2010 FBS Positional Analysis: Defensive Linemen

NCAA Football Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They are literally the first line of defense, the one group of players that controls the tempo of the game more than any other. They can completely negate skilled offensive performers with their tenacious play up the field, and the NFL simply can't get enough of them.

Below are the top FBS defensive linemen heading into the 2010 season.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

ADRIAN CLAYBORN, IOWA

The top collegiate defensive end plays for the Hawkeyes. The 6-4, 285-pound Clayborn is an every-down dominant force up front. He showed flashes of potential in his first two seasons at Iowa but really burst on the scene as a junior in 2009, racking up 70 total tackles, with an outstanding 20 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks, earning some All-American honors, as well as being tabbed an All-Big Ten First-Team honoree. The Hawkeyes aren't the team to beat in the Big Ten this season, but Clayborn should continue to excel and be a disruptive force for the Hawkeyes week-in and week-out.

ROBERT QUINN, NORTH CAROLINA

This Tar Heel has overcome adversity to become one of the nation's premiere ends. The 6-5, 270-pounder recovered from brain surgery as a high school senior and has really developed in a short period of time. As a sophomore in 2009, Quinn was a First-Team All-ACC selection, while picking up some All-American accolades as well, finishing the year with 52 total tackles, 19 TFLs and 11 sacks. The Tar Heels are under fire right now regarding potential NCAA violations, and while the team may not vie for an ACC crown in 2010, it won't be because of the play along the defensive line.

JEREMY BEAL, OKLAHOMA

It may have been a down year for the Sooners in 2009, but that wasn't because of a lack of effort from the 6-3, 267-pound Beal. This Oklahoma end racked up an impressive 70 total tackles, with 19 TFLs and 11 sacks, picking up First- Team All-Big 12 honors and Third-Team All-American status. His junior campaign was a nice follow-up to his sophomore season (15.5 TFLs, 8.5 sacks), as he continues to reach his potential. The Sooners will be back in the thick of the Big 12 race in 2010 and Beal will be a centerpiece on the defensive side of things.

GREG ROMEUS, PITTSBURGH

The 2009 Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year, the 6-6, 270-pound Romeus amassed 43 tackles, with 11.5 TFLs and eight sacks. He will vie for All- American honors in 2010 and consideration for most defensive awards when all is said and done. The Panthers should take another step towards the Big East crown this year, and balanced play on both sides of the football could be the difference. Romeus is an every-down end, who must be accounted for by offensive coordinators.

SAM ACHO, TEXAS

Sergio Kindle has moved on to the NFL, leaving Acho as the premiere down- lineman in Austin. A veteran end, Acho has played in 38 career games, with 14 starts. As a junior in 2009, the 6-3, 260-pounder finished with 63 total tackles, 14 TFLs, 10 sacks, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He will once again be a key contributor along the Longhorn defensive front in 2010. Texas will be among the top teams in the country, and Acho very well may take the next step in his maturation as a dominant and disruptive force.

OTHERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON: Marcel Dareus (Alabama), Cameron Heyward (Ohio State), Frank Alexander (Oklahoma), Cliff Matthews (South Carolina), Jonathan Freeny (Rutgers), Pernell McPhee (Mississippi State).

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

MARVIN AUSTIN, NORTH CAROLINA

This Tar Heel is currently embroiled in an NCAA investigation, but that won't keep him off my list as the top interior lineman in the game. Larger than life both on and off the field, the 6-3, 310-pounder is as good as it gets. He was a Second-Team All-ACC selection as a junior in 2009, as the outgoing Austin finished with 42 total tackles, six TFLs and two sacks. A space-eater in the middle, it remains to be seen if he will showcase his talents on the field in 2010, as the NCAA may hand down a lengthy suspension that could result in his career in Chapel Hill coming to a close.

ALLEN BAILEY, MIAMI-FLORIDA

A chiseled 290-pounder, Bailey has the ability to play both inside and out at the next level. An All-ACC First-Team selection as a junior in 2009, he led the Hurricanes in both TFLs (11) and sacks (7.0). Miami will take another step toward regaining its swagger on a national scale in 2010, and Bailey really has a chance to emerge as a difference-maker along the defensive front, vying for All-American honors in the process.

JERRELL POWE, OLE MISS

A mammoth interior lineman at 6-2, 320 pounds, Powe is a prototypical nose guard. He saw action in 13 games for Ole Miss last season with 10 starts, recording 34 tackles (25 solo), with 12.0 TFLs. He is very strong at the point of attack and has the ability to handle double-teams, freeing up his teammates to make the play. The Rebels won't win the SEC any time soon, but few teams will find it easy to run up the middle on Ole Miss in 2010.

JARVIS JENKINS, CLEMSON

Jenkins has played in the shadow of some really good defensive linemen at Clemson over the course of his career, but is ready to make a name for himself in 2010. The 6-4, 310-pound Jenkins earned second-team All-American honors as a sophomore in 2008 and followed that up with a solid junior campaign in 2009, ranking fifth on the team with 69 total tackles, 11 TFLs and one sack. He will be the centerpiece of the Clemson defensive front this season and should be a productive player on a weekly basis.

JARED CRICK, NEBRASKA

Though perhaps best known for playing next to Ndamukong Suh, Crick carved out his own little niche in 2009, earning All-Big 12 honors, after the 6-6, 285- pounder racked up 73 total tackles, 15 TFLs and 9.5 sacks. Without the luxury of Suh taking on double-teams, Crick will now be forced to prove he is not a product of his environment. Still, it wasn't Suh alone that put Nebraska among the national leaders in scoring defense (first), pass efficiency defense (first) and sacks (second) in 2009. This is Nebraska's last season in the Big 12 and although the team is probably not ready to win the league title, Crick will do everything in his power to keep the Cornhuskers relevant each week.

OTHERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON: Stephen Paea (Oregon State), Jurrell Casey (USC), Adrian Taylor (Oklahoma), Cameron Jordan (California), Lawrence Marsh (Florida).

Myracetrack NCAA Football Betting News

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What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

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