Patriots a big favorite with the oddsmakers

The New England Patriots' record-setting pace includes the betting odds, too. The undefeated Patriots were made a 27-point favourite over the New York Jets in the opening line for Sunday's game at Foxborough. The line dropped to 24 yesterday, which would match the San Francisco 49ers' record point spread over the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 5, 1993, according to Keith Glantz, the co-author of the Glantz-Culver Line. The 49ers won that game 21-8. On Dec. 3, New England was a 20-point favourite at Baltimore against the Ravens, a record for a road team. But the Patriots barely won, 27-24.

Ben Kearon’s January NFL Mock Draft

Ben Kearon, Fantasy Football Cafe Regular

I’ve been getting myself worked up into a frenzy for the NFL Draft for about the last month and a half. Now that the underclassman declaration date has finally passed, I am in position to put out my first extensive mock draft of the year. This draft will probably change right up until draft day, but I intend to put one out every month for your reading pleasure. Here’s my early take on how the NFL Draft will unfold. [More]

Sleeper of the Week

Welcome to another edition of weekly sleepers here at the Cafe. Coming off a rather interesting week 14, I have some sleepers to help ease the pain that many owners (like myself) were forced to endure. This pain was caused by the likes of Santana Moss, Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush, and surprisingly, Terrell Owens and Adrian Peterson. While we will likely see better outputs from “T.O.” and “All Day” next week, what can be said of the others? Well, that’s what I’m here for my friends. I’ve got four sleeper picks lined up to help those owners searching for that diamond in the rough who want to get an edge this weekend. First we are going to start out with quarterbacks. Those that read my column last week know that I went out on limb with Chris Redman, and this week is no different. We aren’t going with the obvious guys here like Trent Edwards or Tavaris Jackson. Nope, for me this week it’s Shaun Hill. Who?! Shaun Hill, the new starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Hill takes over for Trent Dilfer, who was knocked out of last week’s game with a concussion. Hill came into the game and threw for 180 yards and touchdown. Up next for Hill and the 49ers are the Cincinnati Bengals, who are 7th worst in league in yards allowed at 348 per game. They are allowing 241 yards per game through the air, not to mention they are 3rd worst in the league at allowing passing touchdowns for the season, giving up 24 of them so far. With the waiver wire likely exhausted of quarterbacks, Hill is a week 15 fill-in with a nice match up, a home game, and something to prove. Now on to running backs. When we think of terrible run defenses, who usually comes to the top of our minds? The Raiders, Browns, Jets, Dolphins, and Broncos right? Well I’m guessing that the Running Backs with match ups against those teams are taken right? Not quite. Say hello to Darius Walker, the likely starter for the Houston Texans when they take on the paper-thin run defense of the Denver Broncos. When the Dayne Train came off the tracks last week, Walker stepped in and rushed for 46 yards and snagged 6 catches for another 35 yards. Not a bad showing against a pretty stingy Buccaneer defense. Now he gets a team that is allowing almost 140 yards per game on the ground. And let’s not forget that the Texans use the heavily effective zone blocking scheme that could spell nightmares for Shanahan and his boys this Thursday. Need that last second running back or flex play to give you an edge this week? Look no further as Walker is a great fill-in for week 15. Now we come to our Wide Receiver pick for the week. Look no further than a receiver who out-produced Andre Johnson, Torry Holt, Larry Fitzgerald, and even Terrell Owens (well, almost everyone out-produced T.O. but it’s a good statement) last week. I’m talking about none other than Jerheme Urban. With all of the gossip out of Arizona saying Bryant Johnson would be the guy, Urban stepped up to the plate with 6 catches for 123 yards and a touchdown in week 14. Now he draws those pathetic Saints corner backs (again, I guess I like to pick on them). With Larry Fitzgerald likely to get most of the attention in this game and their tight end Leonard Pope out for the season, Urban makes a great late-season gamble for a team with wide receiver needs. He plays for a pass happy offense and has two great matchups ahead. Another name from last week that fits in the same category as Urban is Jabar Gaffney. I’m not going to ramble on about stats here, but the Patriots play the Jets in week 15. This game is all about how many points the Pats are going to put up. Gaffney will see very weak coverage because most of the attention will be on Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and even Ben Watson. This will allow Gaffney to go where he pleases. With the prolific nature of this Patriots offense, anyone who puts up good numbers is worth a look and possibly a starting spot. Gaffney should see a lot of balls thrown his way this weekend, making him a great add-on for those that are just fed up with Santana Moss (like me). Well my fellow fantasy footballers, that’s all I have for you this week. Good luck in your upcoming playoff matchups.