After researching the bengals/ravens game...

[Pow]

im still looking for direction on what to take...

im leaning on baltimore and the under for these reasons:

henry OUT... when cincy faced the ravens last year and won, palmer was pretty much hurt but he had all three wide outs available for the picking... the ravens might be able to get away with rolle in the secondary, who has lost some speed over the past two years...

cincinatti line playing banged up... will anderson be able to go the whole game? will whitworth or jones be starting? houzshmudah (probably spelled wrong) has been increased to "probable" because of his knee... with henry out already, will this be a huge factor for the play?

however, ravens offensive line has barely played together; ogden is banged up and may not even play...

despite playing VERY conservatively already, mcnair continues to lose his deep threat arm... i see short passes out of the backfield, especially if the offensive line cannot hold up... they'll go to mcgahee in these situations, and he may still be having to get used to this new offense, which they'll rely heavily upon him...

analysts alike will tell you that defenses warm up a LOT faster than offenses, and in this situation, despite playing at home, carson is playing with a banged up offense and a defense that has a pretty weak linebacker core...

i really like the ravens getting 2.5/3 away from home, as their defense is as airtight as you can get (with the possible exception of rolle in the secondary)...

any other thoughts on this write up?

[Pow]

bump because there's gotta be somebody willing to comment on it

[Fishysmell]

Not a bad write-up Pow, but I think you should try to look a little deeper in the game. There is no doubt that the Bengals will be struggling on offense without Henry and a banged up Houshmandzadeh. At the same time I do believe in the Ravens ability to run and run well against a range of teams which could open up some play action for Mcgahee on the flats or some smaller methodical drives in which we don't need Mcnair to throw the deep ball. Looking at a coaching standpoint I think baltimore will be more prepared to start things off on the right foot and to exploit the flaws of the cincinatti defense. Baltimore's defense is a little shaky and I think many people are eager to see how the corners will handle covering chad johnson. All in all, I think you have a good read on the game and to grab the dirty birds getting the 2.5/3 on the road. Best of luck this season

[Pow]

thanks for the input fishy...

i'd take baltimore's "shaky" defense over cincinatti's "shaky" offense anyday this ...

mcgahee has already said that in the preseason he was just looking to stay healthy and that when regular season starts, "the gloves will come off"...

here's to the road dogs plus the field goal

[rjp]

If you can snag the Bengals money line at -130 or better then that's the way to go.

I don't see an edge either way in this game, though.

[Pow]

Originally Posted by rjp

If you can snag the Bengals money line at -130 or better then that's the way to go.

I don't see an edge either way in this game, though.

after seeing your picks for the week, i think im definitely on the right side tonight

[rjp]

Originally Posted by Pow

after seeing your picks for the week, i think im definitely on the right side tonight

You and the rest of the nation. Good luck this year.

[rjp]

Let me also add that while you might have the winning side you do not have the right side.

There is a huge difference between the winning side and the right side, and the fact that you have no idea what it is allows people like me to profit.

[jpix]

GL Pow. One of us wins......