6 yards/pass attempt.
— NFC East teams are 9-5 ATS outside their division.
— Packers’ offense in first half: 38 plays, 228 yards, 20 points.
— Packers’ offense in 2nd half: 25 plays, 98 yards, no points.
— Green Bay led 17-3 with 2:00 left in first half.
— Packers gained only 5.0 yards/pass attempt.
— Packers are giving up 126.4 rushing yards/game.
Vikings 29, Bears 22
— Vikings’ first three drives: 32 plays, 232 yards, 21 points.
— Bears kicked 51-yard FG to go up 22-21 with 9:26 left.
— Vikings scored TD on 17-play, 75-yard drive with 2:26 left.
— Vikings won last three weeks, scoring winning points in last 2:26 all three games.
— Since 2015, Vikings are 14-9-1 ATS in NFC North home games.
— Bears have been outscored 80-39 in first half this season.
— Minnesota converted 12-15 third down plays.
— QB Fields had 47 of Chicago’s 78 rushing yards.
— Bears have converted only 21-60 third down plays.
— Last 3+ years, Chicago is 10-16-1 ATS coming off a loss.
Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
— Atlanta is only NFL team that is 5-0 ATS.
— Falcons in quarters 1-3: 39 plays, 140 yards, no points.
— They scored TD’s with 13:39/4:38 left for backdoor cover.
— Atlanta threw for only 110 yards (3.7 yards/attempt)
— Last 2+ years, Falcons are 11-6 ATS as a road underdog.
— Buccaneers led this game 13-0 at halftime.
— Tampa Bay converted 9-16 third down plays.
— Buccaneers outgained Atlanta, 420-261.
— With Brady, Tampa Bay is 5-2 ATS in NFC South home games.
— Tampa Bay is 11-5-1 ATS in last 17 games as a home favorite.
Bills 38, Steelers 3
— Steelers scored 13.5 ppg in losing last four games.
— Steelers were +5 in turnovers in their only win, in OT over Bengals.
— Pittsburgh has only six TD’s on 43 drives this season.
— Steelers missed field goals of 33-45 yards.
— Last 3+ years, Steelers are 8-12 ATS coming off a loss.
— Bills threw a 98-yard TD pass on third play of game.
— Early in second quarter, they threw a 62-yard TD pass.
— Bills outgained first five opponents by 180.2 yards/game.
— Only nine of Bills’ 54 plays came on third down (5-9)
— Bills outscored first five opponents 70-7 in second half.
Patriots 29, Lions 0
— New England kicked FG’s on four of first five drives.
— Patriots’ first TD was defensive score with 3:26 left in first half.
— NE’s only offensive TD came with 1:51 left in third quarter.
— Patriots ran for 176 yards, averaged 9.0 yards/pass attempt.
— Since 2013, NE is 40-25-3 ATS as a home favorite
— Detroit converted 4-12 on 3rd down, 0-6 on 4th down.
— Detroit gained 203 yards in 2nd half, lost ball on downs every drive.
— Lions had ball in red zone three times, didn’t score.
— Lions lost despite a 9-yard edge in field position.
— Detroit is now 4-17-1 SU with Campbell as head coach.
Jets 40, Dolphins 17
— Bridgewater got KO’d, 3rd-string QB Thompson was 19-33/166 passing.
— Dolphins gave up a safety on their first offensive series.
— Miami in 2nd half: 34 plays, 148 yards, 7 first downs, 3 points.
— Dolphins were minus-2 in turnovers (minus-5/last three games).
— Last three games, opponents were 24-44 on third down.
— Jets outscored Miami 21-0 in fourth quarter.
— Gang Green averaged 8.1 yards/pass attempt.
— Jets had 14-yard advantage in field position.
— Jets scored five TD’s on six trips to red zone.
— If playoffs started now (they do not), Jets would be a Wild Card team.
Texans 13, Jaguars 6
— Texans drove 74 yards for game-winning TD with 3:11 left.
— Pierce ran ball for 99 yards and a TD.
— Texans have now given up 29 plays of 20+ yards.
— Texans have been outgained by average of 124 yards/game.
— Houston won last nine series games (7-2 ATS)
— Jaguars’ average starting point; their own 17-yard line.
— Jaguars had seven plays of 20+ yards, scored only six points.
— Jacksonville outgained Texans 422-248, but was minus-2 in turnovers.
— Last 2+ years, Jaguars are 9-20-1 ATS coming off a loss.
— Last 2+ years, Jacksonville is 0-4 ATS as a favorite.
49ers 37, Panthers 15
— 49ers converted 7-12 on 3rd down, averaged 7.6 yards/pass attempt.
— Wilson ran ball for 120 yards (7.1 yards/carry).
— 49ers outscored first five opponents 65-12 in first half.
— 49ers are outgaining foes by 90 yards/game.
— QB Garoppolo is 39-17 as an NFL starter.
— Down 10-3, Mayfield threw pick-6 with 0:43 left in first half.
— Last three games, Carolina scored 4 TD’s on 43 drives (14 3/outs).
— Carolina has converted only 15-62 third down plays.
— Panthers are 3-9-1 ATS in last 13 games as a home underdog.
— Panthers are 3-11 ATS in last 14 games coming off a loss.
Eagles 20, Cardinals 17
— Eagles led 14-0 midway thru second quarter.
— Philly kicked 23-yard FG with 1:45 left for winning score.
— Last three weeks, Philly scored 82 points in first half, 15 points in 2nd half.
— Eagles outscored first five foes 106-45 in first half.
— Philly is 3-7 ATS last ten games as a road favorite.
— Cardinals tied game with 9:43 left with a 90-yard TD drive.
— Arizona’s first four drives: 18 plays, 50 yards, 4 first downs, no points.
— Arizona’s last five drives: 53 plays, 298 yards, 19 first downs, 17 points.
— Cardinals converted 8-14 third down plays.
— Cardinals have been outscored 80-26 in first half this year.
Cowboys 22, Rams 10
— QB Rush is 5-0 as starter, first-ever Dallas QB to do that.
— Dallas has allowed only five TD’s on 53 drives this season.
— Dallas is 5-1 ATS in last six games as a road underdog.
— Cowboys outscored last four opponents 51-23 in first half.
— Under is 4-0-1 in their games this season.
— Rams gave up a defensive TD on their first drive of the game.
— Second drive of the game, they had a punt blocked.
— Rams have scored one TD on their last 22 drives.
— LA’s only TD in this game was a 75-yard pass to Cooper Kupp.
— Last three games, LA scored 22 points on eight red zone drives.
