Hamilton visits Toronto in pivotal Eastern Division matchup

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08/18/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Currently tied for first place in the Eastern Division, the Toronto Argonauts try to continue their recent run of success as they face off against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a divisional showdown at the Rogers Center on Friday night.

Toronto is the surprise team in the league to this point in the season, putting up five wins in seven tries and taking all three of its home games in 2010. The squad remained perfect at home by knocking off Montreal in this same building last weekend by a final of 37-22, exacting revenge for a disappointing 41-10 setback at the Alouettes just a few weeks ago.

Cleo Lemon attempted just 19 passes on the night versus the Als the last time out, completing 13, yet he still accumulated 269 yards and logged three touchdowns in the victory, while Cory Boyd tacked on a game-high 63 rushing yards and a major of his own on 17 attempts coming out of the backfield for the squad.

Chad Owens put together a monster effort with his six catches for 163 yards and two scores and was consequently named the CFL's Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after rolling up 291 yards of total offense in the meeting. A unanimous selection for the weekly honor, Owens now leads the CFL in combined yards after seven weeks with 1,197 yards.

Another high point of the game for Toronto was kick returner Ryan Christian who, when the Als decided to kick away from Owens in the second quarter, collected a kick at his own goal line and then proceeded to race 110 yards for a touchdown, breaking the club's all-time record for longest kickoff return, surpassing the 109-yard effort by Terry Greer in 1981.

But not all the news was good for the Argos last weekend as Jeremaine Copeland went out with an injury that was later determined to be a dislocated left elbow and could have the wideout on the sidelines for as long as six weeks, following the results of an MRI taken on Monday.

As for the Tiger-Cats, they picked up their second win in as many games last Friday night when they topped Winnipeg on the road by a score of 39-28. It was the fourth matchup in the first seven games between the two clubs, with the Ti-Cats winning their third decision of the season versus the Blue Bombers.

Quarterback Kevin Glenn threw three touchdown passes in the first half, converting 18-of-26 passes for 274 yards, while working through a couple of interceptions to lead his team on to victory. Receiver Arland Bruce III, who had posted a couple of impressive efforts in the two weeks prior, tallied two catches for 64 yards and a score in the win.

While running back DeAndra Cobb registered both a rushing touchdown and a receiving score for the visitors, the bigger story for the Tiger-Cats was Marcus Thigpen who scored on a five-yard run on the first drive of the contest. While the run itself wasn't all that impressive, the scoring play represented the fifth different way (kickoff return, punt return, missed field goal return, pass reception) in which Thigpen has registered a major this year, becoming the first player in CFL history to achieve the feat in a single campaign and doing so in less than half a season.

From a defensive standpoint, tackle Matt Kirk made his presence known against Winnipeg by coming up with his first two sacks of the season, a performance worthy of being named the CFL's Canadian Player of the Week.

Thigpen enters this week ranked third in the league in combined yards with 1,016, one of only three players in the CFL to have already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. Adding to Hamilton's attack is Bruce III who is easily the league leader in receiving yards with 744 and has five touchdowns on 45 receptions thus far. It also helps that Dave Stala has posted 34 catches for 398 yards and two touchdowns and Marquay McDaniel has reeled in 33 passes for 435 yards and a couple of scores in order to give defenses something else to thing about as they arrange their pass coverages versus Hamilton.

Glenn has one of the best efficiency ratings (102.2) in the league after seven games, thanks to throwing 14 TDs and having tossed just six picks on 244 attempts. His yardage total of 2,164 yards, thanks in large part to the big- play ability of Bruce III, is third in the league at the moment.

Lemon started off the 2010 campaign rather quietly for the Argos, learning the ropes as he went along in this his first CFL season, but he has come on of late and has now completed 60.7 percent of his passes and is finally getting his squad into the end zone on a consistent basis. But Lemon's success hinges greatly on Boyd who is first in the league in yards from scrimmage with 785 after seven games. In his first professional season in the Great White North, Boyd has provided a huge spark for the team in most of their outings, gaining at least 100 yards in four of seven contests and averaging 6.1 yards per carry as he ranks first in the league in rushing with 711 yards on 117 attempts.

As well as the Toronto offense has performed thus far, there has to be some concern for an Argos defense that is ranked last in the league with a whopping 451.1 yards per game allowed. Granted, the team has had to face Anthony Calvillo and the Montreal Alouettes a few times, but still the numbers look rather daunting on that side of the ball and tell the story of a team that is bound to crack sooner rather than later. Yet, as bad as the yardage numbers might be for the Argos, the fact remains that the team is in the middle of the pack when it comes to points allowed (28.4 ppg) and Hamilton is actually further down the list with 29.0 ppg. Some of that has to do with the fact that Toronto's pass coverage has tied Calgary for the league lead in interceptions with nine, while the Tiger-Cats are last on that chart with just four.

In terms of the all-time series between the clubs, Hamilton is ahead by a count of 117-86-2, dating back to the 1950 campaign. The Tiger-Cats won the most recent meeting last year, 26-17, in Toronto, giving them two victories in the last three encounters. Following a bye next week, the teams are set to face each other again on September 6 in Hamilton, and will also be back at the Rogers Centre in the middle of October to complete their season series.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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