Overview of the NFL Point Differential Betting System

Roland Garros : Aviator Adventurer? Or Mythical Dragon? Let's look at the facts.
1) Pokemon named the dragon looking pokemon Garrados (or something like that). Where did they get that idea? hmm
2) If you rearrange the letters in Roland Garros you get Roslan's Dragon, so the real question is was Roslan an aviator? because clearly Roland Garros was not
3) Many people dispute the realness of dragons, but have you ever been to France? If not, I promise you they had dragons
4) 4
5) Where did people even get the idea for airplanes from? Answer : from dragons. Dragons are notoriously good inventors, ever heard of fire? hoarding wealth? let's be honest, humans are just dragon wannabe's
Here's some tennis :
Djokovic Berankis : Quick standard work from Novak in the first round. No one looks more perfectly effortless than him when he’s in control. Berankis did well to surprise the lackluster Dellien even though clay isn’t his best surface. Dellien will likely be off the tour next year without some major grinding on the challenger tour. This next matchup looked good for a while at the USO but will be a similar result and a faster one on clay. Djokovic in 3.
Galan Sandgren : Cam Norrie and Galan played one of the worst 5-setters you could see if you were betting on either one. Nonstop exchanges of multiple games and no one could really sustain offense. I had thought Galan would run away with this one as he’s such a specialist but Norrie (when he wasn’t making errors) had control here and was the only one who could really change the direction of the ball or serve aces. Just the same scorelines but completely different play in the Sandgren and Hurkacz match. Sandgren hung around in the first set even though Hurkacz was dictating. It appeared fairly obvious that Sandgren’s plan was to hang in rallies and not go for much, hoping for errors. When Hurkacz managed to get broken at the end of the first it began to look like that was a solid strategy.
Sandgren was constantly serving at duece, facing break points in so many service games, and genuinely did not win this match at all. Hurkacz will need time or a new mental approach, because he’s losing matches due to errors, and this is a baaaaaad thing on tour because so many guys strategy when things get tight is to “try hard hope to earn errors”. When you’re known for making them guys try harder, and then you’re in the rare prison of supplying all the offense to a match. Guys like Federer can play 3 sets of offense, most of the tour is going to need to play error-free tennis so that their opponents are forced to at least go for something. Sandgren turned the tide in the 4th and 5th and Hurkacz began facing break points in all his games. The heavy ball Sandgren hits translates to a slightly more annoying pusher style, as he can kinda go for big targets and rely on pace/weight of shot to earn the point.
This next matchup opened at -195 for Sandgren and I tend to disagree. Sandren played an exhausting match but has gone through a number of deep runs at majors before. He’s not mercurial by any means on clay but he’s been working very hard the past few weeks to get his game together. Where Hurkacz has the weapons to really hurt Sandgren, Galan relies more on work ethic and simple consistency to unseat opponents. Barring fatigue, I don’t see Sandgren losing this, and he’ll have ample opportunities to break. His movement isn’t as good as Norrie but his offensive/service game are world’s more reliable. Sandgren in 4.
Garin Polmans : Garin and Kohl played a pretty good match, and Garin’s returning was what really got him over the finish line here. A lot of deep placement kept the times Kohl broke him from becoming a major issue, as he did have his chances. Garin is a player who thrives on flow and the more matches he wins the better he performs. Polmans, well, Polmans partied all over Humbert today. It was one-sided from start to finish, with Humbert just reflecting the ball and Polmans driving it. Fatigue could be a suggestion, but if you look at the guys who came from the ultra-fast courts of Hamburg they all struggled early in their matches. Humbert is not quite the physical talent that Rublev and Tsitsipas are so he wasn’t able to turn the tide, but they all found their timing around the 3rd set. Humbert’s mom is still cool, and he still has a bright future. If you like Polmans’ wacky hat and vivid celebrations on court (he seems almost like he’s about to start awkwardly breakdancing while celebrating/lamenting shots), him notching a win at a major is great for his ranking.
Garin is a better Polmans. I don’t consider Humbert’s demise a total implosion, and Polmans will be involved in this contest, but Garin is a player who usually loses to bigger weapons, and while Polmans moves the ball well he isn’t overwhelming. He can win a set or two because Garin is still in somewhat a daze from Hamburg, but I think Polmans will play Garin into a rhythm and Garin’s precision tend to improve as he strings games together. Garin in 4.
Vesely Khachanov : Vesely is starting to look like himself. Originally the inspiration for some Geico commercials, his transition to tennis has been brilliant, and his serving combined with the fact that he’s a lefty mean his game gives him an edge against most lower-tier players. Khachanov was one of the better comeback stories you’ll ever see in a straight set win. Majchrzak led by a break in every set and just couldn’t keep it together. A hint of future brilliance, but again his biggest issue is not being able to distance himself from his opponents in matches. Once Khachanov buttoned up his errors when he was down a break, it became difficult for Majchrzak to win rallies. I expect something similar in this tie with Vesely.
Vesely’s backhand has been the side that makes errors during neutral rallies, and for a guy who crushes the ball this represents a big target. Vesely will need to serve well to have a shot at this, and while matches between two big hitters tend to never go in straight sets, Khachanov and Garin looks like an inevitability. Khachanov in 4.
Bautista Agut Balasz : I’ve never seen someone look so dominant while getting beaten down. In the first set RBA was broken at love multiple times. Gasquet hit a number of unreal winners down the line with his backhand and worked to earn points with 20 shot rallies over and over. He led 5-2 at one point, but RBA had barely missed a shot to that point, aside from a few backhands into the net. Gasquet was emitting a quality of sweat I recognize as deep deep swampwater, and I know when things are that humid that comebacks are not in the cards. Gasquet lost the 1st set tiebreaker and was just about done. Gasquet is French for something, and while he’s out of the tournament here, he certainly has a neat backhand and a cool name,
Balasz was one of the cheapest and most straightforward options of the day, and Uchiyama never really put up a fight. Balasz has an interesting game and is worth watching, but his tournament is likely over. Gasquet was brilliant in the first set and still only won 9 games. The heavier balls and slower conditions mean RBA has a tough time hitting through the court, but the flipside is it’s very difficult to find points against him. Balasz may confuse him for a while, but errors will come as he forces shots. RBA in 3-4.
Pella Carreño Busta : Busta busta busta, I made you out of clayyyyyy. I know Pella’s name is first but I was just so relaxed watching PCB play his first round. He really comes into a match with a complete gameplan and sticks with it no matter the scoreline. Unpopular opinion : I don’t think he was going to lose in any fewer than 5 sets against Novak in NY. When he’s fresh and not making backhand errors it becomes extremely difficult to beat him, and for a guy whose somewhat regarded as a defensive player he steps into the court and unloads for winners whenever it’s possible. He is what Sandgren is trying to be.
Pella and Caruso played what must have been a depressing match for Caruso fans. Endless rallies, great quality tennis, but no real way for either player to find clean winners. Matches like that are difficult to watch because your neighbor will hear 3 hours of grunting coming from your apt and also because you know a few random points at the end of sets are going to decide things. Pella won those points, and though he was down early breaks he looked like himself for the first time. I’m glad I announced he has a terrible injury; I now know how to summon top play from any opponent.
I don’t know exactly what to expect from this matchup. They’ve traded some wins on hardcourt, but have oddly never played on clay. PCB’s movement/stamina are the biggest differences between him and Caruso, whose game sort of broke down as things progressed. Pella certainly played well, and even in a losing effort he’s going to make you play a ton of balls. The edge has to go to PCB given their recent forms, but his proclivity for going to duece means this could go the distance. PCB in 4-5.
Struff Altmaier : Struff and Tiafoe, or Struffafoe as they’re known from now on, played a pretty good quality match. I once again feel Tiafoe needs better coaching, as he was winning a fair number of the baseline rallies but insisted on playing dropshots. They cost him this match. I don’t know a nice way to outline that winning on tour just isn’t easy. The mental lapses are always going to cost you at a professional level, but Tiafoe has shown great improvements following the tour’s break, and you can’t just summon the type of resolve/focus that Nadal has. It’ll take time.
Altmaier (whose name is super annoying to type) beat Lopez in straight sets but these two pretty much started every service game at 15-40. It wasn’t great, but the conditions were such that Altmaier was able to take deep return positions and frustrate Lopez into forcing offense. A good win, and the comfort level may be a bit higher here against Struff, which should benefit him a great deal. Playing on tour in a major after grinding the challenger tour is something that gives you adrenaline you just don’t need at times, so a bit of comfort is a plus. I see a lot of recent wins for Altmaier but he hasn’t really played someone the caliber of Struff, and Struff’s loss to Coria troubles me but in a 3/5 format and after the good quality rallies him and Tiafoe had, Struff should be able to find an edge here. Struff in 4 or losing because he’s Struff.
Harris Berrettini : Popyrin really struggled on serve at times, and didn’t seem like he’d been playing enough clay leading into this match. Harris seems to get most of his points on tour in the majors, which is interesting for such a young talent. Berretini beat Pospisil like he did something, and there’s not a lot to say about this next matchup. Harris is a great server but lacks consistency. Berretini in 3.
Medvedev Ramos-Vinolas : Oops. The strangest thing about Medvedev’s loss was how early he started complaining about it. Halfway through the first set he was down a break and already fullscale yelling at the sky/his box/local squirrels/some children/the moon/the ocean/a rock/some guy. It reminded me of Novak’s wild frustration early against PCB. These guys shouldn’t be stressing so early in a match, but I think sometimes they know the writing is on the wall and the thought is too much. Fucsovics is not really a household clay name, but he stayed composed and got the job done here. Medvedev just forced shots here over and over, and it’s strange because his serve works fine on clay and his defense is good enough to really grind points.
ARV vs Mannarino on clay is like Mannarino vs ARV on grass. These guys have such specific styles that they really can’t overcome a surface disadvantage. ARV is the sort of test that Medvedev should have been for Fucsovics once he went down a few sets; very solid defensively, doesn’t give you much to work with, and works multiple shots to earn points rather than just hoping for a W. I tend to think Fucs is up to the task, and while the “going to disneyland” notion creeps in after a big win, Fucs has had enough “almost” situations against the top 20 that notching a win won’t change his game. Both should be fresh for this one and it should be a clean, crispy tennis match. Fucsovics in 3-4.
Giron Monteiro : So many matches went to overtime this first round. Both Halys and Giron were up a break in the 5th set, which is a much different feeling from Monteiro’s day. Thiago (which is the coolest name in the draw) added to Basil’s woes, breaking early and often. He just came off a finals appearance at a challenger a week ago and continued his good form. Giron represents a tough test because his speed/forehand are a gamechanger at times, but he’s unlikely to get the job done unless he gets an early lead. Monteiro tends to get out to quick starts and is a brilliant frontrunner. I give Giron a puncher’s chance, but can’t really think of a way he can win unless Monteiro’s backhand completely falls apart. Monteiro in 3-4.
Lajovic Anderson : When I picture these two I always think of them sitting across from each other wearing black turtlenecks and evilly stroking cats. Lajovic had a pretty tough time with Mager, who crushes the ball and is a good indication that Anderson’s hitting (during the rally at least) won’t be too much of an issue. Djere refused to hold serve in this match, and that’s a bad decision to make against a server. They played much of the first stretch of their match in light rain, and Djere seemed visibly upset heading into the break. I would say this was an empty victory for Anderson, but he served well and he at some point, will find his former form since he’s not exactly too old for the tour yet. I feel the same about Nishikori but the question of when is a difficult puzzle if you’re not in his camp.
Being conscious of your biases in assessing matches is a useful tool, and I’m aware that I’d never be backing Anderson in this one with Lajovic in good form. Due to this, Anderson having actually beaten Lajovic on clay two years ago in Madrid makes me think this is going to be closer than I’d normally expect. Anderson at full health gives him a slight nod. Lajovic on a decent run gives it to him here. I wouldn’t bet against Anderson here, but Lajovic in 5.
Davidoch Fokina Rublev : First time watching Mayo and he has a really nice game. Good power, good forehand, pushes the pace well. He was up early in the 1st but once errors crept into his game it slipped away from him. There’s a big key in professional tennis and it’s being able to maintain a level throughout a match, even if it means playing slightly less than your all-out game throughout. Fokina is very solid and very comfortable. He seems like win or lose his expression will remain the same, and that’s more confidence than indifference. Rublev played one of the more difficult first rounds, as anyone who expected Sam Querrey to come out firing that well must have six magic 8-balls hooked up to a super intelligent iguana flying along a slip-and-slide on it’s way to Narnia. Querrey is a scary guy when he serves well and his forehand is a thing of useless beauty. Ruvlev/Tsitsipas/Humbert all seemed like their timing was poor early in the matches and Rublev was the first to turn it around.
Fokina would win the first two sets against the Rublev from the first two sets. There’s no intimidation factor and his backhand/movement are rocksolid which is good since that’s the thing Rublev attacks the most. I think this is a tighter contest than oddsmakers are predicting but Fokina’s ability to hit winners during these baseline rallies is something I think will be absent. Earning errors, fine. Winning neutral exchanges at net, I definitely think so. Finding his way out of baseline rallies without Rublev errors? Idk. Rublev in 4-5.
Shapovalov Carballes Baena : Shap played one of the least inspiring first rounds of the heavy favorites, trading breaks and looking at times like he wouldn’t be able to find the effort to hit through Simon. Simon was happy to move the ball around but really couldn’t find 1st serves at any point in the match. It was not a great match which makes the next round interesting. RCB had some injury concerns for me going in but eclipsed those, beating Steve Johnson 1, 1, 0. For those of you not familiar with tennis, these are not good scores. RCB represents the opposite version of Simon’s game. He is dynamic, has multiple names, and hits with pace. He doesn’t serve aces but he puts his 1st serve in at a good clip, and although Shap should win this matchup almost all the time, his struggles against the pusher style of Simon in the first round make me wonder how much patience/resolve he has left after a month and a half of nonstop tennis. Shapovalov is not the -660 favorite that he is priced at in the books, and I’d avoid this one entirely unless you’re looking at RCB or the over. Shap still did break almost at will, so I’ll give him the slight nod despite his issues holding serve/hitting the ball over the net. (for those of you not familiar with tennis, hitting the ball over the net is often an effective strategy) Shapovalov in 4-5.
Martin Dimitrov : Maybe there’s something about Tuesdays that make me nervous about upsets, but this is an interesting contest. Dimitrov is -700 in this one. I also think he’s playing great ball lately, but that is not the correct line. Dimitrov is a big market and people haven’t heard of Martin so it lands this way. Sousa didn’t particularly do anything wrong in his opener against Martin, except for doing each thing you could do wrong once. He just looks unlucky out there. He’s hitting well at times, but just seems to find an error or unfortunate way to lose the point over and over. Martin, on the other hand, was crushing the ball. He hit clean winners time and time again on Sousa’s second serve, and I think that while he isn’t expected to beat Dimitrov, his ability to generate offense during baseline rallies will give him opportunities in some spots.
Dimitrov rolled Barrere, but he served at duece in a number of games. Barrere is a nice hardcourt player, but really hasn’t won too many matches on clay. It became a perfect situation for Dimitrov, who looks great when things are going well. Martin is the type of player that clay tends to produce; not a dominant guy or a title-winner, but someone who is very comfortable with their game and who isn’t too troubled situationally (similar to what we saw from Munar today competing against Tsitsipas without too much mental duress). If this were 2/3 I’d like Martin. In 3/5 I think Dimitrov will have ample chances to break serve, and so will only lose in 5. Martin in 5.
Milojevic Bedene : Upset of the first round for Milojevic. He hit the ball solid and was proactive about his shot selection, hugging the baseline and taking time away. Krajinovic really never had a chance to breathe in this one and as a player who refuses to move off the baseline, Kraj made a number of errors on the backhand trying to stand his ground. Nothing really new from him, as he’s been great on clay and also struggled at times. Bedene was solid against Rinderknech, who reminds me a bit of Ruusuvuori and may make his way on tour in a year or two. Good groundstrokes, very fluid forehand, and just a bit less experience giving Bedene the edge late in the match.
This is another match where I lean towards the upset, but is the breakdown. Milojevic beat a superior player in Krajinovic, but a less consistent one. Kraj has had his fair share of struggles. Bedene isn’t a threat for deep runs in events, but gets the job done very consistently when he’s “supposed” to win. That’s a big thing on tour, as upsets happen. I did like Milojevic’s pace, and were he playing someone who has a bit more variety in their game, I’d think he had a better shot. Bedene tends to play a very similar game though, and the edge here will be very small. Milojevic elevating his game as the Kraj match progressed rather than barely getting across the finish line indicates to me fatigue wasn’t a factor and that it was just a one-and-done effort. Milojevic in 4-5.
Cuevas Tsitsipas : Haha they put the Uruguayan flag for both, I thought. But it turns out I am a muppet and have much to learn about the world. Many countries enjoy stripey goodness it seems. Cuevas was a bit too good today, negating the over of 35 games even while going to 4 sets. Laaksonen looked ok in the second but Cuevas’ loopy returns saw Henri making error after error. The ball hitting the net with an open court is something that seems to compound struggles on tour, and this was over quickly. The polar opposite of Tsitsipas’ war with Munar, which took forever and featured some of the most skillful exchanges of the first round. Munar is everything you want in a smol one. Unexpected dropshots, clean shots down the line, and the ability to transfer luck if you rub his head. Tsitsipas looked very impatient, and I feel for Munar who really never had a chance to win after Tsitsipas found form, but Stefanos making this comeback is a very good sign. He was drenched in sweat, struggling to put this away, and never really blew up.
Stefanos and Pablo played a week ago and although Cuevas was good, Tsitsipas seemed like he was able to defend the court well enough that Cuevas was only going to get the match with errors. I expect to see something similar here, although Stefanos won’t be able to afford the sort of slow start he made against Munar. Tsitsipas in 4 or Cuevas in 4.
Bublik Sonego : Bublik got the job done, and Monfils left fans wondering if he really wants to be out there fighting any more. Nothing wrong with losing to a great server whose career is on the rise, but Monfils seems like he’s not fully engaged out there, and so as a professional athlete, people are going to ask questions. Sonego and Gomez had a good contest, and while I think Sonego matches up well with Bublik, taking 5 sets with Gomez means Bublik will be able to find breaks of serve. There are likely to be some tiebreakers here, but given Bublik’s ability to serve out Monfils, he’s likely to win them. Bublik in 4.
Albot Fritz : If you read my predictions, you know what’s coming. Albot broke his slump by playing spirited ball again Thompson. It was one of the quicker matches in the first round, lasting just (insert however many minutes it lasted). Fritz Fritz’d it up, almost dropping the ball against qualifier Machac. Considering he barely snuck by, there’s reason to believe this will be a tough contest as well, even with Albot’s struggles. Albot tests his opponents movement, Fritz makes errors on the run. Albot breaks serve at a higher clip than most guys on tour, Fritz is mainly just a server. I think Fritz is the better player here, but I think that the lead will be very important for belief here, since Albot has struggled lately. I think Albot’s movement will be a key on the slower surface, but he’ll need to get off to a quick lead since Fritz (as many servers are) is a very dangerous opponent in a 5th set. Albot in 4.
Gombos Rodionov : Finally a good reliable favorite. I warned readers that Gombos is the Gombosiest, but they didn’t listen. Coric found out the hard way, and honestly there difference in this one was just ballstriking. Coric was moving the ball around looking to present the “you can’t hit through me” challenge, and while this is a good strategy in later rounds, guys really crush the ball in the first round and the pace is much quicker. Gombos almost snagged Cilic in the USO, and didn’t falter here. Rodionov waited as long as possible to get going against Chardy, going down 2 sets and only winning the tiebreaker 8-6. He served for the match in the 5th set 3 times, and had a very lucky day to be playing Chardy. Chardy just couldn’t keep the ball in the court on offense, and will have to earn his points in the indoor season this year.
Rodionov plays a solid game, and being lefty helps, but he lacks big weapons which is why he mostly plays on the challenger tour. Gombos has enough power to be able to dictate here, and Rodionov coming through the qualifier and played 5 long sets will make this an uphill battle. Considering Gombos hit through Coric, the defense is unlikely to phase him. Gombos in 3.
Giustino Schwartzman : Lorenzo Giustino and Corentin Moutet had played the match of the first round by the end of the 2nd set. Moutet was just in unreal form and dictating most of the rallies in this one. Where he suffered was in two patterns. Giustino hit his forehand with height/shape rather than pace into Moutet’s backhand. Once into this pattern the shorter Moutet tended to drive the backhand downward crosscourt and Giustino would execute the same shot. The backhand never broke down but Giustino was able to wear down Moutet’s patience, and he took many opportunities as the match went on to run around his backhand and hit the inside in forehand. Giustino hit this ball crosscourt every time, really not missing often. These are simple exchanges but it’s the same shotpatterns that Djokovic employs against Nadal. What transpired was Giustino’s speed being pitted against Moutet’s arm, and while it looked like Giustino wouldn’t find offense, Moutet’s forehand got more loopy and Giustino found winners crosscourt since he was able to drive the ball more, and Moutet’s backhand lost depth and Giustino was able to catch Moutet with the forehand down the line over and over. If people are looking for the way to beat these lefty patterns this was a great example.
I had hoped Moutet would win, as his offense would be able to trouble Diego a bit more. Schwartzman beat Kecmanovic easily, and Kecmanovic had that “this draw sucks and I’m already thinking about the next tournament” glazed look in his eyes throughout this match. Giustino has to be exhausted at this point, after qualifying and playing an extra 2 sets of tennis in the 5th. Diego is the wrong opponent to try to outlast, and I think unfortunately Giustino will be more error prone here which will drive Moutet insane from wherever he’s watching. Schwartzman in 3.
Wawrinka Koepfer : Mats Wilander’s comment that Murray should leave these wildcards to younger players has some validity, but his presentation is part of what is wrong with social media. If he really had this concern, he could send Murray a message and offer some perspective. Maybe the clay tour isn’t really where Murray needs to play at this point. Posting these “open letters” and private messages as tweets is a really bizarre way to posture and the messages tend to be more about the person writing them than the issue at hand. Now, unfortunately, Mats Wilander (who I have never heard of) is an official douchenozzle in my mind. Unfortunate, but not as unfortunate as Murray/Wawrinka not giving us the classic we were all hoping for. Wawrinka has stumbled so badly recently that him playing his normal solid top 10 clay court tennis was unexpected. Murray’s movement was poor, but most players are going to lose to Wawrinka when he plays well.
Koepfer looked solid against in dispatching Hoang, and there’s something to the idea that this next contest will be tricky for Stan. There’s always the crisp shotmaking and overwhelming power, but Koepfer is not really looking to win the hitting contest anyway, and instead thrives on scrambling rallies and working his opponent’s backhand. The outcome here depends entirely on Wawrinka, as Koepfer is likely to be steady throughout. I expect at least one set to go the German’s way, as he has proven to be an extremely difficult out. Wawrinka in 4-5 but I would avoid backing Stan here if you like dollars, especially since he’ll likely show his level and have a more predictably simple match the next round against Nishioka. With guys who are good for deep runs in tournaments if they’re playing well, it often helps to gather information rather than let that fear of missing out have you backing question marks.
Gaston Nishioka : Lefty fiiiiiiiight! Gaston won the all-French affair pretty comfortably and Nishioka’s quality in his win over FAA was completely ignored. FAA can’t serve! FAA so many errors! Part of this is inconsistency but part of this is Nishioka being a wall and constantly moving his opponent. Gaston will be at a disadvantage here experience-wise but lefty vs lefty is always a difficult task for both, and Nishioka has been a mixed bag on the clay so far this season. Very tough to know how these two will match up, but the pre-match edge has to sit with Nishioka. Nishioka in 4.
Ruud Paul : Pretty simple victories for both of these two, and this will be a great match to watch. Paul has shown he can compete at the top level, but watching him in his doubles match today he didn’t seem to be serving great. His partner Monroe is a great player to watch at net which is why I caught it, and inferences from doubles aren’t the most reliable, but I think Paul will need to avoid long rallies with Ruud, who has been improving every week since the restart. Pretty similar styles at different points in their career. Ruud in 4.
Sock Thiem : Sock had some genuine emotion winning games against Opelka, and it’s nice to see him visibly motivated after his chubby troubles. Thiem looked like there wasn’t much adjustment to clay in the first round, and he was extremely composed/reserved while beating Cilic. Cilic isn’t in great form, but beating him so easily is a real testament to Thiem’s solid position in the top 2-3 players in tennis. Sock’s skill and whippy forehand allow him to match up better against the top tier than the results will indicate, but with Sock’s backhand still a liability this isn’t a spot where Thiem will struggle too much. Thiem in 3 and let the inbox threats begin, he is my pick to win this tournament.
Zverev Herbert : Zverev continued his slow start strong finish method against Novak. Once he locks down the errors he becomes a very tough out and he hits the ball with such reservation during rallies that when he does finally go for a clean winner his opponents almost don’t move. In Serena’s age of dominance she’d often lose the first two games and then break back and her opponents level would fall and Zverev’s slow starts give me the same sort of “accidental or genius” psychological strategic vibes. It’s more likely it’s just tall players start slow. Herbert beat Mmoh, who is somehow a pusher that makes errors. I’d like to see him (Mmoh) go a bit more offensive for a season, as looking to be solid from the baseline just isn’t enough to win on tour.
The Herbert Zverev matchup is an interesting one since Herbert’s game has the things that traditionally would snag a player who starts slow. Herbert is an old-school serve and volley player who is adept at adjusting his strokes to keep the ball in the court. Zverev is a bit too crispy at the moment to expect a bit blowup, but Herbert having a higher caliber of offense than Novak (who plays a bit too straightforward to really beat the mid-top tier guys) gives him a better chance. Zverev in 4.
Londero Cecchinato : Londero flipped the result against Delbonis, who he’d lost in straight sets against in their previous meeting. It’s nice to see him back in the win column, as he plays a very unique game, going for accurate offense and looking to test his opponents speed. If it weren’t for fatigue, I’d think he were a decent favorite. Cecchinato has been great though, and murmurs of his previous French Open run were flying with his snowball beatdown of De Minaur. De Minaur isn’t the best on clay, as many pointed out, but he has some notable wins in his past including PCB, and beating him is never simple. Cecchinato’s power gives him an edge here if Londero is tired. Slower legs will leave more short balls and Cecchinato can really dictate. He’s also fairly deft at using the dropshot which can wear his opponents down. Where I hesitate to just hand him the win is that these new wins have been out of nowhere, and he hasn’t played a real top level player yet. Londero is the first such test, as his claycourt game can threaten all but the top 10-20 guys at the French. No pick here, but if either is able to win this quickly then Zverev is in for a difficult 3rd round.
Paire Coria : Local kumquat Benoit Paire played quite well, beating Kwon in straight sets. There wasn’t a lot of hope for Kwon, and he struggled with his serving throughout. Paire, whose attention span is that of a drunk raccoon, will be a small favorite in his next round against Coria, but Coria is the quintessential villain to beat Paire. Coria lacks offense, but is a venerable wall. The errors Kwon made will be less available, and with Sinner looming in the next round both guys will know this is their last chance to advance. I expect Paire to either find great form here or lose. Finding great form isn’t what I expect, and if Coria is able to earn an early lead this could be over quick. Coria in 4.
Bonzi Sinner : Bonzi played great against Ruusuvuori, and I got that match completely wrong. Sinner’s defeat of Goffin coupled with his 6-2, 6-2 loss to Cilic a week or so ago makes me think Goffin is either a bit injured or just not fully engaged in this clay swing, but Sinner looks great. Sinner in 4.
Kukushkin Martinez : Fognini Fognini’d all over the place. He seemed to hurt his ankle during the 3rd set tiebreaker, and for a guy who lacks a bit of self control he shockingly did not withdraw. This seems to be one of his principles, as he’s finished matches injured before. Good win for Kukushkin, who hung around until he was given the match. Martinez on the other hand went out and earned it, downing the hard hitting Vukic in straight sets.
Martinez and Kukushkin are unlikely to have huge edges against each other. Kukushkin does his best work at majors, but not really on clay, and Martinez is a claycourt expert, but generally earns errors/preys on his opponents inconsistency. I expect long rallies, and I expect Martinez to gradually pull away in this one. Martinez in 5.
Korda Isner : I’m gonna have to be honest. I completely missed Isner’s match. It didn’t seem like Benchetrit was returning much, and Isner is generally the same. That being said, I regret this because Korda played very well in defeating Seppi and I’d like to be more confident about defending his chances here. Korda plays very well at net, and while he’s a bit green, he’s been losing in the qualifiers on tour for a few seasons now. Him starting to win matches now means we can expect a solid performance from him. He’ll have the edge in baseline rallies, and given they’re from the same country, he’ll be somewhat familiar with Isner’s game. This will come down to Korda’s ability to avoid bad service games, and whether Isner’s serve is unreturnable or not. These are question marks, and I’m starting to hate question marks. Not as much as I hate people bouncing the ball between their legs before their serves though. Korda in fourda.
Nishikori Travaglia : Clay Nishikori is back! A late 5th set victory against Evans saw many bettors writing creative words into the livestream chat, and if you’ve never been called an assfish, you can only imagine how upset Dan is tonight. Kei was happy to get across the finish line, and he has to feel like he can breathe a sigh of relief. Travaglia beat Pablo Andujar, who I have been instructed by my attorney to point out is not from Colombia and does not live in the jungle and does not train jaguars and does not sleep in a cave and does not channel magical eagles and definitely does not possess the ability to call the wind from within his lungs which are definitely not made out of the spirit of a cursed python. Andujar had been on a tear, and beating him in straight sets coupled with Travaglia’s serving prowess mean I make him a slight favorite to beat Kei in this matchup. Since Kei is struggling to find length and rhythm playing a big hitter is likely a bad situation, and I give Kei a good chance since he’s such a difficult defender to beat but he really will be behind the 8-ball in his service games. Travaglia in 4-5.
McDonald Nadal : Nice win and some much needed points and bucks for Mackie. Nadal didn’t look great against Gerasimov but Egor was hitting some great offense and Nadal doesn’t exactly need to press early. Nadal in 3 and the next round against Travaglia will be a good look at Nadal’s level.

Finishing up the women's now. Should be up in an hour or two. <3

Roland Garros Men's & Women's Round of 16 Writeup

A lot of people are asking for gambling advice. Mine would be don’t talk about mythical french dragons. After playing fast and loose with the dark arts, a pipe burst in my basement yesterday and I then found out that the shutoff valves had rusted out. Fun fact : flex tape makes you feel very optimistic when you’re stretching it over a leak but it doesn’t work, and just leaves you with new and creative angles for the leaks. I spent a lot of tiempo mopping my basement and setting things up for the plumbers, so I did miss a bit more of some matches than I’d really want to, which may help since I absolutely ate it on some of the round 3 matches.
Djokovic Khachanov : In an interview this week, Djokovic said, “My head is a perfect oval.” He was right, and it was on display against Galan. The first set was not only perfect tennis but entertaining. Novak (we’re on a first name basis) plays the kind of skillful game when he’s in control that is really enjoyable to watch. Time and time again he’s playing pingpong while other people are stuck covering a tennis court. The match tightened up in the second and third sets with Galan getting deep in a few games, but this was mostly a precursor to Djokovic’s first real test.
I had overlooked Khachanov in this draw because I felt he’d lose to Garin, but he played some great tennis today and his power and serving mean that while he may not have the best chance to win, he’ll certainly have an exciting affair with Djokovic. Garin withdrew from his doubles match a day or so ago and complained of dizziness. The physician was asking him how many fingers he was holding up and while he played pretty solid today, he had a sort of glazed look in his eyes throughout. After splitting sets I rather thought Garin would pull away. While Khachanov boasts a big offense, Garin’s speed makes it look like Khach has few options to score. Garin is just “there” for every shot, but he put a number of balls into the net with his forehand that he usually doesn’t.
Khachanov’s best chance in this match is to reign in the offense a bit. Djokovic thrives when his opponents make errors but sometimes gets frustrated when they make him work. The benevolent racquet applauding dropshot hitting Djokovic wins in style. The grumpy laugh at the sky shake his head smash a racquet Djokovic occasionally drops a set. It’s a testament to how good he is that he’s playing Khachanov and the discussion is “what can Karen do to steal a set”. Djokovic in 3, but this is the first chance for him to really show his level.
Carreño Busta Altmaier : Pablo, or Wobblo (as he’s known by rival trapeze crews) gave RBA a very long day. There were times when RBA took the lead but never for long. Carreno’s power was the big factor here and he hit a number of forehand winners. The inside in forehand he’s hitting is really deceptive and since inside-out is his usual pattern it works doubly well. I’m not sure patterns will be so ingrained in his next opponent as they are in RBA though. Altmaier is the story of the men’s side thus far having not dropped a single set through three rounds that continue to get more and more impressive. He plays very solid, hits hard, and his serving is surprisingly consistent even though it doesn’t seem like the biggest weapon. Berretini, though, refused to play more than a few shots per rally in this one. The first ball he could swing at he hit for winners. The ones he couldn’t drive he went for bailout dropshots. It was difficult watching him be so impatient to win rallies when they’re really nothing wrong with his defense or baseline game. Even in a straight set loss he had multiple looks at getting the lead in this match but there were just too many errors, and Altmaier playing at such a fast pace led to Berretini never really getting out of his rush.
After beating Struff and Berretini, it’s pretty clear that Altmaier will be a threat in this match. The last player to take a set off the hardworking German was Ruben Bemelmans in qualifying, and that result is half a puzzle now considering his consistency. I’m struggle to decide what to expect here. It’s another in a stream of these brand new matchups, which is great for the tour but difficult for anyone “trying” to make predictions. A good point to make here is that this is a reason “touts” and “prediction services” fail. By virtue of always trying to write a story or offer a possible outcome, you overextend beyond what your knowledge is. You come up with defendable positions rather than honest advice. It’s easy to write something convincing about a sporting event. All day long we’re thinking about potential futures in our head that will never come to be. Am I having a moment? Maybe. Perhaps it’s because I’m watching Collins bottle every volley or overhand she earns at the end of any point she’s winning. I learned about the term bottling this week. I’m gonna use it.
PCB should win this. Altmaier has benefitted greatly thus far from the errors of his opponents. PCB made very few of these in his match with RBA, just had a great run at the USO, and is the steadier player. It may take a while, since Altmaier is in such excellent form, but I still lean Wobblo, and maintain that that wire in the 2005 Southern Spain Trapeze Championships wasn’t regulation. PCB in 4.
Fucsovics Rublev : Are there no more lefty clay-courters left for Fucsovics to play? After disposing of ARV and Monteiro without much trouble, Fucovics magical victory against Medvedev is a distant memory. Time for another? Rublev beat Anderson pretty easily, and the bigman’s power during rallies was not much use against Rublev’s ballstriking. The matchup here is Rublev’s offense vs Fucsovics shot tolerance. The big Hungarian, who as we all know is from Nyíregyháza, is probably in the best shape of anyone on tour not named Nadal. He utilizes his speed and strength to really make the baseline small for opponents, and his precision game is something he keeps going with a reserved manner. He’ll never give away a match, and this is a good thing to have in his pocket since Rublev has a history of frustrations and errors. That history though, has not been present since the restart of the tour.
Rublev has been smoking the ball starting in Hamburg and his returning has been half clean winners and half solid returns. There is a good chance he will get into a number of Fucs’ service games and if you’ve ever had a wild squirrel with orange hair inside a duffel bag this is what it’s like to have Rublev in your service games. Squirrel smuggling in 4. I mean Rublev.
Dimitrov Tsitsipas : Oh heckkkkkk yeah. This is really and truly a brilliant round of 16 on both sides. Dimitrov was fortunate to receive an injury withdrawal from Carballes Baena, but he didn’t really need it. The big Bulgarian (who only appears past the second round once a year when the moon is full) has been in rare form this week, winning the matches he’s supposed to win and overall playing very overwhelming and consistent ball. This is what the fans want. I fade these guys at times and discuss their issues with consistency, but I absolutely concede that I would forfeit money to see the talent on display that Grigor possesses. Omg Collins won. How do ya like that. Anyway Dimitrov and Tsitsipas probably have two of the most “similar” games on tour, but one of them does way more with it. Tsitsipas played an injured Bedene who had issues with his ankle, and eventually retired, but similar to Grigor he really didn’t need it. Tsitsipas shrugged off the USO defeat, was good in Hamburg, and has been great so far in this event. Dimitrov’s athleticism and form can keep this one close for a while, but it really seems like Tsitsipas has elevated to another level here, and a rematch with Rublev is incoming. Tsitsipas in 4.
Sonego Schwartzman : Lorenzo Sonego can get things off the top shelf in the supermarket for you. Sometimes you’ll just be eating lunch somewhere in the world and Lorenzo Sonego will just snatch one of ur fries. This dude is lanky goodness, and something about him makes me want to buy a car. Fritz and Sonego played a really good match, and it was a good example of how a player can play 1 bad game and lose in straight sets. Fritz didn’t do much wrong here, but Sonego was excellent on the forehand wing. In the pressure moments he found big shots, and since Fritz wins behind his forehand, this gave him a slight disadvantage throughout.
Diego was down early to Gombos, but the guy manufactures breaks of serve better than anybody on tour. Consistently him, Nadal, and Djokovic are the top 3 in service breaks on tour, plus, he never steals french fries. This matchup is closer than people will expect. Sonego is very comfortable on clay and is solid enough to hang with Diego for stretches. If he serves well, he’ll be able to threaten to win sets. Fritz and Sonego was a long match, but two straight sets victories against servers won’t have Sonego in any fatigue issues. Diego is probably the best player left in the draw who you know won’t win the tournament, but he has a tendency to fall behind early in sets and this could become an issue since Sonego hasn’t really been making errors so far. I don’t like the -700 pricetag, but Diego should be able to break down Sonego’s backhand over the course of the match. Schwartzman in 4-5.
Gaston Thiem : Several times I looked at Gaston and Wawrinka’s match and felt like Wawrinka was playing great but the match was being played at Gaston’s tempo. Wawrinka needs time to set up, and with pauses in the rallies he becomes very difficult to beat. Gaston kept the ball moving though and that lateral war is not something that favors Wawrinka. It shoudn’t hurt him though. What ended up happening to Wawrinka was he played Gaston into the perfect training partner for him, and once Gaston had a read on where Wawrinka was going it became half a waste of time for Wawrinka to be hitting so hard. Fatigue set in in the 5th set, and Gaston honestly was the smarter competitor in this one.
Thiem and Ruud seemed like a high quality affair, but that only lasted for a brief period. Thiem is starting to really pull away late in matches and the reserved composure he plays with early in them has thus far not been solved by any of his opponents. A healthy dose of slices from Steve Johnson sees him losing, but the same strategy from Thiem (largely since he has the other one-handed stroke) sees opponents trapped trying to manufacture angles that feed into Thiem’s best shot. His accuracy when he plays down the line is starting to get real scary, since it was largely a redline shot in 2018 and a 60-40 prospect in 2019. I would say the AO where he beat Nadal was the first time where his backhand down the line was just an automatic point, and really how will people defend that as these long stretches of wins make him more comfortable and more confident? The kid is a monster, and yes tennis he also has a big butt.
Gaston will present the same steady defending and pace to Thiem, but Thiem is a much fitter player than Wawrinka and has a lot more variety/consistency in his game. Thiem in 3.
Zverev Sinner : Here I go hating again. Zverev has become like Fritz for me. I recognize that I tend to devalue their ability and focus on their bad performances/errors, and this skews my judgement. Writing these articles is beneficial for noting leaks like that. In their 3rd round contest though, Zverev and Cecchinato switched roles. Zverev made his first fast start in quite some time (I’d somewhat discount the USO against Thiem because that was more about Thiem being awful to begin) and returned extremely well. He was ripping his forehand crosscourt which is something we haven’t seen from him except in some rare instances late in matches. What went on on the other side of the net though was pretty difficult to watch. Cecchinato was cheated in this match. Nobody informed him of the new ATP rule about the ball having to both clear the net AND land inside the court. He will be filing an appeal, as he avoided both of these things like the plague. Not only did he make a ton of errors, but he took a return position not deep enough to return, and not shallow enough to catch the ball at a decent height. This was the Cecchinato that didn’t win a match for an entire year on tour, and after his first two matches where he was brilliant it is relatively unexplainable why he played this way. Even in this terrible form he was serving for the second set, and the momentum looked to shift but again, he was unaware of the new rules.
Sinner needed two come from behind sets against Coria to win, but he has shown that he is able to consistently produce his offense give the chance, and really what he struggles with is his lateral movement. More so on the forehand wing, but when he’s drawn wide he makes a lot of errors. It’s a similar issue to Kyle Edmund, and it’s partially the extreme grip. If Zverev shows up the same as he did against Cecchinato, he should win this, but even in a terrible lopsided loss, Cecchinato still won 9 games. Sinner will be significantly better, and where Cecchinato couldn’t get an unreturned serve, Sinner has a very competent service motion and can earn easier returns. In the interest of not just picking against Zverev every time, I will point out that Sinner has had fatigue issues late in matches, and Zverev served very well in his previous match. I think there is a big Ferrer factor with Zverev as he has seemed to have a specific gameplan in a few of his matches the past few events. This should be a high octane affair and the victory likely goes to who minimizes their errors. Passive Zverev loses this. Good first serve percentage Zverev wins it. Personally, as a person, I am the sort of person who thinks Sinner is going to win, but not if it goes to 5 sets. Sinner in 4.
Korda Nadal : Korda was probably the surprise of the round for most bettors. Pedro Martinez had been rolling through this draw and has become a very productive player against the 5-150 range of the tour. Korda is very smooth and displays the type of comfort on a tennis court that lets you know he’ll be on tour for a long time. He serve-volleys extremely well, and his forehand is smooth. The trouble with predicting he’d beat Martinez, is Martinez is different from anyone he’d played. Beating Seppi is good, but Seppi is a guy who never really wins a round during the clay season. Beating Isner is great, but Isner’s movement on clay is abysmal and he’s been less than stellar the past season or so. Playing a claycourter who’s been at the top of his game, it’s tough to look and say “Korda’s got this.” Yet, he had it, breaking over and over, and earning a primetime slot against Nadal. Since he’s so early in his career, no result here will be demoralizing for Korda. There’s still that “getting on court with an idol” benefit for him, and though he likely can’t win a set, any service hold or rally won will be a confidence boost for him. All positives here, but Nadal at RG is just a constant drag on his opponents physical reserves. I expect Korda’s serving to falter as this progresses. Nadal in 3.
Halep Swiatek : Anisimova looked good on a few shots early against Halep, showing her easy power. Unfortunately, as soon as Halep moved her she earned an error. This was the same pattern of Halep moving Anisimova over and over, and so the scoreline looks devastating, but it’s really just one issue that Anisimova will have to work on. Her movement on clay needs to improve to challenge the top players. Swiatek and Bouchard was a highly anticipated contest since both had kinda found their games in the restart, but Swiatek was all over her from the start. I am a big fan of underdogs, and on a tour where matches are often decided by a few key points, taking things for granted when backing a favorite is usually costly, but Halep’s defeat of Swiatek here last year was comprehensive. Swiatek is a great player, and her commitment to offense can really get her through tight matches, but Halep’s defending is the sort that there aren’t just endless chances to pick the next shot. She counterpunches with depth and is adept at passing players at net even on the run. Like a tiny Andy Murray, she makes the court seem small, and is perfectly comfortable playing her own offense when the open court presents itself. Halep in 2.
Trevisan Bertens : When you see a baby smile, you smile. It is the same phenomenon with Martina Trevisan. I called her Marta in the last post, and I apologize. Martina smiles from the first to the last point, and it is absurdly refreshing to see someone visibly enjoying their time competing. Sakkari was in full control of their match early, as Trevisan is a generally defensive player, winning by outlasting her opponents and by baiting them into lateral coverage contests. Trevisan was broken serving for the 2nd set but never stopped fighting. She was down multiple times in the tiebreaker but never stopped fighting. Her use of the moonball was exceptional, and Sakkari really missed an opportunity by not moving in on these shots. You’ll make some errors, but giving up court position is almost always wrong. Moonballs are offensive opportunities, and your opponent isn’t hitting them because everything is A ok on the other side of the net. They’re in trouble, and are hoping to buy time. Sakkari seemed throughout this like she’d win. She was really the better player, but her backhand made errors, and as the match descended into constant patterns of attack she found less open court and more smiley lady returns. Trevisan gave me actual joy watching her win her last two matches, and watching her hit her forehand cross court the entire match, then down the line whenever Sakkari bailed out too find a forehand was really remarkable.
Bertens has become a confusing prospect to me, but after a quick dismissal of Siniakova it’s clear she’s not dealing with residual cramping issues from her match with Errani. Trevisan was able to outlast Sakkari, but Bertens presents a more well-rounded attack. I don’t write Trevisan off, but she’s the sort of player who can’t put distance between herself and her opponents. She doesn’t really serve aces, she doesn’t really possess big power, and while she has a great deal of body control in her defending, she does give her opponent the ball to hit. I lean towards Bertens in 2.
Svitolina Garcia : Simple victory for Svitolina against Alexandrova. She hasn’t lost in the last two weeks and Alexandrova’s movement/offense weren’t enough. Garcia was beaten handily in the first set, and I was getting drenched by water coming from the ceiling in the second and third. I can say honestly that beating Kontaveit makes no sense, beating Mertens makes no sense, and now the very low +145 line for Garcia against Svitolina who is great on clay and won the last tournament makes me think she’s in line for another victory, and again it won’t make sense. Garcia makes the kind of errors that professional tennis player don’t make. She seems very awkward at times on her backhand, winding up with her racquet in too close and pulling the ball wide. She struggled early to find the pace of the ball against Mertens and dragged a number of shots long. When she does have her timing though, she crushes the ball. It’s the kind of offense you need to be standing still to execute, but the ball gets through the court quickly, and she tends to go big on returns which can mean a lot late in matches in the WTA.
The puzzle for me in seeing Svitolina listed lower is compounded by seeing that Garcia beat her in their most recent meeting on clay in 2018. Svitolina’s speed and consistency in moving her opponent is the sort of equation that Garcia has consistently lost again. Sometimes though, you have to admit you might be wrong. I lean towards Svitolina ending Garcia’s run here, but I get a similar sense that I did when watching footage of Anderson/Lajovic after being unsure why Anderson would have an edge. I would avoid this one, and I’m still picking Svitolina, but there’s reason to believe Garcia’s run will continue. Svitolina in 2.
Podoroska Krejcikova : Podoroska would be the first qualifier to win a major. That’s how good she has looked throughout her first three rounds, and now she gets a very interesting test. Krejcikova has a slow looking big swing, but the power she lazily seems to generate has shut down her last opponents in the deciding set. It seems like she’s out of it, and in her match against Pironkova she was down a set and looked like she’d be broken and lose in two, but her backhand kept firing, and her forehand was heavy enough to break down Pironkova. Podoroska and Schmiedlova was highly anticipated but didn’t deliver. Schmiedlova’s win against Azarenka seems to have been more about Azarenka, and Podoroska’s offense was in control from start to finish. I haven’t really seen a more noticeable impact player come onto the tour in a while, and though Krejcikova can wear down her opponents, I expect Podoroska to expose her lapses in play where Strycova and Pironkova wore down. Podoroska in 2.
Jabeur Collins : Sabalenka has to be crushed after losing that match. She played exceptional and was only a few inches off on the shots she was missing. After rolling through the second set Jabeur seemed out of this contest, and Sabalenka threatened to break in the third a few times, but Jabeur served well in those pressure moments, serving that we haven’t really seen from her yet this event. The out-wide serve from the duece court was a big factor, and her forehand was crispy. I finished up the day by watching Collins and Muguruza, and it did not disappoint. Collins was the better player in the first set despite being way ahead of Mugu in the errors column. Late in the first set Muguruza had only made 1 forehand error and I had thought Collins solid play and aggressive drives would force Muguruza into errors and that’d be her path to victory. Not so. This was a contest of solid ballstriking throughout, and in the second set Collins missed her targets. She won rallies but lost points, spraying balls wide or long anytime she got a look at a break point. It was hard to watch, and it continued early in the third. She was broken immediately, had a few breakback points and squandered them, and endured one of the longest stretches of missing overheads and swinging volleys that I’ve ever seen. It was 2018 Djokovic level overhead troubles, and the worst part was she was playing excellent and could have been right in the match.
At 3-0 in the third it looked over, but Muguruza serving at 40-15 found a double fault. Then she found an error. Then she found some more double faults. It took a while because Collins was still really choking, but she broke for 3-1. Muguruza really lost her game from 3-1 on, and only notched one more game. Her serve had been excellent throughout, and just disappeared. Her defending had been excellent, but she misjudged balls and found the net. It was a really confusing loss for Muguruza, but the secondary story was how well Collins was hitting the ball. She really crushed her backhand today, and stepped in on every moonball offering Muguruza served up. I would say she hit her forehand inside out less than 10 times in the match, but it was a decent strategy as it kept her in a rhythm.
So can she beat Jabeur? Collins looked a ball off on all her serves today, and actually all her aces in the match were called as lets. If she finds the rhythm, she can run away with this match, as her backhand is so solid and her proclivity for hugging the baseline will challenge Jabeur’s movement. Her issues will be the same here as against Muguruza; when she loses range she tends to play a few games where she hits the ball a few inches too deep, it’s almost as if she needs to remember to control her swing, as I saw her make a visible adjustment in the third where she wasn’t taking such a huge followthrough. This will be a good opportunity for both of them, and both have just beaten an opponent that says that they are genuine title contenders. The names are disappearing from this draw and the players left might not always get these opportunities, but their level of play says they deserve them. Collins in 3
Ferro Kenin : Fiona Ferro was so stressful to watch today. I felt she’d have control against Tig, and I was right but it didn’t translate to a simple victory. Tig is simply a divine defender, and her slices were touted by the announcers as ineffective but they kept Ferro from ever developing any rhythm. Tig wears her heart on her sleeve, and she looks like you stole her baby bunny after she loses points, and screams deafeningly loud after she wins points. It all was a bit distracting from the match, and as the crowd got into it she got a bit more frustrated. After taking a few years off the tour to have one of those babies, Tig really has to be pleased with her restart, and while she lost a lopsided 3rd set, she should have won the tiebreaker, and definitely was the better player in the 2nd set. Tig’s problem in this one was that Ferro seemed to play her best tennis once she was down. Whether it was a break or a break point, Ferro locked down her game when she needed to and although Tig comes up with a lot of great offense when it seemed like she’d never attempt any, she lacks power and is largely just a defensive grinder. The backhand broke down for Tig in the 3rd set, and it was a shame but a great win for Ferro.
Kenin and Bara was a fun match for Bara while she was up 2-0, but from there it was literally all Kenin. Do you think Kenin walks to the store or to walk her dog the same as she does around the court? She’s a legit marcher. She doesn’t seem like the best claycourter, but the round prior she found her range in one set, and in this one she really was excellent. Her backhand is just no place to direct the ball, and she’s begun playing a dropshot down the line off it that pairs so well with her crosscourt offering. Add in a forehand that isn’t huge but has a lot of whip on it, and you have a very difficult ask for Bara. In previous matches Bara’s speed and defending had exposed her opponents, but here since Kenin wasn’t making errors, Bara had difficult scoring points. Her serve left her after she got down in the scoreline, and it was one way traffic.
Ferro and Kenin is a match I expected Kenin to be priced higher in. Oddsmakers have set it as a pickem and while Ferro was great in the third set she really struggled to beat Tig and Kenin’s defense is a similar level but with more power. Stylistically, Kenin’s offense will be easier for Ferro to deal with than it was for Bara, as Ferro is adept at net and has a solid backhand and forehand. The power is there, and she’s very comfortable on clay, but she made a bit too many errors today against Tig for me to see her hitting through Kenin for an entire match. Playing at home though, and given how open her offense will be playing someone who isn’t using so many slices, she’ll be a tough test. Against Rybakina Ferro was excellent, and didn’t make the errors that she did when Tig slowed the game down. I am starting to think Kenin could have a good chance to make the finals though, as her next two matches are ones she should win. Kenin in 3.
Kvitova Zhang : Kvitova really played a great match today. Her stretch forehand created angles over and over, and once she did her backhand power through the court was just unreal reliable. Fernandez was everywhere, and led 5-2 in the first, but Kvitova wore her down, and it wasn’t just power but movement as well. Kvitova has shown up for this event, and pulling victory from a match where she was not on her favorite surface and down early is a very good sign. Zhang was solid today, but I really felt Burel would be a better test for Kvitova. Burel is just plain great. She plays like she’s never had a coach and just understands tennis. She serves well, executes any shot from anywhere when it’s right, and though she seems like a small Lauren Davis type she crushes the ball. It was a tough loss as she seemed throughout the match like she’s cross the finish line, but Zhang basically locked down on defense, and hitting through someone on clay for an entire match is just a tough tough thing to do. Sometimes you play better but lose the match, and that was Burel today.
Kvitova played a better defender in Fernandez, and one with more offense also. Zhang has been playing great, but plays in predictable crosscourt patterns and Kvitova’s power does tend to earn her balls to hit. Barring a similar slow start as she had against Fernandez, Kvitova in 2.
Siegemund Badosa : Siegemund turned around her match against Martic in excellent fashion. She always notches some wins on clay but knee injuries really have kept her from deep runs in the past two seasons. This though is a career changing moment for her. She can beat Badosa Gibert. I don’t say that just because she’s playing so well, but also because even on paper this isn’t an upset for Siegemund. Both are playing very consistent ball and thriving against offensive talents because of it. Ostapenko hit a lot of very angry shots, but every time she loses it’s because of her movement and because of her errors. It’s one plan and that’s ok but the tour is full of defensive tests and that plan isn’t likely to net her any further titles. Badosa is just 20 years old through to her first round of 16 which is brilliant. Someone is going to get their first huge paycheck this event and there isn’t a lot to separate these two. Siegemund has played a lot of offensive talents thus far, and seems to have thrived on moving them as the matches progress. She’s very coherent and measured, but Badosa’s speed may be a major factor in negating that. Badosa also won their most recent meeting on clay last year in a third set. A year’s progress for a junior player can mean a world of difference, and I think the edge sits with her here. Badosa in 3.
PS The requests for possibly more betting advice haven’t fallen on deaf ears. The problem with listing out picks is what I referenced earlier : pick services have an end goal in mind of telling you a defendable story. There is a great deal more than selecting a few matches a day that goes into the process, and unfortunately unless you’re placing the same wagers while livebetting that I am, you’re getting different lines and different results over time. A lot of my decisions tend to reflect my individual status/risk preferences as I go as well, so it’s difficult to just present a comprehensive mirror for people to look at. I’m not saying no though, and I’ve been thinking more about how best to present content that will help ppl avoid losses and traps on the tour, as well as proffer some of the lessons that I learned along the way so that at a minimum, people can save time and skip those hurdles. For the French I’m just going to stick with the writeups, but I’m working on it and will definitely do something next season, and will likely post some generic content/analysis of how the tour’s format/rankings/surface changes lend themselves to some decent spots. Cheers. People say that in Europe.

I'm a commentator for a tournament of nightmares. The only thing they fear is her.

I strongly suggest you start at the beginning.
If you’re lost and looking for more info, the NFC has provided extra context for background on the fighters.
Where we last left off; “The Hunt Is Over”
-
I’ll be the first to say what I did was unprofessional. I broke protocol, climbed down from my commentary booth amid the sounds of boos and jeers from experts, Zunkle trying to reach for me as I ran the length of the imposing pit and towards my friend.
Before I could make it to her body, however, someone stepped out and shot me a glance that froze me in my tracks.
It was Wendy. Her mask stained in red that trickled down her chin and eyes alight with rage. At this distance, in the same pit where many had already been slaughtered, I felt very much like a man who’d stepped into a tiger pit.
“You have a job to do, Mr. Sabotta. I strongly suggest you get your ass back up to that booth, because things are going to get messy.” She stared up at the empty throne room where Alduin usually sat, calling out to the MIA champ. “Alduin! Bring me Abaddon, now!”
I stared at her for a moment before my body willed me back up to the side of the pit and Zunk graciously yanked me up by the collar, concern wracking his tired face.
“I can’t take you anywhere, can I? Look, there’s time to figure out what happened with Nelle, but we have a job to do. Once this is over, we can discuss next options, kay? Keep it together, Sal.” Before I could even reply, a manic laughter rippled from the throne room and Alduin’s voice boomed out;
“Since she’s not yet passed her semifinal match, let’s give her the next challenger!”
The elevator roared to life as the sound of dozens of footsteps, scratches and incoherent babbling grew in intensity as the elevator reached its destination and came to a screeching halt. As the doors opened and the multitude of eyes, teeth and claws tore at the doors to get out quicker, the lights were switched off and Alduin’s voice tore through the stunned silence.
“BEGIN!”
NFC WILDCARD SEMIFINAL MATCH: “WENDIGO” WENDY HATHALE VS THE TEIHIIHAN
With the lights out and the sole lights coming from my recording equipment and a sea of at least 12 pairs of hungry, ravenous eyes darting around the place, I was unsure I’d be able to accurately provide commentary. After all, seeing and providing context is my job. Still, I persevered.
“Fight fans, I apologise for my lack of professionalism a few moments ago. Being unbiased is a part of the job, but when it’s a dear friend, you struggle to quantify the line between professional and personal. I hope you’ll forgive me and you’ll be thankful to know Zunkle is back to keep me in check. Zunk, we’ve got ourselves our very last semifinal match of the Wildcard Tourney with a power outage! What happens next?”
Zunk stared down at the darkness below before his eyes fell upon the iPod still connected, spying Wendy’s playlist and letting a small grin slip across his face for a moment as he saw the song playing.
“I think what happens next is we see just how far righteous anger can take someone, Sal.”
Sure enough, as soon as he hit play and we directed our attention down to the pit, we could see flashes of brilliant light as these small creatures darted about the place, each looking for an opening in Wendy’s guard to strike. Their bodies were small, nimble, and the ribs exposed as dark brown skin stretched across them like thin paper. Flecks of drool foamed around their mouths and the eyes, bulbous with a sickly yellow, somehow widening when they spied their chance to dive for Wendy.
The realisation hit me and I felt a mixture of horror and disgust wash over me. Looking at the Compendium for guidance only confirmed my suspicions.
Some of these were children.
The Teihiihan were a mixture of warriors that’d fallen in battle, and the others were inexplicably still kids. But the Cheyenne and Arapaho cultures had another title for their dreaded legends, named after the hunger they embodied in their emaciated frames; The Little Cannibals.
Wendy, to her credit, kept her gaze firmly upon the empty throne room and even in the flashes of light we were getting from god knows where, she did not move until they lunged.
Then, she struck.
In a scene as beautiful as it was horrifying, she leaned back while maintaining her stance, allowed the first of these creatures to lunge forward and swiped at its underbelly, spilling the insides across her torso as it flailed on the floor, two of its cohorts rushing over to feed upon it.
The next was no more fortunate than the last, going for her legs as she nodded her head to the beat and brought her leg up at the right time, stamping down on the skull in tandem with the beat until the crunching gave way to a sickening squelch. She did not cease even then, goading the remainder to come forward.
So it went, two would rush forward and both would be caught in midair, hands flailing deftly and screeching as a flash of brilliance highlighted the others tentatively stepping forward as Wendy’s hands grew, claws stuck out and pierced the sides of their skulls, squeezing on the head until a popping sound rang out. Casting them aside, she practically danced as she threw the two corpses to a group on her left, directing her attention to the right as she did so. Ducking down, she darted forward and span her arms around, slicing at anything within her range.
When she was clear to the other side, 6 more gripped their necks, stomachs and eyes as they fall into a heap.
The two that were feeding now directing their blood stained faces towards her as they leapt into the air, mouths open to chew away at her flesh. She responded by simply sticking a fist out and allowing one to chew on her; the latter being swiped mid-air, taking the head clean off. She held this final one up as an example to the crowd, her expression unchanged even when bathed in this light.
“Do you like hurting other people?” She asked, seemingly to nobody as the main spotlight began to flicker to life, intermixing with the deep purple. She tensed her arm, and it grew, the small creature desperately trying to get away, scratching at her forearm in vain with the teeth no longer clamping onto the free skin. In a flash, she ripped the tongue and organs from its mouth, throwing them into the air as she held the remains of the skin and bones, using them as a bat to smash the viscera towards the throne room. Towards Alduin.
There was a splatter, droplets of blood falling down from on high as the crowd cheered the absolute carnage Wendy had left in her wake. She pulled down her mask, and it became obvious where the blood from before the match had come from;
She’d been so fraught with rage that she’d bitten clean through her bottom lip, the blood soaking her chin and the teeth clenched and caked in a dark crimson.
“I do. I will rip and tear everything you put in front of me." She cracked her neck with malice as the song began to fade.
“Give. Me. Abaddon. NOW.”
-
As the clean-up crew worked around an indignant Wendy, I began my end-match spiel. But something felt off, both in how I felt and the surrounding atmosphere. It was the same as that perpetual moment of losing your balance and falling, but stretched out to impossible lengths. A sense of dread washed over me, seeping into my bones and gripping me with the same fear I felt back in the cafeteria.
“This is how it always goes, you know. There’s always a struggle, there’s always a goal, and there is always…”
Hand’s grip on my throat and squeeze, my chest burning and arms refusing to fight back, fingers tensed and toes curled in protest, but I could not break away. I could feel my eyes bulging as the world started to fade.
“A great loss.”
Flashes of moments I’d never experienced once again flooding my mind; a thick underbrush with a younger Nelle, a bar with hooded figures, a manor house with a monstrous skeletal hulking mass out the window, a flight over the seas of the dead with innumerable figures rushing through the seats to reach for me, a hotel with floor after floor of incomprehensible terror… and then, an isolation room.
Looking around, it was pure white, a basic bed and toilet with nothing else to focus on. A straight-jacket wrapped around my body and as I turned, I saw someone peering through the slit in the door at me. Two pairs of eyes, to be exact. One upside down, a thick mono brow stretching across their forehead and curling into a shape on their forehead, eyes wide and bloodshot, their hands and feet tapping at the frame of the door impatiently. The pair that were right side up were half open, milky white and gazing around the room.
“You have repeated this tale so many times and it ends the same. We have tried guiding you, whispering in your ear and pointing you in the right direction. But it seems a more… direct approach is necessary. We see many forks in the road and paths to take. We can only point you to the right one.” The voice below called out after repeated tapping from the one above. “She… WE feel that you will not understand without our direct invention. Our goal is to end the cycle, to put a stop to the violence. At any costs.”
My head swirls, I feel the need to wrench my arms free, but I’m unable to do so. I simply stare ahead and ask what comes to mind without thinking.
“Why can’t that one tell me? What does this mean? How the fuck did you put me here when I was JUST in the pit?” I was growing frustrated, the fear ever-present, but my fight or flight instinct kicking in. She sighs and the tapping resumes as furtive eyes above burn with anger.
“She cannot speak. Clodagh sees what I don’t, but hears what I, Moirah, cannot. We are two of three sisters that are tasked with ensuring you go on the right path, as all things should. SO many have died because of your conflict, and we cannot abide it. You are a part of something that has existed in a balance for aeons, and it is up to us to end the cycle. We brought you here to help you remember, to help you act. As for the pit…” She clicked her fingers and one of my arm restraints grew loose. As I moved it, she beckoned me closer, and the air trembled around the door as I took each step, offering out a hand through the slit that, despite my better instincts, I walked towards it and took it. The second I got into range, she gripped me tightly. Her brown skin starting to tinge an ugly puce, the veins coming to the surface and pumping rhythmically with the beating on the door as Clodagh began smashing her skull against the metal frame. I could hear something muffled in the distance, the beat of a drum.
Flashes of images flooded my mind as I saw the visages of my friends laying dead at my feet; Rex, Landry, Zunkle, Nelle… Nora. All laying at the feet of Alduin and Abaddon, both laughing in utter madness, hands soaked in the blood and guts of every competitor. Everyone I loved. Overhead hung a black sun, the dazzling glow casting both of these beasts in an unholy glow.
“You never left. We just needed you to reach out and set the next reaction to an action, through a little divine intervention. Music is something that transcends time, space and reality, it holds within it so many emotions and ties that cannot be broken. Some embolden the weak and others decimate the strong. We’re most curious to see what this one will do…”
The visage of these two women in front of me flickers in and out, like a television losing signal. Before I realise anything was wrong, I’m sat back in the booth and my hand is outstretched onto the next song and Zunkle is staring at me quizzically, ready to switch the volume dial back to an even number.
Sure enough, the screaming of locusts joins the music as a weathered Abaddon glides from the dug-out, still holding at his skull where the jagged wound sits, decidedly less of his locust swarm with him as exposed bone and scratch marks are visible from his previous battle.
Alduin walked back to the throne room, cape wrapped around her and arms folded as she grinned.
“You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention, Wendigo Wendy. Its looks like we’ve already reached the end of The Wildcard Tournament! Only two remain and the winner will meet Eustace De Kolta & Nora Zayne in the Openweight Grand Prix Finals. I’m excited to see who has the balls to do what needs to be done, who among ya is ready?!” She screams into the mic, the crowd cheering. Some for Abaddon, a lot for Wendy, who had by this point hunched down onto all-fours and kept her eyes locked on a stoic Abaddon.
“I don’t give a fuck about any of that. I just don’t want to lose another friend to a fucking animal like this, to a tournament that pits unwitting contestants against creatures in a game they KNOW they’ll lose. I’ll take him out before he can go any further. And then… I’m coming for you, bitch.”
Alduin chuckled and threw her hand in the air to signal the start of the bout.
“BEGIN!”
NFC WILDCARD FINALS: “WENDIGO” WENDY HATHALE VS NFC ABYSS CHAMPION ABADDON THE DESTROYER
Perhaps it was the fear of losing respect from the crowd. Maybe it was a desire to finish things quickly and heal up, but Abaddon did not hesitate to rush forward. Throwing his locusts in front of him like a thick cloud, this was the first time his entire frame was visible for all to see. A thick metallic plate covered his lower half, inscriptions littering the sides and a black belt holding it together, two small holsters for his swords on either side. He was nimble, so much so that within just a few seconds he was behind Wendy and striking her with a blow to the back of the skull, the force sending her flying across the pit. The locusts were waiting for her body to drop, picking her back up and holding her in place as Abaddon ran in for another strike.
“A stunning start to what we could argue is both the finals AND a grudge match! Wendigo Wendy showcasing how much this fight means to her personally as well as the desire to take on our queen of the NFC. But as Abaddon has shown us in his last fight, he is the Abyss Champion for a reason. What do you think will happen next, Zunk?”
Zunkle leaned back in his chair and pulled some food out of his bag, a piping hot Stromboli that he took a hearty bite out of. I stared for a moment at his lackadaisical approach, waiting for him to finish.
“I think we’ve only just begun to see the violent delights this tourney has. And seeing all this competition, this bloodshed… it’s making me hungry. Not just for food, but for my own shot in that pit. I’ll tell you one thing though; Abaddon is making a grave mistake rushing forward.”
Looking down, Abaddon connected once again with Wendy. This time a kick to the side of the neck that drove her into the side of the pit with a sickening thud.
“You are mortal here, Wendy. You cannot rely on those gifts from your own home. For here, you are nothing more than another nightmare in my division to be conquered. I have my own desires for this tournament that cannot be stopped or interfered with and rest assured; I will take as many of yours or HIS friends as I need to in order to get there.” He shot a glance at me and for that moment, my hairs stood on end. Even just having him gaze at me sent me into a panic.
“Well, you’re unfortunately going to have a tough night, Abaddon.” Wendy coughed, pushing herself up and cracking her neck, bruises and cuts all over her body. “Because now I know what you are, where you come from and my role in all this, I can’t let you progress any further.”
Abaddon cocked his head to the side, and the locusts returned, forming around his arms as he began to pull at his swords. Both of them. Where the shimmering black was familiar, the sickly bright white of the alternative blade was a new kind of horrifying; faces etched in permanent suffering rippled across its fine steel and a soft moan lashed out as he swiped it through the air, crossing both blades in front of him.
“You are a bold and arrogant one, child. But I have seen where your path began and I know what you are, where you came from and what you did. You were powerless to stop death then, and you are no different here.”
He began inching forward, careful not to dash into her guard. Wendy stretched back and for the first time in a long time; she smiled.
“Y’know, back where I’m from, in the Hotel... We have this guy Sigurd Jónsson, but we call him “Ros”, he’s a total music head. Arrogant, rash and full of the worst jokes you’ll ever hear. He saved me from a cycle of violence in my own community, bringing me into his without even realising it. He didn’t make it out of there, at least... not in the way we wanted him to. But that's because he made a choice to stand and protect the things he knew were important, even if his dumb brave ass didn’t realise it at the time.” She flexed her fingers, and the joints grew with the nails, looking down at them with curiosity and melancholy.
Abaddon inched closer. He was almost in range.
“I guess we're pretty similar, in the end. That's why he's a brother to me. But, there’s one big difference between him and I.” Abaddon lunged and slashed with the swords. A horrid groan left the white sword as it hit nothing but air. Wendy leapt into the air and landed on Abaddon’s shoulders, hand tensed like a spider ready to bite.
“I’m not bound by that cycle anymore and that means I will do ANYTHING to pull him from it.”
She drove her hand into the wound on Abaddon’s skull, and immediately the atmosphere changed. There were no screams. There was no time. The locusts stood in place, silent and paralysed as Abaddon mirrored them. She stood there for a moment before releasing her hand, covered in a thick tar-like substance and jumped down, throwing her fist into the air to uproarious cheers. Alduin jumped down, clapping slowly and mic in hand.
“Well, I’ll be… the kid’s got skill. I live only for the best competition and you just proved exactly why this is the best fuckin’ tournament out there. You’re in the finals, kid. Good luck…” Alduin’s eye flashed, and she looked past Wendy to the sight of Eustace De Kolta sauntering into the centre of the pit to greet her, Nora standing at the foot of the dugout, one leg raised and arms folded, watching.
“A pleasure to watch, despite your… maladies.” He extended a hand that Wendy reluctantly took before he raised it into the air to louder cheers. “I’ll be taking him for now, wouldn’t want him interfering in our bout, would we?”
In a moment both relieving and horrifying, Eustace clapped his hands and laid the satchel down as his first pet from the opening round crawled out; the devourer. It reached for the still frozen body of Abaddon and as soon as its pale fingers had a solid grip on him, it ripped him from where he stood and dragged him into the satchel, locusts and all.
Alduin, to her credit, laughed heartily.
“And there’s our second finalist, The Nightmare Catcher Eustace De Kolta! Now adding the Abyss Champion to his repertoire, though I don’t think he’ll be able to hold him for long, he still has a near endless supply of horrors in that satchel!” She cast her eyes to the dug-out and as soon as Nora saw her, she walked forward. Perhaps determined not to let Alduin get even a moral high ground on her, let alone a physical one. “And lest we forget our third and last but by no means least competitor in the finals. Someone I’m sure will do great things… Nora Fucking Zayne!”
As the crowd cheered and confetti rained down, the computer screen held up a timer once more to signal the interval. Zunkle got to his feet and with eyes focused on the ground, thanked me profusely, his enthusiasm causing his voice to raise slightly louder than he intended.
“Sorry, sorry. Got a… lot on my mind, y’know? The NFC granted my match with Malphas and… well, I better get ready. But Sal, don’t judge me for what you see down there, okay? I may be Zunkle now, but I’ll always be The Jersey Devil, I hope when you call the fight, you give it everything you've got. Because I sure as hell will.” He patted me on the shoulder before heading off as Alduin finished her announcements.
“3 hours time, we will crown the NFC OpenWeight Grand Prix Winner and the next contender to my title, betting odds and food are open now. See you soon!”
Eustace chuckled as he let Wendy’s hand go and began walking back, a bitterness to his voice.
“It’s a shame we have to do this, if you weren’t what you are, I think we’d be friends. But given your showing here, it’s clear that you’re no different to the rest of the division… to what my family dealt with before.”
“Oh yeah? How d’you figure that, David Blaine?” She snarked, folding her arms and wincing from her wounds. He stopped and held up a hand as he circled around, a concerned look on his face intermixed with an uncontrollable excitement that I could sense even from here. Though I knew I had to rush to the infirmary and more uncertainty gripped me now than it had done when I stepped through those doors, I also knew that the finals were going to be the bloodiest of them all.
“Because after that showing, I sense there’s a changing of the guard. One that would send a dangerous message to the far-reaches of all worlds." He slings his satchel over his back and as I make my way to see my friends, those last words ring in my ears and once again bring forth the mentions of the cycle those strange women whispered into my ears;
"The only thing the NFC fears now… is you.”

[Game Preview] Week 2 - Los Angeles Rams (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles(0-1)

Los Angeles Rams (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)
The 2020 Philadelphia Eagles season didn’t have the start they were looking for week 1 as they opened the season without their starting LT, RT, RG, RB, DT and WR and struggled against the Washington Football team to open their season with a loss. Luckily they will get two of those starters back this week in running back Miles Sanders and RT Lane Johnson. Both will be welcome additions as the Eagles struggled to block anyone against the Football Team both on the line and from the running back position. Additionally, getting a running game going will greatly help slow the pass rush which will be impressive as the Rams posted one of the best pressure rates last week led by All-Pro Aaron Donald. Hopefully Doug Pederson learns from his mistakes of last week and gets Carson moving with some designed rollouts and mixes up his play-calling more to establish the run. If Doug tries to do the same thing as last week it will be a long day for Carson and Donald will feast. On the other side of the ball, Schwartz had Slay follow McLaurin last week and it worked as Slay shut McLaurin down, but that is more difficult this week as the Rams have two talented receivers in Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. The Eagles will need to see how Maddox holds up on the outside with a bigger challenge this week. With the struggles of the Eagles offense and their injuries on that side of the ball, the Eagles will need their defenses to limit the quick scoring Rams offense or it will be a long day. Should be a good test for the Eagles to rebound after falling flat out of the gate last week. Go Birds!

Los Angeles Rams (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)

The 2020 Philadelphia Eagles season didn’t have the start they were looking for week 1 as they opened the season without their starting LT, RT, RG, RB, DT and WR and struggled against the Washington Football team to open their season with a loss. Luckily they will get two of those starters back this week in running back Miles Sanders and RT Lane Johnson. Both will be welcome additions as the Eagles struggled to block anyone against the Football Team both on the line and from the running back position. Additionally, getting a running game going will greatly help slow the pass rush which will be impressive as the Rams posted one of the best pressure rates last week led by All-Pro Aaron Donald. Hopefully Doug Pederson learns from his mistakes of last week and gets Carson moving with some designed rollouts and mixes up his play-calling more to establish the run. If Doug tries to do the same thing as last week it will be a long day for Carson and Donald will feast. On the other side of the ball, Schwartz had Slay follow McLaurin last week and it worked as Slay shut McLaurin down, but that is more difficult this week as the Rams have two talented receivers in Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp. The Eagles will need to see how Maddox holds up on the outside with a bigger challenge this week. With the struggles of the Eagles offense and their injuries on that side of the ball, the Eagles will need their defenses to limit the quick scoring Rams offense or it will be a long day. Should be a good test for the Eagles to rebound after falling flat out of the gate last week. Go Birds!

General Information
Posting Rules and Guidelines
Remember to [join us on Discord]https://discord.gg/HwwBbM3) during the game!
New to the Eagles? Take a look at our New Fan Page!
Score Prediction Contest

Date
Sunday, September 20th, 2020

Game Time	Game Location
1:00 PM - Eastern	Lincoln Financial Field
12:00 PM - Central	1020 Pattison Ave
11:00 AM - Mountain	Philadelphia, PA 19148
10L00 AM - Pacific	Wikipedia - Map

Weather Forecast
Stadium Type: Open Air
Surface: Grass
Temperature: 62°F
Feels Like: 62°F
Forecast: Clear. Clear throughout the day.
Chance of Precipitation: 0%
Cloud Coverage: 0%
Wind: Northeast 10 MPH

Betting Odds
Oddsshark Information
Favorite/Opening Line: Even
OveUnder: 45.5
Record VS. Spread: Philadelphia 0-1, Los Angeles 0-1

Where to Watch on TV
FOX will broadcast Monday’s game to a national audience. Kevin Kugler will handle the play-by-play duties and Chris Spielman will provide analysis. Laura Okmin will report from the sideline.
TV Map - Week 2 TV Coverage Map

Radio Streams
List of Eagles Radio network member stations with internet broadcast availability
Radio.com 94.1 Desktop Streaming

Listen to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick
Calling the game on 94WIP and the Eagles Radio Network will be Merrill Reese, the NFL’s longest-tenured play-by-play announcer (44th season). Joining Reese in the radio booth will be former Eagles All-Pro wide receiver Mike Quick, while Howard Eskin will report from the sidelines.

Location	Station	Frequency
Philadelphia, PA	WIP-FM	94.1 FM and 610 AM
Allentown, PA	WCTO-FM	96.1 FM
Atlantic City/South Jersey	WENJ-FM	97.3 FM
Levittown, PA	WBCB-AM	1490 AM
Northumberland, PA	WEGH-FM	107.3 FM
Pottsville, PA	WPPA-AM	1360 AM
Reading, PA	WEEU-AM	830 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD	WAFL-FM	97.7 FM
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA	WEJL-FM	96.1 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD	WAFL-FM	97.7 FM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD	WEJL-AM	630 AM
Salisbury/Ocean City, MD	WBAX-AM	1240 AM
Williamsport, PA	WBZD-FM	93.3 FM
Wilmington, DE	WDEL-FM/AM	101.7 FM
York/LancasteHarrisburg, PA	WSOX-FM	96.1 FM

Philadelphia Spanish Radio
Rickie Ricardo and Bill Kulik will handle the broadcast in Spanish on Mega 105.7 FM in Philadelphia and the Eagles Spanish Radio Network.

Location	Station	Frequency
Philadelphia, PA	LA MEGA	105.7 FM
Allentown, PA	WSAN	1470 AM
Atlantic City, NJ	WIBG	1020 AM; 101.3 FM

Rams Radio
Rams Radio J.B. Long will handle the play-by-play duties and former pro bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew will provide analysis. D'Marco Farr will report from the sidelines.

National Radio
N/A

Satellite Radio

Station	Eagles Channel	Rams Channel
Sirius Radio	SIRI 98 (Streaming 825)	SIRI 156 (Streaming 818)
XM Radio	XM 231 (Streaming 825)	(Streaming 818)
Sirius XM Radio	SXM 231 (Streaming 825)	SXM 386 (Streaming 818)

Eagles Social Media	Rams Social Media
Website	Website
Facebook	Facebook
Twitter	Twitter
Instagram	Instagram
Snapchat: Eagles	Snapchat: snaptherams

NFC East Standings

NFC EAST	Record	PCT	Home	Road	Div	Conf	PF	PA	Net Pts	Streak
Football Team	1-0	1.000	1-0	0-0	1-0	1-0	27	17	+10	1W
Eagles	0-1	.000	0-0	0-1	0-1	0-1	17	27	-10	1L
Cowboys	0-1	.000	0-0	0-1	0-0	0-1	17	20	-3	1L
Giants	0-1	.000	0-1	0-0	0-0	0-0	16	26	-10	1L

Series Information
The Philadelphia Eagles lead the Los Angeles Rams (Philadelphia Eagles lead series, 22-19-1)
Series History
Head to Head Box Scores
First Game Played
September 21, 1937 at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, PA. Cleveland Rams 21 Philadelphia Eagles 3
Points Leader
Philadelphia Eagles lead the Los Angeles Rams (843-842)
Coaches Record
Doug Pederson: 2-0 against the Rams
Sean McVay: 0-2 against Eagles
Coaches Head to Head
Doug Pederson vs Sean McVay: Pederson leads 2-0
Quarterback Record
Carson Wentz: Against Rams: 1-0
Jared Goff: Against Eagles: 0-2
Quarterbacks Head to Head
Carson Wentz vs Jared Goff: Wentz leads 1-0
Records per Stadium
Record @ Lincoln Financial Field: Eagles lead Rams: 2-0
Record @ Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: Rams lead Eagles 5-4-1

Rankings and Last Meeting Information
AP Pro 32 Ranking
Eagles No. 21 - Rams No. 09
Record
Eagles: 0-1
Rams: 1-0
Last Meeting
Sunday, December 12th, 2018
Eagles 30 - Rams 23
Nick Foles filled in for the injured Carson Wentz, taking up his spot under center after three months without game action. Foles promptly recaptured the magic, passing for 270 yards and confidently leading the Eagles to a 30-23 win over the Rams on Sunday night with plenty of help from his defense and his playmakers. Foles got plenty of help from his running game as Wendell Smallwood rushed for two touchdowns and rookie Josh Adams ran for another score as the Eagles (7-7) kept their playoff hopes quite viable with a gritty victory over the Rams (11-3), who lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time in coach Sean McVay's tenure.
Click here to view the Video Recap
Click here to view the Stats Recap
Last Meeting at Site
Sunday December 10th, 2017
Eagles 43 - Rams 35
Carson Wentz threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns before leaving with a knee injury and Jake Elliott kicked the go-ahead 33-yard field goal with 3:45 left for the Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Los Angeles Rams 43-35 in a thriller Sunday to clinch the NFC East title.
Click here to view the Video Recap
Click here to view the Stats Recap

Last 10 Meetings

Date	Winner	Loser	Score
12/16/18	Eagles	Rams	30-23
12/10/17	Eagles	Rams	43-35
10/05/14	Eagles	Rams	34-28
09/11/11	Eagles	Rams	31-13
09/07/08	Eagles	Rams	38-3
12/18/05	Eagles	Rams	17-16
12/27/04	Rams	Eagles	20-7
12/01/02	Eagles	Rams	10-3
01/27/02	Rams	Eagles	29-24
09/09/01	Rams	Eagles	20-17

Injury Reports	Depth Charts
Eagles	Eagles
Rams	Rams

2020 “Expert” Picks
Week 2 - "Expert" Picks

2020 Team Stats
Eagles Season Stats
Rams Season Stats

2020 Stats (Starters/Leaders)

2020 Stats (Starters/Leaders)

Passing

Name	CMP	ATT	PCT	YDS	TD	INT	RAT
Wentz	34	42	57.1%	270	2	3	72.5
Goff	20	31	64.5%	275	0	1	79.4

Rushing

Name	ATT	YDS	YDS/G	AVG	TD
Scott	9	35	35	3.9	0
Brown	18	79	79.9	4.4	2

Receiving

Name	REC	YDS	YDS/G	AVG	TD
Goedert	8	101	101	12.6	1
Woods	6	105	105.0	17.5	0

Sacks

Name	Sacks	Team Total
Sweat	1	3
Donald/Floyd/Brockers	1.0	3

Tackles

Name	Total	Solo	Assist	Sacks
Gerry	10	5	5	0.0
Fuller	8	5	3	0.0

Interceptions

Name	Ints	Team Total
N/A	0	0
N/A	0	0

Punting

Name	ATT	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	IN 20	TB	BP
Johnston	5	268	62	53.6	50.2	3	0	0
Hekker	3	142	58	47.3	40.7	2	0	0

Kicking

Name	ATT	MADE	%	LONG	PAT
Elliot	2	1	50.0%	38	2/2
Sloman	3	2	66.6%	35	2/2

Kick Returns

Name	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
NA	0	0	0	0	0
Webster	1	20.0	20.0	40	0

Punt Returns

Name	RET	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	FC
Raegor	2	6	3.0	6	0	2
N/A	0	0	0	0	0	0

League Rankings 2020

Offense Rankings

Category	Eagles Stat	Eagles Rank	Rams Stat	Rams Rank
Total Offense	265.0	29th	422.0	5th
Rush Offense	57.0	30th	153.0	6th
Pass Offense	208.0	T-21st	269.0	8th
Points Per Game	17.0	T-23rd	20.0	T-19th
3rd-Down Offense	35.7%	23rd	52.9	8th
4th-Down Offense	0.0%	T-17th	100.0	T-1st
Red Zone Offense (TD%)	50.0%	T-18th	40.0%	T-25th

Defense Rankings

Category	Eagles Stat	Eagles Rank	Rams Stat	Rams Rank
Total Defense	239.0	1st	380.0	22nd
Rush Defense	80.0	5th	136.0	22nd
Pass Defense	159.0	3rd	244.0	20th
Points Per Game	27.0	T-21st	17.0	T-8th
3rd-Down Defense	27.8%	5th	25.0%	T-3rd
4th-Down Defense	50.0%	T-19th	33.3%	T-17th
Red Zone Defense (TD%)	75.0%	T-20th	50.0%	T-9th

Team

Category	Eagles Stat	Eagles Rank	Rams Stat	Rams Rank
Turnover Diff.	-3	31st	-1	T-19th
Penalties Per Game	3.0	T-2nd	5.0	T-8th
Penalty Yards Per Game	20.0	T-2nd	34.0	6th

Recap from Last Week’s Games.
Eagles - In a near-reversal of the previous season's opener, the Eagles scored the first 17 points, only for the Washington Football Team to then shut their offense out for the remainder of the afternoon. Meanwhile, Washington's offense scored 27 unanswered points, and the defense sacked Carson Wentz eight times, recorded two interceptions, and forced three fumbles. With the loss, Philadelphia's six-game winning streak against Washington was snapped dating back to Week 14 of the 2016 season, and the Eagles lost the first game of the season since 2015.
Rams - Playing their first game ever in their brand-new home at SoFi Stadium, the Rams held off the Cowboys in a close battle of NFC contenders. Receiving the opening kickoff (from former Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein), Los Angeles drove 75 yards in seven plays, with Malcolm Brown scoring the new stadium's first touchdown on a 1-yard run. Rookie kicker Samuel Sloman missed on his first field goal attempt, a 29-yard try that bounced off the left upright near the end of the first quarter, but later was successful on field goals of 35 and 31 yards in the second quarter. However, Dallas took a 14-13 halftime lead as Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott scored on both a touchdown run and a touchdown reception. The Rams reclaimed the lead as Malcolm Brown (who finished with a team-high 18 rushes for 79 yards) scored his second touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run midway through the third quarter to put Los Angeles ahead 20-14. Zuerlein converted a 33-yard field goal late in the third quarter, but it would be as close as the Cowboys would get. Rookie safety Jordan Fuller led the Rams with eight total tackles, including a key tackle of Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on a fourth-and-3 play at the Rams' 9-yard line, just one yard short of a first down to kill a Dallas scoring drive.

Recap from Last Week’s Games.

Eagles - In a near-reversal of the previous season's opener, the Eagles scored the first 17 points, only for the Washington Football Team to then shut their offense out for the remainder of the afternoon. Meanwhile, Washington's offense scored 27 unanswered points, and the defense sacked Carson Wentz eight times, recorded two interceptions, and forced three fumbles. With the loss, Philadelphia's six-game winning streak against Washington was snapped dating back to Week 14 of the 2016 season, and the Eagles lost the first game of the season since 2015.

Rams - Playing their first game ever in their brand-new home at SoFi Stadium, the Rams held off the Cowboys in a close battle of NFC contenders. Receiving the opening kickoff (from former Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein), Los Angeles drove 75 yards in seven plays, with Malcolm Brown scoring the new stadium's first touchdown on a 1-yard run. Rookie kicker Samuel Sloman missed on his first field goal attempt, a 29-yard try that bounced off the left upright near the end of the first quarter, but later was successful on field goals of 35 and 31 yards in the second quarter. However, Dallas took a 14-13 halftime lead as Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott scored on both a touchdown run and a touchdown reception. The Rams reclaimed the lead as Malcolm Brown (who finished with a team-high 18 rushes for 79 yards) scored his second touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run midway through the third quarter to put Los Angeles ahead 20-14. Zuerlein converted a 33-yard field goal late in the third quarter, but it would be as close as the Cowboys would get. Rookie safety Jordan Fuller led the Rams with eight total tackles, including a key tackle of Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb on a fourth-and-3 play at the Rams' 9-yard line, just one yard short of a first down to kill a Dallas scoring drive.

Connections
Rams QB Jared Goff and Eagles QB Carson Wentz were selected 1st and 2nd in the 2016 NFL draft after both teams traded up.
Eagles S Rodney McLeod played for the Rams from 2012-16.
Eagles CB Nickell Robey-Coleman played for the Rams from 2017-19.
Eagles LB coach Ken Fajole was defensive coordinator of the Rams for three seasons from 2009−2011.
Eagles TE Zach Ertz went to Stanford (2009-13) and is from Orange County, CA.
Eagles Director of Sports Performance Ted Rath worked for the Rams from 2017-2019 as their Strength and Conditioning Coach (2017) and Director of Strength Training and Performance (2018-2019).
Eagles Special assistant to the general manager Connor Barwin played for the Rams in 2018.

2020 Pro Bowlers

Eagles	Rams
DT Fletcher Cox (Starter)	DT Aaron Donald (Starter)
OG Brandon Brooks (Starter)	CB Jalen Ramsey
C Jason Kelce (Starter)
LS Rick Lovato (Starter)
TE Zach Ertz
SS Malcom Jenkings (1st Alt)
OT Lane Johnson (1st Alt

General
Referee: Brad Allen
Philadelphia has produced a 22-19-1 (.536) record in the all-time series vs. Los Angeles. The Eagles own a 6-game winning streak against the Rams, scoring 30+ points in 5 straight contests.
Philadelphia is 15-8 (.652) in home games vs. Los Angeles, with victories in each of the last 2 such meetings (last: W, 34-28 on 10/5/14 at Lincoln Financial Field).
The Eagles are 23-9 (.719) at home in the regular season under head coach Doug Pederson, which marks the 5th-best home winning percentage in the NFL since 2016, trailing only New En-gland (.818, 27-6), Baltimore (.758, 25-8), Kansas City (.758, 25-8) and New Orleans (.727, 24-9).
Philadelphia has captured all 4 of its home openers with Doug Pederson at the helm (since 2016). Pederson is one of only two head coaches in Eagles history to win each of their first 4 home openers with the team, joining Joe Kuharich (1964-67).
In Week 1 at Washington, Philadelphia allowed only 239 total yards (80 rushing, 5th; 159 passing, 3rd), which were the fewest by any defense in the NFL during kickoff weekend. The Eagles limited Washington to just 27.8% (5-of-18) on third downs, which was also the 5th-best mark in the league.

Draft Picks

Eagles	Rams
WR Jalen Raegor	RB Cam Akers
QB Jalen Hurts	WR Van Jefferson
LB Davion Taylor	OLB Terrell Lewis
S K’Von Wallace	S Terrel Burgess
OT Jack Driscoll	TE Brycen Hopkins
WR John Hightower	S Jordan Fuller
LB Shaun Bradley	LB Clay Johnston
WR Quez Watkins	K Sam Sloman
OT Prince Tega Wanogho	G Tremayne Achrum
LB/DE Casey Toohill

Notable Off-season Additions

Eagles	Rams
S Will Parks	DT A’Shawn Robinson
DT Javon Hargrave	OLB Leonard Floyd
CB Nickell Robey-Coleman
CB Darius Slay
	S Sean Davis
	WR Cody Latimer
	CB Kendell Fuller
	RB JD McKissic
	G Wes Schweitzer

Notable Off-season Departures

Eagles	Rams
S Malcom Jenkins	DE Dante Fowler Jr.
CB Ronald Darby	RB Todd Gurley
RB Jordan Howard	WR Brandin Cooks
WR Nelson Agholor	LB Cory Littleton
OL Halapoulivaati Vaitai	S Eric Weddle
LB Kamu Grugler-Hill	CB Nickell Robey-Coleman
RB Darren Sproles	WR Jojo Natson
DT Timmy Jernigan	WR Mike Thomas
LB Nigel Bradham	LB Clay Matthews
	QB Blake Bortles

Milestones
Eagles QB Carson Wentz (99) needs 1 passing TDs for 100 career passing TDs.
Eagles WR Desean Jackson (6322) needs 145 yards to move up to 3rd on the Eagles all-time receiving yards list all-time passing WR *Mike Quick
Eagles WR Desean Jackson (34) needs 2 TDs to move into a tie for 7th on the Eagles all-time receiving TD list tying WR Jeremy Maclin
Eagles DE Brandon Graham (51) needs 3.5 sacks to move to 4th on the Eagles all-time sack list tying DE Hugh Douglas
Eagles DT Fletcher Cox (48) needs 2.5 sacks to move up to 6th on the Eagles all-time sack list tying DE Greg Brown
Eagles DE Vinny Curry (27) needs 1 sack to move up to 19th on the Eagles all-time sack list passing DT Darwin Walker

Rams WR Cooper Kupp (2636) needs 28 yards to move up to 16th on the Rams all-time receiving list passing WR Carroll Dale

Pro Football Focus Matchup Charts courtesy of PFF Edge (join.profootballfocus.com/edge/)
WDB Matchups (CAPS = expected shadow coverage)

Stats to Know

Pressure Rate

It doesn’t take advanced stats to know that Wentz spent most of Sunday under significant pressure. Washington sacked him eight times behind a makeshift offensive line that struggled to contain the Football Team’s pass rush. The Eagles allowed a 34% pressure rate Sunday, according to ESPN Next Gen Stats. That was the third-worst in the NFL. Five different Washington players generated at least four pressures. And it doesn’t get any easier against the Rams. The Cowboys allowed a 40.5% pressure rate Sunday night in their loss to the Rams, which was the second-worst mark of Week 1. And a big reason for that was Rams star Aaron Donald. Donald — the six-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro and two-time AP Defensive Player of the Year who has 44 sacks over the past three seasons — posted a 28.6% pressure rate on Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott himself. He pressured Prescott 10 times for 35 pass rushes and finished with four tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and four quarterback hits. According to Next Gen Stats, Donald’s pressure rate over the past three seasons is 13.5%, 13.9% and 14.6%. The Eagles offensive line is going to have to be ready or it is going to be another long Sunday for Carson Wentz.

Matchups to Watch
Carson Wentz vs. Himself
I note this matchup not to downplay the Rams and what they bring to the table, but to note that Wentz had plenty of mistakes that ultimately cost us the week 1 matchup. Change nothing of the game last week, bad OL, questionable scheming especially in the second half, Carson Wentz playing better wins us the game. Things were bad around him and he actively made them worse at times. These two things can be true: Wentz cost us the week 1 game and he should bounce back because he is a really good QB. This isn't the sky is falling, #TankForTrevor blurb, it's simply acknowledging the biggest change from week 1 to week 2 that would aid in a victory - Carson Wentz returning to form. There was also a lot of good last week, namely the first half! Check out the first TD throw to Ertz. Short, compressed field where he needs to make a snap decision and he comes off his first read (JJAW) and hits Ertz for 6. This is a great play by Wentz where he showed how good he is capping off a great drive. We need more of this consistency. Wentz was even missing on staples of the offense. He was erratic in the pocket and regularly off target. I love hero ball, I hate when QBs play scared, but better urgency and avoiding negative plays in the pocket would go a long way in smoothing out the rough edges of his game. It's infuriating to have some of the same issues he had in year 3 continue in year 5. Regardless, Wentz is a really good QB, so he should be expected to bounce back from a bad game every QB has once in a while. It just needs to happen quickly so the Eagles don't fall behind in the young season. This Rams secondary has a phenomenal CB in Jalen Ramsey and a really good young safety in John Johnson III; they aren't slouches. Wentz needs to be better and it would be surprising if he isn't.
Eagles (downright) Offensive Line vs. Aaron Donald and the Rams Pass Rush
Washington may have a better, deeper defensive line but they don't have Aaron Donald. He is so good he lifts a pass rush up to the top tiers of the league on his own given his dominance and versatility. Donald isn't just a Defensive Tackle; he'll line up inside and outside while wrecking every part of the OL he can along the way. Just look at what Baldy has in his review for him this week. This is a problematic matchup for Philly given their patchwork offensive line. Even though there were positive things some of the new guys did, they made a lot of mistakes, and will continue to do so in their young careers. The last time the Eagles played the Rams in 2018, Philly held Donald to 2 total pressures in probably his most ineffective game during the course of his DPOY season. The difference between that Eagles OL and this one is the health. Philly won't have a healthy Brandon Brooks; while they'll have Lane Johnson again it'll be in his first start of the season, he's coming off a late summer ankle procedure. So his effectiveness is still TBD. JP, who also played in that game, has also declined a considerable amount since then. One player returning to the field Sunday that should also give the Eagles a boost in pass protection is Miles Sanders. Not only is Sanders the best runner on the team, he's also the best pass blocking running back on the team. This alone won't stop Donald, but it should help. This defensive front from the Rams can get pushed around in the run game (more on that later) but can absolutely get after it in the pass rush department. Dallas doesn't have the line it used to either and Dak was under pressure at a roughly 42% rate, among the worst in week 1. The return of Lane Johnson should increase the effectiveness of this OL a considerable amount but given the new parts there will still be an adjustment period. This unit needs to come together quickly and the coaching staff needs to actually focus their game plan on helping their OL much more so than they did in week 1. Otherwise, expect Donald and his homies to bring the pain up front.
Eagles Pass Rush vs Rams OL
Even with some of the sustained injuries on this roster, the Eagles still have a formidable pass rush and flashed it quite a bit in week 1. The box score stats are highly deceiving in this area as Washington shifted their game plan quite a bit as the game went along. Philly pressured Haskins at a 30% clip last week. That number isn't great considering the state of Washington's offensive line. However, Haskins had the quickest time to throw in the NFL in week 1 with an average time to throw of 2.13 seconds. It's extremely difficult to pressure QBs when they get the ball out that quickly. Last week, Jared Goff was 8th in the NFL in this category, which will present some challenges for the Eagles. Dallas pressured Goff at a 20% clip last week, which is a horrendous number. Goff is a good QB and will slice you up if you don't get to him. But when you do, oftentimes he's effectively standing in quick sand as he was a bottom 8 QB under pressure (by Rating) in 2019. It's imperative this defensive front plays well this week. We already saw Malik Jackson return to form, now we need Fletcher Cox. Philly should get Brandon Graham (concussion) and Derek Barnett (hammy) back this week which should increase the effectiveness of the pass rush. Josh Sweat has also shown tremendous growth in year 3 having the best game of his career this past Sunday with TY McGill flashing in limited snaps. This offensive line from the Rams underwent a mini make-over this offseason but still has some question marks up front. This will be a real test for them as the Eagles pass rush is much more formidable than the one Dallas offers. Furthermore, this is a defensive staff that has consistently gotten to Goff of late. Given the changes on both squads, this is a good measuring stick game in the trenches.
Eagles Coverage vs Rams Receivers
Jim Schwartz had Sean McVay's number in their most recent matchup in 2018 so I am curious to see who gets the upper hand this time around. The Rams have a really good WR room with Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, and Josh Reynolds. They also have a good tight end in Tyler Higbee. Philly has their work cut out for them this week as the Rams are much deeper than Washington. The Rams passing attack was predicated on the short, quick game with a lot of motions and play action last week. Carson Wentz led the NFL in Average Intended Air Yards while Jared Goff was last. Goff's Average Intended Air Yards were 4.3 per attempt with roughly half his passing attempts coming within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Getting the ball to Goff's first read and out of his hands quickly is key as he can be an adventure when he is forced to hold onto the ball. McVay is really good at disguising what the Rams will do running multiple plays out of similar looks. Lastly, their receivers are great at getting quick separation and great getting yards after the catch. The defensive game plan for Philly in the secondary should look quite different this week than it did last week. There isn't one receiver the Eagles can key on for Slay to take away. I'd bet Schwartz moves him around quite a bit but with Woods as the primary recipient of special attention. Slay looked every bit as good as you'd expect last week and that's a huge addition to this secondary. One area of concern I have for Philly is the middle of the defense. This Eagles LB group is among the worst in the NFL in coverage; McVay is going to look to attack that relentlessly all game long. He did the same thing to Dallas last week. It was encouraging to see Rodney McLeod bounce back after a poor 2019 as he was every bit as spry as he once was. The rest of the middle of this defense leaves a lot to be desired. Either way, this is a deeper Rams receiving room, with a creative play-caller, and a better passer than the Eagles just faced. There was a lot of good to take from the defensive performance last week but they face a significant test Sunday in the Rams.

Special thanks to MikeTysonChicken and abenyishay for their help in creating this Game Preview.

Update 3 - Advice about NICU Baby and Grandparents

So its been another 3 weeks since the last update, and there have been a few minor updates with all parties. The conversation with my uncle went much better than I expected at the beginning. We also had my SO's grandma reach out (possibly accidentally), and we just had a "visit" from my parents this morning. So to go back in chronological order, onto the Uncle conversation.
***** Start Conversation*****
My uncle had sent me a video on Facebook of a Valedictorian speech, where the main point was to make sure you have no regrets. One thing that was said in the video was to reconcile with people you have disrespected, so here are the responses since I received that video.
Me: I appreciate the point you're trying to make but I have no regrets. They forced my hand when they told me that they will never respect our wishes in regards to [Daughter] if they disagree. They also made it clear that they will always hold someone elses opinion on a situation they are only getting third-hand knowledge of in higher regard than mine. And instead of listening to me over months of trying to work with them, they would rather blame it on [Fiance], when he has been the one for years advocating for me to strengthen my relationship with them. I wanted to cut them off years ago after they kept trying to interfere in my life and move me back into their basement once I finished school.
Plus I don't believe they're actually this excited over the fact I had [Daughter], when they screamed at me when I told them I was pregnant and told me I fucked up my life and it would be better if I didn't have her. So keep in mind that the way they talk and interact with you is very different than how they talk and interact with me. I'm betting my dad hasn't told you that he needed to take medication so he would stop trying to physically attack me any time I disagreed with him. That's also the reason the bathroom door on the main floor got repainted - he had to patch the door after he "missed" punching me in the face and put a hole through the door instead. This decision has been a long time coming, and this was the final straw. I'm not going to put my daughters life in danger to appease them, and I'm not going to let her see them treat me like this and grow up thinking its normal or acceptable.
Uncle: Thank you for the update I know it is tough to navigate through life and its challenges. Hopefully one day you can forgive them. Adults can be so outspoken and set in their ways. I am very sorry that things have gone badly. I know you and [Fiance] will do a fine job of raising [Daughter]. Hoping that you can find some common ground with your mother and father. I know you both are frustrated with them, unfortunately posting to Facebook for the world to see has deeply hurt them. Your mother was upset and crying , your dad was also taken back, and hurt. Too bad there was not another way to have sent the message to them? But this is between you and them to work through. If you ever need someone to talk to, I am good listener. You have a beautiful baby And are blessed that she is getting healthier by the day. Take care
Me: Honestly, we have been trying to say that stuff to them for months and they refused to listen to it. For my whole life they have given personal information out about me that I was not okay with, and I had started getting messages from other family members about it which is why I put that message out. I was tired of being bombarded by other people who only got one side of the story when I need to be thinking about my daughter, and I dont really have the time or energy to be responding to everyone individually.
Like I said in the message, they forced my hand to get it to this point. They never once tried to see things from our point of view, it was always about their wants and demands. I tried to explain to them our decisions multiple times so they understood why we were saying things, and they would just ignore it and tell us we were being mean and purposely trying to exclude them, and that we were overreacting. When I tried to explain what the doctors told us, what other NICU parents with similar situations had recommended, and what studies have told us, they told me that they will never listen to anything from the computer, and the random person down the street who had a preemie 30 years ago has more "trustworthy" knowledge than we do. They then went on to accuse [Fiance] of controlling me and that I need to be safe because apparently I'm unsafe around him. If they didn't want this made "public", they should have thought of that before they made everything we went through with the NICU public and then had their coworkers start trying to harass me about it. They were the ones who made it public first.
I wanted nothing more than to have the support of my parents, but instead they chose to use this moment to attack us even further on every aspect of everything we went through from the start of my pregnancy, the whole time in the NICU, to now. But at this point, neither one of us trusts them, and after they accuse my [Fiance] and the father of my child of being abusive, I'm not really sure how they expect us to "come back from this", and honestly, why would I want to? [Fiance] will never want to be around them since they hold such a low opinion of him, and they obviously hold a low one of me too. Plus they obviously don't seem to care about [Daughter]'s well-being otherwise they wouldn't have fought everything we are doing to keep her safe. They have never once even apologized for their actions or even acknowledged they might be in the wrong - they have only ever blamed us and tried to browbeat us into doing what they wanted. They never once thought about how hard it was for us to have to make these decisions and be willing to deal with the consequences of them all in the name of keeping [Daughter] safe. And even if they apologized now, why would I think it was sincere rather than them just trying to get access to something they wanted, as they've made it clear all along that was their intention. I'm really am sorry that you had to be involved in this, because I would have much rather this situation not have gotten to this point, and I tried to avoid it at every turn, but eventually enough is enough.
They also didn't seem to realize just how many concessions we were making for them, from picking a place to live that was easier for them to get to, and get into. When they would come to visit, I would have to change [Daughter]'s schedule completely around so that she wasn't needing to feed or I wasn't pumping because it would make them uncomfortable. They also didn't seem to consider that when we had to take infant CPR, they should too, if they wanted to look after her. Or that the stress from all of this could and would drop my milk supply by half, which I am still having to try to recover 3 weeks later. Their choice to lash out at every opportunity causes real effects and for that they need to face real consequences because just talking to them doesn't seem to make a difference.
Uncle: Hopefully one day your parents will realize the error in their ways. I think they still think you are just a child in their eyes. But they need realize you are an adult and can make your own decisions. In time they will realize their errors and apologize. How they treat [Fiance], I think that they are overprotective parents. As parent you never stop caring and looking out for your children... sometimes almost smothering them. I know as a parent I am guilty of this......you care for kids and forget they are capable of making their own decisions. Blaming [Fiance] Maybe an easy out as they cannot control you. I know your dad can be stubborn and outspoken Very set in his ways Remember... he is old school -70 years old So hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I know your mom is Also set in her ways But more than willing to accept change. Hopefully at some point in time you can talk to one of them. They do love you It is not a sign of weakness To maybe meet for a coffee With one them? Set some ground rules You are adult and they need know and understand this. Hopefully they understand
Me: Yes, they 100% still view me as a child, and I think they always will. It makes their version of reality easier, but that doesn’t make it any more acceptable. We have gone out of our way for years to not point out hard truths to them, but enough is enough and we finally had it. We did blast them about their behaviour, and it wasn't pretty. It was a long time coming, and while yes, it did hurt them, they dont seem to comprehend how much their behaviour towards me over the years has hurt me and messed with my head. While I agree they have been overprotective, it has only been when it suited them.
I have been talking to them for years about how overbearing they are, and how they need to take a step back, but always brush it off. They tell me I'm exaggerating things, or imagining them. They always tell me how terrible I'm doing in life, and how I should be doing better, even though I've already got and done more than they had at my age. I know they are blaming [Fiance] as an easy out, but even though we have been together almost 10 years, they have barely ever bothered to even get to know him. The majority of the time they ignore him. A lot of the things they think they know about us is just their own projection. They think we are hermits who dont do anything, meanwhile we go out and do more things than they do, we just cant talk to them about it. Either its things my parents will talk badly about, or won't understand, so to save their ego's, we don't talk about it.
I agree that they both are very stubborn and set in their ways, but it also means that if they refuse to update or acknowledge that they might not know everything, then they are not safe for my daughter to be around. This 100% has become a battle with my parents ego's. They cannot accept that their daughter, who in their mind is still a child, has the audacity to know more, and expect them to follow her rules. While my mom says she's willing to accept change, she won't. She said she would follow our rules for [Daughter], and then at every opportunity broke them. While I do think that they love me, until they can set their ego's aside and not just try to browbeat me back into line, there is no feasible way for there to be a relationship. Not when they have also made it abundantly clear they expect me to be their retirement plan and caretaker. Even after [Daughter] was born, my mother told me their "helping us" was being given with strings so I would come help her for a few weeks to recover from her knee surgery. Even though I live in a different city, might be working, and have a fragile daughter now.
I am also well aware that if we somehow reconcile, and they keep up this behaviour, it will show my daughter that not only is this treatment acceptable for her, but it will also undermine me to her. She will not listen to anything I say if the grandparents go out of their way to "prove me wrong" and undermine me as well. Plus I don't trust that they wont try to treat her that way too.
Honestly, I can't do that. I can't take the risk of going out anywhere to bring any germs back to [Daughter]. If any of the 3 of us gets sick, it will result in [Daughter] being back in the hospital since she has no way to fight anything off. Until she is over 1 year of age, we have to isolate with her because any germ could kill her at this point. Once fall to spring comes, it is RSV season, and the majority of infant deaths from RSV are in preemies. We are not willing to take the risk of getting sick and passing it to her after we already had to watch her turn purple and be within seconds of death over 100 times. While I am not happy things turned out this way, I can't really see any other way for this to go. I have put the ball in their court every time, and its their own choices that have put them where they are now. Their chose their ego's and need for control over a relationship with their daughter and granddaughter.
Uncle: Hopefully at some point in time Both you and your parents can come to an agreement Life is too short Things can change in a heartbeat Just.my thoughts I will keep this between us..
Me: I agree, but again, the ball is in their court. I don't think that they will be willing to set aside their ego's and need for control on this, and unless they do, there is no way for us to move forward and have a relationship. While I appreciate you saying you'll keep this between us, I'm okay with you giving them the overview of all this. It isn't anything I haven't already said to them over the years - they have just refused to listen to it. But they do need to realize that there are consequences to their actions and things that they say. They don't just magically disappear from the other person.
I really am sorry that you had to get involved in this, and I'm sorry that they chose to use you as a mediator. I was well aware of the risks of me saying anything, and since I had already been alienated from most of the extended family, I didn't feel like there was much more to lose. I thought if they got some actual public shaming for their behaviour they might snap out of it and realize that they are being completely selfish asshats rather than just blaming the "snotty child with an attitude who isn't showing respect to her elders and is acting full of herself".
Uncle: I understand and It is fine that I am involved I just want you, [Fiance] and [Daughter] to have a relationship with your parents. I chose to get involved and they did not choose me to be a mediator, I know first hand how important it is to have a family. Your mom and dad do not know that I am discussing this with you, as they would be pissed at me. I hope we can keep between us?
Me: Of course. I would never want to jeopardize anyone elses relationship with my parents. I also know they need support from others as well. I just dont want them to speak badly of me to any more people without me getting to defend myself. I just feel like they have very unrealistic expectations in their mind for me. They are too self-conscious in their own lives and have always expected me to make up for it, and until they are willing to work on and correct those things, we are at a stalemate. We are both mourning the fact that as well as going through the hardest moment in our lives, we had to cut both of our families out in the last 6 months due to their behaviour. We didnt want to do this, but we also cant keep pretending they are people they very clearly arent. They were adding to our stress and making the situation worse when our tanks were already empty.
Uncle: I understand I think you are right Give it sometime apart They may come to their senses...
Me: I hope so but I wont hold my breath. Like you said, theyre stubborn haha Good luck with them, and hopefully this situation doesnt cause too much trouble for you. I appreciate you reaching out to me, and I'm glad they still have people to talk to.
Uncle: I will approach gingerly It will take some time But they will come around It is no problem at all We will chat soon
*****End conversation******
Then last week, I got a phone call from my SO's grandma. She is very much a JustYes, but as she is in her 80's, and in close contact with the rest of the family, we didn't want to risk ruining her connections with them by putting her in the middle. She is the only person we both wanted to reach out to during this whole time.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to the phone in time when she called, but she left a message stating she missed my call, but that she was glad I had reached out to her, and to call her back. We are unsure if she was confused on who called her, if she used that as an excuse to reach out, or if one of the robo dial scams happening locally used my number, as I did not reach out and call her. I waited for my SO to get up and showed it to him before responding (his family, his choice on response).
He decided to send her a text and some pictures of our daughter, saying "Hey, no we didn’t try to phone you. But "AshIzzyB" said there is a scam using local phone numbers, so be careful of that. Did want to reach out and text a few different times, but got spooked in general when the rest of the family hears about it instantly because there have been conflicts between us and my parents, specifically my mom, when she's tried to sabotage my relationship multiple times. She keeps trying to involve herself in my financial decisions which I feel deeply uncomfortable with given her abilities in that area. I have tried for a few years to get that point across that certain things were a no go, including having 3-4 conversations about it that last week saying not to, and she went ahead and "secretly" did it anyways. Going 6 months without their drama has proven to be a positive decision. Like I've said, I've wanted to reach out multiple times, but don’t want to spread more drama or make you uncomfortable around the rest of the family by putting you in the middle. Half of the extended family that she wants to bring near us are active drug addicts, so it makes it risky and uncomfortable for us to be around it. But I do trust you, and I do hope everything is going well for you, especially during COVID."
Unfortunately, the conversation didn't last very long, with short, one sentence responses from her. So far we havent heard anything from the rest of his extended family, so there's that. Either she hasn't told them, or she has and they have just chose to not reach out again.
As for this morning, at 9am, as my SO was looking after my daughter, and I was finishing making breakfast, our doorbell started ringing like crazy. Since we were not expecting any person or package to show up, we both were a little surprised but didn't bother to open the door. Then my phone started ringing using the ringtone I had set for my mother. I went to check it, and I had messages saying "Another gift for [Daughter], check your doorstep".
I waited about 20 minutes to make sure they were gone, and then peeked through the blinds to see if their vehicle was still there. When it was confirmed they were gone, I went to go grab the gift. It was a "personalized" photo frame from one of her coworkers that had my daughters name, and birthdate and time on it. It also had a stock picture of some random baby, and a phrase on it, that made me irrationally angry. It said "From the moment you were placed into my arms, you were always in my heart". While I understand that the phrase was probably chosen from a bunch of pre-selected common phrases for parents, this one was just like another slap in the face to me. I had to wait 2 weeks to be able to hold my daughter, so that phrase just reminds me of one of the "first" moments of my daughters life that I did not get to have. And when I did get to hold her, I had to ask permission to be able to.
Frame aside, I am angry about this visit. The fact we havent spoken in 6 weeks, and the first attempt at contact is the day after my mom's birthday, which I didn’t acknowledge this year. The fact that the visit was most likely planned to be an ambush when they expected me to open the door. The fact that the only reason for this visit was so that they would look okay to their coworker, as the "gift was delivered". The fact there was no attempt at a reconcilliation or apology.
While I am happy that my uncle is on my side, I am disappointed in both of our families.
Our daughter though, is doing fantastic. She has already rolled over stomach to back 3 times, she has started to suck her thumb/eat her hands and drool. If we hold her around her ribs, she is already trying to stand and walk, and if we move with her, she can "walk" a 20 foot distance in one go. If she has something to lean against, she can sit upright without us holding her in place. She is also already starting to talk to us, making vowel and consonant sounds, and even stringing some together like mini words or phrases. She is also able to hold and shake a rattle, although she's still working on being able to aim to grab it. Her eyes were also recently checked, and they are perfect. No Retina of Prematurity for her either.

Look for at least a five-point differential between the point spread and the predicted line before making a wager. In this case, you would wager on the Lions if they were favored by 8.5 or fewer points, while the Falcons would be a play if Detroit was favored by 19 or more points. Week 1 betting line, odds and preview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit to the… 1 month ago Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans betting line, odds and preview Betting on the Money Line. Betting on moneyline is the most common way to bet on a game in America, and it involves the entire game. There is no such thing as a drawn game, and that counts when it comes to gambling too. If you are looking to bet in the traditional American style then this is the market for you. Betting on sports gives you a ton of options. Everyone has their own ideas and approaches and preferences. Wager types will vary by person. And yet, no two bets are more popular than the moneyline and point spread.They are the wagers both newbies and pros use, staples that are easy to understand because they deal with the outcomes of straight events or, in some cases, future bets. In the example above between the Cowboys and Giants, the point spread is 4.5 points, while the odds are -110, meaning you would have to wager $110 to earn a profit of $100, or a profit of $0.91 for every dollar you bet. A losing bet is quite simply you betting on the Cowboys -4.5 and they only win by four.

When to Bet on the Run Line Instead of Money Line in MLB Baseball? The Sports Betting Whale Answers

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When to Bet on the Run Line Instead of Money Line in MLB Baseball? The Sports Betting Whale Answers