Bucs RB Graham likely done for season

Football Betting Lines

11/17/2008 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Earnest Graham is likely done for the season with a right ankle injury suffered in Sunday's 19-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Bucs head coach Jon Gruden addressed the injury in a Monday press conference.

"Graham's ankle looks to be a serious injury and his status for the rest of the season is very much in question," Gruden said. "His season could be in jeopardy right now. I'm just very disappointed for our guy. He's done so much for us here. he's a key reason why we are where we are."

The five-year veteran was hurt on his first carry of the game and had to be helped to the sideline. After being attended to by trainers, he was taken to the locker room for further examination. He had also been nursing a knee injury in the week leading up to the game.

"He just landed awkwardly in a pile and it's unfortunate," Gruden added.

The injury means former first-round draft pick Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, who was activated off the physically unable to perform list early last week, will most likely see extended time at the running back position.

Williams has not played an NFL game since September 30, 2007 when he suffered a torn patellar tendon in a contest against Carolina. He returned to practice late last month after an arduous recovery and rehab.

To make room for Williams on the active roster, the Bucs released running back Michael Bennett last week. He was quickly claimed by the San Diego Chargers.

"I don't live in hindsight," Gruden said, addressing the sudden need for another back. "You've got an injury -- you've got to respond to it. We'll bring in some other backs that we like."

Graham and Warrick Dunn had split the running back duties to this point. Graham leads the team with 563 yards and four touchdowns, while Dunn has chipped in 476 yards and one score. Both are averaging more than four yards per carry.

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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.