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<< Leftwich leaves game with leg injury
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Byron Leftwich left the team's game against the New Orleans Saints in the third quarter with an apparent right leg injury. Leftwich, who was making his first start

<< Ohio State remains No. 1; USF tumbles
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ohio State remained the top-ranked team in the latest Associated Press college football poll, but the second-ranked team from the previous week again took a tumble. South Florida dropped a 30-27 decision at

<< Texans QB Schaub leaves game with injury
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston quarterback Matt Schaub left Sunday's game against Tennessee with a left ankle sprain. Schaub suffered the injury midway through the first quarter when he was sacked by the Titans' Cortland Finn

<< Heap, McAlister out for Ravens
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baltimore Ravens tight end Todd Heap and defensive back Chris McAlister are both inactive for Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. Heap is nursing a thigh injury while McAlister has a kne

Tom terrific; Brady throws 6 TDs as Pats rout Fish >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Brady threw for 354 yards and a career-high six touchdowns, leading the undefeated New England Patriots to a 49-28 rout of the winless Miami Dolphins. The Patriots (7-0) had struggled recently at Dolphi

Johnson's score lifts Lions past Buccaneers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Kitna completed 16-of-20 passes for 147 yards and Calvin Johnson provided the game-winning touchdown with a 32-yard fourth-quarter touchdown scamper as the Detroit Lions held on for a 23-16 win over th

Redskins survive wild finish to edge Cardinals >>
Landover, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Neil Rackers' 55-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation hooked just wide left, as the Washington Redskins hung on after a wild finish for a 21-19 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Jason Campbell

Giants roll over 49ers for 5th straight >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Manning threw a pair of touchdown passes and Brandon Jacobs ran for 107 yards with a score, as the New York Giants rolled to a 33-15 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at the Meadowl

Betting Football

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.