Philly Special? Don’t expect Brady to bring it up to Foles
Philly Special.
OK, we got that out of the way. Now don’t expect Tom Brady to bring it up if he chats with Nick Foles before Tampa Bay’s gamewith Chicago on Thursday night.
Of course, Brady now works for the Buccaneers, not the Patriots who lost to Foles — nowa Bear, then an Eagle — for the 2017 NFL title in great part because Foles caught a short pass from tight end Trey Burton for a touchdown. That trick play has become legend in Philadelphia, taboo in New England.
Still, it’s fun to look back at it for most folks, if not for Brady who, coincidentally, dropped a pass in that Super Bowl.
Neither quarterback figures to be running any pass routes in this matchup. The Bucs are plenty happy with their six-timeNFL champion standing in the pocket and picking apart defenses, and they havewon three in a row. The Bears benched Mitchell Trubisky for Foles despite being 3-0; the QB wasn’t enough of a contributor to that start to keep his job.
Enter Foles, whose Bears lost to Indianapolis on Sunday. Look for Foles to grow into the job and to be given time by coachMatt Nagy to help awaken the offense.
“I talked this morning a little bit about calibrating us asanoffense, Nickas a quarterback getting calibrated, myself with him getting calibrated in regards to working through this process,” Nagy said earlier this week. “We’ve got togetonthat and roll. It’s time.”
Or not. Chicago, ranked 15th in the AP Pro32, is a 5 1-2 point underdog to No. 9 Tampa Bay.
Buccaneers, 26-22
Knockout pool: Add the Rams to the Bills, Packers andColtswhocame through for us. Now, we turn to the RAVENS.
Around the league
NO. 21 LOSANGELES CHARGERS (PLUS 7 1-2) ATNO. 11NEWORLEANS, MONDAYNIGHT
The Saints are struggling defensively, but this could be a turning point.
Best bet: Saints, 30-16 NO. 12 INDIANAPOLIS (MINUS 2½) ATNO. 13 CLEVELAND
A sad shape of affairs when Pro Picks looks to the Browns to finally hit an ...
Upset special: Browns, 28-27
NO. 27 JACKSONVILLE (PLUS 6) ATNO. 30 HOUSTON
A new coach in Houston couldmake a difference.
Texans, 26-17 NO. 23 CINCINNATI (PLUS 12 1-2) ATNO. 5 BALTIMORE
Really like what Joe Burrow is showing, but this is too big an ask this soon.
Ravens, 35-20 NO. 20PHILADELPHIA (PLUS 7) ATNO. 6 PITTSBURGH
Pro Picks loves the Eagles’ grit. We love the Steelers’ talent and freshness more.
Steelers, 30-17 NO. 17 ARIZONA (MINUS 6½) AT NO. 32 NEWYORK JETS
Whenthe Jetswent 1-15 in 1996, the only win was over Arizona. Not in 2020.
Cardinals, 26-16 NO. 18CAROLINA (PLUS 3) ATNO. 29ATLANTA
A loss here and Dan Quinn could be the second coach fired this season.
PANTHERS, 22-20 NO. 22MINNESOTA (PLUS 7) ATNO. 2SEATTLE
The Seahawks are letting lesser teams stay close to them, so ...
Seahawks, 30-24 NO. 16LAS VEGAS (PLUS 12 1-2) ATNO. 1 KANSAS CITY
The Chiefs let the Patriots stay close. Jon Gruden’s bunch, with COVID-19 issues, pays for that.
Chiefs, 40-20 NO. 31NEWYORKGIANTS (PLUS 9 1-2) ATNO. 19 DALLAS
The Cowboys are going to play like the Cowboys soon, right? Ormaybe they already are.
Cowboys, 31-20 NO. 8 LOSANGELES RAMS (MINUS 9) ATNO. 26 WASHINGTON
The Rams make their third East Coast trip already.
Rams, 25-14
NO. 28 DENVER (OFF) AT
NO. 10NEWENGLAND
COVID-19 concerns with the Patriots caused no line here.
Patriots, 20-6 NO. 4 BUFFALO (OFF) AT NO. 7 TENNESSEE
If this game is played after continuing outbreak of coronavirus in Tennessee, we’ll go with ...
Bills, 21-20 NO. 24 MIAMI (OFF) ATNO. 14SANFRANCISCO
49ers’ injury concerns forced dropping a spread here. Regardless ...
49ers, 22-17
2020 record
• This Week: Straight up: 10-5. Against spread: 5-9-1
• Season: Straight up: 4022-1. Against spread: 33-27-2
• Best Bet: Straight up: 3-1. Against spread: 2-2
• Upset Special: Straight up: 0- 4. Against spread: 0-3-1