PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* DIVISION GAME OF THE YEAR
(NFL) Tampa Bay vs. Atlanta,
09/11/2016 9:00 AM, Score: 31 - 24
Point Spread: -2.50 | -103.00 Atlanta (Home)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: -2.50 | -103.00 Atlanta (Home)
Result: Loss
Tampa Bay: The Bucs went 6-10 in the first year of the Jameis Winston era, with the rookie having a very good first season (4042 yards, 22 TDs and just 15 INTs). It sure helped Wilson that RB Doug Martin returned to his rookie-year form (1454 RY with 11 TDs), gaining 1402 yards with six TDs (Martin had rushed for only 456 and 494 yards in 2013 and 2014). Despite obvious improvements, head coach Lovie Smith was fired and the job was given to OC Dirk Koetter. Koetter worked well with Winston last season and views the young QB as not only a talented passer but as a team leader as well. Winston developed a strong rapport with WR Mike Evans (74 receptions, 1,206 yards) plus veteran Vincent Jackson expects to be free on injury in 2016. The Bucs ranked 10th in total defense last year but 26th in scoring defense (26.1 PPG), in large part because the team's red zone defense was awful, allowing TDs on 64.3 percent of their trips inside the 20.
Atlanta: Dan Quinn's first season as the Falcons' head coach saw Atlanta begin 5-0 and 6-1. However, a 23-20 Week 8 home loss to the Bucs in OT began a six-game slide. The Falcons also lost a second time in that slide to the Bucs 23-19 at Tampa Bay and wound up 8-8 on the year. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan (now 31-years-old) has topped 4,000 yards in five consecutive seasons but he is also coming off a campaign in which he threw the second-fewest TD passes (21) and second-most INTs (16) of his eight-year career. There are legitimate questions being asked these days as to whether Ryan's moniker of "Matty Ice" is in fact, beginning to melt away! Numbers don't lie. Ryan is entering the fourth season of a five-year, $103.75 million contract that he received after taking the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game in 2012 but Atlanta is just 18-30 in the first three years of that contract.
The pick: The Falcons weren't favored in a game last year until Week 4, a 48-21 win at home over Houston at minus-4. However, Atlanta was favored eight more times in the rest of the 2015 season and went 0-8 ATS! However, this marks Atlanta's final season playing in the Georgia Dome and while I believe the Bucs are a team on the rise, the Falcons are playing with double-revenge from last year and this pointspread means a SU just may equal an ATS win. Let's also not ignore the fact that the Bucs are just 6-18 SU on the road the last three seasons and may need to win this one SU to cover. Atlanta is a 10* play.
Atlanta: Dan Quinn's first season as the Falcons' head coach saw Atlanta begin 5-0 and 6-1. However, a 23-20 Week 8 home loss to the Bucs in OT began a six-game slide. The Falcons also lost a second time in that slide to the Bucs 23-19 at Tampa Bay and wound up 8-8 on the year. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan (now 31-years-old) has topped 4,000 yards in five consecutive seasons but he is also coming off a campaign in which he threw the second-fewest TD passes (21) and second-most INTs (16) of his eight-year career. There are legitimate questions being asked these days as to whether Ryan's moniker of "Matty Ice" is in fact, beginning to melt away! Numbers don't lie. Ryan is entering the fourth season of a five-year, $103.75 million contract that he received after taking the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game in 2012 but Atlanta is just 18-30 in the first three years of that contract.
The pick: The Falcons weren't favored in a game last year until Week 4, a 48-21 win at home over Houston at minus-4. However, Atlanta was favored eight more times in the rest of the 2015 season and went 0-8 ATS! However, this marks Atlanta's final season playing in the Georgia Dome and while I believe the Bucs are a team on the rise, the Falcons are playing with double-revenge from last year and this pointspread means a SU just may equal an ATS win. Let's also not ignore the fact that the Bucs are just 6-18 SU on the road the last three seasons and may need to win this one SU to cover. Atlanta is a 10* play.
