Gambling guide
Play action or Pass Week 14: All dogs go to heaven
Jerry Bo
Dec 9, 2017, 10:34 am
Tom Brady and the Pats are the week's biggest favorites. Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
Ben McA-who?
Sometimes, people are granted positions in life which they are not qualified for. Let's look at McAdoo's resume in the last ten years; He served as a tight ends coach in Green Bay from 2006-2011. For the next two years, he had the simplest position in football as quarterback coach for Aaron Rodgers, which is basically making sure he has a helmet on. Then his stint in New York started, where he was OC for two years, cruising as a middle tier offense ending 15th and 19th overall in DVOA those two seasons. Oddly, he was promoted to head coach where again, his offense was inept, ranking #22 overall in his first year as head coach. So you ask yourself, how did the Giants go 11-5 last year and make the playoffs?
Enter Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
In 2016 the Giants defense was fierce under DC Spagnuolo. According to football outsiders, they were No. 2 in weighted DVOA. So why has this team fallen off so bad this year going from fourth vs. the pass down to 23rd, and second vs. the run to No. 24? Motivation and you have to assume that McAdoo lost the locker room weeks back. The Giants have made it clear that Spagnuolo, will be in consideration for the coaching vacancy. So with four games left in the season, three of which are division foes, could the team be extra motivated to put on good performances if this is the coach they want? When asked how he felt about his audition, Interm Coach Spagnuolo said, “ I'm not focused at all on that, and I would say this to everybody, and I mean this sincerely, I leave that in God's hands, I'll be where he wants me to be, and right now he wants me to be here for this game, and that's how I'll function. And that's as honest as I can get.”
Eli Manning, on the other hand, has to be highly motivated, he's being handed back the keys after being benched by the former head coach. “I'm happy that [Spagnuolo] went with that decision and he has faith in me, we can go win this football game with me as the quarterback,” Manning said.
Not to give merit to Spagnuolo as a great head coach, he holds a 10-38 record in his three years with the Rams. The hope, Spagnuolo said, is “to unite, restore and find a way to win football games. When I mean, restore, you know, restore Giant pride. It's hard to be real prideful when you don't win a lot of football games.”�
All dogs go to heaven and this week we like the underdogs
Week 14 brings us a tricky card. Only one game this weekend carries a spread greater than 6 points (Patriots-11). Eight games hold a line of 4 points and under with two of the contest have no spread at all. Week 14 serves us a menu of competitive games, so let's eat a W, Who wants to eat a W (in my Jameis Winston voice)?
Most bet team
Chargers 91%
Patriots 87%
Titans 86%
Raiders 86%
49ers 82%
Play, action or pass went 8-2 last week, and we are 30-23-4 in 2017.
Plays
Eagles+3 (Buy to 3 if at 2-2.5)
Sunday night, in a primetime matchup, the world got to see Carson Wentz be human and come back down to earth. The 24-10 final score doesn't tell much of what happened Sunday night. The Eagles, moved the ball all night, just failed to convert those yards into scores, with one of the drives ending in a turnover at the one-yard line. This game is said to be the "Game of the Week," but I see the Eagles clearly being the better team, giving no credit to the role as an underdog. Yes, the game is being played in the Colesium, where the Rams have been excellent vs. the number 4-2 ATS, but the Eagles have been no slouch as visitors either, also holding a 4-2 record. Where this game will be won is in the trenches, and that's where the Eagles hold an advantage. If the Rams have one weakness, it's stopping the run. They rank 26th overall and give up an average of 4.7 yards per rush. That certainly won't bode well going up against a three-headed backfield that ranks 3rd in the league in rushing while averaging 143.3 yards a game. Philadelphia will establish the run early and often, opening the door for the play action deep ball. Give me the Eagles with the better quarterback, coming off an underwhelming performance on the national stage.
Giants +4.5
We spoke about the added motivation in the New York Locker room, and that will be the difference this week. Since 2015, Dallas is 14-20 ATS in conference games. Before the firing of Ben McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese, Dallas was listed as a 6.5 point road favorite. Since the announcement, the line has been punished by sharps everywhere showing that indeed motivation might have been a factor for the Giants squad. When the opening line moves against the Cowboys, they own a horrible 17-32 ATS record since 2003. The Giants will keep this close with Angry Eli at the helm. Look for this game to go down to the last possession.
Action
Cardinals +4 (buy .5 if 3.5)
Chiefs/Raiders over 48
Jaguars-2.5
Teasers 7 point
Eagles+9.5/ Oak-KC over 41
Teaser 10 point
Patriots-1/Eagles+12.5/Steelers+5
Patriots-1/Eagles+12.5/Oak-KC over 38
Pass
Patriots-11
The Patriots are clearly the better team, and they can name the score in this matchup. That in itself, is why I have to pass. The Patriots are currently on a four-game road trip. The worse part about this is the last two legs of the road trip have them in two primetime spots. Next week, the Patriots travel to Pittsburgh to play in what many say will decide the AFC and the road to the Super Bowl. New England will come out fast and get this game to where they are comfortable, using as least energy as possible, with one eye on the Steelers. They very well could be up by three scores, but with the team thinking about next week, the back door will be wide open for Miami.
For any questions or comments reach me at @JerryBoKnowz on twitter.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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