07/20/2008 - St. Louis, MO (Football Betting) - The Rams reportedly came to terms on a multi-year deal with defensive end Chris Long, the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft, on Saturday.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported late Saturday on the deal, which Long is expected to sign early next week. The paper said that terms were not available, but that Rams coach Scott Linehan said the contract covers at least five years.
The contract will allow Long, a 6-foot-3, 279-pound end from Virginia, to report to Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin by next Thursday, when the Rams open training camp.
The son of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long, the younger Long is expected to start at right defensive end next season for St. Louis, which finished an NFC-worst 3-13 in 2007. A unanimous All-America selection, winner of the Ted Hendricks Award (given to the nation's top defensive end), and ACC Defensive Player of the Year for 2007, Long had 14 sacks for the Cavaliers in his senior year.
<< Haren shines, D-Backs nip Dodgers to retake top spot in West
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Haren threw seven innings of shutout ball,
and the Diamondbacks staved off a late Dodger rally, as Arizona clipped Los
Angeles, 3-2, to take over sole possession of first place in the NL West.
"We are a
<< Scott blasts 10th-inning homer, capping O's comeback over Tigers
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luke Scott smacked a game-winning solo home
run with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning to cap a remarkable 11-10
comeback win for the Baltimore Orioles over the Detroit Tigers in the third
install
<< Casey's equalizer forces Hoops to share points with Rapids
Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas played to a
2-2 draw on Saturday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Herculez Gomez got things going early, scoring his second goal of the season
from about 15 yards out t
<< RSL, Fire battle to scoreless draw
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire battled
to a 0-0 contest in front of almost 20,000 fans at Toyota Park on Saturday
night.
The point helped RSL keep first place in Major League Soccer's Weste
Edwards wins Nationwide race at Gateway >>
Madison, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbia, MO native Carl Edwards won Saturday
night's Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Nationwide Series race at the
Gateway International Raceway just outside St. Louis. The No.60 Roush Fenway
Racing
Parmentier wins in Austria >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pauline Parmentier of France upended
Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka on Sunday to win the Gastein Ladies tennis
event.
The fourth-seeded Parmentier, who was meeting Hradecka for the first time
Montanes rallies to win Dutch Open title >>
Amersfoort, The Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Albert Montanes
rallied to down Steve Darcis of Belgium and win the Dutch Open title Sunday.
Montanes was blitzed in the first set by the third-seeded Darcis, the
defend
Rams ink top pick Long >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams signed defensive end Chris
Long, the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft, to a long-term contract Sunday.
Terms were not disclosed but The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the
cont
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smith and Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running back Deuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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