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11/06/2006 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Taylor had one sack, forced a fumble, intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown as Miami capitalized on six Chicago turnovers to best the Bears, 31-13, at Soldier Field.
Chicago lost its chance for NFL immortality as it will not go into the record books with an undefeated season. The 1972 Dolphins can breathe a little easier as Indianapolis is the only undefeated team left in the NFL. The Colts will try to avoid the loss column as they play in New England on Sunday night.
The game had strong similarities to December 2, 1985, when the Bears were 12-0 before losing 38-24 to the Dolphins. That was the only game they lost that season before winning Super Bowl XX against New England.
"We came out string and made some plays," said Taylor. "The guys believed all week. I think that all of the trash talk from the media this week worked as a pretty serious motivator for us to come together and work towards a win."
Ronnie Brown had an outstanding day on the ground, running for a career-high 157 yards on 29 carries and Joey Harrington completed 16-of-32 passes for 137 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions for the Dolphins (2-6), who scored 28 points off turnovers.
Chris Chambers made five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown for Miami, which leads the all-time series 7-3.
"This was a great won for our players," said Miami head coach Nick Saban. "Certainly it has been a long time...For our team to come up here on the road and play in a tough place to play and play as well as we did today says a lot about the character and the competitive spirit of this team. A lot of it was about trying to earn some respect in terms of how we can play a 60 minute game, and do a good job and do the things you need to do to play winning football."
Rex Grossman had an abysmal day, throwing three interceptions and fumbling once, while going 18-of-42 for 210 yards and a touchdown for the Bears (7-1), who have turned the ball over 13 times in their last three games. He finished the game with a 36.8 passer rating.
"We didn't take advantage of some opportunities, didn't play really well," said Grossman. "The Dolphins played extremely well so it's a combination of them playing really well and us not playing to our capability. In this league everyone is good so if you make mistakes like that bad things are going to happen."
Thomas Jones had 20 touches for 69 yards and caught four balls for 24 yards while Justin Gage caught two balls for 51 yards with a fumble for the Bears, who had won 10 straight regular season games. Muhsin Muhammad gained 42 yards on a pair of catches and a TD for Chicago, which hadn't lost a home game since the setback to Cincinnati in Week 3 of the 2005 season.
"No, we weren't doing that," said Jones referring to the Bears maybe looking ahead to next week's game against the 6-2 New York Giants. "They just played better than us. We weren't looking past the Dolphins by any means...We respect every team in the NFL. It doesn't matter who you are...We didn't look past them, they just came in and played better a real good game."
"This is isn't exactly the way we planned today's outing," said Chicago coach Lovie Smith. "They played a lot better than we did today. Any time you have that many turnovers, it's hard to win the football game. I think they got 28 points off of their turnovers. So, that in itself, it's tough to overcome that."
Bears wide receiver Bernard Berrian left the game on their first possession with a rib injury and did not return, removing a deep threat from the Chicago offense.
The Bears drew first blood with four seconds remaining in the opening frame, as Chicago went on a 14-play, 68-yard drive, including three defensive penalties, resulting in a 38-yard field goal from Robbie Gould for a 3-0 margin.
The Dolphins surged ahead in the second quarter when Devin Hester fumbled Donnie Jones' punt, which was recovered by Eddie Jackson at the Chicago 6. Three plays later Harrington connected with Marty Booker on a five-yard touchdown pass for a 7-3 lead.
On the Bears' next offensive play Taylor picked off Grossman at the Chicago 20 and the defensive end ran it back for a scoring scamper and a 14-3 score with 10:32 to play in the second.
On the ensuing kickoff Adrian Peterson coughed up the ball but Brendon Ayanbadejo was there to regain possession at their own eight. Chicago was gaining yards on the ground before Grossman was hit by Taylor, knocking the ball out of the quarterback's hand. Kevin Carter picked up the fumble as the Bears turned the ball over three times in the three straight possessions.
The Bears avoided falling behind by three scores when Alex Brown made a spectacular jumping interception on the Chicago 10 with just under five minutes left in the half.
Chicago then covered 86 yards in six plays, culminating in a 30-yard TD pass to Muhammad just before the two-minute warning, narrowing the gap to 14-10.
Olindo Mare had a chance to extend the Miami lead before the end of the half but his 37-yard attempt was blocked by Charles Tillman.
With momentum seemingly on their side, the Bears committed their fourth turnover as Gage fumbled the ball after a reception. Andre' Goodman picked it up at the Chicago 45 and returned it 33 yards to the 12. Three plays later Wes Welker made it into the end zone with a six-yard scoring catch for a 21-10 advantage.
After Nathan Vasher's pick of Harrington at the Dolphins 24, Chicago couldn't get into the end zone, but settled for a 38-yarder from Gould, cutting the deficit to 21-13, with 1:02 left in the third.
The Bears continued to struggle holding onto the ball all game as Grossman threw his third interception of the day. Renaldo Hill made the pick at the Chicago 36 and ran it back 12 yards to the 24. On the next play Harrington unleashed a wobbly pass that Chambers grabbed away from Tillman for a 28-13 score with 10 minutes to play.
Mare's 20-yard field goal with just over a minute to play accounted for the final score.
Game Notes
The Bears were behind after the first quarter at home for the first time this season...Miami linebacker Zach Thomas made the 155th start of his career, tying Tim Bowens for the most by a defensive player in franchise history...Taylor (100 1/2) is the third active player with at least 100 sacks, joining Michael Strahan (132 1/2) of the New York Giants and Tampa Bay's Simeon Rice (120)...The Dolphins were penalized 11 times for 69 yards...Miami defensive back Jason Allen intercepted a Grossman pass in the third quarter...Harrington is 5-3 against the Bears in his career...Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher went to the locker room before the end of the game with a foot injury.
<< Louisville surges to third in BCS
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Michigan held down the top two spots in the latest Bowl Championship Series
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Neither the
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Toronto, 103-94, at Air Canada Centre.
Manu Ginobili tallied 12 points, Fabricio
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Roy Williams caught six passes for 138
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AFC Nor
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Manning, Colts down Patriots to stay unbeaten >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peyton Manning threw for 326 yards and two
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Mann
Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South. Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC. The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game. For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft. Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.
1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign? New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1. Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT. Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.
Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami
2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season. With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round. LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems. If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU
3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season. The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach. The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub. High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career. With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson.
Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season. The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age. It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot. This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.
Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season. On the clock: the NFC North
Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2
Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1
Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1
To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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