Falcons cut two injured defenders

Football Betting Lines

08/31/2010 - Flowery Branch, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Falcons parted ways with safety Matt Giordano by way of an injury settlement and waived/injured defensive tackle Thomas Johnson to reach the league-mandated 75-man roster Tuesday.

Both players signed as free agents this offseason, with Giordano coming over from the Packers and Johnson re-signing with Atlanta after totaling two sacks and 27 tackles with a forced fumble over 13 games, 10 of those starts, in 2009.

Giordano appeared in just five games with Green Bay last year after playing in all 16 for the Colts a year earlier.

Myracetrack Football Betting News

<< Braves make several roster moves
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves made several roster moves on Tuesday, including recalling outfielder Nate McLoouth from Triple-A Gwinnett. Also, the team recalled first baseman Troy Glaus from his rehabilitation assig

<< Predators sign D Johnson
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators agreed to terms with defenseman Aaron Johnson on a one-year, two-way contract on Tuesday. The 27-year-old blueliner appeared in 41 games between Calgary and Edmonton in 2009-10 an

<< Rockies pick up P Delcarmen from Red Sox
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies acquired pitcher Manny Delcarmen from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for minor-league right- hander Chris Balcom-Miller on Tuesday. The 28-year-old Delcarmen was 3-2 with a 4.

<< Panthers trim roster, put two on IR
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Panthers reduced their roster to the maximum 75 on Tuesday, in part by placing wide receiver Wallace Wright and defensive end Hilee Taylor on injured reserve. Wide receivers Dexter Jackson and O

<< Fish wins U.S. opener
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Surging American Mardy Fish was a hard-fought opening-round winner Tuesday on Day 2 at the U.S. Open. The 19th-seeded Fish needed all five sets to get past Czech Jan Hajek 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 on

Liverpool loans Insua to Galatasaray >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Liverpool loaned Argentina international Emiliano Insua to Turkish giants Galatasaray for the upcoming season, the club announced Tuesday. Liverpool acquired Insua from Boca Juniors in 2007. He played 62

Buffalo brings back Ellis >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres re-signed unrestricted free agent forward Matt Ellis to a one-year contract on Tuesday. The 6-foot, 212-pound left winger set career-bests with 72 games played in the 2009-10 campaign. He ta

Cardinals to activate Suppan >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals announced Tuesday that pitcher Jeff Suppan will be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday in order to make the start that day against Houston. Suppan has been on t

Barca signs Keita to contract extension >>
Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona signed Mali midfielder Seydou Keita to a contract extension Tuesday through the 2013-14 season. Keita's old deal was set to expire at the end of the 2011-12 season. Keita has become a key piec

Cal Poly receiver to sit out season opener >>
San Luis Obispo, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cal Poly senior wide receiver Dominique Johnson will sit out Saturday's season opener against Humboldt State per an NCAA rule. Johnson earned Great West Conference second-team honors in his first season

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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