Denver Broncos (4-4) at Cleveland Browns (3-5)

GAME INFO
Thursday November 6, 2008
Time: 8:15 P.M.
Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
TV: ESPN
Weather: 50 degrees, clear, winds 5-10 mph 15% chance of rain (a/o 11/4)

SPREAD
Denver (+3) Under/Over 46

The Denver Broncos are 1-6-1 against the spread (ATS). They are 1-2 playing away ATS.

The Cleveland Browns are 5-3-0 against the spread and 2-2 at home ATS.

TEAM STANDINGS

The Denver Broncos (4-4) are tied for first place with the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South. They are followed by the Houston Texans (3-5)and the Jacksonville Jaquars (3-5).
They have scored 190 points (a little more than 23 points per game) but given up 221 points (more than 27 points per game).
The Broncos are 1-2 on the Road, 2-1 in the division and 2-4 in the conference
The Cleveland Browns (3-5) are in 3rd place in the AFC.  They trail the conference leaders Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) and the Baltimore Ravens (5-3). The Lowly Cincinnati Bengals take up the rear (1-8).
The Browns have scored only 142 points in 8 games (17 points per game) and have given up 160, which is exactly (20 points per game).
The Browns are 1-3 at home, 1-3 in the division and 2-3 in their conference.

KEY INJURIES (a/o 11/4)
Denver Broncos
OUT:
Wide Receiver Joe Jurevicius (knee)

PROBABLE:
Defensive Tackle Corey Williams (shoulder)
Defensive Tackle Shaun Smith (hand)
Free Safety Sean Jones (knee)
Safety Mike Adams (hamstring)

Cleveland Browns
INJURED RESERVE
Andre Hall (hand) and Michael Pittman (neck)

QUESTIONABLE:
Running Back Selvin Young (groin)

PROBABLE:
Wide Receiver Brandon Stokley (groin)

KEYS TO THE GAME:
Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson has been benched for Thursday’s game and will be replaced by backup Brady Quinn.  This change can swing the momentum in the Browns favorite because he is a fan favorite. The ex-Notre Dame quarterback has thrown just 8 passes in 2 seasons. Anderson, who threw 29 touchdown passes last year also made the Pro Bowl – and in less than one year he has lost his job.

A key factor for the Denver Broncos is wide receiver Joe Jurevicius is Out.
Weather should not be factor, the forecast is calling for 5 – 10 mph winds and no clouds

PICK PREDICTION: Cleveland Browns 21 Denver Broncos 20

It looks like Barack Obama can rest assured, he will win the election.  WHAT!
That’s righ!, based on the RedSkin Rule, he will be the next president of the United States.

What is the “Redskin Rule” you might ask?

The “Redskin Rule” is using the Washington Redskins football team to predict a new president.  And it’s accuracy is between 94% and 100% – depending how you apply it.

Every time the Redskins WIN their final HOME game before a presidential  election, the incumbent party’s presidential candidate loses.  So, the incumbent party is the Republican party and John McCain is their candidate.  It has worked 16 out of the last 17 elections.

The Redskins lost their last home game before the election, last night against the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-6.

This fun statistic first came up in 2000, when Steve Hirdt, executive vice president of the Elias Sports Bureau, was looking for some unique conversation for a game between the Washington Redskins and the Tennessee Titans, right before the 2000 election.

Steve went back over the NFL statistics, all the way back to 1940.  However the rule backfired in the 1948 election, when the now famous Newpaper headline, when Harry Truman (Republican) defeated Thomas Dewey (Democrat). That game was played between the Redskins and the Boston Yanks (wow! there’s two words I never thought I would see together).

According to an article written by Tim Lemke of the Washington Post, the “Redskin Rule”, it is worth pointing out, was tweaked after the controversial election of 2000, when George W. Bush topped Al Gore despite losing the popular vote.

References to other dimensions aside, Hirdt said he enjoys touting the Redskins Rule because the team is not required to support the same political party each election. It is a politically unbiased phenomenon that has stood the test of time, though it is worth pointing out the rule was tweaked after the controversial election of 2000, when George W. Bush topped Al Gore despite losing the popular vote.

In 2004, the Redskins lost to the Packers 28-14, suggesting Bush should have lost to John Kerry. Hirdt changed the way the rule is applied to have it refer to the previous winner of the popular vote, not the electoral vote.

“Scientists are always studying data and coming up with different conclusions,” Hirdt rationalized. “After 2004, because Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000, we tweaked the precision of how the Redskins Rule is applied.”

Is that cheating? Perhaps, but keep in mind that this is a rule that was discovered only during efforts to help fill the airwaves during a football game.

Who would have thunk it!