2009 CFL Western Preview - British Columbia Lions

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06/23/2009 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2008 Record - 12-8. Playoff Result: Lost, 22-18, to Calgary in divison finals. Stadium - B.C. Place. Capacity - 29,706. Colors - Orange, black and silver

Last season, had the Lions been playing in the East Division of the CFL they would have been tied for first place with Montreal, thanks to a points total that numbered 22. Instead, BC was third in the tougher West Division, the only team among the four with a losing record against the rest of its members.

This year general manager and head coach Wally Buono is hoping to move his squad up the totem pole and give it a better shot at postseason glory. The Lions' all-time leader in wins with 74, Buono has gotten his group into the postseason in each of the last six years and into the Grey Cup tilt in 2006, but the three-time CFL Coach of the Year still has something to prove.

Guiding the British Columbia offense in 2009 is Buck Pierce, the quarterback now entering his fifth season out of New Mexico State University. Pierce had his most successful season thus far in 2008 when he completed better than 64 percent of his pass attempts for 3,018 yards and 19 touchdowns. Much more a part of the offense a season ago, Pierce still has some kinks to work out after tossing nine interceptions.

Former Notre Dame product Jarious Jackson provides a dual threat for the Lions because he can both pass (2,164 yards and 17 TDs last season) and run (362 yards) to keep defenses off balance and give the BC offense a different look from time to time.

Not to be completely overlooked is second-year man Zac Champion, someone who could easily step in and make throws in a pinch for the Lions.

Wideout Terence Scott should be one of the go-to guys on the outside for Pierce, even though he is in his first year and has signed on as a free agent. O'Neil Wilson showed huge promise in just his third season back in 2006 when he played for Montreal, catching 92 balls for 1,056 yards and yet he failed to take any one of those into the end zone. A drop-off in production the last couple of seasons means he is due to bounce back.

At running back, Ian Smart figures to be the man getting most of the carries, considering how the depth chart is beginning to shape up with some other inexperienced runners. The knock on Smart is that he is prone to putting the ball on the turf, something he did seven times on just 32 carries two seasons ago. On average, Smart has dropped the ball, literally, once out of every five attempts, something that doesn't exactly make him the most reliable guy on the roster.

Even though he was not the primary ball carrier while at Iowa the last few years, being a part of that run-happy Hawkeyes group means that Damian Sims knows what it takes to be productive and that translates into him getting a chance to show what he has for the Lions.

During training camp, the defense, specifically lineman Gary Butler, didn't exactly seem to be rolling along with the program and was instead rolling with the punches against fullback Rolly Lumbala during drills.

Perhaps the biggest problem facing the Lions is finding a replacement for Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Wake, who after logging an astounding 23 sacks, headed to the Miami Dolphins and the NFL.

Just as bad, BC also saw three key linebackers fall off the roster in Jamall Johnson, Jason Pottinger and Otis Floyd, which means the unit in the middle is having to regroup before they get too deep into the schedule.

Former Saskatchewan linebacker Anton Mackenzie was picked up to try and fill the void, but that still leaves some huge gaps that need filling. Defensive end Nautyn McKay-Loescher was brought in to hopefully ease the pain of losing Wake, but that won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

Some inexperience and growing pains on both sides of the ball will probably keep the Lions from reaching their full potential in 2009, and that in turn will have them struggling in the division yet again. Will it keep British Columbia out of the playoffs? We shall see.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Finish: Fourth

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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