11/20/2008 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson will not play Sunday against the Chicago Bears because of a strained right thigh muscle.
Jackson was hurt during the October 19 game against Dallas, despite rushing for 160 yards and three touchdowns, and has now missed four of the Rams' last five games.
"I have been staying with the game plans and preparing myself as if I am going to play Sunday," said Jackson. "I have been doing that for the last three or four games that I have missed. Mentally, I am still sharp and I just want to be able to get a full week of practice for (Coach) Haslett and go from there in the last five games."
For the season, Jackson has 525 yards on 128 carries with four touchdowns and added 25 catches for 259 yards.
Antonio Pittman, who has rushed for 224 yards on 57 carries and gained 80 yards on 13 catches this season, and Kenneth Darby, who has totaled 141 all- purpose yards this season, will likely see the majority of carries out of the backfield in Jackson's absence.
<< Liverpool's Skrtel denies Zenit rumors
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and defender
Martin Skrtel have denied reports linking the Slovakia international with a
return to the club he left in January.
Reports in Russia suggested Skrtel had s
<< Roma plans to keep Vucinic, Aquilani
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AS Roma has dismissed reports which suggested
they could lose both Mirko Vucinic and Alberto Aquilani during the January
transfer window.
Montenegro international striker Vucinic has been linked wit
<< Hull leads ADT Championship by one
West Palm Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katherine Hull posted a four-under 68
Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the season-ending
ADT Championship.
Hull collected her first win earlier this season at the Canadian
<< Sunderland's Keane requests FA hearing
Sunderland, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sunderland boss Roy Keane has denied an
FA charge of improper conduct after he was sent to the stands by referee Martin
Atkinson for the second half of the 5-0 defeat at Chelsea earlier this month.
The
Newcastle's Owen set to start against Chelsea >>
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle United striker Michael Owen is
set to make his first start since the beginning of October in Saturday's match
with Chelsea.
Owen, 28, has made three substitute appearances following his r
Hamburg loses De Jong to knee injury >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamburg will be without midfielder Nigel de
Jong for the rest of the calendar year because of a knee injury.
The Netherlands midfielder, who has only just returned to action after a knee
ligament injury
Rangers ship righty Loe to Japan >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have sold the rights to
right-handed pitcher Kameron Loe to the Fukuoka SouthBank Hawks of Japan's
Pacific League for an undisclosed amount.
Loe, the club's 20th round pick in 2002,
Iona will no longer have football >>
New Rochelle, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Iona College has announced that it is
terminating its football program, effective immediately, on Thursday.
"It is with a heavy heart and careful deliberations that we have come to this
extremely di
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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