The Rambling Gambler, TRG: Week 3 Recap

Week 3 brought no shortage of upsets, with most all of the big favorites failing to cover the spread. I thought San Diego might blow it (nothing new for them), but I really wasn't expecting Pittsburgh to struggle so much against Indy. For all of the experts saying that the offensive line is the problem, the Steelers has just as many health issues on the line last year and did just fine. It was another tough week, and the tight spreads to open week 4 are an indicator of how tough this season is getting early on. Last week was no exception, unfortunately... Here's the recap:

LOSSES


Pittsburgh -11 over Indy: Well what the heck was that, Pittsburgh? Like I said earlier, the offensive line was plenty banged up last year and they were fine. Monday's performance is definitely concerning, and going on the road to Houston is a good reason to lay off and see if they pull themselves together. Or you can bet Houston, if you're feeling adventurous.

San Diego -14 over KC: I have to admit, I was somewhat concerned about the San Diego choke factor for this spread, but KC played so poorly the first two weeks I though the Chargers might cover. Aside from Ryan Mathews, the offense was miserable. Everyone was off. The Chargers have the reputation of starting slow for a reason.

Atlanta 0 over Tampa Bay: I really thought Atlanta was going to win this game, I really did. I was very surprised to see them shut out for the majority of the game. The offensive line lost Harvey Dahl (G) to free agency, but I didn't think they'd be that bad. Matt Ryan is looking a little too much like Jay Cutler, for my taste. Still going to try again on the Falcons this week, though... They can handle Seattle. Right?

Tennessee -7 over Denver: Chris Johnson must be getting something close to $100,000 a yard or so at this point. It's mind boggling that he's had such a terrible 3 game stretch and couldn't even get it going against Denver's soft run defense. Combine that with the loss of Kenny Britt, and the Titans all of the sudden look like they're in trouble. On offense, at least. The defense performed well.


WINS

Baltimore -4 over St. Louis: Well, at least I got one of my top picks. This line blew up to -6 on Sunday morning, so the money knew something. Flacco looked great, the defense looked great, and the Rams looked miserable. The Rams are definitely one of the top 5 most disappointing teams so far this year. Baltimore looks like a pretty good bet to cover against sub-par opponents this year (Tennessee game notwithstanding).

San Francisco +2 over Cincy: This was definitely the ugly game of the week, and also the first 13-8 game in NFL history. The Niners defense played well yet again, and the Bengals couldn't do much of anything. The Niners offense still looks like one of the worst in football, but luckily for them, one TD and a couple of field goals were enough.

2011 Stats


Total Record: 7-10-1


Games: 7-8-1
Over/Under: 0-2-0
Home Teams: 3-3-0
Road Teams: 4-5-1
Favorites: 5-5-1
Dogs: 2-2-0




TRG