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09/07/2010 -
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Dallas Clark knows there is no such thing as a perfect game or a perfect season in the NFL.
The goal is to keep improving, no matter what the record-breaking stats suggest.
So after posting the two best seasons ever by a Colts tight end, back-to-back, Clark has returned to Indy to chase perfection.
``I'm doing the same thing that I've been doing the last seven years,'' Clark said during the offseason. ``I come to work, and I don't want to become complacent. I'm not trying to focus on what I did last year. Each year, whether it's bad or good, you have to look at it as a fresh start.''
Clark was so busy working out Monday that he didn't even have time to answer questions in the locker room.
But starting over isn't exactly what the Colts have in mind for the new dad.
Almost from the moment Indy drafted Clark with the 24th overall pick in 2003, Peyton Manning & Co. could see how valuable Clark could be in this high-scoring offense.
He's fast enough to burn defenses daring to cover him with a linebacker, agile enough to make circus catches, and shifty enough to fake out anyone measuring him up for big hits. It's a rare combination for a 252-pound guy, which is also why Clark is among the NFL's best tight ends.
Since signing a six-year, $36 million contract in 2008, Clark has proven to be worth every penny.
Over the last two seasons, he has 177 receptions, produced the first 1,000-yard season of his career, become the second tight end in NFL history to haul in 100 catches in a season, and, yes, even earned that elusive first Pro Bowl trip. His numbers broke the franchise records John Mackey set in the '60s.
Clark played a key role in the Colts' Super Bowl run in 2006, and his versatility to split out as a receiver and create mismatches is one of the reasons Indy is so proficient in the no-huddle offense.
Not bad for a former college walk-on who needed seasons to learn all of the nuances of Indy's offense. His new job is to teach the rest of his four-man gang his old tricks.
``He's one of the best, if not the best, in the league,'' backup tight end Jacob Tamme said Monday. ``Our offense gives the tight end a chance to do some things, and that's been really instrumental in what he's done and what we've done.''
Clearly, the Colts are loaded in the passing game.
Manning, the only four-time MVP in league history, will spend this season distributing the ball to perhaps the most talented receiving corps he's ever had. There's Clark and Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne, emerging contributors in Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon and former first-round pick Anthony Gonzalez.
Add Tamme and rookie Brody Eldridge to the mix, and the toughest job for the Colts might be keeping everyone happy.
``All I wanted was what was promised to me,'' Gonzalez said Monday when asked about the competition for the No. 2 receiver's job. ``Whether a job is open, whether there's a competition is something that is determined by the coaches, not by the players.''
The only other real question is health.
Gonzalez lost his job as Wayne's complementary receiver after going down with a season-ending injury in the first quarter of last season's season-opener. He pulled a hamstring in the offseason but now says he's healthy heading into Sunday's opener at Houston.
Clark, however, missed the entire preseason because of an undisclosed upper left leg injury. That left most of the snaps to Tamme, a three-year veteran, and Eldridge, who is considered more of a blocking tight end than a Clark clone.
Colts coach Jim Caldwell hasn't said whether Clark will start against the Texans, but Clark practiced Monday and has ``guaranteed'' he will be on the field this weekend.
So what does Clark have planned for an encore?
Stay tuned.
``That's the beauty of football. There's no such thing as a perfect game,'' he said. ``You can never relax, you're always trying to stay on top of your game.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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