Monday, May 21st, 2012
The Pittsburgh Steelers will hit the highway for an NFL preseason week four pro football game against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night.
Kickoff time from Carolina is slated for 8PM Eastern Time with tape delayed national television coverage provided by the NFL Network.
The point spread opened up with the home team Carolina Panthers lined as a -2 ½ point betting favorite with an over under of 34 ½ points.
Money has shown on the home club in the early NFL wagering as the Carolina Panthers have been bet up to a -3 point favorite.
The total has crept upward to 35 points.
Carolina Panthers money line supporters will lay -155 odds with the road underdog Pittsburgh Steelers bringing back +135 odds to earn the straight up win with no need for points on their side.
Week four of the preseason is more of an evaluation of reserve talent for head coaches. Veteran starters are unlikely to see any action. The exceptions to this rule are rookies who are slotted into starting roles who need reps such as Cam Newton who will start.
Coaches must cut down to their 53 man rosters by September 3rd so that means reserves will see the bulk of the action in this one.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a 2011 NFL preseason record of 2-1 and are 1-2 against the spread.
The team has put up an average of 21.7 points per game and has surrendered 15.3 points to their opponents.
Pittsburgh’s offense in their three exhibition contests has averaged 303 yards per game with 195 yards coming in the passing game.
The Steelers are coming off a 34-16 home victory a week ago against the Atlanta Falcons as a -3 point favorite.
The over under came in at over the closing total of 35 ½ points.
Pittsburgh’s offense was able to amass 320 yards and converted on 4 of 11 on third down. The team got inside the Atlanta red zone three times and came away with a touchdown just once.
Starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 11 of 16 passes for 214 yards with two touchdowns.
Byron Leftwich relieved and completed one of two throws for 11 yards. The veteran quarterback broke his arm and will miss significant action.
Former Oregon product Dennis Dixon saw action and hit on 1 of his 3 throws from the field for 13 yards.
Running back Jonathan Dwyer had 36 yards rushing on 6 carries.
Starting back Rashard Medenhall saw seven carries for eight yards and a touchdown.
John Clay a rookie stout running back out of Wisconsin had ten yards gained on three runs.
Wide receiver Antonio Brown led the Steelers with four catches for 137 yards and two scores.
Veteran Hines Ward contributed with 29 yards receiving on his three caught balls.
David Johnson the Pittsburgh tight end had two pass receptions for 34 yards.
The Steelers defense surrendered a very high 405 yards to the Falcons offense and 10 of 20 makes on third down. Pittsburgh saw Atlanta penetrate their red zone three times and gave up just one touchdown.
The Steelers pass rushers generated just one quarterback sack and had three tackles for a loss.
The Carolina Panthers have an overall preseason record in 2011 of 1-2 and are 1-2 against the spread.
The club has averaged 14.3 points per game and has surrendered 18 points a game to their foes.
The Panthers has averaged just 248 offensive yards in the NFL preseason campaign with only 155 yards coming through the air.
Carolina is coming off the 24-13 road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals as a +3 point road underdog. The game came in at under the closing total of 33 ½ points.
The Panthers could only post up 203 offensive yards on the Bengals defense and converted on 5 of 15 on third down. Carolina entered the red zone once and scored a touchdown in their lone trip.
Rookie starter and the number one overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft Cam Newton got the start and hit on just 6 of 19 from the field for 75 yards. Newton ran it four times for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Second year signal caller Jimmy Clausen completed four of his seven passes from the field for 35 yards.
Starting running back DeAngelo Williams ran five times for 27 yards.
Veteran Jonathan Stewart on eight carries ran for 13 yards.
Josh Vaughn contributed with 12 yards on the ground with three carries.
Tight end Greg Olsen led the team in receiving yards with 28 on his lone catch.
Jeremy Shockey formally of the New Orleans Saints caught two balls for 21 yards.
Veteran all pro wide receiver Steve Smith caught one pass for nine yards.
The Carolina defense allowed the Bengals offense 356 yards and to convert 6 of 13 on third down. The Panthers allowed Cincinnati into their red zone twice and gave up two touchdowns.
Carolina had just one sack with only one tackle for a loss.
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Tags: betting, Carolina panthers, nfl, nfl network tv, Odds, pick, Pittsburgh steelers, preview, pro football, september 1st 2011, thursday
