Carolina Panthers 2010 Training Camp Preview
Football Betting Lines
07/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
REPORT DATE: July 28th
SITE: Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC
CAMP OBJECTIVES: For the first time since Rodney Peete and Jake Delhomme duked it out for starting duties in 2003 (Peete actually won the job, before being replaced by Delhomme in the second half of Week 1), the Panthers enter training camp with something of a quarterback battle on their hands. Matt Moore is nominally the starter after playing well down the stretch in 2009, but Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame) wasn't drafted in the second round to be a long-term backup and could push John Fox's hand if he performs capably. Who the quarterbacks will throw to is also subject to debate, as the disappointing Dwayne Jarrett and rookies Brandon LaFell (LSU) and Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State) look like the best options to offset Steve Smith. In spite of those concerns, defense could be the bigger conundrum for Fox heading into camp. Julius Peppers is gone and linebacker Thomas Davis is out for the year with a knee injury, among several other changes. A rotation at end, led by Charles Johnson and Tyler Brayton, is planned. At linebacker, Jon Beason has moved to the weak side to replace Davis and former Penn State star Dan Connor has emerged in the middle. Among the other question marks is second-year free safety Sherrod Martin, who must prove he can handle the workload.
PRESEASON SCHEDULE:
Aug 12 - at Baltimore, 8:00 PM Aug 21 - vs. NY Jets, 8:00 PM Aug 28 - vs. Tennessee, 8:00 PM Sep 2 - at Pittsburgh, 7:30 PM
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 28th (Rookies), July 30th (Veterans) SITE: Russell Training Center, Earth City, MO CAMP OBJECTIVES: Though the work of quarterbacks A.J. Feeley and Sam Bradford (once he signs) will be the highest-pr
<< Washington Redskins 2010 Training Camp Preview
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REPORT DATE: July 29th
SITE: Redskins Park, Ashburn, VA
CAMP OBJECTIVES: Expectations are extremely high for the Redskins in 2010, but
the degree of personnel and staff turnover this team faced in the offseason
makes
<< New Orleans Saints 2010 Training Camp Preview
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REPORT DATE: July 29th
SITE: Saints Training Facility, Metairie, LA
CAMP OBJECTIVES: The defending Super Bowl champs have very few pressing
questions on the offensive side of the ball, with the work of soon-to-be
acq
<< Seattle Seahawks 2010 Training Camp Preview
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REPORT DATES: July 29th (Rookies), July 30th (Veterans)
SITE: Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Renton, WA
CAMP OBJECTIVES: The first training camp of the Pete Carroll era in Seattle
will have to follow an aggressive ag
<< Minnesota Vikings 2010 Training Camp Preview
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REPORT DATE: July 30th
SITE: Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN
CAMP OBJECTIVES: All other stories in Vikings camp figure to be overshadowed by
the Brett Favre drama, which is exactly the way the venerable 40-yea
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - REPORT DATE: July 30th SITE: St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI CAMP OBJECTIVES: The Packers should have the luxury of dealing with a relatively drama-free camp, as the team had very few personnel changes in the offsea
Detroit Lions 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
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REPORT DATE: July 30th
SITE: Detroit Lions Training Facility, Allen Park, MI
CAMP OBJECTIVES: Jim Schwartz knows that if the Lions are to take a step
forward after going 2-30 over the past two seasons, the effort will
New York Giants 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
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REPORT DATE: Aug. 1st
SITE: University at Albany, Albany, NY
CAMP OBJECTIVES: Though it's offense that sells tickets, the side of the ball
that everyone wants to talk about with respect to the Giants is defense. The
Atlanta Falcons 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
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REPORT DATE: July 29th
SITE: Atlanta Falcons Training Facility, Flowery Branch, GA
CAMP OBJECTIVES: The Falcons don't have a lot of high-profile position battles
as they enter camp, but the look of the team in the tre
Philadelphia Eagles 2010 Training Camp Preview >>
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REPORT DATES: July 26th (Rookies), July 29th (Veterans)
SITE: Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
CAMP OBJECTIVES: Kevin Kolb might play two series in the Eagles' preseason
opener against the Jaguars on Aug. 13th. If he
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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