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It was a surprising win for a Kansas City team that experienced a lot of changes this week. The Chiefs installed Crennel as interim head coach after firing Todd Haley earlier this week.
Crennel, the team's defensive coordinator, then decided to bench Tyler Palko in favor of Orton, who was claimed off waivers from Denver in November. He had thrown one pass for the Chiefs and missed time because of a finger injury, but threw for 299 yards Sunday.
Dan Orlovsky threw for 82 yards and a score on 11-of-17 passing, and middle linebacker Pat Angerer had an interception and a forced fumble.
Chris Johnson ran for 55 yards and caught eight passes for 54 yards for the Titans (7-7), who have lost two straight.
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marshawn Lynch rushed for 42 yards and two touchdowns, as the Seattle Seahawks used a big second half to take down the Chicago Bears, 38-14. Lynch carried the ball 20 times and became Seattle's first 1,000-yard rusher since Shaun Alexander in 2005.
Kahlil Bell carried the ball 15 times for 65 yards. He also caught five passes for 43 yards and a score for Chicago, which was outscored 31-0 in the second half.
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts earned their first win Sunday, then ruled out star quarterback Peyton Manning for the final two weeks of the season. The Colts had lost their first 13 games before beating the Titans, 27-13, on Sunday. It was their first win without Manning under center since December 14, 1997.
Colts vice chairman Bill Polian made it clear after Sunday's win that despite the four-time MVP making strides in his recovery, he will continue to remain sidelined.
Manning has endured three surgeries on his neck, including two in the past five months. He had a single level anterior fusion surgery on September 8 and was cleared to leave the booth and stand on the sidelines in early October.
After writhing in pain for several minutes, Carter needed to be assisted onto the back of a cart and driven into the locker room for further evaluation.
After forcing Oakland to punt, Detroit took over at its own two-yard line with 2:14 left. Johnson made a nice 21-yard catch along the left sideline to put the ball at the 39. The star wide receiver then beat the coverage and caught a 48-yard pass over the middle. A defensive pass interference penalty put the Lions at the six-yard line. Stafford completed the seven-play, 98-yard march with a strike to Johnson in the back of the end zone for a 28-27 lead.
The Lions (9-5) have won two in a row to keep pace in the NFC playoff race. Meanwhile, Oakland (7-7) remained one game back of Denver in the AFC West as the Broncos lost to the Patriots on Sunday.
Stafford completed 29-of-52 passes for 391 yards and four touchdowns, while Carson Palmer connected on 32-of-40 passes for 367 yards and a touchdown.
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Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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