First Call: Steelers-Ravens line jumps, Bud Dupree on perfect record chase vs. Super Bowl, Antonio Brown evolving with Bucs
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Tuesday’s “First Call” looks at shifting gambling lines for the Steelers-Ravens game. Bud Dupree on the topic of a potential 16-0 Steelers season. A rare quiet game for Aaron Donald. And Antonio Brown gets stats with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Opening up
The gambling line for the Steelers-Ravens game opened up with the Steelers as a three-point favorite. That was according to BetOnline.Ag.
But the line jumped to 4.5 with news of the Ravens’ coronavirus situation.
Running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram both tested positive on Monday, so they won’t play in the division showdown Thursday night.
Shortly before the news came out, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had just spent a great deal of time praising Dobbins in his press conference Monday afternoon.
“It’s obvious that he is their featured runner now,” Tomlin said. “He’s got some breakaway speed that needs to be contended with. He had a significant game against us last time.”
Dobbins had 15 carries for 113 yards against the Steelers earlier this season.
Bud on the big picture
Bud Dupree appeared on a podcast with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt Monday.
Van Pelt asked the Steelers linebacker if the quest for 16-0 is starting to become a topic for the team.
“A perfect record is to win the Super Bowl,” Dupree said.
Van Pelt followed up by asking if the big picture of winning the Super Bowl is more important than chasing a perfect regular season.
“Way more important,” Dupree continued. “Say for instance, what if Coach Tomlin makes a coaching decision, and we are undefeated by the end of the season? And he takes the starters out and we lose a game … People are going to be saying, ‘Well, they aren’t undefeated.’ But would it change your mind if we went on to win the Super Bowl?”
Van Pelt pressed by asking how Dupree would react if Tomlin made that decision, deeming that rest makes more sense than chasing a perfect season.
“Definitely,” Dupree said with a laugh. “Me personally … I’m in a contract year!
“You’ve just got to dial in and know that the better you play as a team and an individual, that’s going to keep adding up.”
A.B. on MNF
It took only three games as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer before Antonio Brown became Tom Brady’s most targeted wide receiver.
The former Steeler led the Bucs in targets (13) and receptions (8) during his team’s “Monday Night Football” loss to the Los Angeles Rams, 27-24.
But the catches still weren’t very impactful as A.B. only yielded 57 yards on the night — also a team high. Brady threw the ball 48 times, to the tune of 4.5 yards per throw.
Brown also failed to come up with a deep ball in the second half of the game that was just barely off his fingertips.
Let’s just say we’ve seen him come up with that kind of catch before.
The Bucs’ loss drops them to 7-4, second place in the NFC South. The Rams are 7-3, tied atop the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks.
Where was he?
Here’s something you don’t see every day. Rams standout defensive lineman Aaron Donald was blanked on the stat sheet in that game.
The former Pitt star didn’t have a sack, tackle or QB hit. One of the Bucs offensive linemen responsible for blocking him on the other side of the line of scrimmage was former Penn State and Moon Area High School star A.Q. Shipley.
However, Shipley injured a shoulder late in the game.
Taking notice
College hockey is working its way back to the ice during the pandemic.
One of the schools that has begun playing is Robert Morris. The Colonials got off to a good start, sweeping Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday (5-2) and Sunday (4-3). Those results got RMU a few votes in the weekly polls.
This week their 32 votes in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll trails only St. Cloud St. (52) for programs outside the Top 20.
The Colonials also received eight votes in the latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll, which is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association.
RMU hosts Canisius on Friday and Saturday to open conference play in Atlantic Hockey. Then they have another out-of-conference game against Bowling Green on Tuesday, Dec. 1.