PREMIUM
Rogers' *10* Week 2 Coach's Clinic
(NFL) Atlanta vs. Oakland,
09/18/2016 12:25 PM, Score: 35 - 28
Point Spread: 4.50 | -110.00 Atlanta (Away)
Result: Win
Point Spread: 4.50 | -110.00 Atlanta (Away)
Result: Win
Atlanta: Dan Quinn's first season as the Falcons' head coach saw Atlanta begin 5-0 and 6-1. However, a 23-20 Week 8 home loss to the Bucs in OT began a six-game slide. QB Matt Ryan (now 31-years-old) has topped 4,000 yards in five consecutive seasons but he is also coming off a campaign in which he threw the second-fewest TD passes (21) and second-most INTs (16) of his eight-year career. There are legitimate questions being asked these days as to whether Ryan's moniker of "Matty Ice" is in fact, beginning to melt away! Numbers don't lie. Ryan is entering the fourth season of a five-year, $103.75 million contract that he received after taking the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game in 2012 but Atlanta opened the season just 18-30 in the first three years of that contract. Atlanta heads to Oakland on Sunday, looking to rebound from a 31-24 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. Ryan passed for 334 yards and two TDs.
Oakland: The Raiders allowed 507 total yards against the Saints (419 yards passing, as Brees threw four TDs and was not intercepted) but Oakland rallied for a 35-34 road win. Head coach Jack Del Rio seized the chance to steal a victory with a gutsy two-point conversion call and Carr delivered with the winning throw with 47 seconds remaining. Carr passed for 319 yards (1 TD / 0 INTs) in a victory which saw the Raiders score 22 fourth-quarter points. He passed for 3,987 yards and 32 TDs in 2015 and he seems to be convincing more than just Raiders fans that he's the "real deal."
The pick: Both teams need better efforts from their respective defenses. Atlanta didn't allow nearly as many yards as Oakland's defense but the Falcons forced just one TO and didn't record a sack against the Bucs. Oakland's 507 total yards allowed is clearly a worry, as are the facts that Brees attempted 42 passes without an INT and only one sack. The Raiders look to start a season 2-0 for the first time since doing so in 2002, the last time the team made the postseason (actually, the Raiders made the Super Bowl that year, losing to the Bucs). As for Atlanta, after going 1-8 ATS when favored in 2015 (and losing SU as a favorite in Week of 2016), the Falcons are an underdog in this one, a role in which they were 5-2 ATS in last year. The Falcons have won their last three meetings with the Raiders, including a 23-20 triumph at home on Oct. 14, 2012. Take the points and make Atlanta a 10* play.
Oakland: The Raiders allowed 507 total yards against the Saints (419 yards passing, as Brees threw four TDs and was not intercepted) but Oakland rallied for a 35-34 road win. Head coach Jack Del Rio seized the chance to steal a victory with a gutsy two-point conversion call and Carr delivered with the winning throw with 47 seconds remaining. Carr passed for 319 yards (1 TD / 0 INTs) in a victory which saw the Raiders score 22 fourth-quarter points. He passed for 3,987 yards and 32 TDs in 2015 and he seems to be convincing more than just Raiders fans that he's the "real deal."
The pick: Both teams need better efforts from their respective defenses. Atlanta didn't allow nearly as many yards as Oakland's defense but the Falcons forced just one TO and didn't record a sack against the Bucs. Oakland's 507 total yards allowed is clearly a worry, as are the facts that Brees attempted 42 passes without an INT and only one sack. The Raiders look to start a season 2-0 for the first time since doing so in 2002, the last time the team made the postseason (actually, the Raiders made the Super Bowl that year, losing to the Bucs). As for Atlanta, after going 1-8 ATS when favored in 2015 (and losing SU as a favorite in Week of 2016), the Falcons are an underdog in this one, a role in which they were 5-2 ATS in last year. The Falcons have won their last three meetings with the Raiders, including a 23-20 triumph at home on Oct. 14, 2012. Take the points and make Atlanta a 10* play.
