[sadman055]

Monday's winner ...


300♦ PITTSBURGH STEELERS - Alright, first of all, to all those who have other handicappers telling you to buy a half-point on this game, the line has been 2-1/2 since kickoff of the Cowboys-Eagles game, so I am not going to bother spending more juice ... we know the line we're looking for. Now, if your book goes back to -3, by all means ... get it back down to 2-1/2.

And here's why ...

I want you to take a look at the Broncos' 6-1 season for a moment:

They opened with a LCUKY win against Cincinnati and followed that with a pasting of the lowly Browns (heck, UNLV could challenge the Browns). Then it was a win over another hapless team, the Raiders, before Denver pulled out hard-fought wins over Dallas and New England. There was an impressive win at San Diego, I'll give them that, and then it was a bye week.

That bye week might have cost this team.

All the momentum went out the window with that bye week, while it gave Baltimore time to study and later exploit Denver's imperfections. But it revealed something else.

Go back to the list of wins by the Broncos ... the lucky win against a Cincy team that has beaten the Ravens twice and the Steelers once. Toss in the loss to the Ravens, and do you notice that Denver has had trouble scoring against physical-like AFC North teams?

This is too noticeable a problem to overlook, and with the Steelers having their bye week to prepare for Denver - not to mention dissect the game film from last week's Ravens destruction of this Broncos team - I have to believe the defending champs are treating tonight as a must-win situation on national television, and before hosting the Bengals next week.

The Steelers are simply too physical up front, and I don't trust the trio of Orton, Moreno and Buckhalter against the No. 1 rushing defense. I realize the Broncos have the No. 1 overall stop unit, but that didn't mean squat against the Ravens last week. Besides, Pittsburgh is bringing the fifth-best overall offense in the league, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, whose 294.6 yards per game rank fourth in the league heading into tonight.

Sorry Denver fans, but you're looking at a second-straight loss before getting back to your winning ways next week in Washington. Lay the road chalk tonight.

[yisman]

Chris Jordan Free play
Last night the Hornets were shelled by the Lakers.

Tonight they'll turn the tables and serve a beat down of their own, as they should have no trouble with the injury-plagued Clippers.

Second-year guard Eric Godon is suffering from a sore left groin, which adds him to the list of players nursing injuries. And since he's listed as doubtful for tonight's game against Chris Paul and the Hornets, this is the biggest reason I think the wrong team is favored.

Facing Paul was going to be a tough task for the Clippers anyway, but now they have to do it sans one of their best defensive players and second-leading scorer. Already missing is top-darft pick Blake Griffin, who is out indefinitely with a bum knee.

The Hornets have covered Nine straight meetings, so there's no reason to believe they cannot bounce back to make it 10 straight and avenge last night's loss to the other team from L.A.
3♦ NEW ORLEANS HORNETS