Despite dominating the winless St. Louis Ram on the stat sheet, the Jacksonville Jaguars needed overtime to eke out a 23-20 home field victory over arguably the worst team in the NFL. Based on their statistical superiority, the Jags should have made mincemeat out of the hapless Rams-they had 33 first downs to 13 for St. Louis, held a 492-262 overall yardage edge and had possession of the ball for 42:12 compared to 24:48 for the Rams. Jacksonville evened their record at 3-3 while the Rams dropped to 0-6.
Those who bet on NFL football would argue, however, that while Jacksonville may have 'won the battle' the Rams won the financial 'war' as St. Louis easily covered as +9' road underdogs. It was only the Rams second NFL pointspread cover of the season (2-4 ATS) while Jacksonville evened their record against the money at 3-3. The 43 points put on the board just managed to go OVER the posted total of 42. Jacksonville has now gone OVER in four of six games, while St. Louis evened their NFL totals record at 3-3.
The catalyst behind the Jags offense was running back Marcus Jones-Drew who churned out 133 yards and three touchdowns. He'd gone public the week before saying that the Jags needed to run more and he explained the motives behind the comments after the game:
"I just wanted to show people my frustration of losing/ I feel we are on the verge of being great, but we just have to feel the same way about frustration. I lashed out a little bit. I think I went overboard, but the coaches understood after I talked to them and told them what it was about."
Jags' QB David Garrard said that the win was a confidence boost:
"This offense can battle even when the situation looks kind of bleak. To have that composure, that poise ... that was huge for us. That was a good test for us to be able to move forward."
There was immediate second guessing of Rams' coach Steve Spagnuolo's decision to go for the tie with the team had the ball on the nine yard line with seven seconds remaining. Some suggested that a team with a 0-6 mark should have gone for the win at this point. Spagnuolo responded all but saying that this team wasn't playing to win but 'playing not to lose':
"It was too close. We never wanted something bad to happen and we just couldn't take the chance. I think it was the right thing to do."
The Rams won't have an easy task earning their first victory next weekend as they host the Indianapolis Colts. They'll play another one of the NFL's bottom feeders on the road the next week, facing the Detroit Lions before a bye week. Jacksonville will now have a bye week before returning to action on the road against the Tennessee Titans on November 1st.
Those who bet on NFL football would argue, however, that while Jacksonville may have 'won the battle' the Rams won the financial 'war' as St. Louis easily covered as +9' road underdogs. It was only the Rams second NFL pointspread cover of the season (2-4 ATS) while Jacksonville evened their record against the money at 3-3. The 43 points put on the board just managed to go OVER the posted total of 42. Jacksonville has now gone OVER in four of six games, while St. Louis evened their NFL totals record at 3-3.
The catalyst behind the Jags offense was running back Marcus Jones-Drew who churned out 133 yards and three touchdowns. He'd gone public the week before saying that the Jags needed to run more and he explained the motives behind the comments after the game:
"I just wanted to show people my frustration of losing/ I feel we are on the verge of being great, but we just have to feel the same way about frustration. I lashed out a little bit. I think I went overboard, but the coaches understood after I talked to them and told them what it was about."
Jags' QB David Garrard said that the win was a confidence boost:
"This offense can battle even when the situation looks kind of bleak. To have that composure, that poise ... that was huge for us. That was a good test for us to be able to move forward."
There was immediate second guessing of Rams' coach Steve Spagnuolo's decision to go for the tie with the team had the ball on the nine yard line with seven seconds remaining. Some suggested that a team with a 0-6 mark should have gone for the win at this point. Spagnuolo responded all but saying that this team wasn't playing to win but 'playing not to lose':
"It was too close. We never wanted something bad to happen and we just couldn't take the chance. I think it was the right thing to do."
The Rams won't have an easy task earning their first victory next weekend as they host the Indianapolis Colts. They'll play another one of the NFL's bottom feeders on the road the next week, facing the Detroit Lions before a bye week. Jacksonville will now have a bye week before returning to action on the road against the Tennessee Titans on November 1st.
About the Author:
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
0 comments:
Post a Comment