lego
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Las Vegas - These teams met back in September and here are some numbers that should help with your handicap. The New Yorkers got a beautiful game from Rodgers as he completed 27 of 35 for 281 yards, with 2 TDs and no INTs. The ground game was solid with Breece Hall rushing for 54 yards and Braelon Allen adding 55 yards. On the other side of the field, the Pats started Jacoby Brissett, who was 12 of 18 for only 98 yards, and wound up with the rookie, their #1 draft pick, Drake Maye, finishing up at 4/8 for just 22 yards. Maye started the next game against the Texans and was 20/33 for 243 yards with 3 TDs and 2 INTs. Last week in London, Drake hit on 26 of 37 for 276 yards with 2 TDs and no INTs. But the glaring problem and the one that's gonna be an issue against the Jets is the running game. Or should we say WHAT RUNNING GAME! Maye was the lead dog on the ground against the Jaguars, scampering for 18 yards. Yea, lemme yell, EIGHTEEN YARDS! The entire team managed a meager 38 yards. OUCH.
And when your coach, Jerod Mayo, calls the entire team soft, you think they're gonna go out and run through a wall for him? The actual quote from Mayo said, "Look, we are a soft football team across the board." After hearing/reading that, you think his guys are about to turn it around? Nah. Nope. Not happening. My wallet is open for the green team from New York.
For those that checked in on Ecks last week, we put some money in the wallet with a play on the Bengals and they posted a 21-14 win over the Browns.
We introduced one of our key handicapping angles in the UNLV/Boise State preview and we're calling it 'LEGO-METRICS,' or how a team builds a season. Sure Cincy has won three of the last four, but look at the YUCK they beat. A 34-24 win over the 1-6 Panthers, a 17-7 win over the 2-5 N.Y. Giants and a 21-14 W against the 1-6 Browns. Actually, the Bengals have NOT won a game against a team with a winning record. Kinda strange, but the Eagles also have not played the cream of the NFL crop, with one exception. They picked up a 34-29 W in the opener against the 5-2 Packers.
While Jalen Hurts was pretty accurate last week against the Giants, hitting 10 of 14 (71.4%), it seems like he is still getting used to Cam Jurgens who replaced the great Jason Kelce at center. And unfortunately, his All-Pro T Lane Johnson has been in and out of the lineup. But Hurts is still clicking at almost 70% of his passes and if Deshaun Watson was able to complete 15 of 17 before getting hurt, it could be a long slog for the Cincy D. Bank of Benj is wide
open for the Green Birds.
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