Fisher set to rebuild Rams
Football Betting Lines
01/17/2012 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Fisher was officially introduced as the new head coach of the St. Louis Rams on Tuesday and said he is ready to get the franchise "back on the map."
Fisher will take over a Rams team that was 2-14 under Steve Spagnuolo in 2011 and has a record of 15-65 since 2007 -- the worst five-year stretch in NFL history. The franchise was among the best in the NFL from 1999 through 2004, reaching the playoffs in five of those six years with a pair of trips to the Super Bowl and a championship over Fisher's Titans after the '99 season.
"This is a tremendous opportunity... to get this football team back on the map and get back on a winning track," Fisher said Tuesday. "It's [about] restoring this franchise to a place of significance."
Fisher stepped away from the NFL in 2011 after 17 years as head coach of the Titans franchise. He guided the team to a record of 142-120 with four division titles and six postseason appearances, the most notable of which came in 1999 when the Titans famously came up a yard short of tying Super Bowl XXXIV and dropping a thrilling 23-16 decision to the Rams.
While taking his one-year sabbatical, Fisher said he was asked by the NFL to be a consultant, but declined. He added that it was always his intention to return to coaching right away.
"I intended on getting back into coaching when I stepped away," Fisher stated. "I love this game. I love the competitive aspects of this game. I was looking for the opportunity to do it someplace else."
It came down to St. Louis and Miami, and Fisher refuted the notion that the Dolphins were his first choice.
"That's not true. Miami responded first," he noted. "We addressed the issues with Miami and addressed the issues with St. Louis."
The issues apparently centered on ownership and the most important position on the field -- quarterback. St. Louis has Sam Bradford, a former top overall pick who has yet to fully flourish, while Miami currently has journeyman Matt Moore at the helm.
"When I set out [on the process of returning], I had two factors -- one was a good owner and one was a good quarterback," he stated matter-of-factly, adding that money was not a priority.
"Non-economic issues were more important," he continued, "what we're going to do with the coaching staff and the front office staff. The decision became very clear for me."
The Rams still have a general manager vacancy, as Billy Devaney was fired along with Spagnuolo the day after the 2011 regular season concluded.
"This team's got a chance of winning some games," Fisher said. "This team played very, very hard all year for coach Spags. They played hard. It's a talented team. It has some holes. I'm looking forward to filling the void."
Fisher wouldn't comment when asked if he will have final say in personnel matters, only indicating that such decisions will be made jointly with the new general manager.
As for assistant coaches, he said there is no timetable for filling out a staff. There has been speculation that former Oakland Raiders head coach Hue Jackson is being considered for the offensive coordinator position, while former Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is also reportedly a candidate.
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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES
NFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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