In the 2010-2011 football season, the NFL is making most of the rule changes in an attempt to increase safety on the playing field. In that vein, the league has homogenized the guidelines pertaining to unnecessary roughness. It has also extended the unnecessary roughness guidelines to include all positions so that players cannot hit any defenseless player above the shoulders.

Among the implemented changes designed to protect player safety is the decision to blow a ball dead immediately when the ball carrier loses his helmet. Next, defensive players must line up even farther away from a long snapper than was required in previous seasons. One of the last rule changes devised to protect the safety of players is that any penalty yardage awarded due to a personal foul committed after a dead ball at the end of the second or fourth quarter will occur on the kickoff in the second half or in overtime.

Many spectators and players encourage changes to league rules when it enhances player safety. However, there is always a plethora of yearly debate surrounding one NFL rule change or another. This year, there has been some debate over whether the new pre-snap positioning of the umpire in the offensive backfield will poorly affect those teams’ offenses that favor no-huddle offenses. Peyton Manning, quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, seems to think it will.

Betting on football is a combination of declared skill and knowledge about the game and its players. The more information you know about a team and its athletes, the better chances you have of getting your bet right. It also is about knowing information on the other teams, as you have a greater chance of placing the right bet when you know the opponent’s weaknesses. For example, if the opponent’s team has two keepers on the disabled list and your team has a strong keeper, the odds are in your favor.

While information is the key to successful bets, you also need to know when to make your betting decisions. You do not want to wait too long, nor do you want to make them too far in advance. A lot changes during a few days before the game, players get injured, teammates get arrested, and coaches make last-minute decisions and trades. Place your bets the day of, or the night before, a game. For example, place bets for a morning game the night before. Place bets according to the online casino’s rules, because most sports books have standard cut off times. For a successful bet, analyze your home team’s strengths in relation to the opponent’s weaknesses. Predict your bets based on concrete facts, rather than speculation or rumor.

A miserable display from Middlesbrough it may have been, but West Brom deserve all the credit for producing a stunning and unrelentless display of football that earned them the three points with a brilliant 0-5 win at the Riverside.

Di Matteo says that his team have made a statement of intent to the rest of the league and it really is difficult to see any other club that is producing this quality of football that is in a position to challenge.

It is early days of course, but on this evidence it looks very likely that West Brom will bounce back to the Premiership, possibly in better shape than they left it.

Newcastle are one of the clubs likely to challenge hardest for the title, they have already surprised many with their start to the season and considering the injury crisis and ongoing sale of the club causing much distraction, the Magpies remain just one point behind West Bromwich Albion after beating bottom of the table Plymouth 3-1 at St James’ Park.

Sheffield United are in fifth place,  following an impressive derby win over local rivals Sheffield Wednesday who the beat 3-2 on Friday, Wednesday coming back from 3-0 at half time made for a great finish to the game, well for the fans anyway.

There was certainly an abundance of goals in the Championship this weekend, Preston regained fourth place following another 3-2 win against Coventry and Peterborough got the upper hand over Reading with the same score.

Watford and Leicester battled out a 3-3 draw, doing neither club any favours with a point apiece while Roy Keane’s Ipswich saw their first win snatched away in yet another 3-3 draw at Doncaster.

Doesn’t make sense does it.  While West Hams problems have been firmly brought about by the ravaging effect of the global credit crisis on the clubs previous owner, the problems at Newcastle would appear to be more self inflicted.

Sam Allardyce could surely have secured a mid table place for them given time, Kevin  Keegan left the club because he felt he had no say in transfer policies and poor old Joe Kinnear was never given a chance by the ‘cockney mafia‘ doubters, ending the season on sick leave after heart bypass surgery.

Alan Shearer was eventually made an offer he couldn’t refuse, in an ill conceived effort to avoid relegation that frankly he could do little about. Newcastle were relegated on merit and now need to find a buyer who can bring some calm and offer a future to the club.

Former chairman Freddy Shepherd is among the interested parties and would appear the ideal candidate to steer the club back to it’s former state and more importantly bring an end to the Mike Ashley era and furthermore an end to his personal misery.