by Mark Rothstein
The Cincinnati Bengals? bandwagon is bursting at the seams.
With a road game coming up this Sunday afternoon in Tampa Bay against the winless Buccaneers, it must have struck bettors as strange that 3-1 Cincinnati (both SU and ATS) opened as just a mid-size favorite. The line had steamed to Bengals ?7 by Thursday. Cincy was also a fat ?300 on the moneyline, with a total of 43.
Tampa Bay?s hopes against Cincinnati appear to rest almost entirely on the rookie shoulders of quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. With Chris Simms out of commission, the Bucs were forced to turn to the former Toledo Rocket in Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints. Gradkowski looked like anything but a rookie, throwing 20-for-31 for 225 yards, a pair of touchdowns and zero interceptions. Although the Bucs fell 24-21, they cashed in for the second week in a row.
Bucs coach Jon Gruden is already singing Gradkowski?s praises. The 23-year-old reminds football pundits of Rich Gannon, who lined up behind center for Gruden when he was coaching the Oakland Raiders. And it?s tempting to throw Gradkowski?s name onto the pile of former MAC pivots now plying their trade in the NFL: Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Charlie Frye and Ben Roethlisberger. But just how good is this guy?
Very good, it seems. The more important question is how he will perform against a Bengals? defense coming off a bye week. Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis played linebacker in college at Idaho State and worked his way up the NFL ranks from LB coach to defensive co-ordinator before taking the Bengals? head-coaching reins in 2003. Under Lewis, the Bengals have a plus-4 takeaway ratio heading into Week 6, but according to the advanced metrics compiled by Football Outsiders, Cincinnati?s defense is only ranked No. 13 in the league. The Bengals have allowed 21.2 points per game; Tampa Bay?s maligned defense isn?t much worse at 22.8 points.
The Bucs were able grab the cash last week in large part because Cadillac Williams was finally able to put together his first good game at running back, carrying the ball 20 times for 111 yards, both season highs. If the Bengals can?t get their run defense back on track after a poor 38-13 loss to the Patriots, Cadillac may be driving to the bank yet again.
Kick-off at Raymond James Stadium is 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX.
Article courtesy of BetUS.com.
The Cincinnati Bengals? bandwagon is bursting at the seams.
With a road game coming up this Sunday afternoon in Tampa Bay against the winless Buccaneers, it must have struck bettors as strange that 3-1 Cincinnati (both SU and ATS) opened as just a mid-size favorite. The line had steamed to Bengals ?7 by Thursday. Cincy was also a fat ?300 on the moneyline, with a total of 43.
Tampa Bay?s hopes against Cincinnati appear to rest almost entirely on the rookie shoulders of quarterback Bruce Gradkowski. With Chris Simms out of commission, the Bucs were forced to turn to the former Toledo Rocket in Week 5 against the New Orleans Saints. Gradkowski looked like anything but a rookie, throwing 20-for-31 for 225 yards, a pair of touchdowns and zero interceptions. Although the Bucs fell 24-21, they cashed in for the second week in a row.
Bucs coach Jon Gruden is already singing Gradkowski?s praises. The 23-year-old reminds football pundits of Rich Gannon, who lined up behind center for Gruden when he was coaching the Oakland Raiders. And it?s tempting to throw Gradkowski?s name onto the pile of former MAC pivots now plying their trade in the NFL: Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Charlie Frye and Ben Roethlisberger. But just how good is this guy?
Very good, it seems. The more important question is how he will perform against a Bengals? defense coming off a bye week. Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis played linebacker in college at Idaho State and worked his way up the NFL ranks from LB coach to defensive co-ordinator before taking the Bengals? head-coaching reins in 2003. Under Lewis, the Bengals have a plus-4 takeaway ratio heading into Week 6, but according to the advanced metrics compiled by Football Outsiders, Cincinnati?s defense is only ranked No. 13 in the league. The Bengals have allowed 21.2 points per game; Tampa Bay?s maligned defense isn?t much worse at 22.8 points.
The Bucs were able grab the cash last week in large part because Cadillac Williams was finally able to put together his first good game at running back, carrying the ball 20 times for 111 yards, both season highs. If the Bengals can?t get their run defense back on track after a poor 38-13 loss to the Patriots, Cadillac may be driving to the bank yet again.
Kick-off at Raymond James Stadium is 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX.
Article courtesy of BetUS.com.
