09/07/2008 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Romo threw for 320 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 24-of-32 passing to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the season-opener for both teams.
Romo connected with Terrell Owens on a 35-yard touchdown, one of Owens' five receptions for 87 yards while Jason Witten hauled in six catches for a game- high 96 yards receiving for the Cowboys (1-0), who are coming off a 13-3 season, their best since the Super Bowl champion squad of 1992. Marion Barber III scored a pair of one-yard touchdowns on 80 yards rushing but left in the fourth quarter with an injury to his ribs.
Derek Anderson struggled to mount an offensive attack under center for Cleveland (0-1), going 11-for-24 for 114 yards and the Browns' lone touchdown to Kellen Winslow, who made five grabs for 47 yards. Jamal Lewis gained 62 yards on the ground on 13 carries in a disappointing loss for the Browns, who posted a surprise 10-6 record last season.
After Cleveland's opening drive resulted in an Anderson fumble on 3rd-and-1 at the Dallas 46, the Cowboys cashed in on the ensuing possession. Romo found Witten three times for 49 yards and a healthy dose of Barber set up a one-yard plunge by the back to cap a 10-play, 80-yard drive.
The Browns went back to work on the next possession with 6:40 to play in the first quarter, embarking on an epic 16-play, 78-yard march that ran nearly nine minutes from the clock and stretched 2 1/2 minutes into the second stanza. Anderson hooked up with Winslow three times for 32 yards including a two-yard touchdown strike. A pair of Dallas penalties on third down incompletions by Anderson helped sustain the drive.
The game looked to be turning into a shootout as Romo came back to march the 'Boys 69 yards on just four plays, ultimately leading Owens down the left sideline for a 35-yard touchdown with just under ten minutes remaining in the half.
A pair of stalled Cleveland drives gave the Cowboys the ball with 6:05 left to play in the half and Dallas proceeded to move 68 yards before Barber once again found the end zone, this time off left tackle for a one-yard score on the 10th play of the drive. The drive left 26 seconds on the clock and Dallas hit the locker room with a 21-7 lead.
The Browns failed to produce a first down for the fourth consecutive possession to open the second half and Dallas started to pull away with another scoring drive. Romo continued to carve up the Browns secondary, connecting with Witten for 19 yards and then Patrick Crayton for 25. Rookie Felix Jones then capped the 80-yard drive by busting up the middle -- dragging two defenders -- before bowling over another for an 11-yard score to make it a 28-7 game.
The Browns offense continued to sputter with a three-and-out and the Cowboys maintained a blistering pace on their side of the ball, driving 76 yards to the Cleveland four, where Romo made his first mistake. He tried to force a ball to Owens in the back of the end zone and Eric Wright intercepted the pass and ran it out to the Cleveland 13.
The Browns defense may have sparked a last charge by the offense as Lewis started the drive with an inspired 24-yard romp up the middle for the final play of the third quarter. Anderson completed three straight passes for 39 yards to snap a streak of nine incomplete passes going back to the Browns second quarter score. However, the drive stalled on the Dallas 21-yard line after Braylon Edwards was called for a false start and DaMarcus Ware sacked Anderson and jarred the ball loose. Cleveland recovered and was faced with a 4th-and-3 from the Dallas 17 but Romeo Crennel elected to go for the field goal down 21 points. Dawson connected on the 34-yard field goal to cut the lead to 28-10 with 10:13 to go in the game.
Dallas ran the clock down to zero on the ensuing possession and the game essentially ended with Crennel's curious call.
Game Notes
Cleveland leads the all-time regular season series with Dallas, 15-11, but was a 19-12 road loser in the last such meeting, in Week 2 of the 2004 season. The Browns' most recent home win over the Cowboys occurred in 1988...Dallas head coach Wade Phillips is now 3-0 all-time against Cleveland...Crennel met both Phillips and the Cowboys for the first time as a head coach...Controversial cornerback Adam Jones, formerly known as "Pacman Jones," made his Cowboys debut following his acquisition in a draft-day trade with Tennessee. The talented but troublesome fourth-year pro logged one tackle but also was whistled for a pass interference call on a 3rd-and-goal Browns incompletion that gave Cleveland and extra set of downs and led to their only score...Dallas outgained Cleveland by a 487-205 margin.
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rubber
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shocked
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Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
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