Eagles trade for OL Wells, cut 10; Abiamiri to PUP
Football Betting Lines
09/03/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles have traded for Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Reggie Wells, the team announced Friday.
The 29-year-old Wells, who was acquired in exchange for an undisclosed 2011 draft pick, started every game for the NFC West champion Cardinals in 2009.
The former sixth-round draft choice out of Clarion (PA), who has worked mainly at left guard over the course of his career, has opened 90 consecutive games dating back to the 2003 season finale.
"We're adding a player that has started several seasons in the National Football League and has played at a very high level during the course of his career," Eagles head coach Andy Reid said in a statement. "He has experience at several different positions along the offensive line and he will be a welcome addition to that group. You can never have enough depth at that position as you go through an NFL season."
The team also began releasing players in advance of Saturday's 6 p.m. (et) NFL deadline to reduce rosters to 53 players.
Dropped were running back J.J. Arrington, wide receiver Dobson Collins, defensive end Pannel Egboh, tight end Nate Lawrie, running back Martell Mallett, tackle Jeraill McCuller, cornerback David Pender, cornerback Geoff Pope, defensive tackle Boo Robinson, and safety Anthony Scirrotto.
The most esteemed member of that group is Arrington, who appeared in 58 games with the Cardinals from 2005 through 2008 but has seen his career largely derailed by knee problems.
The release of Arrington means that the Eagles will receive a sixth-round draft pick from Denver in 2012 as compensation for the trade of LB Joe Mays to the Broncos on July 30.
Placed on the Physically-Unable-to-Perform PUP list was defensive end Victor Abiamiri, who is coming off microfracture knee surgery. The 2007 second-round pick out of Notre Dame is not eligible to play in the team's first six regular season games. After the sixth game, the team has three weeks to decide whether to activate Abiamiri to the 53-man roster. If he is not activated during that time period, he is placed on the season-ending Injured Reserve list.
Abiamiri has four sacks in 29 NFL games since entering the league in 2007.
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Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.