Week 18 is a tricky week as we all know, but after diving in a bit deeper and getting a bit more information I think there are some playable games here. San Francisco line has dropped as expected, it was good to get them at 5.5 and include them in a couple teasers as well. Shannahan does well vs. McVay, and they are in a must win situation. They match up well with them and these games are always very competitive or the Niners kind of beat them physically. Niners are the more physical team and when they match-up and the Niners do win a majority the last few years. Now the Rams have tried to rectify this lack of physicality by inserting a motivated Pats cast off Sony Michel at RB and giving him the rock 20 times a game. It's worked for the most part. The Rams will find some tougher sledding vs. this defense this week. Should be a interesting match-up and I like getting some points here.
We got the Saints at - 4[ML taste looking for possible teaser partner} to beat Atlanta this week [Now 4.5 -5} and we know that Atlanta beat them the first time and in this one the Saints will be hard to beat a second time with more incentive. The Saints do need to win and need the Rams to beat the Niners, but that game is being played at the same time so no matter what the Saints will go balls out for this win. Atlanta is a weird team in that it is an unsolved mystery as to how they have won as many games as they have. Their numbers across the board simple don't match up with their win total.
21ST in yards per play on offense and also giving up on defense. 32nd in sacks given up rate, and the Saints do a good job at getting after the QB. 29Th in first downs allowed. 30th in third down defense. They can't rush the passer well and they don't block well in pass protection and Matty Ice has been beaten up like an aging fighter who has lost his reflexes. It's been ugly lately for the guy. Hill is good enough against this defense and in this situation. Kamara will have a day and they should grind out a win and cover this number and then scoreboard watch the Rams -Niners game.
A teaser possibility is taking the Dolphins with 6.5 [Get it over 10–11-point margin} to hang in at the least vs. the Patriots. Trends here point Miami, and fundamentally, this is a pretty good closer match-up than most realize. Pats have been failing down there for a while now. They even lost to the Fins a few years back at HOME and it cost them in terms of seeding. 2015 a very solid Pats team lost down there, and it cost them the home field and they had to go to Denver instead of hosting the AFC title game and they lost a close one. I feel they win that if at home.
The Patriots do some things well in terms of managing games getting interceptions and grinding out wins when they get a lead. They don't turn it over much as well. The Dolphins are limited, and they know who they are. Very low yards per play, but don't put their defense in bad spots. They play complementary football as Flores leaned under coach Belichick. Flores knows the Pats modus operandi, and even with the Fins out of the play-off hunt, Flores has too much respect for the game and for Belichick to lay down even for a one head bob 2-minute power nap here.
One thing the Pats don't do very well sometimes is tackle in space. We saw this in the second Buffalo game. Now Buffalo was more motivated than Napolean in that game in Foxboro and the Fins may not be sky high here, but they will dink, dunk, throw short crossers and slants and balls out in the flat and make the Pats tackle them. Over and over again. Clock will run, game will move fast, and it should be close.
Couldn’t resist
. Crager was part of the evil empire that was Coffman football so he’s been exiled to DeSales as we know . Wish Coffman luck getting a good coordinator and Crager and Crabtree success at DeSales . I think both will be better teams than they were last year . How much better ? Remains to be seen