Bradford inks record deal with Rams
Football Betting Lines
07/30/2010 -
Earth City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Rams quarterback and 2010 top
overall draft choice Sam Bradford has reportedly agreed to a six-year deal
that is worth a record $50 million in guarantees.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Bradford's deal is worth a total of
$78 million. The guaranteed money is the most ever for a single contract in
league history -- for rookies or veterans.
Bradford, 23, will be counted upon to help a Rams franchise that went a
league-worst 1-15 last season. He had been the Oklahoma Sooners' starting
quarterback for the last three seasons, despite playing in only three games in
2009 due to an injury to his throwing shoulder.
The 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, Bradford helped lead Oklahoma to the National
Championship Game that season before falling to Florida. That season, Bradford
threw for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns, helping the school break an NCAA
record for most points in a 14-game season with 716.
The Rams continued a popular trend of teams selecting a quarterback with the
first overall pick. Dating back to the Colts' selection of Peyton Manning
leading off the 1998 NFL Draft, quarterbacks have been picked first overall in
10 of 13 drafts. St. Louis last picked first overall in 1997 and took Ohio
State offensive tackle Orlando Pace.
The Rams have struggled mightily since "The Greatest Show on Turf," led by
quarterback Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk, produced two Super
Bowl appearances, one title, three MVP winners and three straight top-ranked
offensive teams from 1999-2001. St. Louis has posted one winning season in the
last eight years and has won a total of six games in the last three campaigns
-- the fewest in the NFL in that timeframe.
The club's quarterback for the last eight seasons, Marc Bulger, was released
earlier in the offseason, so Bradford figures to be in the mix for the
starting position as a rookie. The other three signal-callers currently on the
roster are veteran A.J. Feeley, Keith Null and Thaddeus Lewis.
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He
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Washington cooled off the surging Phillies, 8-1, and, in doing so, spoiled Roy
Oswalt'
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Houston debut, as the Astros handled the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0, in the opener
of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.
Happ (2-0) and minor leaguers Jonatha
Eagles acquire RB Arrington from Broncos >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles acquired running
back J.J. Arrington from the Denver Broncos in exchange for linebacker Joe
Mays.
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Diamondbacks power past Mets to snap seven-game slide >>
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the sixth and Miguel Montero tacked on a three-run shot later in the frame to
help the Diamondbacks snap a seven-game slide with a 9-6 win over the Mets.
Montero
Atlanta's Heyward comes through in extras in Cincy >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jayson Heyward delivered the game-winning
two-run double in the 10th inning as Atlanta upended Cincinnati, 6-4, in the
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Brian McCann homered and Chipper Jones added two hits,
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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