McCoy to make 2nd start at New Orleans
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CLEVELAND BROWNS (1-5)
at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-2)
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. EDT, Line: New Orleans -13, Total: 43
With QBs Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace both suffering from ankle injuries, Colt McCoy will make his second straight start for Cleveland. Unfortunately for McCoy, he will be tasked with beating the defending Super Bowl champions on their home turf without the services two key receivers. Both Josh Cribbs (13 rec., 175 yds, 1 TD) and Mohamed Massaquoi (21-115-1) suffered concussions in last week’s loss at Pittsburgh and are unlikely to play on Sunday. The Saints are expected to be without RB Pierre Thomas for a fourth straight game due to his high ankle sprain.
******* take:
McCoy’s first two starts have been daunting -- at Pittsburgh and at New Orleans. McCoy exceeded expectations in his debut with a 23-of-33, 281-yard, 1-TD, 2-INT performance in the 28-10 loss to the Steelers. The Browns, which rank second-to-last in the NFL in scoring (14.7 PPG), will now look to starting WRs Brian Robiskie and Chansi Stuckey to get open for McCoy. TE Benjamin Watson leads the team in targets (44), catches (29), receiving yards (318) and touchdowns (two). RB Peyton Hillis was bothered by a quad injury last week, but was still able to gain 90 yards (41 rushing, 49 receiving) against Pittsburgh and will continue to be the focal point of the offense.
McCoy could have success against a Saints secondary that has just four interceptions this year. This is a stark contrast to last season when the Saints ranked third in the NFL with 26 picks. All-Pro safety Darren Sharper, who had nine of the 26 INT last year, could make his season debut Sunday after missing the first six games with a knee injury. With Thomas out, rookie Chris Ivory (158 rushing yards at Tampa Bay last week) will continue to get the bulk of the carries. His backups are Ladell Betts (3.8 YPC) and Julius Jones (3.6 YPC) who was limited in Wednesday’s practice due to a shoulder injury.
These teams have met just once in the past eight years, a 19-14 Saints win in 2006. This highly-rated FoxSheets trends gives the edge to New Orleans on Sunday.
NEW ORLEANS is 9-0 ATS (+9.0 Units) in non-conference games over the last 3 seasons.The average score was NEW ORLEANS 33.2, OPPONENT 19.3 - (Rating = 4*).
The FoxSheets also like the Under:
CLEVELAND is 10-0 UNDER (+10.0 Units) against NFC South division opponents since 1992.The average score was CLEVELAND 13.1, OPPONENT 17.2 - (Rating = 4*).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND BROWNS (1-5)
at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-2)
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. EDT, Line: New Orleans -13, Total: 43
With QBs Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace both suffering from ankle injuries, Colt McCoy will make his second straight start for Cleveland. Unfortunately for McCoy, he will be tasked with beating the defending Super Bowl champions on their home turf without the services two key receivers. Both Josh Cribbs (13 rec., 175 yds, 1 TD) and Mohamed Massaquoi (21-115-1) suffered concussions in last week’s loss at Pittsburgh and are unlikely to play on Sunday. The Saints are expected to be without RB Pierre Thomas for a fourth straight game due to his high ankle sprain.
******* take:
McCoy’s first two starts have been daunting -- at Pittsburgh and at New Orleans. McCoy exceeded expectations in his debut with a 23-of-33, 281-yard, 1-TD, 2-INT performance in the 28-10 loss to the Steelers. The Browns, which rank second-to-last in the NFL in scoring (14.7 PPG), will now look to starting WRs Brian Robiskie and Chansi Stuckey to get open for McCoy. TE Benjamin Watson leads the team in targets (44), catches (29), receiving yards (318) and touchdowns (two). RB Peyton Hillis was bothered by a quad injury last week, but was still able to gain 90 yards (41 rushing, 49 receiving) against Pittsburgh and will continue to be the focal point of the offense.
McCoy could have success against a Saints secondary that has just four interceptions this year. This is a stark contrast to last season when the Saints ranked third in the NFL with 26 picks. All-Pro safety Darren Sharper, who had nine of the 26 INT last year, could make his season debut Sunday after missing the first six games with a knee injury. With Thomas out, rookie Chris Ivory (158 rushing yards at Tampa Bay last week) will continue to get the bulk of the carries. His backups are Ladell Betts (3.8 YPC) and Julius Jones (3.6 YPC) who was limited in Wednesday’s practice due to a shoulder injury.
These teams have met just once in the past eight years, a 19-14 Saints win in 2006. This highly-rated FoxSheets trends gives the edge to New Orleans on Sunday.
NEW ORLEANS is 9-0 ATS (+9.0 Units) in non-conference games over the last 3 seasons.The average score was NEW ORLEANS 33.2, OPPONENT 19.3 - (Rating = 4*).
The FoxSheets also like the Under:
CLEVELAND is 10-0 UNDER (+10.0 Units) against NFC South division opponents since 1992.The average score was CLEVELAND 13.1, OPPONENT 17.2 - (Rating = 4*).
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