Sportbet Sunday Football

The NFL is off to a wild and crazy start.  Who would have thought that Green Bay would be 3-0 right now, while the Chargers have already matched their loss total of last year at 2.  Also, Detroit, Houston, and San Francisco all have winning records heading into week four.  When is the last time that happened?  Another team that has had a bit of resurgence is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The Bucs (2-1) have used a balance attack of power football, mixed with great defense to start the season well.  Carolina has had a great defense of late, but not a lot of people expected them to be 2-1 in the early season.  While it’s early in the season, these teams are currently tied for first in the NFC South and are looking to take any advantage they can get to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, including the struggling New Orleans Saints. 

After losing 20-6 in Seattle on opening week, Tampa Bay has rebounded, beating both New Orleans (31-14) and St. Louis (24-3) at home.  A lot of people have suggested that the Bucs defense is old, but as of right now they are looking fresh, and sporting a top 10 defense.  Jeff Garcia has enjoyed a career revival, first with the Saints, and now with the Bucs.  While he hasn’t looked spectacular, he has been solid, connecting on 66.2 percent of his passes for two touchdowns.  Running back Cadillac Williams has also been picking up steam of late, but went down with a rib injury against St. Louis.  He is currently listed as questionable for the Carolina game.  Backup Earnest Graham however performed admirably in the absence of Williams, scoring two touchdowns on 75 yards.  Even if Williams is deemed healthy you can bet Graham will see more of the field then he had been used to.

Carolina’s lone loss came against the new and improved Houston Texans, at home, 34-21.  Last week they bounced back against the Falcons, in Atlanta by a score of 27-20.  Wide receiver Steve Smith, to this point, is enjoying an injury free season and averaging over 17 yards per catch.  Jake Delhomme, in my opinion one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league, has thrown for eight touchdowns on just one interception.  The concern here is that the defense has taken a step backwards from years past, and they are also suffering from some injuries in their secondary. 

Despite the game being in Carolina I am leaning towards the Bucs.  It is still early enough for the old legs on the defense to keep things going for another week.  In a fairly low scoring game I expected the Bucs to prevail something like, but not necessarily 20-14.

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