Losman turns in solid showing

Football Betting Lines

12/20/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman had one his best performances as a pro in Sunday's 21-0 victory over the AFC East-rival Miami Dolphins.

Losman threw for 200 yards and matched a career high with three touchdown passes for a career best rating of 142.5 in a 21-0 shutout at a wet and windy Ralph Wilson Stadium. Losman, who is learning a new system, has put in back- to-back solid efforts, both wins, and hasn't thrown an interception since a Week 13 loss against San Diego.

"As the season has gone on we've been able to do more third=down and red zone situations with (Losman)," Bills offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild said.

"Early on I was cautious maybe to a fault with him, but we've said all along that we knew it was going to be a process. And that process isn't over. We've still got a long way to go."

The third-year signal-caller has 10 touchdown strikes against four picks over his last five games (4-1), and helped Buffalo even its record at 7-7. Losman doesn't have an arm like Peyton Manning or the ability to run like Michael Vick, but gets the job done when given the proper protection. Security in the pocket is what Losman has been lacking, and you can't blame him after being sacked three times against Miami and nine times over his last three starts. A Week 12 win over Jacksonville was the only time Losman was not sacked in 2006.

Losman, though, had enough time to throw touchdown passes to Josh Reed, Lee Evans and Robert Royal on Sunday. Reed led the team with four catches and ended with 50 yards and a score, while Evans had 67 yards and Royal ended with 62 yards.

Running back Willis McGahee showed guts in the win over Miami. McGahee took a nasty hit from Dolphins middle linebacker Zach Thomas, and fumbled the football before remaining on the ground for some time. McGahee left for a bit, but returned to post 79 yards on 28 carries. He helped grind out the clock with 40 yards on 10 carries in the fourth quarter despite playing through pain.

McGahee already suffered cracked ribs and an ankle injury this season and needed a ham sandwich for a boost on the sideline last week against the New York Jets.

"Willis is a tough guy. Obviously, the injury he had coming into the NFL [three torn knee ligaments] was tough, so I think that Willis could play through anything," Bills tight end Robert Royal said. "If he can play through that, he can play through a wrist or a little rib or something like that."

McGahee is the kind of player you build a team around, and has left his heart and soul on the field every week. There are two games left, against Tennessee and Baltimore, and neither will be a walk in the park. The Titans are streaking right now and just posted three defensive scores on Sunday. And Ray Lewis is all you have to say about the Ravens' heralded defense.

BILLS' DEFENSE BLANKS THE FINS

The Buffalo defense has been playing well during a five-game stretch in which the team has gone 4-1. On Sunday, the Bills allowed 212 yards of offense, and forced quarterback Joey Harrington out of the game. Harrington completed five of his 17 passes for 20 yards with a pair of interceptions before being replaced by backup quarterback Cleo Lemon.

Dick Jauron guided his team to the first shutout since opening the 2003 season with a 31-0 victory over the New England Patriots. The Bills also blanked Miami for the first time since topping the Don Shula-led Dolphins, 29-0, on November 29, 1987.

Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel leads the league with 13 1/2 sacks and has at least a half sack in five straight games with 6 1/2 over that span. Schobel, who owns 12 1/2 sacks in the last 10 games, matched Bruce Smith for the second-most sacks in a season in Buffalo history. Smith had 13 1/2 in 1996, and owns the team record with 19 sacks in the 1990 Super Bowl run.

UP NEXT: YOUNG AND THE TITANS COME TO TOWN

Tennessee has won five straight games thanks to the play of rookie quarterback Vince Young, and a playmaking defense which scored three touchdowns to beat Jacksonville on Sunday.

The Houston/Tennessee franchise has won four of the past five overall matchups, including a 28-26 triumph in the last meeting, on December 14, 2003 at LP Field.

Young will be a good challenge for Buffalo linebackers Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher-Baker. Bills' cornerbacks Nate Clements and Terrence McGee will also be tested this Sunday, as Buffalo seeks to maintain its playoff hopes in advance of a Week 17 trip to Baltimore.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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