INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Suddenly
Zach
Brown Jersey , the Indianapolis Colts are creating a buzz around
town.one of the league’s top
defenses, stymied two of the league’s premier receivers in back-to-back weeks
and ended Houston’s nine-game win streak and Dallas’ five-game win
streak.Earning victories in their last two games could send the Colts back to
the playoffs for the first time in four years and they could be a difficult
matchup in the postseason, if they make it.“I can absolutely feel a significant
difference in the last few weeks compared to the beginning of the year,” coach
Frank Reich said when asked about the atmosphere around town.“Not that I get out
very much because I don’t, but the little bit I do, the Starbucks in the morning
or wherever it may be on a Friday night for dinner with my wife. You can feel
the excitement by the fans and it’s exciting for all of us here in the building.
It’s fun to see.”It’s been a long time coming for a team that seemed like an
annual postseason lock for a 15-year span starting in 1999.When the Colts went
8-8 and missed the playoffs in 2015, fans largely considered it an aberration
because Andrew Luck missed nine games with injuries.Luck returned in 2016, but
when the Colts again finished 8-8 and missed out, the debate changed. Many
wondered if the team needed a fresh start and team owner Jim Irsay responded by
firing general manager Ryan Grigson.Then with Luck missing all of last season to
recuperate from surgery on his throwing shoulder, the Colts staggered to a 4-12
mark, missed the playoffs for the third straight year and coach Chuck Pagano was
fired.Many outsiders figured the Colts needed a major overhaul
Devin
Bush Jersey , a perception that was reinforced by Josh McDaniels’
decision to back out of a deal to become Indy’s new head coach shortly after New
England’s Super Bowl loss, Luck’s lingering rehab and Indy’s 1-5 start this
season.But general manager Chris Ballard and Reich, Indy’s second choice as
coach, have put together a winning combination by staying the course.The
balanced offense Grigson and Pagano craved for so long finally materialized
after Indy (8-6) found two key solutions to its offensive line woes in the draft
— left guard Quenton Nelson and right tackle Braden Smith. Luck benefited by
turning in the best season of his career and the Colts have overcome injuries to
win seven of their past eight.“A good leader will get guys to do what he wants
them to do and believe in themselves whether you’re 1-5 or 7-1 through the last
eight games,” offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said Tuesday.“It’s obviously
his leadership abilities and then Frank being an example of what we want players
to be. What I mean by that, is that we want players to be the same guy every
single day. … Frank definitely does that because he is the same guy every
day.”The defense might be the biggest surprise.After years of languishing near
the bottom of the league rankings, first-year coordinator Matt Eberflus has
worked wonders.Originally hired by McDaniels and inherited by Reich, with a
strong recommendation from Ballard, the Colts made Pro Bowl receivers Amari
Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins look ordinary the past two weeks while holding NFL
rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott to 87 yards rushing and pitching their first
shutout in more than four years on Sunday.They’ve consistently put pressure on
quarterbacks, forced turnovers and against the Cowboys delivered big play after
big play with a simple philosophy — run to the ball.“Hustle is a learned skill,”
Eberflus said. “It is the coach’s job to stay on it with the player to give him
the feedback on every single play. That starts way back in OTAs (offseason team
activities
http://www.steelerscheapauthenticstore.com/diontae-johnson-jersey-cheap ,
all the way through minicamp and then through training camp every single
play.”Now comes the hard part — finishing strong.A victory over the struggling
Giants, coupled with a loss by either Pittsburgh or Baltimore this weekend,
would give the Colts control of their destiny in the season finale at Tennessee
(8-6), a team Luck has never lost to as a starter.It’s enough to get everybody
outside the locker room talking about potential playoff matchups for the first
time in four years.“We’re playing great football,” receiver T.Y. Hilton said
after Indy’s most recent victory. “Right now, you’re either the train or you’re
on the tracks. Right now, we’re rolling, so you better get on the train.”Notes:
Indy put starting defensive tackle Al Woods (foot) and backup linebacker Skai
Moore on injured reserve Tuesday. Safety J.J. Wilcox was signed to the active
roster, taking the spot of Woods. Former Indiana University star linebacker
Tegray Scales was added to the practice squad. Atlantic City and southern New
Jersey have always been Philadelphia Eagles country.
And with the local team in the Super Bowl, the seaside gambling resort can
only dream of the extra millions of dollars it might have taken in had it been
able to offer sports betting.
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide New Jersey’s challenge to a law banning
sports betting in all but four states later this year.
But the decision won’t come in time to make up for the business Atlantic City
thinks it would have gotten from die-hard Eagles fans, as well as casual
fans Justin
Layne Jersey , looking to bet on the Eagles-Patriots championship
game on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis.
Tropicana president (and lifelong Eagles fan) Tony Rodio said sports betting
would generate a lot of new business for Atlantic City.
”The northeast corridor is a giant sports betting market,” he said. ”If you
take the Eagles and put them into the mix, I just can’t even imagine how big
that would be. It would take it to a whole new level.”
Alas, that is not to be, at least this season. The Supreme Court ruling might
not come until June. Legal analysts predict New Jersey has a decent chance of
winning the case with a ruling that would permit sports betting in the state or
across the nation.
Sports betting would be offered at Atlantic City’s casinos and the state’s
horse racing tracks.
City Councilman Marty Small, an Eagles season-ticket holder who organizes an
annual flight to see an Eagles road game, said Eagles fans would have booked
every available hotel room in the city weeks ago in anticipation of watching –
and betting on – their team in Atlantic City.
”We would have been totally sold out by now, the whole city,” he said. ”Super
Bowl Sunday is the biggest party day of the year, and people would have come
from near and far to claim Atlantic City as their party place. We’re missing a
golden opportunity this year.”
This year, casinos in Las Vegas expect betting on the Super Bowl to surpass
last year’s record of $138.5 million.
Drew Leonard http://www.steelerscheapauthenticstore.com/benny-snell-jr.-jersey-cheap ,
lifelong Eagles fan from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who grew up in southern New
Jersey and used to visit Atlantic City twice a month, said he would go to the
resort to bet a few hundred dollars on the Eagles, if it were legal.
”Anything that would bring in more people and business would definitely
help,” he said, predicting Philadelphia will beat New England by a
touchdown.
Of course, if sports betting were legal, a sizeable number of people would be
expected to come to Atlantic City to place bets regardless of which two teams
were playing in it.
Kevin Ortzman, regional president of Caesars Entertainment, which owns three
of Atlantic City’s seven casinos Zach
Gentry Jersey , said the northeastern U.S. ”is probably the biggest
driver of sports betting,” noting that there are hard-core sports fans who would
come to Atlantic City to bet on football, even if it involved the Cleveland
Browns.
But the presence of the local market-favorite Eagles would have added some
”extreme excitement and vibe” to the game, he said.
Even without sports betting, Atlantic City casinos are trying to cash in on
Eagles mania. The Caesars Entertainment casinos (Harrah’s Bally’s and Caesars)
are considering bringing in retired Eagles players to meet and greet
customers.
The Tropicana is using green lights to illuminate two indoor fountains, and
all last weekend, it sprinkled the recorded sound of an eagle screech from time
to time into the overhead music playing in the casino.
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