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09/02/2010 - Newark, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - OK, now, the Delaware offense consists of quarterback Pat Devlin and, well, uh, um ...
Yes, the answers don't necessarily role off the tongue.
Don't be mistaken, however, UD will be much more than PD this season. In fact, the Blue Hens will have to be if they are going to accomplish their goal of being an elite team again in CAA Football and, ultimately, the Football Championship Subdivision.
Last year's trying season of injuries and youthful mistakes has led to a seasoned lineup for ninth-year head coach K.C. Keeler. After his squad shook off the early rust that often goes with a season-opening game, Devlin threw for three touchdowns and the Blue Hens shut out Division II West Chester for the second straight year, 31-0 before 19,421 sweaty fans Thursday night at Tubby Raymond Field.
Quite frankly, the game ball belonged more to Delaware's defense, which was smothering in allowing only 115 yards on 57 West Chester plays. Sixth-year senior linebacker Matt Marcorelle returned from injury and the veteran secondary of Anthony Bratton, Anthony Walters and Tyrone Grant was ridiculously good with three interceptions.
But everyone around UD is so anxious for the All-America Devlin to play like the next Joe Flacco that the intrigue around the team is how much the rest of the offense can support Devlin's starring role. Against West Chester, it looked like the unit has come of age a year after the Blue Hens went 6-5 and two years after - gulp - the low point of Keeler's tenure, a 4-8 record in 2008.
"I think we know each other better," said Devlin, the Penn State transfer who is one of 17 returning starters. "I think that turns into better chemistry on the field. And I think we're having more fun when we're out here just because we're kind of in each other's heads and we know what each other person is going to do.
"Just overall, there's more confidence in the offense, more confidence in the guys around me. I think everyone believes that everyone is going to get their job done."
The Blue Hens' offensive line features four returning starters, led by right tackle Kevin Uhll and his 27 straight starts. New tailback Andrew Pierce is a grayshirt freshman, but was on campus last spring, impressed in the spring game and has raced past last year's talented freshmen, David Hayes and Leon Jackson, on the depth chart. The receiving corps is so deep that it's hard for anybody to focus on just one or two of them.
"We did want to come out strong today, and I think we did that overall," Devlin said. "I think there are some things that we can improve on (two lost fumbles, six penalties) and we'll learn that in film.
"I think a lot of the guys showed it tonight. You know, Rob Jones is not only a good wideout, he can return punts, return kicks as well. Mark Mackey is a really good player on the outside, just as Phil Thaxton is. You saw that, make a 5-yard catch and turn it into a touchdown."
A half dozen or so NFL scouts were in attendance to watch Devlin (three have put in requests for all seven Delaware home games). He was out of the game in less than three quarters, a relative peace offering to West Chester when the score was 31-0.
Devlin completed 14 of 23 passes for 163 yards and spread the wealth with touchdowns to Nihja White (7 yards), Tommy Crosby (15 yards) and Thaxton (23 yards). Meanwhile, Pierce rushed for 119 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown, on 13 carries in his first career start.
"We gave A.P. (Pierce) an opportunity today and he was as advertised," Keeler said. "We really felt during the course of training camp he was proving that he needed to be our number one back. Gregg Perry, the running back coach, was really adamant about we need a guy that we can give the ball to 25 times a game. And A.P. is that kind of guy - 200-pounder, great speed, catches the ball in the backfield, doesn't make a lot of mistakes. So for a grayshirt freshman, he had a pretty good day."
"I've been waiting for this day to happen," Pierce said. "My line blocked great today. I ran well. I'm just happy for that, I'm happy for this win.
"I've talked about it before," Pierce added. "Playing with a guy that has a good chance of going to the NFL is going to be a great opportunity, teaching me things that I didn't know. It's just a great opportunity for me."
Delaware put the game away late in the second quarter with a third touchdown that flashed images the Blue Hens hope to see all season. Flashed was the optimum word because the three-play drive lasted a mere 46 seconds.
On the second play, Pierce sprinted for a 34-yard, across-the-field run to the West Chester 15. On the next play, Devlin tossed a 15-yard out pattern to Crosby in the end zone for an easy score and a 21-0 Blue Hens' lead.
It was impressive, quick and more than just Devlin.
Delaware, ranked 16th in The Sportsbook Betting Lines/Fathead.com FCS Top 25, will get a much bigger test next Saturday when ninth-ranked South Dakota State comes across the country for a big non-conference showdown.
Rest assured the Jackrabbits will be familiar with plenty of Blue Hens besides Pat Devlin. They'll need to be.
<< Red Sox edge Orioles to win series
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Ortiz drove in a pair of runs and
Adrian Beltre homered as Boston used an early burst of offense to
down Baltimore, 6-4, in the rubber match of a three-game set from Camden
Yards.
<< Ohio State rolls over Marshall in opener
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Terrelle Pryor threw for 247 yards and three
touchdowns, as second-ranked Ohio State blew out Marshall, 45-7, in the season
opener for both teams.
Pryor, coming off a sophomore season in which he led the B
<< Tigers' Cabrera exits with biceps tendinitis
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera
left Thursday's game against Minnesota with left biceps tendinitis.
Cabrera did not return to the field in the bottom of the sixth inning, and is
considered day
<< Jaguars hold off Falcons
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brock Bolen's 16-yard touchdown run in the
second quarter helped the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 13-9 win over the Atlanta
Falcons in the preseason finale for both clubs.
Josh Scobee kicked a pair of filed
Steelers top Panthers in preseason finale, QB questions unresolved >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dennis Dixon completed his only pass of the
night for a 23-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders in the second quarter
the Steelers beat Carolina, 19-3, in the preseason finale for both teams.
Dixon, w
Jets down Eagles in preseason finale >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Brunell's 51-yard touchdown throw to
Santonio Holmes shortly into the fourth quarter put the Jets in front, and New
York held on for a 21-17 victory over the Eagles in the team's final preseason
game.
Dawson's last-moment FG lifts Browns over Bears >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Dawson's 36-yard field goal in the final
seconds lifted Cleveland over Chicago, 13-10, in the final preseason tilt for
both clubs at Browns Stadium.
Colt McCoy took the majority of the snaps and finish
Rams top Ravens in preseason finale >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Thaddeus Lewis' 26-yard TD pass to
Brandon McRae in the fourth quarter helped the St. Louis Rams beat the
Baltimore Ravens, 27-21, in the preseason finale for both clubs.
Lewis completed 6
(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
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