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NFL Underdog Pick for Week 13
December 3rd 2009 - Special K
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+6.5) at Carolina Panthers
It may be a blessing in disguise this week for the Carolina Panthers that Jake
Delhomme has an injured finger and can't play. At this point in the season, I'm
pretty sure that you are sick and tired of watching Jake Delhomme throw a pass
that gets intercepted because Steve Smith decided to run a different route or
wasn't ready yet. Week after week, you look at the game matchup and say to
yourself that all Carolina has to do is run the ball to win. The game plan is
simple, just feed DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart the ball. Williams
averages over 5 yards a carry and Stewart over 4.5 yards per carry. Yet, you
watch the game and there's Jake Delhomme dropping back 30 plus times winging the
ball all over the field. In a staggering 6 out of 11 games this season, Delhomme
had 30 plus pass attempts and guess what they lost all of them. In the 4 wins
that the Panthers have in 2009, Delhomme threw the ball 20 times on average per
game.
For these reasons alone, I'd be shocked if John Fox and his coaching staff were
still around after this season.
I'm also pretty certain that even though Delhomme has 8 TD passes vs 18
interceptions with a QB rating of 59, Fox would have made Delhomme the starter
again this week against Tampa Bay. You would probably here that famous quote: he
gives us the best opportunity to win. Given the coaching staff didn't make the
switch to Matt Moore weeks ago, how good can Moore really be? On the flip side,
how can it get any worse with Matt Moore in at QB? We will watch it all unfold
this Sunday. After that Thursday Night loss to Miami, it appears that Carolina
has packed it in. I'd be surprised if they won another game this year. This week
I like the team that nearly beat the Falcons who are tough at home, the team
that has a QB that keeps improving and a team that is fired up week after week
to play for their new head coach.
Forget the points, take the Bucs to win straight up |
