Campbell, Suisham help Redskins get by Seahawks

Football Betting Lines

11/23/2008 - Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Campbell threw for 206 yards and a touchdown, and Shaun Suisham's 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter proved to be the deciding points, as the Washington Redskins escaped Qwest Field with a 20-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Campbell completed 20-of-33 pass attempts, including an eight-yard TD pass to Antwaan Randle El for Washington (7-4), which began the season 4-1 but had since lost three of five and two straight entering Sunday.

Clinton Portis ran for 143 yards on 29 carries despite being a game-time decision for the second straight week due to a sprained MCL in his left knee. Ladell Betts added a rushing touchdown.

Washington is tied with Dallas for second in the division, with both teams trailing the NFC East-leading New York Giants, which stands at 10-1 after its victory over the Cardinals on Sunday. The Redskins host the Giants next weekend.

Matt Hasselbeck was 12-of-24 passing for 103 yards with a pair of TD passes but also two costly interceptions for the Seahawks (2-9), who have lost four straight and seven of their last eight, continuing a disastrous season for a team that has claimed the NFC West title in each of the past four seasons.

Maurice Morris totaled 113 yards of offense, with 103 yards rushing and a receiving touchdown, while John Carlson caught a 10-yard score for Seattle, which is now 1-5 at home this season, tied with St. Louis for last place in the NFC West.

Seattle answered a Washington score with a 62-yard drive covering 10 plays and Hasselbeck hit Carlson for a 10-yard TD that tied the score at 17-17 a little less than two minutes into the final quarter.

Washington, though, came right back with its own 10-play drive and Suisham split the uprights with a 22-yard field goal leaving 9:19 on the clock holding a 20-17 lead.

The Seahawks were forced to punt after just four plays and Washington embarked on an epic drive that threatened to kill the entire seven minutes remaining in the game. Starting from their own four-yard-line, a healthy dose of Portis and Betts moved the Skins just shy of midfield and Campbell moved the chains with a 13-yard pass to Santana Moss on 3rd-and-6. Washington was faced with a 3rd- and-1 immediately following the two-minute warning but Portis gained six to keep things going.

Seattle used both its remaining timeouts and got one more chance when Betts lost a fumble at the 22. Hasselbeck had 1:28 in which to work but on the first play was intercepted by Shawn Springs and Washington ran the clock out from there.

Seattle opened the scoring with a 45-yard Olindo Mare field goal on its second series. Morris broke off a 44-yard run to the 'Skins 16, but the drive stalled.

Washington's offense finally moved into Seattle territory on its third try but Suisham's 43-yard field goal attempt struck the crossbar and bounced back to keep the Skins' scoreless.

Campbell continued to struggle under center in the first half but Portis got things going with a 20-yard jaunt to start the Skins' fifth series. A 21-yard pass interference call on 3rd-and-20 from the Seattle 35 buoyed the drive and Betts capped it with a one-yard score with 4 1/2 minutes until halftime.

The Seahawks, though, came back with an efficient series that netted them a 10-7 lead entering the second half. Hasselbeck hit Koren Robinson for 14 yards and Julius Jones went off right tackle for 19 yards just before the two-minute warning. Seattle gained the Washington four-yard-line with short passes to Leonard Weaver and Carlson before Hasselbeck dumped it off to Morris for a four-yard TD.

Mare pushed a 53-yard attempt wide right on the Hawks first possession of the third, giving Washington good field position, and Suisham was true from 26 yards to tie the game 10-10.

An errant Hasselbeck pass was picked off by LaRon Landry on the ensuing possession and Campbell needed just three plays to find the end zone. Randle El hauled in a short crossing rout and dove across the goal-line for an eight- yard TD and a 17-10 lead with nearly 3 1/2 minutes left in the third.

Game Notes

The Redskins hold a 10-4 edge in their all-time regular season series with Seattle, and have won five straight in the series dating back to 2001. The last two meetings between the teams both occurred in postseason games played in Seattle, with the Hawks taking a 20-10 decision in a 2005 Divisional Playoff, and a 35-14 triumph in a 2007 NFC First-Round tilt...Sunday marked a homecoming for both Washington head coach Jim Zorn and backup running back Shaun Alexander. Zorn was Seattle' first-ever starting quarterback, playing under center in the Seahawks' inaugural season in 1976, and was inducted into the club's Ring of Honor in 1991. The 2005 NFL MVP, Alexander spent his last eight seasons with the Seahawks and is the club's all-time leading rusher with 9,429 yards...Moss had four catches for 72 yards...Randle El had one other catch for 10 yards...Carlson also had only one other reception for four yards.

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Sportsbooks to bet on football

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.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.