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07/28/2010 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Having knocked off the last unbeaten club in the CFL during the fourth week of the 2010 season, the Calgary Stampeders now try to better their position atop the Western Division standings as they clash with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at McMahon Stadium on Saturday night.
For the Stamps, last week's meeting with Saskatchewan was tough through the first 30 minutes, but once the second half began the entire complexion of the game changed and Calgary ran away with an easy 40-20 victory. Henry Burris, who was intercepted four times in the loss to Toronto a week earlier, came alive this time around by throwing for 285 yards and four touchdowns, while surviving a pair of interceptions.
Doing most of the damage down the field for Burris and the Stamps was Romby Bryant who caught seven balls for 116 yards and a pair of touchdowns, his efforts earning him Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday. Not to be overlooked was running back Joffrey Reynolds who carried the ball 15 times for a game-high 93 yards and a score. Reynolds, who is currently third in the league in rushing with 351 yards on 56 attempts, has proven in recent years that he can carry much of the rushing burden for a team, having scored a combined 21 rushing TDs the last two seasons.
As for the Blue Bombers, they set up against a winless Edmonton team at home last week and, even though the host team was operating without regular starter Buck Pierce at quarterback, the odds were still heavily in favor of Winnipeg. Stepping in for Pierce, who was sidelined with a knee injury, was Steven Jyles who completed 14-of-22 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown. Granted, Jyles was sacked twice and picked off two times, but he made up for that by filling the running shoes left by Pierce, gaining 63 yards and scoring twice himself on just eight attempts.
Running back Fred Reid accounted for another 69 yards and a score on 16 carries for the Bombers as they completely dominated a weak Eskimos team in a 47-21 final. Terence Jeffers-Harris, who caught the lone TD pass from Jyles, finished with 97 yards on a mere three catches, his scoring play covering a thrilling 46 yards in which Jyles was forced to scramble out of the pocket and the receiver then ran the width of the field to make it into the corner of the end zone.
Getting Winnipeg off on the right foot in the meeting last week was Moton Hopkins who intercepted a Ricky Ray pass in the first quarter and returned it 36 yards to the end zone to put the Bombers ahead and give them the momentum to carry them through the entire matchup.
Because of players like Hopkins, the pass defense for the Blue Bombers is at the top of the charts in the league entering the fifth week, allowing just 238.5 ypg, although opponents have still found a way to complete 61.2 percent of their attempts against the Bombers secondary. Winnipeg has been rather strong against the run as well, permitting just 102 ypg to rank third in the league at this stage. However, even though the stats seem to lean in favor of Winnipeg in several areas, the fact remains that the team is giving up a hefty 28.5 ppg at the moment.
In contrast, Calgary's scoring defense is beyond reproach, allowing just 21.2 ppg to lead the CFL.
Throw out the one game in which Burris tossed those four interceptions, and the numbers for the quarterback look a whole lot brighter. He currently leads the league in TD passes with nine and has completed 62.2 percent of his attempts. However, because of those league-high eight picks, Burris has an efficiency rating of just 81.7.
With Bryant, who is tied for the league high with four TD catches, on his side Burris is only going to get better as the year goes on. Making it even easier for the signal-caller is Reynolds coming out of the backfield, averaging close to six and a half yards per carry as he ranks third in the league with 351 yards overall.
Dating back to 1945 and only taking into account regular-season meetings, Calgary owns a 94-89 edge in the series with the Blue Bombers. The most recent regular-season meeting went to the Stamps in a 31-23 decision at home. As a result, Calgary has taken two of the last three encounters with the Bombers.
These teams are set to finish off the 2010 regular season against each other in Winnipeg, their only other scheduled meeting of this season.
After last week's game, Burris should have the sort of confidence he needs to get him through a meeting such as this. The only question for the Stamps is how well their run defense is going to perform against an aggressive Winnipeg squad that seems to thrive on the ground.
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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